Hong Kong: Students pursue vet dreams

Student Monica Chan had dreamed of a career in medicine for years. After being shown a documentary at school on the 2003 SARS outbreak, she became determined to follow in the footsteps of the brave doctors who had battled the epidemic.

To fulfil her dream of a becoming a doctor, the now 21-year-old studied hard and achieved such good grades in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination that she was offered a place at medical school.

Miss Chan had to take a break from education in her first year of med school due to personal reasons. During that time she took up some animal rescue work - a decision that changed her life.

I realised in order to heal the world you do not have to necessarily become a human (medicine) doctor. And I knew more about veterinary medicine, and the concept of One Health, which is the connection between the health of animals, humans and the environment. So I was really inspired and I chose veterinary medicine over medicine back then, she explained.

Right requirements

Miss Chan was accepted onto the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme at City University and is now in her second year of studies. She hopes to focus on human and animal-related infectious diseases in the future and raise awareness of animal rights.

As thousands of secondary school students wait for their exam results, the aspiring vet has some advice for them as they choose their career paths.

My personal advice is to stick with what you like and your passion, but meanwhile you also have to be realistic. You have to ensure that it is a really rational decision, and you can actually pay for your own rent and pay for everything that you should be responsible for while working towards your goal.

Well-rounded training

The Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine is a six-year programme. During the first two years of the programme, students primarily focus on biomedical and pre-clinical disciplines that will equip them with the knowledge and understanding required to embark on the para-clinical and clinical curriculum taught afterwards.

Students also gain work and animal handling experience either at the CityU Veterinary Medical Centre or other animal care organisations such as shelters or local farms.

The three-storey centre is equipped with an intensive care unit for animals - the first of its kind in Hong Kong, a cardiology suite, consultation rooms, dedicated operating theatres as well as 24/7 emergency services manned by registered emergency vets.

The centre is also fitted with state-of-the-art equipment for diagnosis and treatment, including a CT scanner, devices for magnetic resonance imaging and endoscopy.

Since 2019, up to 40,000 cats and dogs have been treated at the centre each year.

City University Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine & Life Sciences Dean Prof Nikolaus Osterrieder said the centre not only provides a wide range of clinical services to the public but also equips students with hands on animal handling experience - an integral part of their veterinary education.

The primary purpose is for the college to teach here in this veterinary medical centre.

The public benefits in that they can, with their sick pets, come here and get expert veterinary services by the clinicians that are here, but hopefully in the future also by clinicians that are sent from the college to this veterinary medical centre, Prof Osterrieder added.

This story has been published on: 2021-07-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: UK PM and finance minister to self isolate in U-turn

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak will both self-isolate in line with national guidance, abandoning heavily criticised plans to take part in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to continue working.

The U-turn comes a day after health minister Sajid Javid said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and at a time when the government's coronavirus response is under intense scrutiny.

Almost all remaining restrictions in England will be lifted on Monday despite a surge in infections as ministers put their faith in the advanced vaccine programme.

Cases are rising by more than 50,000 a day and hundreds of thousands of Britons are being asked to self isolate for 10 days, causing havoc for employers and parents, prompting train cancellations and forcing some businesses to close their doors.

The government announced at 0700 GMT that Johnson and Sunak had been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and would take part in a trial scheme that allowed them to keep working instead of self-isolating.

But less than three hours later that decision had been reversed after a flurry of criticism from voters, political opponents and business owners.

"He will not be taking part in the testing pilot," a spokesman said. "He will continue to conduct meetings with ministers remotely."

Johnson will isolate at Chequers, his country residence.

Opposition politicians had said it was hypocritical for Johnson and Sunak to exempt themselves from some of the rules.

"Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been busted yet again for thinking the rules that we are all following dont apply to them," said Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.

The way the Prime Minister conducts himself creates chaos, makes for bad government and has deadly consequences for the British public."

Sunak acknowledged the backlash over their initial decision.

"I recognise that even the sense that the rules arent the same for everyone is wrong," he said on Twitter.

The government's handling of the pandemic has been dogged with episodes that have damaged public trust - most recently when then-health minister Matt Hancock was pictured kissing an adviser, in breach of social distancing regulations. He later resigned.

Housing minister Robert Jenrick confirmed that the government would go ahead with its 'freedom day' plan on Monday, removing the requirement to wear face masks, lifting limits on social gatherings and allowing high-risk businesses to reopen.

Ministers argue that the vaccination programme, under which 87.8% of the adult population has had one vaccine and 67.8% have been double vaccinated, has largely broken the link between cases and mortality.

"The last time we had cases at the level we do today, the number of people dying from the virus was 30 times the number it is today," Jenrick told the BBC. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-07-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Update: 18-07-2021 | 09:19:23

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Committee in coordination with the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic has held a webinar to introduce the electronic customs of the European country.

Loading goods at Cai Mep port in Ba Ria Vung-Tau Province. (Photo: VNA)

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Committee in coordination with the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic has held a webinar to introduce the electronic customs of the European country.



Indonesian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Kenssy Dwi Ekaningsih, who is also Chairwoman of the ASEAN Committee in Prague, and Trousir Jiri, Deputy Director General of the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, co-chaired the event.



It attracted the participation of more than 30 delegates from six embassies of ASEAN countries in Prague and representatives of the Czech businesses.



Tomas Kocourek, an expert in charge of customs clearance procedures, gave an overview of the Czech customs system.



He said the customs regulations of the country were unified and complied with that of the EU. However, member countries can decide for themselves on value-added tax (VAT) and special consumption tax.



In his presentation, the expert also introduced in detail customs clearance procedures for export, import, and shipment operations in the Czech Republic, including procedures for registration of electronic signatures, registration for customs inspection.



Only about two percent of customs clearance cases in the country are conducted in the traditional form and the rest are all done through electronic customs, he said.



Participants at the webinar shared opinions on factors such as product standardisation, certification of origin, and freight transport procedures.



According to Vietnam Trade Counselor in the Czech Republic Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy, the workshop aims to establish relationships with local customs authorities, creating information channels and cooperation toward simplifying procedures, facilitating the growth of trade in goods between ASEAN and the Czech Republic.



She suggested that more seminars should be organised with specific themes to connect businesses in member countries as well as other organisations specialising in animal and plant quarantine or trade marks regulations.



She said ASEAN countries are a potential market and a promising investment environment that the Czech state and businesses are interested in the near future.



ASEAN countries recognise that traditional handicrafts, agricultural products, food and essential consumer goods have many opportunities to enter the Czech market, she said, adding that this is also a bridge to penetrate the EU market.



In terms of two-way trade relations, Vietnam is the second largest country in ASEAN after Malaysia in import and export turnover with the Czech Republic.



Thuy also said the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) brings many benefits to Vietnam and the EU, including the Czech Republic, one of the first countries to ratify it.



One of the biggest benefits of the EVFTA is the elimination of 99 percent of tariffs, which saves costs for Vietnamese, Czech and EU exporters and importers. This creates opportunities for Czech businesses to export goods in areas where the country has strengths such as textile-garment industry, glass, automobile, mechanical engineering, food, and chemical.



Vietnam has an action plan to implement the binding provisions of the free trade agreement, including a commitment to sustainable fisheries management, Thuy said, adding that the country has made great efforts in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing to meet standards relating to the environment./.

VNA
Commentary: Taiwan-U.S. military collusion escalates Strait tension

Xinhua) 16:27, July 17, 2021

People wearing masks walk on street in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, March 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- There were media reports of a U.S. military transport plane landing in China's Taiwan. The military collusion between Taiwan and the United States has escalated the tension across the Taiwan Strait.

It is a very bad act of provocation by the United States to repeatedly play the "Taiwan card," which challenged China's bottom line and harmed China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This extremely irresponsible and very dangerous act seriously undermined the basis of China-U.S. relations and threatened peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.

It also exposed the hypocrisy of the U.S. side when it comes to major issues concerning the core interests of China.

The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations, whose political foundation is based on the one-China principle.

China resolutely opposes any official exchange or military contact between Taiwan and the United States in any form. This position is consistent and clear.

The U.S. attempt to stage a "political show" concerning the Taiwan question, challenge the one-China principle and use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail.

The U.S. side must wake up from its pipe dream, refrain from sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist elements, and immediately halt all its risky moves.

The United States would not be able to play the "Taiwan card" again and again without the active collaboration of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority.

The DPP and "Taiwan independence" forces cling to the United States for support. By colluding with external forces, they would only meet the fate of self-destruction.

The mainland has the resolve and ability to foil any "Taiwan independence" attempt. The DPP and "Taiwan independence" forces, if stubbornly push forward, will inevitably hit a dead end.

China must be reunified, and will surely be reunified. No one should underestimate the Chinese people's strong determination, resolve, and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Bianji)
China to steadily advance digital yuan pilots

Xinhua) 16:45, July 17, 2021

Photo taken on May 8, 2021 shows a digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY) payment card used at the first China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Friday released a white paper on the progress of the country's digital fiat currency, the e-CNY, saying that it will steadily push forward pilot schemes of its digital yuan.

The e-CNY is the digital version of the fiat currency issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC). It is a value-based, quasi-account-based and account-based hybrid payment instrument with legal tender status and loosely coupled account linkage, the white paper clarified, adding that the e-CNY is "mainly a substitute" for cash in circulation and will coexist with physical yuan.

PURPOSE OF DEVELOPMENT

As the digital economy develops, the share of transactions made using cash is rapidly declining in China.

Meanwhile, a variety of so-called cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin pose potential risks to financial security and social stability, given their lack of intrinsic value, acute price fluctuations, low trading efficiencies and huge energy consumption, the white paper noted.

In many countries and regions, central banks or monetary authorities have kept a close eye on fintech development and sought to digitalize fiat currency.

The development of the e-CNY system in China aims to create a new form of RMB that meets the public demand for cash in the digital economy era.

"Supported by a retail payment infrastructure that is reliable, efficient, adaptive and open, the e-CNY system will bolster China's digital economy, enhance financial inclusion, and make the monetary and payment systems more efficient," read the white paper.

PROGRESS

As the top-level design, functional development, and system testing have been basically completed, the PBOC has so far initiated pilot programs in certain representative regions. It has ensured the programs run in a steady, safe, managed, innovative and practical manner.

The PBOC began its e-CNY research and development (R&D) project at the end of 2017. Large commercial banks, telecom operators and internet companies with significant assets, large market shares and strengths in technology development were selected to participate in the project.

Since the end of 2019, the PBOC has launched e-CNY pilot programs in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong'an and Chengdu. Since November 2020, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao and Dalian have joined the pilot programs.

As of June 30, 2021, the e-CNY has been applied to over 1.32 million scenarios, covering utility payments, catering services, transportation, shopping and government services.

More than 20.87 million personal wallets and over 3.51 million corporate wallets have been opened, with a total of 70.75 million transactions and a transaction value totaling approximately 34.5 billion yuan (about 5.33 billion U.S. dollars).

FUTURE OUTLOOK

In the future, the PBOC will continue to prudently advance the pilot e-CNY R&D project in line with China's 14th Five-Year Plan, with no preset timetable for the final launch.

Efforts will focus on areas including expanding test scenarios to cover all possible scenarios in selected pilot regions, optimizing the e-CNY ecosystem, and improving relevant institutional arrangements and rules, the white paper noted.

Though technically ready for cross-border use, the e-CNY is currently mainly designed for domestic retail payments.

"Looking ahead, the PBOC will actively respond to initiatives of the G20 and other international organizations to improve cross-border payments, and explore the applicability of the central bank digital currency in cross-border scenarios," read the paper.

It will also work with relevant central banks and monetary authorities to establish exchange arrangements and regulatory cooperation mechanisms on the digital fiat currency, the paper noted.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Bianji)
China-donated Sinopharm vaccine extends health care to Namibians, deepening relations at grassroots

Xinhua) 17:21, July 17, 2021

WINDHOEK, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Meke Inotila Fanuel from Oshaandja village in the northern part of Namibia was inoculated with Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China due to its reported high efficacy rate.

"I chose Sinopharm because of its strength and minimal side effects. It was also the only one of the two vaccines available at the start of the vaccination campaign," Fanuel said.

Namibia is a country in Southern Africa with a population of 2.5 million. The country, however, has accumulated 109,956 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has registered 2,270 related deaths so far. It received the first batch of 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine early this year.

More locals are embracing the vaccine.

John Hangula, a media professional based in Windhoek, the national capital, got his first jab in June and recently the second. The decision to go for Sinopharm was informed by the international community and country experiences, particularly China.

"I believe that China dealt with the pandemic better than most countries. So it was an easy decision to go for Sinopharm," he said.

Meanwhile, inoculation with Sinopharm extends beyond health care and strives for herd immunity.

Motivated by the commitment to boost the immune system and protect the immediate community, Calistus Mukahanama, a medical doctor in Windhoek, was also vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine.

Local leaders have since also embraced Sinopharm. In May, Namibian Vice President Nangolo Mbumba, among many, also took the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Windhoek.

Moreover, the Chinese-donated vaccine is cementing China-Namibia relations at the grassroots level across the country.

Fanuel commended China for extending aid to Namibia.

"This represents to me that Namibia and China will forever have a strong and long-term friendship. More so given that first doses of the vaccines were a gift with high hope that it will help our country better manage the pandemic," Fanuel added.

Complementary with the vaccine, China has helped Namibia administer and promote equal health for its people, according to Hangula, the media professional.

"China's aid came at a time we needed them the most, looking at the reported disparities in the distribution and in terms of availing the vaccine to the continent. So bravo to the Chinese government," he added.

Experts concur. Marius Kudumo, director of international relations at Namibia University of Science and Technology, said that aid provided by China strengthens the cooperation between Namibia and China.

"It deepens solidarity within the scope of bilateral and international cooperation," he said.

In the interim, government has urged those eligible to consider vaccination.

"Getting vaccinated is the most effective way to protect our country against the onslaught of this dangerous pandemic," said Kalumbi Shangula, minister of Health and Social Services.

The Health Ministry has also finalized orders for doses of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, according to Shangula.

As of Thursday, a total of 133,863 people had received the first dose and 32,753 had been fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Bianji)
China's cross-departmental joint working group visits injured Chinese nationals in Pakistan

Xinhua) 17:25, July 17, 2021

ISLAMABAD, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Wu Wei, head of China's cross-departmental joint working group to Pakistan, and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong Friday afternoon visited the injured Chinese nationals from the Dasu terrorist attack at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi, near the federal capital Islamabad.

Wu, also deputy director-general of the Department of External Security Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nong asked about the condition of and treatment for each wounded Chinese national.

Wu conveyed the care, solicitude and sympathy of the Chinese leadership to the injured one by one, saying that their compatriots in China care a lot about their safety.

The joint working group has got in touch with a cross-departmental team from the Pakistani side, Wu said, adding that both sides will continue to spare no effort to conduct medical treatment for them.

Wu said that he hopes the injured Chinese nationals can set their mind at rest and get recovered at an early date.

China's cross-departmental joint working group left Beijing for Islamabad early Friday morning Beijing time, and met with people from different relevant Pakistani departments after their arrival.

At around 7:00 a.m. local time Wednesday, the shuttle vehicles of the Dasu Hydropower Project for which a Chinese company is contracted to build, were hit by a blast when they were heading to the construction site in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leaving nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis dead, according to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Bianji)
External forces meddling in HK affairs is like "tiny ants trying to shake mighty tree," says China

Xinhua) 09:09, July 18, 2021

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, and the Chinese side will take all measures necessary in accordance with law to defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

The spokesperson made the remarks after the U.S. government issued the so-called "Hong Kong Business Advisory" and imposed sanctions on seven officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Hong Kong is part of China and its affairs are purely China's domestic affairs, the spokesperson said in a statement, noting that external forces that attempt to meddle in Hong Kong affairs will find themselves in a situation "like the tiny ants that try to shake the mighty tree."

The U.S. side has concocted the so-called "Hong Kong Business Advisory" to groundlessly smear Hong Kong's business environment, and illegally imposed sanctions on several officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR, the spokesperson said, stressing that these acts gravely violate international law and basic norms governing international relations, and severely interfere in China's internal affairs.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this," according to the spokesperson.

China adheres to the policy of "one country, two systems" under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, the spokesperson said, stressing that since the implementation of the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR, social stability has been restored in Hong Kong, rule of law has been upheld, and development has been resumed on the right track.

Hong Kong residents exercise rights and freedoms in accordance with law, and foreign investors enjoy a business environment with improved safety, stability and predictability, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson noted that a report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not long ago once again recognized Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub. Recent media reports have shown widespread objection to the U.S. government's issuance of the so-called business advisory among the U.S. business community in Hong Kong, the spokesperson added.

However, the U.S. government, turning a blind eye to facts and a deaf ear to the business community's call, attempts to use the so-called business advisory to cast a pall over Hong Kong's prospects and intimidate foreign investors in Hong Kong, according to the spokesperson.

"This once again exposed the sinister intention of the U.S. to undermine Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, meddle in China's domestic affairs, and thwart China's development," the spokesperson said.

The despicable conspiracy of the U.S. will get nowhere, said the spokesperson, stressing that Hong Kong will surely have a brighter future.

"The so-called sanctions imposed by the U.S. are nothing more than a waste of paper," the spokesperson said, adding that it is simply delusional to believe that China will bow to sanctions.

The past few years saw China fighting resolutely against the so-called maximum pressure by the U.S. with strong countermeasures, the spokesperson noted.

"If the U.S. is bent on continuing with such tricks, we will play along every step of the way until the very end," said the spokesperson.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Multinationals count on China to drive global economic recovery

Xinhua) 09:14, July 18, 2021

QINGDAO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Business leaders pinned high hopes on China to drive global economic recovery at the second Qingdao Multinationals Summit, which concluded on Friday in the coastal city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

Representatives of 390 Fortune 500 companies and 517 industry leaders attended the two-day event either online or offline. The event aimed to establish a high-end platform for dialogue between multinational companies, and political and academic circles amid the country's drive to promote high-quality opening-up and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, and with the great changes the world is now facing and China's increasingly steady economic momentum, the event demonstrates China's determination to open up to a higher level, according to Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming prior to the event's opening. He also noted that the event would enhance the confidence of multinational companies in investing and developing in China.

Tracy Xie, president of global mining company Vale China, said that Vale is encouraged by China's commitment to multilateralism, further opening-up and better participation in international economic cooperation. Vale is headquartered in Brazil.

"The summit itself conveys a positive signal that China is willing to build an open global economy with other countries," said Xie.

"A platform like the Qingdao summit is needed under the current complicated situation," noted Zhao Zhongxiu, president of the Shandong University of Finance and Economics.

"It not only shows China's more fine-tuned policies and optimized business environment, but also enables Chinese enterprises to better communicate with multinational companies and explore new cooperation models, which can benefit both sides," Zhao added.

China has in recent years rolled out a series of favorable policies to facilitate foreign investment, including establishing more free trade zones, shortening negative lists for foreign investment and widening market access.

Underpinned by the country's sustainable economic recovery and strong global demand, China's foreign trade rose 27.1 percent year on year to 18.07 trillion yuan (about 2.79 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half, a record high.

Foreign investors have also gained significantly from China's sustained recovery. In the six-month period, the total output of overseas-invested enterprises increased 17 percent year on year, outpacing the 15.9 percent growth in overall industrial output.

"The Chinese government's timely and effective response to the coronavirus outbreak helped our company maintain growth in all business sectors in 2020," said Air Liquide China President and CEO Nicolas Poirot, who added that some of his company's subsidiaries were also granted tax cuts, subsidies and support in cross-border cargo transportation from the government.

China's huge domestic market and sound industrial infrastructure has made it one of the most attractive markets for foreign investment. Its constant efforts to improve its business climate also have enhanced investor confidence in further tapping the Chinese market, according to participators at the summit.

Many multinationals at the summit said they counted on China to pull up global economic growth amid uncertainties stemming from the pandemic. They are also exploring new opportunities and broadening areas of cooperation as China's economic recovery continued to consolidate in the first half.

As China's working-age population continues to decline and its society continues to age, the demand for high-tech automation products is expected to soar, which offers Festo a new growth point, according to Chen Hong, vice president of sales at Festo Business Region Greater China.

Many companies are eyeing the green industry. China's industries are pouring more investment into energy-saving, cost-reducing, green development and low-carbon areas, which will bring us considerable business opportunities, said Will Li, head of Linde Greater China.

China is striving to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and the demand for safe, comfortable and sustainable infrastructure in China's metropolises will increase, according to Michael Zhu, vice president and general manager of Johnson Controls (China).

"Our smart building and digital solutions are expected to help with the green and efficient use of energy in urban buildings to ensure the carbon emission reduction targets," said Zhu.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
China launches pilot zone to develop premium wine in Gobi Desert

Xinhua) 09:20, July 18, 2021

-- China has launched a national pilot zone to develop premium wine on the edge of the Gobi Desert, aiming to turn the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain into China's Bordeaux.

-- The pilot zone -- the first of its kind in China -- with a planned area of more than 500 square km, is expected to cultivate 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares) of vineyards in five years, with an estimated output value of 100 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars).

-- In the next 15 years, the goal of the wine zone is to have 1.5 million mu of vineyards, with a total output value of 200 billion yuan.

Photo taken on July 10, 2021 shows the National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry in Minning Township, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

YINCHUAN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a national pilot zone to develop premium wine on the edge of the Gobi Desert, aiming to turn the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain into China's Bordeaux.

The National Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Grape and Wine Industry was inaugurated on July 10 in Minning Township, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is located between 37 degrees and 39 degrees north latitude -- considered to be within the "golden zone" for growing wine grapes.

The pilot zone -- the first of its kind in China -- with a planned area of more than 500 square km, is expected to cultivate 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares) of vineyards in five years, with an estimated output value of 100 billion yuan (15.4 billion U.S. dollars).

In the next 15 years, the goal of the wine zone is to have 1.5 million mu of vineyards, with a total output value of 200 billion yuan.

"If this goal can be achieved, the pilot zone will become one of the largest quality wine producing areas in the world," said Sui Pengfei, director general of the international cooperation department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, at the launch ceremony.

Workers patrol at a wine storing workshop in Minning Township, Yongning County of Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

EXPOSURE TO INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM WINE MARKET

Wineries based in the wine area of Ningxia won 80 medals at the 2021 Concours Mondial De Bruxelles held in Brussels in mid June, including three grand gold medals, 43 gold medals and 34 silver medals, ranking first in the medal tally among China's wine-producing areas.

Cao He, a winemaker at Chateau Vegani in Minning, had his Matheran wine won the grand gold medal at the international competition in Belgium.

"The most interesting and fulfilling thing as a winemaker is to brew the wine you want by accurately controlling the grape plantation and brewing process, and everyone says yes after tasting it," said Cao, 33.

Founded in 2014, Vegani Winery currently boasts 500 mu of vineyards producing about 130,000 bottles of wine a year.

Compared with major international wine producers, China's modern wine industry started late, and the Helan Mountain wine area is even younger. The first bottle of wine was brewed in the desert region in 1984.

A Chinese TV drama series, depicting how grape plantation and cattle breeding were among poverty alleviation measures in Minning Township, has garnered millions of views on YouTube. The Chinese drama "Shanhaiqing" goes by the English title "Minning Town."

While in a few decades, the edge of the Gobi Desert has been transformed with extending vineyards irrigated by water sourced from the Yellow River.

Currently, the coverage of vineyards in Ningxia accounts for one fourth of China's total, yielding 36 high-quality grape varieties. There are 211 wine chateaux -- completed or under construction -- with an annual output of 130 million bottles of wine, accounting for 60 percent of China-produced wines.

Chilean Ambassador to China Luis Schmidt Montes extended his congratulations on the launch of the wine pilot zone. He said that the path outlined through this initiative for the grape and wine industry in Ningxia would allow the development of this industry to compete with the most prominent wine-producing regions in the world side by side.

A farmer takes care of wine grapes at a grape planting base of Yuanshi Vineyard in Xixia District of Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Sept. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

PIONEERING ROLE

By designating the wine area as a national pilot zone, China hopes to optimize the whole-chain development of the wine-manufacturing industry and introduce measures and standards of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) countries to help regulate the sector.

Sui, the official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the establishment of the pilot zone can encourage government departments and market entities to "boldly try" all measures and models that can help industrial development.

The beautiful architecture of chateaux and wine tasting areas have turned wineries into popular tourist spots.

"Last year, our winery received more than a dozen visitors on average every day, including free travelers, wine lovers and distributors," said Zhang Xueyan, owner of Ningxia Huangkou Winery.

In 2020, the sales of the winery hit 13.95 million yuan. This year, before the arrival of the peak season, the sales of its red wines have chalked up more than 8 million yuan.

Zhang said she believes that with the pilot zone's preferential policies, the wine zone will become more and more internationally competitive.

Christelle Chene from Burgundy, a famous wine region in France, came to Xige Estate, a winery in Ningxia, in 2019 to work on promoting the local winery products in the global market.

"In Ningxia, I have got my favorite wine taste with a rich fruity aroma and delicate tannin. I want to promote the wines here to the whole world," she said.

The wine and grape industry has become an important pillar of Ningxia's sustainable economic development, offering more than 120,000 jobs. Vineyards cultivated in deserts also have ecological functions of water and soil conservation.

Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, sent a letter of congratulation on the launch of the pilot zone.

"Being one of the major origins of ancient agricultural civilizations in East Asia and sitting in the heart of wine grape production zones, Ningxia enjoys considerable advantages and enormous potential in developing grape and wine industries with distinctive regional characteristics," Qu said in the letter.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
World's largest planetarium opens in Shanghai

Xinhua) 09:40, July 18, 2021

Photo shows a view of the Shanghai Astronomy Museum in east China's Shanghai, July 17, 2021. The Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the world's largest planetarium in terms of building scale, officially opens on Saturday and will be open to the public from Sunday. Covering an area of approximately 58,600 square meters, the museum is located in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang Special Area. It is a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

SHANGHAI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the world's largest planetarium in terms of building scale, officially opens on Saturday and will be open to the public from Sunday.

Covering an area of approximately 58,600 square meters, the museum is located in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang Special Area. It is a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

The museum's exhibits include approximately 70 meteorites, covering those from the moon, Mars and Vesta, as well as over 120 collections of artifacts such as works of Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler.

Some of the lunar soil brought back by China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe will also be displayed to the public.

An educational adaptive-optics solar telescope and double-focus one-meter telescope are installed in the museum for scientific research and to popularize science.

Data visualization, augmented reality, virtual reality and biometrics technologies have been introduced to help visitors gain astronomical and scientific knowledge through interaction.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
China, Syria vow to boost bilateral cooperation

Xinhua) 10:02, July 18, 2021

Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (3rd L) meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (3rd R) in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

China and Syria agreed to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture and trade, which will help Syria improve livelihood and accelerate reconstruction.

DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of China and Syria met here on Saturday, vowing to enhance the ties and cooperation between the two countries.

During a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the China-Syria friendship becomes stronger after having withstood the tests of global and regional challenges during the past 65 years since the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

The two sides have been understanding and supporting each other on the issues of mutual interests and concerns, Wang noted, stressing that China firmly stands with the Syrian people and adheres to international justice in preserving Syria's sovereignty and independence.

Wang said that China will work together with Syria to promote the traditional friendship, boost friendly cooperation, protect common interests, and safeguard the goals and principles of the UN Charter, international fairness and justice, and the legitimate rights of developing countries.

Based on equity and mutual respect, China will further the party-to-party exchanges with Syria and share governance experience, the Chinese senior diplomat said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) greets with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) at the Foreign Ministry in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

He expressed China's appreciation of Syria's understanding of and support for China's core interests, while reaffirming China's steadfast support for Syria in exploring its development path in accordance with its own conditions and playing an important role in preserving regional peace and stability.

Meanwhile, China will continue providing COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies to help Syria defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said.

As partners in building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China and Syria will jointly discuss the effective ways to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation, especially in fields of agriculture and trade, which will help Syria improve livelihood and accelerate reconstruction, the Chinese diplomat said.

On the anti-terror cooperation, Wang said that China is ready to boost anti-terror cooperation with Syria, improve Syria's anti-terror capacity, and safeguard each other's national security, while making contribution to global security.

For his part, Mekdad lauded China for being an important and close friend of Syria. Syria and China have been constantly cementing the bilateral ties and cooperation since the establishment of the diplomatic relations 65 years ago, he noted.

China and Syria sign cooperation documents at the Syrian Foreign Ministry in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. (Photo by Wang Jian/Xinhua)

Mekdad expressed his heartfelt gratitude to China for providing Syria with timely assistance at its toughest moments to preserve its national sovereignty and integrity.

He congratulated the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its 100th anniversary of founding, adding that Syria condemns all smear attacks, by word or deed, against China, and opposes any foreign interference in China's domestic affairs.

The Syrian minister vowed that Syria will always firmly stand with China in any circumstance, while expressing the belief that the Chinese people will make even greater achievements under the CPC leadership.

Also, Syria appreciates China's help in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese aid for Syria's reconstruction, Mekdad said.

He added that Syria is ready to sign a deal with China on jointly building the BRI, and boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, agriculture, infrastructure and connectivity, and combating terrorism.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Chinese experts discuss zebrafish technology in health industries

Xinhua) 10:12, July 18, 2021

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A group of Chinese experts met Saturday in Beijing to discuss the applications of zebrafish technology on efficacy and safety in industries of drug and health care products.

Zebrafish, a tropical fish about 2.5 cm to 4 cm long, is known for its body of dark blue stripes. Scientists have found that zebrafish share 87 percent of genes with humans, indicating its significant research and development value in life and medical sciences.

Experts shared their advice and expertise on accelerating zebrafish technology applications at a Saturday seminar by the China Healthcare Association. They included representatives from the State Administration for Market Regulation, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, the Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention, and other professionals in drug research, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and food sectors.

The zebrafish has been used as a testing animal to assess the effectiveness and safety of many TCMs, and it promises to be a highly predictive animal model for products' safety, functions, and quality, according to some TCM experts present.

Compared with mammals such as mice and monkeys, experiments on zebrafish will take shorter periods, cost less, and offer better observation conditions, said Li Chunqi, chief scientist of the Hangzhou Hunter Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Because zebrafish embryos are transparent, they are easy to be labeled with fluorescence. After the labeled zebrafish are soaked or injected with experimental drug samples, researchers can easily observe the effects of drugs on the animals' internal organs.

Other seminar speakers, however, stressed that zebrafish could be an effective supplement, rather than a substitute, to the existing evaluation methods of mammal models. They also emphasized the genetic stability and standardized husbandry of zebrafish before they are applied in the food and health product industries. They added that more studies and scientific consensus of the testing technologies are still needed.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Post-90s generation does heavy lifting on rural vitalization

Xinhua) 10:15, July 18, 2021

You Jiajing, a 29-year-old village official, has never regretted his decision of giving up a city job and returning to his hometown which used to be plagued by abject poverty.

"Upending changes have happened in my hometown and everything I did is worthwhile," said You, who is now the deputy chief of Yinchuan Village in Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

As China announced victory over poverty earlier this year, rural areas, particularly those newly rising above poverty, have marched on a new journey toward vitalization. More and more young Chinese born in the 1990s, like You, have returned to their hometowns to work as village officials, leading fellow villagers in building a more prosperous, beautiful, and livable countryside.

"Village officials were usually elected from venerable people," said Li Hui, Party chief of Yinchuan Village. "Young people yearning for the world outside of the mountains would not consider working as a village official."

You's hometown, deep in the mountains, used to be defined by poverty and backwardness. "Going to Guiyang [the capital city], I had to first ride a motorcycle on the narrow rural pathway to the main road where automobiles passed. Then I hitched a ride to the downtown area where there would be buses to the destination," You recalled.

The ambitious young man worked in a restaurant in Guiyang for four years after graduating from a vocational school. He received a job offer from village officials when he visited his parents at home in 2016.

"I was surprised as I never thought about working in the village where there was not even a computer, and the monthly salary was merely 1,000 yuan (around 155 U.S. dollars)," You said. After learning village officials were planning kiwi fruit and chili pepper cooperatives, he decided to stay.

"We need young people like him. They are well-educated, open-minded, and have gained experience from working in urban areas. They could bring new perspectives and vitalities to rural development," Li Hui said.

You started as an assistant to the village chief and learned how to manage village affairs. In March 2017, he ran for village elections and was elected deputy village chief. During the fight against poverty, his job was to ensure impoverished households' access to safe housing. After the village escaped abject poverty, he turned his focus to fostering agricultural businesses and building beautiful countryside.

He is now on the management team for the village cooperative of chili pepper growing and has a tight daily schedule. Apart from matching villagers with jobs in the cooperative, he helps explore sales channels, arrange shipments, and organize training sessions on farming skills, among other tasks.

Years into working in the village, You gradually learned the secrets of dealing with fellow villagers. "You need to be patient, pragmatic, and see things from their side," he said.

You said he also learned a lot from officials stationed in the village to fight poverty. "Thanks to them, young village officials like me have many effective ways and practices to follow in handling village affairs, even when they leave," You said.

Yinchuan Village has taken on a new look. Residents now live in new, spacious and well-furnished houses and have job opportunities on their doorstep.

"It's a life I never imagined," said You. "Every day of my life is fulfilling. With all these unimaginable changes having already happened, I'm dreaming even bigger."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
China, Central Asia to strengthen cooperation in various fields: Chinese FM

Xinhua) 10:17, July 18, 2021

A freight train from Rizhao to Central Asia leaves a container station of Rizhao port in east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 12, 2017. The train, loaded with containers of automobile components, numerical control machines, plastic productions and daily necessities, leaves China through the port in Horgos and passes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

A stable and prosperous Central Asia serves the common interests of countries in the region and is conducive to world peace and development, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, adding that China's foreign policy towards Central Asia is active, friendly, open and transparent.

DAMASCUS, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to work with Central Asian countries to make plans for further cooperation in various areas, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

Wang made the remarks during an interview after his visit to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as his attendance at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers and other multilateral meetings.

China will work with Central Asian countries to deepen mutual trust, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, and give full play to the role of the new platform of the "China + Central Asia" to help Central Asian countries accelerate their development, he said.

A stable and prosperous Central Asia serves the common interests of countries in the region and is conducive to world peace and development, Wang said, adding that China's foreign policy towards Central Asia is active, friendly, open and transparent.

A staff member unloads cherries imported from Kyrgyzstan at the Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Yue)

When talking about the results of the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, Wang said that all parties reached a series of consensus on the work plan of the SCO and major international and regional issues.

All parties agreed to make solid preparations for the summit to be held in September this year and made full political preparations for the summit's results, Wang said, adding that the parties pledged to stick to the Shanghai Spirit.

They agreed to expand regional cooperation, tap the potential of cooperation, expand cooperation areas, promote vaccine cooperation to fight the epidemic, and accelerate the economic recovery and improve people's livelihood.

All parties believed that it is necessary to maintain an international system with the United Nations at its core, an international order based on international law, and a clear-cut stand against unilateralism and hegemony in any form, Wang noted.

Chinese technicians pose for a photo with Uzbek drivers on an electric locomotive in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 17, 2020. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua)

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, China and Central Asian countries have supported each other and carried out fruitful cooperation, he said.

The Chinese government has fulfilled its solemn commitment to making vaccines a global public good, and has provided assistance and exported several batches of Chinese vaccines to Central Asian countries, he added.

China will work with Central Asian countries to build a China-Central Asia health community, he noted.

On the basis of expanded vaccine aid and exports, China will promote cooperation in the vaccine industry based on technology research and development, trade in manufactured goods and joint production, so as to forge a comprehensive vaccine partnership, Wang said.

China will strengthen the public health system, expand cooperation between sectors of modern and traditional medicine, and ensure traditional medical centers are fully available in Central Asia, he said.

Although the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the world since last year, the cooperation between China and Central Asian countries under the Belt and Road Initiative has never stopped, and instead shown great resilience and vitality, Wang said.

He noted that China aims to forge a closer partnership with Central Asian countries in healthcare, digitalization, "green" development and connectivity.

As for China-Turkmenistan relations, Wang said the two countries will negotiate and sign documents on cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative as soon as possible, and comprehensively align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, so as to open up new opportunities for further cooperation.

He said China and Turkmenistan will formulate a five-year plan for bilateral cooperation, strive for strategic partnership across the whole industrial chain of the energy sector, and expand cooperation in non-natural resources sectors, healthcare, including COVID-19 vaccines, biosecurity, information security and cybersecurity.

Commenting on the prospect of China-Tajikistan ties, Wang said the two sides need to not only build a community of common development and a community of common security, but also work for a community of common health and push forward the building of a community of a shared future for mankind, so as to raise the bilateral cooperation to a new level.

To that end, China and Tajikistan need to jointly seek development and cooperation, erect a safety barrier, and battle the COVID-19 epidemic.

Workers transfer COVID-19 vaccines at Tashkent International Airport in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 27, 2021. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua)

As Uzbekistan is advocating reform and opening-up at full scale, Wang said China will continue to support Uzbekistan in the pursuit of reform and opening-up.

To build a more dynamic China-Uzbekistan partnership that entails a richer context and provides more benefits to the two peoples, the two sides need to further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthen strategic coordination, Wang said.

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, Wang said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, but peace has not come, and the flames of war have started again.

China always respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and adheres to the norms governing international relations of non-interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, Wang said.

He added that China hopes that Afghanistan will have a resurrection, build a broad and inclusive political framework, resolutely fight terrorism in all its forms, and seek friendly coexistence with all its neighbors.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Chinese vice premier stresses cooperation to protect world heritage

Xinhua) 10:53, July 18, 2021

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits an exhibition before the opening ceremony of the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province, July 16, 2021. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the session. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

FUZHOU, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Friday stressed international cooperation to protect world heritage.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the opening of the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. It was held in Fuzhou, the capital of east China's Fujian Province.

In recent years, China has been promoting the work of heritage protection along with cultural industries, ecological development, and the poverty alleviation cause, Sun said. She noted that the country is developing a nature reserves system composed mainly of national parks and combating crimes involving cultural relics.

Sun said China is willing to work with UNESCO to build educational platforms for world heritage and help cultivate heritage protection skills for developing countries.

China will also support UNESCO in implementing the Priority Africa strategy in terms of world heritage, Sun noted.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
China to make new chapter of international human rights progress with rest of world

11:13, July 18, 2021 By He Yin ( People's Daily

The 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council concluded on July 14 in Geneva, Switzerland. China's stance on human rights was widely supported and responded to at the session, and the country also received high evaluation for its sense of responsibility to drive the progress of human rights of the world.

During the session, China made proposals on human rights issues of common concern, including equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, interests and rights of vulnerable groups and poverty reduction. The country actively shared with all parties its human rights experience, and the resolution it proposed entitled "The Contribution of Development to the Enjoyment of All Human Rights" was adopted. Besides, China also worked to advance international cooperation on human rights and safeguard international equity and justice.

A ceremony is held to mark the operation of the Lagos-Ibadan railway in Nigeria constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), June 10, 2021. (Photo by CCECC)

Only by maintaining a peaceful and stable environment can human rights progress be made. As a country that proposed and has always practiced the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, China upholds the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, firmly safeguards the international system with the UN at the core and international order based on international law, and adheres to a vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. It is a vital force driving the peaceful development of human society.

As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, China is working to build a community with a shared future for mankind with all parties concerned. Such a vision puts people above everything and places huge attention on their development. Emphasizing inclusiveness, cooperation, openness, and mutual benefits, it conforms to the aspiration of the people around the world for peace, development, cooperation and common progress, and advances the development of human society. It offers Chinese wisdom and schemes for the progress of the international cause of human rights.

Only by constantly improving economic and social development can the protection of human rights be further enhanced. Pursuing its own development, China is also expanding mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with the rest of the world for common development. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an important platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind. It is building a strong power of cooperation and bringing important opportunities to participating countries to enhance the well-being of the people. It has become a path of human rights leading to common progress of the entire human race.

China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation holds an opening ceremony for an emergency oxygen station project in Katmandu, Nepal, May 23, 2021. The foundation has donated three oxygen stations to the country, including 50 oxygen cylinders, 200 sets of personal protective kits, and two sterilizers, to help Nepal fight against COVID-19. (Photo by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation)

China established the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, and the fund has implemented over 100 cooperation projects in more than 50 countries. The China-UN Peace and Development Fund is also injecting strong impetus to the global implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Helen Clark, former chief of UN Development Programme said that it is a community with a shared future that China can share peace and prosperity with its partners.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China actively joins international human rights affairs and has become an important force reinforcing international human rights governance. It has approved or joined 26 international documents of human rights, including six core human rights treaties of the UN. Since the country recovered its legitimate seat in the UN in 1971, it has actively joined international human rights mechanisms and the making of international human rights standards.

In particular, China is advancing the global governance of human rights in a fairer, more rational and inclusive direction. When the UN was planning to set up the Human Rights Council, China advocated equitable geographic distribution, proposed to increase the representation of developing countries in the council, and emphasized to stop politicizing human rights issues. Besides, it also rejected double standard, saying there should be less confrontation and more cooperation.

While enhancing international human rights cooperation, China has always urged all parties concerned to adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and practice genuine multilateralism. China firmly opposes interference in other countries' domestic affairs in the name of human rights by a few countries, and is safeguarding the basic norms of international relations and promoting long-term stability of international human rights governance with concrete actions.

China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation holds an opening ceremony for an emergency oxygen station project in Katmandu, Nepal, May 23, 2021. The foundation has donated three oxygen stations to the country, including 50 oxygen cylinders, 200 sets of personal protective kits, and two sterilizers, to help Nepal fight against COVID-19. A local patient receives treatment at an oxygen station.(Photo by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation)

During the past 100 years since the CPC was founded, it has made remarkable achievements in working for the wellbeing of the people and for national rejuvenation, leaving a glorious chapter of seeking human progress and building a community with a shared future for mankind in the history of human civilization.

China will still be firm in its international stance  to safeguard world peace and seek progress through cooperation, ensuring human rights with the benefits deriving from development. It will work with the rest of the world to make a new chapter of human rights.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Senior Chinese, Pakistani security officials talk over phone about Chinese casualties in Pakistan

Xinhua) 13:15, July 18, 2021

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi on Saturday made an urgent phone call to Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on a recent terror attack that caused heavy Chinese casualties in Pakistan.

Zhao said that the Chinese government has paid high attention to the attack on Chinese personnel that occured on Wednesday, about which Chinese President Xi Jinping has given important instructions.

According to the ongoing investigation and notification from Pakistan, this is a terrorist attack against Chinese personnel in Pakistan, Zhao said.

China strongly condemned any organization and personnel that carried out this atrocity, he said, adding the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has sent criminal investigation experts to Pakistan to assist in the probe.

Zhao expressed the hope that China and Pakistan will work together to find out the truth, solve the case as soon as possible, track down the real perpetrators, and severely punish the organizers or individuals behind the attack.

He requested the Pakistani side to take overall measures to identify and troubleshoot security risks facing Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan, fix loopholes, strengthen its early-warning system and security measures, and do their utmost to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, so as to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, Zhao stressed, expressing the expectation that the law enforcement departments of both countries will further strengthen the construction of cooperation mechanisms, deepen pragmatic cooperation and safeguard the common interests of both sides.

For his part, Rashid first strongly condemned the terrorist attack on behalf of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani people, saying that he would rush to the scene the next day to supervise the investigation, find out the truth and severely punish real murderers.

Pakistan will take the highest level of security measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan, he added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Commentary: China proposal injects impetus into Asia-Pacific cooperation, global economic recovery

Xinhua) 13:43, July 18, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the Informal Economic Leaders' Retreat of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) via video link in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A four-point proposal laid out by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Informal Economic Leaders' Retreat of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which was held Friday, has injected new impetus into Asia-Pacific cooperation and global economic recovery.

Xi called on APEC members to strengthen international cooperation on COVID-19 response, deepen regional economic integration, pursue inclusive and sustainable development, and seize opportunities from scientific and technological innovation.

For the first time in history, in response to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, an informal APEC economic leaders' retreat was held before the regular annual convention in November.

COVID-19 vaccines were high on the discussion agenda. APEC economies are collectively responsible for most of the world's COVID-19 vaccine production, but imbalanced distribution has made securing vaccines difficult for many developing countries.

Xi called for closer international cooperation to ensure vaccines are accessible and affordable in developing countries, and reaffirmed China's pledge to make its vaccines global public goods. Xi said that China supports waiving intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines, and will take an active part in cooperation initiatives to keep vaccine supply chains stable and safe and support the movement of essential goods.

This has once again proved China's sincere desire to join hands with other countries through thick and thin, and demonstrated that the country is the most reliable and trustworthy mainstay in the global fight against the pandemic.

Economic recovery is another priority of all APEC members. The Asia-Pacific region has been praised for its pandemic control, but as restrictions have gradually eased and highly infectious new variants have arisen, new waves of outbreaks are threatening several parts of the region, inflicting a heavy blow to a vulnerable economic recovery. As one of the most important regional economic cooperation platforms, APEC needs to enhance solidarity and cooperation to boost global economic recovery.

As the country that was the earliest to emerge from the pandemic, China's economy continues to recover steadily. During Friday's meeting, Xi expressed China's willingness to share its development opportunities with others and map out plans to further expand regional cooperation.

China has financed the founding of a Sub-Fund on APEC Cooperation on Combating COVID-19 and Economic Recovery. It will provide another 3 billion U.S. dollars in international aid over the next three years to support the COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries, Xi said.

He also reiterated China's commitments to an open economy of higher standards, a more attractive business environment, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

These proposals will enhance confidence in global anti-COVID-19 cooperation, promote cooperation among APEC members, and provide a lift for the recovery of the whole region and the world.

While the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, strengthening solidarity and cooperation is the best way to overcome the challenges and emerge from the crisis. Accounting for nearly 40 percent of the world's population and more than 60 percent of the global nominal GDP, APEC is a natural vehicle to coordinate these efforts.

As Xi noted, all members should stand in solidarity, promote anti-COVID-19 cooperation and economic recovery, and work for a bright future of prosperity for all in the Asia-Pacific region.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Commentary: U.S. moves against Hong Kong nothing but "paper tiger"

Xinhua) 13:47, July 18, 2021

Photo taken on June 29, 2021 shows China's national flags and flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on a street in south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

There is no way for Washington to bent the will of the Chinese people to defend China's national security interests and legitimate rights to development. On the contrary, Washington's sanctions will only further cement the unity among the Chinese to do what they feel is right for their own country.

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- In its latest moves against Hong Kong, Washington announced new sanctions on several Chinese officials and issued an ill-intentioned advisory to U.S. businesses in the city. Those despicable and unjust moves, no matter how many and virulent, are nothing more than a "paper tiger" to China and its people.

These self-serving acts are against the trend of the times. Neither the officials nor the Chinese people are subject to those meaningless bluffs. In fact, they have once again exposed the United States' nature of a bullying superpower.

The White House has repeatedly claimed that it cares about Hong Kong's future and destiny, but it has openly voiced support for violent forces, criminals, mobs and extremists, who have severely endangered public safety in Hong Kong, disrupted the city's development and posed a grave threat to China's national security.

And the advisory issued to American businesses operating in Hong Kong is also a malicious attempt of Washington to smear China and contain China's development through creating disturbance and chaos in the city.

By deliberately throwing mud at China, the United States is by no means caring about Hong Kong but aims at undermining the special administrative region's status as a global financial hub, so as to sabotage the city's stability and prosperity as well as its prospects, and eventually turn it into a bridgehead to split China.

Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows a citizen running at Tamar Park in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

However, the situation in Hong Kong is not what the United States has imagined. The "Pearl of the Orient" has regained its glory one year after the implementation of the national security law.

Over the past year, the law has effectively punished and prevented criminal acts threatening national security, facilitated a rapid recovery of Hong Kong's social order, improved the political environment for the local government, and further consolidated the city's global status.

The law also has protected the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens, and increased people's confidence in Hong Kong's future.

Meanwhile, investors are showing strong confidence in Hong Kong's business environment. The city's newly listed stocks had raised funds of more than 64.35 billion U.S. dollars, up more than 50 percent compared with the previous year. And last month, the International Monetary Fund hailed again Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.

A pedestrian walks past a poster on improving electoral system and ensuring patriots administering Hong Kong in south China's Hong Kong, March 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

Washington's reckless assaults on Hong Kong's business environment are detrimental to not only the interests of the society of Hong Kong as a whole, but also American investments in this metropolis.

The United States has deep and direct interests in Hong Kong. Official data released last year showed that there are around 85,000 U.S. citizens and more than 1,300 U.S. enterprises in Hong Kong, including almost all of America's major financial firms.

Jim Thompson, the founder of the logistic company Crown Worldwide Group, said the current U.S. administration is making "it harder for American investors to do business in the city, which is like putting handcuffs on them ... This is so sad."

There is no way for Washington to bent the will of the Chinese people to defend China's national security interests and legitimate rights to development. On the contrary, Washington's sanctions will only further cement the unity among the Chinese to do what they feel is right for their own country. Washington's decision-makers had better revisit their condescending Hong Kong policy.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Political maneuvering of virus traceability threatens COVID-19 response: Chinese envoy

Xinhua) 14:10, July 18, 2021

Medical workers sort out swab samples for nucleic acid test in Ruili City of southwest China's Yunnan Province, on July 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

"Political manipulation would only disrupt international cooperation against the virus and bring greater harm to people around the world," says Zhang Lizhong, the Chinese ambassador to Uganda.

KAMPALA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- As the world grapples with COVID-19, political maneuvering in origin-tracing of the virus is threatening global responses to the pandemic, a Chinese envoy here has said.

Zhang Lizhong, the Chinese ambassador to Uganda, said in his article published in Uganda's Daily Monitor on Tuesday that while virus traceability is an important link in fighting all pandemics, it should be science-based rather than politically influenced.

Some Western nations, especially the United States, have asked for a so-called independent investigation into the lab-leak theory, which is a parallel inquiry from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Different scientists, including the WHO in its China-WHO Joint Research Report on the Traceability of COVID-19 issued on March 30, have said the introduction of COVID-19 into humans through a laboratory is "very unlikely."

Zhang argued that the hype of the lab-leak theory intends to shift the blame of some Western countries' failed pandemic responses.

"This constitutes an affront to WHO-led origin-tracing study, a serious travesty of scientists and the spirit of science, and a major damage to the solidarity of the international community in the fight against the pandemic," he added.

Residents receive COVID-19 vaccine in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

The envoy said many scientists in the international community who uphold science, reason and objectivity have expressed unequivocal opposition to politicizing the origin-tracing.

He warned that political maneuvering in virus traceability is likely to suffocate global response to the pandemic that is ravaging nations.

Since the early stage of the outbreak, China has clearly showed serious and responsible attitude toward origin-tracing, and has taken the lead in collaborating with the WHO on it, Zhang said.

The envoy said since last year, the Chinese government twice invited WHO experts to China for origin-tracing research, and the outcomes followed WHO procedures and rigorous scientific methodology, which is why the conclusions should be recognized, respected and upheld.

While COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, it does not mean that Wuhan was the source of the virus or Chinese scientists made the virus, he said, adding the pandemic is another reminder that humanity must work together for a shared future.

"Confronted by a pandemic like COVID-19, we must champion the vision of building a global community of health for all, tide over this trying time through solidarity and cooperation, and firmly reject any attempt to politicize, label the virus or stigmatize the fight against it," he said.

"Political manipulation would only disrupt international cooperation against the virus and bring greater harm to people around the world," he added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Standardization production propels China's kiwi fruits to go global

Xinhua) 14:16, July 18, 2021

File photo taken on September 29, 2019 shows a villager picking kiwi fruits in Meixian County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Du Honggang)

XI'AN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Half-squatting in his orchard, Wang Manliang checks the plentiful green kiwi fruits on the branches and expertly picks off the bad ones.

"The sunburned fruit often turns out to be unqualified even if it matures," said Wang, pointing to a long brown bar on the side of a kiwi fruit, which indicates an excessive amount of sunlight. "You cannot muddle through when it comes to the quality."

Wang owns an orchard in Ningqu Village, Meixian County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The county is dubbed as "hometown to kiwi fruits" in China due to its long cultivation history that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

As China's main producing area of the kiwi fruit, Meixian grows one out of every seven kiwi fruits in China, accounting for about a tenth of the world's total output.

Wang began to plant kiwi fruits 12 years ago, but he failed to increase production due to a lack of technique and experience.

Things looked up when a planting demonstration park was set up in the village, attracting relevant experts who now provide training and guidance for local farmers.

Since the standardized planting techniques were introduced and promoted in the village, Wang saw his income from the orchard double by the new agricultural model.

Currently, he can earn around 30,000 yuan (4,641 U.S. dollars) annually from the harvest of each 2,000 square meters of soil.

As of 2020, Meixian County had planted more than 200 square km of kiwi fruits, with an annual yield of around 500,000 tonnes and 5.5 billion yuan of value.

The burgeoning kiwi industry now contributes to about 80 percent of the per capita disposable income for local farmers.

To improve the fruit quality, the county has teamed up with the Northwest A&F University to promote key techniques including pollination, sod cultivation in orchards and scientific pruning among the farmers and guide them to comply with eco-friendly and organic food standards.

"The scientific and standardized production model we have introduced aims to make the local kiwi fruit industry tilt toward modern agriculture rather than separated forms," said Liu Zhisheng, the county's Party chief, adding that standards are also adopted in post-production procedures covering fruit sorting, refrigeration and further processing.

Equipped with advanced sorting facilities and large-scale cold storage, the county's national-level kiwi fruit industrial park has attracted more than 20 enterprises and now boasts an annual storage volume of up to about 100,000 tonnes.

China's major e-commerce platforms including Alibaba and Jingdong also joined the bonanza and sell about 60,000 tonnes of seasonal fresh kiwi fruits online every year.

Kiwi fruits processed by companies including Shaanxi Qifeng Fruit Industry Co., Ltd, China's kiwi fruit giant, have been exported to many regions over the globe such as Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, according to Dang Honggang, deputy director of the industrial park.

Last year, about 40 tonnes of kiwi fruits from Meixian were exported to Santiago, Chile, which marks the first time for China to export kiwi fruits to South America.

"It indicates that the standardization level and our fruit quality are gaining recognition from the global market. We believe our kiwi fruits will continue to gain ground worldwide," said Liu Zhisheng.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Syria unconditionally supports China on Taiwan, Xinjiang, HK issues, Assad tells visiting FM Wang Yi

Global Times) 14:35, July 18, 2021

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. China opposes any attempt to seek regime change in Syria and will boost the mutually beneficial cooperation with Syria for the benefit of the two peoples, Wang Yi said on Saturday. Photo:Xinhua

Syria supports China unconditionally on the issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said at a meeting on Saturday with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang voiced China's opposition toward any attempt to seek regime change in Syria, and welcomed Syria to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Wang made the remarks in a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, the first stop of his four-day official visits to Syria, Egypt and Algeria from Saturday to Tuesday.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 65 years ago, China and Syria have always trusted and supported each other, Wang said. China appreciates Syria's firm support on the issues related to China's core interests, and stands ready to work with Syria in carrying forward the mutually beneficial cooperation.

Reaffirming China's strong support for Syria in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity, Wang said that China opposes any attempt to seek regime change in Syria.

He pledged that China will continue its strong support for Syria in handling domestic problems under the "Syrian-led, Syrian-owned" principle established by the UN Security Council.

Syria has made remarkable achievements in combating terrorism and opposing external interference under the leadership of Assad, the Chinese senior diplomat said, adding that Assad's re-election reflects the strong trust and support of the Syrian people.

Blatant foreign interventions in Syria have failed in the past, and will not succeed in the future, Wang noted.

China will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies to help the Syrian people, Wang added.

On speeding up the reconstruction process in Syria, China welcomes Syria to become a new partner in joining the BRI.

China will also support Syria in opposing unilateral sanctions and combating terrorist forces, Wang said, adding that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Syria to help improve its anti-terror capabilities.

Assad congratulated the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the 100th anniversary of its founding. He said that Syria sincerely appreciates China's support for Syrian. With the support of China, Syria has withstood external interference and weathered the most difficult period.

Syria supports China unconditionally on the issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the Syrian president said.

He also expressed Syria's hope to take part in the BRI construction, strengthen cooperation with China in the fields of economy, science, culture and education, and join hands in fighting terrorism.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
East China's Anhui signs agreement with Lower Saxony, Germany

Xinhua) 14:37, July 18, 2021

HEFEI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- East China's Anhui Province and German state Lower Saxony signed a letter of intent on cooperation and documents related to ten projects on Friday via video to deepen cooperation in automobile, freight logistics, and renewable energy fields.

The two parties plan to establish a vocational school with German carmaker Volkswagen based on the dual system in the German education system.

A waterway transport route connecting Hefei, the provincial capital, and Wilhelmshaven, a port city in Lower Saxony, will also be launched and help develop Wilhelmshaven into a German distribution center of products made in Anhui.

Moreover, Anhui University and Leibniz University Hannover teamed up to set up a joint research center for materials science, the foreign affairs office of Anhui said.

Since Anhui and Lower Saxony signed the joint declaration for cooperation in 1984 and established one of the longest China-German regional partnerships, a series of industrial collaborations are in full swing based on high industrial relevance and strong compatibility.

In December 2020, the Volkswagen Group, headquartered in Lower Saxony, saw its joint venture Volkswagen (Anhui) Automotive Company Limited, and a new research and development center inaugurated in Hefei. The construction of the group's modular electric drive matrix (MEB) plant is also underway, and the plant will likely go into operation in the second half of 2023.

The two parties will deepen their win-win cooperation in hydrogen energy and other renewable energy, as well as health care and scientific research, said Lower Saxony's minister president Stephan Weil via video link.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Warning for floods in southwest China rivers

Xinhua) 14:42, July 18, 2021

GUIYANG, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Authorities have issued a warning for floods in rivers in southwest China's Guizhou, as more rainfall is expected in the province.

More than 10 rivers in Guizhou will likely be flooded in the following three days, according to the provincial bureau of hydrology and water resources.

Due to the unique geography in Guizhou and previous rainstorms, river flooding and flash floods in mountainous areas are easy to strike, the bureau said.

More downpours will lash Guizhou localities, according to the local weather forecast. Authorities have asked relevant departments to prepare for geological disasters.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Third World Congress on Marxism held in Beijing

Xinhua) 15:34, July 18, 2021

Scholars from home and abroad attend the opening ceremony of the third World Congress on Marxism at Peking University in Beijing, July 17, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Nearly 300 Marxist scholars from home and abroad on Saturday attended the opening ceremony of the third World Congress on Marxism, which was held both online and offline by Peking University in Beijing, according to organizers.

Themed "Marxism and Modernization," the two-day event features 10 thematic forums, four high-level dialogues and three special seminars. Over 60 international scholars from more than 20 countries including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, Japan and India are set to make online presentations.

"We are committed to promoting dialogue and exchanges between Chinese and foreign Marxist academic circles, hoping to expand the global influence of Marxism and enhance the vitality of Marxism through the event," said Qiu Shuiping, Peking University's Party chief.

As an important platform to promote international research on Marxism and boost academic exchanges in the field, the World Congress on Marxism was inaugurated by Peking University in 2015.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Commentary: U.S. sanctions nothing but bluff and bluster

Xinhua) 16:16, July 18, 2021

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- With the latest warning to its own businesses in Hong Kong and feeble sanctions on more Chinese officials, the United States now can do nothing but make empty threats, which is the inevitable fate of its interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The national security law in Hong Kong, taking effect a year ago, has blocked the channels for anti-China politicians to launch a "color revolution" in Hong Kong and meddle in China's internal affairs. Since then, the United States has indulged in sanctions and smear campaigns against Hong Kong in hopes of continuing to exert influence on the global financial hub.

Such attempts have proved to be merely meaningless political shows that are doomed to fail.

"Being sanctioned means I have done what I should for my country and Hong Kong," said Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, who was among the first to be put on the sanction list.

The political tricks of the United States have already backfired. The U.S. "business advisory" against the so-called increasing risks of operating in Hong Kong has been strongly objected to by global investors here.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK), which has been operating and thriving in Hong Kong for more than 50 years and owns some 1,400 members, said Hong Kong has a crucial role to play as an international business hub and remains a critical and vibrant facilitator of trade and financial flow between the East and West.

It is important, perhaps more than ever, for AmCham HK to constructively work with its public and private stakeholders to build a Hong Kong for the future, it said in a statement.

The voice of AmCham HK is echoed in Hong Kong's business community. The truth is almost all major American financial companies have established their presence here, and the United States itself has for years run a huge trade surplus with Hong Kong.

A peaceful and predictable environment in Hong Kong is undoubtedly conducive to doing business and developing the economy.

Figures do not lie. Over the last year, almost all key economic indicators, including funds raised through initial public offerings and total deposits in the banking system, have held up well, pointing to unchanged business confidence.

Under the national security law, investors from around the world enjoy a safer and more stable environment here, and their legitimate rights and interests are better protected, including those of U.S. companies. The International Monetary Fund recently published a report to reaffirm Hong Kong's status as a financial center.

It has been widely agreed that the United States should stop playing a disgraceful role in Hong Kong affairs. Its hegemonic acts have repeatedly violated international laws and the basic norms of international relations.

Political bullying and egoism are not only wrong but extremely dangerous. The determination of the Chinese government and the Chinese people in safeguarding national interests allows no challenge.

Hong Kong is about to start a new chapter after prolonged disturbances over the past years and regain its glory as the "Pearl of the Orient," and the enduring success of "one country, two systems" will continue. During that process, any obstruction and interference by external forces will not be allowed and will definitely fail.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Sheng Chuyi)
Austria and the U.S. said Saturday they were investigating reports of U.S. diplomats and other officials in Vienna falling sick with health problems similar to the so-called "Havana syndrome."

U.S. senators in May said that the government was investigating an apparent increase in mysterious directed-energy attacks, amid new reports of potentially brain-damaging incidents inside the U.S.

The still-unexplained attacks have caused sickness and even brain damage in U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials in Cuba, China, Russia and other countries.

Moscow is suspected to be behind them, even if the mechanism for them has yet to be explained. Scientists have theorized that the attacks arise from pulsed microwaves.

Since the first attacks were reported in Cuba in 2016, and after that in China, scientists and doctors have debated the causes and effects, without a uniform conclusion.
Press Release

July 18, 2021 De Lima seeks probe into planned merger of Landbank & UCPB Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima urged Congress to investigate the planned merger of the Landbank of the Philippines (Landbank) with United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) which was purportedly made under questionable terms and conditions, and with serious apprehension and warning from a credible credit rating agency. De Lima, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 771 urging the appropriate Senate Committee to look into the planned merger of the two state-owned banks to ensure that the rights of coconut farmers as well as Filipinos who are being served by the Landbank are not unduly compromised by the merger. "It behooves upon the Senate to determine whether the Landbank's absorptive capacity would allow it to carry the liabilities and obligations of UCPB without, or at least with very minimal impact, on the Filipinos its charter intends to cater and serve," she said. "The contrasting mandates of Landbank and UCPB should be reason enough to question, if not forthwith demand, the termination of the merger proceedings, as was done by the government when it halted the merger proceedings involving DBP and Landbank in 2016," she added. Last June 25, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by the authority of the President, signed Executive Order (EO) 142 ordering the merger of Landbank and UCPB. American Agency Fitch Ratings analyzed that the Landbank-UCPB merger may have a "negative impact on Landbank's credit profile," and inevitably hurt the former's financial health given the latter's weak financial position. It cited UCPB's reported ?22 billion bad debts as of 2020 as among the biggest threats to the merger. The agency also noted that the said merger will exacerbate asset quality pressures that Landbank is already besieged with as brought about by the current economic slowdown. Prior to these, in 2020, the leaders and members of the Confederation of Coconut Farmers Organizations of the Philippines expressed their "strong opposition" to the then only intended merger of the said banks, stressing that this is actually contrary to the intent of the law which created UCPB to address the credit needs of coconut farmers. The lady Senator from Bicol said the government must protect the public from disadvantageous negotiations, agreements and deals of financial institutions, especially of those owned by the State by intensifying existing legislation and exercising its oversight functions in order to prevent financial institutions from engaging in wash sales. "With Landbank's charter mandating it to prioritize the banking needs of the agrarian reform program and other rural groups including the fisherfolk, as well as servicing the needs of OFWs, it should not be distracted therefrom to the possible detriment of these people whose welfare is at stake. UCPB's mandate is clear: to service Philippine coconut farmers," she said. "Their interests should not be comingled, and inescapably sidelined by executive fiat when evidence is incontrovertible that, with the conflicting mandates of these two institutions, and the already burdened Landbank clients who are still reeling from the impacts of the pandemics, it would not be prudent to proceed with the said merger," she added. De Lima further noted that the Senate should inquire into the validity of the merger, as well as into the anomalies that gave rise to the need for such. "If need be, the veil of corporate fiction should also be pierced in order to hold individuals who may have machinated the merger, to the fullest extent of the law," she said. "Dapat lang naman na bago ipatupad ang ganito kalaking hakbang na sangkot ang mga institusyon ng Estado, ay dumaan ito sa ibayong pagsusuri, lalo pa kung matunog ang mga pag-aaral sa posibleng negatibong epekto nito. Sa huli, hindi puwedeng ang mga magsasaka at mga kababayan nating nangangailangan na dapat naseserbisyuhan ng mga bangkong ito ang madehado, " she added.
Press Release

July 18, 2021 Following confirmed local cases of the Delta variant, Bong Go calls for public vigilance and reinforced gov't response efforts against COVID-19 After reports from the Department of Health on the presence of local cases of the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go has called on concerned government authorities to reinforce the country's response efforts to the pandemic. The DOH earlier clarified that a 'local case' means that the Delta variant was detected from an individual who was not classified as a returning overseas Filipino (ROF). Meanwhile, 'local transmission' means there is evidence that such cases are linked together and has spread from one local case to another. Go warned that although there is still no evidence that the Delta variant has been locally transmitted, the public must remain vigilant and avoid being complacent given the confirmed local cases opens the possibility of local transmissions. In a radio interview on Saturday, July 17, Go suggested that the Philippine Coast Guard should beef up its maritime patrols, particularly in Mindanao's backdoor entries, to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, which has resulted in an increase in COVID-19 cases in neighboring Southeast Asian countries. "May nagsabi po na four times more contagious o 40% to 60% na nakakahawa itong Delta variant at 'wag na nating hintayin pang kumalat ito sa ating bansa. Kung maaari po ay paigtingin pa natin ang ating border patrol, lalo na via backdoor sa Mindanao," said Go. "Kita niyo ang nangyari sa Indonesia, tumaas ang kaso, magsasara na naman sila. Pag-aaralan din po ng gobyerno ang pagsasara sa mga travel po sa mga bansa na may tumataas na kaso," he added. To avoid the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant, the Philippines recently prohibited visitors from Indonesia. The restriction will be in effect from July 16 to July 31 and will apply to anyone travelling from Indonesia or who has recently visited the country. In a Bloomberg news report, Indonesia became the new epicenter of the pandemic in Asia after it surpassed the number of new daily cases of India. Meanwhile, Go stressed that the government could not afford to return to a stricter community quarantine, particularly now that the country's economy is slowly recovering from the pandemic's adverse impacts. "Konting tiis na lang po, maganda ang takbo, may tendency kasi na kapag niluwagan, kumpiyansa na naman. Marami pong kababayan natin ang mawawalan ng trabaho kapag nagsara ang ekonomiya," he said. Go reassured the public that once the country achieves population protection and herd immunity, everything will return to normal. That is why he appealed to the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with authorities in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 especially its new variants. The Senator also echoed President Rodrigo Duterte's decision not to allow face-to-face classes in schools for the time being, while vaccination is still ongoing for the rest of the population and until perhaps population protection and eventually herd immunity is attained. "Si Pangulong Duterte, mas sigurista po 'yan. Tignan n'yo, face-to-face classes, diretso agad siya, outright 'no' agad siya. Ako, 'no vaccine, no face-to-face classes'," he said. "Sa atin dito sa Pilipinas, 'di pa bakunado ang bata dahil 'di pa tayo umabot sa bata. What if may magpositibo sa mga bata at magspread 'yan so sangkatutak na naman ang trabaho ng ating mga government employees, back to scratch na naman tayo, back to zero," he added. Go stressed the importance of getting vaccinated, noting that the transmission and severe cases in the National Capital Region has gradually dropped as a result of a considerable increase in vaccinated individuals. "Habang nandiyan pa po, mag-ingat tayo. Napakahirap po maraming apektado kung pabaya tayo. Tiis pa po tayo. There is light at the end of the tunnel," said Go. Go then continued to appeal to individuals who are already in the priority list to take the opportunity to be protected as he emphasized that the vaccines are safe and effective against COVID-19. "Sa mga kababayan ko, konting tiis lang, alam kong inip na kayo, kami rin po, pagod na pagod na pero kayo po ang nagbibigay lakas sa amin, magtulungan lang tayo para malampasan ang krisis na ito," he ended. As of July 16, the country has received a total of 24,788,110 doses of vaccines. The country set a new record for vaccinations in a single day at least twice this week, when it administered 375,000 COVID-19 doses on Monday and another 391,000 on Thursday. The country expects to receive a running total of around 50 million COVID-19 jabs from different manufacturers since they first arrived until the end of August.
Press Release

July 18, 2021 Villar extols vaccination gains of Las Pinas barangays WITH the pace of their ongoing vaccination drive, Senator Cynthia Villar is upbeat that Las Pinas City can quickly achieve and can even be ahead of the government's target of herd immunity before the year ends. "We are happy that soon, we would reach the herd immunity in Las Pinas due to our various initiatives to boost efforts in giving jabs to our residents to avert the spread of the coronavirus," said Villar. Four months after the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the country, Villar said they have vaccinated in Las Pinas 41 percent of their population or 246,790 out of the 606,293 total population as of July 10. "And the number has increased. It has been increasing because our vaccination has been ongoing since July 10. Definitely, this figure has increased with the lapse of several days," related the senator. Villar commends Las Pinas barangays for their enthusiasm in having more than half of their residents inoculated. Big barangays that reached more than 50 % of residents being vaccinated includes: Talon Dos which has given the most number of shots, and has vaccinated 31,157 out of its 43,978 population, representing 71%. This is followed by Pamplona 3 which inoculated 62% out of its 35,098 population or 21,765 total residents. Almanza Uno came third with 19,126 out of 36,232 representing 53% of its population, and Pamplona Uno which vaccinated 9,917 out of 19,085 or 52% of its residents have taken the jab. Among the small barangays, Pamplona Dos have given the most number of inoculated residents. Out of its 9,141 population, there were already 6,566 or 72% have taken the vaccine. The high number of people getting inoculated, Villar said, is a clear indication that they have overcome vaccine hesitancy due to fears of its impact on their health. Despite being vaccinated, Villar appealed to the public to continuously adhere to the necessary health protocols to prevent further spread of the virus. "Let us not be complacent at this time because Covid-19 is still around us. It is still not safe especially with the emerging variants," stressed Villar, adding that an efficient vaccination is key to the country's economic recovery. Villar said their family have launched many initiatives to help the government accelerate its vaccination program since its roll out last March. Recognizing the collaborative efforts of the government, the private sector and our healthcare workers to fight the virus, Villar said they have been providing the government all forms of assistance to combat this pandemic and to return to help in the country's economic recovery. She also keep track of the progress of our vaccination program, especially in her home city of Las Pinas. The senator has also been encouraging everyone to be inoculated regardless of the vaccine brand, citing the assurance given by our health officials and the government that they are safe and effective.
The Charger Blog

As the first member of his family to earn a college degree, Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH, went on to earn his doctorate from Harvard University. As a professor and advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity, Dr. Tran endeavors to support and inspire current University of New Haven students, many of whom are also first-generation students. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH told the University community about his parents video rental store.

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH, spent a significant amount of his childhood in a video rental store. That meant he got to watch lots of different movies that, he says, taught him about American culture, resilience, and to have big dreams.

The store, Sunset Home Video, was owned by his parents, who immigrated from Vietnam 40 years ago with big dreams of their own. They raised Dr. Tran and their other two children in southwestern Washington State. They, too, learned about the culture in their new home country from what they watched on television and in movies, and what they saw even inspired the names they chose for their children.

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH.

Im proud of my name because it reminds me of the video rental store that my parents ran to make ends meet and to put a roof over my head, said Dr. Tran, who is named after Alvin of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Growing up in a video rental store taught me something very important. Being able to watch all those movies taught me to dream.

Dr. Tran, whose childhood heroes included Indiana Jones, had his own particularly big dream: to become the first member of his family to graduate from college. He went on to do just that, earning bachelors degrees in public health and medical anthropology and global health from the University of Washington.

He acknowledges that it wasnt easy, as he didnt have college experiences of his parents or family members to guide him. He had questions beyond what many college students had, such as do we have the money for college  not simply do I have the money.

First-generation college graduate is a title Im very proud of, said Dr. Tran. I try to share this with as many people as I can, including my students. I overcame a lot of challenges that many first-generation students dont get to overcome.

Theres a lot of momentum right now

It turns out his bachelors degrees were just the first step in his educational journey. Dr. Tran went on to earn his Master of Public Health from Emory University and his Doctor of Science in public health nutrition, social and behavioral sciences from Harvard University.

Dr. Tran shared his story as part of the Universitys 2021 Last Lecture, which is part of the annual faculty awards ceremony.

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH shared a photo of his graduation during his presentation.

The last lecture series is modeled after a presentation made in 2007 by Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University professor, who delivered his "last lecture" titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" a month after he learned that the pancreatic cancer he had been diagnosed with a year earlier was terminal. He died ten months after delivering the address, and his talk became the basis for a New York Times best seller.

As part of the Universitys last lecture series, President Steve Kaplan selects a faculty member each year to deliver the talk, and the speakers identity is kept a secret until the presenter is introduced.

A "last lecture" challenges top academics to give a hypothetical "final talk" about something that matters deeply to them and to offer the wisdom they would wish to impart to the world if they knew it was their last chance.

Dr. Tran shared his experience as a first-generation student, as well as the importance of fostering first-generation students success. He likened the skills he developed as a first-generation student to riding a bike, since it is a skill one does not forget once mastered.

I hope we teach our first-generation students how to ride their bikes, he said. We also have many first-generation faculty and staff members at the University. Theres a lot of momentum right now, and I hope we continue that.

Im full of gratitude because Im at the University of New Haven

A former healthcare reporter for Kaiser Health News in Washington, D.C., Dr. Tran joined the School of Health Sciences as a professor in 2019. Last year he was appointed assistant provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Among his many passions, he is devoted to supporting first-generation students.

As part of his last lecture, Dr. Tran urged the University community to use the great opportunity they have to make a difference in the lives of the Universitys many first-generation students. He stressed the importance of programs that help students transition from high school to college, of ensuring affordability, and of mentorship.

Im full of gratitude because Im at the University of New Haven, said Dr. Tran. Im glad to teach at a university with a high percentage of first-generation students like I was a decade ago. I hope we continue to invest in them and make a positive impact in their lives.
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Today

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
SpaceCast Weekly is a NASA Television broadcast from the Johnson Space Center in Houston featuring stories about NASA's work in human spaceflight.

They include the International Space Station and its crews and scientific research activities, and the development of Orion and the Space Launch System, the next generation American spacecraft being built to take humans farther into space than they've ever gone before.

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Ian Moores first Meadowlands Pace win came in a way he never experienced victory before in a major stakes  by disqualification.

Charlie May was first across the finish line, a neck ahead of Lawless Shadow, over a good surface in 1:48.3 in the rain at the Big M. But Charlie May was placed ninth for interfering with Rockyroad Hanover and Abuckabett Hanover as he came three-wide and momentarily went off stride heading into the stretch.

Lawless Shadow was elevated to first, with favourite Perfect Sting second and Southwind Gendry third.

It was the first Meadowlands Pace win for Dr. Moore and driver Mark MacDonald.

I never won a big race on a setback before, but I guess well take it, Dr. Moore said.

Hes a real nice colt. I prepped him for this all along. We were hoping to come here and Im glad we did now, for sure, even in the pouring rain.

Lawless Shadow led the field to the first quarter in :25.3 before Perfect Sting took command on his way to a :53.2 half. On the backstretch, One Eight Hundred, who was second at the quarter-mile point, went off stride because of broken equipment.

Charlie May followed the cover of first-over Southwind Gendry as the group raced to three-quarters in 1:21.3. Lawless Shadow was third in the stretch and battled with Charlie May and Perfect Sting to the wire.

I kind of feel bad for (Charlie Mays driver, Brett Miller); hes a good friend of mine, MacDonald said. It was just a bad situation there. But I think if my horse gets out a little sooner, I might have won anyway. Its still a win, but you hate to kind of win like that.

Sent at 5-1, Lawless Shadow paid $12.40.

Lawless Shadow finished second by a neck to Southwind Gendry in last weeks Meadowlands Pace eliminations.

We came to race, MacDonald said. Ian told me the first week, we brought him here to race, (so) lets put him in play. So, thats what I did.

Lawless Shadow, who caused a delay to the start of the Pace when he returned to the paddock for a shoe repair, won for the fourth time in seven races this year and eighth time in 16 career starts.

Prince Edward Island native Mark MacDonald drove Lawless Shadow, a son of Shadow Play and Ladycino with eight wins and $720,680 in career earnings to his name, for trainer Dr. Ian Moore of Cambridge, Ont., who shares ownership with R G McGroup Ltd. of New Brunswick, Serge Savard of Quebec and Frank Cannon of Florida. Bred in Ontario by Seelster Farms, Lawless Shadow, Canada's two-year-old pacing colt of the year in 2020, paid $12.40 to win.

Prior to the Meadowlands Pace eliminations, Lawless Shadow finished third in an Ontario Sires Stakes division at Woodbine Mohawk Park. His previous races were against older rivals in conditioned events in Ontario and Ohio.

All his races prior to the weekend before we came here were with aged horses; he did very well, as we expected, Moore said. I was a little disappointed with his last start in Ontario, but he got beat by a really good colt up there, Bulldog Hanover.

Theres another (Ontario Sires Stakes) Gold next weekend, so well see how he comes out of this and go from there.

Total handle for the 14-race program was $4,503,213, marking the second occurrence of Meadowlands Pace Night handle eclipsing the $4.5-million mark in the past 13 years. Bettors wagered $677,992 on the Pace itself, representing the highest handle for The Meadowlands' signature event for 3-year-old pacing colts in the past decade.

Racing at The Meadowlands resumes Friday (July 23); first post is 6:20 p.m. (EDT).

(with files from The Meadowlands)

The Meadowlands Pace was part of a massive night of stakes at The Meadowlands. Full coverage is available in the Meadowlands Pace news centre.
Driver Jody Jamieson visited the winners circle following the pair of featured races on the 11-race card at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (July 17).

Sintra launched from near last in the $30,000 featured pace to land on the finish first in a 1:50.1 mile. The 3-5 favourite sat fifth to a :27.1 first quarter set by Rockme Rollme and stayed put to a :56 half. Points North pulled first over moving to the far turn and Jamieson tipped Sintra onto his cover coming to three-quarters in 1:23. Angling him off cover for home, Sintra surged after Rockme Rollme with a :26.3 final quarter to take the lead late and win by a half length at the beam. East End rallied for third while So Much More took fourth.

An eight-year-old gelding by Mach Three, Sintra won his fourth race from 10 starts this season and his 37th race from 89 overall, earning $1,443,067. David Menary conditions the $3.50 winner for owners Michael Guerriero, Kelly Waxman, Nunzio Vena and Frank Cirillo.

Jamieson returned to the winners circle in the following race after North America Cup hopeful Bulldog Hanover posted a 1:49.4 victory in the co-featured $22,000 pace. The Jack Darling-trained Shadow Play colt circled to the top from third after a :27.3 first quarter and posted middle fractions of :55.2 and 1:23.3 before the sprint for home. With Second Bruiser springing from the pocket late, Bulldog Hanover held onto control by a half length with Rhythm In Motion another three lengths behind in third.

Owned by Jack Darling Stables Ltd. and Brad Grant, Bulldog Hanover won his sixth race from nine starts, earning $341,010. He paid $3.40 to win.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Northfield Park contested eight trotting divisions of Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) on Saturday night (July 17) with seven $40,000 splits for freshmen  four for fillies and three for colts  and one $60,000 dash for sophomore fillies.

Caviar Gold notched the first division for freshmen trotting colts as the 3-1 choice for driver Aaron Merriman, who gave the son of Triumphant Caviar a perfect come-from-behind steer to pick up his second victory in as many tries for trainer Chris Beaver. This homebred, who is owned by Beaver, Manes, Fleming and Zeehandelar is now a two-time winner in OSS competition, having captured Leg 1 on July 9 at Scioto Downs in 1:58.3. Guido Di used a perfect two-hole trip to finish second for Brady Brown at 4-1 odds, while 7-5 No Edge Lines was third for driver Kayne Kauffman.

Caviar Gold is the third foal out of the Holiday Road mare Gee O Keeffe (3, 1:55.2h [$90,487]) and is a half-brother to the Uncle Peter gelding My Pal Spark (3, 1:59f [$14,957]).

Slim Jimmy got a perfect steer by driver Anthony MacDonald to capture the second OHSS test for freshman trotting colts, striding perfectly to the wire to score in a career-best 1:56.1. Trained by Jason McGinnis for Thestable Slim Jimmy and Hutchison Harness, the son of Long Tom picked up his first win as the 3-2 favourite. Body Armor, a 25-1 shot, was second for Kayne Kauffman with 35-1 Count The Coin third for Danny Noble.

Bred by Midland Acres, Slim Jimmy is the fourth foal out of the Broadway Hall mare Swinging Nadine (2, 1:57.1f [$36,273]), with a half-sister in The Nun (by Father Patrick) (2, 1:58.1f [$9,777]).

When Gabbys Bit Coin captured the third OHSS test for freshmen trotting colts with Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., at the lines, it gave trainer Chris Beaver his fourth win of the night in OHSS competition. The son of Uncle Peter is owned by Johanna and Chris Beaver, and grabbed his second-straight win for these connections as he captured leg one of this series a week ago. Rose Run Xtra, the 10-1 choice, was second for Chris Page, with 35-1 Loadedwithcreatine third with Chris Lems at the controls.

Gabbys Bit Coin is the first foal out of the Triumphant Caviar mare Gabbysloosechange (3, 1:54.4h [$186,585]).

Blaze Of Justice took advantage of numerous breakers to grab her first victory in the first OHSS contest for two-year-old trotting fillies in 2:00.3. Reined by Tyler Smith, the daughter of Long Tom left the gate at 8-1, besting 7-1 Lovely Liv and 8-1 Moola Making Connie. Herman Hagerman trains Blaze Of Justice, who was bred by Midland Acres, Larry Katz, and M. Rubin, for the Top Shelf Stable of Brewster, Ohio. This filly is the fifth foal out of the Justice Hall mare Truth And Justice and is a half-sister to the mare Jane Eyre (by Groton Hall) (3, 1:55.1 [$173,430]) and to the gelding Hope For Justice (by Windsong Espoir) (2, 1:57.2s [$28,526]).

Be My Baby Now picked up her first OHSS win by scoring in 1:58.2 for driver Chris Page in the second filly division. Trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, Knox Services and Hatfield Stables, this daughter by What The Hill upped her career earnings to $105,000 with her second victory as the 6-5 favourite. Kirsi Dream was second at 9-2 for Mike Wilder, while 18-1 Oftom was third with Anthony MacDonald in the sulky.

Be My Baby Now is the 11th foal out of the Raffaello Ambrosio mare Baby Bella, making her a half-sister to: Buen Camino (by Cash Hall) (5, 1:52f [$782,951]); Victors Future (by Valley Victor) (3, 1:54.4 [$448,347]); and Trix And Stones (by Trixton) (5, 1:54.2 [$260,490]), among others.

The third two-year-old OSS filly division literally became a match race as five of the seven distaffs broke, leaving 3-2 Moments Created and 1-1 Stephanie Hill to slug it out, with the latter prevailing over the former by a whisker at the wire in 1:58. Trained by Chris Beaver and driven by Aaron Merriman, the daughter of What The Hill is co-owned by Moger-Delia Racing, and grabbed her second victory in as many tries. Lady Camryn, a 35-1 shot, was third for Danny Noble.

Bred by the Double Spring Farm of Ohio, Stephanie Hill is the ninth of ten foals out of the Ilooklikemymom mare I Like Stephanie (3, 1:56f [$205,610]). She is a half-sister to Cold Certified (by Kadabra) (5, 1:54.1s [$464,237]).

Caviar Roxie Due, the 1-1 favourite, demolished her rivals with a 1:59.2 clocking in the fourth and final OHSS filly division. The daughter of Triumphant Caviar got a steady drive by Aaron Merriman for trainer Chris Beaver to notch her second win in as many starts. Bred by Dublin Valley Farm, Caviar Roxie Due is owned by Beaver, Zeehandelar, Homan and VIP Internet Stable. Purple Aura finished a well-fought second for Anthony MacDonald, with 40-1 shot Pinky Promise finishing third for Danny Noble.

Caviar Roxie Due is the second foal out of the Kadabra mare Rose Run Roxann ($4,182).

Herculisa picked up her second-straight victory in Ohio Sires Stakes competition, winning the lone $60,000 third-leg division in 1:54.1 with Danny Noble reining the daughter of My MVP. Owned by the Jesmeral Stable of Scarsdale, N.Y., Herculisa had won leg two of this series at Scioto Downs in 1:52 after finishing fourth in leg one at Miami Valley in early May. After leaving the gate at 7-5 odds, Herculisa zoomed by 1-1 Celebrate With Me in late stretch, followed by Katies Lucky Day.

Bred by Joe McLead, Billy Walters and Up Front Racing, Herculisa is the third and most successful foal out of the Andover Hall mare Herculotte Hanover (3, 1:55.3 [$16,869]) and is a full sister to MVP L (4, 1:58.2f [$41,983]).

(Ohio Sires Stakes)
Current Affairs

H er Excellency the Acting Governor, Anya Williams, and the Hon. Premier Charles Washington Misick, co-chaired a special sitting of the TCI National Security Council (NSC) on Friday, July 9th, 2021.



Also in attendance were, the Hon. Deputy Premier, Hon. Attorney General, Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, Hon. Minister for Immigration, Arlington Musgrove Commissioner of Police, Trevor Botting PS National Security, the Border Security Advisor and the National Security Secretariat Threat Lead. The Haitian Consul of The Republic of Haiti, Ms. Sherly Lisme appeared by special invitation to address the Council on the situation in Haiti.



The Acting Governor and Premier welcomed the appearance of the Consul and offered formal condolences, on behalf of Turks and Caicos Islands, to Ms. Lisme and The Republic of Haiti on the loss of their President, Mr. Jovenel Moise.



Members were briefed by Ms Lisme on the current situation in Haiti in the circumstances of the assassination of the nations president. Following her departure, the Council discussed the implications of the situation for TCI and agreed on necessary contingencies.



The Council was updated by the Commissioner of Police on the status of the vessel found adrift off Grand Turk in June with an unconfirmed number of dead bodies, and affirmed that the matter was being addressed, with the assistance of regional and international partners.



The Council specifically thanked the teams from the RTCIPF and the Ministry of Health for managing the unfortunate situation.



It was updated by the Commissioner of Police on the policing situation in Salt Cay, who committed to having sustained police presence on the island.






The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) today (July 14) celebrated a significant achievement in its ongoing sustainability journey after being awarded The Middle Easts Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2021  the global financial sectors most esteemed accolades across the region and the world.

NBBs nomination came as a result of the significant strides made by the bank to integrate ESG principles into its framework, the positive initiatives delivered over the past year, as well as its continued market leadership and ongoing efforts to operate sustainably.

The bank was evaluated based on a set of criteria that measured NBBs efforts throughout the year, assessing merits that fell under specific categories, including, contributions towards the community and individuals during Covid-19, Heritage Preservation, Enhancing the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Diversity and Inclusion, Talent &Training, and Corporate Responsibility as part of ESG.

NBB has set many firsts in its quest for sustainability excellence as it strives to conduct business in a responsible manner, ensuring that its approach to sustainability is aligned to the UN SDGs, the Bahrain Bourse voluntary ESG Guideline, and Bahrains Economic Vision 2030.

The banks sustainability framework contains seven pillars: economic growth, responsible banking; serving customers; nurturing the workforce; community investment; preserving natural resources; and governance and ethical behavior.

Commenting on the award win, Chairman Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed said: "It gives us great pleasure to receive this honour from Euromoney, recognising NBBs efforts as a leader in the field of sustainability."

"We are very proud of this accomplishment which stands testament to the efforts exerted by the Bank to transform NBB into an institution focused towards the future and a responsible, and conscientious entity that operates with a sustainable framework for generations to come. Today, NBB is reaping the rewards of its strategic shift as an ESG-driven, digitally capable, responsible and transparent banking institution with a unique value proposition for everyone it serves," remarked Almoayyed.

"I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Banks Board and management for their invaluable support and guidance, acting as role models and allowing the Bank to excel, and above all, to our customers for their unwavering loyalty and the people of NBB whose efforts have paved the way for the Banks numerous milestones including this regional accolade," he added.

Since 2019, NBB has been steadily introducing initiatives in line with its established ESG strategy and implementation roadmap, and has been paving the way to a complete integration of ESG guiding principles into its operations.

With corporate responsibility as the driver of its strategy, the bank focused on strengthening its departments to maintain business sustainability and are well-positioned as a market benchmark in terms of compliance with regulations, corporate governance and risk management, by placing a foundation for the involved committees to further drive its future ESG plans.

Further commenting on the Euromoney awards, CEO Jean-Christophe Durand said: "It is an honour for us at NBB to receive such recognition at a local and regional level. This award underlines the significant progress we have made in executing and bringing to life our responsible banking strategy, in line with our role as a national leader and avid contributor to the kingdoms long-term socio-economic wellbeing."

"The accolade underscores our achievements to-date and further pushes us to operate as part of Team Bahrain, adding value to society, and delivering on our brand promise to Enrich the Lives of Generations for years to come through our commitment to a more sustainable, transparent method of operation in the Kingdom and the region," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Three UAE nationals will be among the first in the country to graduate from a rigorous pharmacy residency programme that is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabis Postgraduate Year One Pharmacy Residency Programme (PGY1) was recently accredited for a full eight-year cycle by ASHP, one of Americas largest accredited providers of continuing education for pharmacists. The hospital, an integral part of Mubadala Health, is among only a handful of academic medical centers in the region to offer this accredited pharmacy residency.

The two-year programme has residents perform as licensed healthcare providers under the supervision of preceptors who are residency trained in the US and includes direct patient care and practice management. Residents who successfully complete the programme can take on pharmacy generalist positions, specialised residencies and fellowships within the field.

We launched the residency programme in 2018 and it underwent a very thorough assessment by ASHP last year of our progressive instruction model and mentorship in patient-centered care and pharmacy services. Our programme for pharmacists empowers residents to be part of some of the most crucial decision-making at the hospital, and they network with peers from all over the world to broaden their knowledge and apply the best care solutions for patients, says Rania El-Lababidi, the Director of the Postgraduate Year One Pharmacy Residency Programme.

This eight-year prestigious accreditation, which is the highest number of years awarded for a PGY1 residency programme, is a testament to the quality of education that we provide at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Our residents are being prepared to advance their careers and shape the profession of pharmacy while raising its profile in the UAE, she adds.

Zohour Anouassi, the first pharmacy resident at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi who graduates in August this year, is proud to be a role model to many future pharmacists and Emiratis, having always been passionate about the medical field. Many of us Emiratis choose medicine but very few select pharmacy as their profession. Therefore, I decided to become a pharmacist to contribute to the UAEs vision of building a world-class healthcare system.

The last two years have been a fruitful journey full of exposure to various specialties and world-class services. Every day has been like a new adventure for me. I attend daily rounds with the hospitals multidisciplinary teams, attend clinic visits, perform therapeutic drug monitoring consults, and deliver medication-related patient care and counseling. This residency has opened many doors for me and my fellow residents, giving us the opportunity to enhance our decision-making skills, mentor other pharmacists, pursue further specialisation or even become a researcher, she says.

Zohours ultimate goal is to become an oncology pharmacotherapy specialist and to further advance pharmacy practice in the UAE. As a result, she plans to further specialise with a PGY2 oncology pharmacy residency programme.

Salma Al Shaqfa, who will be graduating from the hospitals residency programme at the end of this year, says the role of a pharmacist is more than just dispensing medications, and actually serves as an integral part of the healthcare system.

My experience so far has been exceptional. Being exposed to various operational, ambulatory care, research and drug information and pharmacotherapy rotations has allowed me to hone my clinical and social skills. It has enabled me to become an active member of the international pharmacy community, participate in conferences and explore my areas of interest, she says.

Salma adds that there need to be more role models in the profession to encourage UAE nationals to consider careers in pharmacy.

To anyone who is hesitant, I would tell them that if they are passionate about helping others, directly interacting with patients, and want a wide variety of career opportunities, while getting involved in medical therapy innovations and working with state-of-the-art technology, then pharmacy is definitely the way to go. -- TradeArabia News Service
Schneider Electric and Aveva have announced that their combined technology offerings are supporting the sustainability initiatives of mining companies.

This is done in four key pillars: energy efficiency, yield improvement, low greenhouse emission technology adoption, and new green processes.

Global decarbonisation is heavily reliant on the sustainable production of minerals and commodities. A thriving and healthy mining and metals sector is crucial for the global economy and to support the innovation of new technologies and materials needed for climate change reduction, environment protection, and the circular economy.

Schneider Electric and Aveva are providing the tools required by organisations to make informed decisions that will empower people across the mining, minerals, and metals value chains to be more strategic in their choices based on sound advice with sustainability in mind. They are assisting operators and managers in these choices leaving these organisations well positioned to tackle some of the challenges associated with adopting sustainable practices, potentially resulting in reduced operating costs and thus providing the rare ability of appeasing all stakeholders.

According to an IDC Technology Spotlight, sponsored by Aveva and Schneider Electric, Transitioning to Sustainable Mining, Minerals and Metals Practices, the top three market pressures driving the sustainability agendas of mining and metals organisations are:

 Need to improve brand equity;

 Reduce the risk of an adverse event; and

 Ensure compliance with current and future regulations.

Technology has a critical role to play in supporting mining companies, said Ben Kirkwood, Senior Research Manager, IDC Energy Insights - WW Mining. Efforts to hit sustainability targets and gain greater visibility and control over operations will enable corporate insight and action relating to energy, water usage, and management of the operational environment. IDCs global analysis of the revenue growth and profitability of industrial companies shows that those with a committed and ongoing sustainability-based strategy combined with a long-term, funded, digital transformation agenda considerably outperform their competitors.

The IDC Technology Spotlight also reinforces the fact that as the industry continues to experience backlash from its perceived stagnant position on sustainability, platforms with added analytics are enabling improved operational efficiencies while enhancing the visibility of the changes being made.

Digitally integrated operations can address key areas of an organisations sustainability agenda by combining power and process intelligence and controls, said David Willick, VP North America, Mining, Minerals and Metals Segment, Schneider Electric. Digitalisation is a critical evolution for the resources industry, and Schneider Electric and Aveva are uniquely qualified to help. We are experts at marshalling the power of connected systems and human insight to bring operational performance to its highest level. Together, we have won the trust of the worlds leading companies with thousands of implementations onsite and in the cloud. Today our joint customers can benefit from our shared customer-centric innovation culture, unmatched R&D capabilities, and extensive sector-specific expertise.

Although the benefits of digital transformation are crystal clear, the mining industry has thus far been limited by legacy infrastructure, data inadequacies, and piecemeal optimisation programs, said Martin Provencher, Industry Principal, Mining, Metals and Materials, Aveva. Increasingly virulent cyberattacks and a growing mandate for decarbonised minerals have further emphasised the importance of having high data availability and embracing a secure, cloud-first approach to visualise and contextualise enterprise-wide processes across global operations. The combination of Schneider Electric's energy management solutions, automation systems and services, and Avevas Digital Mining Transformation solutions enable our customers to transform conventional mining operations into intelligent, resilient and sustainable undertakings.

Corporate Knights recently named Schneider Electric the world's most sustainable company. According to the IDC Technology Spotlight, Schneider Electrics EcoStruxure platform combined with Avevas Digital Mining and Metals Transformation solutions can provide the operational and organisational insight required to make sustainable operations and improved decisions through the collection and analysis of data. The partner companies aim to decarbonise the mining, minerals and metals value chains through the provision of an industrial IoT platform with technology and software elements supporting the capability for energy management and automation. -- TradeArabia News Service
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Logistics Services and Liege Airport have renewed their long standing partnership agreement until 2026.

Under this pact, Liege Airport, Belgiums largest cargo airport and the 6th largest cargo airport in Europe, will continue to be Ethiopian Airlines cargo hub serving as a freighter gateway between Africa and Europe for the next five years.

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Logistics Services, Africas largest cargo network operator, has been working with Liege airport for its freighter operations between Africa and Europe.

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Logistics Services Acting Managing Director Enquanhone Minyashal said: "We are glad to have renewed our partnership agreement with our long-standing partner airport at a time when we are registering tremendous growth in our cargo destinations and capacity."

"In collaboration with Liege Airport, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has been providing fast and secure cargo transportation service across Europe and beyond for the last 15 years of successful cooperation," he noted.

"In the next five years, we will work to transform our freighter operation to serve Europe better with our renewed commitment with Liege Airport. As the largest pan African carrier, Ethiopian Airlines will continue to strengthen its partnership with Liege Airport to boost its freighter operations between Africa and Europe," he added.

Steven Verhasselt, VP Commercial of Liege Airport said: "First of all, Liege Airport would like to congratulate Ethiopian Airlines and all its staff and partners a very happy 75th birthday. It is with great pride that we are part of the Ethiopians success story for almost 15 years and LGG will continue to be Ethiopian Airlines cargo hub in Europe."

"Looking back from the start to where we are today, Ethiopian has already operated 15,000 freighter flights into LGG, approaching an incredible 1 million tonnes of cargo carried. Still, Steven Verhasselt highlights, this is the past and can be considered as a very impressive start," he stated.

"Today, we celebrate the future. Ethiopian and LGG have renewed their partnership agreement that not only confirms the European Cargo hub in LGG for the next 5 years but also states that Ethiopian will become much more than an airline flying into LGG," he added.

In the future a dedicated cargo hub can be established in Liege North, for which Ethiopian was the launch customer to start with.

"We are very much looking forward to this next step that will help Ethiopian to serve its customers even better. More than ever, LGG will be the hub for Ethiopian and the main freighter gateway between Africa and Europe," noted Verhasselt.

According to the African Airlines Associations (AFRAA) report, Ethiopian has been ranked first by passenger and cargo traffic in 2020. Ethiopian carried 500 thousand tons of freight and 5.5 million passengers through its main hub, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.-TradeArabia News Service
Zain Group, Etisalat Group, stc, Mobily, and du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), are joining forces to push forward the implementation of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions in their existing telecom networks. They will also share their industry knowledge and experience setting a clear path to drive innovation for the ICT sector across the Middle East.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the five operators confirms commitment to deploy Open RAN across their footprint, providing an opportunity to traditional RAN vendors to adopt open interfaces, software and hardware to build more agile and flexible mobile networks in the 5G and 4G era, support new entrants with innovative solutions and achieve cost efficiencies in RAN deployments.

This partnership will open immense opportunities for operators and the telecom ecosystem with the availability of interoperable, competitive and commercial grade Open RAN products, building a framework to exchange best practices and technical outcomes. For customers, they will gain advantage with service catering to the local market requirements with faster time to market while using the most advanced mobile access networks. With operators focusing on introducing software capabilities in the Open RAN environment it will bring technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the forefront.

Nawaf Al Gharabally, Zain Group's Chief Technology Officer, commented: This joint and innovative initiative by like-minded and visionary regional mobile operators is truly inspirational as it brings multiple benefits to all our stakeholders and further enhances the Middle East telecom sectors position on the ICT world map.

Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat Group, said: This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Middle East operators to come together to promote the development of an open technology that will help to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of our networks. I am excited about this partnership that will foster a diverse and secure 4G/5G ecosystem based on Open RAN solutions. This is also a testimony to Etisalats commitment and leadership in innovation in the ICT sector and to development and adoption of Open RAN ensuring the best network experience for our customers.

Haitham Alfaraj, Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations in stc Group, said: stc is committed to the introduction of latest technologies and innovative 5G/4G mobile networks solutions. Todays announcement signals the entry into a new era of operators collaboration in Middle East to accelerate the development of Open Network technologies, which helps in diversifying our strategic technology growth.

He added: Our commitment has always been to deliver a best-in-class mobile network to our deserving customers. This is an exciting milestone in stcs digital transformation journey; stc will continue to endeavor to always lead the market towards digital transformation, in line with the Kingdoms Vision 2030.

Eng. Alaa Malki, Chief Technology Officer at Mobily, said: Mobily is keen to strengthen this partnership, which copes with the latest innovations in ICT sector, as it improves the services provided to customers and build an advanced open access network.

Almalki added: The implementation of Open RAN solutions supports the flexibility and provides more innovation in managing the network for more efficient operations. Mobily is willing to exert all efforts for the success of this partnership and forge several partnerships that push forward the development and innovation in the ICT sector.

Saleem AlBlooshi, Chief Technology Officer, du, said: Driving innovation and Open RAN deployment is the shared responsibility of every telco operator. At du, we are committed to working with our regional counterparts, which will enable us to create further value by increasing infrastructure flexibility and efficiency while accelerating technology adaption and network expansion across the UAE.

With Open RAN the industry is working towards standards and technical specifications that define open interfaces within the radio system, including hardware and software, so that networks can be deployed and operated based on mix-and-match components from different suppliers. Operators will be able to draw on the reinvigorated supplier innovation to drive cost efficiencies and more flexibly deliver customised services in response to evolving customer demands.

The introduction of Open RAN, virtualization and automation will enable a fundamental change in the way operators manage networks and deliver services. Operators will be able to add or shift capacity more quickly for end users, automatically resolve network incidents or provide enterprise level services on-demand for industry.-- TradeArabia News Service
Careem, the regions first multi-service app, has expanded its intercity ride-hailing service from Bahrain to the Saudi Arabia, allowing users to book a luxury car ride across cities at their convenience.

Having previously piloted the service in other markets such as UAE and Egypt, residents of Bahrain can now benefit from booking one-way journeys to KSA (Dammam, Khobar, Dhahran, Jubail, Buqaiq,

Hufof, and Riyadh) from BD75 ($198) per ride.

GCC General Manager Khaled Nuseibeh said: "Careem is excited to announce the expansion of its intercity ride-hailing service as a part of the ongoing efforts to improve the everyday lives of the Careem customer. By leveraging our technology, the new intercity service will introduce a convenient means of transporting customers between countries."

"As we continue to invest in the Bahraini market, Careem remains committed to broadening our

product range to provide convenient transportation solutions within and across cities," he stated.

"To book a trip, its every simple. Customers can choose the Go To KSA category on the Careem app and enjoy a modern luxury car that can accommodate up to 5 passengers," explained Nuseibeh.

"Whether travelling solo or with family, the options of Careem Intercity ensure that customers are safely accommodated. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have prioritized the health and safety of its customers and Captains by implementing numerous safety measures," he said.

"These measures include mandatory face masks, use of hand sanitizer, inviting passengers to sit

in the back seat, which was an unfamiliar habit in some countries, and digital payment

solutions through the Careem wallet," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software driving digital transformation and sustainability, has won the 2021 Microsoft Energy Partner of the Year Award and named the finalist (runner-up) for the 2021 Microsoft Sustainability Changemaker Partner of the Year Award.

The company was among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

We are delighted to win Microsofts prestigious Energy Partner of the Year award and be named a finalist for Sustainability Changemaker Partner of the Year. These awards recognise our industry-specific expertise in enabling energy and manufacturing companies to meet their sustainability goals and achieve business resiliency through advanced digital technologies during these globally transformative times, said Kerry Grimes, Head of Global Partners, AVEVA.

AVEVA empowers customers with real-time energy operational data management, integrated with AI and analytics to help manage their energy consumption and emissions. Our purpose, values and strategy create long term value and we are aspiring to a world, where economic growth supports environmental sustainability.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Awards were classified in various of categories, with honorees chosen from a set of more than 4,400 submitted nominations from more than 100 countries worldwide. AVEVA was recognised for providing outstanding solutions and services across the energy sector.

The Energy Partner of the Year Award recognises a partner organisation that excels at providing innovative and unique services or solutions based on Microsoft technologies to energy companies  which include oil and gas, power and utilities, mining and renewables  demonstrating thought leadership in their industry.

By collaborating with Microsoft, AVEVA has the power to elevate how the energy industry can operate, by marrying the power of industrial data, AI and human insight with the scale, breadth and latency of cloud.

Aligning efforts with Microsoft, AVEVA has templated its best practices and vertical solutions to become repeatable, scalable and adaptable to fit agnostically with other software stacks, thereby enabling rapid implementation and payback.

Today, organisations deploying combined AVEVA Energy Management and Performance Solutions can realize reductions in project implementation times of up to 60 per cent when compared to bespoke implementations of intelligent operations  thanks to a real-time, 360-degree view of the value chain, and predictive maintenance and operations.

As a finalist for the Sustainability Changemaker Partner of the Year Award, AVEVA was recognised for providing innovative and unique solutions based on Microsoft technologies that help customers solve challenges of sustainable digital transformation. Sustainability changemakers drive purpose-driven digital transformation that powers a more sustainable world.

AVEVA provides industrial software that inspires people to shape a sustainable future. The combined solutions span engineering and operations, enabling AVEVA to be well positioned to help increase energy efficiency, minimise noxious emissions and optimise the effective use of valuable natural resources, advancing sustainable development across diverse sectors.

I am honoured to announce the winners and finalists of the 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, said Rodney Clark, corporate vice president, Global Partner Solutions, Channel Sales and Channel Chief, Microsoft.

These remarkable partners have displayed a deep commitment to building world-class solutions for customersfrom cloud-to-edgeand represent some of the best and brightest our ecosystem has to offer. Tradearabia News Service
Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), one of the oldest higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, have announced a new top-up degree course for DCT students.

Under this arrangement, students who graduate with a DCT Advanced Diploma and the required GPA, will be able to continue and obtain a top-up degree as a student of LJMU and graduate with a BA (Hons) from the UK institution.

"These courses further enhance DCTs proposition to provide its students with multiple pathways to success through a diversity of world-class academic offerings," a DCT spokesperson said.

General Manager Essa Bin Hadher said: Dubai College of Tourism is pleased to commence this degree top-up programme that will prepare students for entry into the various sectors within the tourism ecosystem.

"As the college is committed to providing students with an exceptional educational experience, our collaborative partnership with LJMU will help enhance our efforts to develop a skilled workforce, and set the bar high for service consistency and professional excellence.

LJMU Pro-Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Business and Law, Tim Nichol said: We at LJMU are excited to be working with the college. A key element of this partnership is the alignment of both institutions core principles of providing high quality, industry focused programmes  which address the needs of local, national and international employers. We look forward to welcoming the first batch of DCT students to the LJMU community.

As a vocational college, DCT students commence with a one-year certificate in their chosen areas of study, which includes Tourism, Events, Hospitality, Retail Business or Culinary arts.

Students who wish to continue their education and have achieved the required GPA, can progress to the Diploma programme for an additional year of study before entering the advanced diploma which opens the pathway to the BA (Hons) Event Management, BA (Hons) International Tourism Management and BA (Hons) Retail Business Management courses.

The accredited BA (Hons) degrees will further prepare students to enter Dubais tourism sector and contribute towards nurturing a new generation of skilled tourism professionals among both Emiratis and expatriates.

The pathway allows students who have the pre-requisite advanced diploma qualifications from DCT to progress into a final year with LJMU. Admissions to DCT is open for September 2021 enrollment.-TradeArabia News Service
Jordan's Airport International Group has announced that Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 1.2 million passengers (PAX) during the first half of 2021, marking a 20.9% and 70.3% decline against 2020 and 2019 figures, respectively.

QAIA said it had received 15,210 aircraft movements (ACM), 6.7% and 60% less than the figures registered during the same periods in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

As for year-to-date cargo figures, QAIA handled 24,316 tonnes, posting a 9.3% and 50.3% drop compared with 2020 and 2019 figures, respectively.

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and evolving travel requirements, QAIA received 389,321 passengers in June - the highest monthly figure recorded this year - demonstrating a 53.5% decrease against 2019 figures

Moreover, QAIA witnessed 3,949 ACM, indicating a 47.3% drop as opposed to 2019 figures. QAIA also handled 5,748 tonnes of cargo, recording a 29.2% decrease as opposed to 2019 figures.

"Since the start of the pandemic, we have been working diligently with the Government of Jordan and our partners and stakeholders to ensure QAIA remains a safe and welcoming airport for both our passengers and employees," remarked Airport International Group CEO, Nicolas Claude.

"With the summer season underway, we are excited to see Jordan being promoted as a popular tourist destination, especially as local restrictions are gradually lifted, sectors and activities are reopened and passenger confidence in air travel is regained," he stated.

"Given the vital socioeconomic impact of QAIA as the Kingdoms prime gateway to the world, we are eager to see it swiftly and safely return to its pre-Covid activity levels," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The first flight of the pilgrims from inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah yesterday (July 17), coming from Riyadh.



The flight has 258 pilgrims on board, who were received by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for Affairs of Umrah Performers and Pilgrims Hisham bin Abdulmoneim Saeed, Director of King Abdulaziz International Airport Essam bin Fouad Nour, and a number of government sector officials working at the airport, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).



The pilgrims expressed their happiness for being among the performers of Hajj this year, hailing the attention, care and facilities provided during the registration for the issuance of Hajj permits, health and preventive measures and the concerted efforts of the participating sectors.
PRESS RELEASE  B-29 Doc, one of only two B-29 Superfortresses still airworthy and flying today, is scheduled to arrive at the main terminal building at Burke Lakefront Airport at approximately 2 p.m., Monday, July 19. The Cleveland stop is the fourth stop for the B-29 Doc History Restored Tour in July that includes visits to a total of seven cities across five states.

Upon arrival, B-29 Doc will be greeted by Clevelands own Tony Mazzolini, who found and rescued B-29 Doc from the Mojave Desert nearly three decades ago. Tony, along with World War II veteran Owen Hughes, who painted Docs current nose art, will join the American Legion Riders for the welcoming ceremony at Burke Lakefront.

When I first saw this B-29 serving as a missile target on the bombing range of China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in the 1980s, I never imagined I would be able to share its glory with my hometown, Tony Mazzolini said. Its an honor to welcome this majestic warbird to Cleveland and give people an up-close and personal look at the aircraft that has meant so much to me, as well as many others, throughout its life.

Tony, who served as a flight engineer on multi-engine aircraft during the Korean War, will be reunited with his friend and colleague Owen Hughes, now 102-years-old. Both Tony and Owen will spend the weekend with Doc while the historic aircraft is in Cleveland.

Bringing Doc back to Cleveland to honor Tonys work of rescuing this warbird from being destroyed as a missile target by the Navy and his vision to restore it to flight is a tremendous honor for our crew, said Josh Wells, general manager and executive director for B-29 Doc. And being able to celebrate Owens World War II service to our nation is what our mission is truly all about. Today, Doc serves as a flying tribute and museum to the Greatest Generation, along with those who designed, built and flew these airplanes to protect freedom, and to those who continue to defend our nation at home and abroad.

The schedule for the B-29 Doc History Restored tour stop in Cleveland includes ground and cockpit tours all day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 20. B-29 Doc Flight Experiences will be available at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 21, and Thursday, July 22, followed by ground and cockpit tours from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday. Details on ride flight ticket availability can be found here: www.b29doc.com/rides. Tickets for ground and cockpit access can be purchased at the gate for $10 per person or $20 per family.

BOOK YOUR SEAT ON B-29 DOC IN CLEVELAND!

Those interested in attending the ground and cockpit tour event, as well as aircraft rides, should arrive at the Burke Lakefront Airport Terminal building, 1501 N. Marginal Road, Cleveland, OH 44114.

The B-29 Doc History Restored tour in the month of July launched in Wichita, KS, on July 2. Over the course of the month of July, B-29 Doc will visit St. Louis, MO; Terre Haute, IN; Cincinnati and Cleveland, OH; Kalamazoo, MI; and Oshkosh and Appleton, WI, before returning to the B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center in Wichita August 2.
How Turkey Treats Its Historic Churches

A viral social media video showed a group of young Turkish men dancing on top of the Saint Takavor Armenian Church in Istanbul on July 11.

Turkish media reported that while some individuals played music and partied on the pedestrian road in front of the church, three people from the group climbed over the entrance gate of the church and started dancing next to the cross there.

An Armenian human rights activist based in Istanbul, Murad Mihci, wrote on Twitter that police were normally always present in front of the church to stop political dissident activists from making a statement to the press. But that night, the police were nowhere to be seen and did not stop the perpetrators who desecrated the church.

The three men who danced on top of the church were briefly detained, and then released. The perpetrators will not face accountability, as the abuse of churches is not an isolated incident in Turkey.

Turkeys whole population is about 80 million today, but Christians are on the verge of extinction; they comprise less than 0.1 percent of the population. Yet Christianity has a long history in Asia Minor, which is today inside Turkeys borders.

Asia Minor (also known as Anatolia) is the birthplace of many Apostles and Saints, such as Apostle Paul of Tarsus, Timothy, St. Nicholas of Myra, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna. Two out of the five centers of the ancient Pentarchy  Constantinople (Istanbul) and Antioch (Antakya)  are also in Asia Minor. The followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time in history at Antioch, where Saint Peter established one of the earliest churches. Asia Minor is also home to the Seven Churches of Asia, where the Revelations to John were sent. All of the first seven Ecumenical Councils were also held in the same region.

The cities across Turkey were established and ruled for centuries by the indigenous peoples, which included Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians. When the Roman Empire split into two kingdoms, Western (Rome) and Eastern (now known as the Byzantine Empire), Latin prevailed among the Romans while Greek was largely spoken across the Eastern Roman Empire, which also included Asia Minor. Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity the official religion in 380.

The Byzantine Empire survived for a thousand years after the western Roman Empire had disintegrated into many feudal kingdoms. However, when the Ottoman Turks invaded Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell. The Turks took over the region, turning Christians and Jews into dhimmis, a third-class, barely "tolerated" people who had to buy their lives through the heavy jizya tax in their dispossessed land under the Ottoman rule. The pressures and persecution against Christians led to the conversion of many to Islam throughout the centuries. And Hagia Sophia, once the worlds largest church, was converted into a mosque first by the invading Ottomans in the fifteenth century and then by the Turkish government in 2020.

Even after the founding of the Turkish republic in 1923, discrimination against Christians remained a government policy that manifested itself in different forms.

Today, Christians of all denominations -- Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Assyrian, Catholic, and others -- are exposed to discrimination and persecution in Turkey. Some examples of violations against Christian communities include:

Protestant Community: The Protestant community still does not have legal status in Turkey. The freedom of belief for Turkeys Protestant community is systematically violated by the Turkish government, according to a recent report issued by the World Evangelical Alliance, the European Evangelical Alliance, the Middle East Concern and Turkeys Association of Protestant Churches. Foreign Protestant clergy and other church workers are often deported, denied entry into Turkey, refused residence permits, or denied entry visas. Foreign Protestants are labeled as security threats by the Turkish intelligence organization. The report states that hostility is demonstrated towards Protestants and Protestant missionaries in the media, at schools, and within Turkish society. Turkish legislation does not make provision for the training of Christian clergy either in private establishments for higher religious education or through the public education system. And representatives from the Protestant community are excluded from government meetings or other state functions that include religious leaders of minority communities.

Greek Orthodox Community: The Greek communities of Anatolia were exposed to genocide between 1914 and 1923, as well as a forcible population exchange campaign between Turkey and Greece, in which many of the survivors were expelled from Turkey in 1923. The Turkish government is continuing to annihilate the Christian heritage in Turkey. For instance, the only school for training the leadership of Orthodox Christianity, the Halki seminary, located on the island of Halki (Heybeliada) in the Sea of Marmara, was closed by the Turkish government in 1971. Since then, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has been unable to train clergy and potential successors for the position of Patriarch.

According to the Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate:

Since its closure, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has had to send the young men from its community desiring to enter the priesthood to one of the theological schools in Greece. In many instances, they do not return given the onerous restrictions in getting work permits and the general climate of intimidation. Despite promises by the Turkish government to re-open our theological school, there has been no progress. Left unresolved, the administrative functioning and future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is imperiled.

In 2016, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America listed other violations against the Orthodox Church by Turkey:

The Turkish government imposes restrictions on the election of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Hierarchs who vote for him by requiring that they must be Turkish citizens. In fact, the government arbitrarily can veto any candidate for the position of Ecumenical Patriarch. With the dwindling population of Hierarchs and Orthodox Christians in Turkey, we may not be able to elect an Ecumenical Patriarch in the not too distant future. Turkish authorities do not allow the use of the term or title of Ecumenical for any religious activity whatsoever despite the fact that it has been used since the 6th century A.D. and recognized throughout the world. Turkey regards the Patriarchate as an institution whose leader is seen as the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians in Turkey alone rather than the leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has no legal identity or bona fide legal personality in Turkey. The lack of a legal identity is a major source of problems for the Ecumenical Patriarchate including non-recognition of its ownership rights and the non-issuance of residence and work permits for foreign (meaning non-Turkish) priests who are essential to the continuity and functioning of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Turkish authorities do not allow the Ecumenical Patriarchate to own any property  not even its churches. The Patriarchal house itself is not recognized as the Patriarchates property and even the Girls and Boys Orphanage Foundation on the Island of Buyukada (Prinkipos) for which the Patriarchate has held a deed since 1902 is not legally recognized by the Turkish government. The inability to secure work permits by foreigners who work at the Ecumenical Patriarchate results in these individuals having to leave the country every three months to renew tourist visas which disrupts the operation and productivity of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and discourages staffing from abroad. Through various methods, the Turkish authorities have confiscated thousands of properties from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox community over the years, including our monasteries, Church buildings, an orphanage, private homes, apartment buildings, schools and land.

Armenian Community: Following the 1914-23 Christian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey, lands and properties belonging to the victims were seized by either the Turkish government or private citizens. Author Raffi Bedrosyan explains:

Along with the hundreds of thousands of homes, shops, farms, orchards, factories, warehouses, and mines belonging to the Armenians, the church and school buildings also disappeared or were converted to other uses. If not burnt and destroyed outright in 1915 or left to deteriorate by neglect, they became converted buildings for banks, radio stations, mosques, state schools, or state monopoly warehouses for tobacco, tea, sugar, etc., or simply private houses and stables for the Turks and Kurds.

Abuses against historic Armenian churches across Turkey are ongoing. In January, for instance, a kebab seller hosted a barbecue party at an Armenian church in the town of Germus in the city of Urfa in southeast Turkey.

The Church, estimated to have been built during the 19th century, is already in ruins due to illegal excavations by treasure hunters. Yet it is still targeted by locals. According to the Turkish media, the kebab seller lit a torch and cooked kebab inside the ruined church and served it to people there.

In another incident, an Armenian church in the city of Bursa in northwestern Turkey was put up for sale on an internet site for 6.3 million liras, around $800,000 USD.

Oddly referring to the Armenian Genocide as separation of populations, the online sale announcement said: "The church, which was built for the Armenian population living in the region, passed into private ownership due to the separation of the populations after the population exchange. It was used as a tobacco warehouse for a while and then as a weaving factory since 1923. The church, which is located in a well-known location within a region included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, can be used for touristic purposes due to its location.

Another Armenian Church in Bursas Setbasi district, which is also privately owned today (or stolen after the genocide), was put up for sale in 2016 for 1.5 million USD.

Assyrian/Syriac Community: An indigenous people of Mesopotamia, Assyrians/Syriacs have been victims of crimes at the hands of Turks and Kurds such as the 1914-23 genocide, and subsequent deportations, murders, kidnappings, and rapes throughout the decades, among other rights abuses.

The lands and properties that Assyrians have left behind were seized by Muslim locals in southeast Turkey and their churches are either left to ruin or used for sacrilegious purposes.

International Christian Concern reported in May:

Turkey has demonstrated its disinterest in preserving minority Christian heritage sites. Looting of historic churches is common as treasure hunters have seen their crimes go unpunished and historic places of worship have been left to crumble without government protection. Land and churches belonging historically to minority Christian groups like Syriacs, Armenians and Greeks also face damages.

In a country where Christians and their historic churches are systematically violated by the government and many members of society, people showing no respect to a church and dancing on it is not shocking behavior. But how would those Muslims feel, and what would they do, if some Christians openly violated a mosque in Turkey and danced on its gate? Some riots, pogroms or even yet another genocide would be on their way for the tiny, already dying Christian minority of the country. For dehumanization of Christians and other non-Muslims knows no bounds in the Islamic supremacist mindset.

This mindset is manifested through the genocidal hatred Islamic supremacists have towards Christians and their cultural heritage, the result of which is the continued desecration and destruction of anything belonging to Christians.
"We need an 'ecology of the heart'". "It is not enough to 'unplug', we need to really rest. And to do this, we need to go back to the heart of things: stop, be silent, pray". Closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland affected by the floods and to those of South Africa and Cuba wounded by violence.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We need an 'ecology of the heart', comprising rest, contemplation and compassion," urged Pope Francis, who still a little tired, was speaking to several thousand people present in St. Peter's Square for the recitation of the Angelus. After the prayer he recalled the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland affected by the floods and those of South Africa and Cuba wounded by violence.

Francis said that rest is not just "unplugging", "it is necessary to really rest", returning "to the heart of things: to stop, to be in silence, to pray, so as not to pass from the rush of work to the rush of holidays". "Let us learn to pause, to turn off the mobile phone, to contemplate nature, to regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God".

The Pope commented on today's Gospel passage (Mk 6:30-34) in which Jesus invites the apostles returning from their missions to "rest a while". "In doing so, Jesus gives us a valuable teaching. Although he rejoices to see his disciples happy because of the wonders of preaching, he does not dwell on compliments and questions, but is concerned about their physical and inner weariness".

"He wants to warn them of a danger, which is always lurking for us too: letting ourselves get caught up in the frenzy of doing, falling into the trap of activism, where the most important thing is the results we obtain and feeling that we are the absolute protagonists. How often this happens in the Church too: we are busy, we rush, we think that everything depends on us and, in the end, we risk neglecting Jesus". "This is why he invites his followers to rest a little while apart, with him. It is not only physical rest, it is also rest of the heart. Because it is not enough to 'unplug', we need to really rest. And to do this, we need to go back to the heart of things: to stop, to be silent, to pray, so as not to go from the rush of work to the rush of holidays".

"Jesus did not shirk the needs of the crowd, but every day, before anything else, he withdrew in prayer, in silence, in intimacy with the Father. His tender invitation - rest a while - should accompany us: let us beware of efficiency, let us stop the frenetic rush that dictates our agendas. Let us learn to pause, to switch off the mobile phone, to contemplate nature, to regenerate ourselves in dialogue with God".

However, the Gospel tells us that Jesus and the disciples cannot rest as they would like. People find them and flock to them from all sides. "At that point the Lord is moved to compassion. Here is the second aspect: compassion. That is God's style.

"Moved, Jesus dedicates himself to the people and resumes teaching (cf. vv. 33-34). This seems like a contradiction, but in reality it is not. In fact, only the heart that does not let itself be carried away by haste is capable of being moved, that is, of not letting itself get caught up in itself and the things to be done, and of noticing others, their wounds, their needs. Compassion is born of contemplation. If we learn to truly rest, we become capable of true compassion; if we cultivate a contemplative gaze, we will carry out our activities without the rapacious attitude of those who want to possess and consume everything; if we remain in contact with the Lord and do not anaesthetise the deepest part of us, the things to be done will not have the power to take our breath away and devour us. We need an 'ecology of the heart', consisting of rest, contemplation and compassion. Let us take advantage of the summer time for this! And now, let us pray to Our Lady, who has cultivated silence, prayer and contemplation, and who always moves with tender compassion for us her children".

Then after the recitation of the Marian prayer Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Germany, Belgium and Holland. "Mat the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort their families, and may He sustain the commitment of all in helping those who have suffered serious damage".

In the last week," he said, "we have unfortunately received news of violent episodes that have aggravated the situation of many of our brothers and sisters in South Africa, who have already been hit by economic and health difficulties due to the pandemic. Together with the country's bishops, I make an urgent appeal to all those involved to work for peace and to cooperate with the authorities in providing assistance to those in need. May the desire that has guided the people of South Africa to be reborn in harmony among all their children not be forgotten".

And he concluded :"I am also close to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments. In particular to the families who suffer most. I pray to the Lord to help them build an ever more just and fraternal society in peace, dialogue and solidarity. I urge all Cubans to entrust themselves to the maternal protection of Our Lady of Caridad del Cobre".
She was passionate about equality and inclusion for all students, Melissa Ellis, the school board president, said in a statement Saturday. Not one to just point out issues that needed to be addressed, Ms. Antwine instead worked closely and energetically with members and staff to drive action that would lead to effective solutions.
Weve seen the benefits of allowing these young individuals who didnt have a choice of coming to the U.S. or not to be able to go to school and work and pay taxes, said Rodriguez Lima from the mayors office. They are teachers, they are nurses, they are advocates. They contribute in many, many ways.
Lee was a very inquisitive person and hed come to services and take notes. I dont know what he did with them, but I guess they were for his own personal edification and he liked sharing what he heard from my sermons with others, he said. He was a person who always wanted to know more. You know, its an old cliche, but true, the more your learn, the more you want to know. That was him.
The reward amount offered by the ATF varies on a case-by-case basis, but the largest amount offered at one time was $30,000 in September 2018 for three fugitives who are members of a gang in Baltimore, Hils said. All three have been arrested, but because the ATF does not release which cases result in the handout of money, it is unknown if the reward from that case was dispersed.
Shes afraid shes going to miss the bus, her sister and guardian, Amy Jo Stevenson, said she had told a Walmart manager, according to court records. Shes afraid shes going to miss dinner. Its upsetting to her. She gets too hot. She says she feels sick, and she cant accommodate it, so we need it switched back for her.
Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fires quick spread.
The first meeting of Nepal's lower house, after its reinstatement by the Supreme Court last week, is set to begin from Sunday.

A notice from the Parliament Secretariat stated that the meeting will start at 4 pm (local time) today.

Supreme Court verdict on July 12 had overturned the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

A five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana had ordered to reinstate the Parliament by annulling the government's decision to dissolve it.

The meeting of the reinstated House will begin at a time when the ruling CPN-UML party is embroiled in intra-party wrangling.

The SC had also ordered to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

President Bidya Dev Bhandari had dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR) for the second time upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on May 22.

Following the dissolution of the HoR, NC President Deuba had filed a writ petition with the signatures of 146 lawmakers in the Supreme Court.

Earlier on December 20 last year, President Bidya Bhandari had dissolved the HoR on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli. The apex court had then annulled the government's decision to dissolve the HoR on February 23 for the first time.

(ANI)

Also Read: Pakistan: After petrol, Imran govt approves hike in flour, sugar, ghee prices
Comparing Taliban to Islamic State Khorasan and Al-Qaeda, Afghan first Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Sunday said that the diplomatic community of Pakistan is working hard to painting and decorating a fictional image for the Taliban.

"Pakistan's diplomatic community is working hard painting and decorating a fictional image for Talibs. On the ground however Talibs 2.0 is nothing but an Afghanistan replica of IS-K and Al-Qadea, providing bases to foreign "good and bad terrorists" The "good" LeT is their buddies in allegiance," Saleh said in a tweet.

Earlier, Saleh said has offered to provide evidence to prove that Pakistan is giving air support to the Taliban and threatened to hit back if Afghan forces try to retake the Spin Boldak border area.

Hours after issuing a shocking statement claiming Pakistan is providing support to the Taliban, Saleh said Afghan aircraft have been warned by Pakistan to back off or face air to air missiles.

"If anyone doubts my tweet on Pak Air Force and Pak Army warning to the Afghanistan side not to retake Spin Boldak, I am ready to share evidence through DM. Afghan aircraft as far as 10 kilometres from Spin Boldak are warned to back off or face air to air missiles. Afghanistan is too big to be swallowed," he tweeted.

Pakistan has denied these claims despite overwhelming evidence to prove otherwise.

Additionally, Pakistan ministers and officials, then and now, issue statements proving that Pakistan host and support the Taliban.

Recently, Pakistan interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said families of Afghanistan's Taliban live in his country, including in the capital city of Islamabad, and sometimes the members of the insurgent outfit are treated in local hospitals.

(ANI)

Also Read: Pakistan giving air support to Taliban, threatens to hit back if Afghan forces try to retake border town
If you are old enough to remember the hit comedy movie of 1980, Caddy Shack, then you will recall that a gopher infestation was threatening a golf course in Nebraska. The somewhat deranged groundskeeper was tasked with getting rid of the pest. His efforts at eradication include shooting, f
I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated, Murthy said on CNNs State of the Union.
Thankfully, Germany is a country that can manage this financially, said Merkel, who is stepping down as chancellor following an election in September. Germany is a strong country and we will stand up to this force of nature in the short term  but also in the medium and long term, through policy that pays more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years. That will be necessary too.
Even as Haiti spiraled into violence and political upheaval, they say, few in the Trump administration took seriously Moises repeated warnings that he faced plots against his life. And as warnings of his authoritarianism intensified, the Biden administration kept up its public support for Moises claim to power, even after Haitis Parliament emptied out in the absence of elections and Moise ruled by decree.
The child was in a moving vehicle with a 28-year-old man when someone in a black SUV opened fire at their vehicle. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with a gunshot wound to the back, and he was treated and released, police said.
The 14-year-old boy was shot about 3:40 p.m. in the 1200 block of West 87th Street in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, police said. He was in a vehicle that was parked at a gas station when someone fired shots, striking him in the leg.
The people of Algeria first came to know about Christ in the early centuries, and many embraced the Christian faith, building places of worship throughout the country.

However, several centuries later the number of Christians began to decline due in large part to the Islamic invasion, which led to their displacement as they were faced with the difficult choice of converting to Islam, paying a heavy tax (Jizya), being killed or leaving their homes and fleeing to safety elsewhere. Many chose the latter.

Today, the Christian community in Algeria comprises many foreigners who have arrived from all around the world but especially Europe, people who are mostly there because of work, and who are concentrated in the major cities.

But the number of Algerian converts to Christianity is also increasing significantly. Some bravely declare their faith in Christ; others keep it secret for fear of persecution.

The significant growth of Christians has come in spite of the Algerian authorities banningproselytization under the threat of prosecution, which has led to many Christian believers being arrested, imprisoned, or deported outside the country.

As the number of Algerian Christians increases, so too do the churches. Some of these have obtained a licence from the Algerian state, while others are undeclared for fear of persecution, depending on where they are in Algeria.

Algerian Christians take their faith seriously and are devoted in spite of many pressures and threats - something experienced by converts in particular.

To find out more about what life is like for Christians in Algeria and how the church is growing there, Christian Today spoke to Angie Saad, a 33-year-old convert from Islam to Christianity.

What about daily life for Christians in Algeria?Change the internet one search at a timeAd By Yahoo Search Australia See More

Angie: In Algeria, like any Islamic country in the region, the Muslim majority dominates all aspects of life in society. It is very frightening for any Muslim here to hear about or meet another Algerian who is not like him - a Christian who does not believe what he believes in, and practises different rituals from him.

The Algerian Christian in general is the one who chose to leave Islam and believe in Christ, and as an inevitable result, Algerian Christians do not enjoy any rights related to their freedom to worship or share their faith with others.

Despite this, they are happy when they meet on Saturdays in the churches as one family [churches in Algeria meet on Saturdays because Sunday is a working day in the Islamic country]. Most of the churches meet in homes because the authorities do not allow them to build their own church buildings.

Are pressure and discrimination the norm?

Angie: Sure, they face persecution and pressures. And I do not say this simply because this is what the international reports issued by Europe or the US Committee on Religious Freedom say but because I live in this country and I myself have previously experienced persecution and oppression.

For example, when we went to the restaurant during the day in the month of Ramadan, police were confiscating our IDs for violating the sanctity of Islamic fasting.

In 2019, the authorities launched a fierce campaign against churches, closing 50 churches, most of them in Kabylia, Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou, under the pretext of lacking licences.

At the time, the Algerian Interior Minister said that the churches they closed were ''animal stables and chicken warehouses and the money that comes to them are suspicious money, we do not know where it is coming from, and the business inside it is suspicious."

This prompted the European Parliament to dedicate a session to the state of religious freedoms in Algeria.

The Algerian government is sensitive to Western criticism of "restrictions on freedom of belief" and replied that "the constitution guarantees freedom of belief, and the law on religious rites for non-Muslims regulates them and does not limit them."

Whatever it may say, Algeria approaches this issue with the logic of an entrenched state because the constitution stipulates that Islam is the state religion, and many Algerians actually support the strict enforcement of the law against ''hidden proselytizing campaigns''.

Do Algerian Christians receive support from their counterparts in France? How can they help their Algerian brothers and sisters?

Angie: Yes, in fact pastors from France visit churches in Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia, and offer sermons and moral support for us as Christians. Priests from other African countries also visit churches here to get to know the Algerian Christian community. This is the most important thing we need from them, to feel our presence as part of the family of faith.

What about Christians who are accused of evangelizing Muslims?

Angie: Proselytizing is considered a crime punishable by imprisonment under Algerian law. A Muslim can leave Islam and convert to Christianity and the authorities will not punish him, but he will be subject to follow-up if it is proven that he tried to undermine the faith of another Muslim.

One government employee, Suleiman in Bouhafs, was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine for proselytizing. He lost his job and became a refugee after leaving prison due to the threats against his life.

Two years after the popular movement that led to the ousting of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the reality has not changed and the new authority has not abolished the practices of the "old regime", as discrimination and violence against Christians has continued.

Algeria ranks 24th in the 2021 Open Doors index of persecution. Three Christians were also recently convicted of blasphemy, among them Hamid Soudad, 43, who was sentenced on January 21 to a fine of five years in prison and 100,000 Algerian dinars (around 540) for sharing a caricature of the Prophet of Islam.

You yourself are a convert. Did you face any problems when you converted to Christianity?

Angie: 10 years have passed since my conversion to Christianity and I still remember the first days of my faith, when I was very excited to share my testimony about Christ. I was subjected to a lot of harassment at work and some of my friends abandoned me. It was not easy for me facing a society that does not accept the other, nor freedom of expression.

How do you see the future for Christians in Algeria? Are you worried about their future?

Angie: The current regime wants to improve its image in front of the European Union, especially after the criticism levelled at it. The Algerian constitution guarantees the freedom to practise worship in article 51, but as some critics note, Algeria takes with the left hand what it has given with the right and so the problem does not lie in what the constitution grants, but rather in the prevailing culture in society.

Yet I don't fear for the future presence of Christians in Algeria. The country was the centre of North Africa during the Roman era, when it gave birth to one of the most important figures who inspired Europe, St Augustine of Hippo. And Christians here have learned to face persecution by praying and resorting to the law in defending their rights. The best example of this is their peaceful protest against the decision to close churches. Some local human rights organizations are standing by their side too.

Of course Christianity is not concerned with the abundance of numbers, but rather with building the spiritual and moral character of men, and this is the difference. While it is not possible to estimate the number of Christians in Algeria because there are no official statistics, the church is nonetheless growing as it was in the early years, despite the severe persecution that Christians have faced. Because the first seeds were planted, the harvest must be abundant.
My name is weird. Its beautiful, but its weird. For the record, the phonetic pronunciation is Jih-meen.

My mum tells me that she invented my name when she was a child. Its a combination of my grandmothers name (Jackie) and my Aunts name (Charmaine). Add to that some Afrikaans pronunciation, and you land here. The land of oh yes, it is a unique name, and yes, my parents sure are creative.

I choose how I explain my name in a verbal introduction based on how much extra patience I have for that day; option one is yes its pronounced like Janine, but with a m or its like Jasmine, without the s. My break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option is to just say Jamine once, and then smile and nod to whatever variation I get back from the individual Im being introduced to.

Like most people I care what I am called, but there are only so many times I can correct people in a day.

The name change perspective

As a kid I dreamt of the day I would be old enough to change my name. I wanted to be a Roxy instead. When I was 8 years old, she sounded cool. She sounded like the kind of person whose name wasnt butchered every time a class roll call took place. Roxy would always find a mug or a keychain with her name on it at a novelty store.

Later on, as a Christian, I read about God changing names of people in the Bible. It seemed to me that when God shifted the direction of their life, gave them a new purpose, He changed their name.

In the culture of the time, names held a literal meaning of the persons character or future. As I learned about speaking words of faith into life and through prayer, that mattered even more to me. I prayed for that kind of encounter with God, because as far as I could google in 2005 Jamine had no clear meaning.

As an adult, I dont dislike the name Jamine. I disliked some of the challenges involved with having a unique name. For example, when I order a coffee at a cafe, Im that customer making intense eye contact with the barista calling out names until my coffee is in my hand. If I zone out for a second, Ill miss the moment where the barista stares at the side of the cup and calls out something like long black for German. Im not kidding, that happened.

Alternatively, they just call out the type of coffee repeatedly until I realize I belong to the unnamed cup thats now getting cold at the counter. I will save the tales of being someone named Jamine going on a first date with someone you met online (hello dating in 2021) for a future article.

Encounter with God

Regardless, I didnt become Roxy. Nor did I have an encounter with God where I left with a new name like Abraham and Sarah did in Genesis 17. I am still Jamine, but I have had many encounters with God where Ive left with new words of hope, faith and purpose for my life. Moments where I felt Jesus remind me that I am loved, and called and purposed. Some of these moments came from the mouths of people in my world, I believe inspired by a heart for God.

Christians often discuss the power of words, speaking faith and allowing words to create the world around you. Because we understand that the Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs chapter 18 verse 21).

In the work that I do I have the privilege of interacting with people, many of whom have a variety of disabilities. I hear accounts of how people with disabilities are treated in the community and in church. I hear stories of how they are named. Named their mobility device. Named their diagnosis. Avoided instead of being named at all because of discomfort or fear on the part of the other person.

Love and individualism

As church go-ers we fail to hold space for individuals with different bodies or brains than ours. Sympathy often underlines a misunderstanding rather than allowing empathy to drive connection and appreciation. I hear people called names that diminish their worth and their brilliance because their body or their mind is different.

I realise that this happens in many areas of the community, not just the church. But I find myself wondering as people of faith, who value the names we call ourselves As people who preach scripture and a message that emphasises the importance of how we hold the power of life and death in our words shouldnt we do better?

As people who cling to the truth that God calls his children loved enough to send his son Jesus to die for them, shouldnt we strive to emulate this? Lets not hide behind ignorance. Lets not bury this issue in the conservative argument of political-correctness.

We each belong in the house of our Father. This is no less true for someone with an additional chromosome, or who uses a powered wheelchair to get around. We are called loved, we are called saved by grace, we are called purposed and chosen by God. We are called by our name.
Then they can fill out an application and pay the fee. They will be contacted by a member of our team, who will ask what kind of products they sell and how they will make them. They must show a sample label, she said. After they get a license, they have to get a business ID and register their business.
Please come out and support me and democracy tonight, wrote Dolan, founder of the popular Southington Talks page. This is a petition simply to allow the question to appear on the November ballot. This is not a petition to add a dispensary to our town. If you believe in your right of choice, you need to come down and be heard.
Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief clinical officer for Yale New Haven Health, acknowledged that COVID-19 presents a small risk to most children under the age of 12. The larger issue, he said, is that since all of those children are unvaccinated, if a COVID-19 outbreak were to occur among them, it would quickly spread to the adults they interact with and could harm those who are unvaccinated. He described continuing to mask children in school as the safer thing to do.
The Sackers ... launched this 11th-hour attempt against Connecticut and the people of our state, seeking sanctions against us for doing what we have every right to do: to go after the Sacklers and hold them accountable for their role in starting and fueling the worst public health crisis in America, apart from the pandemic, he said.
Jesse Ure's '49 Mercury, which he rebuilt himself, has become a common sight outside the Blue Star diner since he became a regular there 15 years ago. The Blue Star diner opened on Warwick Blvd. in May in 1963 by Fannie Blentson and her husband, Pete, and is still owned and operated by Fannie. Now a local landmark, the diner is known to its regulars for having good, cheap food and friendly service. (Heather S. Hughes / Daily Press)
The Eisenhower barely had a break after returning from its 2020 deployment in August. Within weeks, it was back for a series of underways, training for its next deployment. Returning just after Christmas, it had barely arrived in Norfolk when the Navys restriction of movement order came and a few weeks after that was in a final exercise before deploying in mid-February.
Dasher attached a device resembling a white lever to the cars rear window while Ullmann rolled it up to keep the equipment in place. They waited for the clock to strike 3 p.m. OK, here we go! Ullmann said, as she drove out of the lot and onto a predetermined route.
The arrested included three women and all the nine were staying in resorts at the sea-side town of Kovalam near here, a city police press release said. (Representational image)

Chennai: Nine Iranians have been arrested for alleged illegal stay here and fake Aadhaar cards recovered from them, with the issue coming to light after the role of three in a robbery case involving a Somalian national emerged, police said.

The arrested included three women and all the nine were staying in resorts at the sea-side town of Kovalam near here, a city police press release said.

The incident came to light after police, probing a case of three men, claiming to be "central police", robbed the Somalian national of USD 3,800 under the pretext of checking him for narcotic substances recently, it said.

The 61 year-old victim had come here for eye treatment and preferred a complaint with the Thousand Lights police, who formed a special team to probe the case.

The police team located the car used by the trio in Kovalam and further probe revealed the accused three persons, besides six others, were put up there for about a month.

"Aadhaar cards in their possession turned out to be fake," the release said, adding, they did not have any valid travel and related documents as well.

The gang seemed to be involved in similar offences in and around the city, the release added.
During the session, all Covid-related protocols, which include maintaining social distancing, would be followed. (AFP file photo)

New Delhi: The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition seeks to corner the ruling dispensation over its handling of the second wave of COVID-19 and the rise in fuel prices. The government has listed 17 new bills for introduction in the session.

Three of the bills seek to replace ordinances issued recently. Once a session starts an ordinance has to be passed as a bill within 42 days or six weeks, else it lapses.

One of the ordinances issued on June 30, prohibits any agitation and strike by anyone engaged in the essential defence services.

The Essential Defence Services Ordinance 2021 came in the backdrop of the announcement by major federations of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to go on an indefinite strike from the later part of July to protest the government's decision to corporatise the OFB.

The Essential Defence Service Bill, 2021 has been listed to replace the ordinance, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on July 12.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 is another measure that seeks to replace an ordinance.

According to the government, the ordinance was brought to provide a permanent solution and establish a self-regulated, democratically monitored mechanism for tackling air pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas, rather than limited ad-hoc measures.

The Opposition on its part wants to corner the government by raising issues like alleged shortcomings in the healthcare system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the distribution of Covid vaccines to states.

It would also seek replies on the rising prices of petrol diesel and cooking gas during the session which would end on August 13.

According to the financial business listed in the bulletin, there would be a presentation, discussion and voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021-22.

There would also be a presentation, discussion and voting on Excess Demands for Grants for the year 2017-18.

On Saturday, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged members of Parliament to stand by people amid the pandemic and discuss all issues related to it in the House to address the concerns of the citizens.

Chairing a meeting of leaders of various parties and groups in Rajya Sabha ahead of the session, he also asked the leaders to ensure a smooth and productive session.

"A dysfunctional Parliament adds to the prevailing gloom and hence all sections of the House should ensure a smooth and productive session as it offers an opportunity to address the concerns of the people affected by COVID-19," he told the leaders.

Noting that the second wave of COVID-19 infection sprang several surprises and severely tested India's health infrastructure, Naidu said Parliament is the right forum to get updated about various aspects of fighting the disease and benefit from ground-level experiences of members of the House from different states.

This is important in the context of a possible third wave of infection which is being talked about a lot, he said.

During the session, all Covid-related protocols, which include maintaining social distancing, would be followed. Both the Houses will sit simultaneously.

Amid the pandemic, Rajya Sabha used to earlier sit in the first half of the day, and Lok Sabha in the second half.

But from part two of the Budget session in March this year, the two Houses had started sitting simultaneously from their usual timing of 11 am onwards.

According to latest data, 444 members from Lok Sabha and 218 from Rajya Sabha have been vaccinated with at least one dose. The figures may have gone up, officials said.
Kochi: Many housing societies, apartment associations and RWAs' decision to bar residents from keeping pets in their homes has been challenged in the Kerala High Court by an animal welfare organisation, which has contended that banning pets was "illegal, arbitrary and unfair".

The PIL has been moved by People for Animals (PFA), contending that "such associations cannot frame bye laws or amend them in a manner at variance with the law of the country even by obtaining a consensus or by a complete majority".

In its petition, filed through advocates K S Hariharaputhran and Bhanu Thilak, PFA said that it has received plenty of complaints from pet owners/pet parents against the ban imposed by various apartment associations, housing societies and residents welfare associations (RWAs) across the state.

"Complaints were also received as to the notices and intimations given to pet owners/pet parents from such associations, asking them to abandon their pets," the petition said.

PFA further contended that under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, "it is an offense to abandon a pet without any reasonable cause and in any circumstances which render it likely that the pet will suffer pain by reason of starvation or thirst".

The petitioner organisation said that the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in 2015 issued guidelines which advise pet owners to ensure that their pets are not a source of nuisance to others, but it also made clear that no amount of pressure from any source should lead to abandonment of the pets and that doing so is a violation of the law.

The plea seeks a direction to all the apartment associations, RWAs and housing societies to comply with the AWBI guidelines of 2015. It also seeks a direction to the local self government bodies to resolve issues regarding ban on keeping pets.
Thirty-three years ago, I rode out of Jalalabad along with dozens of other reporters sitting atop Soviet armoured personnel carriers. It was a pleasant summer day in May and as our convoy entered Kabul, crowds cheered, some offered flowers and the relieved soldiers in APCs grinned and waved. It was a moment of catharsis: a great tragedy was ending, or so we presumed then.

After a bitter nine-year war, Mikhail Gorbachev finally pulled the plug on a conflict that had claimed thousands of Afghan and Soviet lives. The withdrawal was slow and prolonged with the last Soviet troops leaving in February next year. It was an orderly, but ignominious withdrawal.

It was still the old Kabul then, much influenced by liberal minded King Zahir Shah, who ruled the country for 33 years. It was a city of tree-lined avenues, fine buildings and pretty women in skirts. The main bazar dominated by Sikhs was full of stolen Soviet equipment, clothes and jars of caviar.

That was the last time I saw Kabul that attractive.

The Pakistan Army generals saw the Soviet defeat as their victory and shaped the Mujahideen along Islamist lines, promoting those Afghan leaders who toed their line. They unleashed the Mujahideen armed to the teeth with American military hardware and guided by Pakistani military intelligence on the Afghan Army, then controlled by the Communist regime in Kabul headed by Mohammad Najibullah. The result was mayhem: Afghans killing each other and destroying their own towns and cities.

Dr Najibullah stepped down in 1992 but the fighting continued, this time among the Mujahideen themselves. Kabul was virtually destroyed by the bombings ordered by Mujahideen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. It was heart-breaking to see the condition of the city in those days.

In 1995, another extremist Islamist force created by the Pakistan Army, the Taliban, took control of Afghanistan and imposed the peace of the graveyard across the land. The Indian diplomatic contingent fled Kabul in a chartered aircraft hours before the Taliban entered the city. The country quickly became a safe haven for Islamist terrorists from across the globe, including Al Qaeda and various anti-India elements.

I returned to Kabul a few years after the Taliban were driven out by the American troops in late 2001. The city was a mess, a shadow of its former self. The Taliban were Neanderthals and had accorded Kabul the status of a toilet. The Pakistan Army had treated it as a barracks and dumping ground. Together the city had been looted and left to rot. The real capital during Taliban times was the southern city of Kandahar.

I visited Kabul several times during the time the country was made safe by US and Nato troops. The city gradually recovered and expanded as more and more Afghans from the countryside migrated in search of jobs and security. Again, there was an air of hope. The orchards in and around Kabul were once again full of fruit in summer, trees regained the main avenues and bazars once again hummed with activity.

The Indian embassy, a large sprawling establishment in the heart of the city, was back in action. New Delhi poured in billions of dollars to help rebuild the country, thousands of Afghans received scholarships to study in India and countless more travelled regularly to India for medical treatment. This was anathema to Pakistans generals, who had secretly sworn never to give up their quest for total control of Afghanistan. And in the end, they got their way.

It was so sad to read the news. Last week the newspapers said American and Nato troops fled the country like thieves in the night. When morning broke, astonished locals found the gates of Bagram airbase, the biggest US base in the country, open and unguarded. Looters moved in before the Afghan military could take charge. It was a shameful retreat and within days news began pouring in of rapid Taliban advances across the country.

Americas longest war is ending in crushing defeat. As the Taliban threaten to conquer the rest of the country, Afghans face yet more bloodshed, the Economist commented.

I could not help but recall the May morning 33 years ago: the two departures were so different. One had evoked hope (no matter how mistaken) while the other could only provoke despair.

Pakistans generals believe they have once again won and see India as the biggest loser, as noted by Pakistan PM Imran Khan, who is essentially an Army spokesman. His interior minister Sheikh Rasheed issued a direct threat to India, holding New Delhi responsible for carrying out terrorist activities in Afghanistan, and conveying false news about Pakistan to the world over the past 40 years.

Mr Rasheed claimed India faced embarrassment in Afghanistan and there was no other option for New Delhi but to withdraw its personnel from there. As if on cue, the Indian government decided to evacuate its diplomatic staff from Kandahar. It is unlikely Pakistan will allow anything but a token Indian presence if the Taliban overrun Kabul.

The prognosis is far worse for the countrys minorities and women who had discovered dignity and opportunity during the last two decades. Thousands of Afghan women banned from public life during the Taliban days had benefitted from education and a chance to play an active role in society. The minorities, once hunted, killed or thoroughly subjugated, had regained their rights. With the return of the Taliban, a veil of darkness will once again shroud the land, dispelling liberty, education and tolerance.

India faces a clear and present danger from am emboldened Pakistan after the crushing US defeat in Afghanistan. Pakistans outspoken interior minister crowed: No superpower can ignore Pakistan Islamabad wants every nation in the world to acknowledge and accept Taliban overlordship in Afghanistan even before the endgame has unfolded.

Pakistans confidence stems from the fact that Washington, even after being bludgeoned by the Pakistan Army and its proxies in Afghanistan, has considered it prudent to negotiate with Islamabad. Pakistans Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa admitted the US had sought airbases in Pakistan, but he would never allow that. Mr Rasheed later said that Pakistan would not provide bases to anyone for carrying out operations in Afghanistan.

The writing on the wall could not be clearer. Memories of past Afghan events come flooding back. Another power has departed, and another round of terrible conflict awaits. The Taliban cohorts, egged on by their Pakistani masters, are racing across the land like barbarian hordes determined to end the age of reason. Will Kabul die another day?
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Thursday Comment: Apple Anticipation and Expectations; User Tips; Politicians Sniffing at Big Tech

By Graham K. Rogers





Apple's Q3 2021 figures are coming soon. Updates to a number of products - iPhones, Macs, iPads - are expected soon although there is speculation about chips to be used. The EU, American politicians and some European countries are all looking at Big Tech in terms of monopoly power. Break up may look attractive in the short term, but be careful what you wish for.



In just under two weeks Apple will report its Q3 2021 financial figures on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. As usual, the conference call will run online from 14:00 Cupertino time, after the markets have closed in New York. While Apple is being a little cagey and did not make any predictions about the quarter - which is wise in the current fluid, pandemic situation - it seems that sales are still going well and Wall Street is fairly positive as the share prices push the corporation to a $2.5 trillion valuation. Once the figures are out, however, Wall Street may see doom in the slightest nuance: high now, take the profits, buy again when the share price falls. With Apple increasing orders for the next iPhone (reported in many sources) this rise seems inevitable. With new iPhones expected in the next month or two (usually announced around September) and predictions for a number of other products expected to reach market before the end of year, Apple should have another good Q4. As this is always its highest quarter with holiday and year end sales boosting income, the outlook does not look too bad from where I am sitting. The only question I have is on how some cultures may react to the iPhone 13 nomenclature. I mentioned this in May and several other commentators have brought it up. Apparently Apple is not concerned. On Wednesday morning (here) Apple put out release candidate updates to all of its beta software: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Watch and TV. These suggest that the updates for user devices will be available in a few days. Apple has also just released some new colors for AirTag keychains and the AirTag Loop, including a nice green keychain and a strong yellow loop. Along with the new WatchBands, some of which have not yet arrived there is a move to increase the range of accessories. This includes a MagSafe charger that attaches magnetically to the rear of the iPhone 12. This does not work with the iPhone 11 I have, but unlike the new keychains and loops it does not appear to be available here.

I saw a useful tip for the iPad on OS X Daily this week: forward delete. I had forgotten how to do this on the Mac (the article reminded me), but never knew it was possible on the iPad. In these days of simply copying other people's information (and them losing the hits), to find out the trick, you will have to follow the link to the original article. Another column from Mac OSX outlined the processes for repairing the boot up disk on Macs, which is advised if there is any recurring problem, but also would be a good idea with the next version of macOS (Monterey) expected soon. The article explained the different ways to access Disk Utility for this. It cannot be done when the disk is mounted, so on Intel Macs we need to use the Command + R keys for the Rescue mode. On the M1 Macs this has changed completely and, as the article explains, instead of the previous range of startup key commands for different tasks (Rescue, Safe boot, Single-user mode, et al) a menu system is used. We bring that up by a long hold on the power key. This has also been explained by hoakley (Eclectic Light Company) in a number of articles, although the quickest look at this is in an item from January which has two flow charts (as well as text information) that show the different ways we can use the features available. The first chart is for Macs with Intel chips and further down the page is the M1 flow chart. There are also links to other related articles. I must be honest, while I was au fait with the startup keys that were used with Macs on OS X even before the switch to Intel, I have not tried the new startup system, but will overcome my reluctance not least because I will need to check the disk before I update to Monterey. Later on Thursday, hoakley put out another article which explains the disk structure in macOS 10.13, 10.14 and 11.1 (Big Sur) - most informative and I recommend following this source. Within about 20 minutes of reading the OS X Daily article, I found another, similar text on MacWorld (Ramon Loyola) with almost the same theme. I compared them and this just looks like one of those coincidences that happen from time to time, although I am unsure if any information from Apple or other sources may have prompted this. Details of M1 startup in both articles is a little thin, particularly compared with hoakley's comprehensive information, but the main ideas are there. OS X Daily perhaps goes into a little more detail concerning disks, volumes and containers: the way Apple now organises the disk. Looking for more information on these - volumes, containers and disks - I found Apple Support document HT210898 that has much the same information as the two articles I saw this week; but I note the explicitness of the comment, here, "Repair volumes, then containers, then disks". It is no longer a one-stop fix and the more complex structure requires a more measured approach.

M1 Macs - Image courtesy of Apple For the first time this week I heard of a new more powerful version of Apple silicon: the M2X. We currently have the M1 with the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac mini. I have 2 versions - in the MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro - both of which see full use. Speculation up to now has predicted the M1X and the M2. For all I know - for all we know - they will be developed. The range of computers Apple is seeking to replace, switching from Intel (and auxiliary chips) to its own processors, may well need a wide range of power outputs and other features. Mark Gurman in his newsletter, now tells us of the M2X in an upgraded iMac, which is another rumor that has been floating around for a week or so (Tim Hardwick, MacRumors). That makes some sense. With the basic iMac now with the larger 24" screen, there is some sense in a larger version replacing the 27" screen, particularly now that the iMac Pro has gone (at least for the time being). With super specifications and a super price, the larger iMac could do with superior power.



M1 design - Image courtesy of Apple Discussing the A-series processors on which the M-chips are based, a couple of years ago AnandTech described them as scalable, so the numbers of cores (and their tasks - power, economy) and other features can be added to the basic chip design relatively easily. It is not as simple as copy and paste, or enlarging the outside dimensions and adding in a couple of extras, but the basic design allows for a more easy addition of features than some other chip architectures. The Intel Xeon is also described as scalable. There have also been continuing reports about a refresh (or more) to the iPad mini. I rather like this device, although have never owned one myself. I had a couple on test a while back and gave a couple to friends for Christmas. A lot of students here had these, partly because of the convenience and a price lower than an iPhone. I have not seen so many of late, although that may simply be because we are working online. The last update to the model in 2019 coincided with an update to the bottom of the line iPad, oddly making the iPad (with lesser specifications) a cheaper option. Currently, the iPad starts at 10,900 baht here, while the iPad mini starts at 13,900. Both have the A12 Bionic chip so the iPad looks to be the better choice. If Apple is to upgrade the iPad mini, this needs to have some super-specs to make its purchase worthwhile.

The attackers are circling the wagons and Big tech is unlikely to come away unscathed from the attacks from all sides: EU, Congress, several US States, and individual countries all looking to take some bite out of the largest companies that have driven the last 20 years of innovation. With committees, commissions and courts looking at the major companies, it would be unwise to bet against there being no change. Whether this is eventually through legislation, court-directed breakups or imposition of new regulations (US and EU) is speculation at present, but there is precedent. Looking at each of the major smartphone-related companies as separate entities with regard to monopolistic actions is not in the interests of the customer. The major players should be examined together. It should not be the analysis of Apple or Google, but Apple and Google as the whole picture, even though their functions are different. Apple designs and makes the handsets as well as the operating system, while Google develops Android and in the main leaves handsets to third-party manufacturers, like Samsung. Both of the operating systems have specific applications that users expect to find installed on the devices, while each also has a store for download and purchase of third-party apps. For many users these work well, but some politicians and a few developers are unhappy with the store system and the fees charged developers. One of the members of the Coalition for App Fairness lost against Apple in court this week, although it was only on one part of the case. However, a case brought by a patent troll that has already been tried once in the infamous Tyler TX court has been sent back as the judge erred by not mentioning to the jury that the technology was already widely used. Apple claimed that this was subject to FRAND licensing (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) and the judge thought that was not worth mentioning. While this is to be retried, the high court in London has tried almost the same case and found against Apple, suggesting that the company will have to pay $7billion for the license. Apple of course disagrees and if it fails to pay any fees may be banned from selling phones in the UK (Helen Cahill, This is Money). Noises from Cupertino are suggesting that Apple is already considering leaving the UK. This is unlikely of course although the stakes are high. Closing down its stores could see over 300,000 out of work. Optis is not the first company to have charged Apple a different rate for its technology or chips.



Apple Store, Regent Street, London (2017)

There is much pressure from some quarters to change the rules, but many users do not see these as broken systems. The politicians look at these major companies and the way they have grown to be trillion dollar entities and see power. I saw a cartoon this week about the environment that seemed rather apt. The caption was "What you environmentalists have got to understand is the destruction of the planet may be the price we have to pay for a healthy economy." The same philosophy may apply to the tech giants: the economists, like Vestager, and the politicians are willing to destroy what has evolved in the interests of the potential monopoly that they think each represents; but without fully considering what it may mean to the consumers who rely on these companies. Vestager for example is determined that there should be a second App Store (at least) on iOS, while also announcing that Apple should not play the privacy and security cards. This week, Google was hit with a large fine by the French antitrust regulator for abusing its 'dominant' position in online advertising (France 24). The article mentions that the German authorities are also looking into this. With a slight whiff of hypocrisy, the article also includes the comment that, "The French authority's investigation was prompted by complaints from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., French newspaper group Le Figaro and Belgium-based Rossel La Voix. Le Figaro later withdrew its complaint." In another article on the same investigation, RFI tells us that the Regulator fined Google 500 million for not negotiating with media groups so there may be two parts to the penalty.

That idea that privacy and security are not in the equation shows a dangerous lack of understanding of what the OS (Android and iOS) is and the problems of keeping things under control. In my opinion, Apple does a better job on these than Alphabet (Android) and if there were a second AppStore I doubt whether I would use it, while if legislators insisted that side loading were to become available on iOS, I just would not do that. The EU has already spoiled a number of ways in which we work. For example the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR) was a good idea in terms of protecting users' data, but has it really worked to benefit consumers? While the EU considers the introduction of the legislation to have been successful, Kalev Leetaru, Forbes is not convinced, writing "the legislation that was actually passed was so watered down and deferred so strongly to technology companies that it actually did far more to help "big tech" than it did to help the ordinary citizen". When Bell Telephone was broken up under the direction of the courts in the early 1980s it initially seemed to be working well, with smaller companies able to offer better call deals for consumers, although some of the long numbers that had to be dialed in (or button-pressed) caused aching fingers. But there is a natural gravity to commercial entities like that. In the 1950s and 60s especially, the British car industry saw several takeovers that left only a few major players rather than the hundreds there had been between the Wars; then it all imploded. The remnants of Bell prospered and grew, then the mergers began. Now we have a massive AT&T along with a few other service providers adapting to the changes from cable to wireless technologies. The gem that was Bell Labs is now part of Nokia with a wealth of patents so America no longer owns its own technology. I am not being protective towards Apple because of bias, but also feel that tampering with Google (which I am not a fan of) brings a considerable risk. On the other hand, Facebook, particularly with its unintegrated components (like Instagram et al) might benefit from some trimming. There is a rule with motorcycle maintenance: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on Twitter (@extensions_th)
CROWN POINT  Lake County officially is in the running for one of the High Tech Crime Units set to be deployed across the Hoosier State beginning in January.

On Thursday, the Lake County Council unanimously agreed to give Prosecutor Bernard Carter the go-ahead to apply for a $600,000, two-year grant to establish and operate a High Tech Crime Unit serving at least the 24 police agencies in Lake County, and perhaps all of Northwest Indiana.

Carter said he's confident the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council will see fit to award one of the 10 expected High Tech Crime units to Lake County, and he believes Porter County has a good shot of getting one of its own to serve several adjacent counties to the east.

WATCH NOW: Prosecutor Carter speaks about the Broadnax homicide

"I talked to Gary Germann, who is prosecutor in Porter County," Carter said. "When we start selecting software  and it's extremely expensive  what we're going to do is target certain areas, he's going to target certain areas, and we'll share their software and they'll share our software, and it'll save us thousand of dollars."

The High Tech Crime Units are tasked with developing specialized operations for gathering and processing digital evidence from computers, cell phones and other electronic devices, in conjunction with a local university to give students real-world, hands-on experience in law enforcement investigations.

Watch Now: Riding Shotgun with NWI Paramedics

Carter said he's already found a higher education partner at Purdue University Northwest. He said PNW is excited to have its students participate in the program and the Hammond campus has sufficient secure office space available to house the unit.

Similar forensic technology units already are operational in Tippecanoe County, in partnership with Purdue University, and in St. Joseph County, with assistance from the University of Notre Dame.

The General Assembly appropriated $6 million in the 2022-23 state budget to establish additional High Tech Crime Units elsewhere in the state.

Get to know these new Indiana laws enacted in 2021
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Tilda Swinton poses for photographers upon arrival at the awards ceremony and premiere of the closing film 'OSS 117: From Africa with Love' at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, July 17. AP-Yonhap



Tilda Swinton took home the fur-most prize at the Cannes film festival on Friday, when her three spaniels were given the Palm Dog award for their role in "The Souvenir Part 2".



Rosie, Dora and their grandson Snowbear were sadly unable to attend the prestigious ceremony  now in its 20th year  on the rooftop terrace of the Marriott Hotel.



But canine-lover Swinton was game enough to sport the prestigious red collar herself as she accepted the award on their behalf.



"I tried to get the dogs here, but they're busy," Swinton said. "I hear they're on the beach in the Highlands in Scotland."



"I have to tell you honestly, this is the prize to get," she added. "We're so stoked to get this prize. We've been eyeing this award for many years."



The last Palm Dog was picked up in 2019 by Quentin Tarantino on behalf of Brandy who played Brad Pitt's trusty pitbull in "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood".






Director Yoon Dae-woen, second from left, poses along with other filmmakers Theo Degen (left), Carina-Gabriela Dasoveanu and Rodrigo Ribeyro, after being awarded the 2021 Cinefondation prizes during a ceremony held in the Bunuel Theatre, Friday (CET). Courtesy of the Festival de Cannes



Korean actors take part in the award as presenter, jury



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Although no Korean titles competed for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, director Yoon Dae-woen's short film, "Cicada," won the second prize in the Cinefondation Selection, signaling a bright future for Korean films.



The Cinefondation Selection was launched in 1988 as part of a search for talented new filmmakers.



Yoon's 17-minute-long film, "Cicada," which was his graduation project from the Korea National University of Arts, revolves around a transgender sex worker named Chang-hyun, who works on Sowol-gil, a street on Mount Nam. The film follows one strange night in the protagonist's life and likens the experience to that of a cicada coming out of its shell to full maturity.



The 30-year-old director's film competed with 16 other student films, chosen out of 1,835 entries coming from 490 film schools around the world.



The first prize went to Belgian director Theo Degen for his short film, "The Salamander Child," while the third prize was given to Romanian director Carina-Gabriela Dasoveanu for "Love Stories on the Move" and Brazilian director Rodrigo Ribeyro for "Cantareira."



"I was careful about covering this subject matter because it can be viewed as provocative. However, I've always wanted to make a film focused on tension and drama," Yoon, 30, said after winning the prize.



Previously, Yoon won awards at the Catholic Film Festival and Korea Youth Film Festival in 2020 with his short film, "Bird Cage."



Korean feature films failed to get accepted into Cannes' main competition, but two actors made a splash by attending the closing ceremony.





Actor Lee Byung-hun, left, poses with Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve after she was awarded with the Best Actress Prize for her role in "The Worst Person In The World," during the closing ceremony of the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, Saturday (CET). AFP-Yonhap
GS Group headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Park Jae-hyuk



GS Group is drawing attention in the domestic M&A market, because the conglomerate has been mentioned as the potential buyer of Hugel and Yogiyo, while Shinsegae Group decided to step away from these huge acquisition deals in an apparent attempt to avoid financial difficulties, following its takeover of eBay Korea in June.



On Friday, GS Retail confirmed that it is considering joining a consortium to acquire Yogiyo from Delivery Hero.



The announcement was made in response to multiple news reports that the conglomerate's retail unit had joined hands with two private equity firms based abroad  Affinity Equity Partners and Permira  and has been in exclusive negotiations to take over the food delivery platform from the German company for 1 trillion won ($875 million).



The announcement came as a surprise to many market insiders, because MBK Partners had been regarded as the strongest candidate to acquire Yogiyo, after Shinsegae's e-commerce arm, SSG.com, officially dropped out of the final bid in June.



On the same day, Shinsegae Inc. and Hugel announced that the former and the latter's largest shareholder, Bain Capital, have quit talks, because the Korean retailer eventually decided not to acquire a controlling 44-percent stake in the botulinum toxin maker, which is estimated at $2 billion.



As a result, GS Holdings has emerged as the potential winner of the global competition to acquire Hugel.



The conglomerate said on June 29 that it was considering acquiring a minority stake in Hugel by forming a consortium. This potential move has been interpreted as part of its efforts to reinforce its biopharmaceutical business.



At this moment, it is still unclear whether or not GS Group will continue to pursue the acquisition of Yogiyo and Hugel. Until 2019, the group's previous attempts to take over Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Korea Express, Coway, KT Rental, Doosan Infracore and Asiana Airlines ended in failure.



However, GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo, who took office in late 2019, is considered to be different, due to his expertise in M&A deals, thanks to his career, built at Continental Bank, Irving Bank and LG Investment & Securities.






By Anna J. Park







Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong emphasized the importance of empathy and meta-perception, or the ability to view one's self from the perspective of other people, as key aspects for achieving the bank's strategic management goals during the second half of this year.







"When a clear sense of the meta-perception towards oneself is firmly rooted, empathy based on that sense can grow, enabling one to communicate with customers as well as society," Jin said during an online strategy meeting, broadcast to the company's over 3,000 employees, Friday.







The meeting on management based on empathy and meta-perception also highlighted a strategic vision for the second half of the year.







"The beginning of empathy is meta-perception, an objective stance about oneself," Jin said. "Better value can be created when employee empathy contributes to the direction that the organization is heading in. Our key vision is based on a client-centered mind, empathizing with customers' needs and situations," he added







The meeting also invited various "generation MZ" staff members to share their opinions on the bank's future strategic vision.







A representative from Shinhan Bank explained that the meeting provided a chance for employees to freely discuss and share ideas for the future growth of the firm.






Rev. Lee Dong-hwan, the pastor of Glory Jeil Church in Suwon who was suspended from duty after holding a "blessing prayer" at the 2019 Queer Culture Festival in Incheon, poses during an interview at The Korea Times office in Seoul, April 23. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul





Rev. Lee pledged to take legal action and protest against the "unfair" decisions







By Park Ji-won







The Korean Methodist Church's (KMC) ecclesiastical court dismissed an appeal by Rev. Lee Dong-hwan, a Methodist pastor in Suwon south of Seoul, to have an order suspending him from duty for two years overturned. The court originally suspended Lee for holding a "blessing prayer" at the 2019 Queer Culture Festival in Incheon. Lee criticized the decision, Friday, claiming that it was "unfair," and pledged to take legal action in a civil court to overturn the suspension.







According to media reports and insider sources, members of a committee of the ecclesiastical court decided to dismiss the appeal as Lee failed to meet a deadline of paying 14 million won ($12,253) in hearing costs within 14 days which is specified under the court's regulations. These stipulate that anyone wishing to file an appeal against a court ruling must pay related costs within 14 days to be eligible.







The decision came after the church delayed holding an appeal since its ruling given in October last year. The ecclesiastical court concluded then that Lee's blessing prayer "supported and agreed with homosexuality," thus violating the church's Book of Doctrine and Discipline, and imposed the third-highest punishment in a five-tier system.







Lee, who had argued that offering blessings was a pastor's duty and therefore could not be considered be a sin, claimed the lower ecclesiastical court held unlawful proceedings by having a closed-door hearing, and appealed to the church's higher court following the initial ruling. Lee also insisted that the delay in the proceedings for an appeal was a violation of the KMC rules as the court is obliged to hold this within two months. He has filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea asking for the right to be judged by a civil court.







During an online conference held Friday, Lee said, "It is absurd to dismiss the case after receiving court costs and having two court proceedings  The committee made a ruling that ignored the dignity of numerous sexual minorities in the church."







Choi Jung-kyu, a lawyer for Lee, added, "The decision was unfair  There is no rule in the Book of Doctrine and Discipline to dismiss a case citing the delay of paying ecclesiastical court costs. Even society's laws only dismiss a case when the appellant fails to pay court costs, not simply is delayed in making the payment." Choi also claimed that the ecclesiastical court was punishing Lee by robbing him of his rights.







Lee and his supporters plan to take all legal action possible to nullify the suspension, and to abolish the "discriminative law" in the Book of Doctrine and Discipline. They will also launch an organization for sexual minority Methodists.


An official poster for this year's 37th edition of the Veranos de la Villa Festival in Madrid, Spain / Courtesy of Madrid Destino





By Park Han-sol







From K-pop to temple cuisine and new media art, a wide range of Korean cultural content will appear in the heart of Madrid, Spain, during its hottest summer months.







Korea has been invited as the first Asian guest country to the 37th edition of the Veranos de la Villa Festival, one of the biggest cultural events in Madrid since 1985, drawing more than 110,000 visitors annually, according to its organizers and the Korean Cultural Center in Spain. This year's festival kicked off on July 6 and will continue until Aug. 29.







Among the more than 50 featured performances that will take place in multiple venues throughout the city, the Korean program will start off on July 24 with the K-pop Competition, Spain edition. With the K-pop wave leading to the birth of an explosive number of international dance cover groups, Spain has quickly followed suit in recent years. The competition will invite ten groups to compete in the song and dance categories, with the winners scheduled to perform at a grand finale in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.







Media artist Lee Lee Nam's "Reborn Light - Mother of Pearl" (2016) / Courtesy of the artist and Veranos de la Villa





From Aug. 12 to 14, the media works of the prominent artist Lee Lee Nam will decorate the facade of a former sawmill building at the center of the city, Serreria Belga, as part of the street exhibition, "The Signal of Light." For more than a decade, Lee has built a reputation as a pioneer of media art, as he has transformed classical East Asian landscapes and Western still life paintings into animated digital videos.







At the event, five of his pieces will be presented, including "Reborn Light  Mother of Pearl," a digital reinterpretation of the Joseon-era painting, "Gyehwedo," where the ancient natural landscape of Korea transforms into a society armed with modern technology complete with the arrival of a UFO.







Another highlight of the festival, "Where Does This Food Come From?" will be led by Buddhist chef and nun, Jeong Kwan, at the end of August. Since at the age of 17, she's lived in the Buddhist temple Baekyangsa in South Jeolla Province, where she has developed her extensive knowledge of fruits, roots, weeds and flowers, as well as fermentation techniques, to develop her iconic version of temple food.







Her culinary works were showcased in the popular Netflix series, "Chef's Table," appealing to international audiences including in Spain. In the event, the Buddhist nun will explain her philosophy and the value of monastic Buddhist cooking that has been passed down for over a thousand years to Madrid's residents and professionals.







"In the last 10 years, Korean culture has been gradually gaining a foothold in Spain. Just 10 years ago, in 2011, when the Korean Cultural Center in Spain first opened, it was deemed a rather minor culture that was shared and enjoyed among a limited fan base. But today, Korean culture is becoming more mainstream, receiving the attention of the media outlets and the general public of Spain," Oh Ji-hoon, the center's director stated.






North Korea could be taking preventative measures against climate change by planting more trees and protecting crops from extreme heat as temperatures soar to record highs on the peninsula.







Korean Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun said Friday that preventing crop damage from heat waves is a "struggle to protect the lives and safety of the people."







"Party organizations at all levels inform us that a stronger heat wave is expected to affect our nation next week," the paper said. "Preventing damage is an important political project for the realization of decisions made at the [Eighth] Party Congress."







The Rodong is urging the country to prepare for extreme weather only days after North Korea's chairman of the State Planning Commission said in a report to the United Nations that "severe natural disasters hit the country every year" amid a worsening food situation.







The Party paper said Friday that workers must focus on "finding a water source" and then mobilize "all means of transportation" to water crops.







Last year, North Korea said typhoons and ensuing floods wiped out crops. The regime could be responding with tree planting initiatives.







Propaganda service Meari said Thursday that a "unique forestation" initiative was taking place in the city of Samjiyon in Yanggang Province. Birch, cypress and clove trees have been planted in the area that state media said was the "standard and exemplar" of a "modern mountain city."







The Rodong reported in a separate article that various North Korean work units, including the Mangyongdae District Agricultural Machinery Workshop and the Ryusonamsae cooperative farm, were recognized for their "reforestation" efforts.







North Korea underwent a period of deforestation during the Great Famine of the '90s. Defectors in the South have said energy shortages forced people to burn wood for fuel.







Unsustainable clearing of forests also contributed to deforestation amid the food shortage, according to analysts. (UPI)


In this July 3 file photo, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions participate in the rally to demand a revision to the labor act in Jongro, downtown Seoul. Yonhap



At least three protesters who took part in the latest massive rally organized by a major umbrella labor group have tested positive for COVID-19, health authorities said Saturday, sparking concerns about potential cluster infections amid spiking virus cases.



The woman in her 50s was confirmed Friday to be infected with the virus after attending the street rally held by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in central Seoul on July 3, and two more protesters tested positive Saturday.



Around 8,000 members of the KCTU participated in the rally to demand a revision to the labor act, despite authorities' repeated call to cancel it amid the pandemic.



Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum expressed "deep" regret that the virus case was reported among the protesters.






Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a mass rally in central Seoul on July 3, despite the Seoul Metropolitan Government, police and health authorities' repeated requests that it be canceled amid concerns over possible COVID-19 infections. Yonhap



61 more anti-piracy naval unit members test positive for coronavirus



By Jun Ji-hye



COVID-19 infections have continued to break out in and outside of the country over the weekend, raising concerns that the ongoing fourth wave of infections could become far more serious.



At least three protesters who took part in a recent mass rally organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major umbrella labor group, in central Seoul have tested positive for COVID-19, sparking fears of even more infections to come, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).



Outside the country, an infection cluster has occurred at the nation's anti-piracy naval unit in waters off Africa, with nearly 70 service members having tested positive.



On July 3, the mass rally was held in central Seoul, with about 8,000 protesters participating, to demand a revision to the labor act, despite repeated requests from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, police and health authorities for it to be canceled amid concerns over possible infections.



Following the confirmation of infections among the protesters, KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong issued an administrative order, Saturday, asking all rally participants to undergo COVID-19 testing.



"Since the first patient was reported on Friday, there have been two more patients. Our epidemiological investigation showed that all three attended the July 3 rally," the KDCA said in its release.



Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum expressed "deep" regret over the virus infections among the protesters, calling on all participants in the rally to immediately undergo COVID-19 testing regardless of symptoms, and to cooperate with the government's efforts to minimize additional infections.



Regarding the issue, the KCTU said Sunday that it had asked its members who attended the rally to take COVID-19 tests, vowing to do its best to take appropriate measures to resolve the situation.



The organization, however, claimed that the health authorities were "distorting the facts and slandering us as if the people were infected as a direct result of the rally."



"The three infected people work in the same department and had lunch together before testing positive," the KCTU said in its release. "It is true that they participated in the rally, but there is no evidence to conclude that they were infected at the rally."



On July 4, a day after the rally, the Seoul Metropolitan Government filed a complaint with police against the KCTU for allegedly violating the Infectious Disease Control Law.



Amid growing concerns, the city government decided to ban all rallies between Aug. 14 and 16 as National Liberation Day falls on Aug. 15.



Meanwhile, an additional 61 service members of the Cheonghae Unit in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, raising the total caseload on their 4,400-ton destroyer, named Munmu the Great, to 68 as of 8 a.m. Sunday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).



The unit reported its first case last Thursday.





The 4,400-ton destroyer, Munmu the Great, of the Republic of Korea Navy / Yonhap
Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, right, speaks with Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs



Envoy's gaffe presents new stumbling block to Moon's Tokyo Olympics visit



By Kang Seung-woo



Politicians here have criticized a senior Japanese diplomat's "highly inappropriate" remarks about President Moon Jae-in, urging the Japanese government to make a formal apology.



Hirohisa Soma, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, reportedly ridiculed the president's efforts to hold a summit with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the sidelines of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, describing it as "masturbating." He made the remark during a meeting with a reporter from a local cable network.



A few hours after the report came to light Friday evening, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi issued a statement expressing regret over Soma's inappropriate comments. Aiboshi was also summoned to the Korean foreign ministry to face an official complaint from Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun.



"Vice Minister Choi strongly urged Aiboshi to swiftly take tangible, corresponding measures to avoid the repetition of any similar incident," the ministry said in a statement Saturday.





Hirohisa Soma, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul / Yonhap




By Jun Ji-hye







A hospital in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, has cremated the body of a Korean national who died from COVID-19 there, without giving prior notice to the bereaved family members in Korea, provoking protests from them and the Korean Consulate General in the city.







According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday, a Korean man in his 50s died in the hospital after undergoing medical treatment for about 10 days following him testing positive for the virus in early July.







The hospital cremated his body in accordance with the country's antivirus regulations that require the bodies of COVID-19 patients to be cremated within 24 hours after their deaths.







A problem was raised as the hospital did not give prior notice to either the bereaved family or the Korean Consulate General, and unilaterally cremated the body.







The man had lived in Ho Chi Minh alone, while his family remained in Korea.







"When the Korean Consulate General asked the hospital about the condition of the Korean man, the hospital belatedly notified it that he had died and his body had been cremated," an official from the foreign ministry said.







The Korean Consulate General notified the bereaved family of the man's death and issued a strong protest over the hospital's unilateral action, according to the ministry.







The hospital acknowledged there had been procedural problems amid the soaring number of COVID-19 patients in a serious condition and deaths in the country, the ministry said, noting that the hospital had apologized and vowed to prevent recurrence.







The Korean Consulate General also asked the foreign affairs and health ministries in Ho Chi Minh for their cooperation.


Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming shakes hands with main opposition People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok during a courtesy visit to Lee at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 12. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun



Experts describe Xing's response as 'inappropriate'



By Jung Da-min



Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming has come under fire for publicly criticizing a presidential hopeful's diplomacy strategy that seeks to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance.





Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl / Yonhap
In this 2020 July file photo, National Institute of Ecology researchers release into the wild black-faced spoonbills they raised. Courtesy of the National Institute of Ecology



By Ko Dong-hwan



A black-faced spoonbill  an endangered species of bird  that was saved and raised by humans until being released into the wild at its birthplace in Korea has made a migratory return after almost a year. Experts said it has provided them with a valuable case to study further how to conserve the species.



Officials from the Ministry of Environment said on Friday that it is the first case ever where a black-faced spoonbill has returned after being raised in captivity and released into the wild. The birds were last updated on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List in 2017 as "endangered." In Korea, the birds are classified as a first-class endangered species, which is the class in the most imminent threat of extinction.



Research of the ministry's National Institute of Ecology (NIE) said that they saw that the bird had arrived in southern coastal Goheung County of South Jeolla Province on May 22. The officials could track it because it was fitted with a solar-powered tracking device (weighing less than two percent of the bird's weight) before being released on July 1, 2020. The officials had also attached two types of identification tags on each of its legs, which coded the bird as "Y21."



Y21, after arriving in Goheung, moved northwest to a mudflat in Yeonggwang County of the same province's west coast, then to Chilsan Island in waters off the county. It then flew to another coastal region, Boryeong County in South Chungcheong Province, where it has been tracked to have stayed as of Friday.



Y21, after being released into the wild, stayed in Korea until Nov. 3, 2020, when it left the country flying southwest and arrived in a bay in the city of Ningbo in China's Zhejiang Province the next day. It spent the winter there. On April 24 of the following year, it moved to another bay north and spent 28 days there. On May 21, it left the bay and travelled about 800 kilometers east and arrived in Goheung the following day.





A black-faced spoonbill, identified by researchers as Y21, at a mudflat in Ganghwa County, Incheon, after being released from captivity by the National Institute of Ecology researchers, with a tracking device on its back and identification tags on both of its legs / Courtesy of the National Institute of Ecology
Chinese envoy should not interfere in Korean politics



Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming has triggered a controversy over an opinion piece he wrote rebutting a leading presidential hopeful's views on the Seoul-Washington alliance and a U.S. missile defense system. He cannot deflect criticism for this diplomatic discourtesy, and trying to interfere in Korean politics.



In his op-ed article published Friday in the local daily Joong-Ang Ilbo, Xing refuted remarks by former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who declared his bid to run for president last month. Yoon said in an interview with the daily Thursday that it was possible for Seoul to establish horizontal relations with Beijing only when South Korea strengthens cooperation with countries sharing the same values based on its bilateral alliance with the U.S. His remarks were apparently intended to stress the need for a stronger alliance and partnership with Washington.



Yoon also stated that the 2017 deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system on Korean soil was definitively a matter of sovereignty. He said that China should first remove its long-range radar systems on its border if it wants THAAD to be pulled out from South Korea. He seemed to deliver a message that THAAD is to defend South Korea against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. He also probably sought to ease China's concerns about the U.S. missile defense system.



However, Amb. Xing claimed that the THAAD deployment seriously damaged China's security interests, adding that the Korea-U.S. alliance should not hurt the interests of his country. He also argued that Seoul-Beijing relations were not an accessory to Seoul-Washington ties. Besides, he pointed out that China's radar systems and its military power are no threat to South Korea at all. Yet it is widely known that China is conducting surveillance over the Korean Peninsula using radars which can cover much longer ranges than that of THAAD.



On Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for Xing to be "cautious." The semiofficial Yonhap News Agency quoted a ministry official that a foreign diplomat needs to be cautious about any public expression of an opinion regarding remarks by a politician of a host nation. Such expression could have a negative effect on the development of relations between the two countries. The official also made it clear that the THAAD deployment was solely for defensive purposes to counter potential nuclear and missile attacks from North Korea.



In many respects, Xing's rebuttal of Yoon's remarks could be seen as an undiplomatic move to interfere in South Korea's political process ahead of the next presidential election set for March 2022. The envoy should have taken a more careful approach. He should not try to impose his or his country's views on presidential contenders such as Yoon. Instead, Xing must do his best to enhance mutual trust and understanding between the two countries so that they can forge a better partnership.


Samnangseong Fortress in May 2020 / Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



One fine morning in the spring of 1893, John Wyers, the constable of the British Legation, left Seoul and walked the 40 kilometers to Jemulpo (modern Incheon). He described it as "the most charming walk imaginable"  not many of his fellow expats had the same generous opinion of that walk  and arrived in the port by afternoon.





A corpse wrapped in straw is left outside the city gate in the late 19th century. / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

It was here that he met his traveling companion, Joseph H. Pownall, an Anglican missionary, and they finished preparing for their trip to Ganghwa Island. Wyers was in good spirits and, judging from his writing, was excited at the prospect of seeing the island that so few knew much about.



The next day, at 4 p.m., the two men, along with their Chinese cook and a Korean porter, boarded a Korean junk and sailed out of the harbor. They not been sailing for long when they made a ghastly discovery.



On one of the river's banks were several dead bodies covered with straw and placed on wooden trestles. In his letter, Wyers explained:



"They were the victims of a plague of smallpox, and it is the Corean custom to expose the bodies of those who die of this disease for two or three months, in the hopes that the evil spirit may depart out of them, and that they may revive; but if it is found that the life has really left them they are eventually buried."



He denounced it as a "horrid custom, and unworthy of such a highly civilized nation." Considering his own beliefs, his lack of compassion is more shocking than these futile attempts by the families of the deceased.



Leaving the "ghastly sight," they continued with their journey, with the Korean sailors "keeping up a constant supply of songs and choruses which," according to Wyers, "were not at all unmusical."





A reconstructed gate of Samnangseong in May 2020 / Robert Neff Collection



When it got dark, they anchored at what they deemed to be "a safe anchorage" near Ganghwa Island and resumed their voyage at dawn. Wyers recalled that it was just after breakfast when they had their near-fatal incident.



"We were suddenly run into by the small river steamer which plies up and down, carrying passengers and cargo, between [Jemulpo] and Seoul, which struck the upper part of our small boat with considerable force; and as the river was deep and the current exceedingly rapid we were a little anxious as to the immediate results of the bump, but, fortunately, no material damage was done."



These river steamers were notorious for their frequent groundings and accidents  at least one of them sank  and there were occasional injuries and deaths.





Looking down at Jeondeung Temple in May 2020 / Robert Neff Collection



Once it was ascertained the junk was still seaworthy, they continued on with their journey. From the landing, it was about a five-kilometer walk to Ganghwa City which Wyers seemed to really enjoy.



"It was a lovely walk, the country being verdant with the foliage of the trees and the rapidly sprouting crops. On our way we passed a very strange pump, used for purposes of irrigation. It was worked on a tripod, to which was attached a long hollow scoop, which was dipped in the water at a lower level, and raised with a swinging action, the scoop being well balanced; it was altogether a most ingenious arrangement, and must have been the product of a highly inventive mind, with a decided taste for engineering."



They entered the walled city through the East Gate and were promptly mobbed by the curious residents who wanted to know the reasons why the foreigners had come to their city. Wyers, armed with a letter of introduction, made his way to the governor's residence where he and his companion were entertained "by several officials of high rank" and escorted to the top of one of the nearby hills so they could have a bird's eye view of the city while they ate their lunches.



The Englishmen had brought their own lunches but their Korean hosts insisted on their guests partaking of a meal that had been prepared for them. Wyers denounced the meal as being of "a doubtful character" explaining that "boiled eggs and pickled turnips [played] a prominent part in the spread."





The beauty of Jeondeung Temple in May 2020. Temple Robert Neff Collection



After lunch, the Englishmen were turned over to "some gentlemen of a somewhat less exalted rank" for an impromptu tour of the city. Several sites on this tour caught their attention including "a remarkably fine memorial tablet made of marble, which commemorated the exceeding virtues of a past governor." Wyers opined that "the Chinese characters of the inscription were splendidly carved, and it must have been a work of great labour, as well as of considerable expense."



Part of the tour included the city's bell which was used to signal the hours of curfew and they were then taken to the God of War Temple and its substantial barracks where Martini Henry rifles  "ready for use"  were stacked in several piles which clearly indicated the island's defenses were not completely entrusted to the benevolence of a divine being. I am kind of surprised Wyers didn't mention the Koreans had  depending on your view  militarily defeated the French in 1866 and the Americans in 1871.





The bell's history is rather interesting. According to the information board: "This iron bell was made in 1097 at Chongmin Temple on Baiyun Mountain in Henan Province, China. It came to Korea as port of the forced exploitation of metal resources among the colonies of the Japanese empire in the early 20th century. After Korean's liberation from colonial rule in 1945, the bell was discovered in a military warehouse in Bupyeong and moved to Jeondeungsa Temple to be preserved." May 2020. / Robert Neff Collection



Once they had completed the tour, the officials assigned a man to act as a guide for the Englishmen and to take them wherever they desired on the island. Outwardly, it was a kind gesture but it had another purpose.



"Doubtless  they thought it proper to have some sort of control over our proceedings, and so by politely forcing a guide upon us, all our movements could be observed, and communicated to those in authority."



The men and their guide returned to the junk where they spent a rather restless night as the weather had turned bad and they were pelted with rain and rocked by the wind. However, in the morning, the weather cleared and they sailed rapidly (aided by the tide) down the channel separating the island from the mainland for Jeondeung Temple, "a large and famous monastery."



As they neared the landing point, the junk's captain realized that the current was too powerful for his vessel to allow his passengers to disembark safely so another  somewhat smaller  boat was summoned and the Englishmen and their guide were transferred to it. It was in this boat that they "safely passed through the various rapids and whirlpools" and upon landing were greeted by an elderly gentleman  a minor official  named "Pyen Ka."



This official was aware of the English Church and treated his guests to "wine mixed with flour, and eggs and pickles." Even more important than the food, he also gave them permission to proceed on their journey.





Jeondeung Temple's murals were beautiful and vivid in May 2020. / Robert Neff Collection



They traveled through fields of barley, wheat, rice and tobacco and then turned from their path to climb a series of hills to "a lovely ravine, across which there ran a substantial stone wall, with a gate covered with creeping plants."



This appears to have been one of the gates of Samnangseong (also known as Jeongjok Mountain Fortress or Jeondeungsa Fortress). Wyers apparently knew very little of this region and did not realize how old it was. I guess he can be forgiven for his ignorance because no one is sure when it was built but some claim it was built by the three sons of Dangun (the legendary founder of the first kingdom of Korea  Gojoseon).



"Passing through the gate we found ourselves on a beautiful path, the sides of which were covered with various flowers and ferns, and following this along we soon arrived at the monastery we were seeking, which proved to be built on the spur of a hill, a remarkably fine position, and possessed of a commanding view."



Tragically, that is the end of his letter. The great amount of effort and adventure it took to reach this point climaxed in a single long sentence. Perhaps he grew tired of writing or lacked time or paper to describe this "large and famous monastery" in detail.





The monument to General Yang Heon-su and his 367 soldiers whose bravery and great hardships "played a decisive role in defeating French forces during Byeonginnyangyo in 1866," in May 2020 / Robert Neff Collection
A Hyundai Heavy Industries LNG vessel / Courtesy of Hyundai Heavy Industries



By Baek Byung-yeul



With extreme weather events such as floods, heat waves and polar vortex leakages hitting the planet, attention is shifting towards achieving carbon neutrality in many industry sectors, and the shipbuilding and shipping industries are no exception.



At the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) meeting in June, members of the UN unit that supervises regulations for the shipping industry, agreed on measures to reduce ships' carbon dioxide emissions by 2 percent per year between 2023 and 2026.



The IMO has set a goal of reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent and 50 percent, respectively, by 2050, compared to their levels in 2008. The agreement is the first plan detailing the steps to reduce these emissions.



Following the strengthening of environmental regulations, Korean shipbuilders are accelerating their efforts to develop eco-friendly ships, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels and related technologies, taking this trend as a new business opportunity. Shippers are also rushing to increase investment in developing technologies to cut their emissions.



Samsung Heavy Industries said in early July that it had succeeded in developing an LNG carrier that gets propulsion power from solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), in collaboration with the U.S.-based company, Bloom Energy. SOFC constitute an eco-friendly technology that can replace marine propulsion engines and other devices run by fossil fuels.



Hyundai Heavy Industries Group also recently signed a partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to develop hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems for marine ships.



To cut carbon emissions, HMM, the country's largest shipper, signed contracts with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to purchase 12 new container ships at the size of the 13,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) class of cargo capacity. These new containers will be installed with hybrid scrubbers, more energy-efficient than previous ships, giving the company strong environmental credentials.



In response to the changing trends, the Korean government is also swiftly establishing policies that can encourage local shipbuilders to develop eco-friendly ships.



On June 29, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced what it calls its "Green Ship-K Strategy," adding that the government will invest 254 billion won from 2022 to 2031 to develop eco-friendly vessels that run on hydrogen and ammonia.



"Eco-friendly vessels mean high value-added ships with low-carbon or zero-carbon ships that utilize eco-friendly fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, as well as next-generation ship propulsion systems such as electricity or hybrid ships," the ministry said.



The government aims to develop technologies that can reduce greenhouse gases by more than 70 percent compared to 2008 levels.



Park Jae-young, director general of the manufacturing industry department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said that the preemptive move would help Korea bridge the technology gap with industry-leading countries.



"If we continue to develop the technology of high value-added ships and eco-friendly ships that our shipbuilding industry currently has, carbon neutrality will not only be a challenging task, but it will be a golden opportunity to create a super gap in the shipbuilding industry," Park said during a meeting with shipbuilding industry officials in Ulsan, July 2.


Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization / AP-Yonhap



The World Health Organization said on Friday that the second stage of an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 should include further studies in China and lab audits.



In a closed-door briefing to member states, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus proposed five priorities for the next phase of the investigation.



They included "audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019", according to a copy of his opening statement provided by the WHO.



He also suggested investigators should focus on "studies prioritizing geographic areas with the earliest indication of circulation of SARS CoV-2", the virus that causes COVID-19.



And he called for more studies of animal markets in and around the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the disease was first detected.



The UN health agency has been under intensifying pressure for a new, more in-depth investigation of how the disease that has killed over four million people around the world first emerged.



The WHO was only able to send a team of independent, international experts to Wuhan in January, more than a year after COVID-19 first surfaced there in late 2019, to help Chinese counterparts probe the pandemic origins.



Extremely unlikely



They published a report in late March, but drew no firm conclusions about how the virus first jumped to humans.



Instead they ranked several hypotheses according to how likely they believed they were, finding that it was most likely the virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal. An alternative theory involving the virus leaking from a laboratory was deemed "extremely unlikely".



The investigation faced criticism for lacking transparency and access, and for not evaluating the lab-leak theory more deeply.



Long derided as a right-wing conspiracy theory, and vehemently rejected by Beijing, the idea that COVID-19 may have emerged from a lab leak has been gaining momentum.



According to information obtained by AFP, the WHO has now developed a protocol for evaluating laboratory safety and biological security to help ascertain whether the virus may have emerged due to a lab accident.



The protocol, which the agency aims to use to investigate the COVID-19 origin as well as possible future outbreaks, provides measures for evaluating, among other things, the storage of virus samples and handling of waste.





Wuhan Institute of Virology / Reuters-Yonhap
Men heave a freezer destroyed by the flood onto a trailer in Kordel, Germany, July 17. AP-Yonhap



Rescue workers labored to deal with damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding in Western Europe rose above 160 and thoughts turned to the lengthy job of rebuilding communities devastated in minutes.



The death toll in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, home to the badly hit Ahrweiler county, rose to 98. Another 43 people were confirmed dead in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state. Belgium's national crisis center said the country's confirmed death toll rose to 27.



Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents.



Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, German authorities listed large numbers of people as missing _ something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.



By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures. In Belgium, 103 people were listed as missing Saturday, but the crisis center said lost or uncharged cellphones and people taken to hospitals without identification who hadn't had an opportunity to contact relatives were believed to be factors in the tally.



Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.



''A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up _ their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads,'' German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.



''It may only be possible to clear up in weeks how much damage needs to be compensated,'' he said.



Steinmeier said that people in the affected areas need continuing support.



''Many people here in these regions have nothing left but their hope, and we must not disappoint this hope,'' he said.



In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.



The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged. Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.



In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.



Around 700 people were evacuated from part of the German town of Wassenberg, on the Dutch border, after the breach of a dike on the Rur river.



Visiting Erftstadt with Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet promised to organize aid for those immediately affected ''in the coming days.'' He said regional and federal authorities would discuss in the coming days how to help rebuilding efforts. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.



''We will do everything so that what needs to be rebuilt can be rebuilt,'' Laschet said.





A view of the Berchtesgadener Ache during rainfall in Berchtesgaden, Germany, July 17. AP-Yonhap
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center right, and Rhineland-Palatinate State Premier Malu Dreyer, center left, walk during their visit to the flood-ravaged areas near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate state, western Germany, Sunday. AFP-Yonhap



The death toll from flooding in Western Europe climbed above 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters. Heavy rain fueled new floods in southeastern Germany and Austria, though not on the scale of last week's devastating onslaught.



Police put the toll from the hard-hit Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state at more than 110 and said they feared the number may still rise. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany's most populous, 46 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. And Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.



Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived Sunday in Schuld, a village located on a curve of the Ahr river that was devastated by the flooding, to see the damage for herself. Her visit comes after Germany's president went to the area on Saturday and made clear that it will need long-term support.



Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he will propose a package of immediate aid at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros ($354 million) will be needed. And he said that officials must start setting up a rebuilding program which, from experience with previous flooding, will be in the billions of euros.



Pope Francis offered a prayer for the flood victims and for support of the "efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage."



"I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding," he said in his first public appearance to the faithful in St. Peter's Square after major surgery. "May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members."



Officials in the Ahrweiler area asked people not to make any more donations in kind for now. Police said "the overwhelming willingness to help" had left storage facilities for clothes and food full.



Although rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted in other parts of western and central Europe. There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, across the country from where last week's floods hit, and in Germany's southeastern corner and over the border in Austria.



About 130 people were evacuated from their homes in Germany's Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed. The railway line to Berchtesgaden was closed.



A flash flood swept through the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties. Further west, parts of the town of Kufstein were flooded. Heavy rain and storms caused serious damage in several parts of Austria.



Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.



Scientists can't yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather that has been on show around the world. (AP)




Description

Req #15229 Wednesday, July 14, 2021 Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services.



Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.



To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com. LOCALiQ is the marketing solution from the USA TODAY NETWORK providing businesses the smarter way to reach local customers. As local marketing becomes more complex, LOCALiQ empowers local businesses with unique insights from 125 million consumers in our network of sites, apps and experiences and learnings from millions of local leads delivered each year. We couple that with end to end service from our experts using local marketing best practices proven across the country.LOCALiQ simplifies local marketing and provides our clients the confidence of growing. Our core values:Community, Progress through Passion,Action with PurposeandBelief in People.If you share these values,come join our family! TheSales Executiverole requires a highly personable, intelligent individual with the ability tolead digitally focused sales efforts while maintaining an energetic, strategic and entrepreneurial spirit.

As aUSA TODAY NETWORKSales Executive, youll partner with clients to provide a broad set of solutions to include: Build Their Presence: Website, SEO, Local Listings, Reputation & Social Media

Drive Awareness & Leads: Search Engine Marketing, Social, Display, Video, and Mobile Advertising

Grow Audience and Connect:Brand Content Solutions, Social Media Marketing

Manage Leads and Customers: Lead Alert, Engagement and Tracking Tools

Know What Works:Reporting, Mobile Tools, Insight Solutions

Emerging technology such as Virtual and Augmented Reality We are dedicated to helping our clients grow based on their unique needs. When they win, we win! As a Marketing Solutions Sales Executive, you will: Be equipped with the regions best marketing services and solutions, empowering you to deliver unparalleled results to your customers

Develop partnerships with large local businesses and assist them in reaching their goals through integrated marketing plans and comprehensive media solutions

Identify customer needs to develop and execute account plans and custom client solutions that differentiate USA TODAY NETWORK from competitors

Help businesses maximize their online presence with a custom approach to digital marketing

Leverage multiple USA TODAY NETWORK resources and partners to develop optimal client solutions across our suite of products, with an emphasis on digital What you need to do to be successful in this role: Pursue and close new business and revenue streams

Retain, manage, and grow clients in the ever-changing digital landscape

Work within a team to manage the client relationship and retain and build account revenue

You will identify and understand market potential, develop and execute sales strategies across multiple platforms, including digital, mobile, targeted niche publications and the core newspaper

Articulate and present our suite of products to business decision makers

Communicate with customers proactively via phone, email and in person

Conduct face-to-face customer meetings, presentations, proposals and demonstrations

Manage a specified sales pipeline and develop a strategy for long-term sustained success

Conduct client check-ins, upsell/cross-sell accounts, and address client market share concerns

Utilize CRM (Salesforce) effectively and efficiently recording all sales activity What you bring to the table: 5+ years experience in a high acquisition, consultative, B2B sales role

Aptitude or acumen forDigital Marketing

Bachelors degree preferred, or equivalent practical experience

Passionate solution-seeker

Competitive nature and a winning team spirit

Problem solver who thrives on challenges and can simplify the complex

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Willingness to continuously learn, try new things and adapt to change

Proficient in MS Office Suite including Excel, Word, Power Point and Outlook

This role requires a valid driver license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by law We offeran energized, passionate team within a fun & flexible workplace. We offercompetitive compensation with uncapped incentives andworld class benefits, including comprehensive Health, Dental and Vision coverage, 401(K), Paid Time Off and more.This is an opportunity to work alongside digital leaders and visionaries. #Sales

#LOCALiQ Gannett Co., Inc.is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation, or veteran status. Job Family Outside Sales

Job Function Marketing Solutions

Pay Type Salary Other details

recblid 9s5kx21ab42kcocccyzcqpy2kt88s5







Requirements

None






Location: United States of America (remote)

Job Description This is a Remote position working anywhere in the United States, while providing Tech Support via phone, email and chat. This position requires working knowledge and experience with Databases (SQL Servers). This support will be provided via telephone, email, and/or technical notes. You will need the ability to cover shifts after hours and occasionally carry a weekend support phone to provide support for 24x7 customers. The Remote Support Engineer will work with customers to resolve their application and product issues, which will allow the customer to maintain or improve their system. They will join our Information Software team where you will have the opportunity to work with leading FactoryTalk & ThingWorx technology across a range of industries. Responsibilities: Provide technical support for the FactoryTalk Suite of products with a concentration on the Information Software products, via telephone. (Support via email and/or technical notes will also be required).

Provide IoT Support Services to Developers, System Administrators, Field Consultants, and Engineers.

Create and publish knowledgebase articles, blogs, or videos for reference by customers and Rockwell Automation employees.

Cover a shift after hours and occasionally carry a weekend support phone to provide support for 24x7 customers. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree.

Working knowledge and experience with Databases (SQL Servers).

Ability to cover a shift after hours and occasionally carry a weekend support phone to provide support for 24x7 customers.

Legal authorization to work in the US is required. Rockwell Automation will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. Preferred Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems (other degrees considered based on relevance to role).

Typically requires a minimum of 1+ years' experience troubleshooting, application, and or design of industrial process and/ or automation systems.

Experience with troubleshooting Microsoft Windows Server and client based software platforms.

Working knowledge of PostgreSQL, MSSQL, or Oracle RDBMS.

Experience in web application development and use of related technologies(Java, JavaScript, SSL, XML/XSL, etc.).

Exposure to computer and industrial networks-Knowledge of storage networking/cloud computing.

Understanding of Rockwell Software products including but not limited to FactoryTalk Historian SE, FactoryTalk Transaction Manager, FactoryTalkAssetCentre, FactoryTalk VantagePoint, RSLinx Classic, RSLinx Enterprise, ThingWorx, and Slack.

Experience designing and troubleshooting industrial automation infrastructures.

Experience with navigating within Microsoft Windows & Microsoft SQL Server.

Experience installing, configuring and administering Web-based applications, Relational Databases, and Open-Source Projects (such as Apache Web-Server, Apache Tomcat, OpenDS, JBoss).

Programming experience in at least one language C, .Net, Java.

An understanding of web/network communications, servers, mobile equipment and security.

An understanding of machine communication protocols and web services development including use of a REST API. Rockwell Automation is an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. #LI-MM1 #lifeatrok We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (see application details).




ECLC of Greene County is hiring all positions. Our career opportunities include a variety of positions that contribute to the education of preschoolers. We offer competitive wages, a Monday - Friday work schedule (no weekends required). We also offer 14 paid holidays, paid winter and spring breaks, paid personal days, paid sick days, and paid inclement weather days. We offer paid professional development opportunities, along with a competitive health, dental and vision package. If you have a love of learning, a compassionate heart and a desire to make a difference, then ECLC is the place for you. ECLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, we welcome all to apply. Please contact us at kfederico@eclcgreenecounty.org And emoore@eclclgreenecounty.org. Or mail your interest letter/resume to the following: Early Children Learning Center of Greene County Attention: HR Department PO Box 399 South Cairo, NY 12482 Head Start is a comprehensive child development program of early childhood education including health (physical, dental, mental), nutrition and social services. Federally funded program for low-income preschool children (3 & 4 year olds) in Greene County.

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The most important qualification for all Maryland Food Bank employees is their commitment to our mission: Feeding people, strengthening communities, and ending hunger for more Marylanders. Incumbent will be responsible for safely operating a truck with a capacity of at least 26,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). Responsibilities: Safely operate a heavy or tractor-trailer truck

Will be responsible for deliveries and/or pick-ups in the afternoon.

Properly track and document activity log

Report any issues or incidents to dispatch

Inspect truck before and after trips

Will be responsible for loading and unloading cargo and backing trucks into truck bays in the evening. Qualifications: One year of experience in truck driving or other related fields

CDL A with no history of DUI or DWI.

No more than 2 points on license.

1 year of experience with forklift. The Maryland Food Bank embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential. Company DescriptionThe Maryland Food Bank is a non-profit organization leading the movement to end hunger in Maryland. We have an extensive network of community and organizational partners across the state that distribute food to the Marylanders who need us.



We supply the food to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and faith-based organizations that serve food-insecure Marylanders. We supplement this work with outreach programs that provide direct food assistance, educate the public on the importance of good nutrition, and fight hunger through innovative means.



The Maryland Food Bank embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential. Maryland Food Bank Why Work Here? We are dedicated to feeding people, strengthening communities, and ending hunger for more Marylanders. Join us. The Maryland Food Bank is a non-profit organization leading the movement to end hunger in Maryland. We have an extensive network of community and organizational partners across the state that distribute food to the Marylanders who need us. We supply the food to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and faith-based organizations that serve food-insecure Marylanders. We supplement this work with outreach programs that provide direct food assistance, educate the public on the importance of good nutrition, and fight hunger through innovative means. The Maryland Food Bank embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential.

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Benjamin Moore & Co is looking for a PSM Process Engineer to help drive continuous improvement in the areas of process safety, production, and process engineering at its Johnstown location. This critical role in the organization will provide process engineering leadership and expertise at the plant to help them identify and implement best practices to achieve manufacturing excellence. Required Skills Responsibilities of Position:  Partner with production to provide process engineering support in the PSM area of the business.  Scope, design, and execute capital improvement projects up to $100K.  Identify bottlenecks in the process, then identify & implement solutions.  Troubleshoot process problems, then identify & implement solutions.  Through the MOC & project management processes, provide project input concerning process, production, and personnel safety requirements. Key Success Factors:  Identifies, scopes, and implements continuous improvement efforts related to process engineering and process safety in Johnstown.  Works with teams of production employees, maintenance, R&D, finance, and the leadership team to implement small capital improvements in Johnstown Resin.  Understanding of OSHA PSM and EPA RMP requirements.  Skillful application of standard work processes, including engineering design standards, engineering operating procedures, inherent safety, etc.  Timely and effective communications with all levels of the organization.  Development path to assume operational management of the department in 3-5 years  st shift but must be flexible to work Off Shift and weekends as needed to address process engineering issues. Required Experience Attributes/Skills Required/Sought:  Customer Focused  Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders.  Agent for Change  Not satisfied with the status quo; Willing to take strong and effective action to effectively manage change; Committed to continuous improvement; Recommend and develop innovative processes.  Interpersonal skills  Relates well to all levels and kinds of people; Builds appropriate rapport; Listens well.  Self-starter; Results driven; Anticipate/initiates and implements solutions; Proactive.  Action Oriented  Full of energy for the things that need to be accomplished; Bias for action; Team player.  Excellent verbal and written communication skills.  Demonstrated problem solving and analytical skills. Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.  Able to plan and coordinate several simultaneous projects.  Ability to travel (less than 10%). Basic Qualifications:  BS degree in Chemical Engineering  Minimum 3 years of experience in a production/process engineering role in a PSM environment.  Experience in a project role at a chemical plant with batch reactors is a significant plus. Company Profile The color of pride: Benjamin Moore is proud to be a part of Berkshire Hathaway, which was recognized by Fortune magazine as the world's fourth most admired company. And for more than 130 years we've been a respected leader in the architectural coatings and home decor landscape; creating the products and tools that enrich and beautify thousands of communities each day. We recognize that our associates are the driving force behind our success and we strive to provide a work environment where hard work, creativity and purposeful collaboration are fostered and encouraged. Join a company where innovation is constantly recognized as we look for individuals who produce world-class products, best-in-class services and customer experiences, design pioneering paints using the latest technologies and deliver unparalleled value and brand experiences for our customers and retail network. Safety At Benjamin Moore, our people are the heart of the company and our number one asset. We are committed to providing safe working conditions at all of our locations and have invested heavily in measures aimed at keeping employees healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. With safety as one of our core company values, we've modified facilities and work schedules to support social distancing, established enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols, and regularly provide personal protective equipment to all employees--including masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. Ensuring the well-being of our team members is a top priority. EOE M/F/D/V






World Language Teacher - Spanish

Job Description



Primary Location FC Hammond Middle School



Salary Range Teachers and Other Licensed Staff Salary Scale (http://(see application details) Shift Type Full-Time



Job Attachment



Job Description:



The Teacher facilitates student success in academic and interpersonal skills through implementing district approved curriculum; documenting teaching and student progress/activities/outcomes; addressing specific educational needs of students' providing a safe and optimal learning environment; and providing feedback to students, parents, and administration regarding student progress, expectations, goals, etc. This job reports to the Principal.



Qualifications: Education: Bachelor's degree; Master's degree preferred.

Bachelor's degree; Master's degree preferred. Certificates & Licenses: Valid Virginia Department of Education license required, or eligibility to obtain one. Essential Functions: Adapts classroom work to provide students with instructional materials that address individualized learning plans within established lesson plans.

Administers developmental testing programs, subject specific assessments, etc. to assess student competency levels and/or developing individual learning plans.

Advises parents and/or legal guardians of student progress to communicate expectations; student achievements; develops methods for improvement and/or reinforcing classroom goals in the home environment.

Assesses student progress towards objectives, expectations, and/or goals to provide feedback to students, parents, and administration.

Collaborates with instructional staff, other school personnel, parents, and a variety of community resources to improve the overall quality of student outcomes and achieve established classroom objectives in support of the school improvement plan.

Counsels students on performance improvement, health status, problem-solving techniques, and a variety of personal issues.

Demonstrates methods required to perform classroom and/or subject-specific assignments to provide an effective program that addresses individual student requirements.

Directs assistant teachers, student teachers, instructional assistants, volunteers, and/or student workers to provide an effective classroom program and address the needs of individual students.

Instructs students to improve their success in academic, interpersonal, and daily living skills through a defined course of study.

Manages student behavior to provide a safe and optimal learning environment.

Monitors students in a variety of educational environments (e.g. classroom, playground, field trips, nap times, etc.) to ensure a safe and positive learning environment.

Participates in a variety of meetings to convey and/or gather information required to perform functions.

Prepares a variety of written materials (e.g. grades, attendance, anecdotal records, etc.) to document student progress and meet mandated requirements.

Reports incidents (e.g. fights, suspected child abuse, suspected substance abuse, etc.) to maintain the personal safety of students, provide a positive learning environment, and adhere to the Education Code and school policies.

Performs other related duties, as assigned, to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the work unit. Clearances: Criminal Justice Fingerprint/Background Clearance.

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Position Objective: This position will work in tandem with the primary care team and is responsible for providing brief intervention, education, and consultation to patient, families, and schools in an outpatient setting. Essential Job Duties: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions Education Design and implement an effective educational program for the student, maintaining a conducive classroom environment essential for learning..

Plan and conduct a continuous evaluation system according to each student's progress.

Prepare necessary lesson plans that correlate with student needs.

Prepare and maintain the student records.

Develop different teaching and instructional methods appropriate for the students.

Assess the student's performance.

Submit all the necessary reports in a timely manner. Patient Care Management/Documentation Work collaboratively with physician, mental health provider of record, families/parents, and the school administrators/counselors for the efficient progress of the patient/student.

Administer student assessment to ascertain academic needs

Maintain a customer-oriented approach to meeting patient needs in an expedient manner, involving the family in the plan of care as appropriate.

Maintain confidentiality and patient privacy.

Document care provided; meeting standards for chart reviews. Consultation and Referral Seek consultations as appropriate, act as a consultant as requested.

Perform comprehensive assessments and refer patients for further care and services within the health system and/or the community. Patient Education Utilize teaching learning theory with patients and their families to influence patient outcomes.

Identify learning needs of various populations and contribute to the development of educational programs to meet those needs.

Undertake small group discussions with students, and implement individual education service plans for the students.

Provide essential supervision to the students in educational requirements. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Expert knowledge of modern teaching techniques.

Ability to prioritize and manage multiple activities with effective planning and organizational skills.

Excellent communication skills, both verbal as well as written.

Ability to express ideas, lesson materials, thoughts, and instructions clearly to the students.

Effective collaboration within inter and intra-agency levels.

Expert ability to assess individual needs.

Ability of maintaining suitable classroom control. Educational/Experience Requirements: Bachelor's degree in related field RequiredLicense/Certifications: Teaching Certification Working Conditions, Equipment, Physical Demands: There is a reasonable expectation that employees in this position will not be exposed to blood-borne pathogens. Physical Demands - The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The above job description is an overview of the functions and requirements for this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of this position; your supervisor may assign other duties as deemed necessary.




UNITED STATES PROBATION & PRETRIAL SERVICES OFFICE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS __________________________________________________________________ POSITION: U.S. Probation Officer (more than one position may be filled) VACANCY NUMBER: 2021-06 LOCATION: East St. Louis, Illinois STARTING SALARY: CL 25 ($45,181 to $72,288) DATE POSTED: July 9, 2021 CLOSING DATE: August 9, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. Salary set based on qualifications, experience, and pay setting rules per The Guide to Judiciary Policy

Promotion potential up to CL 28 without further advertisement or competition  Transfers within the Federal Judiciary will be considered within the starting salary range  Application packets will be reviewed and considered upon receipt, and interviews may be conducted prior to the closing date of this announcement. __________________________________________________________________ The District The Southern District of Illinois geographically consists of a 38 county area in the southern part of the state. The main office is located in East St. Louis, Illinois, with a divisional office in Benton, Illinois. The district consists of 46 staff, including the Chief U.S. Probation Officer (CUSPO), Deputy Chief U.S. Probation Officer (DCUSPO), management staff, probation officers, and administrative staff. Position Overview Under the general supervision of the CUSPO, DCUSPO, and Supervisory Probation Officer, the U.S. Probation Officer (USPO) conducts investigations and supervises people placed on probation, parole, and supervised release. Duties also may include conducting pretrial investigations to obtain background information and preparing reports for the court with recommendations on if a defendant should be detained or released on bond pending a disposition of the charge. The USPO gathers comprehensive factual information, which is verified through collateral resources, and provides written and/or verbal assistance to the court regarding pretrial procedures in a clear, logical, and concise format. The USPO conducts presentence investigations, interprets and applies the U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines and relevant case law, and prepares reports for the court with recommendations for sentencing of individuals convicted of federal offenses. Duties may also include supervision of individuals to maximize adherence to court-ordered conditions, reduce risk to the community, and provide correctional treatment. The supervision process involves maintaining personal contact with people under supervision through community visits and office/telephone contacts; investigating employment, sources of income, lifestyle, and associates to assess risk and compliance; detecting substance abuse through urine collection and other methods; referring people under supervision to agencies for treatment; etc. The USPO also submits reports to the court and provides testimony during court hearings. Qualification Standards Applicant must have a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in a field of academic study such as criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, human relations, or business/public administration, which provides evidence of the capacity to understand and apply the legal requirements and human relations skills involved in the position. For CL 25 step 2 and progressively higher levels, greater academic achievements or varying years of specialized experience are needed. A masters degree is desirable. Specialized experience is progressively responsible experience gained after completion of a bachelors degree in such fields as probation, pretrial services, parole, corrections, criminal investigations, or work in substance abuse/addiction treatment. Unless previous positions included criminal investigative experience, time spent as a police, custodial, or security officer is not creditable. Additional Preferences To qualify for this position, applicant also must demonstrate that s/he possesses:  a thorough knowledge of the philosophy, theories, and practices of the correctional field, with a knowledge of law, psychology, sociology, criminology, and evidence-based practices. a devotion to the protection of the community.

the ability to develop rapport with people, inspire confidence, and secure cooperation.  unquestioned integrity and exemplary character.

the ability to exercise initiative in conflict resolution while performing assigned duties.  the ability to conduct investigations of cases and make sound evaluations and recommendations.

a knowledge of available community resources and the understanding and skill to identify additional resources.

a history that demonstrates strong organizational skills and the ability to effectively meet deadlines.

the ability to perform effectively in a team-oriented work environment. Benefits Judiciary employees serve under excepted appointments (not civil service). Federal benefits include paid vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, and retirement benefits. Optional benefits include health, life, and long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care, dental and vision insurance, and a tax-deferred savings plan. This position is subject to mandatory electronic fund transfer (direct deposit) participation for payment of net pay. Physical Requirements, Medical Standards, and Maximum Entry Age This is a hazardous duty position that requires the investigation and management of people who allegedly committed a crime or have been convicted of a crime, who present physical danger to officers and to the public. In the supervision, treatment, and control of these people, these duties require moderate to arduous physical exercise, including prolonged periods of walking and standing, a physical dexterity and coordination necessary to operate a firearm, and use of self defense tactics. On a daily basis, these officers face unusual mental and physical stress because they are subject to danger and possible harm during frequent, direct contact with individuals, many times in the community, who are suspected or convicted of committing federal offenses. Because officers must effectively deal with physical attacks and are subject to moderate and arduous physical exertion, applicants must be physically capable. The medical requirements for probation officers are available for public view at: https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/probation-and-pretrial-services/officers-and-officer assistants/officer-and-officer-0. First time appointees to positions covered under law enforcement officer retirement provisions must not have reached their 37th birthday at the time of appointment. The position of the probation officer is classified as hazardous duty allowing for retirement at age 50 with 20 years of service and mandatory retirement at the age of 57. Background Investigation and Drug Screening Prior to appointment, the selectee considered for this position will undergo a medical examination and drug screening. Upon successful completion of the medical examination and drug screening, the selectee may then be appointed provisionally, pending a favorable suitability determination of a background investigation. In addition, as conditions of employment, employees are subject to on-going random drug screening and updated background investigations every five years. Procedures for Applying Application packets should include the following: Cover letter consisting of no more than two pages describing your qualifications, skills, and abilities that are relevant to the field of probation, court services, corrections, or counseling

Resume with three professional references and contact numbers

AO 78 Application Form (revised 02/20) including announcement number (preferred form located at http://www.ilsp.uscourts.gov )

Last two performance evaluations

College transcripts (with grade point average) Application packets should be sent via email as one PDF document to Recruitment1@ilsp.uscourts.gov. The subject line should state USPO ESL Application 2021-06. Receipt will be acknowledged by the Human Resources Department by return email. If you do not receive email confirmation within three business days, please contact the Human Resources Administrator at (618) 482-9425. Application packets must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the closing date. Incomplete and late application materials will not be considered. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or eligible to work in the United States. Selection will be made consistent with the provisions of the Equal Opportunity Plan adopted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Due to the volume of applications received, the U.S. Probation Office will only communicate with those applicants who will be tested or interviewed. Applicants selected for interviews must travel at their own expense. Relocation expenses will not be reimbursed. The U.S. Probation Office reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement or to withdraw the announcement, any of which may occur without prior written or other notice. In the event a position becomes vacant in a similar classification within 90 days of the original announcement, the Chief U.S. Probation Officer may elect to select a candidate from the applicants who responded to the original announcement without posting the position. Employees are required to adhere to a Code of Ethics and Conduct, which is available to applicants for review upon request. The United States Courts is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer OUR MISSION It is our mission to strive for excellence as we serve the Courts and community by providing quality supervision, promoting community safety, inspiring positive changes in those we serve, and administering justice with fairness and integrity.

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Salary $34,049.60 - $51,979.20 Annually Location Arlington, VA Job Type Full-Time Department Department of Environmental Services Job Number 1325-22A-DES-DB Closing 7/29/2021 11:59 PM Eastern Position Information

Arlington County's Department of Environmental Services (DES) is seeking an Automotive Supply Assistant for the Operations section of the Equipment Bureau . This employee performs manual and administrative duties associated with the operation and maintenance of the Equipment Bureau warehouse and stores management system. Major duties include the receipt, storage and distribution of automotive parts and materials, including the data entry required when parts are received and issued. The employee also orders parts using agreed upon vendor contracts and/or prepares requisition data for non-stock items to be researched and ordered by the day staff.



Specific duties include: Maintaining manual and automated inventory systems as materials are ordered, received and dispensed;

Conducting periodic inventories of warehouse storage items, including producing reports to identify items that need ordering;

Researching and responding to inquiries related to inventory levels and/or availability of parts stocked in the warehouse;

Picking up automotive parts from local distributors;

Ensuring the efficient and safe storage of materials;

Researching availability of materials, parts and equipment, using supply manuals, catalogs, the Internet, and existing vendor contracts;

Preparing requisitions;

Including issuing materials and parts from the warehouse to staff;

Receiving and processing materials, including using a forklift to position items in the warehouse; and

Resolving discrepancies on orders.

Selection Criteria

Minimum : High school diploma or equivalent; and

Eighteen (18) months of progressively responsible administrative work in automotive shop warehouse operations which may include: maintaining inventory control; ordering & issuing supplies; and maintaining supply records. Substitution : Successful completion of college coursework from an accredited college or university can be substituted for the experience requirement on the following basis: two (2) years = six (6) months of experience; four (4) years = one (1) year of experience. Additional experience may be substituted for up to two (2) years of high school on a year-for-year basis. Education may not substitute for more than one year of experience.



Desirable : Preference may be given to candidates with experience in one or more of the following:



Working with a computerized inventory/supply system; and/or

Utilizing computer software such as the Vehicle Maintenance Report System.

Special Requirements

Applicant must possess, or obtain by time of appointment, a valid Driver license. The applicant must authorize Arlington County to obtain, or the applicant must provide a copy of the applicant's official state/district driving record. Any offer of employment may be contingent upon a favorable review of the applicant's driving record.

Additional Information

Working Hour s: Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Employees in this position must be available for call back in emergencies.



The official title of this position is Supply Assistant IV.



Please complete each section of the application. A resume may be attached; however, it will not substitute for the completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Arlington County Government employee benefits depend on whether a position is permanent, the number of hours worked, and the number of months the position is scheduled.



Specific information on benefits and conditions of employment can be found on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: (see application details)



Permanent, Full-Time Appointments

All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available:



Paid Leave : Vacation leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases every three years until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. There are eleven paid holidays each year.



Health and Dental Insurance : Three group health insurance plans are offered - a network open access plan, a point-of-service plan, and a health maintenance organization. A group dental insurance plan is also offered. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. A discount vision plan is provided for eye care needs.



Life Insurance : A group term policy of basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance is available with rates based on the employee's age and smoker/non-smoker status.



Retirement : The County offers three vehicles to help you prepare for retirement: a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service. The County also contributes to this plan.



For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)) . The County also matches your 457 contribution, up to $20 per pay period, in this plan. The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to set aside money on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your base pay.



Other Benefits: The County also offers health, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; long-term care insurance; tuition assistance; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other employee benefits.



Permanent, Part-Time Appointments:

Part time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week.



Limited Term Appointments:

Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status.



Temporary Regular Appointments:

Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.



Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments:

Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements.






Salary $56,284.80 - $95,056.00 Annually Location Arlington, VA Job Type Full-Time Department Fire Department Job Number 5232-22A-FIR-TNT Closing 7/29/2021 11:59 PM Eastern Position Information

The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) is seeking qualified Firefighter/EMT Recruits to join our team of over 300 uniformed and civilian employees who serve a diverse and engaged community through prevention, education and professional response to all hazards.



ACFD welcomes motivated, service minded, and physically fit individuals who are committed to lifelong learning and who will display and uphold the values of the department. Our recruits perform responsible and challenging duties associated with fire suppression, rescue, basic or advanced life support, Hazmat and/or fire prevention. To learn more about the job duties of an ACFD Firefighter/EMT click here .



Joining our team as an emergency responder has unique benefits and provides challenging opportunities: Working in an urban community that includes high- and mid-rise buildings, a metrorail system, single occupancy homes and apartment complexes, interstates and highways, and a major national airport;

Joining one of our special operations teams, such as hazardous materials, technical rescue or swift water rescue teams and/or bomb squad;

Serving in a wide variety of functional areas such as fire prevention, emergency communications, logistics, health and safety, human resources and training;

Collaborating with other regional fire and rescue departments and state and federal agencies who are dedicated to ensuring the safety of our community and region through an all hazards approach;

Working 10-11 shifts per month with scheduled breaks of 1-4 days;

Full health benefits, including a generous uniformed public safety retirement plan; and

Pay premiums for certifications and other specialty areas. Candidates should review the following information on the ACFD's website before their scheduled written exam day: Background Packet Documentation

Hiring Process Our Fire Department is one of the most progressive and innovative in the country having the first professional female firefighter in 1974 and forming the nation's first Metropolitan Medical Strike Team to respond to chemical, biological, and radiological terrorist attacks. We have 9 fire stations. Arlington is located right across the river from the nation's capital with a population of 235,000. Follow our link for more information about our community.

Selection Criteria

Minimum: To sit for the exam, applicants must be within 6 months of acquiring a high school diploma or GED, and at least 17 years and 6 months of age. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED and 18 years of age by date of hire.



Desirable: Preference may be given to applicants who meet the following criteria: Possession of Virginia EMT-I (Intermediate), EMT-P (Paramedic) Certification, or National Registry EMT-P (Paramedic) Certification.

Special Requirements

Apply today if you are interested in joining our dedicated team of employees!



The written examination session is tentatively scheduled for mid-to-late August, 2021. Please understand that due to the current public health crisis dates will be subject to last minute changes. You will receive further instructions via email at a later time with more specific information regarding test dates, registration instructions, test site location, test day logistics, and safety protocols. You will only need to attend one exam session. More details regarding our comprehensive selection process will be provided at the test.



Our examination process is comprehensive with a series of qualifying requirements, examinations and steps designed to ensure we identify the applicants who will be most successful in this career field: Written Examination;

Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT);

Character/Background Investigation;

Fingerprinting;

Panel Interview with Fire Department;

Polygraph Examination; and

Medical/Physical/Psychological Examinations. NOTE : Applicants who did not pass the written exam in September 2020 are not eligible to re-take the written exam for a period of one year from their last test date. Applicants who took and successfully passed the written exam with Arlington County given in September 2020 are not required to re-take the written exam, but must go through the remaining steps of the process and are required to submit another online application.

Additional Information

Make sure we are able to connect with you throughout the hiring process by providing us with an accurate email and mailing address.



If you possess a current valid Virginia (VA) EMT-Intermediate or VA Paramedic certification you will be eligible to receive the relative premium pay upon hire as follows: VA EMT Intermediate - $0.87 per hour (non-shift rate)

VA Paramedic - $1.73 per hour (non-shift rate) Want more information about becoming a Firefighter/EMT? Click below for more specific details about the Fire Department, this recruitment, including an overview of the hiring process, and to obtain the required downloadable documents. Visit the Fire Department's website ( (see application details) ) and click on employment info under Quick Links. Arlington County Government employee benefits depend on whether a position is permanent, the number of hours worked, and the number of months the position is scheduled.



Specific information on benefits and conditions of employment can be found on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: (see application details)



Permanent, Full-Time Appointments

All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available:



Paid Leave : Vacation leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases every three years until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. There are eleven paid holidays each year.



Health and Dental Insurance : Three group health insurance plans are offered - a network open access plan, a point-of-service plan, and a health maintenance organization. A group dental insurance plan is also offered. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. A discount vision plan is provided for eye care needs.



Life Insurance : A group term policy of basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance is available with rates based on the employee's age and smoker/non-smoker status.



Retirement : The County offers three vehicles to help you prepare for retirement: a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service. The County also contributes to this plan.



For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)) . The County also matches your 457 contribution, up to $20 per pay period, in this plan. The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to set aside money on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your base pay.



Other Benefits: The County also offers health, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; long-term care insurance; tuition assistance; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other employee benefits.



Permanent, Part-Time Appointments:

Part time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week.



Limited Term Appointments:

Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status.



Temporary Regular Appointments:

Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.



Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments:

Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements.






Salary $41,433.60 - $70,179.20 Annually Location Arlington "METRO-accessible", VA Job Type Full-Time Department Police Department Job Number 5026-22A-POL-TT Closing 8/5/2021 11:59 PM Eastern Position Information

Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is currently seeking motivated and service minded individuals for to join our team of over 460 employees who serve a diverse and engaged community by upholding the core principles of the department . ACPD is currently hiring Public Service Aides to serve as active contributors to the Police Department's mission of reducing crime and improving the quality of life by creating an environment where all people may live safely and without fear.



ACPD's Public Service Aides are non-sworn uniformed employees within the Police Department and provide service to the community by performing several enforcement and support functions to the department and its sworn Police Officers. Public Service Aides assist the overall mission of the department by enforcing parking regulations, providing vehicle and pedestrian traffic control at incidents, supporting special events, and providing information and assistance to members of the public while being present and visible members of public safety within the community. Public Service Aides are highly visible representatives of Arlington County Government and the Police Department to promote safety, security, and competence through their active presence and service within the community. They will provide service to County residents and visitors, and promote safety by being responsible for the following: Assisting the public by providing directions and general information while on patrol;

Patrolling assigned areas within the County to investigate or identify parking violations;

Providing traffic control and security assistance at events and accidents including d eploying traffic cones along roadways and directing traffic;

Reporting traffic hazards or violators to Police Department officers for further assistance;

Placing portable traffic signs in designated areas and tracking vehicles parked in temporary No Parking zones prior to posting of signage;

Issuing electronic parking tickets accurately for vehicles violating parking laws and preparing notices for vehicles violating County license plate ordinances;

Coordinating the impounding of vehicles, and installing and removing parking boots on cars that are in violation of parking laws; and

Testifying in Traffic Court when citizens contest tickets. Qualified candidates will have strong written and verbal communication skills to accurately complete forms and reports, as well as exceptional inter-personal skills to diffuse tense interactions with the public while enforcing parking regulations, providing directions or information on parking restrictions, and explaining County or State licensing requirements.

Selection Criteria

Minimum: High school diploma or GED; and

Demonstrated desire to assist the community in a public-facing capacity; use problem solving and interpersonal skills to assist and inform others; and enforce Virginia and Arlington County parking, traffic, and license regulations. Desirable: Preference may be given to candidates with experience in one or more of the following: Traffic and parking enforcement;

Interacting and with the public in stressful or potentially confrontational situations;

De-escalating situations where you are interacting with upset or confrontational individuals; and

Explaining rules and procedures to others.

Special Requirements

Work environment: Public Service Aides conduct their work in an environment that involves walking several miles per day for extended periods of time while outdoors in all types of weather to include heavy rain, extreme heat and extreme cold and frequently operate motor vehicles. Other physical aspects of the position include bending over and lifting parking boots that weigh up to 35 pounds, and carrying, lifting, and loading stacks of traffic cones and barricades that weigh up to 40 pounds per stack from beds of pick-up trucks and rapidly deploying them along the roadway.



Background check: Due to the sensitive nature of this position, candidates receiving consideration will be required to undergo a pre-employment polygraph examination and a character/background investigation conducted by the Police Department. Any offer of employment may be contingent upon a favorable review of the applicant's driving record, criminal history, background check, and polygraph.



Certifications and licenses : Candidates must have the ability to obtain Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) State Operator Certification.

A v alid license to operate a motor vehicle required. The applicant must provide or authorize Arlington County to obtain a copy of the applicant's official state/district driving record. Any offer of employment may be contingent on a favorable review of the applicant's driving record and criminal history.

Additional Information

Work hours: Specific work hours vary and is determined at the time of hire. Position requires shift work and working weekends, evenings, holidays, special events, and scheduled and unscheduled overtime.



Work location: ACPD main office is based at 1425 North Courthouse Road. However, job duties are performed throughout the county including patrol both on foot and while driving a County-issued vehicle.



Salary: The salary range listed in this the announcement is for Public Service Aide I, as all new employees are hired at the Public Service Aide I classification. With satisfactory performance, including attaining a pre-determined skill level, employees are eligible for consideration for movement from the Public Service Aide I to the Public Service Aide II class at 18 months after hire. The salary range for the two levels and are as follows: Public Service Aide I: $41,433.60 - $63,294.40 Annually

Public Service Aide II: $45,988.80 - $70,179.20 Annually Each section of the application must be completed. A resume may be attached; however, it will not substitute for the completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Arlington County Government employee benefits depend on whether a position is permanent, the number of hours worked, and the number of months the position is scheduled.



Specific information on benefits and conditions of employment can be found on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: (see application details)



Permanent, Full-Time Appointments

All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available:



Paid Leave : Vacation leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases every three years until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. There are eleven paid holidays each year.



Health and Dental Insurance : Three group health insurance plans are offered - a network open access plan, a point-of-service plan, and a health maintenance organization. A group dental insurance plan is also offered. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. A discount vision plan is provided for eye care needs.



Life Insurance : A group term policy of basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance is available with rates based on the employee's age and smoker/non-smoker status.



Retirement : The County offers three vehicles to help you prepare for retirement: a defined benefit plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service. The County also contributes to this plan.



For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)) . The County also matches your 457 contribution, up to $20 per pay period, in this plan. The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to set aside money on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your base pay.



Other Benefits: The County also offers health, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; long-term care insurance; tuition assistance; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other employee benefits.



Permanent, Part-Time Appointments:

Part time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week.



Limited Term Appointments:

Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status.



Temporary Regular Appointments:

Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.



Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments:

Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements.


Do you have solid credit skills and love the finance industry?

We are seeking a full-time Credit Officer to join our AgCountry team in the Fargo, ND, Grand Forks, ND or Willmar, MN office. We will consider other office locations for the right candidate.

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The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) was founded in 1995 to provide structure and leadership to the emerging field of molecular diagnostics. AMP's 2,500+ members include individuals from academic and community medical centers, government, and industry; including pathologist and doctoral scientist laboratory directors; basic and translational scientists; technologists; and trainees. The AMP Exhibits & Sponsorships Managermanages all aspects of AMPs Exhibits and Sponsorship offerings for the AMP Annual Meeting & Expo and is the primary point of contact for exhibitors and sponsors. In addition, this manager develops and executes exhibits and sponsorship sales efforts. Reports to the Director of Meetings & Exhibits. RESPONSIBILITIES: Manage all aspects of the Annual Meeting & Expos exhibits and sponsorships program under the direction of the Director of Meetings & Exhibits, which include but are not limited to: Manage the development and implementation of exhibit and sponsorship sales (including new initiatives).

Manage onsite exhibitor logistics, including: bag stuffing (manage temp staff), exhibitor registration, exhibitor lounge, exhibit hall set-up/teardown and daily operations with AMP vendors.

Participate in site visit(s) to assess facility compliance with exhibits needs, and identify opportunities and limitations.

Develop and maintain Exhibit Hall floorplan with the General Contractor.

Manage and execute retention strategy for exhibits and sponsorships.

Manage and execute strategy for generating leads for prospective exhibitors and sponsors.

Primary contact to AMP Exhibitors for all aspects of AMP Exhibits & Sponsorships.

Respond to email and phone inquiries from existing and potential exhibitors and sponsors.

Update and maintain exhibits and sales database information (CadmiumCD & Salesforce).

Manage relevant sections (exhibits, sponsorships and FAQs) of the website to maintain accuracy of information.

Collaborate with MarComm to develop strategic marketing and sales plans.

Collaborate with MarComm on Social Media strategies and campaigns (MarComm executes).

Manage the development and production for the Exhibitor Newsletter and other related exhibitor promotion and communication (Mura and iContact).

Plan and lead weekly sales meeting.

Prepare financial and PACE reports; provide budget recommendations.

Manage and execute approvals of booth renderings/bag inserts/mailers.

Manage sponsorship fulfillment for signage, advertising and promotional products.

Establish and maintain successful customer relationships, including identifying customer needs and responding creatively, and applying knowledge to determine solutions and opportunities.

Develop and report trends for exhibitor retention and overall satisfaction through exhibitor surveys and direct follow-up communication.

Prepare annual report with analytics and metrics; communicate recommendations for improvement.

Benchmark AMPs exhibits program against others (e.g., best practices, increase traffic).

Collaborate with the Director of Meetings & Exhibits to prepare and monitor exhibits and sponsorships budget.

Maintain relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Lead the Exhibitor Advisory Group.

Responsibilities may be modified at any time to fulfill organizational requirements. SKILLS REQUIRED: Proficiency in Exhibit Management and CRM systems, (CadmiumCD and Salesforce preferred).

Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Proficiency in InDesign, Mura and iContact a plus.

Strong interpersonal skills to relate to different people with a variety of backgrounds, personalities, and learning styles; establish and maintain positive working relationships with others both internally and externally; and maintain a courteous demeanor when under pressure.

Able to avoid and resolve conflict, and to view situations from others perspectives.

Excellent customer service skills.

Highly organized and detail-oriented, including excellent time management and decision- making ability; able to appropriately prioritize projects and tasks.

High level of productivity and dependability; meets deadlines.

Able to analyze data from financial reports, exhibitor registrations, surveys, etc. and formulate strategies.

Able to handle confidential information.

Able to quickly learn new skills and information and put into immediate use.

Excellent English oral and written communication skills. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Associate degree or equivalent number of relevant college credits required; Bachelors degree preferred. Significant experience in the responsibilities required for this position could replace the education requirement.

5+ years experience in exhibits management and sales, in a medical/scientific association a plus. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Sitting/standing for a full workday, and at times for longer.

Extensive use of a computer. Move quickly throughout and between various offices and meeting locations (hotels and convention centers).

Routinely lift objects less than 10 lbs; occasionally lift objects up to 25 lbs.

Work is primarily performed in the AMP office. Telecommuting up to 2 days a week may be granted after a planned transition period but is not guaranteed.

Work will also be required at designated Annual Meeting venues, including convention centers and hotels.

Overnight travel to the annual meeting (up to 9 consecutive days) required; possible overnight travel to 2-3 other industry meetings/site inspections (up to 5 consecutive days); inclusion of weekends may be involved. BENEFITS: This is a full-time, non-commission, non-exempt position. AMP offers competitive salary and excellent benefits, including 403(b) retirement with employer contributions, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life, short- and long-term disability), free parking, and professional development opportunities. LOCATION: The AMP office is conveniently located in Rockville, Maryland and is walking distance to Metro and major bus/shuttle lines. During the pandemic, our team has been working remotely, but we will return to AMPs Rockville-based office after Labor Day 2021. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.faseb.org/employment. Please send a cover letter and salary requirements. For information on the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), please visit: https://www.amp.org/ AMP is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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Tupelo, MS (38804)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 74F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 74F. Winds light and variable.
Magnolia, AR (71754)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 73F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 73F. Winds light and variable.


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Urging unity and action to accelerate nutrition targets amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, representatives of the African Development Bank , the Aliko Dangote Foundation and Big Win Philanthropy renewed their commitment to end child stunting and other forms of malnutrition through the Banking on Nutrition Partnership .

The partners convened during a high-level panel discussion held on 8 July, organized by the African Development Bank. They shared lessons learned, experiences, achievements of the Banking on Nutrition Partnership since its inception five years ago. They also discussed its implementation within the African Development Bank and its Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan, as well as measures to encourage other organizations and development banks to integrate nutrition into their portfolios.

The Bank is relentless in pursuing bold targets to unlock Africas human and economic potential. It is our aim to inspire other actors to recognize nutrition as central to that agenda, said Dr. Beth Dunford, Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank in her opening address. We need urgent action from all sectors to rise and renew commitment towards nutrition to help speed up the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate achievement of nutrition targets, she added.

Other interventions during the program came from Kesete Admasu, CEO of Big Win Philanthropy, Zouera Youssoufou, CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Joel Spicer, CEO of Nutrition International and Martin Fregene and Chanda Osward, directors from the African Development Bank.

Each speaker reaffirmed their commitment to the Partnership and to help countries end child stunting on the continent.

Malnutrition continues to rob generations of Africans of the chance to grow to their full physical and cognitive potential, hugely impacting health outcomes and economic development. The Banking on Nutrition Partnership aims to generate long term economic growth for Africa by investing in Grey Matter Infrastructure. In 2020, 61.4 million African children were registered as stunted, with Africa being the only region where the number of stunted children has risen and 40% of all stunted children in the world live on the African continent.

The Banking on Nutrition Partnership is a prime example of African leadership in health and nutrition. When we have a practical result driven success story based on partnership, it is important to showcase it, said Youssoufou.

The value of the Partnership is for all of us to come together and look at how to incorporate nutrition more deliberately as part of a comprehensive protective wall of immunity around people from the inside and out, Spicer said.

The Partnership has demonstrated its effectiveness through numerous initiatives and programs such as support for Ethiopias Seqota Declaration  a commitment to end stunting in children under two by 2030. The African Development Bank approved $48 million in funding for the Government of Ethiopias Multi-Sectoral Approach for Stunting Reduction Project (MASReP).

Positive results of the Banking on Nutrition Partnership include integration of nutrition into 18% of African Development Bank projects, with 21% of project interventions prioritizing focus on women and children. The Bank also surpassed its 2025 targets of 15% and 10% nutrition-smart investments in the WASH and social protection sectors respectively.

In its next phase, the Banking on Nutrition Partnership will prioritize 10 countries using the African Development Banks Grey Matter Infrastructure Investment Index, a criterion based on country rankings centered on their stunting burden and borrowing headroom. These countries include Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan, Madagascar, Kenya, Burundi, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

It will take a healthy and skilled workforce to put Africa on the recovery path after COVID-19 and, more importantly, to move the needle in transforming the continent and the quality of life of its people, said Martha Phiri, Director of Human Capital, Youth and Skills Department.

Launched in 2018, the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan (https://bit.ly/3r8KVyk) 2018-2025 is an ambitious plan to leverage additional financial resources through nutrition smart investments across sectors such health, agriculture, WASH, social protection and education to support a 40% stunting reduction across the continent by 2025.
ABH (www.AfricaBusinessHeroes.org) also unveiled its first annual report, highlighting the initiatives achievements and the impact; Investors, partners and entrepreneurs from across sectors and markets gathered to discuss pressing issues and ideas for collaboration; Applications for this years edition of the prize competition are under review with the 2021 Top 50 to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Africas Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition, the flagship philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation to help foster an inclusive pan-African entrepreneurial ecosystem, held its first ever Annual Summit in a fully virtual format, gathering over 1,600 attendees from across Africa. The Summit consisted of a half-day online conference and workshops and presented an opportunity for the ABH community to connect, engage and hear from some of the best minds in business, technology and marketing.

At the summit, Jason Pau, Executive Director (International) of the Jack Ma Foundation, launched the first ever ABH Annual Report (https://bit.ly/2U4u57T), which recaps the journey of ABH to date and the impact it has created for participants and communities. The team has relentlessly sought to look out over the horizon, innovate and drive greater impact through our program. We are focused on building an inclusive pan-African entrepreneurial community, and our achievements are only possible through the support of our partners, judges, volunteers, friends and communities across Africa and from all corners of the world.

The report notes that since being named ABH finalists, the 2019 and 2020 top 10 have in total supported over 8,300 direct and indirect jobs, and created 455 new direct jobs. Many have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, leveraging their businesses to deliver blood, oxygen, PPE and other essential services to those most in need. Furthermore, several businesses have seen growth rise two and even threefold and raised millions of dollars in funding, thanks to the exposure and connections gained during their experience at ABH. In addition, 43,000 entrepreneurs from all over Africa who were past applicants have been able to access unparalleled training, learnings, and networking opportunities.

Throughout the Summit, participants discussed the central theme of this years competition, Its African Time. Bogolo Kenewendo, global economist and former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Botswana, and ABH Special Advisor noted the key role entrepreneurs can play in unlocking the economic potential of the continent: The potential for businesses is immense. Africa has been one of the worlds fastest-growing regions for the past decade, with around USD 6.7 trillion available in consumer and business spending, many of the opportunities are veiled as challenges and problems. We need capital to fuel problem solving and innovation in the continent. Its not charity, it is business. There is more scope for growth in Africa than the rest of the world.

Participants also shared the same passion for delivering solutions. In a poll during the summit, 93% of respondents stated that a problem to solve and a great business idea was the reason they chose to become an entrepreneur. Only 5% said they were primarily driven by economic gain.

The event also gathered a panel of senior African and international speakers to engage with the audience on a number of crucial subjects including investment, technology, marketing and talent cultivation. Their common message was that this is an extremely exciting, yet challenging time for entrepreneurship and business-making in Africa, but the future looks bright:

Moulaye Taboure, Founder and CEO of Afrikrea and one of the top ten finalists in 2019, commented: Crisis is a great way to focus. In 2020 we grew volume 2.5x and revenue 5x. It was painful but it worked.

Fred Swaniker, the founder of African Leadership Group, said the shift to remote work gives entrepreneurs access to new talent, across borders which makes now an excellent time to grow. He added: Ignore technology at your peril. Stop thinking about tech as a side thing, think about it as core to everything. If you do, its a phenomenal time to be an entrepreneur.

The growth in access to capital in Africa is incredible, said Charlie Graham-Brown, Chief Investment Officer & Partner at Seedstars. 2020 saw a drop in volume, but the number of deals grew by 44%. For entrepreneurs needing to raise capital, its a brilliant time.

Entries for the 2021 ABH prize competition recently closed and expert judges are currently reviewing thousands of applications to select the top 50, to be announced later this month. All 54 African countries are represented in this years applicant pool and a variety of sectors, with agriculture dominating at 22%, followed by ICT at 9% and business, education, and manufacturing at 8% each. A third of all entrants are women with 15% from Francophone countries.
The Tech Assist is one of the best deals our 62 municipalities can get, because it costs them nothing other than time. The LVPC and PennDOT are in their 12th year of partnership of providing education and best practices to help municipal crews get the most of their roadway and community maintenance dollars, through the Local Technical Assistance Program. In the past, that included free day-long or half-day classes, on everything from roadway safety audits to setting speed limits, attended at the LVPC offices by hundreds of municipal engineering, public works and road crew employees a year. However, after the COVID-19 Pandemic forced those classes to be moved online, losing the benefit of in-person interactions, PennDOT and the LVPC put a greater focus on a Tech Assist program that sends PennDOT-contracted engineers and LVPC staff into the field to help municipalities get the most out of their improvement projects. Its like a house call with professional engineers and planners. Its entirely free and Im proud to say Lehigh Valley communities have taken advantage of this like no other region in Pennsylvania.
Police said the occupants of a vehicle driving by fired into the west Philadelphia store about 8 p.m. Saturday, and two people inside returned fire. One of them was injured. The boy was taken to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and listed in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.
I could discover no way around or safe way over. I made the best of it, tilting back in my chair to lie flat and forest bathe  soaking up the sounds of the creek and the birds and the sights of the forest canopy above. Tranquility seeped into my bones.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
OPPOSITION MDC Alliance vice-president Tendai Biti yesterday described the ruling elite as roving bandits who are clinging to power to loot national resources without concern for the ordinary citizens welfare.

In a virtual address on corruption, the former Finance minister accused government officials of concentrating on accumulating personal wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Corruption in Zimbabwe is dominated by the roving bandits. The challenge with the Zimbabwean roving bandits is that they leave nothing for the ordinary citizen. That is why Zimbabwe is extremely poor when it is generating billions of dollars,he said.

Its only them and their children who are benefiting when the majority are surviving on US$0,25 per day. Corruption has become the greatest threat that our country faces. It affects every sphere of Zimbabwean life. It has become a threat to the existence of Zimbabwe itself as a nation.

Biti said each year, gold worth US$1,5 billion is smuggled out of the country, mainly to South Africa and Dubai for the benefit of the elite.

He added that Zimbabwe was losing other resources worth US$3 billion each year to corruption, excluding losses from illicit financial flows.

We are now ranked by Transparency International-Zimbabwe as the 20th most corrupt country in the world. What is shocking is that we have overtaken countries that have been traditionally associated with extraction such as Nigeria. At this rate in which corruption is accelerating in the country, I have no doubt that we will overtake every country in Africa, Biti said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has established the Special Anti-Corruption Commission in his office to improve efficiency in the fight against graft, but critics have said the institution is being used to fight his political enemies. Newsday
National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) spokersperson Obert Gutu has been taken to the High Court over his statements downplaying the gravity of Gukurahundi.

Gutu, a former MDC-T vice-president who joined Zanu PF early this year, last month called Gukurahundi a small, tiny fraction of the issues the NPRC was dealing with.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) now wants the High Court to bar Gutu from serving as an NPRC commissioner for allegedly failing to renounce his Zanu PF membership as demanded by the law.

ZimRights argued in its court application that Gutu was not eligible to perform his duties as a commissioner because he had not relinquished his political party membership.

Gutu was appointed a commissioner in the NPRC a month after he joined the ruling party and was recently appointed spokesperson of the peace body and chairperson for its complaints handling committee.

Through its lawyers from the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, ZimRights argued that Gutu failed to renounce his Zanu PF membership within 30 days of his appointment in accordance with section 236 of the constitution.

On 17 March 2021 the first respondent joined Zanu PF, ZimRights executive director Dzikamai Bere stated in the founding affidavit.

The announcement was made following the appearance of the first respondent at the State House where he was welcomed into the political party by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the first secretary of Zanu PF.

On 29 March just eight days after his avowed membership to Zanu PF, the first respondents name was shortlisted as a potential member for the NPRC.

The first respondent was shortlisted as a potential member of the NPRC on May 7 2021, which marks the date of his appointment.

Bere said Gutu confirmed his Zanu PF membership in media interviews after leaving the MDC-T.

Gutu, through his lawyers Thompson Stevenson and Associates, claimed he abandoned his plans to join Zanu PF when he was appointed an NPRC commissioner.

He said his statements in the state media on his Zanu PF membership were an expression of intention and interest.

There is no basis for the relief sought in terms of section 263 (3) (b) as I was not formally admitted into the Zanu PF political party, thus there is no membership to be relinquished, Gutu said in his opposing affidavit.

I never formally became a member of Zanu PF. My expression of intention to become a member must never be construed as acquiring membership worth relinquishing.

There was no need for me to provide information pertaining to relinquishment of membership through public announcement because I never formally became a member of Zanu PF at any point.

Mnangagwa and the NPRC were cited as respondents in the matter. The ZimRights application is yet to be set down for a hearing.
IN a worrying development, Covid-19 has claimed the life of a year-old baby in Bulawayo, while the number of younger people seeking hospitalisation after contracting the disease are on the increase.

Officials told Sunday News that Covid-19 was also detected in two other toddlers in the last fortnight as it is suspected that the highly infectious Delta variant is spreading fast even among young people. Announcing the extension of the Level 4 lockdown on Tuesday last week, President Mnangagwa said the variant was now responsible for 80 percent of new infections in the country.

The variant was originally detected in India where it accounted for most of the cases which griped the Asian country.

In Zimbabwe, the variant was first detected in Kwekwe in May. In an interview with Sunday News, Mpilo Central Hospital acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said over the past two weeks, the hospital had seen an increase in the number of young people admitted at the hospital with the virus, while it had also claimed the life of a one-year-old. Prof Ngwenya said this had not been the case with previous strains of the virus they had dealt with.

For the first time, we are seeing this virus killing very young people. It is killing people as young as one-year-old. It is taking 22 and 25-year-olds. Its different from the first time when it was taking the lives of people that are in the 60 to 80-year-old group. This time it seems to be attacking all the groups. It also has the potential to wipe out whole families from young to old.

As I mentioned, the virus has killed a one-year-old and we have detected it in a three-month-old baby and nine-month baby. It appears that that it goes for all the age groups. This happened in the last two weeks. We have also lost one or two pregnant women so this is a very serious thing, he said.

Prof Ngwenya also said the hospital was witnessing an increasing number of admittances, as Delta spread faster than other variants. Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist at Imperial College London and one of the chief pandemic advisers to the UK Government, last month said that Delta is estimated to be 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which is itself more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019.

The executive director of the World Health Organisations Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan, last month said of the Delta variant: . . . it is faster, it is fitter, (and) it will pick off the more vulnerable more efficiently than previous variants.

At Mpilo, Prof Ngwenya said lives were being lost at a faster rate since the discovery of the variant.

People come in very sick and some of them die within hours of admission. This variant appears, and this is also from trends we have seen outside the country, it appears to lodge directly in the lungs causing pneumonia. So, it doesnt lodge in the nose and when you test those people you find that they are negative despite the fact that they have Covid-19. Some of the deaths caused by the variant are therefore Covid-19 negative from tests, he said.

Prof Ngwenya advised members of the public to adhere to Covid-19 prevention guidelines, as the new strain had the potential to wipe out entire families.

The concerns comes as the country on Friday set a record for number of Covid-19 deaths registered in a day, with 102 people succumbing to the virus. The previous record, 86, was recorded only two days prior.

Accoridng to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, six of the fatalities were in Bulawayo, where 138 people tested positive for Covid-19. A total of 2 296 people around the country contracted the virus while there were 1 365 recoveries. The national recovery rate stands at 63 percent, with 27 509 active cases.

There were 762 people hospitalised, including 78 new admissions. Of those admitted, 265 were asymptomatic, 423 were mild to moderate, 57 were severe and 17 were in intensive care units.

However, the countrys vaccination drive remains a silver lining during the third Covid-19 wave, as the number of people that have received their first dose of the Covid-19 jab finally broke the million barrier, with 1 096 002 people vaccinated so far. A total of 59 750 receiving their first dose, while 5 128 received their second injection. Sunday News
Police yesterday claimed that members of the Johanne Marange Apostolic sect that are said to have gathered in Manicaland for an annual festival were permanent residents at a shrine there.

Activists have been pushing the police to act against the thousands that allegedly congregated at Mafararikwa in Bocha as they were violating Covid-19 restrictions.

The church commands a huge following across the country and in the region and an estimated 20 000 congregants gather in Marange every year for their annual Passover feast.

This year church members have been gathered since July 3. They only started dispersing last night. Police, who have been saying they were not aware of what was happening at the shrine, yesterday said there was never a gathering.

As far as police is concerned, there are no people gathered in Marange except for those who are permanent residents at the shrine, police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.

Police have deployed officers on the ground to monitor the situation. Police in Marange, Manicaland, in their findings said there are no people gathered in Marange.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights last week wrote to the police demanding action to disperse the church members, raising Covid-19 fears. The police did not respond to the July 12 letter.

Bocha Diamond Community Trust chairman Moses Mukwada also gave police 48 hours to act, but there was no action. Makwanda is based in Manicaland. Villagers in Marange yesterday said they feared a Covid-19 outbreak as the shrine was overcrowded.

Mukwada said in previous years, even without Covid-19, there were outbreaks of diseases after the sects Passover gathering.

The Johanne Marange apostolic members are dispersing tomorrow (today) after their annual Passover, so we are fearing the worst because these people are going back to their respective communities and many of them are from Marange, he said.

We think that Covid cases are going to rise sharply, he said. These people dont sanitise and they dont even want to be vaccinated.

In previous years even without Covid-19, whenever these people dispersed we encountered outbreaks of diseases such as cholera.

Mukwada claimed that there were political bigwigs, who were in support of the gathering. Standard
Getting shots in arms is key to our success against this terrible virus, and if you havent gotten yours yet, I urge you to make an appointment or walk into one of the many sites we have across the state, he said in a statement.
She does not want that [the scaffolding crash] to be the end of her story, said Kevin Keating. She may be limited right now. But, she is doing everything she can to overcome.
The vintage Douglas F4D Skyray jet fighter, named for the resemblance of its unique wings to a manta ray, will become the 28th plane in the museums collection upon its July 27 arrival. But its a return to its roots for the exotic aircraft, as this particular Skyray was deployed on the Intrepid between June 1961 and March 1962, said Eric Boehm, the museums curator of aviation.
Wei acknowledged how hard residency programs can be and described the one he went through as the most grueling experience of his life. He wants to change the culture of hazing thats been part of such programs but noted that COVID also had a huge impact on residents mental health  not only because of what they witnessed, but because they were more isolated.
Times Scare: A war of words erupted over continued violence in Times Square on Wednesday between the head of the Times Square Alliance and a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio. This has got to stop, Tom Harris, president of the Alliance, said of mayhem that businesses fear will drive tourists away. We cannot wait for a new mayor, said Harris. The de Blasio administration needs to stop making excuses and develop effective strategies and take immediate action, Harris urged. The mayors office took a defensive tone in response to the plea. What is not productive is Tom Harris insulting the police officers who have come from across the city to Times Square in a good-faith effort, de Blasio spokesman Bill Neidhardt said. The latest gunfire in the Crossroads of the World came early Wednesday, when at least four shots were fired after a white Mercedes clipped a motorcyclist at the corner of Seventh Ave. and W. 41st St. When the riders friend confronted a group of men standing by the Mercedes, someone in the group opened fire. Brooklyn rapper Eli Fross, whose real name is Elija Quamina, 20  is charged with attempted murder in the shooting.
He was really a responsible man. He was really caring with his kids. He got up really early to go work, he returned home, sometimes he played with his kids in the street, Adorno said. Soccer especially, with my son. Sometimes he couldnt go to the games, so he asked me to videotape them so that he could watch how his son played.
Prosecutors say a group of people including Williams and the younger suspect went hunting for Gil-Medrano July 11. The 15-year-old suspect went into a store and bought everyone masks. The younger teen and Williams then rode on the back of scooters while others in on the plot piled into a car and circled the area looking for Gil-Medrano.
The 5-year-old, whose name was not given, was lying on the couch beside his intoxicated mother, Trenise Turner, 30, when she pointed a handgun at multiple adults in the residence, threatening them, Columbus Police said Saturday morning via Facebook.
The remains of JJ and Tylee were found on Daybells Idaho property on June 9, 2020. Daybell and Vallow both face multiple counts of murder for the two children, while Daybell has been charged in his wifes murder and Vallow has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her late husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by Cox.
I would rather you guys hear this from me than a news article. Mat was killed in a hit and run last night, Georges former co-host Michaela Okland wrote on Twitter. I dont really have any other words right now. I wish I could contact everybody who knows him personally but the news is already out and I just cant do it right now.
In that scenario, Lira de la Rosa said the trio of billionaires going into space could genuinely be trying to advance society on the whole. But considering the year that just passed  a deadly pandemic, impacts of climate change and extraordinary social unrest  You question what is it about these individuals, the reality theyre living in, thats a little self-centered, very focused on what they want to do (at this point in time).
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who was also at the ceremony, later tweeted that, John was a warrior for peace and justice, and today reminded us that he passed the baton to us in our fight for liberty and justice for all in his honor, she wrote. I miss him deeply.
Since being moved to the area in front of Lafayette City Hall in 1980, the Mouton statue has been a hotly contested issue. It all came to a boiling point in 2016 when the United Daughters of the Confederacy threatened to sue the city if they gave into a larger national movement to move the statue. The city backed down from the move.
Just got thrown to the ground by right-wing anti-pedophile protesters as a crowd [converged] on me and chased me. They threw water at me and screamed about Jesus and said to grab my phone, she wrote. Police would not let me through the police line but after I got thrown on the ground they did.
This photo provided by John Dillon shows the effects of flooding in the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon on Thursday, July 15, 2021. The river that's normally a greenish color turned a muddy brown from flash floods that have inundated Arizona. Authorities are searching for two people who were on a river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and went missing after a flash flood, a park spokeswoman said Thursday. (John Dillon/AP Photo)
Youre going to see a political strength in an Adams mayoralty that you havent seen in generations, King said. Koch was strong in his positions. If you didnt like him you respected him. He was a strong mayor. He also represented New York. He epitomized New York. Koch brought an ethnicity to the mayoralty. He was a proud Jewish mayor. Eric will represent the Black community proudly and strongly while representing all of New York.
Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the vice president and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined, Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said in a Saturday statement.
You have to be concerned about how you get a justice on the court with all of the manipulation that Mitch McConnell has engaged in. So that would lead me to say sooner rather than later, Klobuchar told CNNs State of the Union.
Weve long known that Mayor de Blasio, doing the bidding of his hotel union allies, was a sucker for requiring a special zoning permit for opening new hotels anywhere in the five boroughs, putting up a high hurdle against a certain type of business when New York needs every available tool to help claw itself out of our economic hole. The depressing addendum is that the likely next mayor, Eric Adams, is also in the tank for the asinine idea, and, as though to prove he can double down on de Blasios economic error, is partying it up with the hotel trades who endorsed him to celebrate his victory.
The cube has to be perfect, says Galicia, today the managing partner and co-owner of The Wildflower in Baldwin Park, and still an Ice Doctor client. Its time consuming and when you have a high-volume cocktail bar you have to pick your battles. You can build the price into the cocktail and have it look the way you want it to. Its worth it to me to let someone else do it.
Once in the backyard, according to police, Reeves began to question why the meter was being moved near a light pole in the yard, a spot farther away from the house. The man told her to wait there and he would send his partner out to speak with her.
Nelson continued to chase the dog around the yard and then into a wooded area for about two minutes as the owner yelled at him to stop, according to the affidavit.
Catherine Macdonald, a lecturer at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, said she had not set out to study hammerheads. We were doing research on another species in Biscayne Bay, said Macdonald, and just happened to catch a juvenile hammerhead. Then another. And then another. And after the third or fourth we realized, this isnt a coincidence.
Hundreds of tons of dead marine life has been removed from Tampa Bay in recent weeks because of red tide, a toxic algae bloom that occurs naturally in the Gulf of Mexico but is worsened by the presence of nutrients such as nitrogen in the water.
The St. Augustine Record reported that the Old Town Trolley overturned about 11 a.m. while trying to make a turn at an intersection.
Many chanted whats been the rallying cry all week at the Central Florida protest: Si Cuba esta en la calle, nosotros tambien, Spanish for, If Cuba is in the streets, we will be too.
In voicing confidence that the Supreme Court would rule his way, DeSantis asserted that most courts at this point have had their limit with the CDC issuing these dictates without a full statutory basis. As an example, he pointed to a 5-4 ruling in late June that left the CDCs nationwide eviction moratorium in place. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he agreed with the four dissenters but voted to uphold the moratorium to allow more tenants to secure federal rental assistance funds before it expires in July.
New York, US (PANA) - As societies are becoming more polarized with hate speech on the rise, Nelson Mandelas calls for solidarity and an end to racism are particularly relevant today
"If you look at the extraordinary success in eradicating smallpox and eliminating polio for most of the world -- and we're on the brink of eradicating polio -- if we had had the pushback for vaccines the way we're seeing on certain media, I don't think it would've been possible at all to not only eradicate smallpox, we probably would still have smallpoxWe probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now."

Dr. Anthony Fauci
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The vaccine has been going down the age groups of over-18s (pictured)  but chldren are still an open question (Image: Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)

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Most British teenagers would not get the Covid jab in the near future under plans being considered by ministers.

Government advisors are reportedly set to recommend tomorrow that over-12s should only receive the vaccine if they are vulnerable, or share a household with someone who is.

All seventeen-year-olds who have their 18th birthday within three months would get mass vaccination, but younger teens would not, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The government today insisted ministers had not yet taken a final decision.

But a minister confirmed the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was looking at the issue.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the advice would cover whether or not we should open up the vaccine programme in the first instance to those children who are just short of their 18th birthday, to those children who have particular vulnerabilities and those children who are in households where there are people who are particularly vulnerable.

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Covid cases could soar to 200,000 a day as third wave 'won't peak for at least a month'

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Reckless Boris Johnson's 'freedumb day' will 'screw the NHS' claim top doctors

Mr Jenrick added that seems a sensible way to proceed, adding: We will be looking carefully at their advice when we receive it  we expect it very soon.

It comes despite pressure for the government to offer the vaccine to all teenagers to dampen spiralling cases.

The UK regulator approved the Pfizer jab six weeks ago for use in children aged 12 to 15. Those aged 16 or 17 can already be jabbed if they are in a vulnerable group.

But the JCVI have been locked in talks over the ethical dilemma of whether to immunise children against a disease that mainly affects their elders.

The Tony Blair Institute today recommended vaccinating all 12 to 17 year olds with the Pfizer jab until other vaccinates are approved for that age group, to help open up society.

SAGE member Prof Neil Ferguson warned large numbers of teenagers would have to be either vaccinated or infected with Covid before the UKs third wave can recede.

He told the BBC: We won't be able to reach herd immunity without significant immunity in people under 18."

A source told the Sunday Telegraph the JCVI would keep the option of vaccinating all children under review.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: The government will continue to be guided by the advice of the JCVI.

No decisions have been made by ministers on whether people aged 12 to 17 should be routinely offered COVID-19 vaccines.

An NHS spokesman said: "Since the start of the NHS Covid vaccination programme, the NHS has followed JCVI guidance on delivering vaccinations to the population in England.

"If the JCVI updates its guidance, the NHS will act swiftly to reflect any changes and will continue to deliver Covid jabs to those eligible as quickly as possible, as it has done after previous updates."
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc0053168b0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0054630f0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc0053168b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0054630f0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc005303260)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0054630f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0054630f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0049dffb8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc0052053b0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc0052053b0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc005319998)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0053c4060)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc005319998)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0053c4060)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc005368078)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0053c4060)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0053c4060)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0049dff10)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc00536bf10)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc00536bf10)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc00863a428)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00554f670)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc00863a428)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00554f670)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fc00a492d00)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00554f670)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc00554f670)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fc0049e04e0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc012bbb288)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fc012bbb288)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Changes to calculating broadband USO quotes

Ofcom has today published a consultation on modifying our universal broadband service rules, to clarify how BT should provide quotes to customers who have applied to be connected under the scheme.

The UK Government introduced the universal broadband service to give everyone the right to request a decent and affordable broadband connection, subject to certain eligibility criteria. Under the scheme, BT will pay the cost of connecting eligible properties, providing the cost is 3,400 or less. If the required work costs more, the customer can choose to pay the difference.

BT must take into account that costs may be shared among other customers who could use the same infrastructure. However, BT has not been doing this in the way we expected and some customers have been asked to pay materially higher amounts than they should have been.

We opened an investigation into this and as a result, BT has agreed to change its approach for quotes where the cost of connecting a property is not significantly above the 3,400 threshold. BT has also agreed to refund affected customers and re-issue quotes it has previously provided. We have therefore suspended our investigation, but will monitor BTs actions closely to ensure our concerns are addressed.

Proposed changes to USO rules

We are also proposing to modify our USO rules to clarify that where excess costs are very high, BT should inform customers of the total excess costs and gain agreement to cover these before delivering the connection. One or more customers in the local area can then cover all the excess costs of the build, including shared infrastructure.

These changes and BTs assurances will result in a number of customers receiving lower quotes in the future, but the cost of connecting some properties  including those in the most remote parts of the UK  will remain very high. We will continue to work with industry and the Government to explore alternative technology and funding solutions for these hard-to-reach properties, which face very high excess costs to receive a decent broadband connection.

Todays consultation closes on 10 September 2021, and we intend to publish our decision by the end of 2021.


Radio amateurs respond to flooding in Western Europe IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications Co-Ordinator Greg G0DUB reports on the Amateur Radio response to the flooding in Western Europe



One the IARU-R1 site he writes:



Unprecedented heavy rain caused widespread flooding in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands with over 120 deaths and hundreds more people unaccounted for. The rains which started on Wednesday caused rivers to burst their banks and the water converged into major rivers like the Meuse, Mosel and Rhine causing damage to bridges and other infrastructure such as power and telecommunications networks.



The Dutch Amateur Radio Emergency Service (DARES) was on standby from Wednesday evening as the first reports of flooding came in, with an initial attempt to establish a point to point link from the Provincial capital of Maastricht to the north of Limburg province, this was halted due to heavy traffic as citizens followed calls to evacuate low lying areas. DARES members were in contact with members of the Belgian Emergency Amateur Radio Service (BEARS) to co-operate and co-ordinate their work.



The European Civil Protection mechanism was activated and emergency groups across the region reported their Governments sending extra assistance and supplies to the areas where damage was worst. The surge in flood water was continuing to make its way North leading to further evacuations and the Radio Amateur Emergency groups started to get more focused requests with BEARS being asked to provide a backup VHF link between the emergency call centre in Brussels and the province of Hainaut through Friday while DARES had four stations active in the Limburg area ready to respond if an issue occurred.



The most loss of life and damage has occurred in Germany where over 1000 people remain unaccounted for and the loss of mobile networks has slowed the effort to locate people while many others are without power or homes. The emergency communications unit of the DARC is handling enquiries for amateur radio support in the worst hit areas but this is not always easy to achieve as members in the area have been directly affected losing equipment or their homes.



Emergency communications groups in the affected, and surrounding countries, are ready to respond to requests made and are working well together, co-ordinating their response as needed. This emergency will last for some time as infrastructure is repaired and the threat from damaged dams and more rainfall is reduced.



Source IARU Region 1 https://iaru-r1.org/



DARC has published updates on the situation on their website

https://darc.de/
Scouts doing the Class B RAE course

Richard Hooper, ZS6RKE the Troop Scouter of the Sandringham Scouts told SARL News that the Sandringham Scout Group, ZS6SSG will be running a Class B RAE course for Scouts, starting on Saturday 31 July. The course will run for 8 weeks using various virtual platforms, because of the current lockdown restrictions, until they can run the final day for HF assessments.



Currently there are 10 Scouts signed up to do the course and the exam. The Scouts are from the Sandringham Scout Group and the Jan Smuts Scout Group with hopefully a few more from the Halfway House Scout Group. These are the first Scouts to do the course after getting the Amateur Radio Interest Badge and Amateur Radio Operator Badges approved and finalised by Scouts South Africa.

Source SARL News

https://sarlnewsbulletin.wordpress.com/bulletin/



South Africa has two classes of licence:

 Class A is a HAREC licence equivalent to UK Full. It permits 400 watts output and requires a pass in a 60 question multiple choice exam

 Class B is equivalent to UK Foundation. It permits 100 watts output and requires a pass in a 30 question exam.



The Class B licence is only issued to people who are under 21-years-old. It is cancelled when the holder reaches their 25th birthday.



An HF Practical Assessment is required for both Class A and Class B licences and there are additional Practical Assessments to be completed for Class B.



Typically only 7 or 8 people do the Class B each year, apparently the radio amateurs who originally proposed Class B, introduced 2005, thought the age restriction would encourage "Progression".



The syllabus for Class A and Class B can be downloaded from

http://www.sarl.org.za/public/licences/rae.asp


The week of no WIA broadcasts

Almost 50 years ago, in 1971, there was a week when there were no WIA broadcasts from any state of Australia.

Why?

No it wasn't the RD weekend when many states such as VK6 and 7 didn't originate news, instead, concentrated on the contest.

On Sunday October 3, 1971 the Victorian Divisions Sunday morning broadcast contained material that was inappropriate for an Institute broadcast. PMG department people were listening in and were not impressed.

The WIA Federal Council under then president Michael Owen VK3KI (a familiar name to many) decided to voluntarily suspend broadcasts across all states for a week. That would give time for divisions to introduce safeguards to prevent a repetition.

This was thought preferable to action by the PMG that could have potentially involved withdrawing the concession that allowed WIA broadcasts to operate 'back in the day.'

You can read the full account in the SA WIA Journal for November 1971.

tinyurl.com/vket85p7

For more historic VK5 journals visit

www.vk1zdj.net/?p=476

Doug VK1ZDJ has spent hours scanning and uploading nearly 20 years of journals from 1959 so you can read them online to see how we were.

(vk3ye)
WIA Board announces new President

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) board of directors convened their first meeting after the 2021 AGM, which is when the President and Vice President are appointed and all new directors are welcomed to the board.

Firstly all returning and new directors were congratulated on their appointments and then we all welcomed new Director, Peter Schrader VK4EA to the WIA board.

The WIA Board of Directors are proud to announce the appointments of Scott Williams VK3KJ as new WIA President and Lee Moyle VK3GK will continue as Vice President. All the directors thanked past President Greg Kelly VK2GPK for his commitment and contribution to the WIA during his past Presidential tenure. Greg Kelly continues on the WIA board as a valuable resource and support to assist new President Scott Williams as he transitions into the role.

A general meeting followed with some excellent initiatives tabled, including a focus on the aspects of increasing our utilization of social media platforms and memnet for information delivery to our WIA membership base. The board undertook a range of discussions focused towards improvement on the levels of customer service to members. It was acknowledged that the WIA board must introduce system

enhancements to triage member feedback and concerns. With a goal to address matters more timely and efficiently.

The mood was very upbeat as we look forward to the coming year ahead.

73 from Lee VK3GK
Algiers, 18 July 2021 (SPS) - Ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to Algeria Abdelkader Taleb Omar on Saturday said that the struggle of the Sahrawi people will continue following Mandelas footsteps until the liberation of its territories, denouncing Makhzens pressure on the countries that support the implementation of international law in Western Sahara.



Africa can be proud of the contribution of Nelson Mandela to the human civilization through his struggle for freedom, respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence on the basis of equality, democracy and international law, said Taleb Omar at a Forum on Memory held in Algiers on the occasion of the 103th anniversary of Mandelas birth.



Enumerating the qualities of the late South African leader, the Sahrawi diplomat focused on the lessons he left for oppressed people and long term resistance despite the lack of means.



The deceaseds speeches carried several messages that have become life principles for people and institutions, such as the right to education, the spirit of initiative and anticipation, mutual aid and collective work, stated Taleb Omar.



Recalling that Mandela had received several Sahrawi activists to whom he voiced solidarity, the Sahrawi ambassador highlighted the attempts of the South African leader to convince the Makhzen of the need for a referendum.



In the face of Moroccos procrastination and its maneuvers to impede any peaceful solution, South Africa has officially recognized SADR," he continued.



"The Makhzen has reneged on all its international commitments and works to falsify the nature of the conflict based on its expansionist policy supported by colonial powers seeking to preserve their hegemony by relying on the forces of collaborationism and submission," said the Sahrawi diplomat.



According to him, the Moroccan regime "is part of the relays of colonialism in the region in violation of international legality and the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), which insists on respect for the borders inherited after independence and the integrity of the territories of member states. (SPS)



062/090/700
London, 18 July 2021 (SPS) - Morocco is to dig 2,400 square meters of soil in occupied Western Sahara, as part of a mineral exploration, warned the International Observatory Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), recalling that Western Sahara is under foreign illegal occupation by Morocco, and the latter has no right under international law to carry out such exploration work.



The Moroccan government's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) has issued a tender document on its website revealing a plan to carry out mineral exploration in Western Sahara, said WSRW in a report released on its website.



The tender invites for digging 2,400 square meters of soil, in the shape of 800 meters of trenches, each 3 meters deep and one meter wide, said the source.



Trenching is a common mineral exploration technique, through which rock samples are taken at regular intervals - for instance, every 1 meter - for geochemical analysis. The digging is to get to slightly fresher and more representative rock below the excavated sand/gravel cover, said the report.



In this regard, WSRW recalled that Western Sahara is under foreign illegal occupation by Morocco, and the latter has no right under international law to carry out such exploration work.



ONHYM refers to the location for the dig as being in Provinces du Sud - the 'Southern Provinces'. This is how Morocco's refers to the territory that the UN, the International Court of Justice, the EU Court of Justice, and the African Union reject Morocco's claims to.



ONHYM itself, together with Canadian company Metalex, is a joint-venture partner in the mineral exploration in the same area of Western Sahara. Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) wrote yesterday that reports from Metalex suggest that the company is proceeding in its partnership with ONHYM. It is not clear to WSRW if there is any relationship between the trenching programme described in the tender and ONHYM's partnership with Metalex. An ONHYM map from January 2021 reveals that ONHYM has two other projects in the same part of Western Sahara, said the source. (SPS)



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When clients first meet with their lawyers, the discussion is a free consultation. Then, the attorney will quote them a fee to guide them through the Chapter 7 case. The cost can range from $1,200 to $2,000, according to lawyers and court papers. That includes the filing fee and various costs related to submitting financial schedules and meeting with creditors. As soon as the lump sum is paid, the firm will file the case.
Louis Grayson, owner of Ramen Lab Eatery at 25 Northeast 2nd Ave., said his restaurant was closing at the time. Three men walked up with pizza from a neighboring business and unstacked the chairs and plopped down. A waitress nicely told them they should leave, and thats when the profanity started.
Darter refused to allow me to look at his cellphone to ensure he was not possessing child pornography, Wildove wrote in an arrest report. In addition, he became nervous and began using his cellphone. It appeared to me that he may have been deleting evidence of the crime.
Later, she wrote: Keith presented to Executive Committee. Called him after with plan. He did not want his staff to help and he agreed if I would plan and execute the event, he would pay his PR firm to distribute the press release I wrote to media, and to have someone attend this mornings event.
It was clear after they had a first advertising and had to go a second time, that because of my passion for public education and my life in Broward, I had to apply, he said.
This is a special moment in history  people rebelling against their oppressors, something Cubans hardly have been able to do in 60 years. I beg everyone who doesnt understand why this is important and why Cubans are protesting here  everyone criticizing the protest, solely blaming the embargo, and thinking nothing will happen, what are you guys doing this for?  to just listen to our stories, to learn and educate yourselves, so you can see why this is all important, and why we are all showing our support. Unlike my great grandmother, whose memories of days long gone made the island too painful for her, we still dream of being able to go back to the free Cuba our ancestors grew up in. That is why we protest and tell our stories  because of hope. Viva Cuba Libre!
But will America or the United Nations intervening by sending in troops save Haiti from becoming an irredeemably failed state? The first American occupation of Haiti after the 1915 mob killing of President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam made some infrastructure improvements (through forced labor), but it arguably left Haiti worse off. Successive interventions, including an extended peacekeeping mission by the UN, have likewise failed to improve the lot of the Haitian people and have contributed little in strengthening the states weak institutions. As Jovenel Moise himself admitted in an interview some years ago, the state has no effective presence in more than 30% of the country. Even so, the long-suffering Haitian people have endured the predations of the state as well as its impotence  Haiti has yet to administer its first dose of anti-COVID vaccines. Even Haitians who opposed Moises attempt to remain in power deplored his assassination but were also angered by the fact that the perpetrators were blan  i.e., foreigners. So, no! Intervention that offends Haitian sovereignty has never worked and it will not work now. Haiti is a graveyard of foreigners good but ill-fated intentions.
Does that sound a bit hypocritical to you? These legislators need to get back to Texas to serve their constituents, to make their arguments in Austin, and stop looking for help from the federal government. If they dont like being in the minority in Texas, they should go about trying to bring in more voters to the Democratic party and obtaining a majority. I look forward to their arrests upon their return to Texas, and being forced to do their job.
If you've ever had a tour of the tunnels or caves in Gibraltar, there is a very good chance your guide was Pete Jackson.

Since he arrived in Gibraltar in 1989, he has shown more than 3,000 people around some of the Rock's most mysterious sights - including members of the Royal Family.

But how did this 60-year-old man from the North of England come to call Gibraltar his home?

Born in 1961, Pete grew up in Scarborough and as a schoolboy would explore the caves in North Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Pete, who now works as a freelance guide in Gibraltar, explained: "My Environmental Studies teacher was really into caving, so we had some great trips away. Some of his friends were in the Cave Rescue Team, and, when it was safe to do so, they would take kids from our school with them."

Then at the age of 15, Pete joined the army as a Junior Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

And after two years of intense basic training that "turned me into a soldier", he went off to serve the Queen in the German cities of Paderborn and Dortmund, also serving tours in Northern Ireland.

Pete met the love of his life Lesley while on leave in Scarborough in 1981. They married in 1983 and have three children: Peter, Rachael and Georgina.

After 12 years in the British Army, Pete, who learned to speak reasonable German during this time, came to Gibraltar in 1989, to instruct on an Air Defence Missile system to the Gibraltar Regiment.

But it was also love at first sight for Pete when he first saw Gibraltar.

"My mind was blown away during the landing," he recalled.

"The aircraft circled the Rock twice and I fell in love with it before it touched down.

"I tell everyone, you can't step in a puddle here without it oozing military history through your toes - and I got caught up in it."

Shortly after leaving the Royal Artillery in 1991, he joined the Gibraltar Regiment (as it was then called) at age 30.

"During the first Mess Dinner, I was sat next to a Sergeant called Tito Vallejo (a very prominent cave and tunnel guide). We got talking and he invited me to a tour of Lower St Michael's Cave the next morning. I was mesmerised."

In 1994, Tito left the regiment, and Pete took over from him as Chief Tunnel Guide for the Ministry of Defence, a position that he held for the next 17 years.

He continued: "It was not my main role though; it was a second hat, something I did for the love of it.

"I adore what I do; I'm probably a little too passionate about it; it does give me a lump in my throat."

So what is it exactly that Pete loves about his job?

He replied: "A lot of it, especially the military history side of it, is the sacrifice that's gone on here. The number of people that have laid down their lives in the defence of the Rock, and to try and win it. It's important to those servicemen who have fallen in battle that that is recognised and understood by the present generation. That's what keeps me motivated to do what I do."

When asked what was his favourite location to show people around, Pete replied without hesitation: "The Northern Defences."

As to why, he said: "Because it's been manned on a military footing since the Moors carried spears. This is a serious defensive location, you can stand in a position and know that a Moorish soldier stood there in 1309 defending it against the Spanish, followed by Spanish soldiers, who stood there in 1333 defending it against the Moors. In 1704 the Anglo-Dutch came and they took it. Soldiers have been manning the same positions from 711. By World War II you've got the Brits covering the same arcs with a machine gun rather than a musket."

Pete does have spare time for other interests, however: he has a passion for motorbikes, which he has three of.

He's also on the board of trustees for the Gibraltar Heritage Trust and spends many weekends restoring artillery pieces around the Rock - the latest being Lord Airey's Battery, which, according to Pete, is in dire need of attention.

The artillery battery, which was completed in 1891, is found in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and has commanding views over the Straits and the waters surrounding Gibraltar.

As for famous faces he's shown the inside of the Rock, Pete recalls Princess Anne being one of the most interesting.

"She was very astute," he said.

"She asked more questions than you can imagine and was interested in tunnel warfare and how you could clear a tunnel system of an enemy. She wanted to know every little piece of information."

His encounter with the member of the Royal Family was the precursor to a funny anecdote with Prince Charles, who presented Pete with his Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2005.

Pete, said: "When it was my turn, I was chatting with Prince Charles, and he made me feel very comfortable in his company. He asked me if we were keeping the Rock in British hands? And I replied: 'Just about Sir.' He then asked me if I was still conducting tunnel tours, to which I replied: 'I am Sir, ooh and I took your sister in there last year!'

"I suddenly thought, 'Oh sh*t, I shouldn't have said that, I should have called her the Princess Royal!' He replied 'Really? Nice to meet you.'

And that was it! He made the gesture for me to leave! Looking back I was so embarrassed, but I suppose it was a funny moment."

Pete added that he received his MBE for Services to Gibraltar.

He explained: "I have worked with a lot of veterans and helped to show them where they used to work. I have also helped in finding where people's relatives have died in some cases placing memorial plaques at the spot. It is very rewarding."
Francisco Nunez, who everyone in Torrox knows as Paco 'el albardonero', becomes emotional when he talks about what the street in which he has lived and worked for over 60 years used to be like. "All the animals would come down here on their way to Granada, loaded up with fish, cereals and fruit," says the 82-year-old, whose family have been in Torrox for generations.

Although he retired over 15 years ago, he is still very proud to have been the last great 'albardonero' of La Axarquia. This refers to the craft of making by hand the tack worn by mules, donkeys and horses. The profession has practically died out now and only persists in a couple of places, thanks to Carlos and Antonio "who I taught some years ago," says Paco, proudly.

Despite his age he has a prodigious memory and his hands, which have crafted so much leather and worked so much fabric and threads over the years, are still strong and firm.

"Absolutely everything used to be made by hand," he says, indicating some of the pieces he still has in his workshop, which is now used by his son Roque, 53, for his upholstery and awning business. Sometimes his other son, Sergio, who is 47, helps out in his spare time.

"Neither of them wanted to learn from me, they used to say there was no future in it and in a way that was true. When more people started driving cars the animals weren't needed as much as they were before," he says.

The items he used to make are now only of interest to horse lovers who want to "dress them up" when they take part in a festival or similar event.

First sewing machine

"Nowadays it's much quicker to make a saddle; we used to have to make them from scratch, and the bridle, the reins, the chaps, the esparto baskets for the goods, because I was a saddler as well," he tells us.

Paco Nunez learned his trade from his father. "He bought me my first sewing machine when I was eight years old, and although at first this wasn't what I wanted to do, later on he bought me a calf, so I used to spend all my time between the workshop and the field," he says.

When he looks back, he becomes emotional again, remembering all the clients he has had during more than six decades of dedicated work.

"Things are very quiet now, especially with the works going on at the Casa de la Moneda (the council is restoring a building near his workshop and is going to turn it into a museum), there are practically no cars down here in the mornings," he says. Nevertheless, as tourism gradually starts to return, the last albardonero in the east of Malaga province hopes he will once again be able to show visitors the items he keeps in his own small museum.
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
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Bahrains value of exports of national origin increased by 75% to BD943 million ($2.5 billion) during the second quarter of 2021, compared to BD540 million for the same quarter the previous year.

The value of imports increased by 7%, reaching BD1.249 billion during second quarter 2021 compared to BD1.168 billion for the same quarter the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 69% of the value of imports, with the remaining countries accounting for 31%, according to the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA).

According to the report, Brazil ranked first when it came to imports to Bahrain, with a total of 181 million, China was second with BD159 million, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was third with BD85million.

Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates as the top product imported into Bahrain with a total value of BD224 million, while Aluminum oxide was second with BD79 million, and four-wheel drive cars third with BD41 million.

The top 10 countries in terms of the value of exports of national origin purchased from Bahrain accounted for 71% of the total value, with the remaining countries accounting for 29%.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first among countries receiving Bahraini exports of national origin, importing BD167 million from Bahrain. Meanwhile, the UAE was second with BD127 million and the US third with BD88 million.

Agglomerated iron ores and concentrates as the top products exported during second quarter 2021 with BD251 million, unwrought aluminum alloys were second with a value of BD201 million, and semi-finished iron and steel third with BD53 million.

The total value of re-exports increased by 15% to reach BD164 million second quarter 2021, compared to BD143 million for the same quarter of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 86% of the re-exported value, while the remaining countries accounted for the 14%. The United Arab Emirates ranked first with BD50 million, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia second with BD42 million, and Singapore third with BD14 million.

Four-wheel drive cars emerged as the top product re-exported from Bahrain with BD21 million, gold ingots came in second place with BD19 million, and parts for aircraft engines third with BD14 million.

The trade balance, the difference between exports and imports, recorded a deficit totaling BD141 million during second quarter 2021 compared to BD485 million for the same quarter of the previous year, an improvement of the trade balance by 71%.-- TradeArabia News Service
Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, operated two regularly scheduled passenger flights with fully vaccinated crews to two separate domestic destinations in the Sultanate on 12 July 2021.



Oman Air Flight 931, a Boeing 737-800, departed Muscat at 07:30 on 12 July for Khasab, a popular port city on northern Omans breathtaking Musandam Peninsula. The flight was piloted by Captain Suhib Mohamed Al Barwani and First Officer Waleed Al Jadeedi, comprising a cabin crew of 4.



Oman Air Flight 907, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, departed Muscat at 14:55 the same day for Salalah in Omans southern Dhofar province, a destination popular with tourists for its spectacular beaches and lush, green landscape during monsoon season (Khareef). The flight was piloted by Captain Sayyid Haitham Thabit Al Busaidi and First Officer Sayyid Tariq Numer Al Said, comprising a cabin crew of 8.



Captain Nasser Al Salmi, Chief Operating Officer at Oman Air, said: Oman Airhas an exceptional track record when it comes to operational health and safety measures. Since the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic, we have consistently prioritized our frontline workers and valued guests to ensure that every journey with Oman Air is undertaken with the full reassurance that exceptional pre-flight and on-board safety measures are in place.



Vaccinated crews are an integral part of this safety-first mindset and especially significant at a time when our flight frequencies continue to increase and as we resume key routes to destinations around the world.  TradeArabia News Service
National carrier Gulf Air has begun the summer season with 80% of its pre-pandemic destinations as it continues to resume operations and restore services to cities of its original 2019 destination network.

The airline has also announced that it has successfully launched all of its seasonal destinations for the summer of 2021 with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt as well as recently resuming Tbilisi in Georgia.

It currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Casablanca, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Larnaca, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Dhaka, Colombo, the Maldives and several destinations in India and Pakistan.

Commenting on this network restoration milestone, Acting CEO Captain Waleed AlAlawi said: "We at Gulf Air are very excited and proud to restore 80% of our 2019 destinations network amidst the restrictions and continuous updates from each and every destination we fly to."

"The national carrier of Bahrain never stopped flying during the peak of the pandemic making it one of the most experienced and safest airlines to fly during these times and today we are growing closer to our full network," he noted.

"We are working on frequencies and connectivity to offer more choices and more convenience to our passengers and we are confident that the months ahead will feature more milestones and success stories to tell," he added.

Recently, Gulf Air announced the launch of point to point flights beyond its Bahrain International Airport hub allowing the airline to expand its operations to new destinations as well as extending passenger services to new markets.

The national carrier also launched flights between Athens and Larnaca allowing passengers from either location to buy tickets and commute between both Mediterranean cities. Similarly, it started flights between Bangkok and Singapore where passengers can buy tickets to fly between both Far Eastern capitals.

Back in May, the airline announced that all its flights would be operated by 100% vaccinated crew including pilots and flight attendants. The airline has started its internal vaccination campaign for its operating crew and front line staff since December 2020 and is proud to be one of the first airlines in the world to able to provide peace of mind to all passengers flying to any destination of its growing network.

Moreover, recently Gulf Air announced offering complimentary COVID-19 travel insurance coverage to all ticket holders including health and quarantine expenses in the unexpected circumstances of being diagnosed with or contracting Covid-19 during passengers journeys.

All tickets booked, including redemption tickets, on Gulf Air flights for travel until November 10 are automatically covered under Covid-19 insurance at no extra cost. -TradeArabia News Service
Moscow, Jul 18 (UNI/Sputnik) About 114,000 people participated in protests held across France against coronavirus vaccination and fresh safety measures, BFMTV reports.

The demonstrations were held in Paris, where about 18,000 people gathered on Saturday, as well as in other parts of France. The regional protests attracted a total of 96,000, according to BFMTV.

On Friday, nine demonstrators were detained in Lyon amid protests against COVID-19 passes.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a health pass, certifying that the bearer has either been fully vaccinated or had a recent, negative COVID-19 test result, would become mandatory in France starting from August for those visiting bars, restaurants, shopping malls, as well as when boarding a train or plane. Starting from July 21, such a pass will be required to attend cultural events, festivals, amusement parks and various shows and performances.

Concerns have been mounting in France over the Beta variant, as well as the continuing spread of the Delta variant. The country has confirmed a total of over 5.9 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and Frances coronavirus death toll stands at over 111,000.

UNI/SPUTNIK GK 0756
Jury Trial Set for Man Accused of Ex-Wife's Murder

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - A man charged with the murder of his ex-wife in 2019 was back in court on Friday.According to the McCracken County Circuit Court Clerk, the jury trial for 64-year-old Anthony Stalcup was set for August 23 druing his pretrial conference on Friday.Stalcup is accused of killing, 60-year-old Judy Stalcup at their home on Noble Road in July 2019.On July 10, 2019 Sheriff's Deputies responded just after 5pm to a home on Noble Road for what dispatchers described as a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound, and they found Judy Stalcup with a wound near her armpit close to her back. She was taken to a local hospital but died less than an hour later.Detectives questioned Anthony Stalcup, who shared the home with Judy despite their divorce. Detective Ryan Norman told West Kentucky Star at the time that Judy's wound was in a location that could not have been self-inflicted.Anthony told detectives he was awakened by a gunshot, and one version of his story indicated that Judy spoke to him before slumping over, but in another version she made no sound. Norman says Anthony later admitted pulling the trigger of the gun, which he said was under his pillow on the couch. He reportedly told detectives he had been contemplating suicide, but pulled the trigger to scare his ex-wife.Detective Norman said evidence at the home contradicted Anthony's stories, so he was arrested.He faces charges of murder and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
Couple Sought in Paducah Shooting

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Paducah police continue to investigate a Sunday morning shooting that left one man injured.Police said the victim told officers he invited a couple to his home on Washington Street when an argument ensued and the victim was shot in the upper back. The man and woman fled the scene.The victim was taken to a local hospital with reported non-life-threatening injuries.Anyone with information is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270/444-8550.Information also may be provided anonymously through West Kentucky Crime Stoppers by texting WKY and your tip to 847411 (tip 411). Tipsters also may access the online tip form through the City of Paducah website at http://paducahky.gov/west-ky-crime-stoppers. Information leading to an arrest or indictment may result in a reward of up to $1,000.
Police Seek Help To Find Runaway Teenager

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - The Paducah Police are seeking help to find a runaway teenager.Police said 13-year-old Sydney Montgomery was last seen on Walter Jetton Blvd.Montgomery is 5'1, and weighs 115 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing jeans and a white t-shirt.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8548.
Help Sought to Find Lyon Assault Suspects

By West Kentucky Star Staff

LYON COUNTY - The Lyon County Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's help with an assault investigation.Friday morning, Lyon County deputies were dispatched to a home on KY 1943 for an assault victim. The victim was taken to Caldwell County Medical Center for treatment after showing up at a home from a wooded area.Deputies said the victim was severely injured but was treated and later released from the hospital.Suspects have been identified but are believed to be out of the area at this time.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lyon County Sheriff's Office at 270-388-2311 or by clicking here.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-16 18:29:57|Editor: huaxia

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A health worker arranges the personal property of Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photographer of the Reuters news agency who was killed in recent military operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan, July 17, 2021. A foreign photo-journalist was killed during clashes between Afghan government security forces and Taliban militants in restive southern province of Kandahar early Friday, a provincial government spokesman confirmed. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A foreign photo-journalist was killed during clashes between Afghan government security forces and Taliban militants in restive southern province of Kandahar early Friday, a provincial government spokesman confirmed.

"Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photographer of the Reuters news agency was killed in Spin Boldak bordering district Friday morning," spokesman Baher Ahmadi told Xinhua.

The Afghan government security forces launched an operation early Friday to retake control of Spin Boldak bordering Pakistan, which was captured by Taliban militants on Wednesday.

An Afghan security source told Xinhua that Siddiqui was travelling with Afghan commandos as he was embedded as a photographer to cover the operation.

When the security forces arrived at the main traffic square of the district after evicting Taliban militants, gunmen ambushed the security forces, killing Siddiqui and a senior Afghan security officer, he said.

Further details about the incident are still forthcoming amid the absence of any official statement, the source said.

"Deeply saddened to hear the death of Danish Siddiqui, Chief Photographer for Reuters & a Pulitzer Prize winner, while covering the war in Kandahar. I express my condolences to his family, Reuters & the media. May his soul rest in peace," Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah wrote on twitter.

Providing security and safety for journalists has been a main responsibility of Afghan security forces, he said, adding the Afghan security forces must do their best to protect journalists and provide them a safe environment to do their media activities. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-17 15:29:59|Editor: huaxia

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A citizen receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand, July 16, 2021. Thailand extended a ban on public gatherings nationwide and might further tighten restrictions as the numbers of its daily COVID-19 cases and fatalities surged to new records. The country reported 10,082 new cases on Saturday, surpassing 10,000 for the first time, despite the partial lockdown imposed in worst-hit regions since Monday. The total number of infections has risen to 391,989, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the country's COVID-19 task force. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand extended a ban on public gatherings nationwide and might further tighten restrictions as the numbers of its daily COVID-19 cases and fatalities surged to new records.

The country reported 10,082 new cases on Saturday, surpassing 10,000 for the first time, despite the partial lockdown imposed in worst-hit regions since Monday. The total number of infections has risen to 391,989, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the country's COVID-19 task force.

Cumulative deaths rose to 3,240, up by 141 on Saturday, according to the CCSA.

The country extended a ban on public gatherings nationwide, which took effect immediately, according to a royal gazette issued late Friday. Violators may be subject to a fine of up to 40,000 baht (about 1,220 U.S. dollars) or a maximum of two years in jail or both.

The CCSA said it was also considering tougher measures such as closure of more businesses and public mobility restrictions to tackle the current situation.

The Southeast Asian country has been grappling with its worst-ever wave of the outbreak. The worsening situation came as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading fast in the country, with the medical system crumpling under pressure while the already dire economic situation turning critical for many.

The country's economy continued to take a toll from the pandemic, with the World Bank this week lowering its 2021 growth forecast for the economy to 2.2 percent, from a projection of 3.4 percent in March.

"Economic activity is not expected to return to its pre-pandemic levels until 2022, and the recovery is projected to be slow and uneven," the World Bank said in its Thailand Economic Monitor for July.

The report said any delay in the scheduled vaccine roll-out, with the Thai government planning to vaccinate 70 percent of the nearly 70 million population by the end of 2021, could adversely impact domestic mobility, consumption and tourism.

The country has been accelerating vaccine roll-out. As of Friday, it has administered more than 14 million doses of vaccine, with less than five percent of the total population having been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-17 21:51:25|Editor: huaxia

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A staff member arranges files in a health center in Kayole, Nairobi of Kenya, July 15, 2021. (Photo by Chrispinus Omar/Xinhua)

NAIROBI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Inside a health facility located at the heart of a sprawling slum to the southeast of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, a female patient named Sharon listened keenly as a health worker dispensed drugs and offered advice on administration.

Sharon had visited the Soweto hospital to receive treatment after home remedies failed to offer relief to her ailment. She left the facility satisfied with the services and even more pleased as she did not encounter out-of-pocket health expenses.

"Having this hospital has been great for us because the services are free. That is such a reprieve for people like me who have very little to spend on medical expenses," said Sharon who preferred to conceal her second name.

In August 2020, the national government embarked on a mission to put up 24 health facilities in the informal settlements within Nairobi metropolitan area. The project is envisaged to bring primary health care closer to citizens and relieve pressure off three major hospitals which handle bulk cases from Nairobi and adjoining satellite towns. To date, 19 out of the 24 hospitals have been completed.

Ten of the commissioned hospitals are categorized as level 2, which means they are headed by a clinical officer and offer curative, preventive, laboratory, and health education services. The rest are Level 3 health facilities run by at least a single doctor and offer more specialized services.

The new facilities are being viewed by slum dwellers as a panacea to the challenge of accessing health care that has for too long eluded them.

"In the past, when I would get sick, my first option would be Kenyatta (the largest public referral hospital in the country). If I am too weak to go there, I simply buy medication off the counter at a pharmacy," said Sharon. "But now the new hospital is much nearer to me and with good doctors."

A health worker at the facility said that on average the hospital receives at least 200 patients daily. The health facility which has four doctors and eight nurses were among the first four to be commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in February.

"This dispensary has bridged the access gap to routine vaccines and family planning services, we are seeing more and more people come to us for these services," said a woman nurse who requested anonymity.

A report released by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) in April showed that more than 16,000 patients had visited the first four health centers commissioned by President Kenyatta.

Around 10 million Kenyans lived in slums based on the 2019 population census, with the capital holding the largest share of slum dwellers standing more than 1.5 million.

In Kenya, as is worldwide, slums are deprived of good roads, hospitals, and sanitation facilities, influencing the overall quality of life. In a deliberate attempt to improve the welfare of these slum citizens, the government has sunk over 100 boreholes since last year to guarantee access to clean drinking water to every citizen.

Elsewhere, a grassroots volunteer health worker Regina Nyambura and her colleague Juliana Kavita expressed their delight at a new dispensary facility opened in Kiamaiko, a densely populated slum located in the eastern parts of Nairobi.

"Some health conditions require patients to frequent hospitals and with the dispensary close to the people the challenge of distance has been resolved. In the past they would need to travel for a long time to public facilities," said Nyambura. "What we are imploring the government to do is fast track the rolling out of the Universal Health Care (UHC) program to the rest of the country. People are constantly making inquiries regarding this issue, granted we took their details for the registration of the program."

Since its rollout in four counties in 2018, the Universal Health Care Pilot Program has heralded a change in access to healthcare services. There is a sustained momentum to ensure UHC is attained by 2022.

According to the budget policy report 2020, the government has reduced financial barriers by providing subsidies to poor Kenyans, with more than 181,315 people accessing health services under a health insurance subsidy program. In addition, more than 42,000 elderly persons and persons with disabilities have been enrolled in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to enable them to access preventive and curative health services at an affordable cost. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 02:27:14|Editor: huaxia

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A woman wearing a face mask peers through a pod on the London Eye in London, Britain, on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

The British government has confirmed that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end on Monday as part of the final step or Step Four of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. But scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

LONDON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 54,674 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,386,340, according to official figures released Saturday.

The figure is up from 51,870 cases reported on Friday, which was the highest since mid-January.

The country also recorded another 41 coronavirus-related deaths, with the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now standing at 128,683. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling "a bit groggy" last night.

He said on Twitter that he has had two jabs of the vaccine and his symptoms were "mild". He is now self-isolating at home with his family.

The British government has confirmed that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end on Monday as part of the final step or Step Four of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. But scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase the likelihood of dangerous variants.



People wearing face masks are seen at Piccadilly Circus in London, Britain, on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

About 87.8 percent of adults in Britain have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine and 67.8 percent have received two doses, the latest official figures showed.

In addition to COVID-19 vaccination, there are plans to offer free flu vaccines to children aged two to 16 and people aged 50 and over or in "at-risk" groups this winter in England, amid the double threat of coronavirus and influenza, the BBC reported Saturday.

The government is also considering a booster program of COVID-19 vaccines for the most vulnerable in the coming months.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

Visitors wearing face masks queue to board the London Eye in London, Britain, on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 03:54:46|Editor: huaxia

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Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (3rd L) meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (3rd R) in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. Wang Yi said on Saturday that China has put forward a four-point proposal on solving the Syrian issue. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that China has put forward a four-point proposal on solving the Syrian issue.

The Chinese senior diplomat elaborated on the proposal when he met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in Damascus, the capital of Syria.

Wang noted that the key to comprehensively solving the Syrian issue is the implementation of the "Syrian-led, Syrian-owned" principle established by the UN Security Council. He added that all relevant parties should make concerted efforts to effectively advance the comprehensive settlement of the Syrian issue.

In this regard, the Chinese foreign minister said, China has put forward a four-point proposal.

Firstly, Syria's national sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected. China calls for respecting the choice by the Syrian people, abandoning the illusion of a regime change, and letting the Syrian people independently determine the future and destiny of their country.

China firmly supports Syria in independently exploring a development path and safeguarding national unity and dignity, Wang said.

Secondly, the well-being of Syrian people should be prioritized and the reconstruction process should be sped up. China believes that the fundamental way to solve the humanitarian crisis in Syria lies in the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions and economic blockade against Syria.

The international aid to Syria should be provided on the basis of respecting Syria's national sovereignty and in consultation with the Syrian government, the cross-line humanitarian assistance should be expanded, the transparency of cross-border rescue operations should be increased, and Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be protected, Wang said.

Thirdly, a firm stand on effectively fighting terrorism should be upheld. China holds that all terrorist organizations listed by the UN Security Council should be cracked down and double standards should be rejected.

The Syrian government's leading role in fighting terrorism on its soil should be respected, schemes of provoking ethnic divisions under the pretense of countering terrorism should be opposed, and Syria's sacrifice and contribution to the anti-terror fight should be acknowledged, Wang said.

China will support Syria's anti-terror stand and join hands with Syria in enhancing global anti-terror cooperation, he said.

Fourthly, an inclusive and reconciliatory political solution to the Syrian issue should be promoted. China calls for advancing the political settlement of the Syrian issue led by the Syrians, bridging the differences among all Syrian factions through dialogue and consultation, and laying a solid political foundation for the long-term stability, development and revitalization of Syria.

The international community should provide constructive assistance to Syria in this regard and support the United Nations in playing its role as the main channel of mediation, Wang said.

For his part, Mekdad said that Syria agrees with China's four-point proposal and is willing to further strengthen its coordination with China on the Syrian issue.

China as an important member of the international community has always stood on the side of justice, said the Syrian diplomat, who also expressed the hope that China will play a bigger role in solving the Syrian issue and other international affairs. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 07:48:19|Editor: huaxia

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2021. China opposes any attempt to seek regime change in Syria and will boost the mutually beneficial cooperation with Syria for the benefit of the two peoples, Wang Yi said on Saturday. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China opposes any attempt to seek regime change in Syria and will boost the mutually beneficial cooperation with Syria for the benefit of the two peoples, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

Wang made the remarks at a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to whom the Chinese senior diplomat first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings.

Under Assad's leadership, the Syrian people have made valuable achievements in combating terrorism and opposing external interference, Wang said, adding that Assad's re-election reflects the strong trust and support of the Syrian people.

Wang praised the Syrian people as backboned and dignified, adding that blatant foreign interventions in Syria have failed in the past, and will not succeed in the future. He expressed the belief that the Syrian people will be more united and committed to the reconstruction and revitalization of their country.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 65 years ago, China and Syria have always trusted and supported each other, Wang noted.

China appreciates Syria's firm support on the issues related to China's core interests and major concerns, Wang said, adding that, under the guidance of the two heads of state, China stands ready to cooperate with Syria in carrying forward the traditional friendship and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples.

Reaffirming China's strong support for Syria in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity, Wang said that China opposes any attempt to seek regime change in Syria.

China firmly supports Syria in handling domestic problems under the "Syrian-led, Syrian-owned" principle established by the UN Security Council, and in formulating an inclusive and united political solution, Wang said.

He pledged that China will continue its strong support to Syria in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, through providing the vaccines and other medical supplies.

China will support Syria in improving the well-being of Syrian people and speeding up the reconstruction process, while welcoming Syria to become a new partner in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Chinese senior diplomat said.

China will also support Syria in opposing unilateral sanctions, alleviating its humanitarian dilemma, and combating terrorist forces in any form, Wang said, adding that China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with Syria to help improve its anti-terror capabilities.

For his part, Assad asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi, while warmly congratulating the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the 100th anniversary of founding.

The Syrian leader spoke highly of the CPC leadership for leading the Chinese people onto the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, providing a brand-new choice of governance model for the developing countries.

Assad said that Syria sincerely appreciates China's great help and its fair position on the Syrian issue. With the support of righteous forces including China, Syria has withstood external interference and weathered the most difficult period, he added.

Syria, always regarding China as a sincere partner and friend, is committed to deepen its friendly cooperation with China and supports China unconditionally on the issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the Syrian president vowed.

He also expressed Syria's hope to take part in the joint BRI construction, strengthen cooperation with China in the fields of economy, science, culture and education, and join hands in fighting terrorism.

Assad thanked China for providing humanitarian aid to Syria, while pledging to increase party-party exchanges with China to learn from the CPC successes.

Wang also held talks on the same day with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, and attended the ceremony for signing cooperation agreements. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 08:54:57|Editor: huaxia

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MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan -- A total of 10 militants have been confirmed dead as fighting planes struck Taliban positions in Chamtal district of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on Saturday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said.

"A total of 10 insurgents have been killed and five others injured as fighting planes targeted Taliban hideouts and positions in parts of Chamtal district today morning," Rezai told Xinhua on Saturday. (Afghanistan-Airstrike)

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LOS ANGELES -- Two people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting late Friday night in Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California, authorities said Saturday.

Police officers on patrol reported hearing shots fired in Old Sacramento, which is a riverfront historic section of Downtown Sacramento, just before 11:45 p.m. Friday local time. Officers from across the city as well as those from neighboring law enforcement agencies responded to assist, according to the Sacramento Police Department. (U.S.-Shooting)

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NEW DELHI -- Nearly 15 people have died in India's eastern state of Bihar during the past two days allegedly after consuming illicit liquor, said media reports on Saturday.

The deaths took place in the state's West Champaran district. (India-Hooch Tragedy)

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LUSAKA -- The Zambian government said Saturday that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the country has been proceeding smoothly following initial hesitancy from members of the public to the program.

Kennedy Malama, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health in charge of Technical Services, said there was now an overwhelming response from the public who were rushing to be vaccinated. (Zambia-COVID-19 Vaccination) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 10:15:26|Editor: huaxia

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A freight train from Rizhao to Central Asia leaves a container station of Rizhao port in east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 12, 2017. The train, loaded with containers of automobile components, numerical control machines, plastic productions and daily necessities, leaves China through the port in Horgos and passes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

A stable and prosperous Central Asia serves the common interests of countries in the region and is conducive to world peace and development, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, adding that China's foreign policy towards Central Asia is active, friendly, open and transparent.

DAMASCUS, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to work with Central Asian countries to make plans for further cooperation in various areas, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

Wang made the remarks during an interview after his visit to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as his attendance at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers and other multilateral meetings.

China will work with Central Asian countries to deepen mutual trust, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, and give full play to the role of the new platform of the "China + Central Asia" to help Central Asian countries accelerate their development, he said.

A stable and prosperous Central Asia serves the common interests of countries in the region and is conducive to world peace and development, Wang said, adding that China's foreign policy towards Central Asia is active, friendly, open and transparent.

A staff member unloads cherries imported from Kyrgyzstan at the Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Yue)

When talking about the results of the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, Wang said that all parties reached a series of consensus on the work plan of the SCO and major international and regional issues.

All parties agreed to make solid preparations for the summit to be held in September this year and made full political preparations for the summit's results, Wang said, adding that the parties pledged to stick to the Shanghai Spirit.

They agreed to expand regional cooperation, tap the potential of cooperation, expand cooperation areas, promote vaccine cooperation to fight the epidemic, and accelerate the economic recovery and improve people's livelihood.

All parties believed that it is necessary to maintain an international system with the United Nations at its core, an international order based on international law, and a clear-cut stand against unilateralism and hegemony in any form, Wang noted.

Chinese technicians pose for a photo with Uzbek drivers on an electric locomotive in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec. 17, 2020. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua)

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, China and Central Asian countries have supported each other and carried out fruitful cooperation, he said.

The Chinese government has fulfilled its solemn commitment to making vaccines a global public good, and has provided assistance and exported several batches of Chinese vaccines to Central Asian countries, he added.

China will work with Central Asian countries to build a China-Central Asia health community, he noted.

On the basis of expanded vaccine aid and exports, China will promote cooperation in the vaccine industry based on technology research and development, trade in manufactured goods and joint production, so as to forge a comprehensive vaccine partnership, Wang said.

China will strengthen the public health system, expand cooperation between sectors of modern and traditional medicine, and ensure traditional medical centers are fully available in Central Asia, he said.

Although the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the world since last year, the cooperation between China and Central Asian countries under the Belt and Road Initiative has never stopped, and instead shown great resilience and vitality, Wang said.

He noted that China aims to forge a closer partnership with Central Asian countries in healthcare, digitalization, "green" development and connectivity.

As for China-Turkmenistan relations, Wang said the two countries will negotiate and sign documents on cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative as soon as possible, and comprehensively align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, so as to open up new opportunities for further cooperation.

He said China and Turkmenistan will formulate a five-year plan for bilateral cooperation, strive for strategic partnership across the whole industrial chain of the energy sector, and expand cooperation in non-natural resources sectors, healthcare, including COVID-19 vaccines, biosecurity, information security and cybersecurity.

Commenting on the prospect of China-Tajikistan ties, Wang said the two sides need to not only build a community of common development and a community of common security, but also work for a community of common health and push forward the building of a community of a shared future for mankind, so as to raise the bilateral cooperation to a new level.

To that end, China and Tajikistan need to jointly seek development and cooperation, erect a safety barrier, and battle the COVID-19 epidemic.

Workers transfer COVID-19 vaccines at Tashkent International Airport in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 27, 2021. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua)

As Uzbekistan is advocating reform and opening-up at full scale, Wang said China will continue to support Uzbekistan in the pursuit of reform and opening-up.

To build a more dynamic China-Uzbekistan partnership that entails a richer context and provides more benefits to the two peoples, the two sides need to further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthen strategic coordination, Wang said.

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, Wang said that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, but peace has not come, and the flames of war have started again.

China always respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and adheres to the norms governing international relations of non-interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, Wang said.

He added that China hopes that Afghanistan will have a resurrection, build a broad and inclusive political framework, resolutely fight terrorism in all its forms, and seek friendly coexistence with all its neighbors. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 12:14:13|Editor: huaxia

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CHONGQING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- With the rapid development of China's online literature, Chinese online novels have created a huge fanbase overseas.

Jiong Jiong You Yao, 32, is one of the most popular online writers in the urban romance genre in China. Her novels have attracted many loyal foreign fans.

"My novels have been translated into foreign languages, such as English, Indonesian, Filipino and Spanish, and foreign readers get to learn about China through such online literature," she said.

Her success comes on the heels of China's booming online literary market overseas.

By 2020, more than 10,000 online literary works had entered overseas markets and attracted over 100 million foreign readers, according to the 2020 Blue Book of China's Online Literature released by the China Writers Association.

On the novel website Webnovel, Jiong Jiong You Yao's novel comment section is full of comments urging updates, highlighting the novel's popularity.

In 2016, she wrote a romantic novel. The novel has received more than four million clicks, and its intellectual property right was licensed to a Vietnamese cultural enterprise for film and television adaptation in 2018.

"I usually include content with Chinese characteristics in my writing, such as Suzhou embroidery and Kung fu, and I find foreign readers quite interested in these Chinese elements," she said. "I think Chinese online literature is popular not only because of the mysterious oriental elements but also because humanity in the works transcends boundaries."

Fantasy and Kung fu novels were once the driving force behind the fervor for Chinese online novels among foreign readers. Such stories were based on Chinese mythology and traditional culture, and they appealed to foreign readers.

In recent years, however, more types of Chinese online novels have opened the foreign market, as the channels for international communication became more diversified. Urban romance novels, for example, describe the lives of Chinese urbanites, and they are increasingly popular in Southeast Asia, including Jiong Jiong You Yao's works.

Jiong Jiong You Yao said that readers used to prefer the stories about domineering male characters and Cinderella-like protagonists, but now the theme has shifted to feature women's independence and striving.

"I think it's because of women's rising self-awareness in Asia, and I have incorporated the change into my creation," she added.

China's online literature has also encouraged many foreign readers to start writing. Kazzenlx, a 25-year-old Filipino author, wrote a fantasy romance novel, "Hellbound With You," which was inspired by the English version of Jiong Jiong You Yao's novel.

"China's online literature has changed from merely spreading novels to exporting a deep-seated creation system," said He Hong, deputy director of the online literature center of the China Writers Association.

Statistics show that Webnovel has attracted about 110,000 overseas online writers, who have created more than 200,000 novels.

Many TV series have been adapted from Chinese online novels and become quite popular overseas, including the hit TV series "Flower Thousand Bone," "Nirvana in Fire" and "Empresses in the Palace."

"It's a great opportunity for writers that Chinese online novels can be viewed in different countries and even adapted into films and TV series," Jiong Jiong You Yao said. "We should improve ourselves to tell good Chinese stories and help people get to know more about the Chinese culture." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 13:21:49|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese white paper on protecting the rights of Xinjiang's ethnic groups provides the international community with a good opportunity to understand the real Xinjiang, a Jordanian expert on the Arab-China relations has said.

"The white paper explains in detail how China has put in place a whole vision for Xinjiang, focusing on its well-rounded development," Samer Khair Ahmed recently told Xinhua, referring to the document titled "Respecting and Protecting the Rights of All Ethnic Groups in Xinjiang," which was issued by China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday.

Noting that the white paper has illustrated the realities and developments in Xinjiang with abundant statistics and facts, the expert pointed out that the document contains rich details on how the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have been enjoying constantly improving living standard, and practicing religion freely.

All these positive results were made possible by the Chinese government's "people-centered" approach, which is the apparent opposite of some Western media's rumors and distortions, he said.

For Ahmed, who has been studying the Chinese society for several decades and has published two books on China so far, fabricating so-called "oppression of minorities" is a usual method used by some U.S. politicians to pressure other countries and cause chaos.

China's outstanding achievements and its vision of a community with a shared future for mankind have gained increasing recognition across the globe, but are considered by Washington and some of its allies as threats to their hegemony, Ahamad said.

"Therefore, they continue to slander China, intending to use issues related to Xinjiang to discredit and restrain China," he said.

The Jordanian expert, who visited Xinjiang in 2017, spoke highly of the developments he witnessed there.

Regarding the "forced labor" accusations, Ahmed deemed them as part of some West forces' campaign to destabilize Xinjiang and contain China.

"As a Muslim and an Arab, I saw how the Uygurs preserved their culture and traditions, whether in food, music or heritage," he said.

There is no doubt that the Chinese government has shared the fruits of reform and development with people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, he said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 14:54:30|Editor: huaxia

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People dance at the People's Square in Korla, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

China's outstanding achievements and its vision of a community with a shared future for mankind have gained increasing recognition across the globe, but are considered by Washington and some of its allies as threats to their hegemony, said Samer Khair Ahmed, a Jordanian expert on the Arab-China relations.

"Therefore, they continue to slander China, intending to use issues related to Xinjiang to discredit and restrain China," he said.

AMMAN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese white paper on protecting the rights of Xinjiang's ethnic groups provides the international community with a good opportunity to understand the real Xinjiang, a Jordanian expert on the Arab-China relations has said.

"The white paper explains in detail how China has put in place a whole vision for Xinjiang, focusing on its well-rounded development," Samer Khair Ahmed recently told Xinhua, referring to the document titled "Respecting and Protecting the Rights of All Ethnic Groups in Xinjiang," which was issued by China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday.

Noting that the white paper has illustrated the realities and developments in Xinjiang with abundant statistics and facts, the expert pointed out that the document contains rich details on how the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have been enjoying constantly improving living standard, and practicing religion freely.

All these positive results were made possible by the Chinese government's "people-centered" approach, which is the apparent opposite of some Western media's rumors and distortions, he said.

People promote Hami melons via livestreaming in Turpan of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

For Ahmed, who has been studying the Chinese society for several decades and has published two books on China so far, fabricating so-called "oppression of minorities" is a usual method used by some U.S. politicians to pressure other countries and cause chaos.

China's outstanding achievements and its vision of a community with a shared future for mankind have gained increasing recognition across the globe, but are considered by Washington and some of its allies as threats to their hegemony, Ahamad said.

"Therefore, they continue to slander China, intending to use issues related to Xinjiang to discredit and restrain China," he said.

The Jordanian expert, who visited Xinjiang in 2017, spoke highly of the developments he witnessed there.

Regarding the "forced labor" accusations, Ahmed deemed them as part of some West forces' campaign to destabilize Xinjiang and contain China.

"As a Muslim and an Arab, I saw how the Uygurs preserved their culture and traditions, whether in food, music or heritage," he said.

There is no doubt that the Chinese government has shared the fruits of reform and development with people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, he said. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 15:11:00|Editor: huaxia

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Raul Castro (2nd R), leader of the Cuban socialist revolution and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (3rd R) attend a political gathering in Havana, Cuba, July 17, 2021. Thousands of Cubans on Saturday gathered at the La Piragua esplanade in Havana to express their support of the island's government after the recent unrest. Raul Castro, leader of the Cuban socialist revolution, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, high-ranking officials, and leaders of social organizations attended the event. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)

HAVANA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Cubans on Saturday gathered at the La Piragua esplanade in Havana to express their support of the island's government after the recent unrest.

Raul Castro, leader of the Cuban socialist revolution, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, high-ranking officials, and leaders of social organizations attended the event.

Addressing the audience, Diaz-Canel said that the Cuban revolution continues to stand by its people, and accused the U.S. administration of sponsoring a political and communicational campaign against the Caribbean country.

Abiding by social distancing guidelines and mask mandates, participants held national flags and patriotic banners in support of the Cuban socialist revolution, and dozens of people waved from balconies.

Unity has helped Cubans overcome crises, said Gerardo Hernandez, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, adding that the U.S. administration wanted to destabilize the tranquility of the island's neighborhoods.

"This revolution was made by Raul (Castro) and Fidel (Castro) for the humble, with the humble, and for the sake of the humble," he said, adding that the Cuban government will continue the work initiated by its predecessors.

Julio Cesar Crespo, who works at Havana's Higher Institute of International Relations "Raul Roa Garcia", told Xinhua that young people in Cuba were committed to the development of socialism on the island.

"We have to defend the revolution, which has been a beacon for all Cubans," he said. "We cannot lose (what) all we have shed so much blood for. Today we come to reaffirm our revolutionary convictions." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 17:26:09|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH -- COVID-19 has led to financing flow losses of 3.6 billion U.S. dollars for Cambodia, accounting for 19.8 percent of the country's total financing flows in 2020, said a new report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) released on Friday.

Cambodia's financial sources for supporting national development include domestic revenue, foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic private investment, remittances, loans, grants, and official development assistance (ODA). (Cambodia-UNDP-Finance)

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ROME -- Italy's exporters have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to two reports jointly released on Friday by the country's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and the Italian Trade Agency (ICE).

According to the 35th edition of the "Italy in the International Economy" report and the "Yearbook of Foreign Trade and International Business Activities," the recovery of Italy's exports is due in large part to strong economic performances from the start of this year. (Italy-Export-Recover)

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KHARTOUM -- Sudan's Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim on Friday announced that his country has received relief from its 14.1 billion U.S. dollars' debts to Paris Club.

"Sudan's remaining debts, which stand at 9.5 billion U.S. dollars, have been rescheduled until reaching the completion point in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, with suspension of debt service payments during this period," said Ibrahim in a statement. (Sudan-Debt)

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NAIROBI -- Kenya's public debt rose by 432 billion shillings (about 4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2021, pushing the east African nation's total borrowing to 71.3 billion dollars, the Central Bank said in its weekly update of the financial markets released Friday.

The debt jumped from 67.3 billion dollars at the end of 2020, with the borrowing done to fund the budget amid COVID-19 disruption as well as complete infrastructure projects. (Kenya-Public Debt-Up)

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GABORONE -- Botswana, through its Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan, has set aside 700,000 U.S. dollars to purchase bucks and rams for farmers across the country for breeding, said President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday.

There is need to intensify efforts to increase the small stock population, which has declined over the years, said Masisi during his visit to the Impala Rural Training Center located in Francistown, Botswana's second largest city. (Botswana-Small Stock)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 17:54:55|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported two new imported cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally to 11,958.

The new imported cases involved two people arriving in Hong Kong from the United States and Bangladesh. A total of 17 cases have been reported in the past 14 days, including 16 imported cases and one import-related case, according to the CHP.

Hong Kong launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 26, and more than 4.77 million doses have been administered so far. Some 2.79 million people, or about 41 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the vaccine, and more than 1.98 million people have been fully vaccinated. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 18:04:38|Editor: huaxia

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EL ALAMEIN, Egypt, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation here on Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Wang said that China appreciates President Hassan Rouhani and the Iranian government for their positive contributions to developing China-Iran relations over the past eight years.

China is willing to work together with President-elect Ebrahim Raisi and the new Iranian government to carry forward the fine traditions of mutual trust and mutual support between the two countries, strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation, continue jointly opposing unilateralism and bullying behavior, firmly uphold multilateralism and international equity and justice, and better safeguard the common interests of China, Iran and other developing countries, Wang said.

The Chinese side thanks Iran for supporting China on issues concerning its core interests, Wang said, adding that China will, as always, support Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity, choosing a political system and a development path suited to its own national conditions, and defending its legitimate rights and interests.

For his part, Zarif thanked China for offering vaccines and anti-pandemic materials to Iran, and supporting Iran in fighting the disease.

The Iranian side hopes to continue strengthening anti-pandemic cooperation with China, he said.

Noting that Iran attaches great importance to its relationship with China, Zarif said he believes that bilateral relations will further deepen after the new Iranian government takes office.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and other issues. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 18:53:49|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW -- Russia registered 25,018 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours as the Delta variant continues to spread, taking the nationwide tally to 5,958,133, the official monitoring and response center said Sunday.

The center reported 764 coronavirus-related fatalities in the past day, raising the national death toll to 148,419, while the number of recoveries grew by 18,886 to 5,341,231. (Russia-Coronavirus)

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HAVANA -- Thousands of Cubans on Saturday gathered at the La Piragua esplanade in Havana to express their support of the island's government after the recent unrest.

Raul Castro, leader of the Cuban socialist revolution, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, high-ranking officials, and leaders of social organizations attended the event. (Cuba-Political Gathering-Revolution)

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TRIPOLI -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday called on the Libyan authorities to investigate the kidnapping of Siham Sergewa, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives (parliament).

"Today marks 2 years of the violent abduction and enforced disappearance of Member of Parliament, Siham Sergewa, from her home in Benghazi. UNSMIL renews its calls on national authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter to establish her fate and whereabouts and to bring the perpetrators to justice," UNSMIL said in a statement. (Libya-UN-Kidnapping)

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KABUL -- At least 53 Taliban militants were killed and 38 others wounded in multiple airstrikes and battles in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.

In eastern Kapisa province, 18 militants were killed and 24 wounded after Afghan Air Force conducted airstrikes in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in suburban Tagab and the neighboring Nijrab districts, the ministry said in a statement. (Afghanistan-Taliban-Offensives) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 19:30:38|Editor: huaxia

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As the Eid al-Adha festival approaches, the Libyans have been struggling to make ends meet against the COVID-19 pandemic and the high cost of living.

Eid al-Adha, known as the Festival of the Sacrifice, is one of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide every year. According to Islamic teachings, Muslim families should buy a sheep, goat, or cow as a sacrifice in the early morning of Eid al-Adha and distribute its meat to the poor as a charity gift.

The Libyan government has attempted to control the high prices of sheep by importing more than 300,000 livestock over the past few weeks and giving away more than 50,000 sheep to low-income families.

A few days ago, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah imposed new precautionary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, as the North African country has been recording an increasing number of cases lately.

Libya has recorded a total of 217,434 COVID-19 cases so far, including 182,785 recoveries and 3,253 deaths.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 19:33:32|Editor: huaxia

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks back to Downing Street after attending a press conference in London, Britain, on July 12, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

The British government has confirmed that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end on Monday as part of the final step, or Step Four, of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. But scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

LONDON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will enter quarantine as normal after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, Downing Street said Sunday.

This marked a U-turn on the pair's initial decision to avoid self-isolation by taking part in a daily testing pilot scheme, which had caused huge public outrage in the country.

"Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren't the same for everyone is wrong," Sunak said on Twitter.

Javid, the new health secretary who replaced Matt Hancock last month, is now self-isolating at home with his family. He said he has had two jabs of the vaccine and his symptoms are mild.

Visitors wearing face masks queue to board the London Eye in London, Britain, on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

The British government has confirmed that most COVID-19 restrictions in England will end on Monday as part of the final step, or Step Four, of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. But scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

Britain reported on Saturday another 54,674 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,386,340, official figures showed. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain has reached 128,683.

More than 87 percent of the Britain's adults have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while over 67 percent have received two jabs, the latest figures showed. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 20:12:47|Editor: huaxia

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PARIS, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China has not only boosted the protection of its own national heritage but has also helped other countries protect their own cultural and natural treasures, a UNESCO official said Saturday.

"China really demonstrates its interest in the preservation of the environment and in the connection to other countries," Mechtild Rossler, director of the Paris-based UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage Center, said in a video interview with Xinhua on Saturday.

Rossler is attending the ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Fuzhou, east China. The session, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19, is expected to last until July 31.

The session will review candidates for entry to the UNESCO World Heritage list and examine the state of conservation of sites already inscribed on the list.

"We have many sites under threat on the world heritage list. We have a rich and so far underrepresented world heritage list. We need to do capacity building and enhance protection," Rossler said, warning that climate change has become an increasing threat to global heritage.

With 55 UNESCO World Heritage sites, China now ranks top in the world tied with Italy. In recent years, China has been promoting heritage protection as a means of bolstering its culture industries and ecological development as well as reducing poverty.

Meanwhile, the country is actively engaged in international heritage cooperation. "China is providing support to poor states in need ... and is supporting capacity building initiatives in collaboration with UNESCO, especially in the African region," Rossler said.

During the session, China announced that it is willing to work with UNESCO to build educational platforms for world heritage and help cultivate heritage protection skills for developing countries. China will also support UNESCO in implementing the Priority Africa strategy in terms of world heritage.

China is expected to host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands this year. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 20:28:47|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong residents' confidence in implementing "one country, two systems" remained unshakable in face of the U.S. hegemonic acts, major political groups and people from all walks of life in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have said.

Various political groups and social groups have condemned the so-called sanctions imposed on a number of officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR by the U.S. government, and a so-called "advisory" to U.S. businesses and individuals operating in Hong Kong, which smeared Hong Kong's business environment.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) issued a statement, saying that officials at all levels of the liaison office have been committed to maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and promoting the development of the cause of "one country, two systems", and won support for their hard work from all sectors of Hong Kong.

The DAB said that since the national security law in Hong Kong came into effect, order and peace have been quickly restored, people's life and property better protected, and economic activities have gradually recovered from social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. The so-called "business advisory" issued by the U.S. government to American enterprises in Hong Kong did not conform to the personal experiences of international investors and local people at all.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said in a statement that the U.S. government has been using various excuses to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, which seriously undermined international law and basic norms governing international relations, and blatantly provoked the Chinese government and people.

This, however, will never shake the determination of the Central government and the HKSAR government officials to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, the statement said.

The New People's Party (NPP) said that the so-called "business advisory" issued by the U.S. government aimed at maliciously attacking Hong Kong's status as an international financial and business center. The relevant remarks of the U.S. government have aroused strong dissatisfaction among American businessmen in Hong Kong.

The so-called sanctions and warnings will not affect the Central government's policy towards Hong Kong, but will only harm the interests of American businessmen in Hong Kong, said NPP.

Various social groups have also voiced their condemnation of the U.S. hegemonic acts. The Hong Kong Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (HKCPPCC) (Provincial) Members Association said the so-called advisory has no factual basis, and it is only a blatant smear against Hong Kong's business environment.

The Hong Kong Chinese Importers' & Exporters' Association said the U.S. attempt to impede the development of Hong Kong and the country will only make patriots more united.

Hong Kong's New Territories Association of Societies said that some of the U.S. politicians attempted to obstruct the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong, undermine the practice of "one country, two systems" and contain China's development. This will only strengthen the will of the Chinese people to safeguard national security, and will in no way shake their resolve and confidence in implementing the principle of "one country, two systems."

The Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong said that the enactment of the national security law in Hong Kong was an internal affair of China and it has been proved that the implementation of the law has consolidated Hong Kong's position as an international financial and commercial center.

The U.S. move is a malicious attempt to damage the reputation of Hong Kong as an international commercial hub, grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, and blatantly challenge the rule of law, the association said.

Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation recently sent a letter to the U.S. Consulate-General in Hong Kong, condemning the U.S. government for violating the UN Charter, relevant UN resolutions and international law. and demanding it immediately lift the illegal sanctions. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 21:40:21|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that "verified coronavirus patients who knowingly violate quarantine" will be criminally indicted and "dealt with to the fullest extent of the law."

Bennett made the instructions during a cabinet meeting, according to a statement released by the prime minister's office.

The Attorney General Office and the Public Security Ministry are considering utilizing an app to track people on quarantine, Bennett said.

The prime minister said his government aims to impose aggressive and efficient enforcement against violators, because "whoever violates the directives is endangering his health and the other citizens of Israel."

The Delta variant is "leaping forward around the world," making the implementation of new restrictions "a critical component in managing the pandemic in order to beat the mutation," Bennett noted.

Last week, Bennett said Israel can beat the outbreak without lockdowns, by increasing the number of vaccinated people, wearing masks indoors, and keeping social distance.

The Israeli health ministry has reported a steady rise in the number of infections, driven by the spread of the Delta variant. The ministry reported on Sunday a total of 6,622 active cases in the country, with 63 of them being in serious condition.

About 61 percent of the country's 9.3 million citizens have been vaccinated with at least one dose and about 56 percent with two doses. Most of them received the Pfizer vaccine. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 22:06:35|Editor: huaxia

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Tian Xuejun, Chinese vice education minister, director of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and chairperson of the World Heritage Committee's 44th session, speaks via video link during a video press conference of the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee on July 18, 2021. (Xinhua)

FUZHOU, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has adopted the Fuzhou Declaration, calling for closer international cooperation within the framework of multilateralism.

UNESCO made the announcement via a video press conference on Sunday.

The Fuzhou Declaration reiterates the significance of world heritage protection and international cooperation, as well as the need to work and act together to address climate change, said Tian Xuejun, chairperson of the World Heritage Committee's 44th session.

The declaration calls for closer international cooperation within the framework of multilateralism and increasing support for developing countries, especially those in Africa and also small island developing countries, said Tian, who is also China's vice education minister and director of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO.

The declaration also calls for strengthening world heritage education, knowledge sharing and the application of new technologies.

The declaration states that global heritage has made a positive contribution to the promotion of exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, as well as to world peace and sustainable development, Tian said.

The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee kicked off Friday in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, to review world heritage items online for the first time.

The session, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19, is an extended one that will last until July 31 to go over the agendas of both 2020 and 2021.

The session will review candidates for entry to the UNESCO World Heritage list, including Quanzhou, a coastal city in Fujian Province and a global maritime trade center in ancient China.

The committee will also examine the state of conservation of sites already inscribed on the list. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 22:09:29|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China has so far published 14 volumes of "Ma Zang," a collection of Marxist classics and related documents, with a total of 9 million Chinese characters, according to its compiler.

Launched in 2015 by Peking University in cooperation with several domestic and overseas research institutions, the compilation of "Ma Zang" is aimed at providing a complete picture of the evolution of Marxism. The whole project will take about 20 years.

The published volumes include original works and translated versions, articles, reports, files, notes and letters, as well as relevant documents of the Communist Party of China.

A seminar on "Ma Zang" was also featured at the Third World Congress on Marxism, which was held during the weekend in Beijing. Various Marxist scholars from home and abroad shared their research results in the field via online and offline methods at the seminar.

The compilation of "Ma Zang" is expected to facilitate a systematical review of and a thorough understanding of the adaption of Marxism to China's context, and lay a more solid theoretical foundation for the development of Marxism in the 21st century, said Gu Hailiang, editor-in-chief of "Ma Zang." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 22:31:09|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The exit of U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a "great victory" for Muslim nations, Deputy Secretary-General of the Iran-located World Assembly of Islamic Awakening Hossein Akbari said Sunday.

"Afghanistan has now entered a new stage. In fact, the 20-year presence of the United States in Afghanistan and eventual expulsion from the country has created a power vacuum and power imbalance in Afghanistan that affects all developments and equations," Akbari was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

He made the remarks at a news conference over an online international meeting on Afghanistan scheduled to be held in Tehran on Monday.

The webinar, dubbed Afghanistan, Sustainable Peace and Security, will be opened by the senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati, who chairs the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening.

More than 40 Afghan political figures and representatives of Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran will deliver speeches at the meeting, according to Akbari.

"We hope that this conference will help spread of peace in Afghanistan as Iran has always made its utmost effort, with its mediating role, to convince parties to negotiate instead of war," he said.

Iran hosted an intra-Afghan talk earlier this month, which was attended by representatives of the Afghan government and parliament, the Taliban militant group and figures supporting the republic system in the country. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 23:20:17|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Philippine politicians will have to innovate their ways for public displays of affection in the coming election campaign trail due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) is crafting new election guidelines for next year's presidential elections which has effectively jettisoned ingrained features of political campaigning, particularly kissing babies and pressing the flesh.

Given existing evidence about the importance of hand hygiene and social distancing in curbing the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, the Comelec advised against greetings such as hugging, kissing, and shaking hands when politicians go on the hustings.

"Public displays of affection used to be part of the whole idea of campaigning (such as) politicians go out to shake hands and kiss babies. You're not going to be able to do it anymore," Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said during a webinar hosted by the House of Representatives earlier this week.

"That will certainly be risky behavior, and yes, that will have to be strictly regulated," Jimenez said.

Before the pandemic, political candidates hit the campaign trails across the archipelago to woe people's votes during political rallies. Politicians may entertain voters by singing and dancing on stage in a rally.

"Now, all possible venues in any particular location will have to have stated capacities on record. This will allow us to regulate attendance levels at events held in those areas," Jimenez said, adding that there will be "a restriction on the granting of permits."

The poll body is not planning to impose a ban on face-to-face campaigns, Jimenez said, explaining it will be unfair to candidates who cannot afford expensive print and broadcast media advertisements.

Giving an example of the new campaign rules amid the pandemic, Jimenez said the practice of distributing food packs to people attending political rallies will be discouraged.

The Philippines, which still battles a sustained increase in COVID-19 infections, still bans mass gatherings. The country is bracing itself for the threat posed by the emergence of virus variants, including the highly contagious Delta variants.

The Southeast Asian country has reported a total of 1,507,755 confirmed cases as of Sunday, including 26,714 deaths.

The government is ramping up efforts to accelerate vaccination amid the limited vaccine supply. Nearly 4 million people have been fully vaccinated so far while the government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipino this year.

The election on May 9 next year will decide the country's 17th president, the vice president, 12 senators, and local officials, including the congressional members. The campaign period will officially start on Feb. 8 for national posts and March 25 for local posts.

Jimenez said the poll body is also crafting "comprehensive guidelines on coverage, particularly with regard to safe coverage practices."

As in previous electoral contests, the presidential hopefuls mount large-scale media campaigns on TV and social media months before the official campaign period begins.

Another common practice is putting their names on giant billboards announcing the completion of infrastructure projects such as roads, highways and bridges.

Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the government's measures to combat COVID-19, has urged politicians to stop displaying tarpaulins or posters bearing their names at vaccination sites. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 23:53:04|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 48,161 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 5,433,939, according to official figures released Sunday.

The country also recorded another 25 coronavirus-related deaths, with the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now standing at 128,708. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

Nearly 88 percent of adults in Britain have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine and more than 68 percent have received two doses, according to the latest figures.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak are self-isolating after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid who tested positive for COVID-19, BBC reported on Sunday.

The latest development came as most COVID-19 restrictions in England are set to end on Monday as part of the final step or Step Four of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. Scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

With the surging number of the COVID-19 cases, the government is boosting funding for relevant research.

An extensive program of 15 new research studies, backed by government funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), will allow researchers across Britain to draw together their expertise from analyzing long COVID-19 among those suffering long-term effects and the health and care professionals supporting them, Britain's Department of Health and Social Care announced on Sunday.

The latest research shows that although many people make a full recovery following COVID-19, a significant proportion of people continue to experience chronic symptoms for months.

These studies aim to help those people affected return to their normal lives, according to the department.

"This new research is absolutely essential to improve diagnosis and treatments and will be life-changing for those who are battling long-term symptoms of the virus," Javid said in a statement.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 00:01:35|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday visited the injured Chinese nationals from the Dasu terrorist attack at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi near the federal capital Islamabad.

The foreign minister was accompanied by Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong.

Qureshi asked in detail about the condition of and treatment for each wounded Chinese national, and expressed sincere sympathy to them on behalf of the Pakistani government and people. (Pakistan-FM-Chinese nationals)

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HANOI -- Vietnam reported another record high of 5,926 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 3,718 cases registered on Saturday, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

The new infections included 5,887 locally transmitted and 39 imported, bringing the total tally to 53,830, with 254 deaths, the ministry said. (Vietnam-COVID-19-Cases)

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VIENTIANE -- The Lao Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 131 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily spike, bringing the national tally to 3,425.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Sisavath Soutthaniraxay told a press conference in the capital that 131 new cases of COVID-19 had been recorded over the past 24 hours, including 123 imported cases and eight local transmissions. (Laos-COVID-19-Cases)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia recorded a fresh high of 153 single-day death toll from COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total deaths to 7,019, according to the Health Ministry.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that another 10,710 new COVID-19 infections were reported, of which 12 are imported and 10,698 are local transmissions, bringing the national total to 916,561. (Malaysia-COVID-19-Cases)

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KABUL -- At least 53 Taliban militants were killed and 38 others wounded in multiple airstrikes and battles in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.

In eastern Kapisa province, 18 militants were killed and 24 wounded after Afghan Air Force (AAF) conducted airstrikes in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in suburban Tagab and the neighboring Nijrab districts, the ministry said in a statement. (Afghanistan-Taliban) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 00:58:05|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Morocco announced on Sunday 2,144 new COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload in the North African country to 557,632.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 531,649 after 848 more were added.

The death toll rose to 9,450 with 16 new fatalities reported during the last 24 hours, while 505 people were in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, a total of 11,219,675 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, with 9,620,665 having received the second dose.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 01:07:44|Editor: huaxia

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NICOSIA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese language proficiency competition for school and college students was held online via video link in Cyprus on Sunday, as China and Cyprus celebrate this year the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Six college contestants and five high school students from Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Paralimni participated in the "first China-Cyprus Friendship Cup-Chinese Proficiency Competition."

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus Liu Yantao said that "We celebrate 50 years of China-Cyprus diplomatic ties this year."

He hoped that this competition will not only refine the Chinese language skills of the contestants, but also provide them with a best platform to make friends that share their passion for Chinese culture, and lead them into a lifelong journey loving the Chinese language, China as a great nation and its people.

He added that in April 2019, the Chinese and Cypriot governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Cypriot Minister of Education Prodromos Prodromou, in his welcoming address which was presented by Elena Theodoulou-Charalambous, a cultural policy advisor at the ministry, said the Chinese language is currently the most spoken language in the world, noting that it embodies the values of a civilization that has lasted for over 5,000 years.

"With the deepening of the bilateral relations and practical cooperation in all fields between our two countries, there will be an increasing demand for more Cypriot young people who can speak Chinese and are familiar with China," the minister said.

Grace Monica Theodoulou from Nicosia, who graduated from the University of Edinburgh, won the competition for college students, while Elizaveta Vasilieva from the American International School in Nicosia was the winner of the contest for school students. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 01:32:57|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Iraq hailed on Sunday the agreement reached by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries, known as OPEC+, to boost oil production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"The minister of oil praised the cooperation and commitment of OPEC+. This confirms everyone's keenness to successfully overcome the challenges facing the oil market," Iraqi Minister of Oil Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail was quoted by a ministry statement as saying after his participation in the OPEC+ online meeting.

Ismail said that "the meeting stressed the strengthening of collective cooperation, praising the countries' compliance with the agreement, and the positive development in increasing demand for crude, in addition to the decline in stocks and the oil surplus," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, OPEC+ held an online meeting during which it agreed to boost oil production by 400,000 bpd as demand increases, and reached a deal to phase out the cut of 5.8 million bpd in oil production by September 2022 "subject to market conditions," said an OPEC+ statement issued after the meeting.

Last year, OPEC+ cut production by a record 10 million bpd amid a pandemic-induced decrease in demand and dropping prices. The adjustment was slowly reduced and currently stands at 5.8 million bpd, it said.

OPEC+ also agreed to increase output quotas from May 2022 for several members, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait and Iraq.

The UAE will see its baseline production rising from the current 3.168 million bpd to 3.5 million bpd from May 2022, while that of Saudi Arabia and Russia, from 11 million bpd to 11.5 million bpd each. Iraq and Kuwait each will see their baseline production climbing by 150,000 bpd.

Thus, from May 2022, the baseline oil production of OPEC+ will be adjusted upward from the current 43.853 million bpd to 45.485 million bpd. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 03:50:55|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba won a vote of confidence at the House of Representatives on Sunday, which will enable him to stay in the position till the next general election.

Deuba garnered 165 votes in the 271-member chamber of parliament, more than the 136 votes needed to pass the floor test.

"The vote of confidence motion tabled by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been endorsed with a majority," announced Agni Prasad Sapkota, speaker of the House of Representatives.

Deuba will be able to lead the government until the lower house's full term ends in about one and a half years.

As president of the Nepali Congress, Deuba was appointed the prime minister on July 13 after the Supreme Court directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to do so in a verdict issued a day earlier, under which the court also reinstated the House of Representatives dissolved by Bhandari on May 22 over the recommendation of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Deuba has to seek a vote of confidence in parliament within 30 days of appointment under the Nepali constitution.

Urging all the parties to support him prior to the voting, Deuba said "I want to take all the parties together in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty, among others."

It is the fifth time for 75-year-old Deuba to hold the office. The 2017 general election in Nepal was held under his leadership. Oli succeeded him as the prime minister in February 2018. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 04:22:59|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A Sudanese official on Sunday said that no drop in the water level of the Blue Nile has been detected despite Ethiopia's start of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

"Since April, Al-Daim station on the border with Ethiopia has not monitored any drop in the daily level of the water coming from the Ethiopian Plateau to Sudan," Hamid Mohamed Ali, director of Sudan's Al-Rusaires Dam, said in a statement.

"Although Ethiopia started the second filling of the GERD, yet the daily water amounts are stable," he noted.

But Ali stressed that, despite Ethiopia's start of the second of filling of the GERD, a legal and binding deal should still be signed regarding filling and operating of the dam.

The Al-Rusaires Dam on the Blue Nile, which lies some 100 km from the GERD, was established in 1966 with a storage capacity of 3.35 billion cubic meters.

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have been in talks for years, under the umbrella of the African Union, over the technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.

Sudan proposed a mediation quartet of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and the African Union on solving the GERD dispute. Ethiopia, however, has rejected this proposal.

In February, Ethiopia said it would carry on with the second-phase 13.5-billion-cubic-meter filling of the GERD in June. The volume of the first-phase filling last year was 4.9 billion cubic meters.

Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the dam project, while Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile Basin countries that rely on the Nile river for its freshwater needs, are concerned that the GERD will affect their shares of the water resources. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 04:42:17|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Sunday condemned the "renewed violations by Israeli extremists" against the al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry affirmed Egypt's complete rejection of these violations, while repeating a warning against harming the al-Aqsa Mosque, which enjoys a great position among Muslims around the world.

"The mosque is a place of worship for Muslims and the Israeli authorities are responsible for providing protection for worshipers in order to maintain security and stability," said the statement.

The ministry demanded Israel refrain from taking any actions that will lead to escalation, while highlighting the need to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process based on the related international resolutions within the framework of the two-state solution.

Hundreds of Jews visited on Sunday the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem to mark the Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av, when the Jews mark the anniversary of the destruction of their biblical temples in 586 BC and 70 AD.

Early in the morning, Israeli police stormed the compound and clashed with Muslim worshippers. A statement issued by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf that manages the site said five Palestinian have been arrested, while the Palestinian Red Crescent reported several injuries among the Palestinians.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it later, claiming it as part of its "indivisible" capital, in a move unrecognized by most of the international community. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 05:13:57|Editor: huaxia

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MONTEVIDEO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said on Sunday that the country is aiming to reopen its borders to foreigners who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year.

"One of the hardest hit sectors that we have to help to reactivate is tourism. If what we have been experiencing and the new variants allow for it, we plan to open the border in (the southern hemisphere) spring for some people ... who are immunized," he said.

The Ministry of Public Health confirmed on Saturday the detection of the first cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and of two other cases caused by the Alpha and Beta variants of concern.

According to authorities, more than 69 percent of the Uruguayan population have already received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 57 percent have been fully vaccinated.

For more than four weeks, the South American country has registered fewer infections, active cases, hospitalizations, and deaths after a spike in cases and deaths between April and June of this year.

Uruguay has registered 378,733 cases of COVID-19 and 5,879 deaths. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 05:15:49|Editor: huaxia

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Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st L, Front) and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (2nd L, Front) attend a ceremony marking the joint production of 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt, in Alamein, Egypt, on July 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

ALAMEIN, Egypt, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Sunday attended a ceremony marking the joint production of 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

The ceremony was held during Wang's official visit to Alamein, a coastal city in northern Egypt.

After China and Egypt inked a letter of intent for cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine production in December 2020, a Chinese company signed an agreement with an Egyptian firm and sent technical teams to Egypt to facilitate the local production of the vaccine.

Only half a year after the signing of the agreement, the Chinese vaccine was officially put into production in Egypt and reached the output of 1 million doses in a short time.

As the first batch of vaccines rolled off the production line, Egypt became the first country on the African continent to cooperate with China in the COVID-19 vaccine production.

The local production of the Chinese vaccine in Egypt, which demonstrates China's determination and sincerity in promoting international anti-pandemic cooperation, marks a concrete move to actively implement Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge to make the vaccine a global public good. It is also an important step taken by China to promote equal distribution of the vaccines and bridge the immunity gap.

This project is not only of great significance to Egypt's fight against COVID-19 pandemic, but also will greatly help Africa and the Arab region prevail over the pandemic at an early date. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 05:34:29|Editor: huaxia

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ALAMEIN -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Sunday attended a ceremony marking the joint production of 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.

The ceremony was held during Wang's official visit to Alamein, a coastal city in northern Egypt. (Egypt-China-Vaccine)

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GAZA -- The partnership between the United States and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is fully restored, a senior UNRWA official said.

The UNRWA media advisor in Gaza, Adnan Abu Hasna, said the U.S. financial aid to the UNRWA has reached 320 million U.S. dollars this year, which is "close to the same level of financial aid as the United States used to donate before former President Donald Trump." (U.S.-UNRWA-Partnership)

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JERUSALEM -- Hundreds of Jews visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Sunday to mark the Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av, despite tensions between Palestinians and Israeli police.

Early in the morning, Israeli police stormed the compound as clashes erupted with Muslim worshippers. A statement issued by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf that manages the site said five Palestinian have been arrested, while the Palestinian Red Crescent reported several injuries among the Palestinians. (Israel-Palestine-Mosque)

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KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait started on Sunday vaccinating teenagers aged 12-15 against COVID-19 in preparation for the new school year that starts in September.

Buthaina Al-Mudhaf, assistant undersecretary for public health affairs of the Kuwaiti Health Ministry, said in a statement that the ministry has started vaccinating teenagers aged between 12 and 15 in health centers in six governorates across the country. (Kuwait-COVID19-Vaccine) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-19 06:55:38|Editor: huaxia

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) holds a meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) in Alamein, Egypt, on July 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

ALAMEIN, Egypt, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday held a meeting here with visiting China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership.

Sisi asked Wang to convey his sincere regards to Chinese President Xi Jinping, while once again warmly congratulating the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the 100th anniversary of founding.

The Egyptian leader spoke highly of the miracles that the Chinese people have created one after another under the CPC leadership, which have also attracted worldwide attention.

Egypt regards China as a true friend and reliable partner, and will unswervingly and undisturbedly develop the bilateral cooperation in various fields, said Sisi.

Egypt will take the opportunity of celebrating the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic ties to further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China, he noted.

Sisi affirmed that Egypt unswervingly pursues the one-China policy, firmly supports China's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and stability, and strongly supports China's fight against terrorism and religious extremism.

Egypt supports the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while hoping to boost cooperation with China in infrastructure, industrial parks, high technology and other fields, and become an important gateway for Chinese enterprises to enter the Middle East and Africa, said the Egyptian president.

Sisi thanked China for providing Egypt with the COVID-19 vaccines and helping his country produce the vaccines locally, adding that Egypt will continue to strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation with China.

Egypt is also willing to coordinate closely with China in jointly promoting regional peace and stability, he added.

For his part, Wang first conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Sisi.

The friendship between China and Egypt, which has stood the test of international circumstances, is unbreakable and firm as a rock, said Wang, adding that China highly appreciates Egypt for always standing with China on the issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns.

China also firmly supports Egypt in continuing to explore a development path suited to its national conditions, pursuing an independent policy, and making efforts to fight terrorism, maintain stability and de-radicalize extremists, said the Chinese senior diplomat.

China looks forward to working together with Egypt to build the China-Egypt community with a shared future, and turn the bilateral ties into a pioneering model for the China-Arab states and China-Africa communities with a shared future, said Wang.

Calling Egypt an important partner in building the BRI, Wang said that China is willing to strengthen the synergy between the BRI and Egypt's Vision 2030, help Egypt accelerate its pace of industrialization, enhance its scientific and technological capabilities, uplift its development level, and deepen the law enforcement and security cooperation to safeguard the common security of the two countries.

Wang pledged that China will continue providing vaccines and anti-epidemic materials to Egypt to help it eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic.

China is also ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Egypt in international affairs, jointly uphold and practice multilateralism, oppose unilateralism and bullying, and push forward the reform of global governance in the right direction, he said.

Wang expressed the hope that Egypt will continue to play an active role in the building of the China-Arab states Cooperation Forum and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional issues in the Middle East and Africa.

During his visit to Egypt, Wang also held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, signed an agreement on the establishment of the Sino-Egyptian Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, and attended a virtual ceremony marking the joint production of 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 21:17:41|Editor: huaxia

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The Marcopolo-Malcom Mini Hospital is seen under construction in Chilanga township, Lusaka, capital of Zambia, on July 16, 2021. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

LUSAKA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Residents of the Malcom community on the outskirts of the Chilanga township in Zambia can now breathe a sigh of relief as far as access to healthcare services is concerned.

The residents, who used to walk eight km to access the nearest health facility now have their own facility thanks to the corporate social responsibility of a Chinese firm that is giving back to the community.

The Marcopolo-Malcom Mini Hospital, with a 20-bed capacity and five admission wards, has been constructed by Marcopolo Tiles Company Limited, a joint venture between Chinese investors and the Zambian government.

The residents are happy that their headache of walking long distances to access health care services is now a thing of the past.

The company has embarked on a mission to better the lives of about 566 households or over 2,000 residents of the area through the provision of various social amenities which were lacking.

"This has brought happiness to the residents of this area and we are very happy with what Marcopolo has done," Andrew Nkhoma, the chairman of the community told reporters who visited the area.

The company, he said, has brought development because apart from the health facility, it has also constructed a police post as well as brought water and electricity to the area.

According to him, plans were underway for the construction of a high school by the firm.

Tilile Zulu, a resident of the area says she is happy that a clinic has been built in the area as this will ease problems of accessing healthcare services for the people.

"We are very happy that they have brought a clinic nearby, they have really done a good job because we used bicycles to access the nearest clinic and wheelbarrows to carry the sick," she said.

Her views have been backed by Mary Daka, who feels that the move is a relief especially to expectant mothers and to those with children under five years old.

"We thank Marcopolo because now the distance is short. Even when a child gets sick at night, it will now be easy for us," she said.

Precious Nkole concurs and adds that reaching the nearest clinic was a challenge especially when it comes to transport.

"When you are pregnant, you will have to start putting aside some money for transport and the poor transportation system here worsened the situation," she said.

Construction of the health facility started in March this year and 95 percent of the work has so far been done, with the handover of the facility to the government scheduled for later this month.

Frank Mulenga, the company's chief financial officer said about 220,000 U.S. dollars have been invested in the health facility which also includes electricity connection as well as sinking of a borehole for residents to have access to clean water.

The company intends to purchase equipment to be installed at the health facility at a cost of 200,000 U.S. dollars, he added.

He said corporate social responsibility is at the core of the company's investment hence the decision to embark on various projects in the community.

The company, he said, has been working in collaboration with the community who have provided the company with priority areas that require attention.

"We have been working with the leadership of the community before we do any projects. The priority areas are being given by the community and we are grateful for the support we have received so far," he said.

He confirmed that the construction of a school will commence next year and that the land has already been identified by the community where the school will be constructed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 23:45:03|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 people were killed following a road accident in Nigeria's southwestern state of Osun, according to local authorities on Sunday.

Four others sustained injuries in the accident caused by a truck-bus collision on the Ipetu-Ijesa-Ilesa highway in Osun on Saturday evening, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said.

Agnes Ogungbemi, a spokeswoman for the FRSC, said in a statement that rescuers met dead bodies littering the area when they arrived for a rescue operation.

An investigation by the agency, she said, indicated that the accident occurred "due to disobedience to road safety ordinance by motorists."

Deadly road accidents are frequently reported in Nigeria due to bad roads, speeding, and reckless driving. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 07:11:58|Editor: huaxia

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Indian police pile up confiscated marijuana before destroying them by fire during an anti-drug campaign in Karbi Anglong District of India's northeastern state of Assam, July 17, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 12:33:45|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday.

The new cases were reported since the ministry's last update on Friday, while there was no new case of COVID-19 in the wider community, said the ministry.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the New Zealand border was seven.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country was 45 and the total number of confirmed cases reached 2,458.

New Zealand public health officials were closely monitoring the situation in Australia's Victoria where there had been a growing number of COVID-19 cases.

New Zealanders who were in Victoria since July 8 were encouraged to keep following local health measures, said the ministry.

The total number of COVID-19 tests processed by New Zealand laboratories to date was 2,397,849. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 14:52:07|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) arrested four drug traffickers in three provinces on Saturday, an official from the Interior Ministry confirmed on Sunday.

"The suspects were arrested in Kabul, Nangarhar and Parwan provinces, and the CNPA confiscated 400 kg narcotics that included opium, hashish, heroin, methamphetamine and stimulant tablets from the suspected men," deputy spokesperson to the ministry, Ahmad Zia Zia, told Xinhua.

After initial investigations, the cases were handed over to the Central Narcotics Tribunal or CNT, a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, he said.

Much of the world's opium poppy is cultivated in the militancy-hit Afghanistan. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 15:15:46|Editor: huaxia

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Afghan security force members take part in a military operation against Taliban militants in Kunduz city, Afghanistan, July 17, 2021. At least 53 Taliban militants were killed and 38 others wounded in multiple airstrikes and battles in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Sunday. (Photo by Ajmal Kakar/Xinhua)

KABUL, July 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 53 Taliban militants were killed and 38 others wounded in multiple airstrikes and battles in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.

In eastern Kapisa province, 18 militants were killed and 24 wounded after Afghan Air Force (AAF) conducted airstrikes in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in suburban Tagab and the neighboring Nijrab districts, the ministry said in a statement.

Among the killed militants were three Taliban's divisional commanders, said the statement.

Meanwhile, 20 Taliban militants were killed and eight others wounded during a cleanup operation conducted by ANDSF on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital city of southern Helmand province, according to the statement.

In northern Balkh province, 15 Taliban militants were killed and six others wounded following an airstrike conducted by the AAF in Kaldar district, according to the statement.

One vehicle belonging to the militants and a large number of weapons and ammunition were destroyed during the latest offensives, the statement said.

The Afghan security forces have recently beefed up security operations against the Taliban militants. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 20:11:45|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 44,721 within one day to 2,877,476, with the death toll adding by 1,093 to 73,582, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The daily caseload was slightly down from 51,952 the previous day, but the number of deaths stayed almost the same.

According to the ministry, 29,264 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 2,261,658.

In order to reduce mobility, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force issued new rules on Saturday related to restrictions on community activities during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday.

At a virtual press conference on Sunday, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) has expressed hopes that the emergency restrictions of community activities, which is locally known as PPKM Darurat, would be extended and expanded to more areas that have less hospital capacity to handle COVID-19 cases.

So far, the extension of PPKM hasn't been officially announced by the government. The restriction was originally planned to be carried out from July 3 to 20. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 21:07:48|Editor: huaxia

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Chilies planted under the chili contract farming project are seen on the outskirts of Lahore, capital of Pakistan's east Punjab province, June 10, 2021.(Pakistan-China Agricultural Cooperation Exchange Center/Handout via Xinhua)

by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chaudhry Javed, a farmer from Pakpattan district of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, has high hopes that the financial condition of the farmers in the area will improve after they adopted new technology and sowed good-quality seeds to grow high-end chilies under the directions of the Chinese who are coming to help them.

"Farmers here are very poor and they don't save much from crops, but they are hopeful that once they sow high-yield varieties of seeds and use sophisticated machinery and modern technology to grow and reap them, they can get bumper crops," Javed told Xinhua.

Javed's 10,890 square feet of land is a part of almost 100 acres of land in Punjab province on which a chili contract farming project is being implemented under the cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani companies.

"I got free-of-cost seeds which I sowed as a model for local farmers who got very impressed when they visited my field and when they noticed a huge difference between their crop and mine. They told me how keen they are to sow the Chinese seeds and adopt Chinese techniques of agriculture in the forthcoming season of sowing of chili," he added.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation has moved to the second phase, which is focused on industry and agriculture among other sectors.

Apart from the framework of the CPEC, both countries encourage their private business communities to form a business-to-business (B2B) connection with each other, and the chili contract farming project is one example of the cooperation.

Talking to Xinhua, Dai Bao, vice general manager of the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, Pakistan, said that they will cooperate with Pakistani farmers and companies step by step to help uplift the condiment sector and offer benefit to local farmers.

"In the first phase, we are providing seed and technology to farmers and companies and will buy back the whole crop upon its harvest. In the second phase, we will set up a factory for value addition and make the chilies available in the local market, whereas in the third phase we will focus on world markets," he said.

Dai said that Pakistan has good environment, soil and water and cheap labor whereas China has good seeds and technology.

"We will transfer this technology and seed to Pakistan to improve quality and yield of Pakistani crops."

He said that Pakistan will get a huge benefit from the project in the future because the country is focusing on increasing its exports, and through this cooperation, Pakistan's agricultural output will increase and the exports will also enhance after the quality of chili has improved.

Naseer Ullah Khan, technical services manager at Fatima Group, which is also a partner in the chili project, told Xinhua that Chinese want to develop clusters of chilies in Pakistan in the next few years.

"This year model farms have been established to help local farmers observe the process, and in the next phase they will grow it themselves. In the future, many varieties of Chinese chilies will enter the local market," he added.

Talking about the role of the chili contract farming project in uplifting the poor farmers, Khan said that the main target of the cooperation is to give loan and subsidies on seed and technology to small farmers, enabling them to sow high-end crops. "In this regard we experimented with different crops and came to the conclusion that chili is the best choice which will give good yield and be sold at higher prices."

He said that they are in the process of developing clusters of chilies in different districts and will set up a processing unit near them where the chilies will be processed, packed and exported not only to China, but to other countries too.

Chili powder is widely used in almost all households in Pakistan, and the spice is used in almost all main courses in local food, but due to shortage of production, chili powder costs more than other spices in markets.

Local officials believe that apart from uplifting small farmers, the enhancement in supply of good-quality chili will help improve the quality of the spice in the local markets too.

Talking to Xinhua, Asad Umar, minister for planning, development and special initiatives, said that agricultural cooperation between the two countries is expanding quickly and local farmers will be able to increase their per-acre yields after technology transfer from China. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 22:03:10|Editor: huaxia

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Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (C) visits the injured Chinese national from the Dasu terrorist attack at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi of Pakistan's Punjab province on July 18, 2021. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday visited the injured Chinese nationals from the Dasu terrorist attack at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi near the federal capital Islamabad. The foreign minister was accompanied by Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong. (Photo by Ahmad Kamal/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday visited the injured Chinese nationals from the Dasu terrorist attack at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi near the federal capital Islamabad.

The foreign minister was accompanied by Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong.

Qureshi asked in detail about the condition of and treatment for each wounded Chinese national, and expressed sincere sympathy to them on behalf of the Pakistani government and people.

He promised that the best treatment will be provided for the injured Chinese nationals to help them recover at an early date.

Talking to Chinese media on the occasion, the Pakistani foreign minister said that Pakistan and China "have collectively fought challenges in the past, and we have undertaken development projects in the past, which has mutually benefited China and Pakistan."

"We are aware of the fact that there are elements who do not want to see development activities in Pakistan... they have undertaken this cowardly act," he added.

Qureshi extended deep condolences to the bereaved families, saying that the Dasu attack is not only an attack on the Chinese, but also on Pakistan and the friendship between the two countries.

He said that Pakistan will work with China to do everything possible to trace the culprits and bring them to justice.

In July 14, the shuttle vehicles of the Dasu Hydropower Project, for which a Chinese company is contracted to build, were hit by a blast when they were heading to the construction site in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leaving nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis dead, according to the Chinese embassy in Pakistan. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-18 22:04:53|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Italy's decision earlier this week to ban oversized cruise ships from sailing into Venice is bound to reset the balance between the environmental and safety needs of the canal city and its status as one of Italy's top tourist destinations. But some key observers are already complaining that the new rules do not go far enough.

The presence of large, multi-storey cruise liners in and around Venice has been a source of frustration for locals for more than a decade now. But the problem was put on the back burner during the coronavirus pandemic: the city was free of cruise ships between February 2020 and last month, when the 2,500-passenger MSC Orchestra entered the Venetian Lagoon amid protests from locals.

This week, in what Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini called a "historic" move, Italy's cabinet of ministers approved a ban on ships weighing more than 25,000 metric tons or longer than 180 meters (590 feet) entering the lagoon basin near Venice's St. Mark's Square, the narrow Giudecca Canal and the surrounding areas starting Aug. 1.

For comparison, the MSC Orchestra weighs more than 90,000 tons and is 295 meters (965 feet) in length. The largest cruise liners that docked in Venice before the pandemic sometimes topped 200,000 tons, according to news reports.

The decree was front-page news in Italy, and elicited praise from environmentalists and culture advocates alike, especially after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warned that Venice's status as a UNESCO World Heritage site could be put in jeopardy by the ships.

But it earned mixed reviews from the city's beleaguered business community, which is highly dependent on tourism. After nearly a year and a half of travel restrictions, the city's restaurants, shops and tour companies had been banking on a strong tourist season this year. The cruise ship ban will cut into that.

According to Gianfranco Lorenzo, head of research at the Center for Tourism Studies in Florence, the ban is likely to reduce the number of tourists arriving by cruise ship by half over the long haul, from an average 1.3 million to 1.5 million per year before the pandemic. But he told Xinhua that, overall, tourism revenues would probably suffer just a modest impact.

"Without the signature view of St. Mark's Square and the rest of Venice, coming to Venice on a cruise will surely seem less attractive to some tourists," Lorenzo said. "But the city has already said it will focus on more high-level tourism, and if it does that the huge cruise ships would be less relevant anyway. Over time, the impact from the ban will diminish."

The ships have proved controversial because of their negative effects on the local ecosystem and air quality, plus what Andreina Zitelli, a professor and activist member of the Venice Environmental Association, called the "unknown" impacts on the city's ancient infrastructure of bridges and buildings with underwater foundations.

But Zitelli worried that the new ban does not go far enough. She noted that the big ships that once passed through the Giudecca Canal will after Aug. 1 be rerouted 22 kilometers (13.8 miles) to the mainland port of Marghera through a far less picturesque route, unseen from the center of Venice. Still, she said, the ships will continue to do damage even on the new route and therefore they should eventually be banned completely.

"We won't see the ships, but they'll still do damage," Zitelli said. "We have to do what is necessary to protect our fragile city."

Despite the ban, Venice's UNESCO status remains on the agenda of the ongoing World Heritage Committee meeting, which opened Friday in Fuzhou, China. Enditem


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The High Court on Thursday acquitted murder suspect Philip Onyancha over insufficient evidence, even as the judge called out the prosecution for presenting insufficient evidence in the case.

Mr Onyancha was facing trial over the murder of Jackline Misoi. He was accused of killing her on May 30, 2008 at her flat in Mount Kenya Building along Kombo Munyiri Road, Nairobi.

His arrest and trial attracted public attention following reports that he had confessed to killing and drinking the blood of his victims, most of them women.

Police and prosecution witnesses told court that Mr Onyancha killed Ms Misoi and hanged her body in her bathroom using a scarf tied to the shower.

But in her ruling on Thursday, Justice Jessie Lesiit said the prosecution did not produce enough evidence to find the suspect guilty of the crime.

Poor investigation

The judge said investigations into the murder were wanting and had "disheartening omissions".

For instance, the police failed to investigate whether a mobile phone line that Ms Misoi used to call her father on the fateful day was connected to Mr Onyancha.

"The police did not investigate this line to find out whether it had any connection with the accused. That investigation was critical given the evidence of Police Inspector MacDonald Okoth, that the accused was arrested with a phone and SIM card of a line that was demanding ransom for a missing child. This line that was found from the accused was not even disclosed to the court. That was poor exercise of investigative powers," said Justice Lesiit.

She said the worst of the 'disheartening omissions' in the case was the failure to investigate a stain on the victim's door, captured by the crime scene officer in his photo of the scene produced as exhibit in court.

"Why would the police not follow this line of investigation, especially because it was the key to unravelling with certainty whether the deceased committed suicide or not?" the judge wondered.

"If it was found to be the blood from the deceased, due to its location, the obvious conclusion would be that it was a third party who stained the door after causing injury to the deceased from which she bled," she added.

In the house, police officers found a note on the wall which stated: "I had debt but I cleared some by selling all my things. Bye, sorry this is the end for me. Mob frustration. At least I am now resting in peace. Sorry, bye was tough for me. But anyway I had a last moment for me don't blame anybody. It was my own. I enjoyed myself with a friend before I decided on my own to end my life. Forgive me Daddy, Carol, Denno and Mark."

The scene of crime officer, Corporal Johana Tanui, testified that he visited the scene on June 2, 2008. The door to the house had been broken into. He stated that he saw blood stains on the inner side of the main door of the house and that the bed was not spread.

There were blood stains on the floor, between her legs and on her nose. She was wearing a trouser and a pullover. The officer testified that a foul smell emanated from the body which meant that it had been there for a while. He took nine photographs at the scene which he produced in court as evidence.

"The evidence adduced fell far below the required standard of proof beyond any reasonable doubt. I am convinced that Jackline may have been murdered. However, there is no evidence that unerringly points to the accused as the author of her death," ruled the judge.

Dr Minda Okemwa, who performed a post-mortem on the body, had concluded that the cause of death was asphyxia due to neck compression by a ligature. He said he was unable to tell whether it was suicide or murder. The pathologist explained that he did not notice any bite marks on Jackline's neck or anywhere else, and that he could not tell if any sucking of blood had occurred as Mr Onyancha had previously claimed.

In his defence, Mr Onyancha testified that Ms Misoi was not known to him. He stated that he was born in Kericho and lived in Kapkwen Tea Estate where his father used to work. He stated that the deceased's family lived in Tagabi Estate and that he had never been to that area.

Why confession was rejected

He claimed that upon arrest he was taken to the Director of Criminal Investigations Headquarters in Nairobi, where he was asked to give a video confession, and repeat what he had told the media.

He testified that police wished to produce the taped confessions in court, as well as typed transcripts of the same.

But the evidence was rejected after the court found that the video confession and transcripts were inadmissible since The Evidence (Out of Court Confessions) Rules, 2009 were not adhered to by police officer Benjamin Mwaliko, now retired, who was Senior Superintendent of Police at the time.

The court found that Mr Onyancha's rights had been infringed upon by the police when recording the confession.

More specifically, the court ruled that by handcuffing Mr Onyancha when taking the confession statement, the police violated the provisions of Rule 4(1)(c) of the law which prohibits an arrested person from being subjected to any form of threat, coercion, degrading or inhumane treatment.

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Handcuffing him during the process was a glaring reminder that he was not free, the court said.

Secondly, Mr Onyancha had chosen to have his brother present as he gave his confession statement. However, the recording police officer, Superintendent Mwaliko, overlooked this and did not give him a chance to communicate with his brother. He instead delegated that role to another officer who reported that his brother was not available.

Shunned by lawyers

Justice Lesiit noted that many lawyers had refused to represent Mr Onyancha in the trial, and thanked Ms Mary Chepseba for agreeing to defend him.

"It took this court several weeks to get counsel to represent him. Many turned down the request including in open court in the presence of the accused and other parties. Ms Chepseba did not disappoint, and she represented her client with vigour throughout the trial," said the judge.

Onyancha still has two other pending murder cases in court.
Port Sudan / Omdurman  The National Network for Social Justice said that the residents of Dar El Naim neighbourhood in the south of Port Sudan were surprised by a barrage of bullets on Tuesday afternoon fired by individuals affiliated with the Central Reserve Forces and the regular armed forces The organisation explained that the shooting led to the killing of a young man from the neighborhood and the wounding of several others. Civilian residents of Omdurman were also killed in an attack by regular armed forces.

In a statement published yesterday, the network accused the Red Sea State Security Committee of bias and called for the withdrawal of the regular armed forces from the region, demanding their replacement with ethnically diverse and neutral forces.

The statement also highlighted the role of the permanent withdrawal of the Central Reserve Forces, and their replacement with a security force with an increasingly large number of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops, in the incident.

The network further demanded the opening and protection of Dar El Naim road and called on the network to clean what it described as 'gang outposts' in the region.

Civilians said that they went to the Public Prosecution Office in Port Sudan yesterday to report on the attack but that they and did not find any of the prosecutors in their office, They did explain that the armed forces who stormed the southern neighborhoods were not accompanied by prosecutors at the time.

According to witnesses, the shooting continued yesterday as well.

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Omdurman violence

The Coordination of Karari Resistance Committees also accused the regular armed forces of killing five people and wounding dozens in districts 70 and 41 in Omdurman on the night of July 1st.

The Resistance Committees said that a group of South Sudanese had prevented drunken members of the armed forces from storming their homes in El Hara on June 30, after which a heavily armed military force stormed the district the next day and killed three South Sudanese citizens.

Their statement said that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) members then headed towards the central market in the neighbourhood and fired on houses and burned shops, killing two residents of the area and wounding dozens more.

The coordination of committees further indicated that the residents managed to arrest one of the perpetrators and took him to the Hatana police station, but that he was released a few hours later without any charges pressed.

In their statement, the committee coordination demanded an end to "all military manifestations in Karari locality and the complete closure of the Rapid Support Forces camp". They also demanded the handover of the perpetrators of the attack within 72 hours and threatened to otherwise prepare for comprehensive civil disobedience in the locality.
New York  Could the next wars be triggered by climate change?

Until recently, the question might have seemed like science fiction, but now it is very real. Ethiopia and Egypt are locked in an upward spiral of tensions over the Nile, as a combination of dams and shifting weather patterns pose existential risks to both countries.

In the Sahel region, climate-driven changes in pastoralist patterns have contributed to a massive spike in conflicts, while oscillations in the size of Lake Chad are influencing recruitment into the terrorist group Boko Haram.

From coral bleaching driving Caribbean fishing communities into organized crime to the drought that preceded the Syria war, a large and growing evidence base points to the fact that climate change is a real factor in today's and tomorrow's violent conflicts.

How can the UN - an organization established to prevent the kind of wars witnessed in the first half of the twentieth century - reshape itself to address the growing security risks posed by climate change?

The UN needs to undergo three related shifts to tackle climate security: (1) from sectors to systems, (2) from exclusivity to inclusivity, and (3) from sovereign rights to global public goods.

Taken together, these shifts will require the UN as an organization to transform from an exclusive club of powerful States making decisions behind closed doors into a hub that generates leverage by connecting different actors at local, national, regional, and global levels.

Systems not sectors

The UN system is structured as a series of loosely affiliated sectors, with bespoke agencies focused on single issues like refugees, food, health, migration, and the environment.

While there have been meaningful efforts to bring those actors together around common objectives - not least the Sustainable Development Goals and universal human rights - in practice the UN continues to operate largely on the basis of sectoral approaches to risks.

As a result, information and programming tends to be linked to a single agency's mandate, driven by siloed sources of information.

But climate change cuts across these issues, exacerbating underlying socio-economic tensions and making indirect contributions to the risk of conflict. Erratic rainfall causes crop failure, leading to increased tensions over natural resources.

Extreme weather destroys arable land and displaces entire communities, driving conflicts over land and contributing to unplanned urbanization.

The pervasive and interdependent ways in which climate change is driving security risks should galvanize a shift towards a systemic mindset across the UN.

This means producing cross-cutting analysis that brings together disparate sources of information, as well as establishing effective ways to do multi-scalar risk analysis in which local, national, regional, and global trends are examined together. In short, it means thinking in terms of complex systems, rather than separate sectors.

Inclusivity not exclusivity

When responding to climate change, national governments are highly susceptible to various forms of maladaptation that may increase rather than decrease conflict risks. Facing massive land loss due to extreme weather, a government may reclaim land from the sea (e.g. in Bangladesh), or invest in new agricultural sectors (e.g. in Nigeria), without considering how these actions might create new competition over land, disrupt existing livelihoods, or contribute to large-scale demographic shifts.

And there is clear evidence that the UN's support to State-led development and peacebuilding programming is highly susceptible to elite capture, potentially contributing to precisely the kind of inequalities that are a root cause of violent conflict.

If the UN is to tackle the growing climate-security challenge, it must place inclusivity (i.e. providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized), at the heart of its work.

There are good examples of this, as in the ways in which UN peacebuilding has conditioned its support on gender inclusivity. The UN should place clear conditions on international support, by demanding that national governments account for potential risks to marginalized communities, clearly track whether funds are being captured by a small elite, and ensure that their national programming is inclusive.

Global public goods not sovereign-owned commodities

Despite clear evidence that our carbon-driven consumption is unsustainable, we still treat the environment as a commodity: something to be exploited for the benefit of human societies.

The commodification of the environment not only poses existential risks for humanity, but also drives conflict, as States and societies compete to own increasingly scarce natural resources, or use them in a way that negatively affects others.

The UN has to become an advocate for a shift towards treating the environment as both a global public good and an essential aspect of our peace and security architecture. As the COVID-19 pandemic response acutely demonstrated, collective responses to shared threats are not only the most effective approach, they are often the difference between large-scale life and death.

Last year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on our Common Agenda that committed to "transformative measures" to address climate change. To deliver on the commitment, the transformation needs to include a repositioning of the environment within the multilateral system.

This can take many shapes. Ecuador has given the environment legal personality, allowing for claims to be brought on its behalf for environmental destruction.

In May, a court ruled that a Royal Dutch Petroleum (the world's ninth biggest emitter) was bound by the provisions of the Paris Agreement to reduce global emissions by 45%, demonstrating that our obligations to the Earth can have legal effect.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Climate West Africa Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Biden Administration has placed climate change within its national security strategy, giving real weight and clear priority to the links between climate and security. And there are interesting and dynamic proposals for transforming the UN's Trusteeship Council into a guardian for the environment, or creating a Commissioner for Future Generations tasked with protecting the environment for the coming 100 years.

Regardless of what path is chosen, the UN should play a growing role in advocating for the environment to be exempt from the Westphalian mindset of sovereign ownership, pushing instead for a collective approach to our climate.

Just as, 75 years ago, the founders of the UN came together to build a multilateral system based on collective security responses, today the UN should reconstitute its institutions toward collective climate-security action.

Climate change is already bringing nightmarish science fiction scenarios into reality; only radical changes in our conceptions of collective action will help us wake up.

Beatrice Mosello is Senior Advisor at adelphi, the German think tank and organizer of the influential Climate Diplomacy project and Senior Fellow at the UN University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-COR); Adam Day is Director of Programmes at UNU-CPR.

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PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has instructed the Minister for Industry and Trade Prof Kitila Mkumbo to work on all barriers facing the Tanzanian and Burundian business community.

Equally, she instructed the Minister for Works and Transport Dr Leonard Chamuriho and the Managing Director for Tanzania Railway Corporation TRC Masanja Kadogosa to improve railway transportation linking the two countries in a bid to smoothen movement of people, goods and services.

She was of the view that the improved railway line connecting the two countries would play a crucial role in increasing the volume of cargo being transported to Burundi from Tanzania, and vice versa.

The Head of State made the directives yesterday when addressing a Business forum between Tanzania and Burundian traders, in Bujumbura, as she was completing her two -day state visit in Burundi.

According to her, the Burundi- Tanzania business forum was a clear indication that the two countries are enjoying cordial business relations, saying maintaining and taking further the existing ties was vital.

Going by statistics, she said so far, a total of 17 companies from Tanzania have invested in Burundi in the construction, finance, health, transport and mineral sectors.

"There are 18 companies from Burundi that have invested in Tanzania in various sectors, these statistics show the equal shares of balance of trade between our two countries, but we have to increase the volume, especially in sectors that are yet to be utilized," she expounded.

She also explained the need for traders form the two countries to make better use of the East African market by adding value to their products and services.

President Samia also encouraged members of the business community to utilize the available opportunities in the agriculture sector in both countries, since the sector plays vital roles in creation of employment especially for the youth.

"Tanzania has a total of 44 million hectares of fertile soil, out of it 10 million hectares are yet to be utilized, therefore we have a great potential and promising future in the agriculture sector in Tanzania," she noted.

In another development she informed members of the forum that the government of Tanzania has continued to upgrade the ports of Dar es Salaam, Kigoma, Kalema, Kasanga and Kabwe in its move to ease movement of people and their goods, asking Burundian traders to continue using the Tanzanians ports in their business.

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She also said that Tanzania has invested heavily in the health sector, especially in specialised healthcare by training medical specialists and purchase of modern equipment.

President Samia said Burundians can access cardiovascular services from the neighbouring Dar es Salaam based Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) instead of seeking the services overseas.

Meanwhile, President Samia met and held talks with Tanzanians living in Burundi, where she expressed her gratitude for the warm reception since she arrived in the country on Friday.

She commended the Tanzanian community for participating in various social activities in Burundi and their home country, where they donated desks to Kagera earthquake victims in 2016 and MV Nyerere accident in 2018.

President Samia said that citizens living outside their country are an important group due to their contribution in their home countries.

According to her, it is estimated that 1 million Tanzanians are living in various countries in the world. The President said according to the Bank of Tanzania, Tanzanian Diaspora sent home an estimated 475.65 million US dollars in 2018.

"Following your contributions, the government has been taking various measures to safeguard your welfare, including establishment of a Diaspora department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," she said.

The Head of State, however, called on all Tanzanians living outside the country to register to the embassies in the countries they reside in so that it can be easier for the government to serve them and benefit from various opportunities arising in their home country.
Seventy six years after his death on April 11, 1945 and cremation at the Woking Crematorium, Woking Borough in Surrey, England, poor Frederick John Dealtry Lugard has been killed many times thereafter by Nigerians. Though he died peacefully at the age of 87, having been born on January 22, 1858, this soldier, administrator and author, born in Fort St. George, Madras, India, raised at Worcester and educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, has remained one of the most vilified colonial officers in Nigeria. His presiding over Nigeria's incongruous matrimonial procedure on January 1, 1914 is perceived to be the albatross that plagues Nigeria till today. Same villainous estimation is heaped on his wife, influential Colonial Editor of The Times, Miss Flora Louise Shaw, over her choice of Nigeria as name in a piece she wrote for Times on January 8, 1897. In her preference for "Nigeria" ahead of other choices like "Sudan," "Royal Niger Company Territories," "Central Sudan," as well as earlier name suggestions like Negrettia and Goldesia, many conservatives believe that Nigeria's stagnation is traceable to Miss Shaw's christening.

One of those who recently poured vitriol on Lugard for yoking together unequals is Head Pastor of the House on The Rock Church, Pastor Paul Adefarasin. In a sermon delivered by him and which went viral, Adefarasin labeled Lugard a "devil incarnate" - an expression derived from William Shakespeare's Henry V - for soldering together Nigeria's Northern and Southern protectorates, in spite of their disparities of mind, incongruent cultures, dissimilar beliefs and worldviews. This forced unity is perceived to be the foundation of Nigeria's interminable and intractable challenges.

John Riddick, in his Master's thesis entitled Sir Fredrick Lugard, World War 1 and the Amalgamation of Nigeria 1914-1919, submitted to the Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan in August, 1966, said that, between 1886 and 1900, Britain, through its nineteenth century chartered mercantile company founded in 1879 by Tubman Goldie named the United African Company, renamed National African Company in 1881 and Royal Niger Company in 1886, explored Nigeria's interior resources. In 1894, the Royal Niger Company gave Lugard the task to obtain a treaty with Borgu, on a western Nigerian border and he subsequently got another offer from the British West Charterland Company for the exploration of mineral concessions in Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland. Her Majesty, in 1897, also made him Commissioner for the Hinterland of Nigeria, with the responsibility for raising the West African Frontier Force.

By 1912, in the words of Riddick, the Colonial Office had concluded that the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates had to happen. This was because, while the Southern protectorate was recording huge budget surpluses, the north was bedeviled by deficit and crippling Britain which had to subsidize its operations to the tune of about 400 pounds. Southern Protectorate's annual budget surplus was thus needed to save Britain of the northern drainpipes.

The marriage was consummated in Zungeru, present Niger State, a sparsely populated town of railwaymen and civil servants working for the colonial administration. Zungeru, then capital of colonial administration in Northern Nigeria before it was relocated to Kaduna, was not just where the documents that brought Nigeria into existence were signed, for a brief period, Zungeru served as Nigeria's capital in the hands of Lugard. According to late British historian, Africanist and human rights activist, Stephen Ellis, a short ceremony consisting of a military parade was held on this day inside a shack that was then Lugard's office, a place which, like anything Nigerian, is now in total ruins.

In the words of Elis, speaking in a "high-pitched voice," "clipped assent," and "strangled vowels characteristic of British upper classes in the age of empire," Lugard announced that "His Majesty the King has decided that... all the country... shall be one single country." Ellis however believed that His Majesty King George V, being a mere ceremonial figurehead of the British parliamentary system of government, never personally sent Lugard on this amalgamation expedition but that the soldier, who had earlier in 1907 been the Governor of Hong Kong, with the assistance of his influential journalist mistress, Miss Shaw, lobbied the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Levis Vernon Harcourt, in whose memory Port Harcourt was named, to get this amalgamation consummated. That union has since brought so much bile, prickly hurts and tears to Nigerians. Lamenting amalgamation's destructive tendencies, Northern Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, had quipped that "God did not create Nigeria; the British did."

For the benefit of Adefarasin and Nigerian religionists who heap expletives on Lugard, the choice of Fredrick by Britain as "the only man who could successfully inaugurate the (amalgamation) policy" was as a result of his competence. His ability and experience were due to the fact that he had spent the greater part of his life in various parts of Africa, especially having worked in East Africa's Buganda, the principal Kingdom of Uganda and Lake Nyansa. Lugard was also born of Anglican missionary parents in Southern India. His mother, ex-Mary Jane Howard, labored in the vineyard of the Church Missionary Society while his father, Frederick Grueber Lugard, was a chaplain who served the Madras section of an East India Company. Jane was pious, devoted to Christianity and this was said to have been transposed to his son, Frederick who was reputed for "affection and Christian ardor throughout most of his life." While Frederick inherited from his father "the heritage of great physical strength and tenacity" he would need this in his subsequent endurance of the "climatic extremes and the rigors of his efforts in Africa."

I went into all the above resume of Lugard's to tease out the fact that he was a damn good officer who came to Nigeria to do a job which he did satisfactorily, to the admiration of Britain, his employer. Britain obviously didn't embark on amalgamation because it loved Nigeria or with Nigeria's bright future in view. In fact, if you asked Lugard while alive, he would likely tell you that Christ sent him on the mission, just like Adefarasin and other religious leaders do in claiming this as motive for their exploitation of the poverty-stricken minds of the Africans. By the way, upon retirement in 1919, Lugard left Nigeria and settled to a life of writing and contributions to the British society.

Since his exit, Nigeria has been visited by worse internal colonialist afflictions ever. This came in the form of "big fat tummy" soldiers in huge military epaulettes, babanriga and agbada-wearing civilians "with necks like ostrich" - apologies to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - who are worse than Lugard and who gawked while Nigeria collapsed gradually. The latest among this gang is one led by Muhammadu Buhari. Were they to be as half committed to duty, half dedicated to the ideal of their offices as Lugard was, Nigeria would certainly not be in her present quagmire. So, still holding a man who left Nigeria to her fate almost a century ago, a man who didn't hide the fact that he was an emissary of a rapacious colonial behemoth, Britain in her quest to better the lot of Her Majesty's England and not necessarily some conquered territory reputed not to have the ability to govern themselves, is not only escapist, it is silly.

Yes, we may argue, as Adefarasin insinuated, that what Britain bequeathed onto Nigeria was quicksand, a shell if you like, upon which she was expected to erect an edifice. However, since 1960, Nigeria has had the opportunity to dismantle the makeshift, hamstringing colonial structure, both mentally and physically and build an enduring skyscraper. For the sake of argument still, we may say that between Kaduna Nzeogwu, Aguiyi Ironsi and successive military opportunists who used a combination of their youthful exuberance and naivety to destroy the today of Nigeria, we had villains who thwarted Nigeria's effort at a great country. However, the teething animosities of Nigeria's civilian rulers too contributed immensely in quashing Nigeria's growth. The leaders were not only shortsighted; they were corrupt, wasteful and lacked vision. It is said that, among a succession of Nigerian rulers, an estimated $20 billion was stolen from Nigerian public coffers in 30 years, more than total of aids to the country in same number of years. Did Lugard give them the stealing technique? Did he opaque their vision? Were they sub-human? Leaving all these, the most fundamental question to ask today is, what has happened in the last unbroken 22 years of civilian administration in Nigeria?

Apart from the Olusegun Obasanjo government's squandering of opportunities to set Nigeria on the path of greatness, the health failings of Umaru Yar'Adua, the gross lack of depth of Goodluck Jonathan and the ethnically bigoted mental constitution of the Buhari government, a major reason why Nigerians, not Lugard, should be blamed for why the country has never grown beyond its Lilliputian size, is the opera on display at the National Assembly biosphere in the last few weeks. It was at the national legislators' attempt to consider the controversial section 52(3) Electoral Act via an Amendment Bill.

As I watched the grisly opera, in my mind, I thanked Waliu Ismaila, a Shaki, Oyo State-born Nigerian doctoral student who lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, who sent me two books - How To Rig An Election, by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas; This Present Darkness: A history of Nigerian organized crime by Stephen Ellis. Those two books explain the shame of the electoral act amendment, the Petroleum Industry Bill and even Lai Mohammed's remote-controlled amendments to the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act, as well as the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act.

Looking at the universe of elections in the world, Cheeseman and Klaas said that election rigging begins with rigging of election laws. In other words, elections are not rigged basically at the polls but from its fundamentals; its laws. According to the authors, there is a growing cult of counterfeit democrats, especially in Africa, who ensure that elections are incapable of delivering democracy. We now have an equation of rigged elections that don't succeed in toppling dictators but which help to keep them in power through electoral manipulations. Said the authors, "Thirty years ago, the main aim of the average dictator was to avoid holding elections; today, it is to avoid losing... sophisticated authoritarian regimes begin manipulating the polls well before voting begins." This is true of Section 52(3) of Nigeria's Electoral Act.

The truism subsists that any nation that gets its election process right is on the path of a democratic Eldorado. However, since elections give birth to democracy, dictators of yore have moved into the maternity ward to tamper with the births. It is obvious that, for many of the Nigerian political elite, it is not in their interest for the country to get better. As a matter of fact, in free and fair elections, most of them cannot win. It is reason why Section 52(3), which says "The Commission (INEC) may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable," which gives INEC total discretion on when to deploy electronic transmission of results needed to be hijacked and put in the hands of a malleable executive accomplice, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

No wonder why the Electoral Act now arrived at the dangerous juncture of an amendment that reads: "the commission may consider electronic transmission provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and approved by the National Assembly." What that means is that our electoral destiny is in the hands of Mullah Isa Pantami Ali Ibrahim, also known as Sheikh Pantami, a man for whom no one else deserves to live except Mullahs and extremists. Did Lugard vote in that spurious and unconscionable amendment?

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It is why, with due respect to highly revered Pastor Adefarasin, his slipping into the usual Nigerian false piety of externalizing our national problem nauseates. His religious constituency has underdeveloped Nigeria more than Lugard and his colonial clique did since the soldier-colonialist left Nigeria in 1919. On Sundays, nay, every day of the week, the church and mosque colonize the people's minds, using the instrumentality of religion as unseen manacles. In terms of shedding of the blood of Nigeria, Nigerian religionists are not different from each of the legislators who voted against the electronic transmission of election results. They are enemies of Nigeria, worse than Lord Lugard and are united by treachery.

In saner societies, Orji Uzor Kalu, Teslim Folarin, Ajibola Basiru and all others in that category deserve to be consigned to the gallows of public disdain. What they inflicted on Nigeria's electoral sanity is worse than the violence of an insurgent. Like the double-edged sword that violence is on both victim and victimizer, as they stabbed the voting process, they and us are equally dehumanized. Frantz Fanon, in his The Wretched of the Earth, puts the mutual stab and mutual dripping of blood on both of us succinctly. Aime Cesaire, Francophone and Afro-Caribbean author, politician and poet, one of Francophone founders of the Negritude movement, who in fact coined the word "negritude" in French, also treated same theme of our mutual dehumanization in his Discourse on Colonialism. Fannon said that, as French soldiers who tortured Algerian poor later lapsed into extreme neurosis, committing suicide thereafter, the blood that Nigeria's national legislators spilled from our electoral corpus belongs to us all as a collective. Borrowing from Bukola Elemide, a.k.a. Asa, both of us - jailer and the jailed - are prisoners.

If, according to the team from NCC, led by a Ubale Maska, which briefed the legislators on deployment of electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria, only 50.3% of the 109,000 polling units surveyed by INEC in 2018 had 3G/2G network coverage, while 40% had only 2G and 10% lack network of any category and only 3G/2G combination is capable of transmission of results, why can't the legislators mandate NCC to aggressively upgrade the networks? When you add this to the naive, simplistic and superficial argument of some of the jaundiced-minded legislators who claim that electronic transmission is vulnerable to cyber-attacks and hacking as reason for their voting against it, then you will understand why Jesus wept for Nigeria last week. You will equally realize why Nigeria has been sentenced to an interminable walk in the darkness of the night, a la South African writer, Alex La Guma.

<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/fesadedayo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Festus Adedayo</a> is an Ibadan-based journalist.
"If I ask him to show us those projects, it might sound rude to him as a governor, but both stakeholders and politicians in Ogun West have heard him and at the appropriate time we would find out."

Residents of Ogun State have reacted to the claim by Governor Dapo Abiodun that his administration completed a total of 325 projects across the state in two years.

Mr Abiodun, in a statement made available to journalists by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, said this while addressing residents of Yewa South in the Ilaro area of Ogun West on Thursday.

According to the statement, the governor also said his administration had completed 66 projects in the Yewa South LG, in two years.

The statement, however, did not elaborate on where the projects are situated.

But some residents in the state who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said they were disappointed by the governor's statement.

The Eselu of Iselu, Akintunde Akinyemi, said he is not aware of the said projects, adding that he would make findings and get back on the issue.

He, however, said the governor should do more so that his works can earn him a second term.

"Well, there are few things we might not know about. My reaction to it is to thank the governor but we do not know that he has done such number of projects," Mr Akinyemi said.

"But sometimes you can put it to the government that we do not know that they have done such number of projects.

"We would find out and see how we would appreciate that kind gesture. Honestly, I do not know of such and projects are of different kind.

"If I ask him to show us those projects, it might sound rude to him as a governor, but both stakeholders and politicians in Ogun West have heard him and at the appropriate time we would find out. At the appropriate time, we would get back.

"But we must say thank you, His Excellency, but he should do more for him to earn second term from Ogun people on a platter of gold."

A factory worker at Ibese area, Rasaq Ashimiu, who said he is yet to feel the impact of any of the governor's projects asked "Where are the projects?"

Mr Ashimiu, who lives in Abule-Oke, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Ogun State and see things for himself.

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"In Abule-Oke for instance, there is no singular government presence in that place, maybe the governor does not know that we are not happy. My brother, please as a journalist, you have more exposure than I do. Please where are the projects situated?

"There are no passable roads in almost everywhere in Ogun State again and somebody is talking of 325 projects in Ogun. If God helps me to see the governor face to face, I will ask him again, where the projects are.

Opposition party reacts

Akin Bankole, the spokesperson of the opposition People's Democratic Party in the state, called on the governor to specify where the projects are situated.

"My immediate reaction to that is that it is very difficult to wake somebody that is in the voyage of slumber," Mr Bankole said.

"Unfortunately, I think the governor is dreaming and I think he should be woken up as early as possible by every right-thinking person in Ogun state. It becomes so unfortunate that the chief executive officer of the state could be speaking falsehood

"Where are the 325 projects? The governor should show us. In Ogun West, the people are battling with bad roads across board?

"The same governor was made to come down from his vehicle few days ago on Idiroko road for him to see the sorry situation of the roads. He also went to Ipokia and he claimed to have felt bad about the situation of the roads in Imeko, and this is the same governor claiming to have completed 325 projects in this same Ogun. Even the roads done before he came in as governor were not maintained.

"I can only appeal to our people to endure this time and be patient, very soon we shall have another election where this government will be dislodged."
Ethiopia that boasts natural and man-made resources as well as youthful potential is still languishing under poverty. The fact that its bountiful resources, apart from catering to its needs, are sufficient enough to the region could be substantiated by the alluvial soil from Ethiopia's bosom Blue Nile River (Abay) carries on its sway to proffer to Sudan and Egypt.

This notwithstanding, dismayingly and in a show of ingratitude, the two lower riparian countries have been throwing a cold water on Ethiopia's push to break away from poverty for good and open a new chapter of growth harnessing its natural wealth in a fair manner. Instead of patting Ethiopian on the back they are exhibiting gluttony. "Only the two of us!" they harp on the same string.

Whatever the case, Ethiopia is due to actualize the Grand Renaissance Dam it started to it get through.

Egypt was rest assured Ethiopia could not build the dam by bootstrapping. As such, it was talking international donners into denying Ethiopia the possibility of garnering financial aid. Apart from its underhand activities in the diplomatic front, Egypt was threatening to take a military action. Egypt and Sudan were engaged in a frantic bid to dampen the mood of Ethiopia and Ethiopians.

But now things have changed. Cognizant that outgrowing poverty is the sole option citizens, from all cross section of society, are determined to keep on adding bricks tightening their belts. In the GERD construction site, bearing the disagreeable weather characterized by scorching sun, biting cold and heavy downpour many Ethiopians are customizing themselves to working round the clock. This speaks to citizens' conviction of utilizing resources at hand.

Last year the first filling of the dam was successfully completed holding 4.9 billion cubic meter of water. Now preparations are underway to kick start generating power with two turbines alongside the second filling of the dam. True to our words this push corroborates our firm stance "As we started it we shall bring it to the closing chapter and as we brought it to the closing chapter we shall see it through" Though the unfolding could serve reason enough for Egypt to mend its ways, Egypt is foot- unable to come to terms with the reality.

Imbued with justness, in the unsuccessful discussions held the umbrella of African Union Ethiopia was laboring to ram home GERD will not create a significant harm on lower riparian countries. But charged with pessimism Egypt and Sudan were busy at arm-twisting .They did make numerous efforts to send the diplomatic wrangling to its crescendo nonstop knocking at the doors of United Nations and many others. The response being reflected from the international community such as the Security Council is one that tipped the balance to Ethiopia, a votary of peace and even growth. The council has espoused The AU started talk Egypt and Sudan pursued for long. This will remain a bright spot on Ethiopian History. It clearly indicates no matter how long the truth at long last takes the upper hand.

The case, including the river, showcases the victory achieved goes to the rest of Africa as well. Here it suffices to allude to the speech of Dr.Ing Seleshi Bekle,n Ethiopia's EFDR's water Irrigation and Energy Minister, made in the security council." "I could be the first water minister to appear before the Security Council. The case being tabled here is not right. We are building a hydropower dam not a nuclear plant."

"Egypt and Sudan must learn good neighborliness and common growth. They create pretexts to exclusively use the water as per colonial legacy. The way they drink from the river brushing Ethiopia a stander by does not work." He stressed that aside from catering to Ethiopia's potable water and electricity demand, the dam is helpful to turn around the lives of migrant citizens chased away barefooted from their country of destination.

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The conviction PM DR.Abiy Ahmed displayed in dragging GERD from the torpor it plummeted into and in addressing its design problem will be archived penned in golden inks of history. All Ethiopians that have been extending financial and labor support, that were rendering expertise, that were eloquent in different languages slamming the accusation of the dishonest in the diplomatic arena and media platform and that have been guarding the dam with peeled eyes, among others, deserve a high five.

The patriotic feeling of defending nation's sovereignty always courses through the blood of Ethiopians. It is this feeling that got reflected in the birth of GERD. All said let us inexorably pursue our green legacy maintaining our unity.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), under construction since 2011, began holding back water after the the Blue Nile swelled during heavy rains in July.

(Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S., Special to the NNPA Newswire)

There is a great story unfolding in Africa. It is a story that literally throws light on what has been called, "The Dark Continent."

In 2011, Ethiopia announced to build a hydroelectric dam on its Abbay River, known to outsiders as the Blue Nile or Nile River.

The dam was named the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) because it was designed to bring about the economic and renewal of Ethiopia, a nation mentioned in Genesis 2:13 as the Land in which the River Ghion (or Nile) flows.

The GERD will be the largest hydropower dam in Africa and when completed it is expected to generate more than 5,000 MW installed power generation capacity and will have more than two times the capacity of Hoover Dam.

The total capacity of the reservoir is 74 billion cubic meters to be filled over several years. It will cost nearly 5 billion USD to complete the dam.

The GERD has now reached 81 percent completion that includes 98.5 percent of civil, 55 percent of electromechanical, and 55.3 percent of the hydroelectric structure works.

As seen on the photo, the two water tunnels have been completed and started operating in April this year.

Out of the 13 turbines the first two will be completed and are expected to generate 750 MW in September 2021. The dam is expected to be completed within two years.

The GERD is completely financed by the contributions of the Ethiopian people without any foreign aid or loans. It is being built with the blood, sweat and tears of the Ethiopian people.

Ethiopia generates 85 percent of the Nile River flow, but colonial-era and postcolonial agreements on the Nile, to which Ethiopia was not a party, have given Egypt the disproportionate amount of water while giving Sudan a lesser amount. These agreements gave zero water allocation to Ethiopia. Egypt today wants to keep the old colonial arrangement in place in one form or another.

According to a 2018 World Bank report, "About 70 percent of the population in Ethiopia lives without electricity." The purpose of the GERD is to provide access to electricity to more than 60 million Ethiopians and provide affordable electricity to the service, industrial and agricultural sectors. It also aligns with Ethiopia's green development ambitions as it represents a sustainable socio-economic project replacing fossil fuels reducing CO2 emissions.

Therefore, for Ethiopia, building the GERD is not a matter of choice, but an economic and developmental necessity and the way out of poverty for a nation of 112 million people.

The GERD will also provide many benefits to the entire Horn of Africa region and beyond.

It will provide affordable and renewable energy to Sudan, Egypt and other countries in the region.

It will also significantly help in regulating the supply of water to Egypt and Sudan during dry and wet seasons and provide regional water storage capacity with less evaporation and prevent flooding to Sudan and Egypt, all these at no cost to both countries.

In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan] should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam.

Hardly a day goes by without complaints from Egypt and Sudan about the harm that could result from construction of the GERD. They claim they will get less water because of the dam.

That is far from the truth because the GERD releases the water downstream once the water is used to spin the turbines that produce electricity. GERD is not an irrigation or water consuming project.

Ethiopia has been open and transparent in its construction of the GERD. Ethiopia has invited both Egypt and Sudan in good faith to participate in the International Panel of Experts (IPOE) to discuss the design, work together on technical issues and resolve any issues of concern in the spirit of African brotherhood.

Unfortunately, Egypt has tried to pressure Ethiopia by coordinating action with the Arab League, which has issued various statement of solidarity with Egypt and against Ethiopia.

Egypt has also tried to use the Trump administration to pressure Ethiopia. In September 2020, the Trump administration "paused" U.S. aid to Ethiopia because Ethiopia would not agree to a deal on the GERD drafted by Egypt and the U.S.

Egypt has also taken the issue before the U.N. Security Council to pressure Ethiopia. Just last week, the Security Council considered the matter and determined that the African Union is the best forum to deal with the issues.

Ethiopia's position on GERD negotiations is guided by a simple principle. "African solutions to African problems" While the Arab League and the U.S. could play a role in encouraging the three countries to resolve their differences diplomatically, the fact remains that the three African countries must use their own resources at the African Union to deal with their problems.

Ethiopia's principle of African solutions to African problems is based on the belief that Africans are fully capable of taking care of their own problems without interference. Indeed, after nearly seven decades of independence, Africa has the leadership and resources to deal with its own problems.

Ethiopia is acutely aware of the fact that Africa's post-colonial experience and more recent trends in foreign interference in African affairs have not been positive.

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan signed their joint Declaration of Principles (DoP) in 2015. The DOP is based on 10 basic principles which require the three countries to work cooperatively and in good faith to negotiate and resolve differences on the GERD.

They agreed to work cooperatively among themselves, without external interference, to ensure regional integration, prevent significant harm from construction of the dam, share data on the dam's performance, increase dam safety and commit to peaceful resolution of disputes.

Egypt has given lip service to African Union involvement in resolution of GERD disputes.

Egypt's reliance on the Arab League and efforts to use the U.S. to pressure Ethiopia, reflect either lack of confidence in the AU or a determination that external pressure can even override AU efforts and give Egypt greater negotiating advantage. This may account for Egypt's lack of serious commitment and unwillingness to negotiate within the AU framework.

To date, no significant harm has been caused to Egypt or Sudan as a result of the ongoing construction of the GERD.

The first filling of the dam in July 2020 went uneventfully. The current filling which is ongoing since early July 2021 has presented no issues as well. Egypt has issued a public statement to that effect.

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Ethiopia believes the GERD will bring many benefits to the Horn region and beyond. A comprehensive agreement on the GERD between the two countries is possible today if Egypt and Sudan genuinely commit to the AU-led negotiations. The negotiations could be expedited and bear fruit if Egypt and Sudan undertake the following:

Fully and wholeheartedly commit the negotiations taking place under the sponsorship of the African Union.

Apply the 2015 Declaration of Principles in guiding the negotiations.

Refrain from engaging in propaganda and disinformation wars during the AU-led negotiations.

Depoliticize the GERD, exert maximum political will and focus on resolving technical issues.

A negotiated, mutually beneficial and equitable solution is the only way to achieve long-term interests in the region.

Ethiopia is committed to continue to push for a constructive negotiation to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that ensures the legitimate interests of the three countries.

Ethiopia believes the only way to resolve the differences regarding the filling and operation of GERD is through dialogue and by resorting to technically informed consultations.

The Nile is bountiful for all countries to share and use wisely. We must all think in terms of regional and collective benefits.

Paraphrasing the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are part of "an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." We must work together in good faith and good will for the betterment of our people.

Editor's Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
The responsibilities of members of the House of Peoples' Representatives are set out briefly in the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), Rules of Procedures and Members' Code of Conduct. Accordingly, the main functions of the House granted by the constitution are making the law, supervising the executive body, representing the electorate, and fostering parliament diplomacy.

For many years, members of the House have been criticized for failing to fulfill their constitutional mandates as required. While the people were demanding democracy, and widespread looting occurred in the country and projects were extremely delayed as well as members of the parliament (MPs) were said passive.

They have also been criticized for passing ineffective laws against the Constitution and being under the influence of the executive body and failing to fulfill its responsibility in terms of overseeing the activities of sector institutions and executive bodies. Members of the parliament are also being criticized for being loyal to their party instead of being a true representative of their electorate and discussing important national issues.

Although there has been relative freedom for parliamentarians over the past three years, members have been criticized for pursuing a biased approach rather than focusing on issues that solve national problems. Particularly, the way in which MPs have addressed the issue of attacks on civilians in various parts of the country has exposed them to criticism.

In the past years, there were widespread violations of human rights, waste of resources, and corruption in our country. But, instead of following up on these problems and getting them corrected, members of the parliament were inactive, so said commentators whom The Ethiopian Herald spoke.

Over the past six years, many events have taken place in the House. For example, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn transferred his power peacefully to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), and members parties of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) have been merged into one national party - Prosperity Party (PP). But, all parliamentarians were members of one party, said Mohammed Fentaw.

Since the coming of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) into power in April 2018, draconian proclamations like anti-terrorism law, media law, investment law, and others have been amended, he said, adding that there are still laws that need to be amended.

Mohammed also insisted that there is a lot of work to be done to re-organize legal, justice and democratic institutions independently and strengthen them.

"Although most of the recently elected members of the House are members of one party [Prosperity Party], I expect most of the elected members of the House to do better because they come from string background, he indicated.

He further stated that he wants the parliamentarians to put the interests of the people and the country before the interests of their party, supervise the executive bodies as required, and make decisions that benefit Ethiopia.

Tarekegn Degife for his part stated, "As we all know, over the years MPs were loyal to one party and under the influence of the executive bodies."

Although it is not enough, there has been relative freedom for parliamentarians for the past three years, Tarekegn noted.

Now, Ethiopia needs a parliament that advocates for human rights, contributes to national consensus in the country, strengthens democratic institutions, and monitors the executives, he insisted.

For his part, another commentator Alemayehu Hailu indicated that Ethiopia does not need conflict-ridden ideas. The country needs ideas that strengthen the unity of the people and bring peace and stability in the country. They have to be a key part of the national peace-building process, he added.

"As we all know, MPs are elected in each woreda (district). However, it is not appropriate to exaggerate only their local issues and underestimate others," he stated. Issues raised by the parliamentarians should be supported by solid evidence, he urged.

Sometimes, MPs were wasting their time on unnecessary ethnic issues instead of focusing on scientific and reasonable ones, he said, adding that they should be a role model for their electorates.

Considering the current situation in Ethiopia, We [Ethiopians] need visionary and patriot MPs who can formulate strong policies that can take our country out of its current predicament, said legal expert Amdegebriel Admasu, adding that the newly elected MPs must have a clear understanding of the politics of our country, the region, and the world.

As a nation, we need MPs who represent their electorate genuinely, work hard for the guarantee of rule of law in the country, oversee the executive bodies effectively, and do a lot of work in terms of parliamentary diplomacy, Amdegebriel insisted.

Wollo University Law Lecturer Dejen Yemane for his part stated that members of the parliament were issuing repressive laws like anti-terrorism, media, and civil societies organizations' laws, and others. And also, what the members of the parliament were reflecting was not the public interest that should be protected by these laws; it was the interest of a particular political party.

He further insisted that the country needs a parliament that not only makes laws but also enforces them and a council that oversees the executive bodies properly. Considering the current situation in Ethiopia, we also need a parliament that can fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, he noted.

"The MPs should act as their electorate, not as individuals. In other words, they need to be a true representative of their voters," he indicated.

Recently, a consultation forum was held at Bishoftu with the participation of senior officials of the House of Peoples' Representatives and the Secretariat office of the House.

The new parliament that will be formed following the election results should have a strong organized office in order to function effectively, said House Speaker Tagesse Chaffo.

The study on the current structure of the Secretariat Office of the House of Peoples' Representatives was presented by experts with extensive experience in the field, and the presenters said that the study explored the experience of other parliaments like India, South Africa, Botswana, and England.

According to the presenters of the study, this newly suggested structure of the Office takes into account the needs and capacity of the country, will enable the House to work effectively by modernizing itself.

According to senior officials who commented on the study, the proposed study provides an in-depth look at the work of the Secretariat Office structure and it will help to bridge the gaps in the current office structure.

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It is also said that the organizational structure alone will not be effective and that human resource placement and management guidelines should be given due attention. It was agreed at the consultation forum that the council should be supported by qualified professionals.

House Speaker Tagesse Chaffo said that the House has been closely monitoring the study process, adding that the document is open for comment and it will be amended.

The staff of the Secretariat Office of the House will discuss the organizational document and gather additional resources, it was revealed.

It was to be recalled that, months ago, the Secretariat Office of the House of Peoples' Representatives signed a memorandum of understanding with the member institutions of the Parliamentary Research Network (PRN) to work cooperatively in the fields of research and other technical works through the PRN. And also, the annual parliamentary research conference was held to provide a platform for parliamentary research services to establish mutually beneficial partnerships for sharing best practices, information and knowledge; build the capacity of its members and promote evidence-based policies and legislations.

It was also said that the key objectives of the conference will be establishing linkages between researchers and legislators; strengthening the capacity of legislative researchers through exchange and sharing of best practices, knowledge, and experiences; transforming research services uptake and evidence use for decision making; building and maintaining strong network and linkages with parliamentary research services, research colleagues in other jurisdictions as well as research and policy institutions, and relevant stakeholders at national, regional, and international level; and strengthening the Parliamentary Research Network.
ADDIS ABABA- Eritrean refugees sheltered in Mai-Ayini and Adi- Harush camps of Tigray State of Ethiopia are in real danger following the attacks by the terrorist TPLF remnants, Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) said.

The Ethiopian government calls upon the international community to condemn the torture and killing of Eritrean refugees by TPLF and join efforts to accelerate the relocation process by availing of active and tangible support to the refugees.

In its latest press statement, ARRA stated that reports are coming from different directions regarding attacks on Eritrean refugees in Tigray.

"TPLF has rejected the federal government's humanitarian ceasefire and is engaging in fresh attacks including in refugee-hosting areas. Eritrean refugees in Mai-Ayini and Adi- Harush camps feel that they are in imminent danger and in need of immediate solutions in the form of relocation to safer locations, grant to urban status and third-country solutions."

UNHCR Country Representative to Ethiopia Ann Encontre said that the situation in the Mai Ayini and Adi Harush refugee camps has further and rapidly deteriorated with the escalation of fighting in the area over the last two days.At least one Eritrean refugee death has been confirmed, with credible reports of arrests, detentions, beatings, looting, and sporadic gunfire.

"Tens of thousands of refugees, fearful for their lives, are currently trapped and unable to move due to the insecurity and ongoing movement of troops in the area.

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UNHCR staff on the ground, as well as other humanitarian partners, are now unable to reach the camps to assist refugees."

UNHCR Ethiopia Spokesperson Neven Crvenkovic told The Ethiopian Herald that the commission follows the developments in Tigray closely and it remains deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

"We are extremely concerned about the conditions of Eritrean refugees in the Tigray State of Ethiopia. Since the outbreak of hostilities in November 2020, they have been deeply affected by the violence and insecurity that has engulfed the area."

"In the past weeks, hundreds of Eritreans have been arrested in the Shire town. We have sought clarity from the authorities in Mekelle and have requested access to and the immediate release of any unlawfully detained refugees and asylum seekers."
ADDIS ABABA - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced that the government has been working hard to rescue its citizens residing abroad and has repatriated over 41,000 undocumented Ethiopian citizens from Saudi Arabia over the past weeks.

Ministry Spokesperson, Ambassador Dina Mufti said that the government planned to repatriate over 40,000 undocumented Ethiopian migrants and it did more than plan, over 41,000 citizens came back home, within the past weeks. The repatriation process was done by over 132 flights and completed beyond what was planned.

This bold move indicates the commitment and care of the government for citizens entertaining citizenship diplomacy, he stated. "Thanking the government for its generous approach to get them repatriated, returnees said that we and our friends suffered from untold misery and torture and many others were seriously hurt in prisons."

Citizen-centered diplomacy is one of our primary focuses of Ethiopian government and it is committed to well strengthening citizenship diplomacy. The government is working hard to rehabilitate the returnees and ease the pushing factor of migration, he stated.

The undocumented migrants, who have been detained for more than a year in Saudi Arabia refugee camps, are repatriated. The repatriation was done in collaboration with delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia and other relevant government agencies from Saudi Arabia by discussing the situation well.
Sinai Alemu, Botanist (forest) Researcher at Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW

Recently, planting indigenous tree seedlings get momentums and acknowledged by the concerned bodies. Planting Indigenous tree seedlings has multiple benefits namely for sustainable climate, productivity and preserving the biodiversity. Furthermore, 30 different kinds of indigenous trees suitable for various agro-ecological zones have been identified.

During his interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Ato Sinai Alemu, Forest and Rangeland Plants Biodiversity expert at Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute has elaborated the green legacy activities with a special reference the multiple benefits of planting indigenous tree seedlings. Have a nice read:

Would you tell us about the current forest coverage of the country?

In general, the forest coverage of the country has shown dramatic improvement year by year. As institution that works on forest and forest related activities we do researches. So, based on our analyses, the forest coverage of the country has shown significant change both in intensity and coverage. Moreover, the indigenous forest coverage has changed throughout the country. The forest coverages increase not only in rural areas but also city and city surrounding areas. So, currently, the forest coverage of the country has reached about 17 per cent.

There are rumors that in rural areas farmers are complaining about the adverse effects of afforestation or planting tree seedlings on farm lands in the country. How far is that true?

It is not true, because it is not only the institution but the country is also planting indigenous tree seedlings. Since 2000, the institution has been identifying places where it studies the biodiversity distribution of the country. Based on the study findings, the institution has been recommending where, which and how to planting indigenous tree seedlings. Accordingly, we work with the communities and the concerned body including Woreda and Zone administration. This helps to recuperate the endangers species tree plants. Therefore, it is not true that the green legacy or planting tree seedlings does not affect the farmers or farm land so far.

So, do you believe that the farmers are benefited from green legacy or planting tree seedlings? If yes, what are the benefits, if not, why?

It is true that farmers are the principal beneficiaries of planting tree seedlings. Because planting trees has immediate and long term benefits. The immediate benefits could be using the forest for building houses, firewood and the like while it benefits the coming generation in the long run. Apart from the immediate use of the forest, the current and next generation further use the forest by studying their chemical content and substances. Nevertheless, the farmers are benefited from planting tree seedlings since they use the forest or the trees for different purpose including medications, food, beatifying purpose and so on.

It clear that the institution has been working to the common good of the community across the nation. So, what have you done to benefits the society in this year green legacy?

As I said before, every year the institution identifies five forest which are eroded or exposed to deforestation or desertification. Then, we design rehabilitation work with the collaboration effort of the community resides the surroundings. Here from the selected five forests, one will be changed into in-situ conservation site that supervised by legal personal or entity only. So far, the intuitions with community and stockholders has changed 26 forests into in-situ conservation sites. This has importance not only the community but also the country in general.

What have you done to replace or provide indigenous tree seedlings to be planted?

Recently, planting indigenous tree seedlings has got due attention across the nation. Hence, both the government and everybody has been working on it. Nevertheless, there is a misconception that indigenous plants are not important or has no value. However, this misconception is not true. Ethiopia has indigenous trees which have timber and other related value. The seedlings are also used to conserve water resources, to maintaining soil moisture, nutrient accumulation, to resist climate pollution, helping to revitalize the ecosystem of the county.

In order to assist the policy that indicates the importance of replacing immigrant plants with indigenous tree seedlings, the institution has established seven tree seedling nurseries and two gene banks. Accordingly, seedling germination works have been held at all nursery sites every year. For instance, in this year, for green legacy the institution has prepared and deal out more than 1.6 million indigenous seedlings for planting. The good thing is these indigenous seedlings are well known by the communities with their use and purposes. Hence, the replacement of immigrant plants with indigenous tree seedlings has been going on well.

What are the benefits of planting indigenous tree seedlings for Ethiopia?

Planting indigenous tree seedlings have great importance and benefits to the nation. Since they are used to it with the soil, the environment, atmospheres and the surroundings, they could easily grow and provide the expected benefits to the community and the environment. Off course, there are complaints in the farmers' side about planting trees seedlings in general. Nonetheless, the complaints are usually coming from those adventitious/Immigrant plants, not for indigenous tree seedlings. Because indigenous plants are known and well acquainted by the communities with their purposes and uses. Moreover, the communities recognize which seedling is important to conserve moisture, for watershed, rehabilitating eroded land and the like. Therefore, indigenous plants are important to be used for timbering and rehabilitating eroded lands.

Planting Indigenous tree seedlings has multiple benefits namely for sustainable climate, productivity and preserving the biodiversity. Furthermore, 30 different kinds of indigenous trees suitable for various agro-ecological zones have been identified.

Ethiopia's green legacy has been expanded and strengthen year to year. This year also Ethiopia invited the neighboring countries to participate in green legacy tasks. What are the implications of inviting neighboring countries in planting tree seedlings?

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The initiatives and commitment of Ethiopia to plant trees together with neighboring countries needs appreciation and gratitude since planting trees seedlings have spillover effects. Hence, it shows Ethiopian aspiration to develop together. It also indicates Ethiopian readiness to be Pioneer about planting tree seedlings, it is important to share the benefits of planting tree seedlings together mainly fighting against desertification and the like. Some of the trees that are planted are important to fight against famine and drought. They are also significant to exchange species of plants that are important for food, medication, timber and so on. With the process of planting tree seedlings, they may exchange also drought resilience trees and the like. So, inviting neighboring countries to participate in the green legacy is important.

What do the recent researches indicate about Ethiopian initiatives of planting tree seedlings?

The recent researches indicate that the growing attention and participation of high level officials in green legacy motivates the public to participate in planting tree seedlings. These has been observed both at the public and the academia. The public develop the habit of protecting and conserving natural resources while the academia gives attention on researching the nation plant resources, identifying the indigence with the immigrate one. Moreover, the recommendations of the academia help the government to work together with the concerned body to rehabilitate the eroded lands, afforestation and creating common understating of how to use our natural resources and the like. Nevertheless, much has been remains to be done.
ADDIS ABABA -Some foreigners have voiced concerns on the open use of child soldiers by the TPLF terrorist group and called on the international community to hold accountable the perpetrators of such serious war crime .

International Security and Justice Adviser Prof. Ann Fitz-Gerald twitted that the world must strongly condemn the use of child soldiers in Tigray as this is a war crime. Evidences suggest that the scale of this TPLF mobilization of child soldiers is comparable to that of J Kony's LRA. The world's silence in the face of this disaster will be a generational shame.

Former member of the European Parliament Anna Gomez on her part twitted that it was unfortunate that the TPLF terrorist had put children at the forefront of terrorism.

"All my solidarity with Ethiopians anxious for Peace, Democracy, and genuine Development," TPLF has been designated as a terrorist group by Ethiopian Parliament," she added.

Clinical Professor of Neurology, Founder and president of People to People, Enawgaw Mehari also said that recruiting children to fight a war must be criminal. Children must be at school.What would the media say if these kids were from USA/Europe? Hypocrisy, STOP IT!
COMPLED BY HIZKEL HAILU

Minister Seleshi Bekele meets the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele met the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by this week.

During the meeting, Seleshi briefed Guterres about the construction stage of GERD, the second-year filling and the AU led negotiation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.

"I clarified Ethiopia's position on the outstanding technical and legal issues to conclude the rules and guidelines on the GERD to the General Secretary," Sileshi twitted.

Ambassador Meles confers with his Russian counterpart

H.E. Meles Alem, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Republic of Kenya conferred with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Kenya, H.E. Dmitry Maksimychev this week.

During the deliberations, Ambassador Meles commended Russia's unflinching and principled position on the "African Solutions to African Problems" with respect to the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as well as its respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia.

The Ambassador reassured his Russian counterpart of Ethiopia's commitment to resume the African Union-led negotiations on the GERD to reach a win-win solution.

The 11th Ethiopia-Russia military technical cooperation joint meeting concludes

The 11th Ethiopia-Russia military technical cooperation joint meeting concluded this week with signing various agreements, according to the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the session, Defense State Minister Martha Luiji said the current agreement will further strengthen the long-standing friendship between the two countries and enable them to work together much closer.

INSA holds virtual meeting with the Israeli National Cyber Directorate

The Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) held a virtual meeting this week with the Israeli National Cyber Directorate INCD on the establishment of Ethiopian Cyber Academy.

The Embassy of Ethiopia to the State of Israel in collaboration with the Ministry of Regional Cooperation of Israel facilitated the virtual meeting between the two entities.

During the meeting H.E. Dr. Shumete Gizaw, Director General of the agency welcomed the initiative to partner on the creation of

the academy. Aviram Atzaba, Executive Director of International Cooperation of the INCD outlined the areas of cooperation in the field of cyber security.

H.E. Ambassador Reta Alemu Nega expressed the commitment of the government to enhance the partnership in this area. Alon Etkin (Deputy Director General) of the Ministry for Regional Cooperation stated that the Ministry initiated this program to create the framework.

H.E. Ambassador Aleleign Admasu, Yosi Aviram, Director for cyber cooperation and Yidnekachew Worku (Deputy General Director), Kefyalew Tefera (Project Manager) also engaged in the discussion.

The two sides reached an understanding on creation and establishment of a National Security Academy in Ethiopia. They also agreed to continue the collaboration on research and development activities.

How countries as well as international and continental organizations welcomes the final results of the 6th Ethiopian elections, congratulates Prime Minister Abiy Ahimed (PhD)

Moussa Faki Mahamat, AUC Chairperson welcomes NBE's final results of elections 2021

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, welcomed the proclamation by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia of the final results of the general elections held 21 June 2021.

The Chairperson congratulated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday (July 13) for the overwhelming victory of the Prosperity Party at the national and regional level. He commends the National Election Board of Ethiopia, political parties, civil society, and all other stakeholders for their collective efforts in ensuring largely peaceful, orderly, and credible elections, despite challenges relating to security, logistics and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemns in the strongest terms the surge of violence that has resulted in the deaths of civilians and appalling scenes of the looting of public and private property, destruction of infrastructure, including the suspension of essential services in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng and other parts of South Africa this week. The Chairperson extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a rapid and full recovery to the wounded.

Diplomats at the UN Security Council (UNSC) have reiterated that the African Union is the "most appropriate venue to address the dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)" between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. During the discussion held at the United Nations Security Council yesterday, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: "We understand that the Nile waters and how these waters are used are important to all three of these countries. And we believe this is an issue that can be reconciled."

Country leaders send congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed

Somalia, Djibouti, the AU and China have sent congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed for the landslide win he and the Prosperity Party have registered in the 6th General elections. They affirmed to work closely with the new administration and strengthen relationships.

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President of Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Farmaajo has congratulated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for winning the election. It is to be recalled that the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced on Saturday the results of the Ethiopian 6th general election held on the 21st of June.

"I warmly congratulate PM Abiy Ahmed on regaining a strong mandate from the people of Ethiopia. Somalia will continue to work with his government to further strengthen our bilateral relations to benefit our two people and wider region. I wish you great success. Mr. PM" the president tweeted. .

Similarly, the presidents of Djibouti and Nigeria have sent congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed this week for the landslide win he and the Prosperity Party have registered in the 6th General elections.

On his congratulating message for prime minister Abiy Ahmed, Djiboutian President Ismail Oguelleh stated, "Under your leadership, the friendly Ethiopian nation is today providing the whole world with proof of its determination to embrace the modern values of a flourishing society in the long term, breaking with the demons of division where alliances are not based on the principle of ethnic cleavages but on that of the communion of ideas and visions."
analysis

It's no secret the world's wildlife is in dire straits. New data shows a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest killed more than 1 billion sea creatures in June, while Australia's devastating bushfires of 2019-2020 killed or displaced 3 billion animals. Indeed, 1 million species face extinction worldwide.

These numbers are overwhelming, but a serious global commitment can help reverse current tragic rates of biodiversity loss.

This week the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity released a draft of its newest ten-year global plan. Often considered to be the Paris Agreement of biodiversity, the new plan aims to galvanise planetary scale action to achieve a world "living in harmony with nature" by 2050.

But if the plan goes ahead in its current form, it will fall short in safeguarding the wonder of our natural world. This is primarily because it doesn't legally bind nations to it, risking the same mistakes made by the last ten-year plan, which didn't stop biodiversity decline.

A lack of binding obligations

The Convention on Biological Diversity is a significant global agreement and almost all countries are parties to it. This includes Australia, which holds the unwanted record for the greatest number of mammal extinctions since European colonisation.

However, the convention is plagued by the lack of binding obligations. Self-reporting to the convention secretariat is the only thing the convention makes countries do under international law.

All other, otherwise sensible, provisions of the convention are limited by a series of get-out-of-jail clauses. Countries are only required to implement provisions "subject to national legislation" or "as far as possible and as appropriate".

The convention has used non-binding targets since 2000 in its attempt to address global biodiversity loss. But this has not worked.

The ten-year term of the previous targets, the Aichi Targets, came to an end in 2020, and included halving habitat loss and preventing extinction. But these, alongside most other Aichi targets, were not met.

In the new draft targets, extinction is no longer specifically named -- perhaps relegated to the too hard basket. Pollution appears again in the new targets, and now includes a specific mention of eliminating plastic pollution.

Is this really a Paris-style agreement?

I wish. Calling the plan a Paris-style agreement suggests it has legal weight, when it doesn't.

The fundamental difference between the biodiversity plan and the Paris Agreement is that binding commitments are a key component of the Paris Agreement. This is because the Paris Agreement is the successor of the legally binding Kyoto Protocol.

The final Paris Agreement legally compels countries to state how much they will reduce their emissions by. Nations are then expected to commit to increasingly ambitious reductions every five years.

If they don't fulfil these commitments, countries could be in breach of international law. This risks damage to countries' reputation and international standing.

The door remains open for some form of binding commitment to emerge from the biodiversity convention. But negotiations to date have included almost no mention of this being a potential outcome.

So what else needs to change?

Alongside binding agreements, there are many other aspects of the convention's plan that must change. Here are three:

First, we need truly transformative measures to tackle the underlying economic and social causes of biodiversity loss.

The plan's first eight targets are directed at minimising the threats to biodiversity, such as the harvesting and trade of wild species, area-based conservation, climate change and pollution.

While this is important, the plan also needs to call out and tackle dominant worldviews which equate continuous economic growth with human well-being. The first eight targets cannot realistically be met unless we address the economic causes driving these threats: materialism, unsustainable production and over-consumption.

Second, the plan needs to put Indigenous peoples' knowledge, science, governance, rights and voices front and centre.

An abundance of evidence shows lands managed by Indigenous and local communities have significantly better biodiversity outcomes. But biodiversity on Indigenous lands is decreasing and with it the knowledge for continued sustainable management of these ecosystems.

Indigenous peoples and local communities have "observer status" within the convention's discussions, but references to Indigenous "knowledges" and "participation" in the draft plan don't go much further than in the Aichi Targets.

Third, there must be cross-scale collaborations as global economic, social and environmental systems are connected like never before.

The unprecedented movement of people and goods and the exchange of money, information and resources means actions in one part of the globe can have significant biodiversity impacts in faraway lands. The draft framework does not sufficiently appreciate this.

For example, global demand for palm oil contributes to deforestation of orangutan habitat in Borneo. At the same time, consumer awareness and social media campaigns in countries far from palm plantations enable distant people to help make a positive difference.

The road to Kunming

The next round of preliminary negotiations of the draft framework will take place virtually from August 23 to September 3 2021. And it's likely final in-person negotiations in Kunming, China will be postponed until 2022.

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It's not all bad news, there is still much to commend in the convention's current draft plan.

For example, the plan facilitates connections with other global processes, such as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. It recognises the contributions of biodiversity to, for instance, nutrition and food security, echoing Sustainable Development Goal 2 of "zero hunger".

The plan also embraces more inclusive language, such as a shift from saying "ecosystem services" to "Nature's Contribution to People" when discussing nature's multiple values.

But if non-binding targets didn't work in the past, then why does the convention think this time will be any different?

A further set of unmet biodiversity goals and targets in 2030 is an unacceptable scenario. At the same time, there's no point aiming at targets that merely maintain the status quo.

We can change the current path of mass extinction. This requires urgent, concerted and transformative action towards a thriving planet for people and nature.

Michelle Lim, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University
A group of fishermen in Bondo, Siaya County, on Friday night arrested a Ugandan official who was part of a security team patrolling Lake Victoria.

The man, who was dressed in the Uganda People's Defence Force uniform had been placed in-charge of fishermen who were under arrest after their boat was seized by the soldiers.

But the fishermen pounced on the man who was armed with a knife and overpowered him before they disappeared in the dark towards Honge Beach.

Read: 12 Kenyan fishermen held in Uganda charged in court

They later handed him to police in Bondo. The suspect is accused of working with Ugandan security officers to harass Kenyan fishermen in Lake Victoria.

Eighteen fishermen were arrested and six boats impounded by the Ugandan security personnel during the Friday night incident.

The suspect is reported to have been the coxswain of the Ugandan operation boat that was patrolling the lake.

According to Honge Beach Management Unit (BMU) chairman Elly Odhiambo, the local fishermen were intercepted past Mageta Island before the four officers ordered them to disembark from their vessels and board the Ugandan boat.

"Two of the officers were armed with AK47 rifles and took charge of each of the boats as they sailed towards Hama direction on the Ugandan side," said Mr Odhiambo.

In the ensuing confrontation, the Ugandan boat was left behind as the coxswain tried to join his colleagues.

"On realising that the man was only armed with a knife, the fishermen overpowered him before sailing towards Honge Beach in Bondo Sub County," he said.

Read: Kenyan fishermen suffer in the hands of Ugandan soldiers

The suspect identified as Mgambe Ismael was saved from the angry mob baying for his blood by officers from Usenge Police Station where he is detained.

The mob, however, descended on the Ugandan and destroyed his boat.

Bondo deputy county commissioner Richard Karani said Kenyan authorities are working with their counterparts in Uganda to secure the release of 18 fishermen and six boats.

"The suspect confirmed to us that he is a civilian and we have communicated with security agencies on the other side to secure the release of our people," he said.

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Mr Karani said that the two sides will meet at Port Victoria beach in Busia today to have the Kenyans and the boats released while the suspect will be handed over to the Ugandan authorities.

A police report noted that the four Ugandans were not on any official duty. And that two officers gave civilians their uniforms to extort money from Kenyan fishermen over alleged trespass.

Mr Raphael Otieno, the BMU chair of Agulu in Imbo West, called on the government to enhance security patrols in the region saying that cases of harassment have been on the rise.

"The Ugandan authorities normally subject Kenyan fishermen to hard labour, confiscate our fishing gear and demand from Sh30,000 to Sh40,000 to free our vessels," he said.

He pointed out that over 50 boats from various beaches are still being held by Ugandan police.

"The government should return the quick response team to safeguard fishing activities. It is unfortunate that Ugandan security officers are taking advantage of the situation to harass and intimidate us," he said.

Read: Uganda police 'make us eat raw fish'

Despite the government deploying troops of coast guards to man Lake Victoria in 2019, fishermen from Siaya County lament that they continue to suffer in the hands of rogue Ugandan soldiers.

Cases of harassment, which have been a concern for fishermen, heightened as Kenya and Uganda fought over the control of Migingo Island.

Siaya county commissioner Mohammed Barre and Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda last week held a security meeting with fishermen in efforts to end the vice that continues to strain the relations between the two countries.

vraballa@ke.nationmedia.com
A line of police tape at a shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at night.

The body of a musician who had been missing for four days has been found floating in Masinga dam in Embu County.

Edward Irungu Njaro, popularly known as Wanjaro Junior, is suspected to have committed suicide by plunging into the crocodile infested dam located in the expansive Mbeere Sub-County.

He disappeared from his Kasarani home in Nairobi on July 14 and on Saturday, his lifeless body was spotted in the dam.

His vehicle, which he was driving prior to his disappearance, was found abandoned in Kamweri village near River Tana.

Residents who saw the body reported the matter to officers to Makutano Police Station.

Moments later, officers drove to the scene and pulled out the body and took it to Embu Referral Hospital mortuary.

"Residents going about their businesses spotted the dead man in the dam and alerted the law enforcers who responded fast and retrieved his body," Mbeere South police boss Gregory Mutiso said.

Sh700,000 debt

According Mr Mutiso, it is believed that the musician could have killed himself over a Sh700,000 debt.

"We have reliably learnt that the victim had been struggling to repay the loan and it is likely he took his life due to depression," he told the Nation.

However, Mr Mutiso said investigations had been launched to establish the actual circumstances under which the victim met his death.

He said the body had no physical injuries and a post-mortem will be performed on it to establish the actual cause of death.

He told relatives to be patient and wait for the conclusion of investigations into the musician's death.

Mr Mutiso said the victim's vehicle was taken away by one of the relatives who identified the body.
Kianyaga Hospital in Kirinyaga County will be upgraded to level four facility, with Sh150 million already having allocated for the project.

According to Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, the upgrading of the hospital will commence in a month's time.

The expanded hospital will be equipped with modern diagnostic medical equipment which will handle specialised treatment in order to boost the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the majority of people living in Gichugu Sub-County and its environs.

While affirming her commitment to leave a legacy in the health sector, Ms Waiguru said she has prioritised improvement of health facilities to ensure access to affordable and quality medical services for the people of Kirinyaga.

The governor also revealed that Kimbimbi Hospital will also be upgraded to a level four facility.

"The new hospital will be a landmark project in Gichugu Constituency. You will not need to go to Kerugoya or outside the county for treatment. All ailments will be treated here," she said recently.

Modern facilities

The upgraded hospital will have a modern theatre, specialised maternity wards and expanded male and female wards among others.

At the same time, Kerugoya Referral Hospital, a five-storey medical complex is nearing completion. The facility has been hailed as one of its kind in the country due to its high-end standards.

Once completed, the medical complex, which is expected to be commissioned soon, will have a fully equipped ICU and a high dependency unit with a capacity of at least 15 beds, an outpatient wing, modern theatres, emergency and casualty department, paediatric, surgical and medical wards, counselling and palliative care units, a pharmacy, CT scan and X-ray. It will have specialist consultations, with a general surgeon and among others.

Oxygen plant

The medical complex, which has an estimated 340-bed capacity, will also have an oxygen plant to enable piping of medical oxygen to all the beds.

Several other medical facilities, among them health centres and dispensaries, which have been refurbished or expanded, are lined up for full operation. They include Joshua Mbai dispensary and laboratory, Kiamugumo, Kiandai, Kiamwathi, Kavote, Ndaba and Kianjiru dispensaries among others.

Governor Waiguru noted that with enough dispensaries, residents do not need to travel to higher level hospitals, which are very far, to seek treatment.

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The dispensaries which are among 19 whose construction had stalled but are now on the way to completion.

Residents have been complaining that since the projects stalled, the county government has not been taking the matter seriously.

Residents now hopeful

But according to a resident, Gibson Njagi, they are now hopeful that their problems will come to an end as they will not been travelling long distances to seek treatment once the dispensaries are complete and become operational.

Once complete, the dispensaries are expected to serve at least 4,000 residents from different villages across the region.

Recently, Governor Waiguru said her administration will employ more doctors, nurses and other medical workers to work in the newly-built medical complex at the Kerugoya Level Five Hospital and Kimbimbi and Kianyaga hospitals.

More health workers

"The infrastructural development will be complemented by an expanded workforce which will create room for absorption of more medics and also enhance service delivery," she said.

She was speaking at her residence in Kagio when she met the newly elected central branch officials of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union.

The governor said she is committed to transforming the health sector in Kirinyaga through building of new hospitals, upgrading of the existing ones and addressing the welfare of workers.
Two months after Martha Koome was sworn in as the country's 15th Chief Justice, her court is slowly taking shape. Gloves are now off and a tough talking Koome is slowly emerging, stamping her authority in the corridors of justice.

On Friday, Justice Koome talked tough at the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ), which was attended by all State actors, including Interior CS Fred Matiang'i.

During her inaugural meeting, Justice Koome stressed the need for collaboration by all stakeholders in the justice system, which are independent but also inter-dependent.

The meeting discussed the reintroduction of instant fines for traffic offenders, fast-tracking of graft cases, prison de-congestion, review of cases involving children and the establishment of more Small Claims Courts.

Before that, Justice Koome, as the President of the Supreme Court, presided over the inaugural session of the country's top court.

She used the occasion to call on advocates to engage with the bench "robustly and skilfully as they can," but remember the importance of civility.

Disrespect

"Thus, where one has a different opinion, it will be expressed in a manner that respects the adage of "disagreeing without being disagreeable".

Allowing judges to decide the substantive issues instead of diverting their time to side shows of who has crossed the line to disrespect and undermine the dignity of the court," she stated.

She also used the session to give directions on the landmark Muruatetu case, which judges and magistrates have used to give varying interpretations and sentences to capital offenders. The CJ and the Supreme Court directed that the case only applies to murder alone.

To clear the confusion that exists with regard to the mandatory death sentence in offences other than murder, we direct in respect of other capital offences such as treason under Section 40 (3), robbery with violence under Section 296 (2), and attempted robbery with violence under Section 297 (2) of the Penal Code, that a challenge on the constitutional validity of the mandatory death penalty in such cases should be properly filed, presented, and fully argued before the High Court and escalated to the Court of Appeal, if necessary, at which a similar outcome as that in this case may be reached," the court stated.

Before she was appointed the country's first female CJ, Justice Koome had presented a paper where she decried confusion created following the landmark case, as convicts including those sentenced to death for robbery with violence or life imprisonment under Sexual offences Act, flocked courts seeking sentence re-hearing.

A week earlier, Justice Koome had transferred more than 30 magistrates among them Nairobi's Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi and his anti-corruption counterpart Douglas Ogoti. She had also decentralised the Court of Appeal to Kisumu and Mombasa after a hiatus of more than two years for lack of judges.

Justice Koome also assigned newly appointed judges of the Environment and Land court, sending them to stations across the country.

Lawyer Adrian Kamotho believes that she has started on the right footing, especially by calling on Parliament and the Executive to have healthy engagements as opposed to fighting each other.

Mr Kamotho urged the CJ to consider fully reopening courts, arguing that there are cases which have stalled for one reason or another.

"Now that proper containment measures have been made, vaccination and following Ministry of Health protocols are in place, it is time she considered an open court session," he said.

Lawyer Lempaa Suiyanka agrees that Justice Koome has started off well but advised that she should follow Justice (retired) Mutunga's style of expressing judicial independence through "judicial pronouncements" as opposed to press conference, which Justice Maraga chose when he felt frustrated by the Executive and Parliament.

"She appears to like engagement with other arms of the government, which is a good thing," he said.

During the NCAJ meeting, Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director-General Mohammed Badi promised to construct five more Small Claims Courts in informal settlements in three months.

Justice Koome said her vision was to see an enhancement of collaboration and cooperation in the activities of the justice agencies to power her transformative social justice vision for Kenyans.

"This does not mean that our agencies are not independent; but it is out of the reality that it is only through coordination of our activities that we can attain efficiency and resolve systemic problems in the pursuit of our common goal of effective delivery of services to Kenyans.

Last week, Justice Koome sent a strong warning to Parliament when she questioned the mandate of the legislature and its committees to oversight the Judiciary and Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Justice Koome blocked Chief Registrar of Judiciary (CRJ) Anne Amadi from appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly to respond to audit queries.

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Ms Amadi, the accounting officer of Judiciary, was required before PAC chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi to explain the irregular long acting appointments at the Judiciary.

At least 10 Judiciary officers have been acting for more than 10 years with no indication when they will be confirmed, an issue that has been flagged as a violation of Judiciary Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual, by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu in the 2018/19 audit report of the accounts of Judiciary.

However, in a stinging letter to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate colleague Ken Lusaka, Justice Koome claims that part of parliamentary oversight borders on harassment.

LSK President Nelson Havi described the CJ letter as contemptuous to parliament.

"The CJ's actions undermine constitutionalism and the rule of law. Judiciary and JSC are independent but accountable to the people through parliament. Her inability to apprehend these fundamental tenets of separation of powers underscores a leadership concern on her part," Mr Havi said.
Deputy President William Ruto's planned tour to ODM leader Raila Odinga's Nyanza backyard, which was set to begin next week, hangs in limbo after his key allies developed cold feet.

As part of campaigns for his presidential bid, Dr Ruto, who views the former Prime Minister as his main challenger in the 2022 polls, was set to begin his tour of the region in Migori and Kisumu in the third week of July, and later Homa Bay and Siaya in the last week, according to itinerary his Nyanza point man Eliud Owalo released.

Next week's intensive grassroots tour of Mr Odinga's political bedrock aimed at drumming support for Dr Ruto's presidential bid after he received a heroic welcome in Kisumu during the Madaraka Day celebrations but now the visit seemed cancelled under unclear circumstances.

Despite confirming to the Sunday Nation earlier that Dr Ruto's trip to the region will proceed even with enhanced measures imposed in the lake region to contain Covid-19 infections, Mr Owalo now says he has excused himself from Hustler politics for some time.

When the Sunday Nation yesterday asked Mr Odinga's former aide to state whether the tour was on or not, he said he was busy with his PhD studies.

"I am concentrating on or busy with my University of Nairobi PhD coursework exams. I will resume politics after the exams," he said in a brief text to the Sunday Nation.

Traders

Mr Owalo, who is a management consultant and strategist, is also the convener of the Luo-Nyanza Economic Caucus.

According to Deputy President's director of communication Emmanuel Talam, there has never been a plan for Dr Ruto to tour Nyanza as announced by Mr Owalo earlier.

"The information pertaining to DP's tour to Nyanza was not from us, meaning there was no such trip planned," he told the Sunday Nation.

In the new containment measures Health Cabinet secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced recently, the government discouraged movement into and out of the region while it adjusted the night curfew to between 7pm-4 am. The measures followed a recommendation by Lake Region Economic Bloc leaders.

Churches that the DP planned to visit were closed for 30 days from June 18. Besides churches, he was also expected to meet different groups such as traders, youth and women. The new Ministry of Health directives warn against public gatherings.

After ditching ODM and coming up with United Republican Party, which later merged with President Uhuru Kenyatta's The National Alliance to form government in 2013, Dr Ruto who has made his intentions clear to succeed his boss, has never visited Luo Nyanza alone.

Despite visiting Nyamira, Kisii and Migori counties countless times, the Deputy President visited Homa Bay in May 2018 where he commissioned the 45km Kanyadhiang-Kadel ring road and electricity connectivity.

Homa Bay tour

Then Kenya Electricity Transmission Company chairman and former Karachuonyo MP James Rege accompanied Dr Ruto during the Homa Bay tour. This came a month after a bitterly contested Migori senatorial by-election in which ODM accused Dr Ruto of supporting the Federal Party of Kenya's Eddy Oketch who came second to Ochillo Ayacko of the Orange party.

Mr Ruto's last public visit to Kisumu was in July 2017 where he encountered a hostile reception.

He had avoided Luo Nyanza since then although he visited Migori in November 2018. Governor Okoth Obado hosted the Deputy President.

In the same year, he also accompanied President Kenyatta during a tour of Kisumu alongside Mr Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula.

Last year, Dr Ruto also planned to take his hustler campaign to the region after his key ally Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi hosted more than 100 youths from Nyanza under the umbrella of 'Nyanza Youth Movement for Ruto 2022' led by Stephen Midenyo aka Mada and 2013 Rangwe parliamentary candidate Everest Okambo, in a move aimed at reaching out to the region but the trip was also cancelled.

In early June, Deputy President's brother David Ruto hosted Mr Obado, who is viewed as a rebel in the region, in what was interpreted as a move to clip Mr Odinga's wing in Nyanza.

According to Mr Sudi, the hustler movement is targeting the youth, women groups and the church to reach out to the Nyanza populace and woo voters to join DP Ruto's bandwagon.

The second-term legislator says over years the politicians from the region had been pushing for their own selfish agenda at the expense of that of the masses by always "worshipping" the Odingas.

Mr Sudi said Dr Ruto is keen on reaching out to all corners of the country and is ready to serve all Kenyans regardless of their economic status, gender, tribe or race.

He said they are ready to camp in Mr Odinga's political bastion ahead of the 2022 polls.

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For Keiyo South MP Daniel Rono, such meetings aim to increase the chances of Dr Ruto succeeding President Kenyatta.

Foot soldiers

"We are reaching out to the whole country because the hustler movement is not confined to a certain region but targeting the entire country," he told the Sunday Nation.

Many former foot soldiers of Mr Odinga attended a meeting Mr Owalo convened at a Nairobi hotel in mid-May.

The participants included those who decamped after losing ODM nominations in the 2013 and 2017 elections, among them former Kisumu governor Jack Ranguma, former Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno and former Rangwe MP Martin Ogindo. Also, Citizen's Convention Party leader Grace Akumu attended.

However, when Mr Ranguma was asked whether he is ready to join UDA, he said he was still listening to the voices of the electorate. He said he had political clout and that when he decides to join Dr Ruto's party, it will be known.

UDA secretary-general Veronica Maina told the Sunday Nation that in their recruitment drive, Nyanza is not left out saying the party's clerks are stationed in the region.

onyangooluoch85@gmail.com
THE city of Bulawayo has been hit by an unprecedented thefts of water meters with more than 200 households having lost the gadgets to thieves during the past month alone

Speaking during a Women's Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) organized virtual meeting Friday, ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo expressed concern over the increase of crime cases in her ward.

"I am really worried about an upsurge in criminal activities in my ward which covers Pumula. The major challenge which residents are facing in the ward is the theft of water meters. Last month alone, more than 200 houses in Pumula South were affected by the thefts," said Moyo who is also the caretaker councillor for ward 19 whose councillor, Clayton Zana was recalled from council by the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T last year.

The councillor also bemoaned the theft of goal posts at neighbouring schools as well as the thefts of copper wire and public boreholes control boxes in the two wards.

"A lot of boreholes in the wards have been vandalized by these thieves. As councillor, I am appealing to the residents to work with the police to prevent these criminal activities," said the councillor.

Speaking at the same meeting, participants proposed the resuscitation of neighbourhood communities in the wards.

The meeting was held under the theme "a conversation about crime rise in Bulawayo's ward 17 and 19.

Following an upsurge of brass water meters thefts and vandalism in the city, the local authority early this year indicated that it is phasing out the brass water meters and replace them with plastic meters.
.

Izin Akioya

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, with an estimated 1.3 billion people. Its combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $2.6 trillion in 2020, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) projects a 3.4% growth rate by year-end 2021.

This modest forecast might be ambitious considering the staggering effects of Covid-19 on commercial activities. It left international borders closed for much of last year, led to a significant devaluation of currencies, an estimated output loss of $115 billion, according to World Bank findings, and continues to restrict regional and international travel.

This dire circumstance may have catalysed an increase in consumer e-Commerce spending across the continent amid mixed year-end results. For e-Commerce giant, Jumia, headquartered in Nigeria with a presence in about 11 countries within the region, COVID-19 had an overall net negative effect on business in 2020.

According to the brand's 2020 financial report, "As a result of only limited recourse to nationwide lockdowns across its footprint, the pandemic did not lead to a drastic change in consumer behaviour nor meaningful acceleration in consumer adoption of e-Commerce at a Pan-African level". Conversely, despite one-off investments based on the pandemic and strict lockdown regulations, Takealot, South Africa's biggest e-tailer, recorded major growth in the six-month period ended 30 September 2020. According to Naspers' consolidated financial statements, its R6.26 billion in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) signalled 85% growth year-on-year, while first-party and third-party businesses grew by 69% and 119% respectively.

Despite the conflicting outcomes of Covid-19, Africa's e-Commerce remains on a high innovation, high-growth trajectory, owing to the convergence of key indicators: the continent's demographics, internet and mobile penetration potentials, digital transformation and ecosystem maturity. Africa's rapidly advancing e-commerce landscape boasts home-grown mobile-first solutions. Mobile money continues to reinforce value and efficiency for the continent's growing digital consumers with "pay on arrival" options being adopted broadly.

Similar to global counterparts, the logistics components of the e-commerce funnel have continued to disrupt and innovate, both in response to the pandemic and in the bid to charter access to new markets driven by evolving consumer trends and purchasing behaviour.

While Africa's e-Commerce retail stands at just 1% of its total retail performance, its potential to harness the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are huge, especially in the light of its rapid digital transformation hitherto highlighted. The agreement, driven by a 54-member economic bloc looking to cut tariffs on 90% of goods and liberalise trade across Africa, might very well be the catalyst for new trans-border growth possibilities within the region. Arguments in favour of AfCFA are compelling.

As of 2017, the percentage of intra-African exports to total African exports was a paltry 17%, compared to levels in Europe (69%), Asia (59%) and North America (31%). This implies Africa needs to urgently align with the AfCFTA mandate and trade with itself to facilitate the exchange of manufactured goods, knowledge transfer and holistic economic diversification. The continent has what it takes to become a regional commerce hub. Data from Euromonitor International pegs the value of sub-Saharan Africa's apparel and footwear market alone at US 31 billion.

From a supply chain perspective, the removal and consolidation of tariffs have immense benefits for the region's manufacturing players; in beauty, fashion, household and gallantry, sectors that are still largely import-dependent. Eliminating the bottlenecks will no less improve competitiveness, enabling the region to serve its own need for finished goods, while improving its viability as a global sourcing destination.

Africa's opportunity for "new" export growth will hinge on its competitiveness as a sourcing destination for both value-added products and direct to consumer goods. Beyond considerations for "cost of goods", buyers globally will be looking for right-priced, timely and effective logistics solutions with minimal disruptions.

Indigenous small and medium businesses, while benefitting from a broadened retail landscape, will be seeking flexible logistics solutions that create inroads for global warehousing, quick turnaround on deliveries and reduced lag time on order fulfilment. These are non-negotiables should they stand a chance at making a real play in the highly competitive global retail scene. Ethiopia is blessed with a $145 million/year apparel sourcing industry and is all set to grow its exports to $30 billion annually by 2030. Textiles also account for 15% of the Moroccan economy's GDP, but its main export partner is Europe, not Africa. Rwanda's promise is tech-based.

In 2019, its Mara Group launched two indigenous smartphones - the Mara X and Mara Z - the first set fully manufactured in Africa. Small wonder the Brookings Institution's Report projects that if AfCFTA is fully implemented, it will boost manufacturing and jack up continental trade to 50% by 2040.

The AfCFTA couldn't be timelier. Its expected impact on the region's manufacturing and intra-trade potentials converge with its rapid digital transformation, providing a real opportunity for African e-Commerce and indigenous brands to compete at the inflexion point of global logistics and supply chains, evidenced by re-onshoring and offshoring strategies being adopted globally, as China's competitive dynamics as a sourcing destination evolves. Globally, digital transformation is aiding new business models to capture emerging sales channels.

Omni-channels are being adopted broadly to ensure modern shoppers are able to complete purchases and returns combining both online and offline alternatives. The convergence of wholesale and retail is being led by the increase in manufacturer-to-consumer models. According to Logistyx 2021 manufacturing trend report, omnichannel strategies require a range of dynamic logistics alternatives; localised warehousing, next day delivery and smaller parcel sizes. Delivery locations are also on the rise, driving increased demand for flexibility and alternative shipping approaches.

Evidence of the continent's digital logistics innovations can be seen broadly across the key e-Commerce markets. DHL Africa's e-Shop, a 2019 market introduction, is live in over 34 African countries. The shipping giant is also building partnerships across the continent's small and medium business landscape, leveraging small communities. Similarly, indigenous digital order fulfilment companies have begun hybridizing storage and logistics services.

Kenya-based Africa Logistics Properties claims it has developed over 1.5 million square metres of warehousing available for rent in emerging markets over the past 10 years.

South Africa's ACT Logistics offers multi-modal freight services, pick-and-pack warehousing and export services aggregating transportation, clearing and warehousing as its suite of services. Jumia introduced its third-party logistics services in 2020, while Kenya-based start-up Sote launched software that aims to aggregate customs clearing and forwarding processes on one platform, with a vision to help cargo owners track shipments, payment status and estimated arrivals of their consignments. These innovations will democratise access to flexible and effective logistics solutions, building the critical ecosystem required for Africa's advancement in intra-regional and global export.

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The AfCFTA mandate requires more than just having 54 countries put pen to paper. A combination of private and public sector efforts is needed to accrue the potential benefits. Policy action and adoption must be quick, governments must remain open to collaborating with innovation drivers to eliminate process and bureaucratic constraints.

Blockchain technology is available to help with decentralised ledger systems and smart contracts for quicker clearance processes at checkpoints. Automated warehousing can fast-track the processing of high-volume goods at scale and optimize floor space utilisation. Artificial intelligence can help with demand forecasting to reduce bad inventory, assess risk and automate administrative processes in logistics.

In July 2019, Nigeria joined other African nations to sign the AfCFTA agreement. This is commendable, considering the country's influence on the rest of the continent. Africa stands to benefit from the convergence of factors driving its digital adoption and e-commerce, but actualising this feat requires all hands on deck to optimise critical success factors, including manufacturing capabilities and its logistical framework. On this, our collective will shall always find a way.

Izin is a Lagos-based fashion and logistics entrepreneur

RELATED NEWS
The US says Kenya could be helpful in bring stability to the Horn of Africa, especially in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

At a meeting on Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo discussed what they called "shared priorities" as far as regional security, health and climate change issues are concerned.

But in the Horn of Africa, the troubles in Ethiopia and South Sudan's struggles to keep the peace were the focal points, according to a dispatch released to the media after the meeting at the State Department, Washington DC.

"[I] met with Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo to discuss leveraging the US-Kenya Strategic Partnership to advance health, security and the climate crisis, human rights and democracy, regional peace and security, and trade and investment," Blinken tweeted on Friday.

Ned Price, the Spokesperson for the State Department, said the two leaders also "discussed the importance of Kenyan engagement on the ongoing crises in Ethiopia and South Sudan. "Secretary Blinken affirmed the United States' commitment to maintain a strategic dialogue with Kenya."

The crises

Ethiopia, which recently held its first national elections under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is facing a continual conflict in Tigray region.

A unilateral ceasefire declared by Addis Ababa two weeks ago appeared all but broken this week as Amhara militia, allied to the Ethiopia National Defence Forces, clashed with the fighters under the Tigray Defence Forces.

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The Tigray fighters had been claiming victories in major towns in spite of a ceasefire. Prime Minister Abiy on Wednesday vowed to "repel" any attacks by the TDF.

Ethiopia is also facing a border tiff with Sudan over a boundary that is yet to be demarcated, and Addis Ababa is also embroiled in a continual disagreement with Sudan and Egypt on how to fill the Grand Renaissance Dam over the Blue Nile.

Kenya says African Union capable of resolving Nile dam dispute

The US has in the past said Kenya's current membership on the UN Security Council could help stabilise both the region and the continent in general.

CS Omamo on Thursday addressed the UN Security Council session on Libya, urging the continued cessation of hostilities.

"We both believe in the same principles, the same values of democracy, the idea that there is hope in every person, and that we can surmount our challenges through solidarity ... especially in the aftermath of Covid-19," she said after the meeting at the State Department on Friday.

The US will be sending some 1.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Kenya before the end of the month to boost an inoculation campaign that is now stuck at around 1.5 million, owing to dosage shortages.

Kenya also expects a batch of about 10 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines by August.
The African Union has admitted difficulties in raising a ready force to deal with emerging conflicts, signalling a continual lack of commitment among members.

A session of the African Union Peace and Security Council earlier this month agreed to continue pooling resources for the African Standby Force, but raised concerns about the apparent low contribution from member states.

The AU Standby Force was mooted 20 years ago but slowly adopted as the policy ran into AU's own red tape, such as the initial policy of non-interference in each other's' affairs as well as financial commitment.

The bloc later decided to work with regional blocs such as the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) to pool troops that would be on standby to intervene in local security situations.

So far, the continental bloc has established the Continental Logistics Base in Doula Cameroon as part of the "broader AU strategy for the operationalisation of the ASF."

But money and the actual availability of those troops has been low, with individual countries forced to foot the cost of deployment.

On Friday, the council asked AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat to finalise the structure and financing model, especially for the logistics base.

"[The council] Expresses concern over the low level of support to the continued operationalisation of the ASF due to lack of resources, including predictable and sustainable funding," it said in a dispatch on Friday, following decisions on July 8.

It argued there had been low visibility of pledged capabilities by member states and asked Faki's office "to explore practical ways and means of resolving these challenges, and to brief the PSC in the last quarter of 2021."

The mandate

Formed under the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the Standby Force was supposed to create a pool of troops to enable the continent deal with emerging conflicts or unconstitutional changes in government.

The force was to complement the council, an early warning system, as well as a panel of eminent personalities seen as mediators.

The AU has since determined that the Standby Force is "fully operational", which means the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC) that had existed before ended formally in February.

It has also updated the mandate of the Force to include fighting violent extremism, although the actual specialised counter-terrorism units have yet to be created.

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"[The council] calls upon the AU Commission to finalise and submit the 2021 - 2026 Comprehensive Roadmap on the Enhancement of the ASF, including for establishment of the special unit for combatting terrorism and violent extremism, with clearly defined timelines to the 2021 Specialised Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS) meeting and to this Council in the last quarter of 2021," the council said on Friday in a communique marking its 1,007th meeting held 10 days earlier.

The council said the AU Commission and the regional economic communities and mechanisms (RECs/RMs) must strengthen their brigades for the force as well as commit to provide more money as per the AU's continued reform programme on self-funding of its security programmes.

But as witnessed before, when South Sudan plunged into conflict, individual member states may still retain powers to decide if to accept the Standby Force brigade.

South Sudan's government rejected the idea of sending regional troops to Juba, profiting from the delayed assembly of forces. Instead, it accepted a contingent of Ugandan troops deployed to guard important installations, rather than as combat troops.
document

The Presiding Officers of Parliament, led by the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Ms Thandi Modise and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Mr Amos Masondo, have expressed shock and sadness to the news of the passing-on of a Member of parliament, Ms Boitumelo Joyce Maluleke. She succumbed to Covid-19 related complications on Friday, 16 July 2021.

Ms Maluleke joined National Assembly in 2015 as an African National Congress representative from Limpopo.

She served in various Parliamentary Committees. These are the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Ad-Hoc Committee on the Filling of Vacancies in the Commission for Gender Equality, Powers and Privileges Committee, Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and People with Disabilities and the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Performance Monitoring & Evaluation.

"Parliament has once again been robbed of a devoted public representative with an untiring commitment to the service of the people of this country. Ms Maluleke pursued her work with enthusiasm to advance the oversight programme of the committees she served. Her passing is a stark reminder of the viciousness of the virus, and we are deeply saddened. We pay homage to her legacy of integrity as a lifelong activist", said the Presiding Officers.

Parliament sends its heartfelt condolences to the Maluleke family on such a devastating loss. We urge South Africans to continue to adhere to all Covid-19 health protocols.

May the soul of Ms Maluleke rest in eternal peace.
Titular de la PCM: El #Vacunaton esta resultando muy positivo. Hasta las 3 a. m., mas de 110 mil personas habian acudido a recibir sus dosis, asi que confio en que hasta las 7 p. m. podamos superar la meta de 200 mil dosis.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton is surprised China has decided to send a second spy ship to monitor Australia-US military exercises off the east coast.

He said it is not unusual for China to deploy a ship during such manoeuvres, having done so in both 2017 and 2019.

"We are surprised there are two vessels, but obviously the Chinese have made a decision to have a greater presence," he told reporters.

"We would expect them to operate and conduct themselves within the rules of international law."

Trade Minister Dan Tehan was also not too concerned, saying all countries have the right to use their ships to monitor exercises.

"The thing that is important is everyone understands that we have rules and we want everyone to adhere to those rules and when it comes to freedom of navigation," he told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program.

"It's the same for our trade rules. There are trade rules in place and we want everyone to adhere to those. That's the best way that you can keep our region free, open, peaceful and prosperous."

Mr Tehan was speaking from South Korea as part of a regional tour that has also taken in Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.

The visit comes at a time of growing trade tensions with China.

"We have stated quite clearly that we want to see our trade diversify," Mr Tehan said.

"We think it is vital to ensure that as markets come and go, as demand for our commodities come and go, that we have got the options there for our exporters."

He said Australia is doing everything it can to keep the region free, open and resilient.

"What we need to be doing on the economic and the trade front is to ensure that we can maintain the rule based system," he said.

"That has meant our region has grown like no other region in the world and has benefited all countries in this region."
"We're not utilizing the space, we're outgrowing the space, because we take on more evidence now than we ever have," he said.

Officer Don Laraway is the APD's identification officer, who goes through the evidence for all of the department's cases. Reorganizing that space so Laraway no longer has to use two different floors for storage will make his job easier and help the department, Slayton said.

Heading into the future, Slayton feels Butler "left me in a good position," and praised Anthony's leadership, as well. He feels they helped him prepare for administrative duties, so he feels "somewhat prepared, as opposed to Chief Butler handing me the keys and saying, 'Good luck.'"

Slayton spoke about the high standards of the police chief job, adding that he wants to balance the concerns of the department with the concerns of the community.

"Sometimes there's going to be days when the members (of the department) here may not agree with what I do, community wise. So it's that fine balance that you have between the two," he said. "But not every decision is going to be liked by everybody."
July 19, 1996

AUBURN  If the comments were anything to judge by, the initiative to build student housing on Genesee Street has a lot of community support.

City residents packed City Council chambers Thursday night to hear city and development officials explain the scope of the project they have spent months pulling together.

And when it was their turn to speak, business owners and booster groups, residents and college students praised the project.

It's not yet known, however, whether the proposal will fly, as several parts of the deal have not yet come together.

Development officials don't know yet whether the project qualifies for federal housing funds that are expected to fund about 10 percent of the project.

And they have yet to secure a 75 percent mortgage guarantee from the state mortgage association that will help pave the way to completing the project. The only role that lawmakers will play here is voting their support of the project. The Auburn Local Development Corp. needs that to get the mortgage guarantee. Lawmakers are expected to vote in coming weeks.

Project sponsor ALDC held the information session at the request of city officials.
COVID-19 infections in people who have been fully vaccinated against the disease  also referred to as breakthrough infections  are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Democrats left the state to deny the Republican-controlled Legislature the necessary quorum to pass a bill that would place new restrictions on voting in Texas.

Members of the caucus met with Vice President Kamala Harris, including two of the three lawmakers who tested positive, Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders said a statement on Twitter.

Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined, Sanders wrote.

The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated, according to Sanders.

Martin said it is not known where or when the three Texas lawmakers were infected.
ROCHESTER  A Rochester police officer will not face charges in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man who authorities said was threatening to harm himself and others.

The Democrat & Chronicle reported Friday that a grand jury found Officer Matthew Drake justified in fatally shooting Tyshon Jones near a homeless shelter on March 10.

Prosecutors said Drake shot the man five times after he refused commands to drop a large butcher knife and moved toward responding officers.

Police responded to the shelter after receiving a report that someone had stolen a bucket of knives from the kitchen.

District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Drake ordered Jones to drop the knife over 17 times as officers continued to retreat.

Body camera video showed Jones telling officers he was dangerous and expressing a desire to kill the officers, the newspaper reported.

Family members said Jones was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Bread, onions, watermelon, meat, milk, eggs and so much more fill rack after rack in the warehouse space on the east side of Flagstaff.

Its all there, and available, for individuals and families in need, and for the last three decades, its the organization that has meant the difference between a full belly and an empty one in the lives of thousands.

This year, the Flagstaff Family Food Center, Food Bank and Kitchen marks 30 years of serving the community.

Monica Foos, executive director, said, For 30 years, the Flagstaff Family Food Center has relied on volunteers and supporters like you to keep our doors open 365 days a year for anyone in need, even during forest fires and a global pandemic. It was only with the support of the Flagstaff community that we were able to help thousands of families this past year, providing over 5 million meals to those in need in 2020.

Five million meals in one year -- thats a long way from the humble beginnings of opening a food center in the old Christmas Tree Restaurant at 1903 N. Second St., in Sunnyside, in 1991. What started out as an effort to serve a nutritious meal to the most insecure of residents has grown.
Birthday wishes

Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

Happy Birthday Wishes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited her home state Saturday to celebrate what marks the largest wilderness land donation in the agencys history and another addition to the nation's landholdings as the Biden administration aims to conserve nearly one-third of Americas lands and waters by 2030.

The 15-square-mile (40-square-kilometer) donation from the Trust for Public Land increases the size of the Sabinoso Wilderness Area in northeastern New Mexico by nearly 50%. The property includes rugged canyons, mesas covered by pinon and juniper woodlands, pockets of ponderosa pine trees and savannah-like grasslands.

Haaland, who joined other officials at a remote site in San Miguel County, acknowledged that the area makes up part of the ancestral homelands of the Jicarilla Apache and northern pueblos of New Mexico. She said that, for generations, families have relied on the land for sustenance and that it means a lot to many people who visit the area in search of peace and quiet.

Were here today because we recognize the importance of preserving this special place, she said in prepared remarks, adding: We know that nature is essential to the health, well-being and prosperity of every family and every community.
Were dealing with a lot of novices, Laden said. We cant develop competency when scientists are here for only a week.

So he and his fellow volunteer cavers have built a rudimentary system that, although not ideal, has several backup systems in place to safely get people in and out of the unusual work site.

Were here to help out any way we can, he said.

Weather

One of the main players at Natural Trap Cave is the weather. Strong winds the first night of this years season ripped off the tarp stretched across a galvanized frame Laden had built to provide shade above ground. The same storm nearly blew over scientist Jenny McGuires tent, which she had left untethered because the ground is too hard for a stake to penetrate. A couple camping in a van said the vehicle was rocking like a boat.

In the past, gusts up to 70 mph have hit the camp. One year the portable toilets blew over. Fortunately the storms usually dont last long.

Theres also the issue of wildlife. One camper called Meachen on her cell phone at night to whisper that she thought she could hear a coyote sniffing around outside her tent. Meachen told the camper she would be fine if she just stayed in her thin fabric abode.
Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins gave an impassioned speech to the crowd at Anchor Park, calling for more work to be done to foster a more inclusive Montana.

"I will be your strongest ally," Collins said. "My door is always open to each and every one of you."

In an interview ahead of his speech, Collins said he was happy to see so many Helenans come together for the celebration.

"I think it says we are an accepting community," he said. "I'm just overwhelmed by this crowd."

Three of the four candidates for Helena City Commission -- Eric Feaver, Melinda Reed and Troy McGee -- also spoke to the crowd, sending well wishes and words of encouragement.

State Rep. Moffie Funk rallied the crowd and urged them all to run for political offices, take positions in local government and fill seats on local boards.

"Let your voices be heard because you are beautiful," Funk said.

Sofia Gloria Hull, a Bozeman resident and member of the Imperial Sovereign Court of the State of Montana, an LGBTQ advocacy group, said the group participated in the Pride Parade to bring more awareness to the transgender community.
It will also help scientists understand what species were common and which were rare, and how rare versus common species persist over time.

Im really excited about having that modern survey, McGuire said.

Ice age

During the period in North America when glaciers reached farthest south, known as the Last Glacial Maximum, it is theorized that a narrow passageway may have opened a corridor allowing travel from north to south. Prior to 25,000 years ago, animals may have been able to walk from Siberia to the Bering Strait and across to Alaska, Canada and then south into what is now the United States. That passageway may have funneled mammals to the area near Natural Trap Cave.

At some point around 11,000 to 14,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated and more humans explored the region, North America lost more than half of its large mammal species, everything from mammoths to short-faced bears and large dire wolves.

Many species went extinct, and what we have around today are remnant species, Meachen said.
President Biden signed 72 directives in a series of executive orders to try to rein in corporate abuse and to create a more competitive marketplace. These directives are instructing agencies to investigate anticompetitive practices and to create a more level playing field. One of the directives instructs the Federal Trade Commission to force equipment manufacturers to allow us the right to repair our own equipment. Another directive instructs the USDA to stop corporate monopolies from labeling imported meat with a Product of USA label.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has also introduced the Special Meat Investigator Act that empowers an investigator with subpoena powers to stop meat packers from price gouging consumers and producers. He has also sponsored bills that will create more transparency in the marketplace.

The corporate monopolies were unleashed in the 1980s and have been expanding and taking advantage of the American consumers at an unbridled pace. For example, prior to 1980 the largest four packers only processed about 25% of the beef and pork and now they process over 84%.

Since President Reagan turned them loose, Congress and five different Presidents have done nothing to corral them until now. It has been allowed to happen because of a cheap food policy that is more about corporate control of our food dollar than about providing cheap food.
We were surprised to hear Daines ask where the methamphetamine was coming from. After a tour of the Mexican border last March, Daines made headlines when he said, "Twenty years ago in Montana, meth was homemade. It was homegrown ... today, the meth that is getting into Montana is Mexican cartel."

That's pretty much what he heard from local officials in response to his question Friday.

We commend Daines and state and local law enforcement officials for engaging on this most pressing of issues.

We hope Daines heeds the local officials' calls for federal legislation to help establish and fund drug diversion programs. The overburdened local and state detention and incarceration systems need such thoughtful measures, as untreated addictions produce staggering recidivism rates as well as making the corrections mission much more difficult.

Social programs including mental health funding and aid to children are a huge part of any legislative solution. The human costs of the meth plague are staggering, and must not be ignored.
The recent protests in Cuba are unprecedented and some say they havent been seen to this degree since Castro took over in 1959. These are grassroots, spontaneous protests that started in one city and then spread to others. Thousands of anti-regime protesters took to the streets across the island over this past weekend, waving American flags and chanting freedom as well as anti-government slogans. Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., the son of Cuban exiles said: People are angry, people are hungry, people are displeased with the governments response to the pandemic, and theyre desperate. They also want to be free. They want the basic human rights that Cubans on the island have been denied for over 62 years.

While Biden voiced support for the protesters, interestingly enough, a resolution to support freedom fighters in Cuba was brought forth in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and only Republicans signed on. A summary of the resolution can be found online (Expressing solidarity with the Cuban people in their demands for freedom and respect for basic human rights.) With growing support for socialism/communism here in our country, Democrat voters take note  those in Washington are supporting the Cuban communist regime by omission, make no mistake about it. For an excellent speech about the Cuban protests, I recommend Sen. Marco Rubios video on Youtube, Marco Rubio gives passionate speech in support of Cuban protesters, rails against Cuban government. Like him or not, it is well worth watching, especially for those who are younger and who dont know that much about Cubas history.
Rodney Bordeaux, the tribe's president, said Fridays events were historic and thanked the young people for bringing the remains back.

This is going to make us that much stronger as a people as we reclaim who we are, he said. Indian Country nationwide is rising up. Were going to be stronger as we go forward.

Christopher Eagle Bear, 23, who was part of the youth council responsible for bringing returning the remains, said, On this day, it is an honor to be Lakota. Hopefully, what we do here can inspire another youth group to move the road further than what we have started.

Some of the children will be reburied in a veterans' cemetery on the reservation and others will be interred at family graveyards, tribal officials said.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland last month announced a nationwide investigation into the boarding schools that attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into white society.
To pretend that they didnt take actions that they had no authority to take isnt standing on truth, she told reporters Friday.

It's easy to see why the 49-year-old governor, who is known as a scorched-earth campaigner in her home state, is elbowing out anyone trying to claim a more hands-off approach to the pandemic. She doesnt have the experience of working alongside Trump, like Mike Pence, Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo  all of whom have visited the presidential-proving ground of Iowa in recent days. Other potential rivals like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have the advantage of governing states that figure prominently in national politics.

The pandemic was rocket fuel for Noem's political rise. While she had been laying the groundwork to build a national profile and looking for ways to make South Dakota a testing ground for conservative policies, she jumped on decrying coronavirus restrictions early.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  Lila Meuchels neighbors keep trying to eat her plants.

Its not the human neighbors of her ground-floor Gateway Avenue condo that are causing problems, but a population of Richardsons ground squirrels that live in an empty lot next to her building, across from the Gateway Mall.

The nearby lot is dotted with holes that the squirrels dart out of, some of which have plastic bottles stuffed into them. Meuchel said she has put some of the bottles there to prevent the ground squirrels from digging. Trails in the grass lead away from the burrows and toward the condo buildings, and there was even a hole behind the buildings air conditioning unit. About a half-dozen of the animals were scurrying through the lot or sitting perched on top of a small hill one morning. The Richardsons ground squirrels, also known as flickertails, arent afraid of people, she said. Sometimes, shell sit outside and spray at them with her hose to keep them away.

The ground squirrels have been there since 2011, Meuchel said, but problems have increased over the past two years.

Its frustrating, she said. We just dont need this around here.
Yet as Europe warms  with Scandinavia currently experiencing an unusual heat wave  the jet stream is weakened, causing its meandering course to stop, sometimes for days, Thiery said.

He said such a phenomenon was visible in Canada too, where it helped cause a "heat dome" in which temperatures rose to 50 C (122 F).

"And it is causing the heavy rain that we have seen in Western Europe," he said.

Even if greenhouse gas emissions are drastically curbed in the coming decades, the amount of carbon dioxide and other planet-heating gases already in the atmosphere means extreme weather is going to become more likely.

Experts say such phenomena will hit those areas that aren't prepared for it particularly hard.

"We need to make our built environment  buildings, outdoor spaces, cities  more resilient to climate change," said Lamia Messari-Becker, a professor of engineering at the University of Siegen.

Those that don't adapt will risk greater loss of life and damage to property, said Ernst Rauch, chief climate and geoscientist at the reinsurance giant Munich Re.
Vidler's 5 and 10 has come a long way since Bob Vidler Sr. opened it in 1930.

But it hasn't come far enough, jokes his grandson and current co-owner Don Vidler.

"I said, 'Dad, what did you do wrong? Sam Walton started a 5 and 10 and he's got 11,000 Walmarts. I'm still unloading trucks,' " he said.

That the store is not a Walmart is a relief to its customers, who come to experience the one-of-a-kind adventure that is the Vidler's shopping experience.

After all, would fans from far-flung places come by the busload to visit a Walmart? Would filmmakers flock to Walmart looking to capture an authentic bit of Main Street Americana? Would well-wishers young and old brave the rain during a flood warning to wish Walmart a happy birthday?

+3 There's a reason East Aurora is so popular with made-for-TV Christmas movie makers If youre watching a Christmas movie on television and think that quaint little town looks a lot like East Aurora, chances are youre

Probably not. But they do it for Vidler's, which celebrated its 91st year in business Saturday with a cake and festivities.

Vidler's started as the place in East Aurora where you could go to buy shoelaces and candy. Since then, it has become a destination. With four connected buildings and two levels, shoppers get lost browsing everything from craft supplies and candles to housewares and retro toys. They delight in its more whimsical inventory  such as bacon lip balm, bamboo back scratchers and pickle-flavored ice pops.

Susan Nichols of Sun City Center, Fla., and Robin Fowler of Kenmore watched Vidler's transform from village store to landmark. They can remember riding Sandy the mechanical horse as children and rushing to Vidler's to buy last-minute supplies for a forgotten school project.

With Nichols visiting town Saturday, they took a trip to Vidler's to reminisce.

"We did our Christmas shopping here," Nichols said. "You could afford to buy something on your quarter-a-week allowance."

Fowler remembers how some stores at the time were suspicious of kids and would follow them around the store to be sure they didn't shoplift or cause trouble.

"They never did that here. They let you wander to your heart's content," she said.

There were plenty of children wandering the store Saturday, picking through fidget toys, Pokemon cards and pocket-sized rubber chickens. They were also riding Sandy, that same coin-operated horse at the front of the store.

"I know I speak for everyone in the community when I say how lucky we are to have them here in the village," East Aurora Mayor Peter M. Mercurio said.

The store nails what every retailer in the internet age is trying to achieve: an entertaining experience that brings shoppers inside. Big box stores spend millions in merchandising dollars trying to create an atmosphere like that at Vidler's  which more than one customer described as "magical." And while advertising executives scramble to make national chains like Walmart more appealing by playing up their founders' roots and long history, it's all authentic at Vidler's.

"Every retailer says you've got to entertain your customers. Gosh, you just walk around in here and you're entertaining people," Don Vidler said. "They pick up and play with everything. There are sword fights every week."

Sandy McQuillan of Cowlesville knows the atmosphere well. She worked at Vidler's for 26 years and loved every minute of it, she said.

"When you work at a dentist's office, people aren't happy to be there," she said. "But when you work at Vidler's, people are happy to be here."

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That being the case, the opening of the border could turn out to be something of a makeshift affair, said Kathryn B. Friedman, global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a member of the research faculty at the University at Buffalo.

"What we may see over the next couple of months on both the Canada and the U.S. side are these small incremental steps to open the border to the extent practicable," said Friedman, who called for a comprehensive reopening plan more than a year ago.

Meanwhile, with the highly infections Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus taking hold in parts of America with low vaccination rates, "you know, it could be two steps forward, one step back, until until we can kind of figure out this new norm that we're at," Friedman said.

The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 21, 2020, early in the Covid-19 pandemic. Officials from the two nations have long indicated that they want to open the border together.

However, Canada has been far more open than the Biden administration in discussing its border plans, so it's unclear whether the U.S. will welcome Canadians in mid-August.
If our Covid-19 numbers stay low, that will help everyone. What are the chances we can keep them down?

Decent. But again, down is not gone, which means theres still a risk, particularly to people who may be more vulnerable.

Outdoor activities are helping keep our numbers in check now. As the weather cools in fall, Russo points out, well see a coinciding rise in cases, though likely not the spike in hospitalizations and deaths we saw last fall and winter.

Were never going to go where we were before, where were concerned with overwhelming our health care systems with that sort of post-Thanksgiving surge that lasted a couple of months, Russo said. Were never going to be there again, fortunately, unless a variant evolves that evades vaccine-induced immunity.

While most fully vaccinated people are kind of in post-pandemic mode, Russo said, people who are unvaccinated and immunocompromised will be at higher risk in the fall. For the former group, he added, now is the time to start the vaccination process to have full protection come September. For the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, it takes five weeks from the first shot to be fully vaccinated.

That window is starting to shrink for those yet to get vaccinated, Russo said. This is the moment to probably do it, so theyll have that protection when their risk will go up further in the cooler months.

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I think the best thing for us to do is just encourage everyone to use their common sense and practice personal responsibility and make themselves and their families safe, Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters last week.

Cases also are on the rise in Springfield, Missouri, where Mayor Ken McClure told CBS-TV's Face the Nation that false information about the pandemic was hampering the fight to get people vaccinated.

I think we are seeing a lot spread through social media as people are talking about fears which they have, health related fears, what it might do to them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccinations, he said.

Murthy, the surgeon general, said not nearly enough progress was being made in the fight against misinformation spread through social media about COVID-19 and vaccines. Individuals, not just platforms such as Facebook, need to combat the problem, he said.

"Each of us has a decision that we make every time we post something on social media, and Im asking people to pause and to see, is a source accurate? Is it coming from a scientifically credible authority? And if its not, or if youre not sure, dont share, he said.



Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report. Reeves reported from Newnan, Georgia.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Looking at the shattered glass entrance to a cellphone shop Sunday in Soweto, Ramaphosa was told several people died there.

We are all really concerned about what happened here," Ramaphosa said. "But we are also saying we have learned valuable lessons. The most important lesson is, in the end, that we must tighten up our security forces.

Thanking the community volunteer groups helping to clear up the debris, Ramaphosa, speaking in the Zulu language, reiterated his pledge that those who plotted the rioting would be brought to justice.

Theyll be arrested, all those who are behind this damage, he vowed sternly. "We are going to make sure that they are arrested and sent to prison for a long time.

He thanked law-abiding South Africans for standing together against the lawlessness.

We shall never be defeated because a united people will never be defeated, said Ramaphosa, to cheers from a small group that had gathered. Whether they like it or not, theyll never defeat us. We will be victorious.
There is no shortage of suggestions on how to deal with the gun violence epidemic afflicting Buffalo and other cities.

Cut off the flow of guns from the outside? Its much easier said than done.

Put more police on the streets? That has diminishing returns in communities where many residents dont feel that police are on their side.

How about providing more jobs for city kids to keep them off the streets? Cities fund jobs programs for youths, but its harder than ever to get enough young people interested in filling the jobs.

One strategy with a proven return on investment is known as the interrupters model. Violence interrupters are members of the community who are trained and paid to anticipate places where violence will occur and try to stop it before it happens.

Buffalo has the good fortune to have several groups that do that work, and they are about to get a boost in federal aid to expand their efforts. But first, Buffalos Common Council must act.
The editorial regarding Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the spike in gun violence is an example of bad laws and bad decisions. Even the term is an error. The problem is criminal misuse of firearms and a gun is not violent unless it is held by a person with a bad attitude or mental disorder. It is significant to look at the data and how murders and violence increased after prisoners got early releases and didnt have to put up bail after an arrest. Bad laws give bad results. A law without enforcement is nothing more than advice. We were told that justice should be swift and sure. This is what happens when it isnt.

If one looks at the data on gun possession and the misuse, we find that only a quarter of 1% of American gun owners misuse them. They are the problem and logic tells us that it isnt too many guns, but too many criminals on the streets.

What is the solution? Take the offenders off the streets, give heavy penalties for those committing violence, and no concurrent sentences for those committing crimes. If a criminal is convicted of a violent crime, like robbery, and a weapon is used, give the sentence for the crime and tack on extra time because of the weapon being used. If a felon is caught with a gun use the old Project Exile law to make prison mandatory.
As much as 4 inches of rain fell in some parts of Western New York on Saturday, leaving many streets flooded and small streams bursting their banks.

The official rainfall measure at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport through 4 p.m. was 2.63 inches, but a little more rain fell after that, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Welch said.

A flood warning was up most of the day for Western New York, but that was canceled Saturday night, except for Allegany and eastern Cattaraugus counties, and along Cattaraugus Creek on the Erie County-Cattaraugus County border.

A flash flood watch was maintained for the entire western half of New York State until 2 a.m. Sunday as the rain system slowly moved east.

"What happened was, as a front approached the area, it stalled over the area," Welch said.

Moisture along the stationary front kept dumping rain on ground that in many locations, especially in the Southern Tier, was already saturated.

Some major roads were affected by flooding, including Niagara Falls Boulevard, especially near Maple Road in Amherst.
Portman said meetings were planned Sunday to discuss alternatives to the IRS provision, which had been estimated to bring in an estimated $100 billion over 10 years. The proposal to go after taxpayers who skip out on income taxes initially had potential bipartisan appeal, but outside groups came forward to lambaste it as a way to enable the IRS to snoop around Americans personal finances.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said at a congressional hearing in April that the national gap between federal taxes owed and actually collected is about $1 trillion annually, more than double what official government estimates have previously indicated.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressuring lawmakers to reach agreement this week on the pair of massive domestic spending measures, signaling Democrats desire to push ahead aggressively on President Joe Bidens multitrillion-dollar agenda.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that he is scheduling a procedural vote for Wednesday to begin debate on the still-evolving bipartisan infrastructure bill. Senators from both parties, bargaining for weeks, have struggled to reach final agreement on a $1 trillion package of highway, water systems and other public works projects.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  It has been a long time since they were crowned, but these pageant queens never cease to amaze everyone with their beauty.

Miss World 2013 Megan Young, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong, and Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa showcased Filipina beauty in the cover of Harpers Bazaar Vietnam for its 10th anniversary issue.

The international titleholders donned the colors of the Philippine flag -- red, white, blue, and yellow -- in their pictorial shot by Filipino fashion photographer BJ Pascual.

In separate Instagram posts, they used references to the 1980s comedy film Temptation Island, which was about a group of beauty queens stranded on a deserted island.

Me and my girls on the cover of @bazaarvietnam. Time warp to Temptation Islandversion 2021, said Wurtzbach.

Meanwhile, Verzosa posted: Did someone say, Queens? From the powerhouse of Asia, Team Philippines.

Television personality and vlogger Alex Gonzaga also recently graced the cover of the fashion magazine.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 17)  The country's COVID-19 total cases exceeded 1.5 million on Saturday, the Department of Health reported.

The case bulletin stated that 6,040 more people caught the coronavirus, the first time that there were more than 6,000 cases in a day in over two weeks or after July 2. The total stood at 1,502,359.

Of the case count, 3.1% or 47,257 are active cases or currently ill with 91.8% having mild symptoms, 2.7% severe, 2% without symptoms, 1.89% in moderate condition and 1.6% critical condition.

The death toll climbed to 26,598 or 1.77% of the COVID-19 tally after 122 more people died. It is the second day in a row this week that the daily casualty count surpassed a hundred.

The recovery number is 1,428,504 or 95.1% of the cases after 7,213 more people got better.

The DOH said it reclassified 74 survivors into fatalities after validation and deleted nine duplicate cases, including seven recoveries.

The total excluded data from three laboratories that failed to submit reports on time, the DOH said. These laboratories contributed an average of 2.7% of samples tested and 1.3% of positive individuals in the last 14 days, the agency added.

The daily positivity rate or percentage of people who tested positive stood at 10.7% based on 52,047 tests on July 15. According to Covid Act Now, an initiative developed with the Harvard Health Institute, an area would need a rate below 3% to say it has adequate testing. The OCTA research team uses Covid Act Now's criteria as reference for its recommendations.

Two days ago, OCTA flagged an increase in cases in Cebu and Lapu-Lapu cities, adding that the latter's reproduction number of 1.80 was "very high." Ideally, reproductive numbers should be one or less, as anything higher means there is still significant community transmission, medical experts said.

Mariveles in Bataan was tagged as "very high risk" while Davao City, Iloilo City, Baguio City, and Santa Rosa, Laguna were also high risk for COVID-19.

A health expert earlier urged to "rethink" small gatherings especially amid the detection of more cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The country has a total of 35 cases of the variant including local infections after 16 more were found on Friday.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Eighty-six volcanic quakes in Taal Volcano were recorded on Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said as it keeps the Alert level 3.

In its 8 a.m. bulletin on Sunday, it said 84 volcanic tremors having a duration of one hour to 34 minutes were logged yesterday.

One low-frequency volcanic earthquake, one hybrid earthquake, and a low-level background tremor which began on April 8 were also observed.

State seismologists also witnessed high levels of emissions of volcanic sulfur dioxide averaging 5,466 tons per day, and steam-rich plumes that rose 2,100 meters high from the main crater before drifting northeast.

Taal is still under Alert Level 3. The status means "magma extruding from the main crater could drive explosive eruption," according to Phivolcs.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Senator Koko Pimental is fighting back against the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte made on Saturday, who said PDP-Laban was a "father and son party" that was dormant until he ran for President.

In tweets on Sunday, Pimentel said Cagayan de Oro, the home province of his father, former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., backed and "recognized the efforts and achievements" of the elder Pimentel.

At an assembly of PDP-Laban members on Saturday, Duterte said, "May I just remind Koko na itong [this] party-ng PDP was asleep for a hundred years. It only woke up during the election and when I ran for the presidency under the ticket. It was a father and son party, period. Wala nang iba [Nothing else]. And they are not even recognized in Cagayan de Oro City.

The younger Pimentel questioned Duterte's statement, saying his father represented the province multiple times.

"How can Tatay Nene "not be recognized" in Cagayan de Oro City when he became Mayor and Assemblyman of CDO? And once represented the area in the Constitutional Convention? Also winning multiple national elections (as Senator) and even became Senate President?" he said in a tweet.

A rift in the political party had already appeared even before Saturday's meeting. President Duterte  who is party chairman  and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on one side, and Pimentel and Senator Manny Pacquiao on the other.

Pacquiao had been party president, until Cusi took on the position after he was named during the assembly.

Pacquiao's faction, however, refused to recognize the assembly and labeled the elections illegal.

"Thousands of bona fide and original grassroots members of PDP-Laban strongly denounced personalities (party officials) who are behind the party's purported national assembly in Clark, Pampanga and described the election of its new officers as a farce, illegal and not sanctioned by the general membership," the group said in a statement.

Pimentel echoed the sentiment, saying the "existing leadership" will continue to carry out its work for the party.

RELATED: Duterte's attendance will not legitimize upcoming PDP-Laban assembly - Pimentel
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Vice President Leni Robredo said her office is now in discussion with the government of Quezon City to inoculate jeepney drivers next month.

Nagsimula na ang coordination namin with Quezon City so pinag-usapan na first week of August [ang vaccination], she said during her weekly radio show.

[Translation: Our coordination with Quezon City has already begun, and we have decided to begin the vaccination in the first week of August.]

The government official said this partnership will cover jeepney drivers plying different routes in the city.

She reiterated her team will focus on the logistic side and health workers, while the Quezon City government will provide the coronavirus shots.

Robredo first rolled out this program through a partnership with the city government of Manila, inoculating tricycle drivers and operators, including Grab drivers.

RELATED: Robredo, Moreno launch drive-thru vaccination for Manila's tricycle drivers, delivery riders

This week, July 20 to 21, the public transportation workers will receive their second dose, the vice president noted.

Robredo, however, said that while many Filipinos are now willing to get their COVID-19 shots, vaccine supplies remain an issue.

READ: Robredo hopes to have access to vaccine supply
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  As the highly transmissible Delta variant reaches the Philippines, Vice President Leni Robredo urged the national government on Sunday to boost the funding of regions outside the capital to equip them for a possible surge of new infections.

The government official during her weekly radio show on Sunday said the government must be proactive and start extending financial assistance to regions that still lack the capacity to handle a COVID-19 spike.

Sana buhusan sila ng pondo pandagdag ng capacity, dagdag na tao, medical equipment, Robredo said.

[Translation: I hope they will be flooded with additional funds to increase their capacity, manpower, and medical equipment.]

Robredo stressed that if hospitals in Metro Manila had a hard time battling the surge in March, it will be even more difficult for provinces to deal with a spike in cases due to the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant.

Last week, OCTA Research Group also raised concerns that the Philippines may suffer the same fate as Indonesia, which logged over 47,000 new cases on Saturday.

READ: OCTA worries about PH ability to battle Delta variant

The Department of Health on Saturday said hospitals must begin adding beds for COVID-19 patients, and conduct an inventory of oxygen supplies and other medical equipment.

In a report released Sunday, OCTA said three areas outside the capital region have witnessed a "rapid increase" in infections last week, namely Mariveles in Bataan, Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, and Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Vice President Leni Robredo expressed worry over the capacity of the Philippines to detect coronavirus variants, believing the actual number of cases of the more infectious Delta variant could be more than the recorded 35.

Very limited ang processing capacity so nag-prioritize. Pwedeng marami pa, hindi lang 35, she said during her weekly radio show on Sunday.

[Translation: They have a very limited processing capacity so they need to prioritize. There could be more, not just 35.]

She stressed the government should bolster the capacity of the Philippine Genome Center given the emergence of new coronavirus variants, especially the Delta variant which is believed to be 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant and can cause severe symptoms.

Late in June, the center's executive director Cynthia Saloma told CNN Philippines The Source the PGC can currently conduct sequencing on some 750 samples a week or 36,000 samples annually.

The center, Saloma noted, only has five machines. She stressed if only the PGC has additional manpower and facilities in other parts of the country, sequence efforts would be scaled up twice.

On Friday, the Department of Health said it recorded 16 new cases of the Delta variant in the Philippines, 11 of which were local cases.

Robredo stressed that once this Delta variant triggers a new surge, the Philippines would be in a dark position to handle the increasing cases.

The vice president also said the government must take advantage of the 3.2 million Johnson & Johnson coronavirus shots from the COVAX facility to vaccinate Filipinos residing in areas detected with the Delta variant since the vaccine from the US company requires only one dose.

The DOH said the 11 local cases were recorded in Manila City, Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Antique, and Pampanga.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Senator Leila de Lima urged the Senate to probe the planned merger of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the United Coconut Planters Bank, citing the negative impact it may have on Filipinos being served by the two state-controlled banks.

De Lima filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 771, dated July 12, seeking an investigation into the matter after credit rating agency Fitch Ratings warned the merger could harm Landbanks financial health.

The Senate must ensure that the rights of coconut farmers as well as Filipinos who are being served by the Landbank are not unduly compromised by this merger, the senator said in the resolution.

The Landbank and UCPB earlier said the planned move, approved by President Rodrigo Duterte on June 25, will "strengthen government efforts to build a stronger, unified banking institution capable of serving coconut farmers and other workers in the agricultural sector."

Landbank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo also said the clients of both banks can now rely on a "stronger and better capitalized institution."

However, Fitch Ratings said the merger may negatively impact Landbanks standalone credit profile. It noted that while the merger with the UCPB would increase Landbanks market share to make it the second largest bank in the country by assets, the risks could consume considerable managerial bandwidth and incur significant integration expenses.

UCPBs reported 22 billion bad loans at end-2020 could worsen the asset quality pressures that Landbank already faces due to the economic slowdown, Fitch Ratings added.

De Lima also said the two institutions have conflicting mandates," adding this should be enough reason to terminate the merger proceedings.

With Landbanks charter mandating it to prioritize the banking needs of the agrarian reform program and other rural groups including the fisherfolk, as well as servicing the needs of OFWs, it should not be distracted therefrom to the possible detriment of these people whose welfare is at stake. UCPBs mandate is clear: to service Philippine coconut farmers, she said.

"Their interests should not be comingled and inescapably sidelined by executive fiat when evidence is incontrovertible that...it would not be prudent to proceed with the said merger," De Lima added.

She also called on the Senate to look into the merger's validity, as well as into the "anomalies" that may have given rise to the need for such.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Ramped up contact tracing and isolation will be implemented in all local government units in Metro Manila amid the threat of a more contagious Delta variant in the country.

"Nag report lang sila on the situation right now, what's going on and what we have done before  yung intensive prevention detection, isolation, treatment, rehabilitation, lalo na ang contact tracers itutuloy namin," MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said, moments after the Metro Manila Council meeting on Sunday.

[Translation: They reported on the situation right now, what's going on and what we have done before  the intensive prevention detection, isolation, treatment, rehabilitation  especially the contact tracing which we will continue.]

What the local executives are trying to avoid now is an overwhelmed hospital system in the middle of a health crisis.

Because of the Delta variant's high transmissibility, LGUs are coordinating with different branches of government to ensure safety protocols are strictly adhered to.

Some mayors are even considering adjusting their city's guidelines in case of a possible surge in cases.

"Dati kasi pinapayagan pa natin yung home quarantine. Ngayon di na talaga papayagan and we will be working more intensely with the police and the city legal department. Pwede naman kasi ang mga abogado na ang mag-convince because this is a public health concern," said Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.

[Translation: Before, we allowed home quarantine. But we won't allow it now and we will be working more intensely with the police and the city legal department. Our lawyers can actually help convince (people) because this is a public health concern.]

"We have been exerting extra effort sa ating contact tracing ever since at malaking bagay ito. Very essential ang contact tracing dito. Kailangan mabilis ma-identify if ever may pasyenteng confirmed case ng Delta variant," San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said.

[Translation: We have been exerting extra effort with our contact tracing ever since and this is a big thing. Contact tracing is very essential here. We have to quickly identify if ever there is a confirmed case of the Delta variant.]

Experts are also looking at revoking the guideline allowing minors 5 years old and above outdoors.

The mayors will be meeting with health officials on Monday regarding the matter.

According to Abalos, the COVID-19 situation in Metro Manila is currently manageable, but warns we can never be too sure, especially with the presence of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the country.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18) -- The country logged 5,411 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,507,755, the Department of Healths latest bulletin showed.

Of the total, 47,190 are active cases or currently ill patients. At least 91.9% are experiencing mild symptoms, 1.9% are asymptomatic, 1.6% are critical, 2.7% are in severe condition, and 1.88% have moderate symptoms.

Meanwhile, 117 more patients succumbed to the disease, bringing the death toll to 26,714. There are also 5,439 new recoveries, as the number of COVID-19 survivors reached 1,433,851.

The DOH said 15 duplicates were removed from the nationwide tally, of which 10 were recoveries and one death.

It added that 82 cases previously tagged as recoveries have been determined to be deaths after final validation.

All laboratories were operational on July 16, but four laboratories were not able to submit their reports on time. These labs contribute, on average, 2.4% of samples tested and 1.3% of positive cases, the DOH said.

The daily positivity rate, or percentage of people who tested positive, stood at 10.2% based on 53,145 tests done on July 16. The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate of below 5%, as bigger numbers may indicate high transmission.

Meanwhile, the OCTA Research group said in its latest report that the areas of Mariveles in Bataan, Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, and Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu have seen a sudden rise in coronavirus cases from July 11 to 17.

OCTA also said the highest average daily attack rate, or the number of new daily cases per 100,000 population, was recorded in Mariveles at 47.08 and followed by Laoag at 40.03.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 18)  Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, a rumored presidential bet in the 2022 elections, defended on Sunday her recent travels around the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The presidential daughter justified that her trips were covered by "duly filed" leaves of absence.

"It is true that there is a pandemic but it will not suspend the filing of COCs (certificates of candidacy) in October or postpone the elections on May 2022. A decision has to be made regarding my political career with or without the pandemic," Duterte-Carpio said.

The Davao City mayor met with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Pasay City, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia in Cebu, and Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco over the past few days.

Duterte-Carpio assured her Davao City constituents that she is not neglecting her duties as mayor.

"I have divided my entire week between my work as mayor, my politics, and my family. I assure all Dabawenyos that my strength as a mayor is to take on several roles and ensure that work is carried out," she added.

Duterte-Carpio is widely seen as a strong contender in next years presidential poll. The Duterte daughter-father tandem led a recent survey on top presidential and vice presidential bets for next year.

The younger Duterte had earlier dispelled rumors about her running for the countrys top post, but has recently expressed her intention to run in 2022, despite repeated objections from her father.

RELATED: Sara Duterte now 'open' to run for president in 2022
(CNN) -- US President Joe Biden said Friday social media platforms like Facebook are "killing people" with misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic as the White House ramps up its rhetoric around false information on social media regarding the pandemic.

"They're killing people -- I mean they're really, look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated," Biden told reporters as he left the White House for Camp David. "And they're killing people."

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned Thursday health misinformation is "a serious threat to public health," and the administration directly called out social media giant Facebook for not doing enough to stop the spread of false information on its platform. Meetings between the Biden administration and Facebook in recent weeks have been "tense," a source familiar with the conversations told CNN.

The source said Biden officials who had taken concerns about vaccine misinformation to Facebook had concluded that the company was either not "taking this very seriously, or they are hiding something," due to what they view as Facebook's unwillingness to tackle vaccine misinformation.

In response, a Facebook spokesperson told CNN Friday, "We will not be distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts. The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet."

On Saturday, Facebook pushed back on the Biden administration's charge that the company wasn't doing enough to stop vaccine misinformation and that it and other social media companies are "killing people."

"President Biden's goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed," Guy Rose, Facebook's vice president of integrity, wrote in a post on the company's website.

Earlier Saturday, a Facebook official, speaking anonymously to discuss conversations the company has had with the Biden administration, told CNN, "In private exchanges the Surgeon General has praised our work, including our efforts to inform people about Covid-19. They knew what they were doing. The White House is looking for scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki blasted social media platforms on Friday for taking insufficient action on misinformation.

"Why don't we all participate in a process that will help provide accurate information out there?" Psaki said.

The White House doesn't find Facebook's response and information sharing surrounding vaccine misinformation sufficient, Psaki said.

On Thursday, Psaki cited four actions the administration wants social media platforms to take: measure and publicly share the impact of misinformation on their platform, implement a more robust enforcement strategy, take faster action against harmful posts and promote quality information in their feed algorithm.

Asked by CNN's Phil Mattingly on Friday to elaborate on the requests and whether Facebook has been amenable to the requests, Psaki explained that the White House is in regular touch with social media platforms.

"We are regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives dangerous to public health that we and many other Americans are seeing across all of social and traditional media," she said.

This story has been updated with additional comments from Facebook on Saturday.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Biden says platforms like Facebook are 'killing people' with Covid misinformation".
(CNN) -- "I just screamed and cried. I knew my brother was gone."

Michelle Branch lost her brother, Craig Elazer, on September 1, 2020, to a fentanyl overdose. He had been receiving support for his addiction, which he had struggled with since he was 12, but a changed world due to the coronavirus pandemic ultimately led to his untimely death.

Branch's loss is one of tens of thousands in 2020. More than 93,000 people died from a drug overdose last year, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

This means that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses.

"It's terrible news," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former deputy commission at the US Food and Drug Administration.

"We've had such a devastating year from the pandemic, and on top of that, a record number of Americans dying of drug overdose."

An accidental mix-up leads to tragedy

Elazer's struggle with addiction lasted most of his life. He would mainly use alcohol, but he would also use other drugs to self-medicate his anxiety. He had gone in and out of rehabilitation centers, though nothing seemed to stick.

Elazer was released from prison "smack dab in the middle of Covid," his sister said, and despite the national trend of job loss, he managed to find work caring for their disabled cousin and find a place to live in the "terrible part of St. Louis."

While he had been participating in Alcoholics Anonymous and was doing a two-step program, restrictions limiting in-person gatherings forced support groups online, and funding dried up for other support programs.

Elazer was not familiar with how to use current technology to access online support groups, which made getting help nearly impossible for him. He stopped going to AA meetings and eventually slipped back into alcohol and drug abuse.

On the night that claimed his life, he most likely thought he had purchased Xanax, his sister said. But what he had purchased -- and ended up using -- was actually fentanyl.

After trying and failing to contact Elazer all evening, Branch and her cousin sent her cousin's son to find out what had happened. The front door to Elazer's apartment had a mail slot where the son could see Elazer's legs on the ground, where he lay motionless. He called an ambulance, but it was too late.

Branch received a call from their cousin that night saying Elazer was "gone."

"I just couldn't comprehend that. And I was like, 'Gone where?' And she says, 'Shelly, I think he's gone.' "

'An all-time high to a new all-time high'

Overdose rates have been increasing since 1999, according to the NCHS. In 2019, there were 70,630 deaths, and compared with that year's rate, deaths in 2020 increased by almost 30%.

"It's a major increase from an all-time high to a new all-time high," said Sharfstein. "And it just reflects so much tragedy, suffering ... and each death is surrounded by a circle of trauma.

"People that cared about that person, their family, their loved ones, their friends. So the impact overall is devastating."

Sharfstein also cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason for overdose deaths spiking in 2020. The pandemic caused a swath of "grief, trauma, economic and social dislocation," he said. People who may have been recovering from an addiction, or had never used drugs at all, might find themselves in dire circumstances. Perhaps they had a loved one pass away, or they may have lost their job. Sharfstein says these risk factors may push someone to use drugs.

Track the epidemic in real time

The statistics are grim, but there are measures that can be taken to mitigate the damage.

Sharfstein is calling for another comparison to Covid-19, but in this case, a comparison of the urgency and inventiveness of response efforts.

He stressed that tracking the problem is an important step in addressing it, and noted that while data collection efforts were robust with "maps every day, we knew how many new cases, who got the new cases, who's getting tested, who's getting vaccinated," data collection for overdoses hasn't been as urgent.

"Here we are in July, and we're just getting the data for 2020," he said. "We can do a lot better with data and use that data, just like we did with Covid, to focus our energy on the populations, the groups and the areas that need the most attention."

Medical treatment strategies that rose to prominence over the course of the pandemic may also be used to address the overdose crisis. For example, telemedicine use skyrocketed over the pandemic, and Sharfstein thinks telemedicine could play an important role in addressing addiction-related health disorders.

Sharfstein thinks cases of overdose deaths may decline as the country moves into a less urgent phase of the pandemic. However, he stresses that any improvement does not mean that the problem has fixed itself, and that current resources are "not sufficient."

"A major priority for 2021 is going to be to follow the evidence to do the same thing we did with Covid," he said. "Use science, use evidence, use compassion, and get the treatments and supports to people who need them."

For Branch, there is no bringing her brother back. But after he passed away, "a calm came over me. Because he's free."

This story was first published on CNN.com "An epidemic in the shadow of a pandemic: Drug overdose deaths reach an all-time high in US".
Investing in fighting climate change is expensive, she said, but failing to do so is even more costly.

One flood isn't the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously  so we must make a great effort, Merkel said.

Residents in the devastated areas will be needing support and comfort for a long time yet.

This flood will leave scars on the people of Schuld  scars that you dont forget, that cant be overcome, because our lives changed from one day to the next, Mayor Helmut Lussi said, breaking into sobs as he spoke.

Although the rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted elsewhere in western and central Europe. There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, in Germanys southeastern corner, and over the border in Austria.

About 130 people were evacuated in Germanys Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed and the rail line to Berchtesgaden was closed.
Most of the Republicans I know, at the very least, have misgivings and, at worst, are like me and realize this is just really a blunder of epic proportions, said former congressman Charlie Dent, a centrist Republican from the Allentown area. Why bring the Arizona clown show to Pennsylvania?

Those worries have been easily drowned out by supporters of the effort.

One, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who has claimed that Trump  asked me  to run for governor, is the ringleader of the audit campaign and is fundraising off it.

All Im asking for is a transparent and thorough investigation to prove to U.S. voters that our votes were fairly counted, and that we have nothing to worry about, Mastriano wrote in the email appeal last weekend.

A rival, former congressman Lou Barletta, who is running for governor, has said that he was for an audit way back in December.

Earlier this month, Mastriano sent letters to three counties  including Philadelphia, a Democratic bastion and the states largest city  to request access to a sweeping list of information, documents and equipment, with the threat of subpoenas for holdouts.
Posts understate infrastructure funding in American Jobs Plan

A conservative-backed nonprofit resurrected the criticism on Facebook this week, falsely claiming in a widely shared video that "less than 5 cents of every dollar of the $4 trillion 'infrastructure' bill actually goes to infrastructure." First, it should be noted that Biden's $4 trillion plan is actually made up of two distinct bill proposals: the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The former is a $2.3 trillion package for hard infrastructure items, while the latter is a companion bill of roughly equal size for soft infrastructure items like investments in child care, family tax credits and other domestic programs. Whether or not you count the companion bill as part of Biden's so-called infrastructure plan, items widely agreed upon to count as infrastructure make up more than 5% of the total, according to Marc Goldwein, senior vice president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Goldwein said looking at just the American Jobs Plan, "somewhere between a third and two-thirds" of the proposal consists of projects squarely in the infrastructure category, such as repairing roads and bridges, replacing water pipes, enhancing the electrical grid, investing in airports and improving coastal ports. Looking at the entire $4 trillion proposal, Goldwein said, infrastructure items would still make up at least one-fifth of the total. "It's not just roads and waterways," Goldwein said. "But these are things that we think are pretty indisputably infrastructure." Critics of the proposal may have come up with a 5% figure by only including improvements on roads and bridges in their definition of infrastructure, according to Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. Only about $154 billion in the American Jobs Plan went to those items, he said. Indeed, a caption on the video shared widely on Facebook this week accurately stated that "less than a nickel on every dollar" in Biden's set of proposals totaling $4 trillion "would go towards filling potholes or repairing bridges." However, Goldwein said, items like broadband, water systems and other transportation infrastructure are widely considered infrastructure by both Democrats and Republicans, and those items together with repairing roads and bridges make up a larger portion of the plan. Biden's American Jobs Plan is no longer the prevalent infrastructure proposal in Congress. In June, the president endorsed a scaled-back nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure proposal that supporters hoped would have enough Republican support to pass in the Senate. That bipartisan proposal, which would involve about $579 billion in new spending, allocates about $109 billion  nearly 19% of the total  to roads, bridges and major projects, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Add in other types of transportation infrastructure, such as airports, public transit and ports and waterways, and infrastructure makes up more than half of the bipartisan proposal.
The stop prompted more attention to Thompsons past record, which also includes a 2019 misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process after he got in an argument with law enforcement over their treatment of the family and friends of a patient at North Memorial Health Hospital.

The stop also raised questions about Thompsons residency after he presented a Wisconsin license to the officer. He later revealed that he has never had a Minnesota license. Republicans have called into question the process for verifying his residency at the time he filed to run for office.

An October 2003 domestic abuse report, according to FOX 9, was filed in Superior, Wisconsin, when Thompson was accused of striking his girlfriend in the face in a supermarket parking lot in front of her 5-year-old daughter. Thompson fled police but eventually pleaded guilty to a lower charge of disorderly conduct.

A year later, Thompson was accused of attacking the same woman in her Eagan apartment, hitting her, choking and threatening her because she dialed 911. Children were present, according to FOX 9. In 2009, police were called after an argument broke out between Thompson and two women over a cellphone, during which Thompson allegedly took out his penis in front of one woman and her children, FOX 9 reported. He has not been charged with domestic assault in any of these instances.

In addition to Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent and state DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin all called for Thompsons immediate resignation Saturday, sending out releases within minutes of one another. Also calling for Thompsons resignation was U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a former state legislator whose Congressional district includes St. Paul.

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Justin Borecky explained why he and his son were initially intrigued by honeybees, saying, (Kellan) has very high anxiety, and for some reason bees calm him down... Hes literally just had them on his hands and they calm him down. He loves it.

On a recent summer day, Kellan, donning a white beekeeper suit, helped Long smoke one of Longs hives that they were preparing to open. Beekeepers often expose hives to smoke so that the bees stay calm, enabling the beekeepers to handle the hives.

Were looking for eggs. Were looking for the brood. Were looking for the larva and the queen, Justin Borecky said. If we cant find the queen, we look for eggs. If theres one egg at the very bottom... that means she has been there recently. If we cant find her, theyll take one of those eggs she laid and turn it into another queen.

In order to make honey, the honeybees begin by getting nectar and pollen from flowers; the nectar is what turns into honey, while the pollen is the protein source that baby honeybees feed on.

They sometimes make pollen cake for the babies, Kellan said. It looks like chocolate cake but instead its in little combs.
RICHMOND  Some people in Central Virginia are preparing to fight a plan to put a natural gas pipeline through their properties that would serve a yet-to-be-built power plant in Charles City County.

While Charles City County has approved the plant, property owners and county government leaders along the pipeline path said they have no information yet about the actual route of the pipeline. Environmental groups say the line would serve a plant that is not needed for Virginias electricity needs.

The natural gas industry has written our law in Virginia, and nationally, to a very great extent, said Lynn Peace Wilson, of Henrico County, who received a letter from the pipeline company about her property across the Chickahominy River in New Kent County. They have written themselves protections that make it very difficult for anyone to question what they are doing.

The company behind the pipeline proposes to foul our air and our water and our soil and our wetlands and should prepare for a fight, she said.
Guns could be banned on Albemarle County-owned property starting this coming week.

The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on a proposed ordinance prohibiting firearms from buildings, parks and community centers owned or used by Albemarle for governmental purposes.

Since 2018, after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, the board has asked the General Assembly to add Albemarle to the list of localities in which carrying specified loaded weapons in public areas is prohibited, but was unsuccessful.

During the 2020 session, state lawmakers granted localities the authority to ban weapons from buildings and events. Albemarle does not currently have a permitting process for events outside of its public parks, so events are not included in its ordinance.

Authorities or other entities controlled by Albemarle for governmental purposes also are covered by the proposed ordinance. County staff did not respond by press time to questions about which other entities would be covered.

The proposed ordinance also allows the county executive to approve and order implemented lawful security measures reasonably designed to prevent unauthorized access of the buildings and areas.
Mason pointed out that when cities such as Richmond and New Orleans removed their statues, the bases stayed up a while to allow people to visit and take photos.

He said he was particularly disappointed that some local activists whose work was pivotal in the removal of the statues werent able to view the bases before they were removed.

It wasnt the city that took down the statues. It was local people organizing for years, putting pressure on the city to take down these statues  my hat is off to the people who were doing the hard work of mobilizing the community against the statues and against what they symbolize. Im just so disappointed that we didnt have this moment, to just, frankly, pat ourselves on the back for what we had done, he said.

While Mason is disappointed the city moved so quickly to remove the bases, he said he didnt think they should stay there long and that the city needs to move forward to reimagine those spaces.

I certainly dont think that those pedestals should have remained up there long .... In fact, their removal allows us now to think about what these spaces look like after weve gotten rid of them  Market Street can be just a beautiful public space, a beautiful living room for all the people of Charlottesville, he said.
Natural features of the area act like a funnel for wind, feeding the flames and making them unpredictable, officials said.

In California, a growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders, the closure of the Pacific Crest Trail and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, had charred nearly 29 square miles (74 square kilometers) of dry brush and timber as of Sunday morning. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least two structures, authorities said.

A notice posted Saturday on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all bike riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.
We must continue to work to prevent shootings and other fatal encounters with law enforcement, and must ensure there is transparency and accountability when a fatal shooting occurs, Herring said in a statement provided by his office.

A key piece of that is giving members of the community, and especially the family of the victim, the opportunity to see for themselves what transpired.

Fridays opinion comes one year after Rasoul sent Herring a letter asking him to review the question of whether police dashboard camera and body camera footage should be released to families once an investigation is over.

In presenting the question, Rasoul referred to Kionte Spencer, an 18-year-old who was fatally shot by Roanoke County police officers in 2016.

Spencers brother has been shown a compilation of video from that night but has been seeking the full, unedited footage.

Roanoke County said the family was shown all the video that captured Spencers interactions with police. The shooting was determined to be justified in an investigation concluded in 2016.
In 2020, our sister newspaper The Roanoke Times did a report of its own, focusing on that decentralization and on the lack of a workable grievance procedure by which parents or foster parents could protest officials failures regarding the care of their children.

Such protests simply went to the department that perpetrated the alleged misdeed in the first place. There was little independent oversight.

Virginias Department of Social Services has limited authority over the commonwealths 120 local social services departments, where supervision of 5,400 foster children resides  producing inconsistencies in policies, practices and services. Whats more, according to the JLARC report, the Department of Social Services failed to exercise even the limited authority it does possess.

Additionally, even at the state level foster care is fragmented and decentralized. Along with the DSS, other departments are involved, ranging from the courts, to mental and behavioral health services, to private providers that operate group homes for children not in the care of foster parents. Foster parents seeking to help children may have trouble navigating this maze of agencies.

Last year, Gov. Ralph Northam placed an additional $163 million in his budget to help address such problems.
Positive results

The result of all this effort is that Fenders blue now occupies twice the acreage it did in 2000, when it was first listed. Its overall population has quadrupled.

Strong populations can now be found in the Marys Peak Wilderness Area in Benton County, in the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Polk County, and at the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area west of Eugene. A new population has even popped up in parts of Yamhill and Washington counties, which is the furthest north these butterflies have ever been found.

Conservationists say that the mammoth effort wouldnt have been successful without the cooperation of many different groups. Oregonians  and residents of Benton County, specifically  have been crucial to the undertaking, they say.

Benton County has had an important role in the conservation of Fenders blue for many years, said Kaye of the Institute for Applied Ecology. We were the main contractor that worked with Benton County and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. That alone has had a huge impact in our ability to preserve habitats that have been crucial for conservation.
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It came from behind them, and they ran back to try and help. They rounded a corner and came upon a woman, who was lying on the ground. There was blood covering her leg and both hands.

I was attacked by a bear, she told them.

The guys began wrapping her wounded leg and her hands, and she said had been picking huckleberries and never knew the bear was near, until it was biting down on her leg. She said she spun around and put up her hands in front of her, reflexively and defensively, which caused both her hands to be mauled. Finally, she told them she yelled as loud as she could. The bear made one last false charge before turning back to find its cubs.

As it turned out, the woman was also a NPS employee, and the fisherman they had run into earlier was her boyfriend. The guys decided that one of them would go back and try to find him while one would run ahead for help. Matt stayed with the woman and began helping her walk back toward Many Glacier Hotel.

They had not gone far when she voiced concern about leaving Matts friend behind and said she wanted to go back to him. She was probably thinking that sometimes grizzlys have been known to attack, then leave, but then return. Matt agreed they should go back, or at least said he did.
Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a protest Saturday after a third venue in California canceled their event.

Instead, they held a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.

Heres what they need to understand, Greene told the crowd, according to the Press-Enterprise. Were going to put America first, we will not back down.

Greene is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a GOP event at the Dothan Civic Center this Friday night. The private event hosted by the Alabama Federation of Republican Women, a political action group (PAC), is selling tickets for $99 plus tax.

Gaetz spoke next, saying, Do you know why theyre so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them, according to the newspaper.

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Shouts and arguments broke out between the lawmakers supporters and counterprotesters who gathered nearby.

Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns, the Press-Enterprise reported.
Supermarkets in HCMC have been so flooded with buyers in the last few days that many keep running out of goods.

Duy Khanh, an employee at a supermarket in Thu Duc City, said for the last few days he has had to work 18-20 hours a day serving customers and restocking shelves.

Supermarkets and convenience stores are packed because the citys three wholesale markets, Hoc Mon, Binh Dien and Thu Duc, and 151 out of 234 traditional markets are closed after Covid-19 infections were found there.

Buyers queue to enter an overcrowded supermarket in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Many supermarkets downed shutters and put closure notices outside to reduce the number of customers, but people waited till they reopened and continued to buy and hoard. Quarrels and even scuffles broke out between customers and supermarket security at several places.

Many solutions were applied. Saigon Co.op Mart distributed timed coupons to shoppers, Bach Hoa Xanh Mart limited entry time, MM Mega Market limited the number of customers, Co.op Mart Hanoi used security forces outside the door to split customers into groups to ensure safe distance.

On Wednesday morning, a MM Mega outlet fenced off the gate to prevent customers from entering. However, all these measures failed to dent the hoarding frenzy. Even as plenty of customers waited to shop, the supermarkets ran out of stock. The most basic foods, vegetables and meat, were the first to run out.

There were plenty of customers, but the supermarkets were out of stock as they lacked even the most basic foods, including vegetables and meat.

A spokesperson for the Co.op Mart supermarket chain said employees have had to work from early morning to late evening the last few days.

Sometimes, customers have to queue for two to three hours outside a supermarket or in the lobby to buy something.

Supermarkets have faced shortages of various items, including vegetables and meat. Tightened control over travel between cities and provinces has helped curb the pandemics spread, but also disrupted goods supply, resulting in higher transport and operating costs. So some supermarkets plan to increase the prices of fresh foods.

An employee at a Bach Hoa Xanh store in Thu Duc City sits next to an almost empty vegetable stall on July 14, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The overcrowding has also made employers worry about staff contracting Covid.

Masan, which operates the VinMart supermarket chain and VinMart+ convenience stores, said for instance it has 40,000 employees, but only 6,500 have been vaccinated so far.

The city, home to 13 million people, is suffering the worst Covid-19 community outbreak ever. It is now the most infected locality with nearly 29,100 ocal cases recorded so far in the ongoing wave that hit Vietnam on April 27.
Electric cars fail to get charged up without policy support

A lack of policies promoting battery production and building a charging station network is preventing the electric car market in Vietnam from hitting the road running.

At the end of March, automaker VinFast began accepting pre-orders for its first electric cars. More than 4,000 orders were placed on the very first day.

The company has requested several incentives for electric vehicle development, including scrapping special consumption tax and registration fees on electric cars for five years.

Some brands have imported electric and hybrid vehicles into Vietnam earlier.

In August last year, Toyota started selling its first hybrid cars in Vietnam with low fuel consumption, giving 100 km for 4.6 liters of fuel.

Mitsubishi also distributed its i-MiEV cars in Vietnam in 2017 and installed charging stations in some localities. However, after 10 years of making efforts to distribute them to many different markets, the company has stopped manufacturing the vehicles now.

Last year, around 1,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were sold in Vietnam, with the latter accounting for 99 percent. The figure for gas powered vehicles was over 296,000 units.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report to the government that there has not been real support policy for electric cars.

Apart from VinFast which is manufacturing the vehicles, foreign brands like Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi have mostly been importing electric vehicles without any concrete plan to make them in Vietnam.

Experts say that the lack of a systemic policy to support the industry concerning the manufacturing of battery, the development charging infrastructure, prices and emission.

"Batteries need to have high durability and have quick charge function, while the charging station network should be widespread. These factors are what missing in Vietnams electric car industry," said an expert in the auto industry who asked not be identified.

VinFast is set to tackle these challenges with plans to set up over 2,000 charging stations nationwide by the end of this year.

The industry ministry report said that prices for electric vehicles are not enticing enough compared to fuel vehicles.

A 15 percent special consumption tax on electric cars, compared to 30-50 percent on fuel cars, is not enough to bring electric car prices down to an attractive level to customers, it said.

Another challenge is electric vehicles will still be using coal-fired and oil-fired electricity which has high emission, as renewable energy is not stable and has high price tag, the it added.

Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industrys legal department, proposed that cars be applied a special consumption tax based on how much carbon dioxide they release into the environment, which will help encourage people to switch to electric vehicles.

Policies should focus on supporting Vietnamese companies to make electric vehicles, not foreign ones, he added.
She considered looking for a new job instead of remaining temporarily on-call but said it wasnt worth the risk, especially because she has been an employee at The Mirage for 12 years.

It was high-wage pay, but I would have to sacrifice not having any medical insurance, which for me is more important than any high-wage salary, she said. I know most people think when youre working in hospitality its just a job. Its actually more than that; its an investment that many of us workers make because of the benefits, the wage and other incentives. Do I let my investment go down the drain or do I continue to fight for it?

She learned about Clark Countys rental aid program in December through Culinary Local 226 and quickly applied. After nearly four months, her application was denied.

If I were to reapply, which is what the email stated, theyre going to go by the income since Ive been back to work full-time, which would disqualify me. Its a mess, she said.

Irelands landlord hasnt indicated any plans to serve an eviction notice but does want to sell the property.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for parts of the Northeast in effect until 11 pm Saturday, but severe weather could persist into the early hours of Sunday. The ground is already soaked from the wettest July since 1975 providing the conditions for flash floods through Sunday.

Tornado warnings were briefly issued in counties along the New York and New Jersey border. The severe thunderstorms could bring lightning and strong, potentially damaging winds to communities northwest of the I-95 corridor from New Jersey up to southern Vermont.

Areas under threat of flooding

After Elsa brought torrential rains to the Northeast last week leaving the ground saturated there is the potential that new heavy rain will cause considerable flash flooding. This could occur especially in locations with poor drainage and in urban areas. Rainfall rates could exceed 1 inch per hour with total rainfall between 1 and 3 inches, but could be higher in certain locations. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will linger through Sunday evening providing the conditions for additional flooding.

The Flash Flood Watch is in effect through Sunday morning for portions of New York, including New York City, northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts and southern Vermont.

The areas affected include:

Connecticut: Northern Litchfield and Southern Litchfield

Massachusetts: Northern Berkshire and Southern Berkshire. In New York, Eastern Albany, Eastern Columbia, Eastern Dutchess, Eastern Greene, Eastern Rensselaer, Eastern Schenectady, Eastern Ulster, Montgomery, Northern Fulton, Northern Saratoga, Northern Washington, Schoharie, Southeast Warren, Southern Fulton, Southern Herkimer, Southern Saratoga, Southern Washington, Western Albany, Western Columbia, Western Dutchess, Western Greene, Western Rensselaer, Western Schenectady and Western Ulster

Vermont: Bennington, Eastern Windham and Western Windham.

Take precautions in severe weather

It is recommended not to go out in severe weather if it can be avoided. When driving avoid low lying areas where flooding may occur and do not try to cross flooded portions of roads, your car can easily get swept up by the water or stall your engine.

Its also recommended when you hear thunder to seek shelter away from open areas and stay away from windows. Lightning can strike 10 to 12 miles away from a storm.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in May ordered an end to federal pandemic unemployment benefits which took effect 19 June. Jobless workers in the state became the first in the nation to file a lawsuit to reverse the governors decision, arguing the governors actions were unlawful.

Governor Holcomb ended the federal programs providing financial aid to out of work Hoosiers claiming that the benefits were harming the state by causing a shortage of available workers to fill open positions. Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley sided with the workers saying that the harm created by terminating the benefits far outweighed any risks to the state.

Indiana workers had to wait for unemployment benefits to restart

The decision came a week after Indiana had already stopped payments to around 120,000 Hoosiers, including the $300 weekly booster to other unemployment benefits. Despite Judge Hanley granting a preliminary injunction on the state and calling for the payments to continue until there was a resolution in the case the claimants had to wait. On 12 July the state Court of Appeals denied the states attempt to keep the payments on pause.

Indiana began retroactively paying unemployment compensation to those who have been waiting since they received their last payment for the week ending 19 June. The first day some 25,000 recipients received a payment for the back funds to the week of 26 June, the first week that recipients didnt receive a check, that were due to them according to state officials. Workers who have found employment since the state stopped paying enhanced benefits will receive payment for the weeks that they were still unemployed.

Commissioner Fred Payne said that the Department had been working with the US Labor Department since Judge Hanleys decision to get the payments restarted. He said the agencys goal was to make sure that those claimants who are entitled to unemployment compensation receive what is due to them and that the state is moving in the right direction.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said that since the beginning of the pandemic the agency has paid out $8.6 billion to 875,000 individuals. The average unemployment compensation paid to a person is $10,600. Unemployment has come down considerable since the pandemic began with the rate now at 4.1 percent compared to 16.9 percent at the start of the crisis according to the department's data.

Indianas fight against unemployment insurance fraud held up claims

At the press conference Commissioner Payne and the agencys Workforce Solutions Officer Regina Ashley addressed the claimants receiving letters about money owed for overpayment on unemployment benefits. Some workers have received letters saying that they owed the state excess money received from unemployment insurance in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Some of those overpayments were due to fraudulent claims, the state has paid out $8 million in fraudulent benefits, an amount expected to rise. Commissioner Payne said that even he and his wife had been victims of fraudulent claims.

The state has been making an effort to stop unemployment claims fraud with anti-fraud measures which so far have prevented $236 million in fraudulent payments. However, those same systems have caused some unemployment claims to be held up.

In the event that the overpayment was caused by a small mistake made unwillingly and it can be proven that there was no attempt at fraud those individuals will not be penalized. Those individuals can appeal or request a waiver to stop efforts by the agency to reclaim the money.
Headlines:

-Democrats unveil $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that includes an extension of the Child Tax Credit (full details)

- IRS releases guidance for families that should consider opting out of Child Tax Credit payments. (Full story)

-California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a historic $100 billion budget. (full story)

-Indiana and Maryland resume the payment of federal unemployment benefits. (Full details)

- President Biden sees the enhanced Child Tax Credit as a major act to counter poverty in the US

Useful information / links

Unemployment: What states have ended federal benefits? (Details)

Child Tax Credit | How does marriage status impact payments? & What are the income limits for each tax filing status?

Mortgage Interest Rates | Is not the time to refinance? (Details)

Golden State Stimulus Checks | When are they coming? Are undocumented residents eligible?

Still waiting for your tax refund? So are millions of other Americans. Should you update your tax return information? Find out when to contact the IRS.

Take a look at some of our related news articles:
Egypts investigating authorities have released journalist Gamal El-Gamal, politician Abdel-Nasser Ismail and activist Esraa Abdel-Fattah after months in pre-trial detention over charges that include joining a terrorist group, a statement said.

The three, who had been imprisoned in two different cases, were reported to be released late on Saturday.

Freelance columnist El-Gamal was arrested in February 2021 at Cairo International Airport upon his return from Turkey on charges of spreading false news, joining a terrorist organization, and inciting public opinion against state institutions.

Vice-president of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party Ismail, who was arrested in September 2019, and political activist Abdel-Fattah, who was arrested a month later, have been held in pre-trial detention since then in another case.

Both face charges of joining a terrorist group in achieving its goals, disseminating false news and misusing social media.

Legal sources stated that the authorities released the three after it was found that they were not charged in any other cases, the statement said.

Security forces had detained the three under an arrest order issued by the Public Prosecution to bring them for interrogation in the cases under investigation, the statement noted.

Short link:


Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Omans Sultan Haitham bin Tarik exchanged greetings on Sunday over Eid El-Adha and discussed boosting bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries over phone, a presidential statement said.

The two leaders discussed aspects of bilateral relations between Egypt and Oman and the developments in a number of regional issues of common interest, Egypts presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in the statement.

El-Sisi wished the Omani Sultan more success in accomplishing the overall development march initiated by late Sultan Qaboos, and to achieve the vision of Oman 2040, hailing the brotherly relations linking Egypt with Oman that have been formed through decades of solidarity and unity in the face of crises and challenges, the statement said.

El-Sisi affirmed during the call Egypt's keenness to maintain and enhance such distinguished relations on a continuous basis to realize the interests of the two brotherly peoples and the interests of the entire Arab nation.

From his side, Sultan Haitham hailed the distinguished Egyptian-Omani relations, the bonds of brotherhood and affection that unite the two brotherly peoples.

The Omani Sultan also expressed eagerness to strengthen the existing cooperation frameworks between the two countries and open new prospects for bilateral cooperation, as well as to continue consultation and coordination between the two sides on regional and international issues of common interest, the statement noted.

The two leaders highlighted the need to enhance joint bilateral relations in all fields during the coming period, especially at the economic and investment levels, and to increase the rates of trade exchange in addition to the importance of upgrading these relations to reach the distinguished level of political relations between the two sides, Rady said.

While El-Sisi expressed appreciation over the good treatment of Egyptians in Oman at both official and popular levels, the Omani Sultan stressed the importance that members of the Egyptian community would continue backing their Omani brothers in carrying out the sultanate's development march, the statement said.

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Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly asserted on Sunday that the New Alamin city is a promising area for investment, business, tourism and life.

This came during his inspection tour of the city, flanked by Housing Minister Assem El-Gazzar and a number of other officials.



The premier added that the government is keen on benefiting from all Egypts capabilities, noting that the New Alamin will be a future city like the New Administrative Capital, where a huge number of projects are currently being implemented in both of them.



During the tour, El-Gazzar reviewed the projects implemented in the area including the establishment of 18 huge buildings.



The premier directed to intensify the work rates in these projects in order to finalize them as soon as possible.

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Egypts Public Prosecution ordered on Sunday the release of activist Mahienour El-Masry, and journalists, Motaz Wadnan and Mostafa El-Asar, pending investigation into charges of publishing false news, a statement said.

Legal sources said the release of the three came after it was confirmed that they were not charged in other cases, adding that they have arrived their homes.

El-Masry, a human rights lawyer and activist who was arrested in September 2019, and El-Asar and Wadnan, who were both detained in 2018, have been accused of participating with a terrorist group in achieving its goals by publishing and broadcasting false news and statements on social media, the statement said.

Security forces had detained the three under an arrest order issued by the Public Prosecution for interrogation in the charges filed against them, the statement noted.

Their Sundays release came less than 24 hours after the release of journalist Gamal El-Gamal, politician Abdel-Nasser Ismail and activist Esraa Abdel-Fattah who were in pre-trial detention over charges that include joining a terrorist group.

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President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi affirmed on Sunday Egypt's keenness to enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership that links Cairo and Beijing, especially since this year coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Egyptian-Chinese diplomatic relations.

El-Sisi remarks came during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, which was aso attended by Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Chinese Ambassador in Cairo Liao Liqiang.

Throughout the 65 years, the relations have witnessed an extended course of cooperation and coordination between the two countries in various fields, as well as benefiting from the Chinese experience, which is a success story that the world seeks to study with the aim of promoting comprehensive development for the prosperity and well-being of peoples, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said that El-Sisi welcomed the Chinese minister in Egypt and asked him to convey his greetings to Chinas President Xi Jinping.

For his side, the Chinese minister conveyed to El-Sisi a verbal message from President Xi Jinping, which included an affirmation of China's keenness to continue developing its strategic relations with Egypt.

Wang Yi pointed to his country's respect and appreciation for Egypt and its president in light of its pivotal role as a mainstay for stability in the Middle East, and China's firm support for Egypt in comprehensive development efforts, combating terrorism and achieving security and stability in the region, the statement said.

In relation to strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries at the international level, Wang Yi confirmed the acceptance of Egypts membership as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which deals with coordination and cooperation in the fields of combating terrorism and extremism, energy and science.

Moreover, Rady stated that the meeting reviewed the prospects for enhancing aspects of cooperation between the two countries, with both hailing the coordination that took place at the highest levels since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis.

Such coordination led to the signing of the joint locally manufacturing agreement for the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, which supports the strategy of nationalizing the pharmaceutical and vaccine industry in Egypt.

The two sides expressed the aspiration to continue the fruitful cooperation between the two countries at all levels in an effort to strengthen international efforts in facing the repercussions of the pandemic, the presidential spokesman noted.

El-Sisi also stressed the keenness to benefit from the distinguished Chinese expertise in supporting development programs, activities and national projects in the country, especially in light of the modern infrastructure that Egypt currently enjoys, which is integrated with the Chinese initiative the Belt and Road, as well as the important role played by the Chinese-Egyptian Zone for Economic Cooperation and Trade in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as a successful model for investment cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.

The latest developments related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) were also discussed during Sundays meeting, Rady said.

El-Sisi stressed Egypt's firm stance in preserving its water security represented by its historical rights to the Nile waters by reaching a legally binding agreement to fill and operate the GERD that achieves the interests of all in a fair manner, Rady noted.

The Chinese foreign minister made clear his country's full understanding of the utmost importance of the Nile River to Egypt, and therefore China would continue its interest in reaching a resolution to this issue in a manner that meets the interests of all parties, the statement said.

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Rebels in Ethiopia's war-hit Tigray have carried out operations against pro-government troops in neighbouring Afar region, a spokesman said Sunday, opening a new front in the widening eight-month conflict.

The "very limited action" targeted special forces and militia fighters from Oromia region, Ethiopia's largest, who were massing along the Tigray-Afar border, the rebel spokesman, Getachew Reda, told AFP.

"We took those actions to ensure those forces are sent back to Oromia, and we have managed to do that," Getachew said, adding that there were some casualties but he could not provide figures.

"Our action was very limited to dispersing the peasant militia from Oromia that was mostly press-ganged into fighting the useless war."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray last November to detain and disarm leaders of the region's then-ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

He said the move came in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps.

The 2019 Nobel Peace laureate declared victory in late November after government forces took the Tigray capital Mekele, but TPLF leaders remained on the run and fighting continued.

Last month the war took a stunning turn when pro-TPLF forces retook Mekele, Abiy declared a unilateral ceasefire and the army mostly pulled out of Tigray.

But after rebel leaders launched a new offensive intended to regain control of western and southern Tigray -- contested areas that have been occupied by fighters from Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south -- Abiy vowed to "repel" them.

The government has since mobilised forces from regions that had previously been untouched by the conflict, including Oromia.

A spokesman for Afar region did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.

'Ethiopia's cancer'

A state media report published Saturday night accused the TPLF, which the government deems a terrorist organisation, of blocking aid into Tigray via Afar using "heavy shelling" and "heavy artillery."

"Rejecting the ceasefire by the federal government, TPLF is trying hard to expand the conflict into Afar region," the Ethiopian News Agency report said.

Getachew denied any aid delivery had been disrupted.

"Where the fighting happened, there is no major highway that is being used for aid purposes," he said.

Getachew confirmed Sunday that rebel units were also active in northern Amhara region, where last week AFP journalists saw thousands of militia fighters mobilising in border towns in advance of planned anti-TPLF operations.

"We have also conducted successful operations in Wag Hemra, which is in Amhara region, and even as we speak some units are operating in between Mai Tsebri (in western Tigray) and adjoining Amhara territory," he said.

In a statement posted on Twitter Sunday, Abiy referred to the TPLF "junta" as "Ethiopia's cancer".

"As the saying goes, a Satan which stays long cannot be removed immediately," he said.

"It is inevitable that it rests in one way or another. But surely, the junta will be removed so that it will not grow again."

Short link:


South African President Cyril Ramaphosa joined post-riot clean-up efforts on Sunday as his government warned against vigilantism and sought to avert racial conflict following the unrest.

The country was gripped by more than a week of chaos that claimed more than 200 lives as looters ransacked shopping centres and unidentified groups torched key industrial infrastructure and blocked trade routes.

The violence was the worst in post-apartheid South Africa and erupted after former president Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for snubbing a corruption inquiry.

His trial for graft in a separate case is due to resume on Monday.

"We all admit there were lapses... we will gather ourselves and do a proper review," Ramaphosa told a crowd outside a mall in the Soweto township.

"People want to defend what we have in the form of democracy, our constitution and economy."

Ramaphosa is under mounting pressure as only a handful of the masterminds of what officials have called an attempted "insurrection", which caused an estimated $1 billion of damage, have been arrested.

When asked if he would shake up his ministers responsible for security he said: "We are reviewing the situation, yes."

Police Minister Bheki said on Sunday that three more suspected instigators of the unrest had been arrested bringing the total to four.

Access to basic necessities like food has become a pressing issue in the areas affected by looting, arson and violence as many stores were destroyed while others remain closed.

Many in the worst-hit KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province are now going hungry.

At a branch of the Grace family church in Durban, trestle tables were piled high with donated fresh vegetables and bread to prepare food parcels for those in need of food.

Vegetable farmer Katlego Meso, was stuck with 1.2 tonnes of peppers worth around 20,000 rand ($1,400, 1,180 euros) when he was advised not to deliver to a Johannesburg produce market because of the disorder.

He is now attempting to sell his stock in the local area around his 23 hectare farm in Tarlton northwest of Johannesburg, and will give away what he cannot sell.

"I won't get the price that I normally get," he told AFP.

'We are still scared'

Cele has warned against "vigilante acts" after residents of Phoenix outside Durban, a township of mostly Indian-origin South Africans, were accused of victimising their black counterparts.

"If we hear that people are being racially profiled at roadblocks set up in the area... (people) including police, are being intimidated, violated and in extreme cases people are being beaten up, and their cars are searched and torched (this) is simply criminal and won't be tolerated," he said in a statement late Saturday.

A taskforce of 10 detectives would be deployed to the area to investigate the deaths of 20 people during the mayhem, he added.

Of the 212 people reported killed nationwide, some were shot and others died in looting stampedes.

Alongside the human and economic toll, officials closed several beaches around Durban warning of possible contamination after a chemical spill at a factory set ablaze during the mayhem.

An operation was launched to clear hundreds of dead fish from a river in the uMhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve, AFP correspondents saw.

Pope Francis prayed for South Africa on Sunday, saying that violence had rocked the country "already hit by health and economic challenges because of the pandemic".

Many in industry, particularly tourism which accounts for 7 percent of GDP, worry that the violence will damage South Africa's reputation and set back economic progress.

Traffic was back to normal along a main highway linking the country's north to the Port of Durban which had been closed for days.

But businesses in Durban are seeking security assurances.

"In as much as we are over the hurdle now, we are still scared," Zanele Khomo of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry told AFP.

"The world is looking at us with those (negative) eyes, but we want to tell them that South Africa has a lot of good people and we have a lot of good stories to tell," said Siyanda Nxumalo, a headteacher in Durban, who helped to clear up the Dube Village Mall outside Durban following the unrest.

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Tourist numbers in Egypt have dropped by 41.9 percent in July compared with the same month last year, the state's official statistics authority announced on Monday.

About 529,000 tourists arrived in Egypt in July 2016 versus 912,000 in July 2015, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated.

The decline was mostly attributed to the 60 percent drop in the Russian tourists visiting Egypt, according to CAPMAS.

Russia was among several countries to suspend passenger flights to Egypt last year. The decision, which was prompted by security concerns, came after a Russian plane carrying 224 people crashed in Sinai after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh airport.

All those on board were killed in the crash, which Islamist militants said they caused by planting a bomb on board.

Britain suspended its flights to Sharm El-Sheikh after the crash, resulting in a 17.5 percent drop in British tourists in July this year. German and Polish tourists dropped by 10.4 percent and 3.8 percent respectively; both countries suspended flights to Sharm.

Egypt did however see an increase in tourism from Arab countries, with 233,000 tourists in July 2016 compared to 182,000 visitors during the same month last year, marking a 28.1 percent increase.

The downing of the Russian flight was a blow to Egypt's already ailing tourism industry. The number of tourists coming to Egypt dropped by 50 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year, according to Egypt's Tourism Authority.

Receipts from the tourism industry are expected to range between $4 billion to $4.5 billion by end of the current year, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said in July.

Total tourism revenues in 2015 registered $6.1 billion.

A Russian delegation of experts is expected to arrive in Cairo this week to inspect security measures at Egyptian airports amid expectation of a resumption of Russian commercial flights to Egypt in October.

Turkey announced that flights to Sharm El-Sheikh would be resumed in September.

Poland and Germany have both since lifted their restrictions on direct flights to the airport.

Short link:


A petrol bomb hurled at a Bahrain police patrol on Wednesday left one policeman wounded, the interior ministry said.

A "terrorist group" targeted the patrol in the suburb of Juffair, the ministry said, using a term usually employed to refer to Shiite youths who frequently clash with security forces.

"The terrorist group also burned a motorcycle that belonged to a restaurant, and vandalised a car parked in the area," the ministry said in a statement.

Attacks on police have become frequent in the Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchy that has a Shiite majority, while protesters frequently clash with security forces in Shiite villages.

On Sunday, a Bahraini court jailed for life two Shiites convicted of blowing up a car outside a Sunni mosque in a July attack that left no casualties.

A Shiite-led uprising to demand a democratic reforms was crushed in March 2011.

At least 89 people have been killed since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Short link:


Egypt releases activists after months in pre-trial detention



El-Sayed Gamal El-Din, , Sunday 18 Jul 2021



Legal sources stated that the security forces released the three after it was found that they were not charged in any other cases



Egypts investigating authorities have released journalist Gamal El-Gamal, politician Abdel-Nasser Ismail and activist Esraa Abdel-Fattah after months in pre-trial detention over charges that include joining a terrorist group, a statement said.



The three, who had been imprisoned in two different cases, were reported to be released late on Saturday.



Freelance columnist El-Gamal was arrested in February 2021 at Cairo International Airport upon his return from Turkey on charges of spreading false news, joining a terrorist organization, and inciting public opinion against state institutions.



Vice-president of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party Ismail, who was arrested in September 2019, and political activist Abdel-Fattah, who was arrested a month later, have been held in pre-trial detention since then in another case.



Both face charges of joining a terrorist group in achieving its goals, disseminating false news and misusing social media.



Legal sources stated that the authorities released the three after it was found that they were not charged in any other cases, the statement said.



Security forces had detained the three under an arrest order issued by the Public Prosecution to bring them for interrogation in the cases under investigation, the statement noted.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/417385.aspx
Egypts president, Omans Sultan exchange Eid El-Adha greetings, discuss boosting bilateral ties



Ahram Online, Sunday 18 Jul 2021



The two leaders, moreover, discussed the developments in a number of regional issues of common interest, Egypt's presidential spokesman said



Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Omans Sultan Haitham bin Tarik exchanged greetings on Sunday over Eid El-Adha and discussed boosting bilateral relations between the two brotherlycountries over phone, a presidential statement said.



The two leaders discussed aspects of bilateral relations between Egypt and Oman and the developments in a number of regional issues of common interest, Egypts presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in the statement.



El-Sisi wished the Omani Sultan more success in accomplishing the overall development march initiated by late Sultan Qaboos, and to achieve the vision of Oman 2040, hailing the brotherly relations linking Egypt with Oman that have been formed through decades of solidarity and unity in the face of crises and challenges, the statement said.



El-Sisi affirmed during the call Egypt's keenness to maintain and enhance such distinguished relations on a continuous basis to realize the interests of the two brotherly peoples and the interests of the entire Arab nation.



From his side, Sultan Haitham hailed the distinguished Egyptian-Omani relations, the bonds of brotherhood and affection that unite the two brotherly peoples.



The Omani Sultan also expressed eagerness to strengthen the existing cooperation frameworks between the two countries and open new prospects for bilateral cooperation, as well as to continue consultation and coordination between the two sides on regional and international issues of common interest, the statement noted.



The two leaders highlighted the need to enhance joint bilateral relations in all fields during the coming period, especially at the economic and investment levels, and to increase the rates of trade exchange in addition to the importance of upgrading these relations to reach the distinguished level of political relations between the two sides, Rady said.



While El-Sisi expressed appreciation over the good treatment of Egyptians in Oman at both official and popular levels, the Omani Sultan stressed the importance that members of the Egyptian community would continue backing their Omani brothers in carrying out the sultanate's development march, the statement said.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/417390.aspx
Egypt, China discuss enhancing strategic partnership as they mark 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations



Ahram Online, Sunday 18 Jul 2021



The latest developments related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) were also discussed during Sundays meeting, Egypt's presidential spokesman said



President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi affirmed on Sunday Egypt's keenness to enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership that links Cairo and Beijing, especially since this year coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Egyptian-Chinese diplomatic relations.



El-Sisi remarks came during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, which was aso attended by Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Chinese Ambassador in Cairo Liao Liqiang.



Throughout the 65 years, the relations have witnessed an extended course of cooperation and coordination between the two countries in various fields, as well as benefiting from the Chinese experience, which is a success story that the world seeks to study with the aim of promoting comprehensive development for the prosperity and well-being of peoples, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.



Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said that El-Sisi welcomed the Chinese minister in Egypt and asked him to convey his greetings to Chinas President Xi Jinping.



For his side, the Chinese minister conveyed to El-Sisi a verbal message from President Xi Jinping, which included an affirmation of China's keenness to continue developing its strategic relations with Egypt.



Wang Yi pointed to his country's respect and appreciation for Egypt and its president in light of its pivotal role as a mainstay for stability in the Middle East, and China's firm support for Egypt in comprehensive development efforts, combating terrorism and achieving security and stability in the region, the statement said.



In relation to strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two countries at the international level, Wang Yi confirmed the acceptance of Egypts membership as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which deals with coordination and cooperation in the fields of combating terrorism and extremism, energy and science.



Moreover, Rady stated that the meeting reviewed the prospects for enhancing aspects of cooperation between the two countries, with both hailing the coordination that took place at the highest levels since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis.



Such coordination led to the signing of the joint locally manufacturing agreement for the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, which supports the strategy of nationalizing the pharmaceutical and vaccine industry in Egypt.



The two sides expressed the aspiration to continue the fruitful cooperation between the two countries at all levels in an effort to strengthen international efforts in facing the repercussions of the pandemic, the presidential spokesman noted.



El-Sisi also stressed the keenness to benefit from the distinguished Chinese expertise in supporting development programs, activities and national projects in the country, especially in light of the modern infrastructure that Egypt currently enjoys, which is integrated with the Chinese initiative the Belt and Road, as well as the important role played by the Chinese-Egyptian Zone for Economic Cooperation and Trade in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as a successful model for investment cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.



The latest developments related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) were also discussed during Sundays meeting, Rady said.



El-Sisi stressed Egypt's firm stance in preserving its water security represented by its historical rights to the Nile waters by reaching a legally binding agreement to fill and operate the GERD that achieves the interests of all in a fair manner, Rady noted.



The Chinese foreign minister made clear his country's full understanding of the utmost importance of the Nile River to Egypt, and therefore China would continue its interest in reaching a resolution to this issue in a manner that meets the interests of all parties, the statement said.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/417403.aspx
KYODO NEWS - Jul 18, 2021 - 16:54 | All, World

The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has proposed to Japan, Australia and India that the first in-person "Quad" meeting of the countries' leaders be held in Washington in late September, according to diplomatic sources.

The face-to-face meeting will follow the first-ever Quad summit that was conducted virtually in March. The gathering would underscore the unity among the four Indo-Pacific democracies amid China's growing assertiveness.

Biden is seeking to build "a position of strength" to directly engage with Chinese President Xi Jinping, possibly on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rome in late October.

The Quad summit is expected to take place after the general debate of the U.N. General Assembly scheduled in September in New York, according to the sources.

The debate usually brings together world leaders who deliver speeches at the U.N. headquarters, but pre-recorded video statements will be allowed amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving uncertain whether the leaders of Japan, Australia and India will travel to the United States.

Japan's political schedule is also unclear, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga facing two key tests around that time -- the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election, to be held upon the expiration of his term as LDP leader on Sept. 30, and a House of Representatives election, which must be held by November.

In June, Kurt Campbell, White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, mentioned the U.S. plan to host the first in-person Quad summit in Washington in the fall.

The meeting is expected to discuss efforts to expand coronavirus vaccine production and possible cooperation on infrastructure projects, he said at a think tank event.

The move is apparently intended to counter China, which is believed to be increasing its clout through so-called vaccine diplomacy by offering shots to developing countries, as well as through its cross-border "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 18, 2021 - 13:37 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

A Tokyo-based medical venture has introduced a smartphone app feature enabling users to keep records of their COVID-19 vaccinations as many companies and universities have started administering doses to curb infections.

The new feature has been added to MinaCare Co.'s free vaccine and health monitoring app as it may become difficult for individuals to keep track of their inoculation history, especially when they receive shots at workplaces and schools without vaccination tickets issued by municipalities.

The Health Amulet app can automatically record the names of vaccine developers and manufacturers, while allowing users to insert information such as vaccine lot numbers, and their past and scheduled dates of inoculation.

The app reminds users of scheduled inoculation dates.

The Japanese company has tied up with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., enabling the app to provide the latest information about its vaccine.

MinaCare is also considering including the official certificates to be issued by municipalities as early as this month that will be used as so-called vaccine passports, it said.

Apart from COVID-19, users can store information about other vaccinations such as influenza shots.

MinaCare President Yuji Yamamoto, who is also a doctor, said, "It is important for everyone to keep a record of when they received a shot" of COVID-19 vaccine, as how long the vaccines will remain effective is unclear and it may become necessary to get shots on a regular basis.

"As some aspects of the vaccines are unknown as they have been developed with new technology, I want people to utilize the app to protect themselves for a long period of time," Yamamoto added.

So far, more than 40 organizations including companies and municipalities have agreed to introduce the app to staff and residents. They include Japan Airlines Co., the health insurance association of Seven & i Holdings Co. and the city of Fukuoka.

MinaCare has also tied up with Gurunavi Inc., which operates an online restaurant guide, to encourage employees of eateries to use the app.
London:

Britain's Prince Charles will succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth after the heads of government agreed on his succession , a day after the 91-year-old monarch said it was her "sincere wish" that her son would succeed her in the role "one day".

According to British media reports, the Commonwealth leaders have reached an agreement on the succession of the 69-year-old heir to the British throne at a closed-door Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) retreat in Windsor Castle.

The issue of the future of the Commonwealth was expected to be the dominant theme when the leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gathered at the grand Waterloo Chamber of the Castle for the informal leg of the summit on Friday.

Prime Minister Modi, among the Commonwealth heads of government attending the retreat, is expected to have been among the leaders to endorse Prince Charles as the future Head after the Indian government indicated its backing for the royal to take on the non-hereditary role.



"India has no objection to Prince Charles as the next Head because he has worked hard for the institution. However, we are also clear that there should be no institutionalisation of the post,? a senior Indian official said.

The Queen was keen to pass on the baton to the Prince of Wales and had said in her opening speech for the summit that it was her "sincere wish" that the Commonwealth will decide in favour of her son and heir "one day".

"For my part, the Commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as I can remember, beginning with my first visit to Malta when I was just five," Prince Charles said in his own welcome speech at Buckingham Palace, seen as laying out his credentials for the role.

"I pray that this Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but will give the Commonwealth a renewed relevance to all citizens, finding practical solutions to their problems and giving life to their aspirations. By doing so, the Commonwealth can be a cornerstone for the lives of future generations, just as it has been for so many of us," he said.

The Commonwealth is one of the world's oldest political association of states, with its roots in the British Empire when some countries were ruled directly or indirectly by Britain.

Some experts have argued that the end of the Queen's term as Head of the 53-member organisation is an opportunity for the non-hereditary post to be passed on to a non-royal in order to distance the group from its colonial past. Others, however, claim that it is the royal family that holds the grouping together.

British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated a decision on the issue was likely in her welcome speech at the retreat in Windsor Castle .

"We also have a number of specific decisions to take, together with a broader conversation about the common future for the Commonwealth that we all want to see," she said.

Thanking the Queen for her "generous invitation" to hold the retreat in one of her many palaces, British PM added: "At the very moment international cooperation is so important, some nations are choosing instead to shun the rules-based system that underpins global security and prosperity" Commonwealth can play its part to support this rules-based order, and the very concept of international cooperation."



A formal announcement on the issue of succession will be made by Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at the end of the retreat, which will mark an end to the week-long summit in the UK.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

An Air India flight from Amritsar to New Delhi with over 240 air passengers on Thursday experienced commotion soon after the flight took off from Amritsar.

The turbulence left at least three people with minor injuries and caused a window panel inside the aircraft to break away, said four airline officials.

Apart from Air India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) are probing the incident which occurred on April 19, one of the officials said.

The duration of Amritsar-Delhi flight is about 35 minutes and on April 19, the flight was full with over 240 passengers, another official said.

The officials said the flight experienced turbulence soon after take-off when the altitude was around 15,000 feet due to bad weather.

At least three passengers had minor injuries and were given first aid after landing at the Delhi airport. Later, they took their connecting flights for onward journey. A window panel inside the plane also came off when the flight experienced turbulence, the officials said.

Also Read| Maharashtra: 14 Naxals killed in police encounter in Gadchiroli, search operation underway

According to the officials, the turbulence continued for around 10-12 minutes.

There was no official statement from Air India about the incident.

A purported 50-second long video clip of happenings inside that flight showed an air hostess trying to fix the window panel that came off and pacifying an elderly woman passenger seated on that particular window seat.

The video clip was circulated in WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A 31-year-old Sikh widow, who went missing on a pilgrimage in Pakistan, has allegedly married a Lahore-based man and later converted to Islam.

The woman, identified as Kiran Bala is a native of Hoshiarpur and went to attend the Baisakhi festival in Pakistan as part of a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Sikh delegation on April 13.

"A 31-year-old woman from Hoshiarpur has allegedly converted to Islam & married a Lahore-based man after going missing on a pilgrimage in Pakistan. The woman had gone to attend the Baisakhi festival there as part of an SGPC Sikh delegation," ANI reported.

#Punjab: A 31-year-old woman from Hoshiarpur has allegedly converted to Islam & married a Lahore-based man after going missing on a pilgrimage in Pakistan. The woman had gone to attend the Baisakhi festival there as part of an SGPC Sikh delegation.  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2018

Meanwhile, Kiran's father-in-law, who is a Sikh religious preacher in Garhshankar sub-division of Punjab, suspects that she might have fallen into the hands of Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was forced to change her religion.

Tarsem Singh has also sought the intervention of Punjab and Centre government into the matter.

Read | UP: Dalit man wins over casteism; allowed to take wedding procession in Kasganj

"My daughter-in-law called and said that she has converted to Islam and got re-married in Pakistan. I want to request the Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Punjab to take her out of this situation. I suspect she might have fallen into the hands of ISI," ANI quoted Tarsem Singh.

My daughter-in-law called & said that she has converted to Islam & got re-married in Pakistan. I want to request the Prime Minister, CM of Punjab to take her out of this situation. I suspect she might have fallen into the hands of ISI: Tarsem Singh, Father-in-Law of the woman. pic.twitter.com/e2MhzQr5pV  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2018

Kiran Bala, the 31-year-old widow is the mother of three children and was living with her in-laws in Garhshankar, around 90 km from Chandigarh. Tarsem's son died in an accident back in 2013. Now, with Kiran tied knot to the Lahore man, Tarsem is worried about the future of his three grandchildren, whose future is in limbo.

Read | Nawaz Sharif's disqualification is for life, rules Pakistan Supreme Court

Around 1,700 Indian pilgrims had gone to Pakistan to visit Sikh shrines, including Panja Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore and Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak, on the occasion of Baisakhi on April 13.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer was killed in a gunfight with CPI-Maoist cadres in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday early hours.

An assistant sub-inspector rank officer was killed in the encounter with Naxals in forested area under Kistaram police station.

South Basata Range deputy inspector general of police (IG) Sundarraj P told the media that Maoists opened fired at CRPF team engaged in anti-Naxal operation in Kistaram forest.

According to local police sources, an operation was launched in the area on intelligence inputs on Friday evening.



A search operation has been launched in the area to nab the Maoist cadres, said police.
Mumbai:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made linking of national biometric ID Aadhaar to bank accounts mandatory as part of its updated 'Know Your Customer (KYC)' guidelines.

This, however, will be subject to the final decision of the Supreme Court on making of Aadhaar mandatory, RBI said in a circular late on Friday.

Till now, an Officially Valid Document (OVD) for address proof together with Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by the Income Tax department and a recent passport size photograph were the key KYC documents.

But in the amended Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedure, RBI said, "The Aadhaar number, the PAN or Form No. 60" need to be obtained from an individual who is eligible for applying for the biometric ID.

Sources said that the move will facilitate trusted environment for banking services.

The RBI has done away with sections relating to the use of other OVD by banks for address and identity proof.

For residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam or Meghalaya, who do not submit Aadhaar or proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar, the bank may obtain a "certified copy of an OVD containing details of identity and address and one recent photograph," RBI said.

OVD means the passport, the driving licence, Voter's Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by NREGA duly signed by an officer of the State Government, letter issued by the National Population Register containing details of name and address.

RBI said Aadhaar number shall not be sought from individuals who are not residents.

"From an individual who is not eligible to be enrolled for an Aadhaar number, or who is not a resident, the following shall be obtained: PAN or Form No. 60, one recent photograph and a certified copy of an OVD containing details of identity and address."

In case the OVD furnished by the customer does not contain updated address, utility bill of not more than two months old of any service provider (electricity, telephone, post-paid mobile phone, piped gas, water bill), property or municipal tax receipt, pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs) issued to retired employees by Government Departments or Public Sector Undertakings, and letter of allotment of accommodation from employer issued by State Government or Central Government Departments may be considered, RBI said.

RBI said the KYC norms have been updated following the government's decision to update the 'Prevention of Money Laundering' (PML) rules in June 2017.

The government had last month extended the date for submission of Aadhaar details for existing bank account holders indefinitely. A date would be notified after the final judgement in the petition challenging Aadhaar being heard before the Supreme Court, the government had said.

"The revised Master Direction is in accordance with the changes carried out in the PML Rules vide Gazette Notification GSR 538 (E) dated June 1, 2017 and thereafter and is subject to the final judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court," RBI said while updating its master direction on know your customer norms.

According to the Aadhaar Act, a person who is residing in India for more than 180 days is eligible for applying for a Aadhaar number.

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New Delhi:

A naked gunman on Sunday shot dead four people and wounded at least 6 more at a Waffle House restaurant in landlocked US state of Tennessee.

The incident took place at around 3:25 am when a man wearing nothing but a green jacket stormed the restaurant in Antioch, part of the Nashville area.

The gunmen later removed his jacket and continued firing indiscriminately, Metro Nashville Police said.

"A patron wrestled away the gunman's rifle. He was nude & fled on foot. He is a white man with short hair," authorities said.

According to the police, the person of interest in the Waffle House shooting was identified as 29-year-old Travis Reinking, a resident of Morton, IL.

"Travis Reinking, 29, of Morton, IL, is person of interest in Waffle House shooting," Metro Nashville PD tweeted.

Vehicle the gunman arrived in is registered to him. Gunman last seen walking south on Murfreesboro Pike. He shed is coat and is nude. See Reinking? Pls call 615-862-8600 immediately, the tweet further read.

So far, the motive of the shooting was not cleared but the police suspect it to be a random one.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday, said India will not let judge BH Loya to be forgotten and the truth is in front of millions of Indian.

Rahul Gandhis remarks came following the impeachment notice of the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by the Congress and six other opposition parties. This comes after the Supreme Court rejected pleas for a probe into the death of Loya.

There is no hope left, everything is managed' say Judge Loya's family. I want to tell them, there is hope. There is hope because millions of Indians can see the truth. India will not allow Judge Loya to be forgotten," he said on Twitter.

Gandhi then tagged a news report that quoted the family members of the judge as saying that "there is no hope left, everything seems managed".

Congress on Thursday, demanded a fair inquiry to address the unanswered question regarding Loyas death.

Congress chief further targeted BJP President Amit Shah, saying the truth has its own way of catching up with people like him.

Shah was one of those who were discharged in the Sohrabuddin case.

Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2004 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter.

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President Joe Biden failed to meet a self-set target of 70% of adults vaccinated by the 4 July holiday weekend. About 68% of Americans aged 18 and older have received at least one shot.

The White House and local governments have turned to both creative solutions and celebrity guest stars in an effort to counter vaccine hesitancy.

Michigan, Ohio and California are among the states offering cash lotteries for residents who get the jab. Pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo made an appearance at the White House this week to promote vaccinations among young people, and Nascar will host a vaccine drive this weekend.

The push for vaccines is now taking on added urgency, as infections increase in every state, driven by a surge in variants. Still, case numbers remain dramatically lower than in winter when they were at the peak.

In Canada, too, vaccine rates have slowed in recent weeks, after a steep upswing beginning in late March.



The uptick in vaccines has been met with a steady drop in Covid-19 cases. After a steep third wave this spring, Canada reported around 3,000 infections this week - a low not seen since last summer.

With roughly 80% of eligible Canadians protected by at least one dose, Mr Trudeau said on Thursday that the country expects to begin allowing fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel, and international travellers in September.

Canada has curbed almost all non-essential travel by foreigners since March 2020. Mr Trudeau has faced growing pressure to show his plans for reopening the US-Canada border.

Custody of the accused ended in the Darbhanga blast case

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The death toll from devastating floods has risen to 156 in Germany. Police engaged in rescue operation said on Sunday morning that at least 183 fatalities from the disaster in western Europe is observed.

In Rhineland-Palatinate state alone, one of the worst-hit regions in western Germany. The rescuers reported 110 dead, up from 98 previously. Police said It is feared that other victims will be added, in their statement. Around 670 citizens are injured in the region alone. One person also died in floods in southern Germany, in Bavaria on the Austrian border, which was hit by torrential rains on Saturday. In Austria, firefighters were on high alert in the Salzburg and Tyrol regions while the historic town of Hallein was under water. Heavy rains and storms are unfortunately causing severe damage in several places in Austria, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stated.

In the Saxony region on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic, rivers also rose Saturday night, causing damage.

VIDEO: Something happened with Rahul Vaidya in first night that will never be forgotten

Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary to be Congress leader in Lok Sabha?

Jennifer Winget's pictures made fan's day, people say- Is it really real?
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora has recently accused Union Minister of State Nisith Pramanik of being a Bangladeshi national. In fact, Bora has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it. Under the information received, Ripun Bora has asked PM Modi to conduct an inquiry into the entire matter. Sources close to Nisith Pramanik have rejected the allegations. He says Nisith was born in India and grew up in India. Moreover, sources say, "Nisith was also educated in India.''

BarakBanglaNews, RepublicTV Tripura, IndiaToday & Business Standard publishes, @NisithPramanik is a Bangladeshi national. Its a matter of grave concern that a foreign national is an incumbent union minister. Urging PM @narendramodi in a letter to conduct an enquiry to clarify it. pic.twitter.com/5Td0xIoG8n  Ripun Bora (@ripunbora) July 17, 2021

In fact, Ripun Bora posted a letter to PM Modi on Twitter. You can see, which he has accused Nisith Pramanik of being a Bangladeshi citizen, citing some news channels and websites. In fact, Ripun Bora has written, 'Nisith was born in Harinathpur. It falls in the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh and he came to India to study computers. He also claimed in the letter that after taking a degree in computer, the authentic Trinamool joined the Congress, then joined the BJP and became an MP.'

Ripun Bora has also said that The Authentic showed his address in the 'tampered' election nomination papers. At the same time, he referred to some channels and said that the channels have shown a "pleasant atmosphere" in his native village in Bangladesh when Nisith took oath as union minister of state. Nisith's elder brother and some villagers in the channels are expressing happiness over his achievement of such a big post in India. In addition, Ripun Bora has also written, "If Nisith is really a Bangladeshi citizen, it is a very serious matter for the country that a foreigner has been appointed as the Union Minister. The matter should be investigated in a transparent manner.'' West Bengal BJP General Secretary Sayantan Basu said there is no basis for the allegation. Basu said the Trinamool Congress is free to go to court if they want to further weigh the issue. Sources said, 'what can the minister do if some relatives are celebrating in another country.'

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Global brand Samsung planned to launch its smartphones in the Indian market soon. It has been launched in the European market a few months ago not it is expected soon it will be launched in India too in the midst of August month. Read more for the specifications.

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Specification

Since the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has already been launched globally, the specifications for the Indian model are expected to be the same. To start with, the global variant comes with a 6.6" FHD+ display along with a 90Hz panel. The Samsung Galaxy A22 is expected to be released in two models, a 6/128GB and an 8/128GB, which are expected to be priced at Rs. 19,999 and Rs. 21,999 respectively. Additionally, there might be four colour options to choose from, including Mint, Grey, Violet and White colours. Along with that, the smartphone might be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 700, coupled with 6GB and 8GB of RAM as two different storage models. The device might feature a 48MP triple rear camera setup, which will consist of an ultrawide and depth sensor. The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G will have a 5,000mAh battery, with support for 15W fast charging.

Samsung Galaxy A12s Specifications

According to a tipster, the Samsung Galaxy A12s will come with Exynos 850 SoC and run on Android 11. Additionally, the tipster also claims that other specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A12s will be the same as that of the Galaxy A12 that was launched in February 2021 in India. If true, the A12s will ship with a 6.5" HD+ TFT panel along with a quad rare camera setup with a 48MP primary shooter. The smartphone will have a 5,000 mAh battery and will also support 15W charging.

Tripura announces weekend curfew, extends daily curbs in Agartala and 11 other towns

High Covid positivity rate due to aggressive house-to-house testing

Union Minister Murugan's parents still work in fields for their living
NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Ubiquiti Inc. ("Ubiquiti" or the "Company") (NYSE: UI). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

The investigation concerns whether Ubiquiti and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On January 11, 2021, Ubiquiti disclosed that a breach involving a third-party cloud provider had exposed customer account credentials.

On this news, Ubiquit's stock price fell $13.69 per share, or 5.32%, over the following two days, closing at $243.76 per share on January 13, 2021.

Then, on March 30, 2021, cybersecurity analyst Brian Krebs reported that "a source who participated in the response to that breach" alleged that Ubiquiti "massively downplayed a 'catastrophic' incident to minimize the hit to its stock price, and that the third-party cloud provider claim was a fabrication." This anonymous security professional stated that the breach "was catastrophically worse than reported, and legal silenced and overruled efforts to decisively protect customers. . . . The breach was massive, customer data was at risk, access to customers' devices deployed in corporations and homes around the world was at risk."

On this news, Ubiquiti's stock price fell $18.78 per share, or 5.11%, to close at $349.00 per share on March 30, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

Story continues

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-ubiquiti-inc---ui-301336033.html

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of. Athira Pharma, Inc. ("Athira" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ATHA). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

The investigation concerns whether Athira and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On or around September 18, 2021, Athira conducted its initial public offering ("IPO"), selling 12 million shares priced at $17.00 per share. Then, on June 17, 2021, Athira announced that the Company's board had placed its President and Chief Executive Officer, Leen Kawas, on temporary leave pending an investigation of "actions stemming from doctoral research Dr. Kawas conducted while at Washington State University."

On this news, Athira's stock price fell $7.09 per share, or 38.87%, to close at $11.15 per share on June 18, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-athira-pharma-inc---atha-301336036.html

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Kanzhun Limited ("Kanzhun" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: BZ). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

The investigation concerns whether Kanzhun and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On or around June 11, 2021, Kanzhun conducted its initial public offering ("IPO"), issuing 48 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $19.00 per ADS. Then, on July 5, 2021, Kanzhun issued a press release entitled "Kanzhun Limited Announces Cybersecurity Review in China." According to the Company's release, "pursuant to the announcement posted by the Cyberspace Administration of China on July 5, 2021, the Company is subject to cybersecurity review by the authority. During the review period, [Kanzhun's] 'BOSS Zhipin' app is required to suspend new user registration in China to facilitate the process."

On this news, Kanzhun's ADS price fell $5.79 per share, or 15.95%, to close at $30.52 per share on July 6, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

Story continues

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-kanzhun-limited---bz-301336072.html

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of MediWound Ltd. ("MediWound" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: MDWD). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

The investigation concerns whether MediWound and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On June 29, 2021, MediWound issued a press release "announc[ing] it received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Biologics License Application (BLA) seeking approval of NexoBrid for eschar removal (debridement) in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns." MediWound disclosed that following completion of its review of the BLA, the FDA "determined that the application cannot be approved in its present form. The FDA identified issues related to the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls ('CMC') section of the BLA and requested additional CMC information." MediWound further disclosed that "[t]he FDA also stated that an inspection of NexoBrid's manufacturing facilities in Israel and Taiwan, are required before the FDA can approve the BLA, but it was unable to conduct the required inspections during the current review cycle due to COVID-related travel restrictions. The FDA stated that it will continue to monitor the public health situation as well as travel restrictions and is actively working to define an approach for scheduling outstanding inspections. In addition, the CRL cited certain observations identified during good clinical practice (GCP) inspections related to the U.S. Phase 3 study (DETECT), and requested the company to provide its perspective on the potential impact, if any, of these observations on the efficacy findings in the study"

Story continues

On this news, MediWound's stock price fell $1.57 per share, or 27.84% to close at $4.07 per share on June 29, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-mediwound-ltd---mdwd-301336074.html

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2021) - Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have only until July 19, 2021 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Ubiquiti Inc. (NYSE: UI), if they purchased the Company's shares between January 11, 2021 and March 30, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Ubiquiti and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-ui/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by July 19, 2021 .

Ubiquiti and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On March 30, 2021, post-market, Krebs on Security reported that the Company's January 2021 data breach was "catastrophic," and more extensive than portrayed by the Company, wherein the attacker(s) accessed "privileged credentials that were previously stored in the LastPass account of a Ubiquiti IT employee, and gained root administrator access to all Ubiquiti AWS [Amazon Web Services] accounts, including all S3 data buckets, all application logs, all databases, all user database credentials, and secrets required to forge single sign-on (SSO) cookies." On this news, shares of Ubiquiti fell $50.70, or 14.5%, to close at $298.30 per share on March 31, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Story continues

The case is Molder v. Ubiquiti Inc., et al., No. 1:21-cv-04520.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking to recover investment losses due to corporate fraud and malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com

1-877-515-1850

1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90546
I think Republicans are going to show up because they hate Newsom, not because they are particular fans of any of the replacement candidates, Pitney said.

Among other candidates, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's campaign was in a dispute with state officials over whether he could be listed as the city's retired mayor and YouTube creator Kevin Paffrath said he planned to sue to get his YouTube nickname on the ballot. Meanwhile, Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympian-turned-reality-TV-star, was reportedly in Australia filming a reality show, though she tweeted Friday she and her campaign team are in full operation.

The list of 41 candidates released Saturday by the state lacked the panache of the more than 100 candidates who ran in California's last recall of a governor in 2003. But it includes a range of candidates from the anonymous to the famous, including an entertainer known for putting herself on Los Angeles billboards in the 1980s and others with eye-catching names, like deputy sheriff Denver Stoner, and Nickolas Wildstar, who lists himself as a musician/entrepreneur/father.

The list includes 21 Republicans, eight Democrats, one Libertarian, nine independents and two Green Party members. Ballots will start going out next month in the mail, and the official election date is Sept. 14.
AFTER SIX decades

of communist rule,

thousands of angry Cubans have taken to the streets, demanding freedom and calling for communist President Miguel DiazCanel to step down.

Their message is straightforward: Basta!

Enough of living in near poverty. Enough of being denied the most basic human rights. Enough of broken promises and abandoned dreams. Enough of COVID-19 and no vaccine.

Communist police are using tear gas and arresting Cuban demonstrators, but the regime is facing an existential crisis reminiscent of 1989 in Eastern Europe and the open rebellion of people behind the Iron Curtain.

In January of that year, East Germanys communist boss boasted that the Berlin Wall would stand for another 100 years. In November, the wall came tumbling down under the pressure exerted by the East German and other captive peoples, no longer willing to accept communist rule.

The present-day Cuban demonstrations are a logical outcome of communist Cubas long standing indifference to the life of the Cuban people.

Consider these facts:
Arthrex is important for two reasons: scope and principle. The potential scope of this decision is vast. For instance, as agency rulemakings cannot be changed after they are finalized without restarting the process from scratch, do rulemakings need to be done by principal officers for that reason?

The principle at issue is also fundamental, as it ensures at least careful review by the Senate of those with such substantial authority.

Another good decision this term was in Collins v. Yellen, where the court declared the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to be unconstitutional due to lack of presidential control.

The director of the FHFA had complete control of the mortgage industry and yet was unjustifiably shielded from removal by the president. The president lacks real control over the FHFAan executive branch agencyif he cannot remove the person who runs it.

These are significant structural reforms that start to return the administrative state to a more proper separation of powers. But the real question after this term is: how are Republicans going to respond to their own nominees not doing what they envisioned?

Republicans appointed six of the justices now on the court, yet they dont seem to like the Burkean court they appointed.
University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming lists 37 students from Nebraska on the 2021 spring semester academic deans and deans freshman honor rolls.

The honor rolls consist of regularly enrolled undergraduates above freshman standing who earned a 3.4 or better grade-point average, and freshmen who have earned a 3.25 or better grade-point average.

To be eligible, students must have been enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours taken for letter grades.

Elijah Andrew Wiese of Fremont was among the Nebraska students earning recognition.

Morningside University

Morningside University has named 238 students as Roadman Scholars and 141 students as Dimmitt Scholars in recognition of high academic distinction for the 2020-21 academic year.

Roadman Scholars must be full-time students who have completed at least 45 credits of college work with a cumulative grade point average of 3.76 or above. The award is named in honor of Earl Roadman, who was president of Morningside from 1936 to 1956.
Authorities in Turkey say that they have detained 133 undocumented migrants near the countrys border with Iran over the past 48 hours.

Interior Ministry officials said that 73 Afghans were detained on July 17 in Van Province, while another 60 migrants -- including 59 Afghans -- were detained on July 18 in the same vicinity.

In June, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iran met to discuss migration cooperation. Concerns about a new influx of Afghan migrants have increased as the international coalition in Afghanistan draws down its presence.

The United Nations says some 270,000 Afghans have been displaced since January, bringing the total number of displaced people there to more than 3.5 million.

Turkey is a primary destination for Afghan migrants. The country hosts more than 4 million refugees, mostly from Syria, which is more than any other country in the world.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Al-Monitor
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
The CDC, however, said keeping the rules in place would prevent future COVID-19 outbreaks on ships that are vulnerable to the spread of the virus because of their close quarters and frequent stops at foreign ports.

The undisputed evidence shows that unregulated cruise ship operations would exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, and that the harm to the public that would result from such operations cannot be undone, the CDC said in a court filing.

The CDC first flatly halted cruise ships from sailing in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which had affected passengers and crew on numerous ships.

Then the CDC on Oct. 30 of last year imposed a four-phase conditional framework it said would allow the industry to gradually resume operations if certain thresholds were met. Those included virus mitigation procedures and a simulated cruise to test them before embarking regular passengers.

Merrydays decision concluded that the CDC cant enforce those rules for Florida-based ships and that they should merely be considered nonbinding recommendations or guidelines. Several cruise lines have begun preliminary cruises under those guidelines, which the Tampa judge agreed with Florida are too onerous.
The district said this was higher than expected and could indicate decision-making based on the real or perceived reputation of the Davenport schools.

Of the 131 transfer requests for which the district has demographic information available, 70% were white students and just 8% were black, according to school data. The districts student body is 53% white and 20% black.

Davenport superintendent T.J. Schneckloth said the new law is what it is. He said the district is attempting to offset the transfers impact by highlighting the education services and opportunities for students to succeed that it offers.

What were going to do is, were going to make Davenport the destination of choice, Schneckloth said. The only thing that we can do is move forward and make Davenport the place to be, and thats what we intend to do.

Schneckloth said the transfers could also create financial issues for the district, which budgets for an expected enrollment figure and could wind up with a significantly different number. He said he could not provide a dollar amount for the financial impact of the transfers or forecast what the final enrollment number will be, but that the district will need to be able to somehow forecast that impact in the future.

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Could it be five years already. No, it couldnt be.

But, yes it is, five years since the shocking news that spread across North Iowa of the death of City Councilman Alex Kuhn from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

To this day it is a mystery as to why someone so young, so energetic and enthusiastic, and with so much potential could snuff it all out with the pulling of a trigger. He was 34 when he died on July 15, 2016.

He has been memorialized many times since then and a sculpture in his honor is in public view near the entrance to the Mason City Public Library.

The reason his legacy is so vivid for me today is not the anniversary of his death but the example of his life. With all the bickering, back-biting, walkouts and childish behavior in politics, never has there been more of need for more Alex Kuhns in public office.

He was elected to the City Council in 2011, just shy of his 30th birthday and was re-elected in 2015 when he was also named mayor pro tem.

He had a way of taking the lead on issues that is unusual for council members. Obviously, it takes a majority of the council to accomplish anything but Alex was not shy about being out front.
More than a year after the novel coronavirus started infiltrating Southern Virginia, a more potent version named after a Greek letter is expected to send caseloads up again among the unvaccinated population through the fall.

New models from the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute indicate infections are likely to climb because vaccination rates are well below herd immunity.

With many Virginians returning to normal, the virus has room to run, researchers wrote in the latest UVa report released Friday.

Not only does the delta variant  now the dominant strain in the state  spread far easier than the original coronavirus, it also causes more severe illness. As of Friday, Sovah Health-Danville was treating two COVID-19 patients and two more were at the Martinsville facility, said Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer for Sovah Health at both campuses.

These patients are much sicker than the patients we were seeing a year ago and frequently need care in our Intensive Care Unit, she told the Register & Bee on Friday.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP)  Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a protest Saturday after a third venue in California canceled their event.

Instead, they held a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.

Heres what they need to understand, Green told the crowd, according to the Press-Enterprise. Were going to put America first, we will not back down.

Gaetz spoke next, saying, Do you know why theyre so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them," according to the newspaper.

Shouts and arguments broke out between the lawmakers' supporters and counterprotesters who gathered nearby.

Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns, the Press-Enterprise reported.
I was kind of wrangled into it. I went to a few meetings, she said. Military type things and CAP had never been a part of my life so I found it very interesting.

It is a way for me to give back to the community and to use the skills I have developed in my professional careers to further the CAP mission, Snyder said. CAP really gets involved with the community and it really shapes our young people, too.

She met Wooters in 2018 while working at Cone Health Urgent Care Center in Greensboro. A friendship developed, and now they live in Eden with Haleigh, Abby, and Maras three-year-old, Ellie Burchell.

Daughter of Shelby Pruitt Vernon and James Snyder, both of Madison, Snyder graduated in 2006 from Rockingham High School. She was certified as a CNA through Rockingham Community College then earned her two-year radiology certificate from Danville Regional Hospital.

Initially, Snyder worked at Madison Urgent Care before taking a job with Cones Urgent Care in Greensboro. When Reidsvilles urgent care opened in May 2020, Snyder transferred to the local facility as an X-ray tech.
THOMASVILLE  When she was a child, Karen Younts Griffin would visit the home of her aunt Peggy and her late uncle Wilford Radford, who lived in Eden.

Griffin, a Madison native, was especially fond of her uncle for a number of reasons, but one thing that made him and his home stand out to her was the key rack that hung in his hallway. It was adorned with plastic stick pins.

Radford was an avid blood donor and the American Red Cross gave pins  each shaped like a drop of blood  to donors every time they gave.

Radford had more pins stuck to his key rack than a young Griffin could begin to count, she said.

More importantly, her uncle passed along a message to his niece about what each drop meant.

He told me, Sick and hurt people need blood to live,  Younts said. It was a simple explanation, but it meant so much to me.

Griffin soon began following in her uncles footsteps, making her first blood donation when she was 18. Shes now 62 and made her most recent donation just last week.
DANVILLE, Va.  A 29-year-old manager of American Freight Furniture Mattress Appliance on Riverside Drive was shot Wednesday afternoon in Danville.

A suspect  32-year-old Jaivon Alonzo Scott, an employee at the store  was taken into custody after he fled the scene and was chased down by three police officers, said Danville Police Department Capt. Richard Chivvis. He was apprehended behind AutoZone located nearby the shopping center housing American Freight.

The victims injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Chivvis said. He was alert and transported to a hospital, but police did not specify if it was Sovah Health-Danville.

He appears to be in good condition, Chivvis said of the victim.

Police said Scott, of Danville, was on duty at the store when the shooting occurred. Other employees also were there, but no one else was injured.

The suspect is charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, discharging a firearm in an occupied building, shooting a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Joyce Yan, owner of nearby First Taste Chinese Restaurant, called the incident scary, definitely scary.
Fridays announcement coincided with a broader discussion about research that took place at the Board of Trustees retreat, an annual one-day gathering held this year at the new pavilion at the N.C. A&T University Farm.

A&T officials have talked in recent months about trying to move up and become an R1 university. On Friday, they set a target date of 2030.

A&T is labeled an R2 university by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which categorizes U.S. colleges and universities to help with research and comparisons. R2, or high research activity, is one of three categories for doctoral-granting institutions like A&T.

In the Triad, UNCG and Wake Forest University also are R2 schools. North Carolina has three R1 institutions: Duke University, N.C. State and UNC-CH.

A&T is seeking to become the nations first historically Black university to move into the R1 ranks. Fewer than 5% of American universities have this designation. R1 schools include a lot of heavy-hitters such as Ivy League institutions and flagship state universities.
Theres no mystery why Trump wants to keep his baseless narrative alive. The fiction transforms him from a loser to, if not a winner, at least a victim.

It maintains his presumptive claim on his partys 2024 presidential nomination if he decides to seek it and gives him a cause around which he can raise money.

The consequences go well beyond Trumps political future. As Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution writes in his important new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth: When compromise fails, ungovernability sets in.

Rauch argues that one root of our current political crisis is an epistemic war, a battle over whether such a thing as objective truth exists  or whether politicians should be free, as one Trump aide argued, to invent alternative facts.

Epistemic warfare is now the modus operandi of the Republican Party, Rauch told me last week. Its become a substitute for ideology or policy.

He said he considers Trump the greatest innovator in disinformation since the 1930s. (And yes, he means since Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.)
DONT MISS: The Summer Olympics  Yes, were bummed out that, due to coronavirus concerns, there will be no fans in attendance for the Tokyo Games. But the global event, after being delayed for a year, should still deliver plenty of must-see TV. As usual, things get rolling with the opening ceremony, and because of the vast time difference, NBC will broadcast the festivities live in the morning (7 a.m., Friday) for the first time ever. But for viewers wanting to stick to traditional evening viewing, the networks comprehensive prime-time broadcast will feature special coverage of Team USA, along with the performances, pageantry and Parade of Nations. (7:30 p.m., NBC).
Question: Recently, I received an email saying I had a large amount of money in the N.C. Unclaimed Property fund. No explanation was given and the site had some other state offices and information, but no information about what this money might be or why its there, if it is. I did not reply. Is this a new scam, or phishing/spear phishing? Who can I call?

M.G.

Answer: You do not need to use the services of a private company to claim money at the N.C. State Treasurers Office.

Dan E. Way, the communications manager for the Office of the State Treasurer, said that the Unclaimed Property fund does have a lot of money in safekeeping  nearly $800 million waiting to be collected by the rightful owners.

It comes to us for a variety of reasons; including money left in a utility or rent deposit or insurance account, or bank deposit box and forgot all about.

I cant speak to this specific case because I dont know all of the particulars, but I would direct people to call our Unclaimed Property Division Call Center at 866-622-2741.

They would be able to help sort it out.
We are in the midst of a global loneliness crisis that struck long before social distancing entered our vernacular and our smiles were occluded by masks.

One in five millennials in the U.S. say they have no friends, according to a 2019 survey. Sixty percent of residents in U.S. nursing homes have no visitors. In Japan, people over 65 routinely commit crimes so they can avoid social isolation by living in jail. The problem is so acute, the United Kingdom appointed its first minister of loneliness in 2018.

This is the loneliest century humankind has ever known, but it didnt emerge overnight. Our smartphones and particularly social media have played an integral role. So have large-scale migration to cities, the rise of a gig economy that has left many workers without a sense of workplace community, and fundamental changes to how we live.

In much of the world, people are less likely to attend a house of worship, belong to a parent-teacher association or trade union, or live with others than in the past. In recent decades, weve also become more individualistic. The evolution of pop lyrics since the 1970s bear this out  with words such as we and us being steadily replaced by those like I and me.

An I-focused world is inevitably a lonelier one.
We Americans have a contradictory history when it comes to tolerating, or not tolerating, dissent. The latest chapter is the Nikole Hannah-Jones controversy at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The fight, fittingly, played out around July 4, the most American of holidays. We take off work, grill hot dogs and set off fireworks to celebrate our Declaration of Independence  and, supposedly, our dedication to independence of speech and thought.

That dedication has been tested from the nations beginning.

In 1798, Congress and President John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The sedition law outlawed any false, scandalous and malicious writing against Congress or the president and made it illegal to conspire to oppose any measure or measures of the government. A congressman and a journalist were convicted and sent to jail. The laws were repealed or expired after Thomas Jefferson was elected president in 1800.

Race and dissent have long been intertwined. Before the Civil War, Southern states banned abolitionist writing and speaking. The U.S. House passed a Gag Resolution in 1836 to squelch discussion of abolishing slavery. For 100 years after the Civil War, advocating for Black Americans civil rights could be dangerous.
Veronica Vieyra is one of 72 foster youth to receive payments of $1,000 a month in Santa Clara countys first guaranteed basic income pilot program.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  The Bristol Tennessee Police Department announced the citys top five crash areas for 2020 and asked community members to use extra caution and obey speed limits  at those sites.

The intersection of Volunteer Parkway and Weaver Pike saw 12 crashes last year, according to numbers shared by BTPD Lt. Jimmy Dillard. Thirteen crashes happened at Volunteer Parkways intersection with Broad Street and 14 at its intersection with Windsor Avenue.

There was a tie for the top crash site: West State Street at Medical Park Boulevard and U.S. Highway 11-W at The Pinnacle Parkway each saw 16 crashes in 2020, according to Dillards numbers.

Top 5 Crash Hot Spots in Bristol, Tenn. for 2020 West State Street and Medical Park Boulevard, 16 crashes U.S. Highway 11-W at The Pinnacle Parkway, 16 Volunteer Parkway and Windsor Avenue, 14 Volunteer Parkway and Broad Street, 13 Volunteer Parkway and Weaver Pike, 12

The Bristol Tennessee Police Department is requesting help from the community, Dillard said in a statement from the department this week. If you are traveling near one of these intersections, please be cognizant of the speed limit and use caution.
The Associated Press conducted the review following months of Trump and his allies claiming without proof that he had won the 2020 election. His claims of widespread fraud have been rejected by election officials, judges, a group of election security officials and even Trump's own attorney general at the time. Even so, supporters continue to repeat them and they have been cited by state lawmakers as justification for tighter voting rules across the country.

In Arizona, Republican state lawmakers have used the unsubstantiated claims to justify the unprecedented outside Senate review of the election in Maricopa County and to pass legislation that could make it harder for infrequent voters to receive mail ballots automatically.

Senate President Karen Fann has repeatedly said her goal is not to overturn the election results. Instead, she has said she wants to find out if there were any problems and show voters who believe Trump's claims whether they should trust the results.
Coming up Friday, 75 crafters are slated to set up tents and tables on the Barter Green on Main Street  between the two stages of the Barter Theatre. This year, however, those stages are still closed, which leaves the performing arts traditions of the festival nonexistent, said Christine Webb, the festivals marketing director.

But performances of music like the Band of Oz will be in a big tent outside the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Webb said.

That center is a new hub for the festival. Its where youll find the antiques market  inside the center, rather than being staged inside tents outside the building, said festival Executive Director Becky Brett.

Brett says the festival has a mission: What I care about is the greater community and our ability to positively, economically and creatively impact our community.

Each year, this festival attracts about 45,000 people for its 10-day span, Webb said.

I think its interesting to see the variety of people who participate in the festival as vendors, as antique dealers  and the variety of people who come in from the region and even outside the region, said Brandi Browning, the festival president.
Authorities released few details Saturday after a Wise County deputy was injured in the line of duty.

Multiple law enforcement agencies were on scene late Saturday of a shooting and stabbing near the town of Appalachia. The scene was in the Dunbar community, which is located between Appalachia and Norton.

Wise County Commonwealths Attorney Chuck Slemp said a Wise County Sheriffs Office deputy was involved and was transported by medical helicopter to an area hospital for emergency medical treatment. Slemp declined to clarify whether the deputy was shot or stabbed.

Authorities have not identified the officer, but Sheriff Grant Kilgore said the deputy is in stable condition and doing OK.

It wasnt known late Saturday whether a suspect was in custody. Slemp did say there was no danger to the public.

Kilgore and Slemp asked the community to join in prayer for those involved.

The Appalachia Fire Department asked the public on social media to stay off the towns main roads and Kent Junction Road.

The Virginia State Police is leading the investigation into the shooting and stabbing.
I have been approached by many in our area and told about their lived nightmare. A cloud of stench that has taken on the name the Devil or the Beast in a popular Facebook community forum addressing the problem is waking little ones and elderly grandmothers up in the middle of the night, leaving them in tears as they cry and vomit and plead with God to make the gas go away. Residents who wake up in the morning to walk or greet the sun or drink a cup of coffee only to be assaulted by fumes that burn their respiratory tracts and eyes. I have members of my church community next door who, after a gassing, experience extreme migraines for days on end. The list of ailments could go on.

So, yes, our community is being poisoned. However, we have choices to make: Will we do something about it? Will our leaders take responsibility and lead us out of this crisis and help repair the breaches? Will we do our part, pitch in and help hold those with authority accountable? Here, I want to be clear: Our call isnt to resort to the rhetorical apathy of a woe-is-me-politicians-wont-do-their-job-because-they-are-corrupt-so-whats-a-plain-old-working-person-to-do caterwaul typical of our age. No, our call is to understand we have a right not to be poisoned and to demand that our leaders help keep that from happening. Where that fails, and like the widow in Jesus story in Luke 18, we must be persistent in our calls for justice and a healthy environment in which we can raise our kids.
In his speech about voting rights on Tuesday, President Joe Biden told the audience at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia that he wasnt preaching to you. But that was false humility. Bidens speech was very much a sermon, and an effective one, about the importance of defeating an assault on democracy.

What the speech wasnt was a new battle plan for countering efforts by Republican state legislatures to make it harder for Americans  especially voters of color  to exercise the franchise.

Yes, Biden called for enactment of the gargantuan For the People Act, which passed the Democratic-controlled House and is stalled in the Senate, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. He also urged Congress to counter a Supreme Court decision earlier this month that narrowed the protections of what was left of the Voting Rights Act after the court gutted a key provision in 2013.
HICKORY  The board of advisors of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Fund for Catawba County Endowment announces $13,400 in local grants, according to Sally Fanjoy, committee chair.

This years recipients include:

 $8,000 to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) Foundation for scholarships to the UNCSA for students from Catawba County

 $4,800 to the Western Piedmont Symphony to mentor UNCSA students and hire UNCSA students for music programs

 $600 to the United Arts Council of Catawba County to support UNCSA judges for the Edna Bost Barringer Young Artists Award

These grants will greatly benefit students pursuing a degree in the arts, while also benefitting our community and cultural arts organizations, Fanjoy said.

The North Carolina Community Foundation is the single statewide community foundation serving North Carolina and has made more than $184 million in grants since its inception in 1988.
The first wave of ceramic dog bowls are currently being made and painted by Connections Clubhouse. They will be in use later this year. Wed like to expand the designs out, so maybe have a set of holiday-themed bowls to put out, Hurley said. Our hope is that the program grows.

The plan for now is to invite downtown business owners to have a dog bowl placed at their storefront. Hurley said this way the business owners can keep the bowls clean and full for pets to enjoy.

If business owners dont want that responsibility, they dont have to do it  its entirely voluntary, assured Hurley. We really want people to be encouraged to be part of something that is helping keep the downtown area pedestrian friendly.

Hurley said there are also plans to partner with the Catawba County Library System. There are a ton of possibilities for book-themed bowls with the library that were excited about doing, Hurley said.

The library has a long history of partnering with Connections Clubhouse, said Erica Derr, Collaborative Services Librarian with Catawba County Library System. Weve used our 3D printer to create stamps for their pottery and we partnered with them for a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read.
A Hickory man found a Navy officers hat while vacationing on the N.C. coast in June. A few weeks later he found the owner.

Jeff Mackie was on vacation with his wife when they saw a hat wash up on the beach. On the hat was the name USS Ramage with a crest and the words Par Excellence. On the back were the letters CO, meaning Commanding Officer.

It was in pretty good shape, Mackie said.

He said he searched for the owner of the hat at the beach, but no one claimed it.

He researched the name of the ship and found out it was a guided missile destroyer. He reached out to a few contacts in the Navy and asked if they knew how to get in touch with the hats owner.

On Monday, Mackie received an email from Isaac Harris saying You found my cover!!! Harris explained in the email that he had lost the hat while at sea.

Harris is the current commanding officer of the USS Ramage, according to the U.S. Navy website.

Mackie said he mailed the hat to Harris soon after getting in touch with him.
Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano. (Photo: Official Twitter handle of Defence Minister)

Bogota [Colombia], July 18 (ANI/Sputnik): A dozen extremists were arrested in Colombia during raids conducted by police ahead of the planned July 20 protests, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said.

"In several cities, the Colombian Police captured 12 alleged members of the 'Primera Linea' (considered an illegal armed group by Colombian authorities) with explosives, ammunition and supplies to generate violence on July 20," Molano said on Twitter on Saturday.

According to the defense minister, the arrests took place in Medellin, Pasto, Villavicencio, Cucuta, Neiva, Soacha and Palmira. The detained individuals planned to use the explosives, seized by police, to attack the public forces and burn buses and other public property on July 20, Molano said.

Colombia marks Independence Day on July 20. According to the defense minister, this year, the holiday is going to be held without public parades or crowds. Nonetheless, there will be a military parade that will be televised and broadcast on various digital channels.

Anti-government protests are expected to be held in Colombia on July 20, which is also the day that the country's Congress will begin its new session. (ANI/Sputnik)
By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's Supreme Court on Monday reinstated its parliament, which was dissolved by caretaker Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in May, and ordered that his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba be appointed as prime minister.

The move deals a major blow to Oli, who was unable to muster a majority in the House of Representatives and had sought to force a fresh election by dissolving parliament on May 22.

Oli's move had sparked a fresh constitutional crisis in the Himalayan nation and it marked his second attempt to dissolve parliament in recent months after an initial attempt in December 2020, following a split in his party, was reversed by the Supreme Court in February.

After Nepal's parliament had been reconstituted, Oli lost a confidence vote on May 10. Before his rivals could stake a claim however, he advised Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari to dissolve parliament, saying neither he nor opposition leader Deuba were able to muster a majority and form a new government.

The opposition decried the move and vowed to challenge it.

On Monday, Supreme Court official Debendra Dhakal said the court had ordered parliament be reconvened within seven days.

It also ordered that Sher Bahadur Deuba be appointed as prime minister by 1700 hours (1115 hours GMT) on Tuesday.

"The court has not left any room for political manoeuvring by the outgoing prime minister," said Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert and analyst.

Deuba, 75, a four-times former prime minister who heads the centrist Nepali Congress party, had attempted to form a new government after Oli failed to garner a majority among lawmakers.

Nearly two dozen rebels from Oli's Communist Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party were expected to support Deuba at the time.

"The court has saved democracy. Now five political parties will form a coalition government," Deuba said.

Oli was not immediately available for comment but his aide, Rajan Bhattarai, called the court's move "a wrong political decision, which will have long term implications on the parliamentary democracy in our country".

Story continues

But he added the court's decision would be respected.

Dozens of Oli's supporters protested near the parliament building against the decision.

Oli was elected in early 2018 as head of an alliance with the Maoist Centre, a group of former Maoist rebels, promising to end corruption and bring economic development to one of the world's poorest countries.

But some allies accused him of undermining colleagues and ignoring party decisions in making policies and key government appointments.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Mark Potter)
Representative Image

New Delhi [India], July 17 (ANI): The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has appealed to all Opposition Members of Parliament to raise farmers' demands in Parliament and not stage a walk out.

A release by the SKM today said, "SKM issues voters' whip to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members to raise farmers' demands in both houses of Parliament and not walk out."

More and more contingents from far away states like Tamil Nadu will start arriving at borders to take part in Parliament protest March from 22nd July, informed SKM and added that All India Contingent of farmer leaders of All India Kisan Mahasabha will also arrive and is likely to hold marches at Border Camps of farmers.

Congress General Secretary and in-charge of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday met farmer leaders in Lucknow and according to sources discussed with them the three farm laws passed in the last monsoon session of Parliament, among other issues.

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Farmer leaders and the Centre have held several rounds of talks but the impasse remains.

Parliament will resume on July 19 with Covid-19 protocol in place for members of both Houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Monsoon Session is scheduled to be held between July 19 and August 13. (ANI)
Question: Why did Gregory Sierra, who played Chano on Barney Miller, leave the show after only two seasons? His character worked well with others.

Answer: Sierra was fine in the police comedys ensemble, but he reportedly left for what appeared to be a better gig  as the lead in a sitcom, A.E.S. Hudson Street, from the same producer as Barney Miller.

Unfortunately, Hudson was not a success. Sierra, however, went on to dozens of other roles in movies and TV. He was 83 when he died of cancer earlier this year.

Question: Will Coroner be returning? Where can I watch reruns?

Answer: The Canadian drama will begin telecasts of its third season on The CW on Aug. 19, a change from a previously announced July return. (The third season has already aired in Canada.) You can find repeats of the first two seasons episodes on CWTV.com and the CW app.

Question: A few years back there was a series about a New York cop during the Civil War. I believe the name of the series was Copper. Do you have any info about it, and is it available anywhere?
Now remember, two thousand years ago there were no mobile devices, no aircrafts, no internet, no software, so obviously no apps. Take a minute to let that sink in then try to explain the simple event articulated above without using the technical or descriptive vocabulary commonly used today. Can it even be done using the words of that period? Can it?

Back then few knew anyone who owned a horse, let alone a chariot. Now, try explaining and describing tanks, missiles, infantry carriers with gatling guns or turrets. Do you believe it would be easier to define a submarine, torpedoes or something as simple as a motorcycle? Perhaps, but try this, define a pharmaceutical titan, a drug lord, or a handheld rocket launcher. How many people own rifles or guns today? Try narrating those items.

Again, keep in mind that these visions occurred several thousand years ago. And John was given no time to think about what he saw. What if he saw grenades, smart bombs or tasers being used? How would any of that make sense to someone living several millennia ago? And why would God just not write it down himself and spare John the confusion. Im sorry, but thats a whole other story.
ASHEVILLE  A 70-year-old grabbed a shotgun and shot a black bear that was in his neighbor's yard, North Carolina officials said.

Now, he's facing charges related to shooting the animal, which died after the encounter at about noon Thursday in Asheville, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The man, identified as Robert Buchsbaum, is charged with negligent hunting and taking a bear during closed season. In many parts of North Carolina, open hunting season doesn't start until October.

"When a bear gets shot in the closed season, there's generally some good reasons behind it," Capt. Andrew Helton of the wildlife commission's ninth law enforcement district told McClatchy News. "In this investigation we have found no facts stating any justification for shooting this bear. This bear was just shot for no good reason at all."

Buchsbaum declined to comment to WLOS.

Officials said Buchsbaum's wife was walking her dog when she told her husband she saw a bear. He is accused of shooting the bear once and striking the animal again after his neighbor told him the animal on his property was suffering.
MATTOON  H.O. Black, who has been principal of Mattoon High School for the past eight years, has been selected by the board of education for the position of superintendent of the Mattoon schools. He will take the place of Superintendent Wiley, who resigned to take the superintendency at Elkhart, Ind. Mr. Black assumes his new duties immediately, making plans for the reopening of schools in September. Mr. Black came to Mattoon eight years ago as an 11th grade instructor. When Mr. Wiley was promoted from principal to superintendent, Mr. Black followed him in the high school position... CHARLESTON  An employee of the Eastern Illinois State Teachers College, has been mentioned in the fraud case concerning the state examinations for dentists and pharmacists. E.F. Erler, registrar at the EI State Teachers College, is the brother of Cassius Erler, inspector for the state department of registration and education, according to the state director, has admitted obtaining dental and medical questions for the June examination and made them available six days prior to holding the state exams. Director W.H.H. Miller says he has evidence that $935 was collected in advance for the June exams. E.F. Erler of Charleston, formerly cashier in the registration department, told Director Miller that he sent the questions to his brother in Chicago but there was no agreement on money being exchanged.
Eldridge said he has had an interest in history since his early school years.

I wasnt a very good student, but history was one of the classes that I liked, he said. Once I started getting tattooed, I realized that there was this amazing history behind the art of tattooing. I just grew to really love that and feel that its important for us to keep these tattooers names, these ideas and designs and stuff alive.

A love for tattoos

Eldridge said that the art of tattooing can be traced back to the cave man.

He said the oldest discovery of tattooed human skin that people can see with the naked eye is found on the body of Otzi the Iceman that dates between 3370 and 3100 BC.

Born in Elkin, Eldridge joined the Navy in 1965 and got his first tattoo in the military.

When he got out of the Navy in 1969, he worked with a traveling circus then got into the bicycle business, where he worked as a bicycle mechanic building custom bicycles on the West Coast.

In the 70s, I was building bicycles in Oakland, Calif., and getting tattooed in San Francisco, and the fellow that I was getting tattooed from offered to teach me to tattoo, Eldridge said.
A Winston-Salem man is asking an appellate court to overturn his murder conviction, saying there is clear evidence that a prosecutor dismissed two Black jurors because of their race. The evidence? The prosecutor admitted it in court when challenged.

And an appellate court in 1998 found that the prosecutor illegally used race in jury selection. But the mans conviction was not overturned because of a narrow interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting race discrimination in jury selection, the mans attorney said. Race had to be the sole reason a juror was removed for his conviction to be overturned, but that rule has since changed, the attorney said. Now, it just has to be a significant factor.

Henry Jerome White, 53, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, and his attorney, Elizabeth Hambourger, filed a petition with the N.C. Court of Appeals on July 9, asking the appellate court to review Whites case. She is appealing a decision made by Judge Todd Burke of Forsyth Superior Court, who denied Whites appeal in August 2020.

White is Black.
There were piles of trash, cat poop and dirty dishes in and among a litany of items deputies identified as stolen, including a 1,000-piece puzzle of a cabin, guns, a bow and arrow, a refrigerator and a trash can.

The stolen belongings were tied to more than 25 unsolved burglaries in Virginia and North Carolina dating back to 2006, prosecutors said.

Deputies also seized several electronic devices they believed Thomas had stolen. In the process of trying to identify the owners, prosecutors said, investigators uncovered what looked like child pornography.

The devices were turned over to the FBI.

FBI agents ultimately found more than 5,000 images of child pornography and at least 80 videos, prosecutors said in court filings.

The images were linked to nearly 200 girls Thomas is accused of abusing online while posing as a 17-year-old boy named Cody Austin. At the time, prosecutors said, he was in his late 20s.

Investigators found 198 folders containing the names of underage girls with whom Thomas reportedly communicated. More than 180 of those folders had chat logs with cheat sheets to help him keep track of who they were.
The committee is expected to issue its report Friday. But Pastides went ahead and sent a letter to campus about it two days before.

State law currently prevents us from changing those names, and we will follow the law. However, we have a duty to tell a more complete history of these individuals and their acts in the context of our shared community values, Pastides wrote.

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The interim presidents letter seemed to indicate the university would not ask lawmakers to change any names.

Before the 2021 legislative session started, Clemson University wanted to remove the name of U.S. Sen. Pitchfork Ben Tillman, who led violent racist mobs to stop Blacks from voting, from the name of its administration building, and Orangeburg wanted to remove a Confederate statue from outside its courthouse. The requests were never taken up, even in a legislative committee.

The 2000 Heritage Act was part of a compromise that removed the Confederate flag from atop the South Carolina Statehouse dome. In 2015, lawmakers removed the flag from the capitol grounds entirety after a racist massacre at a Charleston church killed nine Black worshippers.
Proponents are debating the efficacy of critical race theory as a graduate-level seminar that seeks to understand that in the post-civil rights movement era, there remain durable examples of social and racial inequalities, while their antagonists counter with bombastic, inaccurate non-sequiturs to promulgate fears  a catch-all phrase embodying supposition, innuendo and falsehoods. This does not legitimize critical race theory, but it is impossible to reach a judicious conclusion when the objective is countered with the subjective.

Embracing a constitution of knowledge would have been handy in the Nikole Hannah-Jones/UNC tenure debacle. Once race and gender became the dominant themes, nothing else was important.

It did not matter to those in support of Hannah-Jones that an award-winning journalist violated one of the most fundamental rules of journalism ethics. There were several errors in her introductory essay in The 1619 Project. All journalists are susceptible to errors, but we are required to take responsibility for the accuracy of our work.

Instead of owning the miscues, as every journalist is taught, Hannah-Jones defensively doubled down, initially making incendiary comments that she later attempted to scrub from social media.
Weve devoted our careers to strengthening health care so that our fellow North Carolinians can fulfill their enormous potential and our economy can compete with any in the world. The legacy of the organizations we led is found across North Carolina, where we worked with community members to creatively fill gaps in access to health care.

Now, because of actions by the N.C. General Assembly and the federal government as well as, of all things, a pandemic, we have a golden opportunity to finally close our states health care coverage gap.

Our legislature has prudently built up a rainy day fund of $7 billion, putting North Carolina in a winning position to remedy long-festering maladies, like the inaccessibility of health care. Meanwhile, the federal government has substantially upped funding and other incentives to offer insurance to certain working people and others by expanding Medicaid.

And finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed just how fragile our lives, our economy and our health care system really are. It all adds up to a watershed moment  not merely a trumpet blast in the world of good public policy, but a chance to energize the lives of North Carolinians who are working hard, raising families and pursuing dreams.
We could see them: glimmers of hope on the horizon.

Thanks to the vaccines, we thought we were near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had taken the lives of more than 600,000 U.S. citizens and more than 4 million worldwide. We were putting away the masks, leaving our homes and resuming life as we once knew it.

But suddenly, infection rates are beginning to rise again, nationwide, and with them, COVID deaths. The U.S. is averaging more than 30,000 new cases a day  twice the seven-day average just three weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

More than 1,000 new cases were reported in North Carolina on Thursday  the highest rate since May.

The majority of the new cases are of the delta variant, which is about 50% more contagious  and which is infecting younger people. Some 83% of new patients in the U.S. are under 50.

And 99% of these new cases occur in people who have not been vaccinated.

Why is this happening?

Largely because of deliberate efforts to spread doubt about the vaccines safety and effectiveness  largely led by Republican government officials and conservative pundits.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition has been working to amass information about the schools for almost a decade. With the help of grant funding and the work of independent researchers across the country, the Minnesota-based group has identified nearly 370 schools and estimates hundreds of thousands of Native American children passed through them between 1869 and the 1960s.

"It's going to be a monumental task, and the initiative that was launched by the Interior is great, but it's a short timeline and we'll need further investigation," said Christine Diindiisi McCleave, the group's CEO and a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Ojibwe Nation.

The coalition knows firsthand how difficult uncovering the truth will be. The group years ago filed public records requests with the federal government for information about the schools. The government didn't have answers, Diindiisi McCleave said.

Of the schools identified by the group so far, she said records have been found for only 40% of them. The whereabouts of the rest are unknown.

What is known from the research and from family accounts is that there were children who never made it home.
Dunbar was promoted to senior designer. He started at Swanson Russell in 2012 as a production artist, going on to serve as an associate designer and then designer. Over his career, Dunbar has touched nearly every agency client. Most recently, hes worked on Runza, Humminbird, Texton Aviation, Bright Start and Visit Omaha. Hailing from Wahoo, Neb., Dunbar holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications from the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Worthington was promoted to senior designer. Joining Swanson Russell in 2018 as a designer on the creative team, Worthington hit the ground running and has since then worked on numerous clients including Cattlemens Beef Board, Hoegemeyer, Visit Omaha and others. Originally hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, Worthington earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Rediger was promoted to media buyer. After joining Swanson Russell in 2018, Rediger has worked on clients such as Badlands, Rain Bird, Arctic Cat Off Road, Koch Agronomic Services, World of Watersports and more. A Lincoln native, she went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she earned her bachelor's degree in speech communication and marketing.
The Nebraska Corn Board for years has given grants to Nebraska fuel retailers to incentivize them to add higher blends of ethanol, such as E-15 or E-85.

But now, the organization is going out of state to promote the fuel.

The Corn Board announced earlier this month that it partnered with a company called Pearson Fuels to put two E-85 pumps at stations in California, the first time it has provided a grant to help pay for pumps at a location out of state.

The two pumps are at stations in Chatsworth and Agoura Hills, both of which are Los Angeles-area suburbs.

While promoting corn-based fuel from conservative Nebraska to drivers in liberal California may seem like an odd marriage, it makes a lot of sense.

California is the largest E-85 market in the country, and the demand opportunity is enormous, said John Greer, a farmer from Edgar who is District 2 director for the Corn Board. "Plus, most of Nebraskas ethanol is sold to California."
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National High School Finals Rodeo event brings cowboy hats and country music to the Railyard

FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star Cameron Thomas from Union County, Kentucky eyes the horns of a mobile steer during a roping competition on Saturday during Exploring Lincoln Day festivities at the Railyard. FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star Tyson Stracke of Stuart aims his lasso for the hind legs after his partner roped in the steer's head during a roping competition on Saturday during the Exploring Lincoln Day festivities at the Railyard.

While the nation's top cowboys and cowgirls started converging on the Lancaster Event Center earlier this week, Saturday offered a chance for them to check out the heart of the city.

National High School Finals Rodeo competitors and their families gathered at the Railyard for Explore Lincoln Day event Saturday night that featured country music, a roping competition, food trucks and drinks.

The event was designed to introduce visiting families to the Haymarket, as well as give locals an opportunity to see what the rodeo is all about, said Lyn Wineman, the Lancaster County Event Center Fairgrounds marketing coordinator.

The event center's on the other side of town, which is a great place for the event, but we want the rodeo crowd to circulate around and see the best of what we've got to offer here, she said.

This year's rodeo brings 1,700 competitors from 42 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia, to compete in 17 different rodeo events. A total of 30,000 people are expected to travel to Lincoln for the event.

Event organizers said some selling points for Lincoln to host the rodeo included its central location, hotel capacity for family members of competitors and the chance to hold it somewhere new, as the last few finals have all been in Wyoming.

The event has been held before in Nebraska, but has never been in Lincoln. Wineman said she felt Lincoln was a great fit for the event.

Nebraska is one of the top exporters of beef, a top agricultural state and an agricultural innovator, and this kind of event is right up our alley, she said.

Rodeo competitors started checking in on Thursday for the competition, which will begin on Sunday. Saturday was designated Explore Lincoln Day, and rodeo families were invited to explore the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campuses and downtown area and offered discounts at many area businesses.

The Railyard event then capped off the night with a roping competition, where competitors attempted to lasso a realistic roping machine, and a performance by country star Glen Templeton.

Competitors attending the event represented states from Virginia to Arizona and North Dakota to Ohio. For many of them, this has been their first time visiting Nebraska.

Isaiah Tullius and his family drove 14 hours from southeastern Ohio to Lincoln for the rodeo. He'll compete in bull riding. Isaiah's dad Mike said theyve been enjoying their time in Lincoln so far.

Its a pretty little city, he said. Everybodys friendly.

Matthew Miller of Broken Bow, who is set to compete in tie-down roping during the rodeo, isnt new to Lincoln but said its been nice to see so many rodeo competitors in the Capital City.

I think its gonna be a great experience for Lincoln, he said.

Emma Jones, who drove in from Winchester, Kentucky for the rodeo, said she thought the Saturday-night event was a good way for everyone to see more of Lincoln.

I think its a great opportunity for everybody, she said.

Laredo, Texas native Alissa Flores said she is enjoying her time in Lincoln so far and is excited to compete in her first ever nationals.

"I think it's gonna be really fun," she said.

Wineman said she hopes Saturday night gave competitors a taste of Lincoln beyond the event center, and she was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves.

"We want them to come down and see how great Lincoln is," she said.

Competitors begin arriving in Lincoln for National High School Finals Rodeo A line of trucks, campers and horse trailers snaked through the Lancaster Event Center grounds Thursday morning and overflowed onto Holdrege Street as rodeo competitors arrived in Lincoln.

Meeting in the middle: Oregon cutter, Florida barrel racer live on separate coasts but are tied by rodeo, Lincoln Olivia Davison and Emily Bomann live about as far apart as you can get in the United States. Both are competing at the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Finals Rodeo: 8 places to check out while you're in Lincoln Those who worked hard to bring the National High School Finals Rodeo to Lincoln for the first time are hopeful that visitors will take time to venture out from the rodeo grounds and explore the city's restaurants and attractions.
"I thought it would be more comforting to come home," she said. "But I got home, and I felt so alone. Everyone has been so helpful, but on some level people can't understand the magnitude of what happened."

For Nebraskans it would be like someone blowing up Memorial Stadium on game day, the couple say. Everyone would know someone injured or dead.

"They can't imagine the level of sadness that we feel -- that my family feels," she said. "I lost my father when I was 18. It doesn't begin to compare to this."

Tuesday James will return to work. Monday he poured milk for his daughter, fixed his son's Game Boy, drank coffee, cried.

"I'm raw," he said. "I'm still raw. I'm going to be raw for a long time."

Postscript: The Healeys live in upstate New York now. They moved back to New York in 2009 to be closer to family, Anne Marie says. James still works in IT; she's a nurse working a 12-hour shift on the day we talk. Highlands Academy in Lincoln -- the day care and preschool she started with a partner -- is still operating. And the family is still grieving that terrible Tuesday in September.

"We can't even watch movies about it; we don't read books about it," Anne Marie said. "I can't talk about it without crying."
"They may know the identity of the officer already," Zwart wrote.

In its motion, attorneys for the city also argued the curfew put in place by Gaylor Baird after a protest devolved into a night of destruction on Lincoln Mall was a reasonable time, place and manner restriction on the protesters First Amendment rights.

Poole was violating the curfew order at the time of her injury and is unable to plead facts to support the contention she was engaged in protected activity so her First Amendment retaliation claim fails on its face, the city argued.

Zwart didnt find those arguments persuasive, however: The question is whether the law enforcement response in this case exploited their crowd control, seizure and arrest powers as a means of suppressing speech.

Pooles attorneys would be allowed to pursue discovery to learn whether the officers would typically exercise their discretion to shoot rubber bullets at protesters at close range because the protesters violated a curfew, the magistrate judge added.

The court will also allow a claim that LPD and sheriffs deputies violated Pooles Fourth Amendment rights to proceed, writing officers were not entitled to qualified immunity because their response was unreasonable.
Nebraska's legislative mountain climbers are planning a practice session before the journey up Kilimanjaro in November.

"A test run," Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon says.

They're going to gather for a trek up Bomber Mountain in the Wyoming Bighorns during Labor Day weekend.

Its peak is not as high as the majestic mountain in Africa, but the idea is to test the climbers and their gear before their great adventure.

Kilimanjaro measures up at 19,341 feet; Bomber Mountain is listed at 12,840 feet.

Five state senators are signed up for the adventure: Brewer, the retired and decorated U.S. Army colonel and captain of this ship, along with Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Justin Wayne of Omaha, Ben Hansen of Blair and Dave Murman of Glenvil.

At Kilimanjaro, they'll be heading uphill in a group of about 14 climbers, including a TV crew from Texas.

Current plans are to leave Nebraska for the great adventure on Nov. 9 and return Nov. 24. They'll be on top of the mountain on about Nov. 18 or Nov. 19.
"Doing so for unvaccinated students would be reckless and ignores current medical and public health evidence," said Dr. Bob Rauner, president of Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln and a member of the Lincoln Board of Education.

Under the Lincoln district's return plan, posted Thursday, a vaccinated student who had a contact but no symptoms would not be required to quarantine.

Unvaccinated students with a contact but no symptoms would have to quarantine.

All close contacts with symptoms would need to quarantine for 14 days, even with a negative test result, the Lincoln plan says.

The Nebraska guidance, specifically aimed at schools, was not issued in the form of a directed health measure, so it doesn't carry the same weight as the prescriptive quarantining rules in effect during the COVID-19 emergency last school year. Nor does it mention masks or vaccines.

In the absence of any firm directive on the issue, the decision on whether to quarantine students in the coming school year appears to rest with school boards and leaders, in consultation with local health departments.

As a result, quarantining rules could differ from one district to the next, depending on how the disease is impacting a community.
Before the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad actually arrived in Lincoln, the original map of the city showed the railroads grounds occupied only eight square blocks bounded by Fifth, Seventh, O and S streets.

The tracks entered at the northeast corner of the rectangle and simply ended at the southwest corner with the depot, like the tracks, sitting on a diagonal. The areas to the north, south and east of the grounds were to be occupied primarily by small businesses and houses.

Things didnt quite work the way the map makers projected, and much of todays Historic Haymarket quickly displaced the houses and the original Bancroft Elementary School, which was constructed at Ninth and T streets. In the summer of 1867, an observer noted that the city of Lancaster, which preceded Lincoln, did not contain more than six or seven buildings, shacks, log-houses, store buildings and all, and maybe 30 inhabitants with 50 in the entire county.

With the railroads arrival in 1869, everything changed. Every business, hotels in particular, wanted to be as close as possible to the depot. In July of 1870 there was a house on the northwest corner of Eighth and P, what had been Fourth and High streets in Lancaster.
While the nation's top cowboys and cowgirls started converging on the Lancaster Event Center earlier this week, Saturday offered a chance for them to check out the heart of the city.

National High School Finals Rodeo competitors and their families gathered at the Railyard for Explore Lincoln Day event Saturday night that featured country music, a roping competition, food trucks and drinks.

The event was designed to introduce visiting families to the Haymarket, as well as give locals an opportunity to see what the rodeo is all about, said Lyn Wineman, the Lancaster County Event Center Fairgrounds marketing coordinator.

The event center's on the other side of town, which is a great place for the event, but we want the rodeo crowd to circulate around and see the best of what we've got to offer here, she said.

This year's rodeo brings 1,700 competitors from 42 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia, to compete in 17 different rodeo events. A total of 30,000 people are expected to travel to Lincoln for the event.

Event organizers said some selling points for Lincoln to host the rodeo included its central location, hotel capacity for family members of competitors and the chance to hold it somewhere new, as the last few finals have all been in Wyoming.
WAHOO  Voters in the Saunders County village of Valparaiso have recalled a member of the board of trustees.

Saunders County Election Commissioner Patti Lindgren said voters in the mail-in election removed trustee Mike Blazek by a 175-86 margin.

Ballots were due on Tuesday, with 61% of registered voters responding.

Blazek, a board member for two years, expressed his disappointment in the results.

It speaks more about the citizens of Valparaiso than it says about me, Blazek said.

The recall petition was filed in February by Linda Fletcher, who said Blazek was abusing his position for personal benefit by having village employees grade, seed and water property personally owned by him."

He has discussed village business on social media and spread false information. He has harassed and bullied village employees and others. Two village clerks have resigned in the two years since his election.

In his defense statement that is part of the recall process, Blazek noted that Fletcher is the mother of Lori Springer, the city's former library director.
Nevertheless, Trump has turned to the courts in a lawsuit that charges censorship violations of his First Amendment rights by the tech giants, even though the First Amendment specifically protects speech from interference by government, but not by private-sector companies.

To get around that important technicality, Trump, as the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit he filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Florida, makes the far-fetched argument that the tech companies are state actors, which the Constitution describes as a person acting on behalf of a government body. Similar arguments have failed in the past, legal scholars say, which is not surprising, since Facebook appears to be acting on behalf of itself, not a government body.

In other words, the First Amendment cuts both ways. It protects free speech and free press, including efforts to force your speech or press onto somebody elses tech company against their wishes.

Yet, I begin to argue with myself when I am troubled by the concentration of power that allows the big three tech firms to have such outsized power in determining who and how many can participate in the internets public square.
As an aside: The costly petition campaign is increasingly how the Capitols gridlock is broken on controversial legislation, and the people are being called upon too frequently to bypass our 49 state senators. Under Nebraskas unicameral setup, yes, voters carry more weight as the Second House, but the rise of the petition process lately indicates a frustration we share with the legislative branch.

In this case, though, lawmakers were wise to reject a plan that disproportionately targets the elderly, the poor, immigrants and Nebraskans of color  people least likely to have a government ID. The only way to fairly institute such a measure would be to guarantee all Nebraskans had access to a free ID.

Such a plan, however, would likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, at minimum, if not into the millions. That money would be better serve addressing actual concerns in this state.

Case in point: When Nebraskas election results were certified, both Gov. Pete Ricketts and Secretary of State Bob Evnen praised the states election officials for handling record turnout during a pandemic, all with zero allegations of fraud made to Evnens office.

Therefore, we ask: If aint broke, why fix it?

Nebraska elections are running perfectly as they are, according to those who oversee them. Without cause for a change, the proposed constitutional amendment is truly a solution in search of a problem.

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For critical race theory opponents, perhaps consideration should be given to the following truths:

Slavery, segregation, the placement of Japanese Americans in internment camps, the removal of Native Americans from their land and placement on reservations with limited to no resources and mistreatment of Mexican Americans are neither theoretical nor imagined but were the result of systemic and systematic government-sanctioned mistreatment of groups of people at the hands of those who in positions of power, authority and control imposed their will on those that did not have the capabilities or resources to defend themselves in the light of heinous assault and crimes against humanity.

Why did the laws of segregation have to be struck down in the Supreme Court? Why were these laws created in the first place? Why did Plessy vs. Ferguson ever become an issue for debate and acceptance by the majority? Why did George Floyd and others lose their lives at the hands of those who were sworn to serve and protect?
Im 80 years old, and it still puzzles me how our policymakers are either profoundly ignorant of education or purposely uncaring. I would hope for ignorance, but I suspect most see political advantage in their campaign of teacher-shaming.

The Colman Report was published in 1966  a half century ago. The report made it clear that a schools impact on the achievement gap was from 10% to 20% and that student characteristics amounted from 80% to 90% of that achievement gap. Dozens of later studies confirmed those results and even narrowed the ranges and pegged teacher influence at about 7%.

Rule of thumb is schools account for about 10% of the achievement gap, with student characteristics accounting for 90%. Yes, teachers account for the largest part of the school influence, but their 7% influence is tiny compared to the 90% attributed to student characteristics.

Ten years of Nebraska statewide testing confirms the above percentages. As the research also predicts, in the 20 years since No Child Left Behind was passed, teacher-shaming has had no appreciable effect on the achievement gap in Nebraska. When will our federal and some state policymakers stop doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Right now, he said, companies "have the flexibility to say 'I'll go public when I want to go public,' as opposed to, 'I need to go public, because that's the only way I can raise lots of money.'"

Perhaps a sign of how popular venture has become: Hedge funds and mutual funds, which typically focus on investing in public companies, are now also investing in startups at record rates.

That may be a sign that the market is nearing the top of an investment cycle, and may be cause for concern, said Steven Kaplan, a professor who researches venture capital and entrepreneurial finance at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "In these sorts of times, tourists show up, and at some point, the tourists go home."

Kaplan said this recent surge, with technology being adopted at extraordinary rates during the pandemic, may be similar to the investment cycle during the late 1990s when companies raced to use the internet. He said venture investments did exceptionally well in 1997 and 1998, and then did poorly in 1999 and 2000, when the internet bubble burst.

"What you don't know is, are we in 1997, or are we in 2000," said Kaplan.

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As a bonus, Kai was able to meet with Miss Racine Sophia Karageannes, who took the time to chat with him and Racines own Miss Wisconsin, Jennifer Schmidt.

As for Tannerbert, my son in law Kiondre took him to the parade while Kai was helping grandpa. He seemed to like it but then again, dad gave in and bought him a few souvenirs.

That evening, we took both grandkids to the fireworks with us. Kai was an old pro, but this would be Tannerberts first time seeing the fireworks. Well at least the citys fireworks show. The neighborhood fireworks were a different story.

We met up with some friends and staked out our area. We brought child sized chairs for the kids, along with a blanket so they had their pick of where to sit. I also brought my oversized, comfy folding chair so I could enjoy kicking back and relaxing.

Well, I get up for one minute and guess who stole my chair? Tannerbert! There he was sitting in my chair with a smirk on his face. Lucky for me, the chair was big enough for the two us.

Both kids had fun running around, interacting with our friends and generally having a good time as we waited for the sun to go down.
MOUNT PLEASANT  Care packages containing food and other household necessities are available later this month for Racine County residents hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave announced a free care package giveaway in partnership with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Giving to the Nations.

It is the third such giveaway, following earlier efforts in Racine and Burlington.

The Racine County COVID Care Package Distribution is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 28 in the parking lot of The Dish Restaurant, 1220 N. Ohio St.

The care packages will include pasta, ready-to-go meals, canned items and other staples, as well as toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, sanitizer wipes, hand sanitizer and other resources. Packages will be available only while supplies last.

COVID-19 vaccinations also will be available free of charge.

The care packages are made possible through the support of the Racine Community Foundation, AMI Health, Festival Foods, Uline, the Dish Restaurant, and Willkomms.
RACINE  For students wanting to land their first job or long-time workers looking to switch occupations, the Racine Job Fair is just around the corner, coming to Racine and Kenosha County.

Racine job seekers should come to Fountain Banquet Hall, 8505 Durand Ave., Sturtevant, on Tuesday, July 20 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to meet with employers. For Kenosha area residents, the Kenosha Job Fair is at Parkway Chateau, 12304 75th St., Kenosha, on Wednesday, July 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., to hand out copies of their resumes.

The Job Fair hosts are The Journal Times, The Kenosha News, Wisconsin Workforce Development Board and Equus Workforce Solutions.

Representatives from more than 75 companies are looking to hire health care workers, teaching assistants, food service workers and many more.

Jobs seekers should bring copies of their resumes, do background research on the companies they want to apply with, be prepared to answer questions about themselves and of course, come in with your best outfit and attitude.

Racines Job Fair will include representatives from the following companies:
Village officials have not yet developed a cost estimate, although they believe that the initial investment would be less than $50,000 and that maintenance costs would be less than $2,000 a year.

In addition to We Energies, officials plan to seek a proposal from a private contractor, to ensure they are getting a good price.

The village has the money available because of unexpected savings on recent road maintenance projects.

A preliminary plan presented this week to the Rochester Village Board shows about a dozen streetlights along Main Street between State Street and Front Street and also along State between Fox Street and Spring Street.

Officials are reviewing different fixture styles to find one that best fits the communitys historic character.

Village Board member Leslie Kinsey, who also owns a downtown business, said the streetlights are an important safety advancement for motor vehicles and pedestrians.

Rochester sits at the intersection of two county highways  D and W  and both bring a steady flow of motorists passing through town.
A Promega Corp. test of how well tumor cells correct DNA errors, developed through scientific serendipity from NASA research, can identify cancer patients likely to have Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder that increases the risk of colon, endometrial, stomach, ovarian and other cancers.

The test for microsatellite instability, or MSI, can also help doctors decide whether to treat cancer patients with new immunotherapies.

MSI testing measures how well cells repair mistakes made during DNA replication when cells divide. Tumors with significant microsatellite instability, known as MSI-high, have defective repair mechanisms and are likely to be caused by Lynch syndrome gene mutations, said Annette Burkhouse, senior medical science liaison at Promega.

Theyre also likely to respond well to immunotherapies, presumably because they produce more foreign proteins detected by the immune system.
How do you say thank you to someone who may have prevented the killing of your child, your friend, your neighbor?

There just are not words to express the gratitude.

On Tuesday morning, tragedy struck a busy Caledonia gas station on Highway K when a man brutally shot and killed a 22-year-old from Elkhorn filling up his vehicles gas tank.

It was 7:30 in the morning, when any one of us could have been at that same station.

From there, after unsuccessfully trying to take the Elkhorn mans car and another vehicle, the murderer went to another gas station. That was where he was met by a Racine County Sheriffs Office deputy in plainclothes and an unmarked police car.

The two exchanged gunfire and ultimately, the man shot himself in the head, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is investigating the incident.

What would have happened if the deputy, whose identity has not been disclosed, wasnt there? Its difficult to say because, honestly, its hard to think about. But, almost undoubtedly, more people would have been shot and/or killed as the man continued his rampage.
Residents of Racine have been packed into a blatant example of gerrymandering in a state widely recognized as having some of the most gerrymandered voting districts in the country. Ignoring state law that mandates legislative maps avoid crossing county and municipal boundaries where practical, Senate Districts 21 and 22 group together the cities of Racine and Kenosha in one district and the counties in another. These maps were created to secure the positions of the politicians who drew them and to serve the special interests of their donors, not to serve the many common, overlapping interests of city and county residents.

The current maps, drawn in 2011 under strict secrecy, allow lawmakers to disregard the will of the people on a number of issues that are supported by a majority of Wisconsin residents both Republican and Democratic. Expanding Medicare, action on climate change, criminal justice reform and, ironically, nonpartisan redistricting itself are all favored by a majority of Wisconsin residents, yet action on these broadly supported goals are obstructed by those too safe in their gerrymandered districts to actually enact the will of the majority.
1. Yes. They are not doing their duty as lawmakers; they should face consequences.

2. Yes. The Democrats may have a point, but they should be required to return to work.

3. No. With no filibuster option available, Democrats would be unable to stop a bad bill.

4. No. Most Texas voters oppose the GOPs voting measures, so they had to be stalled.

5. Unsure. Abbott wants to take a stand, but jailing lawmakers may be too harsh.

Vote

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Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low around 75F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low around 75F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The agreement under which Nebraska sent its state troopers to the Texas-Mexico border includes no provision for Texas to pay the estimated cost of $334,000, according to documents obtained by The World-Herald.

A statement from Gov. Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska State Patrol said that its still possible that the state could be reimbursed. But its unclear how that would happen.

Ricketts is among several GOP governors who have sent law enforcement in response to requests from the governors of Arizona and Texas, who are also Republicans. The border-state governors sent a letter June 10 requesting other governors send all available law enforcement in defense of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, citing a crisis at the border.

An agreement related to the deployment states that Nebraska will not seek reimbursement from Texas. A patrol spokesperson previously has said the funding was not finalized and said the cost of previous deployments like this one, made through the interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compact, had been reimbursed. The compact is a mutual aid agreement that allows states to share resources in emergencies.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency released some public records related to the mission to The World-Herald on Friday afternoon.

In a joint statement, Ricketts office and the patrol said a funding source had not been finalized, and reimbursement was still possible.

The language in the agreement was included to expedite the deployment, the statement reads. The State of Nebraska continues to work with Texas, and a funding source has not been finalized. Given the opportunity, the state will seek reimbursement. The state has the resources to pay for the deployment if reimbursement is not ultimately available.

However, the documents show there was no apparent expectation that Texas and Arizona would foot other states costs.

The two states sought assistance from states across the country to provide the resources necessary to assist in fulfilling the federal governments responsibility to secure the southern border and asked assisting states to cover associated costs. The Texas Department of Public Safety requested 500 state troopers to support its border operations, according to the documents.

Cost estimates for the Nebraska troopers are not final, patrol spokesperson Cody Thomas wrote in an email.Final costs will be determined once the deployment is complete, he wrote. As with any operation, real-time costs are paid for through the NSP budget.

Nebraskas costs are likely to be higher than the $334,000 estimate. Estimated personnel costs in the agreement cover 16 days for 26 personnel, and the original 16-day deployment was extended for some of the troopers.

Nebraska agreed to deploy 25 troopers, including leadership and logistics support, according to the documents. The team would include marked or unmarked transportation as required to transport, patrol and command the element, and officers would be equipped with standard police equipment in tactical uniforms appropriate for environmental conditions.

Though the agreement at one point says that an estimated 26 patrol personnel would be assigned to the mission, Thomas confirmed Friday the team included 25 troopers and no civilian personnel.

The documents show the mission was scheduled to last from June 18 to July 25. Thomas said in an email that the agreement set out a rough timeline for potential deployment and further discussion with officials in Texas specified dates.

Ricketts announced the deployment on June 19. A few troopers went June 24 to organize logistics, according to Thomas. The rest traveled on June 27 and began work on June 28, he said. Their voluntary deployment was initially slated to last up to 16 days. Last week, though, the governor announced 15 troopers would stay two additional weeks while the rest returned home.

Total estimated costs for the mission, according to the agreement, include $83,912 related to travel, $234,554 for personnel and $15,546 for such things as water, fuel, snacks and clothing.

Travel costs included an estimated $29,760 for lodging, $26,352 for meals and tips (per diem) and $19,500 for air travel. The estimated cost for salary, fringe benefits and overtime, per person per day, ranged from $444 to $815.

In all capital letters and bookended by asterisks, the agreement reads: NEBRASKA WILL NOT SEEK COST REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS  COST ESTIMATES ARE ONLY INCLUDED FOR FUTURE AUDITING PURPOSES

The agreement provided to The World-Herald does not have a state officials signature. However, Earl Imler, preparedness and operations section manager at Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, confirmed it was the same as the final agreement. That agency serves as a point of contact to facilitate agreements related to the interstate compact.

The documents reveal little about Nebraska troopers specific activities while theyre deployed. The agreement includes that the state of Texas will afford responding law enforcement the same arrest and law enforcement powers, rights and privileges while operating within the state limits of Texas as are ordinarily afforded law enforcement forces of the State of Texas.

Texas Public Safety declined last month to offer specific insight into what Nebraska troopers would be doing and declined a World-Herald reporters request for a ride-along. Nebraska State Patrol also has provided few details  a description of the mission was redacted from the documents obtained by The World-Herald, which Imler said was due to safety concerns.

In his initial announcement of the deployment, Ricketts cited the disastrous policies of the Biden-Harris Administration for creating an immigration crisis on the border. The federal government had fallen short, he said, but Nebraska was happy to step up to help.

Critics such as state Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb and Rose Godinez, legal and policy counsel to ACLU of Nebraska, have said the deployment is political and have called for more transparency.

The State Patrol on Friday estimated it would cost $22,300 and take about six months to fulfill The World-Heralds public records request for officials correspondence related to the deployment; employee correspondence related to activities troopers will undertake; and records related to the cost of and payment for the deployment.

After the release of documents to the Associated Press, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowa will cover the cost of its troopers deployment. She said Iowa sent 29 troopers for 16 days, according to AP reporting.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem deployed National Guard troops using a private donation from a Republican donor, according to the Washington Post. Earlier this month, Taylor Gage, press secretary for Ricketts, said in an email that Nebraska had not been offered a similar opportunity.
Military health workers vaccinated thousands of people in Kesra and other sites in the Siliana region in central inland Tunisia, mainly individuals over age 60 with underlying health conditions. The campaign in Kesra used Sinovac vaccines from China.

The military said the medical deployment could be extended to other areas in the coming days. Tunisia's president said the military would send helicopters to mountainous areas to bring vaccines to remote villages.

Kesra resident Rafika Achour said she was summoned twice to get a vaccine, but had been skeptical about submitting to a shot.

When I heard of the arrival of the army, I decided to come for the vaccine because ... for me, (the army) is more honest than others," Achour said at the vaccination site.

To encourage vaccination and build awareness, Tunisian President Kaies Saied got his first dose of the vaccine on Monday.

Meanwhile, aid is arriving from near and far.

The United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Algeria have sent hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses and medical supplies to Tunisia. A shipment of medical aid came in by sea from Italy on Friday. France this week promised another 800,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and China promised 400,000, according to Tunisia's TAP news agency.
WASHINGTON  Here is perhaps the most important medical and political fact of our time: 99.5% of all covid-19-related deaths in the United States occur among unvaccinated people; 0.5% of covid deaths occur among vaccinated people. If you tell people not to be vaccinated, you add to the former category.

In this light, the recent outbreak of applause at the Conservative Political Action Conference for the United States failure to meet its vaccination target was macabre.

Here were political activists  many of whom would call themselves pro-life  cheering for the advance of death.

How did we get to such a strange, desperate place?

I dont want to discount the possibility that some people are just badly misinformed.

They think the vaccines come with itsy-bitsy tracking chips, or make you magnetic, or render you infertile  all of which are pure rubbish.

Ignorance is a form of moral mitigation, but it is still, well, ignorance.
BLUFFSIDE TAVERN

WHAT: A neighborhood tavern thats been owned and operated by Mike and Joan Gazeley since 2001. The building was constructed in 1868 and the tavern has been in business for more than 150 years.

WHERE: 2712 Main St., at the foot of Grandad Bluff in La Crosse.

HOURS: The tavern is open from noon until close Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to close Friday through Sunday.

MORE INFO: Call 608-796-1007 or visit the taverns Facebook page.
Command Sgt. Maj. Raquel DiDomenico became the new Fort McCoy command sergeant major on July 1 during a change of responsibility ceremony at Fort McCoy.

DiDomenico previously served at Fort McCoy at the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Academy.

Historically, a CSM is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit. The CSM is appointed to serve as a spokesman to address the issues of all soldiers, from enlisted to officers, from warrant officers and lieutenants to the Armys highest positions. As such, they are the senior enlisted adviser to the commander. The exact duties vary depending on the unit commander, including observing training and talking with soldiers and their families.

Immediately prior to this assignment, she served as the senior enlisted adviser to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Deputy commanding general, Army Reserve at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
While limited opioid use following a surgery or procedure may prove beneficial in managing pain, the CDC in 2016 relayed that evidence on long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain outside of end-of-life care remains limited, with insufficient evidence to determine long-term benefits versus no opioid therapy, though evidence suggests risk for serious harms that appears to be dose-dependent. In addition, patients may develop a tolerance over time, making opioids less effective, and those who do not experience relief within the first month of taking the drug are unlikely to find success from longer term usage.

In Wisconsin in 2018, providers wrote 45.8 opioid prescriptions per 100 patients, lower than the U.S. rate of 51.4. That year, 78% of drug overdose deaths in the state  around 846  involved opioids. In 2020 the number rose to around 1,200, per DHS. La Crosse County had 39 overdose fatalities in 2020 and is at around 20 so far this year, the majority involving the opioid fentanyl. Gundersen, which is involved with the Alliance to HEAL (Halting the Effects of Addiction Locally), in 2018 began an initiative to reduce the amount of opioid prescriptions as well as the number of pills per prescription. That year, on a system-wide level, the numbers decreased by 31% and 26%, respectively. Mayo Clinic has made the issue a priority as well, forming an Opioid Stewardship Program.
For example, I had chosen, inspired by President Kennedy, to join the Peace Corps after graduating from college in 1963. But after I injured a foot, the Peace Corps called it disabling and canceled my orders. Instead, my number came up in the draft, my injury was discounted in the militarys assessment and I wound up in the Navy. Not my first choice, obviously. Think war and peace.

But I value the experience I gained in the service and recommend some kind of public service for every young citizen.

As for the choice of a career, the first week I was back home after leaving my ship in San Diego I called the former managing editor of the Albert Lea Tribune where I had worked for a time after graduation. He told me when I left for the Navy that I should contact him when I returned and hed have a job for me. As it turned out, he had moved to take a job in Wichita and didnt have an opening there, but he would make a phone call to his fraternity brother at the Milwaukee Journal. He did and a few weeks later I started work as a reporter at the Journal.

As for the life partner choice, I went into a disco in Milwaukee on a winter night after moving there. I danced with a young woman. We fell in love, married a year later and have had a very happy life together.

Was that a choice ... or accepting fate?
Im proud to say that the hard work that went into this report brought us together on this issue, resulting in $129 million for broadband expansion over the next two years. This was a common-sense investment that will bring 21st-century technology, job opportunities, and critical infrastructure to every corner of the state.

This budget had its share of missed opportunities. Quite frankly, we need to invest significantly more in K-12 education than what the Joint Finance Committee sent to the governor. But in voting for this budget, I knew that Governor Evers would use his powerful veto pen to improve the end result of an imperfect document.

He did just that when he set aside $550 million in revenue that our state could use for education. The governor also wisely allocated $100 million to K-12 from the American Rescue Plan to fill in the budget gaps.

Although we didnt get everything we wanted out of this budget, I stand by our work. This budget is a necessary down payment on our future that invests in our priorities while providing real tax relief for middle class families.
BERLIN (AP)  Rescue workers labored to deal with damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding in Western Europe rose above 160 and thoughts turned to the lengthy job of rebuilding communities devastated in minutes.

The death toll in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, home to the badly hit Ahrweiler county, rose to 98. Another 43 people were confirmed dead in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state. Belgiums national crisis center said the country's confirmed death toll rose to 27.

Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents.

Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, German authorities listed large numbers of people as missing  something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.

By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures. In Belgium, 103 people were listed as missing Saturday, but the crisis center said lost or uncharged cellphones and people taken to hospitals without identification who hadn't had an opportunity to contact relatives were believed to be factors in the tally.

Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.

A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up  their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.

It may only be possible to clear up in weeks how much damage needs to be compensated, he said.

Steinmeier said that people in the affected areas need continuing support.

Many people here in these regions have nothing left but their hope, and we must not disappoint this hope, he said.

In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.

The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged. Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.

In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.

Around 700 people were evacuated from part of the German town of Wassenberg, on the Dutch border, after the breach of a dike on the Rur river.

Visiting Erftstadt with Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet promised to organize aid for those immediately affected in the coming days. He said regional and federal authorities would discuss in the coming days how to help rebuilding efforts. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

We will do everything so that what needs to be rebuilt can be rebuilt, Laschet said.

In eastern Belgium, many train lines and roads remained blocked.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visited flood-damaged towns Saturday.

A resident of the Belgian town of Herk-de-Stad said she put off sleeping to try to empty her house of water.

We have been pumping all night long trying to get the water out of the house, Elke Lenaerts told broadcaster VTM.

Parts of the southern Netherlands also experienced heavy flooding, though thousands of residents were allowed to return home after being evacuated on Thursday and Friday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who visited the region on Friday, said that first, there was corona, now these floods, and soon people will have to work on cleanup and recovery.

"It is disaster after disaster after disaster. But we will not abandon Limburg, the southern province hit by the floods, he added. His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

Among other efforts to help the flood victims, the Hertog Jan brewery, which is based in the affected area, handed out 3,000 beer crates so locals could raise their belongings off the ground to protect them from the flooding.

An emergency dike in the town of Horn didnt hold and some houses were inundated. Authorities issued a warning to stay off the Maas River because of debris. Rescuers worked to save a cow stuck neck-deep in muddy water.

At the other end of Germany, there was flooding Saturday evening following torrential rain in the Saechsische Schweiz area near Dresden and across the border in the Czech Republic.

Roads, basements and railroad tracks flooded, disrupting train service between the Czech town of Decin and Bad Schandau, Germany. A summer camp for children on the Czech side had to evacuated.

In Austria, a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein, near the German border, late Saturday. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.

I thank all first responders and volunteers who are doing everything they can to help! We won't leave those affected alone and will support the reconstruction, he wrote.



Angela Charlton in Paris, Molly Quell in Amsterdam and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.
BRUSSELS (AP)  Just as the European Union was announcing plans to spend billions of euros to contain climate change, massive clouds gathered over Germany and nearby nations to unleash an unprecedented storm that left death and destruction in its wake.

Despite ample warnings, politicians and weather forecasters were shocked at the ferocity of the precipitation that caused flash flooding that claimed more than 150 lives this week in the lush rolling hills of Western Europe.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.

Scientists cant yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather that has been on show from the western U.S. and Canada to Siberia to Europes Rhine region.

There is a clear link between extreme precipitation occurring and climate change, Wim Thiery, a professor at Brussels University, said Friday.

Stefan Rahmstorf, a professor of ocean physics at the University of Potsdam, referring to the recent heat records set in the U.S. and Canada, said some are so extreme that they would be virtually impossible without global warming..

Taking them all together, said Sir David King, chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, these are casualties of the climate crisis: we will only see these extreme weather events become more frequent.

For Diederik Samsom, the European Commission's Cabinet chief behind this week's massive proposals to spend billions and force industry into drastic reforms to help cut the bloc's emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55% this decade, this week's disaster was a cautionary tale.

People are washed away in Germany ... and Belgium and the Netherlands, too. We are experiencing climate change," he said on a conference call of the European Policy Centre think tank. "A few years ago, you had to point to a point in the future or far away on the planet to talk about climate change. It's happening now  here.

And climate scientists point toward two specific things that have contributed to this week's calamity.

First, with every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in temperature, the air can take in 7% more humidity. It can hold the water longer, leading to drought, but it also leads to an increase in dense, massive rainfall once it releases it.

Another defining factor is the tendency for storms to hover over one place for far longer than usual, thus dumping increasing amounts of rain on a smaller patch of the world. Scientists say warming is a contributing factor there, too. A jet stream of high winds six miles (nearly 10 kilometers) high helps determine the weather over Europe and is fed by temperature differences between the tropics and the Arctic.

Yet as Europe warms  with Scandinavia currently experiencing an unusual heat wave  the jet stream is weakened, causing its meandering course to stop, sometimes for days, Thiery said.

He said such a phenomenon was visible in Canada too, where it helped cause a heat dome in which temperatures rose to 50 C (122 F).

And it is causing the heavy rain that we have seen in Western Europe," he said.

Even if greenhouse gas emissions are drastically curbed in the coming decades, the amount of carbon dioxide and other planet-heating gases already in the atmosphere means extreme weather is going to become more likely.

Experts say such phenomena will hit those areas that aren't prepared for it particularly hard.

We need to make our built environment  buildings, outdoor spaces, cities  more resilient to climate change, said Lamia Messari-Becker, a professor of engineering at the University of Siegen.

Those that don't adapt will risk greater loss of life and damage to property, said Ernst Rauch, chief climate and geoscientist at the reinsurance giant Munich Re.

The events of today and yesterday or so give us a hint that we need to do better with respect to being ready for these these type of events, he said. The events themselves are not really unexpected, but the order of magnitude probably has surprised some.



Frank Jordans in Berlin, and David Keyton in Paris, contributed to this report.



Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate
BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. God knows how I appreciate this.

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

Nearly 36% of 3,815 tests carried out in the past 24 hours came back positive, the health ministry said Saturday. Senegal has reported 50,374 cases and 1,214 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Faced with the dramatic increase, President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands. On Friday, Sall threatened to close borders and impose a state of emergency again if numbers continue to rise.

Many in Senegal have relaxed their use of masks and other precautions after the country's early surges weren't as severe as the outbreaks in other countries.

Tabaski, which will be celebrated on July 21 in Senegal, sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings. Many health officials are worried because in the run-up to the holiday, people throng marketplaces and gather to buy sheep.

Only about 600,000 people of Senegal's population of more than 16 million have been vaccinated. The country has a limited supply of vaccines and is awaiting further deliveries of Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.

About 30% of the new coronavirus infections in Senegal are from the delta variant, according to Souleymane Mboup, the director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, one of Senegal's testing labs.

We are facing a much more contagious virus, Mboup said.

The increase in cases is unprecedented," health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye said.

The pandemic has impacted especially the most vulnerable segments of the population, said Anne Catherine Dupre, project coordinator in Senegal for the group Secours Islamique France.

Since last year, 30% of the thousands of people supported by the group were forced to reduce their consumption of food as a result of the pandemic, she said.

We are already dealing with populations that are very vulnerable, so in fact, for them to reduce it, means theyre only going to eat once a day she added.

Secours Islamique France has been working in Senegal since 2008 and has distributed food and sheep during Ramadan and Tabaski. This year they had to increase their donations because of the rise in vulnerable people because of the pandemic.

Its important for them to celebrate Tabaski. Its the most important celebration in a country where more than 80% of the population are Muslims, she added.

The organization also distributes food and money, supports education and training for unemployed people. It plans to distribute about 2,000 sheep in the greater Dakar area.

Meanwhile, Ndiaye and others hope the pandemic ends soon so things can go back to normal.

I pray for the COVID to stop, she said. If there is good health, we can all work.



AP reporter Babacar Dione in Dakar contributed to this report.



This story has been corrected to show that the name of the organization is Secours Islamique France, not Islamic Relief France.



Follow all AP stories on the global pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
Heavy storms caused a tree to fall down through the roof of a Millersville home Saturday afternoon, according to a supervisor with Lancaster County-Wide Communications.

The tree crashed through the roof of a single family home that had been converted into an apartment building in the first block of West Frederick Street at 2:57 p.m., the supervisor said. Residents inside were able to safely evacuate the building without injury.

The Red Cross was called in to assist two men who were displaced by the storm damage.

Elsewhere in the county, the storms also caused tree limbs to fall on an SUV in the first block of Townsend Court in Lancaster Township, according to dispatch reports. Another tree fell on West Penn Grant Road in Pequea Township, causing the road to be shut down between Church and Marticville roads as New Danville firefighters cleared the area of debris.
Dozens of Cuban Americans gathered in downtown Lancaster on Sunday afternoon to show support to demonstrators in Cuba who are calling for an end to the island nations decades-old communist regime.

Carrying signs that read S.O.S. Cuba and Patria y vida  homeland and life, a spin on the regimes slogan of homeland or death  the demonstrators sought to draw attention to the cause of protestors on the island who have been campaigning against the government for the past week.

Theres a lot of things that (people in) the United States didnt know was going on over there, said Karla Rivero, a 24-year-old Cuban American from Lancaster.

Demonstrators began gathering at Penn Square shortly after 1 p.m., waving Cuban flags and banging pots and pans while seeking to encourage Americans and the federal government to lend their support to people on the island.

The actions of Cubas authoritarian government against protestors on the island amounts to genocide, Rivero claimed.

They have no way of fighting back, she said. The government is literally killing them just for speaking up and for trying to spread awareness that their human rights are being taken away from them.

Rivero said the struggle in Cuba has evolved into a civilian war against an oppressive government that has starved, censored and killed them for more than six decades.

Cubans have finally reached their last straw, and we want to let them know that we are supporting them on this side of the world, she said.
As the first panel of witnesses at the Nov. 25 Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing in Gettysburg was about to testify, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, leaned over to committee chairman Sen. Dave Argall and asked, Are we going to swear them in?

Argall, R-Berks and Schuylkill counties, shook his head.

No, he said.

What followed was three hours of mostly false, misleading and mistaken testimony about the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania. The partisan hearing became a seminal moment in the spread of the Big Lie about massive voter fraud and helped lay the ideological foundation for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Some witnesses seemed not to understand the process they had observed, and misinterpreted long-standing practices of election workers as evidence of something nefarious. Others presented conjectures unsupported by evidence or law. In still other cases, the complaints were true accounts of legitimate problems in the 2020 election, though they do not approach the systemic fraud former President Donald Trump and his supporters claim.

The hearing would also play a key role in the professional defanging of Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who was responsible for one-fifth of the approximately 50 false and misleading statements The Caucus identified in a review of the hearing.

The seriousness of respondents uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated, the New York Supreme Court wrote in a June 24 decision suspending Giulianis law license, which he had held for 52 years. ... One only has to look at the ongoing present public discord over the 2020 election, which erupted into violence, insurrection and death on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, to understand the extent of the damage that can be done when the public is misled by false information about the elections.

Mastriano  who organized the hearing and, later, sent busloads of people to the protest that preceded the Jan. 6 insurrection  continues to cite the hearing in his quest to replicate the partisan election review in Maricopa County, Ariz.

He has billed both the audit  which would be the third conducted into the 2020 election in Pennsylvania  and the hearing as an attempt to learn the truth.

As far as the Gettysburg hearing goes, a review of the claims witnesses made show it was anything but.

Rudy Giuliani

Claim: Pennsylvania approved 1.8 million mail ballots and received 1.4 million back, but 2.5 million mail votes were recorded in the presidential election.

Our finding: False. Public records show more than 3 million people requested a mail-in ballot and more than 2.6 million returned them.

Though some Trump supporters still cite this falsehood, Giuliani himself has admitted it is untrue. While attempting to preserve his law license in a disciplinary hearing before the New York Supreme Court, Giuliani tried to pin the blame for the deception on an unnamed assistant. The court didnt buy his explanation, stating there is simply no proof to support this explanation. For instance, there is no affidavit from this supposed team member who is not identified by name or otherwise, the court wrote in its decision suspending Giulianis law license.

Claim: About 682,770 mail-in ballots were entered into voting systems in Allegheny and Philadelphia counties without any Republican witnesses.

Our finding: False. Several of the witnesses Giuliani called at this same hearing testified that they witnessed canvassing in those counties, putting the lie to Giulianis claim. Trumps legal team had tried to make a similar claim in federal court, but dropped that portion of its lawsuit 10 days before this hearing  a fact which Giuliani almost certainly knew before repeating the falsehood at this hearing, the New York Supreme Court noted.

During a hearing on Nov. 17, District Judge Matthew Brann pressed Giuliani on whether he was alleging fraud. Unlike Giulianis press conferences or state legislative hearings at which he wasnt sworn in, lying in court could have carried criminal penalties. Giuliani told the judge his case doesnt plead fraud.

Count I makes no mention of the poll-watching allegations, nor does it seek relief for any violation of law on the basis of those allegations, Brann wrote in his decision four days before the hearing.

The New York Supreme Court cited the dishonesty of Giulianis claim on page 14 of its decision to suspend his law license.

Claim: More than 22,000 mail-in ballots were returned the day they were mailed.

Our finding: False and misleading. Department of State records list the same mailed and received dates for just over 42,400 ballots. Act 77 of 2019 allowed voters to apply for, be approved for, receive, fill out and submit mail-in ballots on the same day. Several counties set up satellite election offices to expand access to this form of early voting.

Claim: More than 8,000 dead people voted.

Our finding: False. On page 15 of their decision, the New York Supreme Court justices noted that at various times Giuliani he falsely claimed between 8,000 and 30,000 dead people voted while failing to provide a scintilla of evidence for any of the varying and wildly inconsistent numbers of dead people he factually represented voted in Philadelphia during the 2020 presidential election. Although respondent assured the public that he was investigating this claim, respondent has not provided this tribunal with any report or the results of any investigation which supports his statements about how many dead voters he claims voted in Philadelphia in the 2020 presidential election.

Claim: Mail-in ballots were not inspected by any Republicans in Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. I cant be absolutely certain but I do believe the witnesses will show that a Republican never got to see a single ballot.

Our finding: False. Ten days before this hearing, the Trump campaign dropped this claim from its lawsuit challenging his loss in Pennsylvania.

Claim: Many scholars, many experts believe mail-in ballots are very dangerous and very easy to forge.

Our finding: False. Pennsylvanias mail-in voting system includes a public application process so every voters identity can be independently verified, and the mailed ballots include bar codes on the envelopes and coding on the ballots so scanners can verify their authenticity.

Claim: Justice Souter, former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker warned against using mail-in voting because every place its been used its led to tremendous fraud.

Our finding: False. In his dissent in Crawford v. Marion County, Souter called absentee ballots less reliable, and said there were instances of absentee-ballot fraud in Indiana. He also called them more convenient, and he never recommended against their use. Carter and Baker, co-chairs of the Commission on Federal Election Reform, also did not warn against mail-in voting. In Section 4.2 of their report, they warned it was likely to increase the risks of fraud in places with few ballot-integrity safeguards, such as a robust system for tracking mail-in ballots, which Pennsylvania has.

Five states allow elections to be conducted entirely by mail, and none has experienced the tremendous fraud Giuliani claimed. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, documented one case of absentee ballot fraud in Pennsylvania in the 2020 election: Bruce Bartman fraudulently registered his deceased mother and mother-in-law, applied for absentee ballots, and attempted to use them to vote for Trump. In Allegheny County, Francis Fiore Presto was sentenced to 250 hours of community service and 24 months in the countys Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for fraudulently obtaining a ballot for his wife, Judy, who died in 2013. Presto is a Republican. Of the 28 cases of voter fraud documented by Heritage in Pennsylvania since 1994, nine, or fewer than one-third, involved absentee ballots.

Trump himself votes by absentee ballot. He and his family used mail ballots in the 2020 primary and Trump again requested a mail-in ballot in 2021.

Claim: Republican observers were put in chutes like they were cows to keep them from seeing ballots, a restriction that had never happened before.

Our finding: Partly false, partly misrepresentative. Republicans were allowed the same access as other canvass watchers. Keeping watchers at least six feet from canvassers never happened before because the November election took place during a once-in-a-century pandemic where social distancing was a primary preventative measure against COVID-19s spread.

Claim: Under normal circumstances, like if this were a fair media, your state wouldve been called for Trump.

Our finding: False. Well ahead of Nov. 3, election officials and numerous experts said the unprecedented number of mail-in votes, combined with lawmakers refusal to allow counties to start canvassing ballots early, all but assured the result would not be known on election night.

Claim: Bidens margin of victory in Virginia was one percent, and I think we may have actually won Virginia.

Our finding: False. Bidens 451,000-vote margin of victory in Virginia equates to a margin of 10 percentage points.

Claim: The U.S. Constitution allows the Pennsylvania General Assembly to throw out election results and select their own electors after an election is over.

Our finding: False. The Constitution says state legislatures shall appoint in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct a number of electors. The General Assembly did set the manner in which electors would be selected when it passed Act 77 and, before that, other components of the state Election Code. Legal experts say this theory, advanced by both Giulianis and co-counsel Jenna Ellis, does not stand up to scrutiny.

Phil Waldron, Texas business owner and retired Army colonel

Claim: Voting systems in the United States were built to be manipulated.

Our finding: False. Security evaluations were part of the public certification process elections systems manufacturers had to go through to before being approved for use by counties. Details about those certifications are publicly available.

Claim: The son of a Cuban intelligence officer told Waldrum that deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chaves paid for the development of Smartmatic voting systems in an effort to rig the South American countrys elections.

Our finding: Disputed and misleading. Smartmatic, in court filings, said this is a lie. Also, no county in Pennsylvania uses Smartmatic voting systems.

Claim: Election systems are connected to the internet from the top to the bottom to the middle.

Our finding: False. Voting machines are not connected to the internet.

Claim: There is no transparency in how voter information is processed and stored.

Our finding: False. Voter information is publicly available.

Claim: The voting record is able to be modified and or deleted by operators, administrators and outside threats.

Our finding: False. Every method of voting in Pennsylvania leaves a paper trail that the voter, election administrator and auditor can verify. Two election audits in Pennsylvania have confirmed the accuracy of the vote count.

Claim: Thirty USB sticks and a laptop were stolen from an election storage facility in September. You just heard another witness talk about seeing nonstandard USB storage devices brought into a polling place.

Our finding: Misleading. The theft happened in Philadelphia, which uses a different voting system than Delaware County, where witness Greg Stenstrom said he observed other UBS devices. The USB devices couldnt have been used to meddle in Philadelphias vote count, either, because each is "married" to a specific machine. "If placed in another machine, it will cause an error and the machine will not work, an Election Systems & Software representative told The Philadelphia Inquirer. There is also a paper record of every vote that was used to verify the election results.

Claim: Up to 1.2 million Pennsylvania votes couldve been altered or fraudulent.

Our finding: False. Every voting system in Pennsylvania creates a paper record of every vote cast, and the elections accuracy has been verified by two election audits.

Claim: There is no transparency into how the votes are processed or where theyre stored.

Our finding: False. The operation of voting systems is detailed in their certification documents, and federal law requires counties to store paper records of federal elections for 22 months.

Claim: There are a dozen ways to interdict the voting process.

Our finding: False. State law mandates that the entire election process be monitored by election workers, law enforcement and campaign representatives so this does not happen, and creates a paper trail of votes so audits can verify that it did not happen. Two such audits have done so in Pennsylvania.

Claim: A spike in reported vote totals on Election Night is a prime indicator of fraudulent voting.

Our finding: False. Mail-in votes were canvassed throughout the day and uploaded to reporting systems in batches.

Gregory Stenstrom, Delaware County poll watcher and forensic computer scientist

Claim: County officials prevented Stenstrom from observing the canvass for five hours on Election Day, until he obtained legal help to get in.

Our finding: Misleading. Stenstrom arrived at the canvassing site with a poll-watcher certificate, not certification that he was an authorized representative for a candidate, which is whats required to access canvassing sites, according to Delaware County spokesman Ryan Herlinger. Giving Stenstrom access without authorization would have been a violation of state law. When the executive director of the Delaware County Republican Party emailed the proper authorization to county officials, they allowed Stenstrom in.

Claim: Its impossible to verify the validity of 100,000 to 150,000 votes in Delaware County.

Our finding: False. The mail-in ballot process  from who applied for a mail-in ballot to who received a mail-in ballot to who returned their mail-in ballot  is public record, as is each persons corresponding voter record. The counting took place in public, monitored by representatives from both parties. The counts accuracy has been confirmed by two audits.

Claim: The canvassing process was forensically destructive because envelopes were separated from ballots and moved to different parts of the canvassing room.

Our finding: Misleading. This process, which every county does in some form, ensures the privacy of voters in accordance with Article VII, Section 4 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Running an election in any other manner would ignore the centuries-old principle that American voters are free to make their choices privately, without fear of intimidation or coercion.

Claim: Forty-seven flash drives involved in the Delaware County election operation  called V drives  are missing.

Our finding: False. All V-drives have been accounted for The V-drives are copies of the information on the ballot scanners used in the precincts. Even if a judge were to lose a V-drive, the scanner can be used to generate a replacement. The data always has been and remains secure in the form of the paper ballots and the images of the paper ballots that are captured by the scanners at the moment the voters fed their ballots into the scanners, Herlinger said. Herlinger noted the data on the drives mirror exactly the paper ballots cast in the election.

Claim: They only updated vote tallies every two to three hours, rather than updating the results live.

Our finding: True. This is how voting systems work. The counting and reporting systems are kept separate to isolate counting machines from internet-connected machines. Results are transferred from counting to reporting systems in batches.

Claim: Forensic evidence of the elections operation, including chain-of-custody logs, is gone.

Our finding: False. Every paper ballot, signed precinct poll book, signed absentee- and mail-ballot application, ballot scanner, result tapes from Election Night and other records are preserved and secured, Herlinger said. Multiple methods of confirming the elections accuracy remain available.

Claim: There were only supposed to be 126,000 mail-in ballots in Delaware County, but the universe ended up being 200,000.

Our finding: False. Fewer than 129,000 mail-in votes were cast for president in Delaware County.

Kim Petterson, authorized representative for state Senate candidate Nicole Ziccarelli

Claim: The (TV) monitors were pathetic ... It looked like they were using old technology. We have the most clearest televisions created in the world now, and these were probably from the 60s.

Our finding: False. The monitors were flat-screen, high-definition televisions manufactured by the South Korean electronics company LG, and ranging in size from 75 inches to 86 inches. Log books maintained by election workers, who had to sign every observer in and out and issue identification badges, show no record of Petterson ever entering the building.

Justin Kweder, GOP canvass observer in Philadelphia

Claim: Canvass watchers were not allowed to challenge the processing of mail-in ballots. I find this to be an issue and to be irregular.

Our finding: True but not irregular. According to the Department of State, which oversees the administration of the Election Code written by the Legislature: Authorized representatives (which includes poll watchers that have been designated by a candidate or political party to serve as authorized representatives during the pre-canvass or canvass) may not challenge an absentee or mail-in ballot during the pre-canvass or canvass of the ballots. Absentee and mail-in ballot applications may only be challenged prior to 5:00 pm on the Friday prior to the election, and only on good faith grounds that the applicant was not a qualified elector. No other challenges are permitted. Authorized representatives may not engage in, attempt to intimidate, nor interfere with the pre-canvass or canvass of the absentee and mail-in ballots. Challenges to mail-in or absentee ballots, based on signature analysis, are not permitted at any time.

Claim: Any restoration of faith can and will only be accomplished after an investigation into this election.

Our finding: Misleading. Voting machines provide paper records of each vote cast, and the election results have been verified by two audits.

Leah Hoopes, Delaware County poll watcher and Bethel Township committeewoman

Claim: A grant from a group funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg paid for pop-up voting centers in heavily Democratic areas of Delaware County.

Our finding: Misleading. Twenty-three counties in Pennsylvania received grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, to which Zuckerberg donated. Twelve had more Democrats than Republicans and 11 had more Republicans than Democrats, according to voter registration statistics for November 2020. Delaware County received $2.2 million in grant funding, a portion of which paid for satellite offices in the countys three largest population centers and drop boxes in 41 of the countys 49 municipalities.

Gary Feldman, Republican political operative and Philadelphia poll watcher

Claim: Two poll workers improperly kept Feldman from a polling place he was entitled to enter as a poll watcher.

Our finding: True. A video shows Feldman being wrongfully barred from observing the vote process. Poll workers mistakenly believed his poll watcher certificate did not grant him access to that specific location. Feldman testified that he was later allowed into another polling place in the city.

David Shestokis, GOP lawyer licensed in Illinois and Florida, and Allegheny County canvass observer

Claim: Last-minute rule changes by local boards of elections made monitoring the process next to impossible.

Our finding: False. Candidates representatives, including Shestokis, were allowed to observe the canvassing process.

Claim: Mail-in ballots were coming into the count room already sliced open and canvass watchers had no idea when or where the slicing took place.

Our finding: False. The ballot-opening machines operated in two rooms, and both locations were in view of the canvass watchers areas.

Claim: There was about six machines where they were feeding the ballots. And while they had six machines feeding the ballots, as they would go in, two or three would kick out to a different tray, and workers sometimes would take the ones that werent kicked out and put them in a different stack and sometimes youd run all of them through again and sometimes run two or three. We never had any idea if they were zeroing out a machine or what they were doing. I asked the county solicitor whats going on. He told me that this was a Pitney Bowes representative working there that had been sworn in as a county representative and that sometimes the ballot machine doesnt count those things, so he runs them through. But there was absolutely no provenance to what was going on in the counting machines.

Our finding: Misleading. Shestokis appears to be confusing the Pitney Bowes mail-sorting machine with machines that count ballots (which are not made by Pitney Bowes). The process hes referring to sorted the mail into its voting districts, which was necessary before scanning the ballots because different municipalities had different choices on their ballots. It did not tally any votes.

Claim: The Allegheny County solicitor could not describe the journey of a ballot from the time it enters the building through the moment its counted.

Our finding: False. According to Allegheny County officials, several people were on hand to explain this very thing to canvass watchers and the media. Two of the workers who were there that day recently did so for a Caucus reporter.

Claim: Having an adversarial party witness the counting process ensures the integrity of an election. That was completely and utterly absent.

Our finding: False. Republicans, including Shestokis, were present to monitor the process.

Elizabeth Preate Havey, chair of the Montgomery County Republican Committee

Claim: Party operatives were not able to see whether voters voted twice or were deceased.

Our finding: False. Lists of voters who applied for absentee ballots were available, and the party had the chance to challenge any of them up until the Friday before the election.

Claim: After last-minute guidance from the Department of State, some counties attempted to contact voters whose mail ballots had technical faults that would have disqualified them, while other counties did not. This resulted in voters being treated differently depending on which county they lived in.

Our finding: True. Some counties informed voters that their ballots had been rejected for reasons other than their ineligibility to vote, such as a failing to sign or date the exterior mail-in ballot envelope, or seal their ballot inside a second secrecy envelope, which gave those voters the chance to go to their polling place and cast a provisional ballot. Other counties did not inform voters of these issues. Its unclear whether this would have resulted in fewer votes for Trump or Biden; although many majority-Republican counties did not allow voters to fix their ballots, Biden still led the mail-in vote in those counties.

Claim: The Kathy Barnette for Congresss campaign found at least 188 deceased people in Montgomery County voted in 2020.

Our finding: Unverified but possible. Preate Harvey provided no evidence of this claim. However, there have been documented cases of voters dying between the day they mailed their ballots and Election Day. In those cases, state law says the votes should not be counted, but if they are counted before officials are aware the person is dead, those votes shall not of itself invalidate any nomination or election.

Gloria Lee Snover, Northampton County Republican Party chair

Claim: The Department of State reactivated the registrations of scores of people who have not voted since the 1990s so they could receive mail-in ballots setting up the opportunity for fraud on a massive scale.

Our finding: False. This is not how the states voter registration system works. Voters whove been removed from the voter roll cannot be reactivated unless they re-register. The Department of State notifies people who have not voted in five years that their status will be changed to inactive in preparation for eventual removal from the voter rolls if they do not respond. An inactive voter may change their status to active simply by showing up to vote, at which time they might be asked to show identification.

Donald Trump (the then-president called into the hearing from the White House and was put on speaker so the panel and audience could hear his remarks).

Claim: This was an election that we won easily, we won it by a lot.

Our finding: False. Trump received 80,554 fewer votes than Biden in Pennsylvania and 7.1 million fewer than Biden overall.

Claim: Trump received more votes than Ronald Reagan when Reagan won 49 states in 1984.

Our finding: True. Reagan received 54.5 million votes in 1984, or 31.3 percent of the voting-age population (173.9 million), compared to Trumps 74.2 million, or 29.1 percent of the voting age population (255.2 million). Biden received 81.3 million votes, 7.1 million more than Trump.

Claim: All you had to do was take a look at the numbers at 10 oclock in the evening when everybody thought the election was virtually over.

Our finding: False. Election experts had for months said the count would likely continue well past election day.

This story originally ran as two pieces in the July 13 issue of The Caucus, LNP's publication covering state government and politics.

Follow Mike Wereschagin on Twitter @Wrschgn.
A consultant hired to improve communications within and outside Coatesville Area School District presented her findings to the board July 13 in a meeting livestreamed to YouTube.

Beth Trapani of Trapani School Communications Consulting presented the results of a district communications audit prepared by her firm with input from focus groups and surveys.

The report identified existing problems including inconsistency, particularly in internal communication. Surveys showed the district gives the impression it is always acting in crisis mode.

Inconsistency is a common thing, and internal communication is the greatest deficit. Nearly every audience  community students, staff and parents  say they would like to hear more from the school board, Trapani said.

Recommendations include hiring a full-time community relations and communication director to strengthen communications, to develop a plan toward achieving that goal and to make major changes to the website.

Trapani also recommends forming a marketing task force and to focus efforts on reaching preschools and realtors to promote the value of the district.

The next step for the district is to determine the kind of investment they are willing to make and the amount of resources they are willing to allocate.

Board President Robert Fisher concluded the meeting by reading a prepared statement regarding board member Henry Assetto who has been absent from meetings for many months due to health issues.

There have been public comments over the past few meetings suggesting the board should replace Assetto.

Fisher referenced state law that does indicate a board member may be replaced after missing consecutive meetings but cannot be removed if the missed meetings were due to illness.

Although we deeply miss our fellow board member and the valuable contributions he has made before his illness, we want to stress the work of the school board is being handled for and on behalf of the community and will continue to be done until his return, Fisher said.

Fisher noted that the board will be returning to live meetings and committee meetings in August.
When: Lancaster Township supervisors meeting on July 12.

What happened: Township Engineer Ben Webber reported on the townships municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) program status.

Background: The 2002 federal Clean Water Act administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires participating municipalities to obtain permits and report on their stormwater management plans and progress toward reducing water pollution. The state indicates that Pennsylvania has close to 1,000 jurisdictions that have obtained such permits.

Progress: Webber reported that over the past year the township has made progress in the areas of public education and outreach including an informational kiosk built as a Boy Scouts Eagle project and a Conestoga Creek cleanup event. Four illicit discharges were also addressed.

Church building sale: Several potential buyers have expressed interest in a township-owned church building which is for sale at 551 Abbeyville Road. Bid opening is scheduled for Aug. 2. The township acquired the former Church of Christ site in February as a potential home for the Lancaster Township Fire Department, but officials decided not to use it for that purpose.

Police contract negotiations: Township Manager Bill Laudien said negotiations will take place with Manheim Township in an attempt to resolve cost issues for police services.

Road defects: Webber reported that two new roads in the Southern Village residential development were not built to township specifications and will have to be redone.
When: South Lebanon Township supervisors meeting, July 13.

What happened: Township supervisors approved a request from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to maintain East Evergreen Road and State Drive during times of winter weather.

Money for the township: South Lebanon Township will be paid $12,573 this winter as part of a five-year agreement with PennDOT.

In other business: Supervisors voted to advertise for bids on the rental of 46 acres of farmland that it owns on the east and west sides of Lincoln Avenue, around the entrance of the Lebanon Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Community event: The township board approved a request from St. Cecilias Catholic Church for fire police to staff its annual church festival on Aug. 6-7 at the parishs social hall, 750 State Drive, Lebanon.
Our mission at YWCA Lancaster is to eliminate racism and empower women. While this seems like a simple-enough statement, there are still those who seek to define for others what it means to be a woman. Transgender women are women, and when we say empower women, we mean everyone who identifies as a woman.

We acknowledge our own current and historical complicity in denying transgender women their humanity, and although Pride month has ended, our work to affirm the dignity and rights of all transgender women continues.

Science should not be needed to prove who is a woman, but it is important to note that research over the past decade has blown significant holes in the gender binary  the classification of gender in two, and only two, distinct categories. When considering the historically patriarchal, colonized and gender-normative nature of the science of sex and gender, it is no surprise that as there is more inclusion in academia, there is more research concluding what Indigenous peoples have always known: There are multitudes of identity between woman and man. (Note: Merriam-Webster defines gender-normative as adhering to or reinforcing ideal standards of masculinity or femininity.)

As we continue at YWCA Lancaster to work internally and externally to show up for transgender rights, we must advocate for the following, based on the words of Alessandra Bryant and Kendal Edwards in their June essay for YWCA National:

 Every woman has the right to define their own womanhood.

Woman cannot be defined by appearance, biology or the opinions of cisgender people (that is, people whose gender matches the sex they were assigned at birth). A womans gender identity must be defined by each individual woman, and we must understand that this can change over time because of how rigidly gendered we are because of the way weve been socialized since birth.

 We must listen to transgender women.

We must listen to understand, not to respond or debate someones humanity. Trans women, and especially trans women who exist at other intersections of systemic oppression, have a world of experience and understanding that privileged people do not inherently possess.

 We must uplift and center transgender women voices in these movements, especially Black, Indigenous and other trans women of color.

To quote self-described Black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet Audre Lorde, I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

We need to lift up and center transgender voices by any means necessary, and provide the appropriate economic, political and mental support for liberation. This includes cisgender people taking risks in ways that transgender/nonbinary folks would never be able to do without potential physical, mental and economic harm.

 We need to educate ourselves to work in solidarity with Black, Indigenous and other trans women of color.

We do not get to label ourselves ally. Working in solidarity means we must do our own work to understand whats at stake  and not at the expense and exploitation of the women we mean to support.

 We need to realize that the liberation of Black, Indigenous and other trans women of color means the liberation of all.

Making space for trans women is not a zero-sum game. We are building a larger table, not replacing people at the table.

When we create more equitable spaces that are devoid of expectations based on gender, we all benefit. Cisgender people must evaluate and reflect on the power structures in their own spheres of influence and consider the question, What do I actually have to lose?

This is not an exhaustive list. Our work to dismantle systems of oppression is continuous and ever-changing. But if we as a community are able to hold true to these values, we can envision a better world not just for future generations, but for the here and now.

Adam Hosey is chief equity officer for YWCA Lancaster.
We may be experiencing another wave of the pandemic, and I believe this can be avoided. Very severe reactions to the vaccines are uncommon, so there should be no hesitancy in getting one.

Theyre not 100%, but the approximately 95% effectiveness for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines is remarkable.

In the meantime, the number of people getting sick with the virus nationally is going up, with hospitalizations and deaths from the virus on the upswing.

The good news: Hospitalization rates among those who are fully vaccinated are relatively low and deaths are extremely low.

Deaths and hospitalizations are a senseless tragedy when we have enough vaccines for everyone. Those who refuse vaccination are contributing to these unfortunate spikes and are harming the rest of us  and that includes our economy.

We need herd immunity, and that means, according to some experts, that 80% of the population will need to be immune from COVID-19.

Moreover, I am disappointed that not all health care workers are vaccinated. All credible sources from the scientific community say that vaccinating all eligible people is beneficial to all of us  not just to those who receive the vaccination. I believe that health care workers owe it to themselves  as well as to the people they are called upon to serve  to get vaccinated now.

Nikitas J. Zervanos, M.D.

Lancaster Township
I was stunned to read the article in the July 11 Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline concerning the Esh familys alleged abuse of little animals (Slipping through the law).

Surely, the Esh family is aware that these animals are created by God, just as we are.

It is my hope that we as a community  especially the Amish community  censure the Esh family to the fullest, so that this needless travesty will come to an end.

A note to the Esh family: God is watching you carefully.

Rick Banzhoff

Lancaster
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2021

Terror, War and Drugs, or Peace Through Development

July 17, 2021 (EIRNS)A sign at an organizing table in New Jersey manned by The LaRouche Organization yesterday posed these alternatives for Afghanistan, and by implication for the world: Terror, War and Drugs; or Peace Through Development. The first option would have a devastating impact on every man, woman and child in the world, given the fact that a destabilized Afghanistan will continue as the source of 80% of the worlds opium and as a training ground for ISIS and al-Qaeda. The second optionby following the proposal offered by Lyndon LaRouche even before George Bush launched the war 20 years agowould allow Afghanistan to end its history as the graveyard of empires, and to become the hub for an expanded New Silk Road, with rail lines connecting the landlocked countries of Central Asia to the ocean via a north-south rail line through Kabul and Pakistan, as well as east-west connections following the ancient Silk Road.

LaRouches proposals began with the necessity that all the countries in the regionRussia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and the five Central Asian nations, meet and cooperate with the Afghanis to assure development, to the benefit of all, as the only means by which the terrorism and the drugs could be eliminated. There are now, over this past week, developments which convey the very real potential that this is possible. The U.S. military withdrawal after 20 years of useless, destructive, deadly warfare, has sparked actions by all of the regional nations, which held a series of meetings this week largely focused on the urgency of bringing real development to Afghanistan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers Council, which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as ten other nations as Observers or Dialogue Partners, met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on July 13-14. At the center of the discussions, including the sideline discussions, was the idea that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could be extended, branching out from the rail line running from China through Pakistan to the Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea. From Islamabad, the branch would pass through Peshawar, the Khyber Pass, to Kabul, then onward north to Tashkent, Uzbekistan and on to the Eurasian Land-Bridge lines connecting China to Europe. This plan was launched in February in a meeting of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan, called the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor.

This and other development plans were also on the table at a July 15-16 meeting in Tashkent of the International Conference on Central and South Asia Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities. Dilshod Saidjanov, an Uzbek spokesman, told Indias Asia News International (ANI): Economic development is the way to make Afghanistan stronger and probably more peaceful. Everyone wants better development in Afghanistan. Pakistan has proposed the establishment of an SCO Development Bank, to further generate credit for these development projects.

Will the U.S. join these efforts, or allow the war party which dominates both U.S. political parties and the media to act against them, under the evil lie that they are simply another expression of China trying to take over the world. A sliver of hope that the U.S. will take the sane approach of cooperation in development was seen in a State Department release on July 16: Announcing the U.S.-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan-Pakistan Quad Regional Support for Afghanistan-Peace Process and Post Settlement. These are indeed the nations through which the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor would pass. The announcement states: that the parties intend to cooperate to expand trade, build transit links, and strengthen business-to-business ties. Such a shift in the now-normal U.S. policies of sanctions, wars and regime change subversion should be strongly encouraged.

Next weeks issue of Executive Intelligence Review will contain a package on this critical moment in Afghanistan, a moment in which the fate of the entire world could be determined, for good or for ill. An international agreement to cooperate with Afghanistan and its neighbors to transform the region into a central hub for the global New Silk Road process would also serve as a model for ending other crisis spots, in the war-ruined nations of Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. This is the principle of the Schiller Institutes Coincidence of Oppositesbringing seemingly intractable conflicts to an end by addressing the higher-ordered principle located in the common interests of all people, for peace through development. Such an optimistic approach may seem impossible, but the alternative is unthinkable. Humanity has risen up out of Dark Ages in the past, creating a Renaissance when nothing less will work. This moment must find a people with no less of the creative will required to build such a new Renaissance.
The Coup Against Trump Never EndsMilley, Washington Post, et al. Escalate the Endless Coup

July 17, 2021 (EIRNS)If anyone thought the Russiagate coup attempt and the fake Ukraine call impeachment were aimed at Donald Trump alone, the fact that the coup did not end with the removal of Trump as President proves that the target was the entire American people, with the intent to keep the population permanently divided over lies and false narratives.

This week the media whores at the Washington Post and their brothel of fellow travelers unleashed another coup attempt. Excerpts from an upcoming book by two Washington Post journalists, I Alone Can FIx It by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, quote the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley (who has denied nothing) saying: They may try, but theyre not going to fucking succeed. You cant do this without the military. You cant do this without the CIA and the FBI. Were the guys with the guns. He told aides, they write, that This is a Reichstag moment. ... The gospel of the Fuhrer, and told staffers that listening to Trump was like reading George Orwells 1984: Lies are truth. Division is unity. Evil is good.

The book also says that Nancy Pelosi called on Milley to not follow any Trump order to use nuclear weapons.

The New Yorker joined the endless coup effort against Trump with a July 15 article titled:  Youre Gonna Have a Fucking War: Mark Milleys Fight To Stop Trump from Striking Iran The author, Susan B. Glasser, was previously an editor of Politico Magazine, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post. She is married to Washington Posts Peter Bakerthey co-authored an early diatribe against Vladimir Putin in 2005, Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution.

Glasser writes that on Jan. 3, 2021, Milley met with Trump and Mike Pompeo. Milley, she says, secretly feared that Trump would insist on launching a strike on Iranian interests that could set off a full-blown war ... as part of his quixotic campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election and remain in power. Milley also said that he feared, Glasser writes, that Trump would try to use the military on the streets of America to prevent the legitimate, peaceful transfer of power.

As Col. Richard Black (ret.) reported at a Schiller Institute conference on Sept. 5, 2020, Milley did nothing when a cabal of flag officers were urging him to join their discussion on the need for a coup against the Trump Presidency. See Do We Risk a Military Coup?

Trump ridiculed the charges in a Telegram message, saying he mistakenly hired Milley only because Mattis hated him, so he figured he must be good. If he said the things claimed, Trump said, he perhaps should be impeached or court-martialed. Trump (showing his deterioration from his initial intentions as President) said that he told Milley to spend more time thinking about China and Russia.


Monica Bentley is the administrator for Edison Academy in the American state of Virginia. The academy helps students learn about things like computer security, car repair, hair and beauty care and supervising a professional kitchen.

Bentley has many years of experience helping students learn about careers. But she recently had trouble persuading one student  her daughter  to try out a job training class at the academy.

She didnt want to travel, Bentley said of her daughter, whose main school is about 30 minutes away from the career training center. I wasnt going to make her do it, but I think it would have been a great opportunity.

Sometimes a school system has just one training center for every five or six high schools. And asking high school students to travel from their local school to another building is just one of several obstacles career training centers face.

They need to persuade students to take more than one or two classes. They also need to expand programs that prepare students with basic training for higher-level training after high school.

Another problem is when students are interested in taking career training classes, but their parents do not agree. They might believe the student should take more classes in subjects like math and science.

Bentley said sometimes parents wishes prevent training centers like the Edison Academy from getting the community support they need. However, once parents see the kind of education their child can receive from a career training center, they usually change their minds.

Charles Wilkinson recently graduated from Edison High School and took some auto repair classes at the academy. He described the conflict between the high school and the academy. He felt as if the adults in the high school did not support students who wanted to take career classes.

The attitude that students doing well shouldnt waste their time in [CTE] classes is heavily damaging to the experience and needs to see a change, he said.

Alisha Hyslop is the Senior Director of Public Policy for the Association for Career and Technical Education. Hyslop said training centers like the Edison Academy are good for students who do not want to attend college. But the people in charge of the centers also need to tell people that many students who take classes there move on to attend college.

She said high schools around the U.S. need to work hard to align secondary programs with post-secondary programs and build those seamless pathways for students.

Hyslop gave the example of a student who might earn a starting credential for engineering or computer security in high school. After graduation, that student could then go on to study that subject in college.

Building pathways and strengthening pathways for students is really important as we look toward the future and as the job market continues to require kind of higher and higher levels of skills.

Last month, VOA spoke with A.J. Muir, who took classes in cybersecurity at Edison Academy. He will continue to study computer technology in college.

Recently, the advising company McKinsey produced a podcast called Grabbing Hold of the New Future of Work. In it, experts discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic took away some traditional jobs. But they said it made the kind of jobs that can only be done by a human more important.

Susan Lund, a global labor expert at McKinsey, said there will not be as many jobs for people who, for example, once helped buyers choose clothes at a store. That is because more people are buying clothing online.

She said her companys research shows that in the U.S., there will be 17 million fewer service jobs over the next 10 years. Many jobs in restaurants, hotels or stores do not require a college education. The experts said they are worried about how those 17 million people will replace the income from those jobs.

Lund said people who can go to a factory and load software on a robot will be more in demand than ever. Those are the kinds of in-person jobs that many students are learning at career training centers.

Lund and training center expert Hyslop had similar things to say about the future of career education. Both said training works better when high school students have a guaranteed next step after they graduate. Lund said some high school programs last for six years instead of the traditional four. Students who complete all six years graduate with a technology degree.

There is a program in New York City where high school graduates go straight to a program at City University of New York.

And they have amazing rates of graduation and are graduating students who are then ready to actually go get a job because they have some technical skills.

Bentley said one of her most important jobs is telling people about her academys success. She is looking forward to doing that more when school starts again in August. She thinks once students get a better idea of the class offerings, there could be more interest.

We might need more academies, too, as the word spreads, she said.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr was the editor.

How does career training work in your country? What are some of the problems? What are some of the benefits? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - How Job Training for US Students Can Get Better Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

career n. a job or profession that someone has for a long time

obstacle n. a barrier; something that makes it more difficult to reach an aim or goal

attitude n. the way you think and feel about something

align  v. to arrange things so that they are in the correct position

seamless  adj. moving from one thing to another without problems

credential n. a document which shows that a person is qualified to do a particular job

global adj. involving the whole world

income n. money that is earned from work, investments or business
Italy has announced a ban on large cruise ships sailing into the northern city of Venice.

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the ban was approved during a Cabinet meeting on July 13 and will take effect August 1. It covers the lagoon near the citys St. Marks Square and the Giudecca Canal. The lagoon area is used by cruise ships stopping in Venice. Venice is built on a system of canals.

Franceschini said the government decided to act fast to avoid the U.N. culture agency UNESCO adding Venice to its list of World Heritage in Danger sites at an upcoming meeting in China.

UNESCO suggested last month it could put Venice on the list. The agency says the cruise ships -- which carry and unload thousands of day-trippers -- threaten the surrounding water environment.

The government order also declared the waterways of St. Marks Basin, St. Marks Canal and the Giudecca Canal a national monument, the minister added.

Environmentalists and cultural heritage activists have long sought to establish a ban on cruise ships in Venice. But the plans were opposed by local business leaders, who argue that the ships should be permitted because they bring in so much money.

Franceschini told reporters the governments decision was awaited by UNESCO and by all those who have been to Venice and who have remained disturbed by the huge size of these ships passing through

The Italian government had decided on a ban earlier this year but did not immediately set a start date.

The ban covers ships weighing more than 25,000 tons or longer than 180 meters. It also bars smaller ships that produce too much pollution or could otherwise harm the citys environment.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghis office said other ships that are considered sustainable to the Venetian environment can continue to stop in Venice. The office noted that permitted ships generally carry about 200 passengers compared to the thousands transported by large cruise ships.

When cruise passengers are dropped in Venice, they generally only have a few hours to spend in the city. Most passengers end up visiting popular sites like St. Marks Square, adding to the citys already crowded public spaces.

No cars are permitted in historic Venice, which is made up of narrow passages and numerous bridges. During the citys high tourist season, getting around Venice on foot can be difficult.

The government order also establishes compensation plans for industry businesses and others affected by the ban.

Officials plan to seek other possible stopping points for cruise ships in waters outside the heart of Venice. For now, the government has approved at least four temporary sites near the industrial port of Marghera, on the northwestern Adriatic Sea.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________

Words in This Story

cruise ship  n. a large ship that is similar to a hotel, on which people travel for pleasure

lagoon  n. a lake that contains sea water

canal  n. an artificial river built for boats to travel through

heritage  n. buildings, paintings, customs, etc. that are important in a culture or society because they have existed for a long time

disturb  v. to worry or cause to be upset

sustainable  adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

compensation  n. money that is paid to someone to make up for losses or damages
"Titane" has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Julia Ducournau the second female filmmaker to win the festival's top honor in its 74 year history.

The win was mistakenly announced by jury president Spike Lee at the top of the show, unleashing a few moments of confusion. Ducournau did not immediately come to the stage to accept the award, instead waiting until the formal announcement at the end of the ceremony.

At the end, the win for "Titane" was announced by Lee and presenter Sharon Stone.

After the flub, the ceremony continued and other awards were handed out while Lee was seen with his head in his hands.

The Grand Prix award was a joint honor split between the Iranian drama "A Hero" and Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen's "Apartment No. 6."

Best director was awarded to Leos Carax for "Annette," the fantastical musical that opened the festival. The award was accepted by the musical duo Sparks, who wrote the script and music for the film.

Nadav Lapid's "Ahed's Knee" won the jury prize, while Caleb Landry Jones took home the best actor prize. Renate Reinsve won best actress for Joachim Trier's "The Worst Person in the World."
THE FACTS: All of that is false. The ballots were not unofficial or printed on illegal paper, and even Logan never alleged they were fraudulent.

Logan pointed to ballots with the printing slightly offset between the front and back. He claimed this could cause votes to be counted for the wrong candidate if ink from one side bleeds through to another. He said the alignment issues were mostly from polling-place ballots, which are printed onsite, and said about 168,000 ballots were cast that way. The overwhelming majority of Arizona voters cast ballots by mail.

We are seeing a lot of very thin paper stock being used especially on Election Day, Logan added.

The allegation harkens back to the debunked Sharpiegate conspiracy theory that arose in the days after the election. Election experts say bleed-through doesnt affect the vote count because bubbles on one side of a ballot dont align with those on the other. Ballots that can't be read are flagged and duplicated by a bipartisan team.
Regnerys real legacy is not what he built, but the immense harm that he caused, she said.

Spencer himself tweeted, of Regnery, on July 12, saying he was fortunate to have known him and learned much from him.

In a 2017 article, BuzzFeed News said Regnery felt his ideas were redeemed by the candidacy of now former President Donald Trump.

I think Trump was a legitimatizer, Regnery told the publication. White nationalism went from being conversation you could hold in a bathroom, to the front parlor.

Regnery was born on Feb. 25, 1941, in the Chicago area and grew up in the suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois, The New York Times reported. His father worked for the family textile business.

Regnerys grandfather, William H. Regnery, was a founding member of the America First Committee, which sought to keep the United States out of World War II. His uncle Henry founded Regnery Publishing, which continues to publish books by a range of conservative voices, now as an imprint of the Salem Media Group and distributed by Simon & Schuster.
LEXINGTON  A new outfit can make anyone feel more confident or successful, this can be especially true for school students. If they are ashamed of what they have to wear can be detrimental to their own self-respect. There is a non-profit in Lexington which is dedicated to getting new clothes for children who may have never worn anything brand new in their life.

L2 for Kids is holding a fundraiser this month to raise money to clothe these children for success when they begin the school year in August.

Started in 2012 by Henry and Pat Potter, L2 has helped over 3,400 children in communities such as Alma, Cambridge, Cozad, Culbertson, Grant, Gothenburg, Holdrege, Lexington, North Platte and McCook.

Over the years the numbers of children helped have only increased, in 2014 there were 437 helped, in 2015, it grew to 680, 2016 saw it grow to 778, in 2017, 953 and in 2018, around 11,000.

L2 stands for Lazarus in the Bible who was given a second chance. Like Lazarus, children have a second chance with new school clothes for the first day of school, according to the L2 website, With the help of local churches, counselors, and school personnel, applications will be given to the parents of children needing school clothes.
Lewiston, ID (83501)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Not at all.

A little but not enough to alter my schedule.

Enough that I try to stay inside as much as possible.

It's really done a number on me.

Vote

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Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University. He can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Robertson told the board of directors of the Wisconsin Technology Council he hopes the project can be revived soon because of how other leading engineering schools are upping their R&D games.

The list includes the University of Illinois, which recently attracted research partner Brunswick, the parent company of Fond du Lacs Mercury Marine; the University of Texas; Ohio State University; the University of Maryland; the University of Michigan; the University of Arizona; Iowa State University; Purdue University; Georgia Tech and more.

Its not just about competing for federal research dollars but attracting and retaining businesses that need research allies and are clamoring for engineering graduates. Enrollment is capped at Madisons engineering school at 4,500, even though it could rapidly grow to 5,000 with the right infrastructure. With few exceptions, other Big Ten Conference schools have recently boosted the number of engineers they educate and place in the workforce.

Wisconsin has other well-regarded, research-oriented engineering schools, which could also be part of a consortium to attract one of the 10 research hubs to Wisconsin. Without a stronger UW-Madison at the core, however, such a consortium might not get as far in a national competition.

Lawmakers faced many tough choices with the latest state budget, especially in capital projects. Looking ahead, advancing plans that build economic value and jobs for Wisconsin should take precedence  sooner than later.

Tom Still is the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Email: tstill@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.
Sabrina Madison has worked here before.

It was 2016, she had just quit her job at Madison Area Technical College and was hunkered down above the Veterans Museum in the co-working space of 100state, a nonprofit designed to guide and innovate entrepreneurs like herself.

As the lone African American women in the office space and one who wasnt trying to design the next best piece of software or gadget, she was fueled by the energy of the space and her cohorts but knew what she was setting out to do was quite different from those around her.

But Madison is back in the same building on Capitol Square. Only now she has her own space and has fleshed out a business model designed to help women like herself thrive.

Madisons enthusiasm remains infectious, her drive unrelenting as the Progress Center for Black Women prepares to open its doors on the seventh floor of 30 W. Mifflin St.
More than a dozen states have passed education funding changes in the past year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Weve seen a lot of organizations starting to say the weighted student funding model is the way to go. The other reason were really driven by this is that we really like the idea of continued education reform and, in order to achieve that, the money has to follow the students, Sobic said. On both sides of the aisle there is still a reaction to parents struggling with the pandemic and what it did to education.

The Republican focus on education issues comes as the party seeks to rebuild after statewide losses in 2018 and 2020. The period coinciding with the presidency of Donald Trump saw suburban women flee the party, as evidenced by Democratic legislative gains in suburban Milwaukee.

Education was the most contentious issue in the recently passed 2021-23 state budget, with Republicans increasing funding for public schools by less than a tenth of what Evers had requested. Evers ultimately signed a Republican budget that pumped hundreds of millions of new dollars into the state funding formula, but because of state-imposed revenue limits, it effectively will lower property taxes rather than add money to district budgets.
This is the story of the Wisconsin dairy industry, Smith said. Theres a story of pain and decision-making and process that every one of those 41,000 dairy farms weve lost since 1978 went through. Im trying (with poetry) to reach both the farming and the non-farming audience. This is a social, economic and cultural impact that Wisconsin needs to deal with. Because the result has not been felt in the grocery store. Losing those 41,000 family dairy farms had a tremendous impact on local schools, school boards, the town board, the co-op board. Theres just fewer people in those areas.

Smith will begin ramping up his promotion of the book later this summer and into the fall. One event will be a 3 p.m. reading and signing Aug. 22 at Arcadia Books in downtown Spring Green. The events will allow Smith to better contextualize his writings, answer questions and likely hear more stories of farms lost, lives changed.

Just today I felt myself fall out of love with this land, Smith wrote in his poem Dry Dirt, 80 pages into his book. How many times can a man kick dirt, swear it has never been so dry. Now I drop decades of tending crops and cattle into a heap out back, pull the year shut like one would an old door on an empty barn.
MOBILE, Alabama  The delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, we are told, and vaccination rates are low here. Seven of the 10 states with the lowest rates of vaccination are in the Deep South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina. That means residents of the region will continue to get sick and die from COVID-19 in higher numbers than those in other parts of the country.

Many reasons help explain the low vaccination rates  poverty, low educational achievement and science-denying Trumpism among them. But a dismal system of health care is at the center of the problem.

While the U.S. Supreme Court recently rebuffed another attempt to kill the Affordable Care Act, a ruling that ought to be a signal to opponents that Obamacare is here to stay, the decision couldnt force Republicans at the state level to expand Medicaid. Twelve states  most of them, again, in the Deep South  have refused to expand Medicaid, leaving some of their poorest residents without health care.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Some legislators on a committee studying the economic impact of raising and racing horses in South Carolina said the group should also consider legalizing betting on horse racing.

The Equine Industry Support Measures Study Committee made up of two House members and two senators as well as two people in the horse industry and a representative from the state Agriculture Department is spending the next eight months studying what horses do for the state's economy.

They first met last month and plan more meetings in places where horses are popular, like Aiken, Clemson and Camden, committee chairman Rep. Russell Ott told The State newspaper.

The state law creating the committee was passed by the General Assembly in April. It tells the group to study how the state can grow the horse industry or reduce the barriers to its growth as well as compare the incentives offered by South Carolina to other states and whether South Carolina should cooperate with horse facilities in other states.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has asked a judge to throw out his conviction for trespassing at the Idaho Capitol and acquit him instead because he says the state's trespassing law should not be applied to public property.

Idaho's courts, like many states, allow defendants to ask the judge for an acquittal within several days of a jury verdict. The move is seldom made, however, and rarely successful.

It stems from Bundy's arrest on Aug. 25, 2020, after he refused to leave an auditorium in the Statehouse after officials ordered it to be cleared. Officers also said he went limp and refused to stand up and put his hands behind his back. Officers ultimately wheeled him out of the Capitol building on a swivel chair.

The arrest came during a special session of the Idaho Legislature that was called so lawmakers could address issues related to the coronavirus pandemic. Bundy was among dozens of demonstrators  many of them members of his People's Rights organization  who attended the special session to protest because they were angry about coronavirus-related restrictions. During one of the protests, unmasked protesters joined by Bundy forced their way into a House gallery with limited seating, shattering a glass door.
The inferno has stymied firefighters for a week with erratic winds and extremely dangerous fire behavior, including ominous fire clouds that form from superheated air rising to a height of up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze.

We're expecting those same exact conditions to continue and worsen into the weekend, Krake said of the fire-induced clouds.

Early on, the fire doubled in size almost daily, and strong winds Thursday again pushed the flames rapidly. Similar winds gusting up to 30 mph (48 kph) were expected Friday.

It's burning an area north of the California border that has been gripped by extreme drought, like most of the American West.

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves tied to climate change have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The blaze was most active on its northeastern flank, pushed by winds from the south toward the rural communities of Summer Lake and Silver Lake. Paisley, to the east of the fire, was also at risk. All the towns are in Lake County, a remote area of lakes and wildlife refuges with a total population of about 8,000.
As Haza was recounting his story, he mentioned having recently attended a ceremony in which a family friend was inducted into the U.S. Army. As he watched the young man swear to protect and defend the United States, Haza understood why his father had given his life for Cuba.

Now I understand why my father died, Haza said. In his death, Colonel Bonifacio Haza served his country, and in serving his country, he served his family, including his eight-year-old son, who now lives in freedom in the United States.

While many Americans take their freedoms for granted, Luis Haza, whose father defied Castro and was killed for doing so, does not. He understands that the freedoms we have are extraordinary and that freedoms are never free.

This past weekend, over 40 anti-government protests erupted throughout Cuba. At least one person has died and over 100 are missing, presumably arrested. The Biden administration first attributed the protests to COVID, but the cries were for Libertad: liberty.
I am not a prude. In my 35-years as a journalist I have observed at very close range the best and worst humanity has to offer. And Im well aware that millions of our friends and neighbors have strongly antagonistic feeling toward the current president.

But at what point did we decide that our children are fair game for exposure to this kind of casual obscenity?

I looked around at the other families walking with me on the sidewalk, nearly all with children under 12, and wasnt surprised at what I sawheads dropping down. Parents and kids collectively wincing at the sighttuning it out, pretending it wasnt there.

And this being Idaho, Im pretty sure many of those parents didnt vote Democrat last November. But that didnt keep them from wishing they and their children could unsee what had just been more or less rubbed in their faces.

I think I was about twelve when I first discovered profanity. I may have let a word slip in my home. The reaction was swift and severe.

I was told that such words were not only ugly, they made the speaker ugly as well. They put his personal ignorance on public display. Profanity, I was told, marked you as someone that all good people would consciously choose to avoid.
This settlement is an important first step and sets the stage for a long-term solution in the Wood River area. Little said of the agreement. I appreciate the efforts by the surface and ground water users to come to a resolution that protects senior water rights while allowing some groundwater pumpers the ability to provide valuable crops, he said. I would also like to thank Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Gary Spackman and his team for their expertise and genuine desire to reach a meaningful resolution. This kind of coming together to face our challenges head on  especially during an extreme drought year  is what Idahoans do. (IdahoPress, 7/9).

That led to a solution this year to provide water for some 140 Triangle growers covering about 23,000 acres. Thats a tiny percent of Idahos 3.3 million acres of irrigated farmland, but the fact that it was accomplished without rancor or delay speaks well of what we can do in the state when theres common sense and the willingness to find solutions rather than to obstruct.

Again, it was Bedke whose leadership and solutions-oriented focus led the parties to agreement. (Statesman, 7/10) After two decades in the Legislature, ten years of which hes been Speaker, Bedke is running for Lieutenant Governor, where his expertise and even temperament will be an enormous asset.

We live in the arid West, Bedke said, and were fast-growing, and these will always be problems. And so these agreements, these solutions that last way into the future, will continue to serve us. (IdahoPress, 7/9). Amen to that.

Stephen Hartgen, Twin Falls, is a retired five-term Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the Commerce & Human Resources Committee. Previously, he was editor and publisher of The Times-News (1982-2005). He can be reached at Stephen_Hartgen@hotmail.com

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PHCC schedules first advising sessions

In a release to outline the process, PHCC said it was developing a plan to provide as many services and opportunities as possible safe from the pandemic, including in-person classes and on-campus services, such as the food pantry and clothing closet.

If you learn best in a face-to-face environment where you can interact with your peers and engage with the instructor, we can build a schedule that provides that experience. If you prefer all online classes or a mixture of face-to-face and online classes, we can create that schedule too, Travis Tisdale, the head of PHCCs Advising Center, said in the release. Some classes are already filling up and the sooner a student comes in to meet with an adviser the more likely they are to get their preferred classes and instructors.
Barbara Guthrie Lay, 82, a former Miss Martinsville and Miss Virginia, is recovering from what turned out to be as near to death as one can get from COVID-19.
Pittsylvania County School Superintendent Mark Jones said the school board  through its vote  was expressing a concern shared by parents, and its members wanted them to know we work with all children and care deeply for each childs success and our policies are written to indicate that we do not discriminate against any child.

If there is an incident following a transgender child using the bathroom that corresponds with the gender with which they identify, it would be looked at on a case-by-case basis, Jones said.

We would work with families and students and administrators of the school to assure the dignity of all children and concerns of all children as we work through these issues, Jones said. We always consult policy and the code of Virginia in all the decisions we make.

The Virginia School Board Association crafted the county school division its policy regarding transgender students so it would follow state law, Jones said.

Views by members

During an interview Thursday, Henderson questioned the idea of allowing a boy who identifies as a girl to enter a girls bathroom and asked how many of them are actually transgender.

Were opening up a can of worms, he said.
Infections have been nudged upward since the end of June across the commonwealth and locally.

Currently, even the most reserved projection show weekly caseloads could reach levels seen last summer. The worst-case scenario puts those infections at about half of Januarys surge. Both are increases from projections weeks ago.

UVa estimates that if vaccination rates increase, more than 50,000 illnesses can be avoided.

Trends

Virginia could follow the trend playing out in other states around the country. Those areas with low-vaccination rates are seeing an uptick in cases and hospitalizations.

Despite abundant vaccine supply, the nation fell just short of the Presidents goal of 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4, researchers wrote. Nevertheless, vaccination rates vary widely across the country.

Except for residents of Martinsville, less than half of the adults in the West Piedmont Health District  which also includes Henry, Patrick and Franklin counties  are fully vaccinated. UVa researchers  and health experts in general  say the threat of COVID-19 is as high as ever for those without shots in the arm.
Virginia Beach police are investigating comments on social media that encouraged violence against the districts School Board members.

The comments were posted on TikTok, in response to a video about how board members werent wearing masks at their annual retreat last week. They were reported to the districts Safe Schools department last weekend, spokeswoman Natalie Allen said, and then shared with city police, which is the districts standard protocol for reports of any threats.

Police are investigating, spokeswoman Linda Kuehn said.

The comments reflect an escalation of tension over the issue of masks in schools, which are required in instructional settings until July 25. Districts are awaiting guidance from the state about whether masks will be required in the fall. If the state extends the requirement, the decision will be out of local school districts hands.

School Board Chairwoman Carolyn Rye said a citizen tipped her off to the comments.

It was very concerning, no question, Rye said. Partly sad too, just that were at this point of violent rhetoric. I sincerely believe in my heart that this isnt what the citizens of our city condone in any fashion.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Israel on Sunday walked back part of its policy for third coronavirus vaccination shots, saying that contrary to a recent announcement, oncology patients should actually stick with two jabs only.

On Monday Israel began administering a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech inoculation to patients with compromised immune systems, including people who have had heart, lung and kidney transplants and some cancer patients.

But on Sunday, the health ministry said that after reviewing data on hundreds of patients from oncology wards, "the recommendation at this stage is to not vaccinate" cancer patients.

"Nearly 90 percent of the patients receiving chemotherapy developed antibodies following the (two doses of) vaccination, and the level of antibodies remained high a number of months after the vaccination," it said in a "clarification" to the health funds and hospitals administering the shots.

"In addition, the vaccination could have side effects... that could affect the oncological treatment," the ministry said.

Pfizer and BioNTech have said they would ask US and European authorities for permission to provide a third dose of their vaccine, but European regulators say it was too early to tell if a third was necessary.

The World Health Organization has expressed concern that such a booster shot could come at the expense of countries whose citizens have not yet received their first two doses.

Israel's initial vaccine rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was among the world's fastest, and helped to bring confirmed daily cases down to single digits last month.

It decided to go ahead with third shots in the light of evidence "that patients with immunosuppression do not develop an adequate antibody response after two doses" and after the number of daily cases began to rise.

A spokesman for Sheba medical centre, Israel's largest hospital, told AFP that "dozens" of cancer patients have received a third shot since Monday.

Explore further Israel launches third vaccine jab for most vulnerable

 2021 AFP
In this July 1, 2021, file photo visitors wear masks as they walk in a shopping district in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. A rapid and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases in the nation's largest county requires restoring an indoor mask mandate even when people are vaccinated, Los Angeles County's public health officer said Thursday, July 15, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

Los Angeles County residents are again required to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination statusa new mandate starting this weekend that health officials hope will reverse the latest spikes in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The rule went into effect late Saturday for the nation's largest county, home to 11 million people, where a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases is led by the highly transmissible delta variant.

The vast majority of new cases are among unvaccinated people, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said Sunday.

"I'm not pleased that we have to go back to using the masks in this matter but, nonetheless, it's going to save lives. And right now that to me is what's most important," Solis said on ABC's " This Week."

California has seen a steady rise in virus cases since the state fully reopened its economy on June 15 and did away with capacity limits and social distancing.

San Francisco Bay Area health officials last week urged residents to again wear masks inside public buildings, offices or businesses regardless of whether they are vaccinated. The counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and Sonoma and the city of Berkeley stopped short of making face coverings a requirement.

Other counties, including Sacramento and Yolo, are also strongly urging people to wear masks indoors but not requiring it.

In this March 17, 2021 file photo Patrons eat lunch in an indoor space at Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. A rapid and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases in the nation's largest county requires restoring an indoor mask mandate even when people are vaccinated, Los Angeles County's public health officer said Thursday, July 15, 2021.Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

Los Angeles County's mask rule, announced Thursday, follows a winter where the region experienced a massive surge in infections and deaths, with hospitals overloaded with COVID-19 patients and ambulances idling outside, waiting for beds to open.

Los Angeles County reported a caseload of 1,635 on Sundaythe 10th straight day with more than a thousand new cases. On June 15, when the state reopened, county health officials reported just 210 new cases.

More than 525 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in LA County on Saturday, the highest number since April 14. There were four new virus-related deaths reported Sunday.

"The level of COVID-19 transmission we are currently experiencing is now leading to significant increases in serious illness and hospitalizations, and requires us to take immediate action to prevent erosion of our recovery efforts," Barbara Ferrer, the county's public health director, said in a statement.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger came out in opposition to the new mask mandate, saying by deviating from the state rules "we create confusion and disagreement at the local level, which hinders public trust."

In this March 16, 2021 file photo, a sign advertises a restaurant opening in Santa Monica, Calif. A rapid and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases in the nation's largest county requires restoring an indoor mask mandate even when people are vaccinated, Los Angeles County's public health officer said Thursday, July 15, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday his deputies will not actively enforce the mandate, saying requiring vaccinated people to wear masks "is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines."

The sheriff's position is not new. He has said that since March 2020 that the sheriff's department has focused on education and voluntary compliance, "with criminal enforcement measures being an extreme last resort."

Solis said that the LA County mask rule is "not punishment, it's prevention." But some vaccinated residents said it felt like they were being penalized despite doing the right thing.

"It feels like the the burden of the unvaccinated is being placed on the vaccinated," Glendale resident Justin Sevakis told ABC7. "It's like there are people that don't have common sense and so therefore all of us have to pay for it. And it sucks. It feels like, you know, the teacher is punishing the whole class."

Explore further Mask mandate back on in Los Angeles as virus cases rise

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
In this Thursday, July 15, 2021 file photo, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington. Murthy said Sunday, July 18 that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly.

Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven't received shots, despite widespread vaccine availability, Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of what the future could hold.

"I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated," Murthy said on CNN's "State of the Union."

U.S. cases of COVID-19 last week increased by 17,000 nationwide over a 14-day period for the first time since late fall, and an increase in death historically follows a spike in illness. Much of the worsening problem is being driven by the delta variant first identified in India, that has since hit the United Kingdom and other countries, said Murthy.

While U.S. case numbers and hospitalizations are still far below levels from the worst of the pandemic early this year, Murthy said the worsening situation shows the need to convince more people to get inoculations.

In this Thursday, July 15, 2021 file photo, Paola Preciado gets a COVID-19 test in North Miami, Fla. The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday, July 18 that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Credit: AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File

"It is our fastest, most effective way out of this pandemic," he said.

About 186 million Americans have received at least one shot, but another 90 million eligible Americans haven't. Officials are trying to overcome a refusal among someparticularly conservative, rural white peopleto get vaccinated, but it's unclear how to do that. So, for the meantime at least, some places have reverted to health precautions that had been cast aside.

In Las Vegas, some resorts and casinos are again requiring employees to wear masks in response to a recommendation issued by health officials amid rising COVID-19 case rates in Nevada; it ranks fifth among U.S. states for the most new cases per capita over the last two weeks.

Los Angeles County late Saturday reinstated rules requiring everyone to wear masks inside public buildings. Around San Francisco's Bay Area, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in California, health officials have recommended that everyone again wear masks inside public buildings, regardless of their vaccination status.

In this May 29, 2021, file photo, people crowd the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday, July 18 that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File

But in conservative Alabama, where COVID-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled in a month and only about a third of the population is fully vaccinated, officials have refused to reinstitute statewide health rules or use gimmicks such as lotteries to boost immunizations.

"I think the best thing for us to do is just encourage everyone to use their common sense and practice personal responsibility and make themselves and their families safe," Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters last week.

Cases also are on the rise in Springfield, Missouri, where Mayor Ken McClure told CBS-TV's "Face the Nation" that false information about the pandemic was hampering the fight to get people vaccinated.

"I think we are seeing a lot spread through social media as people are talking about fears which they have, health related fears, what it might do to them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccinations," he said.

In this Monday, July 12, 2021 file photo, Karen Martin receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic hosted by James River Church West Campus in conjunction with Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield, Mo. The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday, July 18 that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly. Credit: Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via AP, File

In this Wednesday, July 7, 2021, file photo, people wait in line for COVID-19 vaccinations at an event at La Bonita market, a Hispanic grocery store, in Las Vegas. The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday, July 18 that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly.. Credit: AP Photo/John Locher, File

Murthy, the surgeon general, said "not nearly enough" progress was being made in the fight against misinformation spread through social media about COVID-19 and vaccines. Individuals, not just platforms such as Facebook, need to combat the problem, he said.

"Each of us has a decision that we make every time we post something on social media, and I'm asking people to pause and to see, is a source accurate? Is it coming from a scientifically credible authority? And if it's not, or if you're not sure, don't share," he said.

Explore further Masks still not needed for vaccinated Americans, CDC director says

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A sheep farmer puts a leash on a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for the Tabaski holiday, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

"I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. "God knows how I appreciate this."

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

Children look at a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

Nearly 36% of 3,815 tests carried out in the past 24 hours came back positive, the health ministry said Saturday. Senegal has reported 50,374 cases and 1,214 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Faced with the dramatic increase, President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands. On Friday, Sall threatened to close borders and impose a state of emergency again if numbers continue to rise.

Many in Senegal have relaxed their use of masks and other precautions after the country's early surges weren't as severe as the outbreaks in other countries.

Tabaski, which will be celebrated on July 21 in Senegal, sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings. Many health officials are worried because in the run-up to the holiday, people throng marketplaces and gather to buy sheep.

Adama Ndiaye, pulls a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, in Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles, hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for Tabaski celebrations. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

Only about 600,000 people of Senegal's population of more than 16 million have been vaccinated. The country has a limited supply of vaccines and is awaiting further deliveries of Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.

About 30% of the new coronavirus infections in Senegal are from the delta variant, according to Souleymane Mboup, the director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, one of Senegal's testing labs.

"We are facing a much more contagious virus," Mboup said.

The increase in cases is "unprecedented," health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye said.

"The pandemic has impacted especially the most vulnerable segments of the population," said Anne Catherine Dupre, project coordinator in Senegal for the group Secours Islamique France.

Since last year, 30% of the thousands of people supported by the group were forced to reduce their consumption of food as a result of the pandemic, she said.

People gather around sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

Children help carry sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

A child leads a sheep after being donated to a woman, by the NGO SIF, Secours Islamique France, as preparation for the Eid al-Adha celebration in Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The Eid al-Adha festival, known locally as Tabaski, is one of the most important Islamic celebrations, marks the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham to Christians and Jews, to sacrifice his son. As millions in Senegal prepare for the Tabaski holiday, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

A sheep farmer carries a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

A young boy leads a sheep away, gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa8

Children who assisted people wait for their turn to receive a sheep, gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. Credit: AP Photo/Leo Correa

"We are already dealing with populations that are very vulnerable, so in fact, for them to reduce it, means they're only going to eat once a day" she added.

Secours Islamique France has been working in Senegal since 2008 and has distributed food and sheep during Ramadan and Tabaski. This year they had to increase their donations because of the rise in vulnerable people because of the pandemic.

"It's important for them to celebrate Tabaski. It's the most important celebration in a country where more than 80% of the population are Muslims," she added.

The organization also distributes food and money, supports education and training for unemployed people. It plans to distribute about 2,000 sheep in the greater Dakar area.

Meanwhile, Ndiaye and others hope the pandemic ends soon so things can go back to normal.

"I pray for the COVID to stop," she said. "If there is good health, we can all work."

Explore further Senegal confirms two new coronavirus patients, both Europeans

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
"It is disaster after disaster after disaster. But we will not abandon Limburg, the southern province hit by the floods, he added. His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

Among other efforts to help the flood victims, the Hertog Jan brewery, which is based in the affected area, handed out 3,000 beer crates so locals could raise their belongings off the ground to protect them from the flooding.

An emergency dike in the town of Horn didnt hold and some houses were inundated. Authorities issued a warning to stay off the Maas River because of debris. Rescuers worked to save a cow stuck neck-deep in muddy water.

At the other end of Germany, there was flooding Saturday evening following torrential rain in the Saechsische Schweiz area near Dresden and across the border in the Czech Republic.

Roads, basements and railroad tracks flooded, disrupting train service between the Czech town of Decin and Bad Schandau, Germany. A summer camp for children on the Czech side had to evacuated.

In Austria, a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein, near the German border, late Saturday. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.
The number of virus-elated hospitalizations in Arizona generally ranged between 500 and 600 during May and June but rose in the past week, with 745 COVID-19-related hospitalizations as of Friday, according the dashboard.

Virus patients occupied 9% of in-patient beds as of Friday, up from 6% a week ago but far below the pandemic peak of nearly 60% seen in mid-January during the winter surge.



ATHENS, Greece  The island of Mykonos has become the first location in Greece to have a curfew reimposed due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Greek authorities said Saturday that one in 10 individuals tested on the island in recent days tested positive.

The 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew took effect Saturday and authorities also imposed a round-the-clock ban on music in bars, cafes and restaurants starting 6 pm Saturday. Fines for renting out properties for parties of more than 20 people can range up to 200,000 euros ($236,000).

The ban on music and the curfew will end on Monday, July 26, unless the government decides to extend it.

Police on the island, a high-end tourist destination, say that violations of social distancing norms had gotten out of hand recently.
"During a crisis, a lesson I learned is you take care of yourself first. As Im on the phone with my son in Colorado, he's saying to get my to-go pack ready, get your route set in case I need to evacuate. The next thing was we needed cots, water and food for anyone displaced by the fire," she said.

Peterson grew up in western New York, and her path to Red Lodge had stops in Colorado and Connecticut. While earning her degree in theology, she spent several years at a level-one trauma center in Hartford. As a chaplain, shed often be the last face patients saw as they took their last breath, and she met the emotional and spiritual needs of patients while surgeons could focus on putting them back together. She saw at least six deaths every shift, Peterson said, and every kind of way machines or nature could harm the human body.

While the experience made her adept at processing trauma, it also gave her an appreciation for the moments that she could escape into the outdoors.

Id leave Hartford at the end of each week, and drive to a church six hours away to preach on Sundays, sleeping in the back room. As I was doing that, I heard the loons cry me to sleep, watched the water lapping at the shore, and realized that was worship  So thats when the idea of worship in the wilderness really started to take place, she said.
The Red Lodge firefighter injured in the Harris Hill fire near Joliet on Friday has been identified as Dan Steffensen.

Steffensen has been a firefighter with Red Lodge Fire since 2015, according to a social media post by Red Lodge Fire Rescue. Steffensen works on the fuel mitigation/initial attack crew to reduce hazardous fuels around homes and responds to emerging wildland fires.

He is a nationally qualified wildland firefighter and has fought fires in Montana, Oregon, California and other western states as an engine boss and tender operator.
The Biden administration is cutting jobs that are both longstanding and needed more than ever. Promises were made to displaced pipeliners like myself for a career in renewable energy, which has so far been unfulfilled. This is like asking a lawyer to quit his job and become a dentist. With the Biden administrations new priorities in motion, my next job will likely be downgraded to an entry-level position with entry-level pay as a 45-year-old who has invested 25 years working in the oil and gas industry.

Ive always admired the evolution and innovation that traditional energy has provided for our nation, and especially leading to economic growth in states such as Montana, South Dakota, Texas and New Mexico among others. Instead of viewing it as the enemy, its important to fully understand how oil and natural gas enables our way of life. Kids in school need to know that the chair they are sitting on, the pen they are writing with, and their favorite slide on the playground are all byproducts of a petroleum products, likely transported by pipeline.

I mistakenly assumed the recent impacts felt by the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack up and down the east coast would awaken the opposition to the benefits of pipelines, but not even the long gas lines and gasoline shortages were enough to sway opinion.
The United Kingdom followed the science and publicly endorsed vaping as a preferred method to help smokers quit. Only 1.8% of teenagers in the UK use e-cigarettes once a week or more, and only 2.1% think vaping is cool. The UK has seen resounding success by talking to both adults and minors in a mature manner regarding vaping, even going so far as inviting vape shops to open inside hospitals, calling them a public health necessity. Because of this, children in the UK do not see vaping as a form of rebellion against authority and England has not seen an increase in youth usage of reduced-risk tobacco products correlating to increased education as American teenagers have with government-funded programs in the past.
The bill requires that companies applying for the grants provide at least 20% of the funding, which effectively blocks smaller local providers from participating, as they don't have deep pockets like their larger competitors. This disadvantages our rural towns especially, as they often only have a single small provider

There is also the fact that taxpayers will be paying for construction costs for billion-dollar private companies. When all is said and done, these companies will own thousands of miles of internet infrastructure, profiting on it for a generation. You and your fellow ratepayers will provide that profit, and most of it will head straight to out-of-state bank accounts never to be seen in our state again.

Simply put, the Republican-controlled Legislature has taken this once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the lives of everyday Montanans and handed it to billion-dollar corporations.

When we receive this first payment of $275 million in federal funding, this money should be spent in Montana, stay in Montana, and be owned by Montanans. Ask your legislators to invest here, instead of in mega-corporations from places like Connecticut, Texas and New York. You will elect the Montana Legislature next year, and your legislators can and should reassess this program in 2023.

Its not all bad news. Some of you and your neighbors in Montana will get access to the internet and youll see the quality of that internet improve. But for nearly $300 million, you should be getting so much more.

Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, represents House District 65 in the Montana Legislature.

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Although the commission took no action on this issue as yet, it is looking to gather more information from the Department of Corrections for its meeting next month. The department is expected to explain its system for recording the home addresses of inmates and what it might cost to track and verify that information for the purposes of re-distributing inmate counts to their home communities.

In the meantime, the commission is still weighing whether it should even make a decision on this issue this census cycle, or put it off for the next.

The commission should be encouraged to settle on a course of action as soon as possible, even if it wont make a difference for the current redistricting process. It would allow Montana to try out a more effective system ahead of the 2030 Census, and provide Montanans with more accurate idea of where our prisoners are coming from  and returning to.
Edmondsons trek on the CDT started June 12 in Glacier National Park. There was still a lot of snow, he said.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness was beautiful, he said, but challenging.

There were so many blow-downs, so many river crossings, Edmondson said.

Along the trek south he encountered a couple whose long-distance hiking exploits have received high praise in the ultralight equipment community.

Im with people who like to push hard miles, Edmondson said.

Melanie T-Rex Tilton, 40, and her husband, Michael RITS Tilton, 39, reportedly completed the three Triple Crown hikes in one calendar year.

Edmondson caught up with the racehorse Tiltons on his way to Anaconda but only because he was riding in a pickup at the time. The Tiltons were booking it as they hiked along the frontage road near the Montana State Hospital.

In Anaconda, the three headed first to McDonalds. They planned to resupply at Albertsons grocery and then head to the hiker hut.
The situation will be rectified soon, he said. It was finally budgeted for.

The horizontal drilling solution is not a certainty. The concept is yet unproven on site, and members among the working group, including Gestring, are yet to rule out the possibility of a partial or full removal of a large waste rock area  an expensive undertaking.

But theyre all in it together. Gestring commended the Forest Service on the job it has done so far. After all, the working group, local landowners and the agency are united in solving problems that affect everyone in the vast Upper Clark Fork watershed.

Theyre among the few to see the problems up close, theyre making progress, but theyre not out of the woods yet.

Ignorance is bliss, Butori said. There are plenty of people, if they saw what was happening, they would be very upset. The bottom line comes down to money. The bond put in place was not anywhere near enough to reclaim any of this stuff.

And while the former Pegasus executive continues to permit mines in Montana, the bankrupt company is nowhere to be found at Beal Mountain.

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Reintjes said it was a challenge to put together shows that were accessible but didnt water down the subject.

Paths forward

The Space for Hope, meanwhile, comprises recent works with a more optimistic theme.

(They took the title from writer Rebecca Solnit: We dont know what is going to happen, or how, or when, and that very uncertainty is the space of hope.)

The pieces are drawn from an open call without any boundaries on geography and an emphasis on underrepresented voices.

Casey Schachner, a University of Montana MFA graduate now based in Tennessee, carved two handholds into a block of marble. Marked with a sign (please touch), two viewers can extend hands to each other.

Emma Ulen-Klees, of Bozeman, pushes viewers to rethink single-use excess by taking a closer look at what plastic, or specifically microplastics, are. She scanned and magnified individual fragments collected in Hawaii. Seen at large scale with their wholesome and welcoming consumer colors (canary yellow and baby blue), their permanence seems easier to understand.
In 1884 the Masons met on the second floor above a saloon, variety store, and ice cream parlor at 20 West Park Street. The address changed over time to 37-39 and 29-31 West Park, but that building survived the 1950 fire that destroyed the American Theater next door, and the old Masonic Hall was used as a dance hall into the late 1950s, but it is gone today.

The Masons were thriving enough that in 1902 they completed a new Temple in the 300 block of West Park Street, which still serves the organization today. The new temple was designed by architects Link and Carter, predecessor to Link and Haire, architects for the Silver Bow County Court House and many other buildings in Butte and across Montana.

Continued success allowed the Masons to add an auditorium annex west of the Temple in 1924, but together with the Finlen and Elks Lodge, the auditorium was one of the last grand buildings erected in Butte. The precipitous loss of population following the boom of World War I largely ended major construction in Butte. Within ten years, the Masons converted the auditorium to a theater, known over time as the Temple Theater and Fox Theater. In the 1980s, the Masons donated the theater to the city of Butte, which now leases it to a non-profit organization managing it as the Mother Lode Theater.

Local geologist and historian Dick Gibson has lived in Butte since 2003 and has worked as a tour guide for various organizations and museums. He can be reached at rigibson@earthlink.net.

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It is indisputably essential to modern life, now more than ever when you consider green energy essentials like electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines. This is being written from atop the Richest Hill on Earth, where theres more copper remaining than has been mined over the past 120 years. Weaning ourselves from fossil fuels means more and more demand for copper and other metals. We are entering what amounts to a new electrification of America, and just as the first depended on Buttes copper, this phase depends on metals and minerals that must be mined. But the mining must be done responsibly.
MUSCATINE  During a Coffee with the Mayor event Saturday morning, Mayor Diana Broderson announced her intention to seek re-election to her position as mayor of Muscatine during the Nov. 2 election.

After six years serving as mayor, Broderson commented that the city has made great strides, but that she feels her work is not done. She discussed campaign goals with about 10 people who attended the meeting in Fuller Park. Several people attending asked her to give them campaign signs.

I want to win re-election and finish what we started and come out the other side making sure everyone has a voice and that your opinions are respected, she said. I feel like when I started down this path as mayor, I had worked with many families at the Y and really tried to help- empower them and advocate for them and give them an opportunity to lift their voice as to what their opinions are.

Broderson said that during her time as mayor there have been many strides forward. She said there is a new city administrator who works with city employees and elected officials, saying we are a team now. She also said that the feel at city hall is different, strong and there is no back-biting or competition.
Ellerin was found with 47 stab wounds.

Her father, Michael Ellerin, who had been visiting his daughter from Northern California hours before she was killed, was one of several victims relatives who spoke at the hearing of their suffering as they waited years for justice.

He said he was tempted to imitate his wife Cynthias mournful scream and primal wailing after finding out that Ashley had been murdered.

It marked the beginning of an altered, diminished, heartbreaking life, he said.

Gargiulo was also convicted of the murder of 32-year-old Maria Bruno, a mother of four, in her home in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, in 2005. Bruno's breasts were cut off and her implants were removed.

And he was found guilty of the attempted murder in 2008 of Michelle Murphy, who fought him off in her Santa Monica apartment, forcing him to flee and leave a trail of blood that also led to his eventual arrests for the other two killings. Murphy was the key witness at the trial.

To this day, spending the night alone creates a world of fear in me, Murphy said in court before the sentencing.

She cried as she talked about meeting the families of the two women who didn't survive their attacks.
That means it falls on miners to report safety risks. Current and former miners told the Energy News Network they have reasons not to report problems or hazards if it will mean slowing or shutting down production, since that could mean losing bonuses for meeting production goals or for going days without reportable accidents. Especially as coal plants and coal mines are closing nationwide, employees worry about keeping mines competitive and open  so they can keep their jobs.

Labor unions  namely the United Mine Workers of America  used to play a role in monitoring and advocating for safety in Illinois coal mines. But there are no labor unions representing miners in Illinois today, and many mines rely heavily on temporary contractors with little job security. This means workers are more reluctant to report safety risks or injuries, experts and miners say, since they fear rocking the boat could cause them to lose jobs that are among the most desirable in an economically stressed region.

A retired longtime Illinois coal miner, who asked his name not be used for fear of alienating former colleagues, said that miners felt much freer to report safety problems  including to federal inspectors  when they were represented by a union.
CHICAGO (AP)  Two people, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, were charged Friday with first-degree murder in the death of a 73-year-old Chicago man during an attempted carjacking.

The older suspect, Frank Harris, was ordered held without bond Friday in the death of 73-year-old Keith Cooper. Harris also is charged with vehicular hijacking. The younger suspect, whose name was not released because hes a juvenile, also is charged with attempted aggravated battery of a victim 60 or older. No hearing has been held for the 17-year-old as prosecutors consider charging him as an adult.

The victim was a veteran who survived wars but didnt survive his encounter with this defendant and his co-defendant, Assistant Cook County States Attorney James Murphy said at Harris bond hearing.

During his ruling to withhold bond, Judge Charles S. Beach II noted Harris was on probation for another carjacking when he allegedly attacked Cooper. Harris, a juvenile at the time, used a replica handgun in that incident, Murphy said.
FSM President David W. Panuelo poses for a photo with Hawaii Gov. David Y. Ige during a meeting in Hawaii. Both the president and the governor wore masks during the meeting, but removed them for this photograph.
The headquarters of the Guam Department of Education in Tiyan on April 4, 2021.
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Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

"They just said this is just how it goes," Burgess said. "It's part of climate change to a certain extent, it's part of just a lot of fuels that are not burnt, the humidity is low, the fuel moisture levels are low, and ... around the state, many parts of it are much like a tinderbox."

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.

The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank. The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.

The fire is now 439 square miles in size, or more than 100 square miles larger than the area of New York City.
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Public Safety

Napa is gearing up to select a new police chief after year of national tension

Napa officials are considering what residents want in their next police chief.

City manager Steve Potter, himself the former chief, is studying the results of a public survey from June, and he hopes to set a specific plan by the end of the month for picking a new chief.

I see tremendous value in including the public, Potter said. I really want to thank all the folks who took the time, whether they were employees, Latinx community members, Napa community, business community, just for taking the time to be involved and for letting me know their thoughts.

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Chief Robert Plummer resigned abruptly at the end of 2020 and the position has been held since by Interim Chief Sylvia Moir, who has made clear she is not interested in the permanent job.

Potter is considering whether to hire from inside the department, as happened when he was hired as chief in 2014, or look outside, as then City Manager Mike Parnes did in 2018 when he hired Plummer from the Las Vegas Police Department.

Potter, who will select the next chief, said in a July 6 interview that the survey, which closed June 30, received about 200 responses. Hes in the process of examining the data from the responses, he said, which will give him context about the wants and needs of the Napa community.

The seven-question survey asked respondents their age range, connection to the city and opinion on what the police department is doing well and should improve upon. The survey also asked respondents to list unique characteristics of the Napa community that the next police chief should be aware of, challenges the new chief will face in their first year on the job and characteristics theyre looking for.

Taking in the national conversation about policing

Potter is a longtime Napa resident, who previously worked 31 years as an officer in the Napa Police Department and spent an additional three years as chief. He said the process of community engagement has helped him come closer to understanding the varied wants and needs of the community when it comes to policing.

The world is constantly evolving, Potter said. I think its dangerous to lock into a place and time and just make an assumption that, just because thats what I want thats what everybody wants.

The May 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer  who was sentenced to 22  years in prison last month  sparked demonstrations against racism and police violence nationwide. As a result, calls to defund police departments, reallocate funding elsewhere and reimagine the role of police  or abolish the intuition of policing altogether  rang out in cities throughout the United States.

Potter said the Napa community has generally been supportive of the local police department, and he thinks the department has a good reputation. Even so, he said, the population of Napa is made up of communities with varied interests. And, he added, the next Napa police chief will need to be able to address as many of those needs as possible.

No. 8 Story of 2020: A year of nationwide protests comes to Napa The wave of anti-racism demonstrations inspired by the death of George Floyd left its mark in Napa, as elsewhere in the country.

Moir, the first woman and first openly gay person selected to serve as police chief in Napa, was brought on in February. But because of a state pension drawn from time leading the El Cerrito Police Department, Moir is limited to working 960 hours per fiscal year.

Moir said she agrees with Potter about the importance of public engagement, and that shes highly confident in the citys process.

We believe that our character is revealed with every interaction we have with the public, Moir said. We want to connect with people where they are, we want to give people voice where they are and give them abundant opportunities to be heard.

Moir said she believes policing is ripe for meaningful reform. She also said departments need to examine their place in communities and commit to trying new approaches, which could mean reexamining and improving upon old approaches, such as community policing.

I believe we can reform without completely abolishing, Moir said. And we can strengthen policing in a way that respects and values people. I believe wholly that effectiveness and equity can coexist in policing. I am hopeful about where were headed.

Community engagement forums

In total, the city of Napa held four community engagement forums, a mix of in-person meetings and Zoom meetings, in June. Two of the forums were also held in Spanish. Most of a June 22 virtual community engagement forum, the only meeting the city posted on YouTube, consisted of asking the survey questions to four attendees.

Attendees at the June 22 meeting, asked about the positives of the department, said they thought the police are fairly responsive, especially in emergency situations. Cathy Odom said the department responded within a few minutes when a man with a knife  who was saying he was going to kill someone, according to Odom  was running down the street earlier this year outside her kids window.

They were there for us when we needed them, Odom said. Its kind of how the whole city does when theres an emergency, when theres a fire, a flood, an earthquake. Everyone is trained to come during that emergency and people dont realize how important that is until that emergency happens.

Kelly Moore, an asset manager at Zapolski Real Estate, said at the meeting that the new chief needs to be aware of the unique and changing makeup of the community, which she referred to as a blue collar community with affluence.

Most-read police briefs on NapaValleyRegister.com Close

Odom added that she thinks itll be difficult for the new chief to bring changes to policing into the city because some Napa residents are resistant. On the other hand, she said, the younger people affiliated with groups such as Stop Napa Hate and Black Lives Matter want change immediately, which she said doesnt align comfortably with the often slow-moving, bureaucratic process of government.

Its going to be a challenge for any new police chief right now, anyone in the next year or two. Its a big, tumultuous time going from how things were done before, last year, five years or 10 years ago, to how things are going today and being progressive, Odom said. Its going to be a conflict between who wants to do what when.

Moore said, as far as desired characteristics for the next chief go, she wants someone who understands the community, whos progressive and whom the community can embrace. Odom agreed, saying the next chief should be approachable, be willing to meet and talk with anybody, and be willing to take the department toward a new progressive level at a speed thats right for the community.

Looking forward toward change

The city of Napa saw several protests over policing last year. Gabriela Fernandez, who started The Peoples Collective For Change last year, said she helped organize the protests to stand in solidarity with the national demonstrations about police violence and racism, and to bring attention to negative experiences Napa residents have had with law enforcement.

There are members of this community that just want to feel supported and safe, Fernandez said.

Anne Sutkowi-Hemstreet, director of the Rainbow Action Network, said the RAN collaborated with the PCC for the protests. Sutkowi-Hemstreet said the two groups have engaged in many conversations with government leaders over the past year, and the city has been open to continuing a dialogue with representatives from various communities.

Partially as a result of these conversations, the Napa City Council unanimously passed a resolution in Sept. 2020 declaring systemic racism a public health crisis, which Sutkowi-Hemstreet said Potter was instrumental in putting together.

However, Fernandez said, some work around police reform that the groups had been engaged in with former chief Robert Plummer  including an effort to establish an official Community Police Advisory Committee  went unfinished when Plummer abruptly retired early this year.

There were a lot of people who felt proud of [the resolution identifying racism as a public health crisis] passing. I also felt for people who said, this is just a piece of paper, what does it actually mean, Fernandez said. What I valued from that decision was knowing we now have a starting point, a document that reflects the values were saying were going to implement throughout the city of Napa, knowing this is now our benchmark to doing better with any decision going forward.

Abe Gardner, an attorney for the Napa Public defenders office, involved in the group coalition conversations around police reform with the city, said he was impressed with how quickly the Napa City Council approved the resolution, and hes also happy city officials have been open to conversations around the creation of a Black Lives Matter mural somewhere in the city.

But, Gardner said, hes concerned that the symbolic actions and openness to discussion wont translate into reforms that protect people.

The reality is theres a lot of reform left to do, Gardner said. The conversations have been a starting point. A mural is important but thats not what protects someone in their lowest or hardest moment.

Sutkowi-Hemstreet said despite the citys willingness to engage in conversations, she still has doubts about law enforcement in general. As a LGBTQ community member, her initial response is to not trust law enforcement, she said. And while she believes Potters intentions are good, the community engagement process was lacking, she said.

For one, she said, the process felt like it was put together quickly, but connecting with the diverse communities of Napa  especially communities that are more disconnected from the city, or those less trusting of law enforcement  takes time. Additionally, the survey didnt include any questions about demographics, she said, which makes it difficult to know where the feedback is coming from and if people from all communities actually participated.

Sutkowi-Hemstreet added that she hopes the city continues to make efforts to engage and gather input from the community after the new chief is selected.

Community engagement is hard no matter what, Sutkowi-Hemstreet said. When youre talking about law enforcement, when youre wanting feedback from communities that already feel scared, it makes that process especially challenging.
The authors view was absurdly old fashioned and out of touch with the current understanding of sexual assault. I considered rejecting it, but decided that it would provoke a healthy, if painful, discussion. Indeed, it produced about a half dozen heartfelt and informative letters in response.

I dont believe in being provocative for its own sake, but at the same time, a homogenous or uncontroversial letters section would be a waste of everyones time. There are limits, of course, but generally, I think even unpopular or potentially offensive viewpoints should get representation on the opinion page.

Where that line lies, however, is not always clear, and not everyone will agree on what is acceptable speech and what is not. And since it is subjective and variable, sometimes I make the right call and sometimes I dont.

That brings us to the separate but related question of fact checking. Regardless of the ideology in a letter, there should be a factual basis for the opinion of the author.
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Out of all the judges of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, only 3 were in favor of annulling the results of the elections [snap parliamentary elections], including Hrayr Tovmasyan, Arevik Petrosyan and Ashot Khachatryan [Ashot Khachatryan is the member of the Constitutional Court whom Speaker of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan was trying to bribe and tempt to hold the temporary position of chairman of the Constitutional Court after forcing Hrayr Tovmasyan and illegally dismissing him from the position of chairman of the Constitutional Court]. In essence, in this case, the dire challenges facing Armenia and his responsibility to take part in solving the challenges were overriding in his conscience. This is what 168.am newspaper writes, adding the following:

We were told that Judges Yervand Khundkaryan and Artur Vagharshyan would also vote against the decision of the Central Electoral Commission to leave the results of the elections unchanged, if it werent for the compromising information that the judges earned in the positions of Chairman of the Civil and Administrative Chamber of the Court of Cassation and Head of the Chair of Theory and History of State and Law of the Faculty of Law at Yerevan State University, respectively.

In reality, the authorities brought these two judges to the Constitutional Court for this very purpose since, in any case, they are controllable and wont take drastic steps.

Everything is clear in Judge Edgar Shatiryans case  he has friendly ties with the elite, and it would be at least naive to expect him to have a sense of responsibility. Besides, he has never stood out with courage at crucial moments. Judge Arayik Tunyans motives arent too clear.

So, yesterdays decision had been made when the authorities destroyed the Constitutional Court and appointed controllable people to replace the dismissed judges.

Yesterday the Constitutional Court left the decision of the Central Electoral Commission on the results of the snap parliamentary elections in effect, that is, it rejected the claims of four political parties to annul the results of the elections.
The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is pressuring Armenia (border incidents, Aliyevs statements) to force the country make concessions quickly while it is weak. This is what political scientist Suren Sargsyan wrote on his Facebook page.

On the Syunik corridor (road)

The corridor (road) passing through Syunik Province that will link Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and then to Turkey, will have a serious impact from the perspective of regional security. The most important thing is who will be the guarantor of security of this corridor. It will be either the Russians or the Turks, and since there is still no corridor, I believe there is still no final agreement on which countrys troops will be there.

1. The Turks obviously want to have control over the road, have influence on Armenia, completely control movement from the north to the south and vice versa and keep Iran dependent.

2. The Russians want to maintain control over the road, as well as control over the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation and to strengthen their positions to a certain extent.

3. The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is pressuring Armenia (border incidents, Aliyevs statements) to force the country make concessions quickly while it is weak.

4. Putin preparing Armenia for painful concessions means there will be a road in any case, alongside works for demarcation. At the same time, I believe the Russians are still trying to win time, taking into consideration their own problems. Its even hard for a superpower like Russia to serve its interests in Europe, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the Middle East, Central Asia and other areas. Sometimes Russia has to wait, and sometimes it has to organize a tactical retreat, and all this is on the backdrop of economic issues and political tension in the country.

5. I dont rule out the presence of Turkish troops after an agreement is reached because, unlike the Russians, the Turks didnt gain armed presence in the region after the war, even though they had a great desire. Perhaps the Turks will be there so that they can also balance the Russian presence, he wrote.
The funeral of member of the Youth and Junior Unions of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party (ARF-D), officer of the Junior Union of ARF-D Artsakh in Martuni and recipient of the 2nd degree of the Order of the Combat Cross, Captain Artur Aghasyan, who heroically fell while defending the borders of the homeland during the 44-day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), was held in Martuni today, as reported yerkir.am.

The residents of Martuni bid their farewells to the heroic Armenian near the monument to Monte Melkonian at the square in Martunin.

Artur, who was raised with the example of Monte and bore the spirit of Monte in him, proved that he is the real descendant of Monte and other Armenian heroes with his endeavors during the Four-Day Artsakh War of April 2016 and 44-day Artsakh war.

Artur will go down in the history of the Armenian people as a brilliant example of how one must love the homeland and how one must fight for freedom of the homeland.

He was buried with military honor for his self-dedicated sacrifice for the homeland and was awarded the high title of Hero of Artsakh.
The defense of Arush Arushanyan, who is accused under the criminal case being investigated by the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, today issued a manipulative statement, allegedly expressing doubt that investigator of the Special Investigation Service Kh. Mejlumyan rendered decisions on engaging accused Arushanyan and submitting a motion to apply arrest as a pre-trial measure against him, but according to the materials provided by the investigators, another investigator was head of the investigators involved in the given case. This is stated in the statement issued by the Special Investigation Service.

Attaching importance to the right of the public to receive impartial and complete information, we deem it necessary to inform that on July 10, 2021, conduct of preliminary investigation into the criminal case was assigned to a group of investigators, the head of which was Kh. Mejlumyan, who accepted the case for proceedings the same day.

The documents existing in the case materials serve as evidence of the fact that Kh. Mejlumyan was the head of the investigative group as of the day the criminal prosecution was instituted against Arushanyan, including the record drawn up on July 15 on notifying the accused and the defense about the formation of an investigative group, under which the accused and defense have signed. Thus, it is irrefutable that Arushanyans defense was well aware that Kh. Mejlumyan is the head of the group and that he rendered decisions on engaging accused Arushanyan and submitting a motion to apply arrest as a pre-trial measure against him

Based on all this, it is clear that the statement issued by Arushanyans defense is nothing but a cheap trick to disorient the public and discredit the objective investigation, the statement also reads.
25-year-old employee of Armenia ex-MP's company dies in hospital after car accident

US imposes new sanctions against Cuba, Biden says this is just the beginning

Armenia MOD: Monthly payment of AMD 300,000 is terminated in case body of missing soldier is identified and buried

Remains of Armenia soldier Isahak Simonyan declared missing in action during 44-day Karabakh war are found

168.am: Brawl takes place in building of Armenia's State Supervision Service, chief not commenting

Karabakh Ombudsman: Resident of Aygestan village crosses over to sector under Azerbaijani control

Azerbaijan President demands compensation from companies that extracted gold in Karabakh

Baku announces end of sham "trial", 13 Armenian POWs "sentenced" to 6 years in prison

Kremlin: Putin, Pashinyan discuss unblocking of transport and economic links in the region

Russian MFA: Immediate launch of activities for demarcation of Armenia-Azerbaijan border may ensure de-escalation

Taliban claims it controls nearly 90% of Afghanistan's borders

Turkey sells kamikaze drones to another country for the first time

July 22 digest: Pashinyan talks Azerbaijani provocations near border, more on COVID-19 in Armenia

Karabakh emergency situations service: Searches for deceased soldiers in Mataghis were fruitless

Armenia's Pashinyan holds phone talks with Vladimir Putin

Nearly 350 apartments to be exploited at the end of this year in Karabakh's Stepanakert alone

Armenian ex-defense minister Seyran Ohanyan to be head of 'Armenia' bloc's parliamentary faction

Armenia Central Electoral Commission declares Aug. 2 as date for convening first parliamentary session

Armenia Central Electoral Commission approves record on provision of mandates to Members of Parliament

Armenia acting PM: Potential of construction firms doesn't allow for implementation of projects

Armenian government exempts company importing raw material for military helmets production from customs duty

Armenia acting economy minister: Government has to bring shepherds from other countries

US and Germany announce Nord Stream 2 agreement

Armenian information security expert: Armenia is being exposed to cyberattacks at state level

Armenia government allocates more than $18m to reconstruct over 50km roads

TALK TIME: Analyst says Armenia will be split into two zones (Russia and Turkey) in case ill-fated treaty is signed

Advisor to Armenia acting PM sacked

Azerbaijan prohibiting Armenian clergymen and pilgrims from entering Dadivank Monastery

Acting premier on Armenia COVID-19 situation: I hope we will not go to lockdowns at all

Armenia High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs: COVID-19 and war didn't allow for repatriation "boom"

France Ambassador to Armenia visits Metsamor Historical-Archaeological Museum-Reserve

Armenia revenue committee chief: Continuous growth trend of jobs continued in June as well

Flood damage in Belgium exceeds  10 billion

Two Azerbaijanis injured in land mine explosion in Karabakh

ECtHR issues Badalyan v. Azerbaijan case decision, confirms torture and illegal imprisonment

Deputy health minister on Armenia coronavirus situation: Growth trend will continue in coming days

Two planes crash at Dubai airport

Well-known Armenia businessmans brother arrested

Armenia acting premier: Some of our reforms are being taken advantage of

Armenia Syunik provincial governors son declared wanted

Azerbaijan sentences Russian Armenian to 10 years in prison

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan's provocative steps, maximalist aspirations pose new threats to Armenia, Artsakh

Acting PM congratulates opposition Armenia and I Have Honor blocs on entering parliament

Armenia government delegation to head for Russia

Search for fallen soldiers remains continues in Karabakh

Armenia Ararat Province governor : No panic in Yeraskh village

225 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Biden again calls on democratic countries to oppose authoritarianism

Non-scheduled direct flights to be operated between Lyon, Yerevan

World oil prices dropping

World Tourism Organization announces record-breaking crisis in history

Newspaper: Artsakh Defense Army commander to be changed?

Newspaper: How will issue of Armenia parliaments opposition vice-speaker be resolved?

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: What happened in October-November will haunt this political team

Armenia "I Have Honor" bloc leader: We will be tough opposition in parliament

Armenia acting PM chairs consultation to discuss investment programs implementation

Robert Kocharyan comments on the reason why opposition 'Armenia' bloc lost

Armenia Ombudsman: Shootings in Yeraskh disturb the peace of civilians

UN Security Council considering possibility of issuing statement on Varosha

Robert Kocharyan on the army and the news about Armenia's potential MOD

Robert Kocharyan: We Armenians have taught our enemy that it can treat us this way

Police stopping drivers and searching cars in Yerevan, traffic service is enhanced

Armenia 2nd President: Authorities will use technology of planned defeat again

Armenian analyst: 138,000 citizens have left Armenia over past 6 months, 80,000 of them will never return

Talks over Eurasian Economic Union-Iran free trade agreement kick off

Armenia MOD official presents Azerbaijani army's provocations in Yeraskh sector of border to military attaches

Armenian acting FM receives French Member of European Parliament Nathalie Loiseau

Citizens of Armenia's Kajaran holding protest, demand release of Mayor Manvel Paramazyan

Two new Azerbaijani military units exploited in Karabakh's Martakert region

Perenjiyev: Aliyev-Putin meeting was held on threshold of signing of another Moscow-Baku-Yerevan agreement

Armenian defense minister resigns, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, July 21 digest

Union of Armenians of Russia: Plaques honoring Armenian marshals of former USSR dismantled

Cyprus appeals to UN Security Council over Ankara's steps in Varosha

Attorney of brother of businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan: Yes, my client opened fire, but doesn't accept the charge

Italian official shoots immigrant

Erdogan: Ankara has nothing against the Taliban's ideology

US, Japan and South Korea intend to deepen trilateral cooperation

Armenia ombudsmans office: Citizens' verbal complaints double as of July

Attorney: Civil claim being prepared against Armenian army general turned MP Gagik Melkonyan

Excavations resume at Tavush Fortress area of Armenia (PHOTOS)

Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff chief visits rehabilitation center

Yerevan State University opening new M.A. program in American Studies

1 dead, 3 injured in major road accident in Armenias Ararat Province

One dollar falls below AMD 488 in Armenia

Body found in area near church in Karabakh's Stepanakert, bruises and bleeding seen

Masked man robs 70-year-old couple with weapon in Armenia's Gyumri

Armenia deputy defense minister Suren Sahakyan sacked

Over $8m in investments expected in Armenias Gyumri

Opposition 'Armenia' bloc member doctor: I currently have two options

Opposition Armenia bloc member doctor comes out of prison

Acting economy minister: Armenia exports in June exceeded $300m for first time

OIF head to Armenias Pashinyan: I would like to reaffirm to you all solidarity of Francophone community

Peskov: Russia ready to welcome France mediation efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh talks

Kremlin: Karabakh agreements implementation not going badly in general

Armenia PM Chief of Staff to new 1st deputy defense minister: You have government, ruling party teams support

Opposition "I Have Honor" bloc of Armenia to take parliamentary seats

Opposition Armenia bloc member physician should be released immediately after posting bail, says his lawyer

Opposition Armenia bloc member doctor released on bail

Storks face threat of extinction in Armenia

Ombudsman to MEP: All Armenian servicemen, civilians held in Azerbaijan are captives by status
Hollywood star Rebel Wilson looked lovely in a new photo posted on her social media page as she flaunted her toned limbs while posing for a mirror selfie.

Rebel Wilson's elegant figure was on display on her Instagram story as she shared an eye-catching photo of her slim frame. The star showed off her smooth-looking legs.

Wilson's limbs were toned with no blemish. The star actress' show-off comes after a series of media displays that had to do with her weight-loss journey.

Rebel Wilson at the red carpet of the 92nd Annual Academy Awards on February 9, 2020. | Photo: Getty Images

WILSON SHOWS TONED LIMBS

She dressed up in an emerald green cheerleading outfit that included a pair of emerald bum shorts. The outfit displayed her legs which were tanned except for her inner thighs.

The award-winning actress commented on her tan, noting that she was really happy about it. She held her blonde hair in a high ponytail with her focus on the full-length mirror, then showed her gazing directly at the camera.

Wilson rocked a pair of white sneakers. In another of her posts, she shared a playback video of herself expending some energy like a pro cheerleader. The "Jojo Rabbit" star was filmed leaping in the air.

POST-WEIGHT LOSS GLAM

Since fans became aware of Wilson's 60lbs weight loss, they have seen her display her fashion range through varying stylish looks. The "Bridesmaid" actress caught her followers' attention after sharing a summertime pic.

Photo of a Rebel Wilson dressed up in an emerald green cheerleading outfit | Photo: Instagram / rebelwilson

Wilson sunbathed in a tropical location as she rocked a turquoise playsuit and a white hat. She shades her eyes with a pair of cat-eye sunglasses. She posed, lightly biting the tassels that were attached to her coverup.

It's been about show-offs for Wilson since she achieved her weight loss goal. In another of the beach hangouts, she donned a black one-piece with short sleeves and a zipper at the front.

In the photo shared, Wilson stood showing her trim figure while giving fans a glimpse of her ample cleavage. She sported her cat-eye sunshades and a blue wide-brimmed hat. She clad her feet in a pair of black Givenchy slides.

Once speaking about her weight loss, Wilson noted that she was not particular about the numbers, as she was rather concerned about being healthy. Wilson stated that she loved being curvy, and she has maintained it.

WILSON'S STYLE RANGE

In another of the actress' show of style, she took to Instagram showing a video of her and a pal enjoying a fun moment. The 41-year-old rocked an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of yellow form-fitting biker shorts.

She and her pal filmed themselves sliding down a sky-high slide. Wilson held her blonde actresses in a high bun while rocking her favorite cat-eye sun shades.

In a previous post, the TV star flaunted a chic look from the set of her new movie, "Senior Year." She donned a pink dress that lightly clung to her figure. In May, Wilson rocked another hot look.

Here, she opted for an all-black glam that included a top with a feathery neckline and a pair of yoga shorts. The star cinched her waist with a gold belt and rocked her cat-eye shades.

HER WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

While the pandemic caused a lot of shutdowns in 2020, Wilson saw the silver lining and named it her "year of health," and by November, she had dropped a considerable amount of weight.

The star recently shared that she not only experienced change with her weight but also noticed the societal change. She shared that people now offered to help her carry her groceries.

Regardless, Wilson believes she looks good at all sizes and has always been confident. She added that trimming down only doubled the extent of her confidence.

Wilson is not the only star who has gone through surprising transformations concerning weight loss. Music star Adele debuted a slim figure on social media on her birthday.

Other stars who have lost considerable weight include "The Pioneer Woman" star Ree Drummond, Melissa McCarthy, Jessica Simpson, and reality star Mama June.
Vaccinated elderly man among latest Covid-19 patients

A man who was vaccinated in the US was one of two imported Covid-19 patients reported by Hong Kong officials on Sunday. Image: Shutterstock

Health authorities recorded two imported Covid-19 infections on Sunday, involving a 75-year-old man who flew in from the United States and a 25-year-old woman who arrived from Bangladesh.



The 75-year-old had both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the US, receiving the shots in April and May. He was asymptomatic when he arrived in Hong Kong on Friday.



The 25-year-old is a domestic helper who flew into the city on Wednesday.



She was also asymptomatic and tested positive for Covid-19 on the third day of her quarantine at the Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei



Both patients were positive for the L452R mutation.



Over the past fortnight, Hong Kong has recorded 17 cases  16 imported and one imported-related.



Hong Kong's tally of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 11,958.
Top oil producers agree on modest output boost

The OPEC+ meeting in Dubai decided to raise output by 400,000 barrels per day each month from August. Image: Shutterstock

The world's leading oil producers agreed on Sunday to continue to modestly boost output from August, reaching a compromise after the United Arab Emirates blocked a deal earlier this month.



An Opec+ meeting decided to raise output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month from August to help fuel a global economic recovery as the pandemic eases, the group's Vienna-based secretariat said in a media statement.



The grouping will "assess market developments" in December, it said. The deal also extends a deadline on capping output from April next year to the end of 2022.



Earlier in July, negotiations of Opec+ members on easing production cuts became deadlocked due to a row between the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia and neighbour the United Arab Emirates.



Since May, the 23-member grouping, which also includes Russia, had raised oil output bit by bit, after slashing it more than a year ago when the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand.



The aim is to return to pre-pandemic production levels, with the alliance still pumping 5.8 million bpd less than it was before the pandemic.



In a rare challenge to Opec leader Saudi Arabia, the UAE rejected the proposed deal earlier this month as "unjust", leading to a stalemate.



But in a compromise, Sunday's discussions agreed to adjust output quotas next May for the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Russia and Saudi Arabia itself, meaning their actual cuts will be less.



Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who chairs the Opec group, declined to say how the new quotas were decided and beneficiaries chosen, saying it had been part of "consensus building".



Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told public television channel Rossia 24 that the meeting confirmed "our desire to be constructive and to find a consensus".



"The pandemic is not yet overcome, but we are seeing that thanks to vaccination all over the world, demand for our production is recovering as is the use of cars and air planes," he said.



"It is therefore very important for us to fulfil our responsibilities and allow a recovery of the world economy."



Observers had expected a deal.



"A flurry of talks were held on Saturday to try and close the gap," tweeted Herman Wang, an editor of S&P Global Platts, which specialises in coverage of the energy industry, ahead of the meeting, which lasted just about one hour. (AFP)
Three men died while attending a country music festival in Brooklyn, Michigan, and two more were critically injured, in what is believed to be a carbon monoxide leak, officials say.

Five people were found unresponsive on Saturday afternoon inside a travel trailer at a campground near the Faster Horses Festival, according to a statement from the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies from the sheriff's department found the five men and immediately began to administer CPR treatment to the victims, the statement said.

Three of the men died on site. Two of the men remain in critical condition and are being treated for acute carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the sheriff's office.

Authorities were responding to a 911 call from a friend of the five men who became concerned when he had not heard from them, the statement said.

Officials are investigating the deaths and injuries as the result of a suspected carbon monoxide leak from a generator located near the trailer.

The Faster Horses Festival describes itself as "Michigan's biggest 3-day country music & camping festival" and had begun on Friday in Brooklyn, about 40 miles west of Ann Arbor. Performers this year include Jason Aldean and Luke Combs.

The Faster Horses Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by NBC News about the deaths.

A 30-year-old woman also died at the festival, but her death is unrelated to the suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Police are investigating that death, too.

Officials urge those on the campgrounds to remember to keep exhaust fumes away from camping areas, tents and vehicles.
The Daily Beast

Duchess of CambridgeKate and William have probably long fantasized about issuing a statement saying: Screw you, Harry and Meghan! That is not how we do things round here!Instead, as befits the royal world of semaphore, they put out a deeply traditional photo of their son that could be construed as saying the same thing.After a week of turmoil for the palace, which saw a shocking announcement that Prince Harry was to pen a memoir, described as the stuff of nightmares for the royal family, nor
Activists from across the state gathered in Raleigh Saturday to demand legislative change after Mexican women and their families were reportedly escorted out of a pool for playing Spanish music.

Members of the families joined Poder NC, a Latinx advocacy group, outside of the North Carolina State Capitol Building to speak about the incident.

They say Veronica Ramirez, Bella Perez and others were at the Flex Fitness and Recreation Center pool in Hendersonville on Monday when an employee tried to disconnect their speaker.

Shes had music in English, and she says nothing. But we had music in Spanish, Perez told an officer in a recording of the incident that has since garnered more than 8.5 million views on TikTok. She came with a bad attitude and disconnected our speaker and tried to take it with her.

In the video, Perez speaks in Spanish. Bianca Figueroa, Ramirezs niece and the person who uploaded the video, provided translations on TikTok.

The incident occurred after white women at the pool complained about the Spanish music, Figueroa said in the video. When staff tried to take the speaker without communicating, Ramirez, Perez and others were upset and sought an explanation, she said.

The pool staff then called the police to remove them, and officers arrived on scene, according to Figueroa.

It hurts me to see the inequality and racism, Perez said in Spanish in the video.

She and the others left the pool after explaining the situation to the officer, Figueroa said.

The News & Observer tried multiple times Saturday to reach Flex Fitness, but no one answered the phone.

The Henderson County Sheriffs Office declined to comment on the incident, stating that no one was available Saturday who could speak to what occurred.

Hendersonville is in the western part of the state, about 25 miles south of Asheville and just over 100 miles west of Charlotte.

Weve been silenced for too long.

At the press conference on Saturday, Ramirez said she had come to Raleigh to speak for the ladies that were there with me that day, just trying to have a good day, just trying to de-stress.

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But police took them out, she said in Spanish. Nobody knows what that feeling is. The rage, because we couldnt do anything.

A Poder NC volunteer organizer provided English translations at the Saturday event.

Addressing a gathering 30 to 40 people, Figueroa said she spoke to a worldwide audience.

This cannot continue happening, she said. The women behind me said No more. They said We will speak up, and we will speak up in our native language.

Weve been silenced for too long, Figueroa added.

Poder NC and the family are demanding that the Henderson County Sheriffs Office publicize the incident report, release the 911 call audio and establish a policy that avoids putting children in a situation where they must interpret for law enforcement.

Natalia Diez, a spokeswoman for Poder NC, said when law enforcement officers initially arrived on scene they spoke English, and the kids stepped in to translate. An officer then spoke to the women in Spanish.

Diez said there needs to be legal protections to prevent children from having to act as translators.

Any time a police officer is called, it has a legal implication, she said. How can we expect a 17-year-old girl  often times a 6-year-old, an 8-year-old  how can we expect them to fully and accurately interpret the situation on both sides?

Diez added that the situation can cause lasting emotional trauma for the children, when their translations are used as the basis for police reports and legal proceedings.

Those children are turned into tools of oppression for their own families, she said. They wouldnt allow it for any other children, so why is it the case with immigrant children, or non-English speaking children.
KABUL (Reuters) -Afghanistan has withdrawn its ambassador and diplomats from Pakistan's capital following the kidnapping of the ambassador's daughter, the Afghan foreign ministry said on Sunday, a new blow to relations at a sensitive time for the Afghan peace process.

The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was seized on Friday and held for several hours by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks and Pakistan authorities have said they are investigating.

"The Afghan government recalled the ambassador and senior diplomats to Kabul until the complete elimination of the security threats, including the arrest and punishment of the perpetrators," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Pakistan's foreign ministry in a statement called the decision "regrettable" and said it hoped the Afghan government would reconsider.

"The Foreign Secretary met the Ambassador of Afghanistan today, highlighted all the steps taken by the Government in this context, and re-assured him of full cooperation," it said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has assigned the matter top priority and said he wants the culprits caught within 48 hours, the Interior Minister said on Saturday.

Pakistan is considered a key player in the peace process in Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents have taken over territory in the weeks since U.S. President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops by Sept 11.

The neighbouring countries have long had frosty ties. Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for the Taliban, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistan has been acknowledged for helping bring the Taliban to the negotiating table for peace talks that began in Qatar last year, but negotiations have failed to make substantive progress and the Taliban has ramped up offensives.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Although they are bitter rivals on many issues, North African neighbours Morocco and Algeria appear to have one thing in common: muzzling the press.

On Monday, a Moroccan court is due to deliver a verdict in the trial of rights activist Omar Radi who has been in detention for almost a year on charges of espionage and rape, which he denies.

The case, in a closed-doors trial criticised by human rights watchdogs, comes on the heels of a July 10 five-year jail sentence against Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni for indecent assault.

Authorities in both Morocco and Algeria have detained and put on trial several journalists on charges ranging from harming national interests to sexual assault, and their courts have imposed stiff sentences.

These measures have sparked international condemnation while critics at home say the trials are politically motivated. Authorities, however, insist the judiciary is independent.

In Algeria, which has been rocked by intermittent pro-democracy protests since 2019, press freedoms are also being flouted, rights groups say.

Prominent Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni was sentenced to two years in jail in September for "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity".

"In the Algeria of 2021, a word can land you in prison, you have to be careful with anything you say or write," said Drareni, freed in February under a presidential pardon for detainees of the Hirak protest movement.

The head of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire, is a vocal critic of the treatment of journalists in both Algeria and Morocco.

The root cause is that the two countries have "destabilised systems", he told AFP.

"They are stuck in a spiral" of repression.

- 'Dislike bold journalism' -

RSF has ranked Algeria 146 out of 180 countries and territories in its 2021 World Press Freedom Index, while Morocco was at 136.

"In Algeria... and Morocco... the judicial system is being used to help silence journalists," the report said.

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Human Rights Watch's acting executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, Eric Goldstein, sounded the alarm back in August 2020 ahead of the verdict against Drareni.

"Morocco and Algeria are neighbours and rivals... vying for diplomatic supremacy in the Maghreb region, sparring over Western Sahara, and insulting each other's governments daily via state-influenced media," he said in a statement.

"Algerian and Moroccan authorities might compete in many domains, but when it comes to disliking bold journalism and commentary, they agree," he added.

"Morocco's modus operandi is to file a host of specific criminal charges, while the Algerian authorities prefer vaguely defined penal code offences," Goldstein said.

The sentence against Drareni, a symbol of the struggle for press freedoms who worked for French-language TV5 and media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), outraged fellow journalists.

Drareni was arrested in Algiers in March 2020 while covering the pro-democracy Hirak movement, which swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in 2019.

The protests continued after Bouteflika's ouster, with demonstrators demanding a sweeping overhaul of a ruling system in place since Algeria's 1962 independence from France.

- Rare US criticism -

Another emblematic figure of the crackdown in Algeria is Rabah Kareche, who was sentenced to one year in prison in April for spreading false information "harmful to public security".

The detention of Kareche, a correspondent for French-language newspaper Liberte in Tamanrasset in Algeria's far south, came after he published an article on a Tuareg protest movement in the area.

The five-year prison sentence handed to Raissouni sparked rare criticism last Monday of Morocco by its influential ally the United States.

The State Department said it was "disappointed" by the ruling against Raissouni.

"We believe the judicial process that led to this verdict contradicts the Moroccan system's fundamental promise of fair trials for individuals accused of crimes and is inconsistent with the promise of the 2011 constitution and His Majesty King Mohammed VI's reform agenda," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

Price said Washington was also raising with Rabat other journalists' cases.

RSF has said Raissouni's trial was "tainted by irregularities" and called for the release of the 49-year-old, who staged a hunger strike of more than 90 days.

Morocco's prosecution insisted, however, that Raissouni had been "prosecuted for crimes that have nothing to do with his journalistic work".

Algeria and Morocco have also been tightening the screws on foreign correspondents, making it difficult for them to obtain accreditation.

"This discredits these countries and threatens to undermine their image, even some diplomatic ties," said RSF's Deloire.

bur-cnp/hkb/hc/pjm
Jul. 18The Nu Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. continued its commitment to community service throughout the month of June.

Dr. Sylvia Blanchard and other chapter members worked to administer COVID-19 vaccines during a mobile vaccination event held at White Hill Baptist Church in Tupelo on June 26.

In addition, the chapter encouraged the community to "Stroll to the Poll" during a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) rally held in the Grove Hill Community in Tupelo on June 5. Rally attendees received healthy snacks in addition to information on home ownership opportunities and vaccine myths. Chapter members Nettie Davis and Rosie Jones made history by their election to Tupelo City Council positions for Ward 4 and Ward 7, respectively.

The sorority concluded the month by recognizing local poets throughout the area as part of its monthlong poetry contest. Students in grades K-12 from Tupelo, Aberdeen, and Shannon received certificates and prizes for their amazing work.

"The amount of young talent in North Mississippi is astounding," said Arts Committee co-chair Shreka Wright-Knight. "We would like to encourage those literary talents and let the children know how much we appreciate them."

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African American, college-educated women. Alpha Kappa Alpha is comprised of nearly 300,000 members worldwide. The Nu Sigma Omega Chapter in Tupelo has approximately 90 members.
Thai police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday (July 18) to stop more than 1,000 people marching on the office of the prime minister.

These anti-government protesters are calling for Prayuth Chan-ocha to resign.

They accuse him and his government of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic.

The demonstration also comes after the Thai government tightened restrictions.

On Friday (July 16) it imposed a nationwide ban on public gatherings of more than five people.

The maximum penalties are two years in prison, a 40,000 baht fine or both.

Protester Ittinan says he's aware of the risks.

"I understand that the situation is not getting any better but we have to come out and show them that we are not happy about the measures imposed by the government. It's like they only wanted everything to stop at a standstill but they were not trying to fix anything. Yes, I know that we are risking getting infected, that's why I try to protect myself by wearing gloves and a gas mask so that I would be at low risk."

Police used force after some protesters tried to dismantle barbed wire and metal barricades leading to Government House, where the prime minister works.

The protest marked one year since the first of a wave of large-scale street demonstrations, led by youth groups, that attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

Thailand reported 11,397 infections and 101 deaths on Sunday - bringing its cumulative total to more than 403,000 cases and 3,341 fatalities.

The vast majority of them are from an outbreak since early April which is fuelled by the highly transmissable Alpha and Delta variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidelines for cruise lines returning to operation are rules, not suggestions, a federal appeals court ruled Saturday night, reversing a lower court decision in favor of the state of Florida.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals judges was a win for the CDC and, by extension, Norwegian Cruise Lines, which filed an amicus brief in this case.

In a separate federal case, NCL has sued Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees for the right to require all passengers be vaccinated against COVID-19 once it restarts its Florida cruises Aug. 15.

Taking a loss  for now  is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis sued the CDC in April, and, exactly a month ago, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday granted a preliminary injunction that wouldve turned the CDCs regulations into suggestions on Sunday.

Floridas weekly COVID update: Cases surging with 45,449 new cases, 1 in 5 cases in U.S.

The CDC protocols at issue here require conventional communicable disease control measures on cruise ships traveling internationally, which is an area of traditional federal jurisdiction, the U.S. Department of Justice stated in a letter filed Thursday to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

For example, the technical guidance instructs cruise operators to inspect (test) passengers and crew for infection, the letter continued, to quarantine exposed persons who are potentially contagious and isolate persons found to be infected; to arrange for the safe disembarkation of such persons; and to take related sanitary measures such as mask wearing and physical distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

Three new vaccine sites open in Miami-Dade as COVID-19 cases surge in Florida
The president promised to be back at work on Monday

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been released from hospital four days after being admitted with serious intestine problems.

Mr Bolsonaro, 66, had been suffering persistent hiccups for 10 days.

There have been concerns about the far-right leader's health since he was stabbed in the intestines while campaigning in 2018.

Mr Bolsonaro was seriously wounded in the attack and lost 40% of his blood. He has had several operations since.

After treatment for an obstruction to the intestine, which did not need surgery, he promised to be back at his office on Monday morning.

"Only God can remove me from that chair," Mr Bolsonaro said upon leaving hospital, in reference to the presidency.

"I wanted to leave from day one, but they didn't let me. I hope in 10 days I'll be eating barbecued ribs, eating anything," he added.

President Bolsonaro had tweeted a picture of himself in hospital

He also rejected recent corruption accusations against his former health minister over negotiations to purchase overpriced coronavirus vaccines.

The allegations are part of a major congressional inquiry into the Brazilian government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After two-and-a-half years of a controversial presidency, Mr Bolsonaro is under growing pressure over his handling of the pandemic.

At the beginning of the month, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest over the corruption allegations.

The Brazilian leader has been heavily criticised for the lack of a national response to the crisis and his scepticism toward vaccines, lockdowns and mask-wearing.

Last month, Covid deaths surpassed 500,000 - the second-highest in the world after the US.

Mr Bolsonaro himself caught Covid-19 a year ago but has fully recovered.

Click here to see the BBC interactive
SACRAMENTO, Calif.  The official list of who's running in California's recall election of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom remained unsettled Sunday, with conservative talk radio host Larry Elder maintaining he should be included and state officials giving no details as to why he wasn't.

Secretary of State spokeswoman Jenna Dresner said all candidates who didn't qualify were told why, but a spokesperson for Elder's campaign said she did not receive any notification. The spokesperson, Ying Ma, said Elder submitted voter signatures from three counties and the campaign assumed the state hadn't finished adding them together. Candidates must pay a nearly $4,200 filing fee or submit 7,000 signatures.

Dresner did not answer whether Elder still had a chance to be included on the final list of candidates set for release Wednesday.

More: In drought-stricken California, Gov. Gavin Newsom asks residents to cut water use by 15%

When Elder announced his candidacy July 12, he instantly became one of the most recognizable Republicans in the field given his years on talk radio and appearances on Fox News and was viewed as a candidate who could further energize GOP voters. Though Elder is likely to excite many voters, most Republicans are unlikely to stay home if he's not on the list, said Jack Pitney, a professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College.

This Feb. 8, 2011, photo shows conservative talk show host Larry Elder, in Yorba Linda, Calif.

"I think Republicans are going to show up because they hate Newsom, not because they are particular fans of any of the replacement candidates," Pitney said.

Among other candidates, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's campaign was in a dispute with state officials over whether he could be listed as the city's "retired" mayor and YouTube creator Kevin Paffrath said he planned to sue to get his YouTube nickname on the ballot. Meanwhile, Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympian-turned-reality-TV-star, was reportedly in Australia filming a reality show, though she tweeted Friday she and her campaign team are "in full operation."

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More: California Gov. Gavin Newsom to face recall vote as petition drive hits signature goal

The list of 41 candidates released Saturday by the state lacked the panache of the more than 100 candidates who ran in California's last recall of a governor in 2003. But it included a range of candidates from the anonymous to the famous, including an entertainer known for putting herself on Los Angeles billboards in the 1980s and others with eye-catching names, like deputy sheriff Denver Stoner, and Nickolas Wildstar, who lists himself as a musician/entrepreneur/father.

Who are the 41 candidates in California's recall election?

The list includes 21 Republicans, eight Democrats, one Libertarian, nine independents and two Green Party members. Ballots will start going on next month in the mail, and the official election date is Sept. 14.

Each candidate is listed with a job title or other descriptor, but they are not allowed to use the word "former." Faulconer's campaign requested he be listed as San Diego's "retired" mayor, which state officials are now disputing, Faulconer spokesman John Burke said. He left the office in 2020, and reference to his prior role would help boost his name identification.

Paffrath said he plans to sue after he was denied being allowed to list himself as Kevin "Meet Kevin" Paffrath on the ballot, which includes his YouTube name. He noted another candidate was cleared to run as Chauncey "Slim" Killens, who lists himself as a retired correctional officer.

No Democrat with political stature decided to run. Polls have shown Newsom well positioned to win. But should he lose in an upset, there would be no established Democrat among replacement candidates, potentially opening the way for a Republican to take the seat.

Voters will be sent a ballot with two questions: Should Newsom be recalled, and who should replace him. If more than half of voters say "yes" to the first question, then whoever on the list of potential replacements gets the most votes is the new governor of the nation's most populous state. With numerous candidates and no clear front-runner, it's possible the someone could win with less than 25% of the votes.

The push to oust Newsom is largely rooted in frustration with long-running school and business closures during the pandemic that overturned daily life for millions of Californians. But many voters aren't paying attention, and there were no new candidates who emerged Saturday who appeared to have the potential to reorder the trajectory of the race.

According to the secretary of state's office, candidates who have filed the required paperwork include:

Paffrath, 29, who gives financial advice to his 1.7 million YouTube subscribers. The Democrat says his lack of "political baggage" is a good thing. His proposals include building underground tunnels for new roadways and cutting income taxes.

Angelyne, the only one-name candidate running on the ballot, is an entertainer who gained fame in Los Angeles in the 1980s by buying billboard space to advertise her name and image. She's listed as "no party preference" and her platform includes an annual masquerade ball where citizens dress up like the governor, an official Bubble Bath Day, and "rehab for politicians."

Jeff Hewitt, 68, is a Riverside County supervisor. He wrote in The Orange County Register that he was entering the race because "this state no longer accommodates dreams, fosters ideas or solves problems." He argues the state needs a new approach and is running as a Libertarian.

Joel Ventresca, 69, is a Democrat though says he's further to the left than Newsom, whom he called a "corporate, establishment, insider Democrat." Ventresca's main campaign platform is providing free health care and education "cradle to grave" for everyone in California. He retired in 2018 from the San Francisco International Airport, where he held multiple roles.

Sam Gallucci, 60, a Republican, is a former technology executive who is senior pastor at Embrace! Church in Oxnard, California. He also runs services that provide assistance for at-risk women and children and migrants. In his tech career, he rose through the corporate ranks to become an executive vice president and general manager for software maker PeopleSoft, which Oracle acquired for $10.3 billion in 2004.

Caitlyn Jenner, 71, is a lifelong Republican trying to parlay her celebrity into a surprise win. She won the men's decathlon gold medal at the 1976 Olympics, married into the Kardashian family and with them became reality TV stars, and came out as transgender in 2015. She has described herself as a fiscal conservative who is liberal on social issues. But she's proven gaffe-prone in interviews and hasn't released any significant policy proposals.

John Cox, 66, was the Republican nominee for governor in 2018 and lost to Newsom in a landslide. This time around the multimillionaire businessman has displayed a showman's instincts, campaigning with both a Kodiak bear and a giant ball of trash. He's long sought public office. He's sought numerous political offices including U.S. House and Senate as well as president.

Doug Ose, 66, is a multimillionaire businessman and former Republican congressman who represented a Sacramento-area district from 1999 to 2005. Ose says he's ready to work across party lines to reopen schools and get the economy back at full strength. He calls Sacramento broken, pointing to the homeless crisis, climbing gas taxes and increasing crime rates. He briefly ran for governor in 2018.

Jacqueline McGowan, 46, a Democrat, is a former stockbroker turned cannabis policy reform advocate. She's running to bring attention to what she calls a crisis in the legal cannabis market, which has struggled to get on its feet amid heavy regulation and taxes while facing stiff competition from the thriving underground market. She would slash pot taxes and push communities that have not set up local markets to open the door for legal sales.

Kevin Faulconer, 54, is a Republican who was twice elected mayor of Democratic-leaning San Diego and has long been seen as a potential statewide candidate, given his centrist credentials in strongly Democratic California. He's presented himself as a problem-solver and has touted his work keeping homeless encampments off streets while they spread unchecked in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Steve Chavez Lodge, 62, is a retired homicide detective and small business owner. He gained notoriety when he got engaged to reality TV personality Vicki Gunvalson, who appeared on the "Real Housewives of Orange County" for 15 years. The Republican says "California is completely broken" and is promising to "get government out of our lives ... and out of our wallets." He also has served on local government commissions.

Kevin Kiley, 36, is a Republican state assemblyman from the Sacramento area who emerged as a favorite among GOP volunteers who gathered petition signatures for the recall. He built a reputation as a strong conservative and one of Newsom's most vocal critics.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California releases list of 41 recall election candidates
Calvary Christian ace Andrew Painter will turn professional after the Philadelphia Phillies selected him with the 13th pick in the first round of this years MLB draft.

Painter signed a contract worth $3.9 million, MLB.com reported on Saturday. That is about $300,000 below the slot value for the 13th pick. Before signing with the Phillies, Painter was a Florida Gators signee.

Theres obviously going to be pressure with everything, but you kind of ignore it, Painter said on the night he was selected. You kind of just go and do your thing. Ive been in moments like this before on a high stage. So you just keep on working and really keep that same dedication, ignore all the outside stuff and go play your game.

Painters former teammate at Calvary Christian, Christian Scott, also signed on Saturday. The New York Mets signed Scott, who spent the past three seasons with the Florida Gators, for $350,000  $36,600 below slot  according to MLB.com.

Painter blossomed into a star with Calvary Christian. He was a first-team All-County pick as a sophomore and was off to a strong start when the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2021, Painter dominated the opposition. The senior went 6-1 with a 0.38 ERA. He struck out 93 batters in 47 innings and struck out 10 or more batters in five games. He pitched three complete games and one shutout while posting a WHIP of 0.70.

The Calvary Christian ace earned local and national honors following his senior year. He was the South Florida Sun Sentinels Broward County Class 5A-1A co-player of the year along with his teammate and fellow draftee Irv Carter. Gatorade named Painter the Florida Player of the Year, and MaxPreps named him a first-team All-American.
Poets & Quants

More than three-quarters of global employers think the MBA is due for a makeover, according to a study published earlier this month by CarringtonCrisp and LinkedIn. The study asked more than 500 employers and over 2,500 employers in 22 countries if they thought MBA degrees needed to be reinvented to become more relevant for the future. It might be innovate-or-die time for many business schools as online learning, stackable certificates and degrees, and upstart B-school alternatives all gain legitimacy in the eyes of employers.
In a West Hollywood nightclub, people flirted, danced, and got close -- all mostly unmasked -- despite the fact that on Sunday at midnight, Los Angeles became the first US city to order a return to masks indoors.

At Revolver, a bar blasting out Madonna's best hits, clubbers were warned in the queue -- no mask, no entry.

The ultimatum sent one young man, David, scrambling to the nearest supermarket to buy one so as to not miss precious dancing time.

But once inside the venue, despite rising Covid infection rates, it was a different story.

"I feel a little out of place," said 22-year-old Ashley Gutierrrez, one of the few wearing a mask.

Many of those that AFP spoke to on the dancefloor espoused a similar view -- with so many coronavirus vaccine doses available, why should those who have already been inoculated have to suffer because of those who aren't?

"If you're refusing to get the vaccine, that's on you now," said Stephen Bennett, 21.

Anthony Bawn, a 36-year-old screenwriter, agreed.

"Why should we feel responsible for individuals who don't want to protect their own body?" he asked. "If they force me to (wear a mask), I'm going to go home."

- 'Not my problem' -

For Los Angeles authorities, who announced the return to mandatory mask wearing in the middle of the week, there's a delicate balance to strike -- the city has only really reopened in the last few weeks, and no-one wants to spoil the party.

But thanks to the Delta variant, Covid-19 cases are the highest they've been since March, and the United States has not yet introduced any form of vaccine passport.

Many have chafed at the mask reintroduction, however.

The Los Angeles county sheriff's office has already announced that it will not enforce the new mandate, which according to the sheriff, is not based on science.

"It's going to be hard to enforce," said Ruben, manager of Trunks bar. "There's nothing we can do."

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"I'm not going to shove them on people's faces," sighed another bar manager.

As midnight struck at Micky's, a worker tapped on his watch and hurriedly distributed masks to the establishment's dancers.

The barmen hesitated, before masking up themselves -- but on the dancefloor, nothing much changed.

Leo Johnson had his mask in his pocket.

"I'm vaccinated," he said. "I have my mask in my pocket... I will not wear my mask if they don't ask me to."

It was, he pointed out, difficult to chat people up with half your face covered -- a position shared by Adrian Barrios, 26.

"In a bar setting, so much of your communication is through your smile and body language," he said. "A lot of that is inhibited through masks."

For 26-year-old Krista, however, the solution was to lean in: resplendent in a rhinestoned mask, she chose to protect herself, but do it in style.

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More than 60 people had to be treated on Saturday after a chemical incident at a Six Flags waterpark in Houston, Texas, officials said.

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office tweeted that dozens of people experienced minor skin and/or inhalation irritation after a chemical incident was detected at one of Hurricane Harbor Splashtown's attractions. The local fire department said that 26 people were transported to local hospitals and that 39 refused ambulance transport after a HAZMAT unit put people through a decontamination process. Roughly 4,000 people were at the park during the time of the incident.

"Most of the patients that we saw during the time in the beginning were all respiratory distress, a little hard to breathe, things of that sort," Spring Fire Department Chief Scott Seifert said Saturday at a press conference. "We didn't see anyone with chemical burns, anything like that."

A three-year-old child, however, did have a "severe enough condition" that they had to be rushed to a children's hospital, officials said. That child is now in stable condition. Officials said another woman appeared to be in labor when medical personnel arrived at the scene, but no further details were provided.

"At approximately 2:30 this afternoon, a small number of guests in a section of the park reported feeling ill with respiratory irritation," a Hurricane Harbor spokesperson told CBS News. "The safety of our guests and team members is always our highest priority and the park was immediately cleared as we try to determine a cause. Out of an abundance of caution, the park has been closed for the day."

The Fire Marshal said the last time it was inspected was June 29. The public health department also conducted an inspection of the pool facility in April.

A total of 26 people have been transported from Six Flags Hurricane Harbor to area hospitals. 39 people refused ambulance transport after decontamination by Spring Firefighters. The county has ordered the park closed. pic.twitter.com/Nue1NjH0B5

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 Spring Fire Department (@Springfdtx) July 17, 2021

Officials said the leak was contained to just one attraction. Splashtown has 16 open attractions, according to its website.

Officials said during the press conference that the chemicals they detected were a 10-13% hydrochloric acid  bleach  and 35% sulfuric acid solution. Bleach is often used to disinfect water in pools. Officials also said that when they tested samples of the water, it had a pH of 7, meaning it was in a neutral balance.

"We don't know exactly what happened prior that made people sick," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. "...But something obviously went wrong."

Hidalgo added that they are going to be taking a look at the park's "regulatory framework," and officials said they are monitoring the air and water quality and investigating the cause of the incident.

There is "no indication of air quality or chemical leaks in the surrounding area," Hidalgo tweeted.

HCFMO HAZMAT has been requested to assist @Springfdtx with a chemical incident at Hurricane Harbor Splashtown. 29 people are going through decon. HCFMO hazmat is on scene working to identify the cause of the incident. More info as soon as availabl. #hounews pic.twitter.com/a7v8T3DXwc

 @hcfmo (@hcfmo) July 17, 2021

The north Houston waterpark had just re-opened to all guests on July 3 after closing for the 2020 season due to the pandemic.

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LAHAINA, Hawaii  The discounted gift cards for Teralani Sailing Adventures caught my eye during the obligatory Costco stop on the way out of Kahului Airport.

Before tossing them in the shopping cart, I called the company from the store to ask about availability for a sunset sail during my weeklong stay.

"We have nothing for 10 days, a representative said. "Nothing."

I asked about potential cancellations. She said they weren't likely and recommended trying another company.

"I'm really sorry," she said. "It's busy."

Visitors to Maui hear that refrain on replay this summer as domestic travel zooms back to 2019 levels in response to a rise in COVID-19 vaccinations and the easing of travel restrictions. The popular Hawaiian island, which was effectively closed to tourists from March through October last year, has become the poster child for travel's return. Planeloads of passengers from California, Arizona, Las Vegas, the Pacific Northwest and as far away as New York arrive daily in search of post- lockdown sun and fun despite pricey car rentals and hotels. (Britney Spears and Adam Sandler were there during my visit.)

'We get cussed at everyday': Maui tourist surge raises tensions

Joe Collins was supposed to visit Germany with his wife, young kids and in-laws in March 2020, but the pandemic crushed those plans. Instead of rescheduling Europe this year, the Las Vegas family planned their first trip to Hawaii, for early July.

"My wife got the first vaccination shot, and her next call was to book a flight, no kidding," Collins said.

Stephanie and Jesse Rodriguez and their son, James, visited Maui for a month this summer after missing their trip in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Jesse and Stephanie Rodriguez were last in Maui in June 2019 and returned to the Wailea resort area this summer with their 15-year-old son for a monthlong stay.

"We didnt make it last year. We figured we'd make up for it this year," said Jesse, a cybersecurity executive from San Antonio.

Maui is always crowded in the summer and didn't feel busier to me in most areas, even over July 4. But the surge of visitors coupled with lingering COVID-19 restrictions and economic fallout from the pandemic, including staffing and supply shortages, mean a trip comes with challenges beyond snagging a shady spot at the hotel pool, finding parking in downtown Lahaina and surviving the single-lane road to Hana.

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Travelers face hard-to-get restaurant reservations or long lines at places that don't take them; a full-court press for some activities; new reservation requirements and fees at some state and national parks; and potentially long check-in and security lines at the airport upon departure. In short, Maui is a microcosm of vacation hot spots around the country in 2021.

Beach vacations are back: Restaurants and stores struggle with shortages as visitors return

Navigating a Maui vacation in 2021: 8 firsthand travel tips

Forget about ditching that face mask

Hawaii still has a mask mandate for indoor settings, including shops, grocery stores and hotel public areas, even if you're vaccinated, so forget about stashing it as soon as you leave the airport. You have to wear a face covering in restaurants and bars. Social distancing stickers may have faded where you live, but they are all over the place on the island, from shop floors to hotel elevators. Wailea Beach Resort has a painted surfboard-shaped sign by the pool: "Mahalo (thanks) for social distancing.''

A sign at the host stand at Star Noodle in Lahaina, Hawaii, reminds guests of Hawaii's indoor mask mandate.

Beware new entry rules at some Hawaii state parks

Visitors can no longer just show up at certain popular attractions. Waianapanapa State Park, near the end of the long, well-traveled road to Hana and famous for its black sand beach and views from a cliffside trail, started requiring reservations in March. They must be made two weeks to one day in advance, but the slots go quickly, and next-day availability is rare. I booked a week before my visit and could only get the 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. time slot. I paid $20.83 for parking and entrance for two.

The park was more than 2 hours from my Airbnb in Kihei, and I needed to make a couple of stops on the way, so the trip required a 4:45 a.m. wake-up call, and we still didn't arrive until 8:45 a.m. (You can enter any time, but you have to leave by the end of your time slot.) One upside to the early reservation: The place wasn't crowded. The beach is small, the adjacent hike relatively short, so it was plenty of time.

Visitors to Waianapanapa State Park in Hana, Hawaii, can't visit without reservations under a system that began March 1. Reservations can be made two weeks in advance and time slots go quickly.

Want to see sunrise from above the clouds at the summit in Haleakala National Park? You can't just set your alarm and drive in as in the past. Online reservations ($1 per vehicle plus national park admission of $30 per vehicle at the gate) are required to enter that part of the park from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. Show up without one, and you can't get in, even with a national park pass. The system began a few years before the pandemic, but spots are in high demand as visitors return to Hawaii in droves. Reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance, but they go quickly.

Pro tip: Check again 48 hours before your preferred date because the park service holds some spots for last-minute reservations.

Book Maui restaurant reservations when you buy your plane tickets and set up alerts for cancellations

Maui hot spots such as Mama's Fish House in Paia have long required advance reservations at prime times, but the tourist surge and COVID-19 capacity restrictions make tables even harder to get. Hotels, including the Sheraton Maui, started alerting incoming guests via email to the need to book restaurants early, prompted in part by concierges tired of delivering a steady stream of bad news to visitors unaware of the situation.

The problem is so bad, Mama's tells callers in a recorded message that, yes, the online reservation system works, "but we are booked for dinner five months in advance and for lunch three months in advance."

Amanda and Eddy Kavanaugh snagged a lunch reservation for their combination honeymoon/babymoon in early July, but it took a couple of months. She set up OpenTable alerts from open through close for every day of their visit and estimated she missed 30 while working or sleeping. Other times, she clicked, and the opening was already gone.

I dont know how many times I opened the app and it said, Sorry you missed it, she said.

In Maui, they were about to employ plan B  driving more than 45 minutes from their Kaanapali Beach hotel to Paia in hopes of walking in  when an alert popped up while they lounged at the pool. The Kavanaughs, from Wenatchee, Washington, nabbed the 3:30 p.m. lunch reservation and celebrated the Fourth of July at Mama's.

'It's the magic hour' : Give early-bird dining a try

An Instagram-friendly sign welcomes visitors inside Star Noodle, a popular Maui restaurant.

Garlic noodles and tempura shrimp aren't usually my breakfast go-tos, but that's what I ate late one morning at Star Noodle. The perennially popular Lahaina restaurant, where a chalkboard out front says, "Reservations Only," opens at 10:30 a.m. I showed up at 10:35 in hopes of walking in and 15 minutes later had a seat at the bar.

The couple next to me, foodies from Los Angeles, had already devoured a plate of wings and Chinese broccoli and were ordering more.

Another day, I lined up for breakfast at Instagram-famous Kihei Caffe, which doesn't take reservations, at 6 a.m. and had a seat within 20 minutes.

For dinner, I landed a waterfront table for two on the upper deck at Lahaina Fish Co. by lining up at 3:57 p.m. and getting right in.

The host who took us to our table called it "the magic hour."

Enlist help (and tip generously)

The concierge desk at the Royal Lahaina Resort saved the day for my coveted sunset sail tickets, but it took several days after my initial call. The manager who fielded my initial request (as an incoming guest, not a reporter for USA TODAY) said concierges check for openings all day, every day.

"Its fun because I feel like I won the lottery sometimes," she said.

Hop on a Maui bus or trolley

No rental car? Check out the Maui Bus and trolley services to cut down on costly, and sometimes hard to get, Uber or Lyft rides. I took the Maui Bus from Kihei to Wailea for $1. The bus driver said visitors headed to Makena State Park and its monster waves ride the bus to Wailea and take ride-sharing from there. Visitors staying on or near Kaanapali Beach can hop on the free Kaanapali Trolley to get around.

Skip the Maui must-dos this year

This is probably heresy to vacationers who plan their trips around marquee restaurants and attractions such as the road to Hana, but Maui has plenty of less stressful options for vacationers.

One of my favorite finds this trip was recommended by a local: Hawaii Sea Spirits Organic Farm and Distillery. The maker of Ocean Organic Vodka, Kula rum and FY Gin offers tasting tours, a new cafe and a grand lawn with coastal views. Its off-the-beaten track location in Kula means fewer crowds, at least on my Friday afternoon visit in early July. (Make reservations for tours, however.)

The restaurant was busy inside, but picnic tables and Adirondack chairs were plentiful outside on the lawn. The Uncle's Favorite farmbread, aka pizza, was delicious.

Hawaii Sea Spirits Organic Farm and Distillery, in Kula, Hawaii, on the island of Maui, offers tasting tours, a cafe and a gift shop. The company's spirits include Ocean Vodka and Kula Rum.

Beach time is always a low-stress option.

Collins said the beach was the only thing on his family's agenda besides a luau.

"What we're here for isn't scheduled," he said. "You can't schedule the beach. You can't understaff the beach. The sunsets are here."

Ellie Collins, 5, plays in the sand on north Kaanapali Beach on Maui on a July vacation with her family. The Las Vegas family visited Hawaii for the first time this month, their first big vacation since the pandemic canceled a trip to Germany.

Get to Kahului Airport early for your flight home

Transportation Security Administration screening lines can top one hour during peak travel times, and checked and carry-on bags go through agricultural inspections. Arrive three hours before your flight during peak times, especially if you have a rental car to return. If you somehow speed through security, you'll have extra time for souvenir shopping, the Starbucks line or the kalua pork nachos at Sammy's Beach Bar and Grill before the long flight home.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maui, Hawaii, travel tips to help navigate tourist surge, COVID rules
Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world, is set to join the astronaut club Tuesday on the first crewed launch by Blue Origin, another key moment in a big month for the fledgling space tourism industry.

The mission comes days after Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson crossed the final frontier, narrowly besting the Amazon magnate in their battle of the billionaires.

Blue Origin's sights are, however, set higher: both literally in terms of the altitude to which its reusable New Shepard craft will ascend compared to Virgin's spaceplane, but also in its future ambitions.

Bezos founded Blue Origin back in 2000, with the goal of one day building floating space colonies with artificial gravity where millions of people will work and live.

Today, the company is developing a heavy-lift orbital rocket called New Glenn and also a Moon lander it is hoping to contract to NASA under the Artemis program.

"They've had 15 successful New Shepard uncrewed flights and we've been waiting years to see when they're going to start flying people," Laura Forczyk, founder of space consulting firm Astralytical, told AFP, calling it an "exciting time" for enthusiasts.

New Shepard will blast off at 8:00 am Central Time (1300 GMT) on July 20 from a remote facility in the west Texas desert called Launch Site One, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the nearest town, Van Horn.

The event will be live streamed on BlueOrigin.com beginning an hour and a half before.

- Richest, oldest and youngest -

Joining Bezos on the fully autonomous flight will be barrier-breaking female aviator Wally Funk, who at 82 is set to be the oldest ever astronaut, Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen, the company's first paying customer, who will become the youngest astronaut.

Rounding out the four-member crew is Jeff Bezos' brother Mark, a financier who directs the Bezos Family Foundation and works as a volunteer firefighter.

The pair are best friends, and Jeff shared the moment he asked his younger sibling to join him in a viral video on Instagram last month.

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Notably absent is the mysterious winner of a $28 million auction for a seat, who had "scheduling conflicts" and will take part in a future flight, and has asked to remain anonymous, the company said.

After lift-off, New Shepard will accelerate towards space at speeds exceeding Mach 3 using a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine with no carbon emissions.

The capsule soon separates from its booster, and the astronauts unbuckle and begin to experience weightlessness.

The crew will spend a few minutes beyond the Karman line -- the internationally recognized boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space, at 62 miles altitude (100 kilometers), as the spacecraft peaks at 65 miles high (106 kilometers).

They will be able to admire the curvature of the planet -- and the inky black of the rest of the universe -- from large windows that comprise a third of the cabin's surface area.

The booster returns autonomously to a landing pad just north of its launch site, while the capsule freefalls back to Earth before deploying three giant parachutes, and finally a thruster, to land gently in the west Texas desert.

- Bigger prizes -

Beyond the first flight, relatively little is known about Blue Origin's future tourism plans.

The company has a history of secrecy, its existence only becoming public knowledge three years after its creation. It then pursued a policy of "self-imposed silence" until 2015.

Unlike Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin hasn't officially started selling tickets -- Daemen won his spot through the auction process. The company wants two more flights this year, then "many more" in 2022, it told AFP.

Forczyk, the analyst, said it will all depend on the level of demand that is generated by these early flights, and how well the industry recovers from accidents "which there inevitably will be, because spaceflight is inherently risky."

Elon Musk's SpaceX will enter the fray in September with an all-civilian orbital expedition on its Crew Dragon, and is tying up with another company, Axiom, for visits to the International Space Station.

Beyond tourism, Blue Origin would like to supplant SpaceX as NASA's leading private sector partner, and sees New Shepard as "sort of the stepping stone and also the way to make money along the way for the greater ambition," said Forczyk.

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A Los Angeles police officer watches homeless artist Jules Navarro pack up his belongings during the predawn hours of July 8 as sanitation crews prepare to clear encampments along Ocean Front Walk in Venice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

California's gubernatorial recall candidates have seized on the grim state of homelessness as a prime issue upon which to flay Gov. Gavin Newsom and appeal to voters frustrated by the proliferation of encampments. Their basic message: Tents overrun our sidewalks and parks and beaches, filled with mentally ill individuals who need to be forced into treatment or a shelter.

The number of homeless people did, in fact, rise in California from 2019 to 2020, going up 6.8% to 161,000. But homelessness went up in most other states as well, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And no matter how logical it may seem to clear the streets by forcibly relocating homeless individuals, that doesn't make them disappear. People will simply move to another block. Or if they go to a shelter, the stay will most likely be brief.

The most prominent recall candidates haven't just criticized Newsom; they've laid out plans for addressing the homelessness crisis. Unfortunately, most of those plans call for sweeping, heavy-handed and potentially unconstitutional approaches to a complex problem that requires complex solutions. Here's a sampling of their ideas, good and bad.

Right to shelter

Enacting a right to shelter, an idea championed by former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, would force municipalities to supply enough shelter beds to handle every unsheltered homeless person. And yes, there is a need for more shelter in some municipalities, including Los Angeles.

But forcing cities to build enough shelters to accommodate every homeless person would siphon off money that could be better spent on permanent housing for homeless people or rental assistance and rent vouchers. And just pairing a right to shelter with a legal obligation to take it, as Faulconer proposes, would not enable cities to compel homeless people to move into shelters any more than they can compel them into mental health treatment. (See below.)

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All a municipality can do is to force people off a sidewalk or out of a park, and that's what Faulconer's plan is really about  enforcement. Yet homeless people will find another sidewalk or park unless law enforcement officers spend all their time patrolling for people to shoo away.

Campgrounds

We have to provide some place for those people to go," celebrity candidate Caitlyn Jenner told a TV news reporter on Inside California Politics. Referring to the Department of Veterans Affairs campus on L.A.s Westside, she added: If you notice at the veterans facility, theres these big open fields and a lot of places there.

In fact, shortly after the pandemic began, the VA set up a sanctioned campground for homeless veterans on a grassy field on its 388-acre campus. Veterans live in tents and get services, food, water, restrooms and security on the grounds. Thats a workable form of temporary shelter.

But simply putting homeless people and their tents in a big, open field would serve only to move homeless people out of sight, which doesn't help return them to sustainable independence. To be effective, sanctioned campgrounds need to offer people restrooms, food and public transportation  and just as important, have case managers who can get them moving toward permanent housing and services.

Treatment before housing

Replacing the prevailing "Housing First" philosophy with "Treatment First"  a position staked out by candidate John Cox  is about as reactionary as you can get. The housing-first approach is based on the idea that people need basics like housing before they can tackle other issues, such as unemployment, mental health problems or substance abuse. And housing first doesnt mean housing only, but rather housing accompanied by services that chronically homeless people can use to tackle their other problems.

Does this work for every homeless person? No. Some homeless people have such acute mental illness that they do need some kind of residential treatment program. But tens of thousands of homeless people have gone into permanent housing and stayed. L.A. Homeless Services Authority officials say that 90% of people who go into permanent supportive housing in L.A. County are still housed a year later. The National Alliance to End Homelessness puts the retention rate at 98%.

This approach has been accepted as the best practice by service providers, county mental health agencies, the California Legislature and HUD, which had been committed to the practice before the Trump administration came along. The department is expected to return to a housing-first commitment under the Biden administration.

Cox would require people to complete a treatment program and abstain from drug or alcohol use as a condition for housing. He went even further last month and said he would arrest people and force them into mental health treatment if they insisted on living on the streets. That stance was decried by legal and mental health experts and would, undoubtedly, prompt civil rights lawsuits.

The research Cox cites says treatment-first participants were more successful at dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues than people living under housing-first guidelines. But even the study's author concludes that housing-first residents had a housing retention rate of 80% while treatment-first programs were half as successful.

Another candidate, former Rep. Doug Ose (R-Sacramento), would demand sobriety from people receiving services funded by the state. Again, such a draconian approach hasn't produced good results in the past.

These plans lose sight of the goal, which is to get homeless people into housing and help them stay there. That help can include treatment, counseling and medical care. Service providers can offer it and explain why people should take it, but years of research has shown that such help isn't likely to be effective unless it's the individuals choice.

Involuntary commitment

Echoing a long-running critique, Cox contends that the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which sets guidelines on involuntary commitment, is too hard to use and should be changed to make it easier to force people into treatment. Ose believes involuntary commitment should extend to anyone (seemingly homeless or not) who can't say no to drugs or alcohol. The problem, however, is not the law's limits.

The problem is the severe lack of residential treatment facilities and programs for people to enter  whether they go voluntarily or involuntarily. And theyre more likely to agree to enter a program if it is humanely run, community-based and allows the people entering some choices in determining their care.

Several candidates want the state to spend more on mental health. Good. If they really want to address Californias mental health emergency, they can stop talking about forcing people into treatment and start talking about how the state can fund and provide more community-based mental health services and residential facilities.

More affordable housing

Several candidates pledged to remove obstacles to getting building permits and to allow multi-unit buildings in neighborhoods zoned for single families. Cox suggests reforming zoning regulations and overhauling the California Environmental Quality Act so that NIMBYs cant take advantage of it to stop new construction. These are good ideas, although they will be challenging to put in place.

Landlord incentives

Cities and counties put a lot of effort into housing homeless people in available apartments. But landlords are often reluctant to rent to homeless people, even when they come with guaranteed rent vouchers.

Faulconer suggests offering landlords financial incentives to accept homeless veterans as tenants. Its similar to a program he did in San Diego when he was mayor, which eventually expanded to cover all homeless people.

Incentive plans are welcome, but they should be open to landlords serving any homeless person with a rent voucher, not just veterans.

Prevention

Weve yet to hear any of the major recall candidates talk about funding homelessness prevention plans. Thats a major oversight. (Faulconer seems to think an audit of current state homelessness funds will help improve existing preventive programs. Increasing funding would help substantially more.) In Los Angeles County, which has about 66,000 homeless people, the average day in 2019 saw 227 people becoming homeless but only 207 people making it out of homelessness. A big part of reducing homelessness is stopping people from falling into it in the first place.

A homelessness plan that focuses on the people living on the street and ignores the ones in danger of joining them is just not serious.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Egypt on Sunday freed six activists including journalist Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a symbol of the 2011 revolution, just days after Washington warned Cairo over a crackdown on rights activists.

Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2014, the former army chief has overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent.

On Wednesday, the United States warned Egypt not to target rights campaigners, saying the issue would be a factor in arms sales to its Arab ally.

Analysts said the latest releases were aimed at easing international pressure over Egypt's human rights record.

The prosecution ordered Abdel-Fattah's release after nearly 22 months in pre-trial detention, lawyer Khaled Ali said, posting photographs of her leaving prison.

She was ordered released on Saturday along with Abdel Nasser Ismail, leader of the Popular Alliance party, and Gamal El-Gammal, a journalist and opposition figure.

In another surprise announcement on Sunday, the prosecution ordered the release of prominent lawyer and rights activist Mahienour El-Masri and journalists Motaz Wadnan and Mostafa El-Asar.

All had been in pre-trial detention on charges including spreading "fake news" and cooperating "with terrorists" or "illegal groups".

Security and legal sources said they were all freed pending an investigation into the charges they faced.

The releases are "aimed at easing domestic tensions and could have some positive results for Egypt's image abroad", said Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyed, a professor of political science at Cairo University.

"But I doubt that it will change the situation because there are many political prisoners" still detained, he added.

Also Sunday, well-known journalist Abdel Nasser Salam was arrested a week after slamming Sisi on Facebook, senior security officials said without providing any details of his detention.

A former editor-in-chief at state newspaper al-Ahram, Salam had accused the president of endangering Egyptian interests by failing to resolve a dispute with Ethiopia over its under-construction dam on the Nile river, calling on him to "resign at once".

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- Washington warning -

Egypt has come under harsh criticism over its human rights record, including from the United Nations and United States.

On Wednesday, Washington warned Cairo not to target rights campaigners after prominent activist Hossam Bahgat was indicted on charges related to his use of social media.

"We've communicated to the Egyptian government our strong belief that individuals such as Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for expressing their views peacefully," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

Asked if the issue would affect a major arms package being considered for Egypt, Price declined to discuss funding but said: "Human rights across the board is something we look at very closely in making those decisions."

President Joe Biden vowed as a candidate that there would be no more "blank checks" for Sisi, who formed a close alliance with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.

In March, 31 countries staged a rare oral rebuke of Egypt at the UN Human Rights Council, expressing alarm over its use of anti-terrorism laws against government critics.

The mainly European countries, but also including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, pointed to "the constrained space for civil society and political opposition".

"We are deeply concerned about the application of terrorism legislation against human rights activists, LGBTI persons, journalists, politicians and lawyers," said Kirsti Kauppi, Finland's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, reading a joint statement.

- 'False news' -

In 2008, three years before president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in the Arab Spring uprising, Abdel-Fattah created a Facebook page in support of striking workers and to call for political reform.

The 43-year-old was arrested in October 2019 on charges of "spreading false news" and "collaborating with a terrorist group", sparking international condemnation.

She was jailed under Mubarak and opposed the Muslim Brotherhood when it took power in Egypt in 2012, backing protests that led to the ouster a year later of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

El-Masri was arrested in September 2019 following rare anti-Sisi mass protests and was also held on charges of publishing "false news" and collaborating with "terrorists".

Wadnan and Asar were charged with joining "illegal groups" and spreading "false news".

Ismail, also freed on Sunday, was arrested in September 2019 for "participation in a terrorist group". Journalist El-Gammal was detained in February.

Under Egyptian law, pre-trial detention can be extended for up to two years.

"We had expected for a while that releases would be made," the chief editor of Al-Shorouk newspaper, Mohammed Saad Abdel Hafiz, told AFP.

"Last week, 150 little-known activists were freed, and we heard from some officials that more would be released."

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CAIRO (AP)  Egyptian authorities released three activists and three journalists Sunday after months in pre-trial detention, officials and lawyers said. The releases came after U.S. officials, among others, expressed concern over the arrests and harassment of rights advocates and critics of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissis government.

State security prosecutors ordered the release of the six pending ongoing investigations into charges against them, according to two judicial officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The charges rage from disseminating false news and misuse of social media platforms to joining a terrorist group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood which Egypt designated as a terrorist group in 2013.

Despite their lengthy detention, those arrested and released have yet to stand trial, according their lawyers.

Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a pro-democracy activist and writer, walked free early Sunday, her sister Shimaa wrote in a Facebook post. She was a co-founder of the April 6 movement that played a crucial role in the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Abdel-Fattah was arrested in October 2019 in a city west of Cairo, during a crackdown that followed small but rare anti-government protests. Hundreds were arrested at the time, but many were later released.

Prominent rights lawyer Mahienour el-Masry also was released Sunday, her sister Maysoon el-Masry wrote in a Facebook post that included a photo of the lawyer wearing a white uniform for jailed people and a face mask.

El-Masry, who is widely known for her activism in labor movements, and on behalf of Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Egypt, had been arrested in Sep. 2019 amid the crackdown that followed the rare protest.

Authorities also released journalist Gamal el-Gamal, said rights lawyer Nasser Amin. El-Gamal, who is widely known for his columns critical of el-Sissi's government, was arrested earlier this year upon arrival at Cairo International Airport from Turkey, where he had lived since 2017.

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Also among those released Sunday were journalists Mustafa el-Aasar and Moataz Wadnan, who had been held in pre-trail detention since 2018, according to rights lawyer Malek Adly.

Abdel-Nasser Ismail, deputy head of the Socialist Peoples Alliance Party, also walked free earlier Sunday after nearly two years in pre-trail detention.

The releases came amid calls by lawmakers and public figures to release activists and rights advocates who have been detained in recent years in over what they say politically-motivated charges.

Last week, there was an outcry by rights advocates when prosecutors last week referred Hossam Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial. Bahgat said he was accused of insulting Egypt's election authority, spreading false news alleging electoral fraud, and using social media to commit crimes.

The accusations stem from a tweet Bahgat wrote last year blaming the election authoritys chairman for allegedly mishandling last year's parliamentary vote, he said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned Bahgats indictment and the detention and harassment of Egyptian civil society leaders, academics, and journalists under el-Sissi.

Weve communicated to the Egyptian government our strong belief that individuals such as Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for expressing their views peacefully, Price said last week. As a strategic partner weve raised these concerns with the Egyptian government, and we will continue to do so going forward.

Also last week, an Egyptian court began the trial of six secular activists and journalists, including former lawmaker Zyad el-Elaimy, rights lawyer Khalid Ali said. The six, who were arrested in 2019, face an array of charges including disturbing the public peace through disseminating false news about domestic affairs. The next court session is July 29, Ali said.

El-Elaimy and others were added by a court last year to a list of suspected terrorists for the next five years. The decision was upheld last week by the Court of Cassation  Egypt's highest criminal court.

Also added to the terror list was Palestinian-Egyptian activist Ramy Shaath, who helped establish Egypts branch of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel, known as BDS. Shaath, the son of a former Palestinian foreign minister, was also detained in 2019 but has not been charged or referred to court for trial. His wife, a French citizen, has been deported.

The Egyptian government has in recent years waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Journalists have also been targeted, with dozens imprisoned and some expelled. Egypt remains among the worlds top jailers of journalists, along with Turkey and China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Getty

It takes a pine tree about 30 years to grow from seed to maturity. A single mature pine can be processed into up to 20,000 sheets of paper, which can be used to make books, newspapers, and magazines printed with all manner of literature. The tree has no control over what kind; one pine might be turned into, say, a marked-up keepsake copy of Middlemarch, and another tree just like it could be turned into the ghostwritten memoir of a girl power lifestyle influencer that will serve as a White Claw coaster until the dog chews it up.

But few paper tree fates are as undignified as that which awaits those that hit printing presses at the same time that a former Trump sycophant is launching a rehab tour. Imagine being a tree your whole life, and then having your afterlife devoted to insisting that some former government officials tepid imaginary resistance to President Trump was actually a form of bravery that saved America. The indignity. Maybe thats what happens to the bad trees.

The latest Trump contemporary on a mission to inform America that he is the real hero of the Trump era is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, a regular Big Bad John down in the mine holding up the joists so all of the miners can run out, at least as people familiar with his thinking put it. You may remember General Milley from that photo taken the day that President Trump had law enforcement use tear gas to clear protesters from Lafayette Square, so that the president could pose next to a church and hold a Bible aloft like it was a fish hed caught on vacation. Milley was with him that day, dressed like a GI Joe side character and wearing a face so self-serious it made him appear to be suffering from constipation.

The Desperate Laundering of the Trump Reputations

Several days later, after the public had the opportunity to get good and mad about it, Milley acknowledged that the whole affair was indeed full of shit. He apologized for his involvement in the photo op.

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Now, a new round of reporting is depicting Milleywho clearly sourced this reportingas more than a contrite public official who feels bad he let President Trump use him that one time. He was actually the guy responsible for making sure that Donald Trump didnt turn into Adolf Hitler! Youre welcome, America!

This has led to a wave of embarrassing depictions of Milley as a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington figure and an American hero instead of what he is, a guy who now wants us to believe that hes the reason that things werent worse. But why should we believe him?

According to recent reporting about Milley, the general spent the months after the June photo op attempting to do penance for his mistake by fighting from the inside. That inside fighting involved a lot of grumbling to other staffers, planning to resign in protest if things got to a point they never got to, making moral proclamations about his principles to those close to him and scheduling phone calls with other people to relay these anxieties. The magazine article implies that Trump was seriously considering going to war with Iran in order to solidify his power after losing the election while Milley raced to stop him, but the president must not have been that serious, as one of the articles praising his general as some kind of behind-the-scenes hero reports that Donald was talked out of that plan over the course of a single meeting. (During that same meeting, Milley heard Trump boast that the Jan. 6 rally of his supporters in D.C. would be wild. Milley did nothing except see a version of his fears play out, which isnt the same as doing something.)

While hes leaking now, Milleys supposed courage while Trump was president did not involve speaking publicly or even getting stories to the press when that might have mattered about behind-the-scenes warmongering, which, given Trumps tendency to pay more attention to press coverage than to security briefings, would have probably been a more effective way to blow that plan up.

Trumps Minions Are Scamming Their Way to the Top of the Bestseller List

Further, Milley and other publicity-seeking former Trump associates alleged fights from the inside did not reflect any understanding of Trumps real powerwhich wasnt the former presidents ability to manipulate the government, but rather his cult leader-like ability to manipulate his frothing followers into doing just about anything. The people holding up misspelled racial slurs at Trump rallies arent reading strongly worded memos published in the Washington Post.

Of course, its better for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and other powerful figures to acknowledge that Trump is and was dangerous than for them to continue licking his boots. But their convenient Monday morning bravery isnt sending the message they think it is. An announcement, six months after somebody is no longer the president, that there was a plan in place to take action that was never actually taken does not convince me that the person who supposedly made the plan is brave.

Im no more impressed with a military official saying, I had a feeling something this bad would happen, but I didnt effectively do anything to prevent it as I would be if my husband informed Carol Leonnig six months after forgetting my birthday that he had intended to take me out to dinner at the time, to a dinner that could possibly have been the best of my life. Who cares? A firefighter who thought about saving the cat from the tree but didnt actually get around to it isnt a quiet hero. All of these too-late-to-do-anything declarations of principle are less than worthless.

Weve been through so many rounds of rehabilitative Trump official fan fiction that it is its own genre at this point. Do writers depicting those who were complicit as secret heroes think their spin is believable? It wasnt believable when it was the Actually Don McGahns Secret Bravery Saved America news cycle, the Anonymous Miles Taylor The Quiet Hero cycle, several cycles of Ivanka and Jared Are Privately Urging The President To Be Less Bad, a round of John Kelly Always Hated The Guy, a hearty dose of Lt. General McMaster Pounds The Table And Yells Sir! Possibly Loudly Enough To Save the Republic, General James Mad Dog Mattis Has Some Tough Talk After The Fact, Bill Barr Was Actually Secretly Doing Smart Things, or the Mike Pompeo Was Tough And Presidential this Whole Time cycle. (Coming soon! Kellyanne Conway pretends that she didnt spend the last six years blabbing to journalists from the Times on down as she promotes her tell-all.)

In a time when talk is cheap but self-aggrandizing exaggeration can fetch you a seven-figure book advance, every piece of historical revisionism that makes anybody look suddenly good should be taken with a grain of salt or, better yet, simply ignored.

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A Florida man faces multiple charges after he allegedly drove through a security gate at a Tampa-area airport and got into the cockpit of a Coast Guard C-130 airplane on Saturday morning, officials said.

Hamilton Moreno, 36, is accused of leading deputies on a chase across a runway at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport before 5 a.m. ET in a vehicle that had been reported stolen the night before, the Pinellas County Sheriffs Department said in a statement.

LAX TRAVELER, AFTER POSSIBLE HIJACKING ATTEMPT, OPENS DOOR, JUMPS OUT OF TAXIING AIRCRAFT

Moreno was arrested after he allegedly crashed through a Coast Guard security gate, left the car in a hangar and climbed into the empty C-130, the sheriffs department said.

The suspect was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on charges of fleeing and eluding, trespassing, grand theft auto, habitual traffic offender, burglary, and two counts of criminal mischief.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

His bond was set at $24,150.
A wannabe pilot left havoc in his wake at a Florida airport Saturday before being taken into custody inside the cockpit of a Coast Guard plane.

Herrera Hamilton Moreno, 36, was arrested at the St. Pete/Clearwater airport just before 5 a.m. Saturday after a car chase, according to the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office.

Moreno was first spotted driving on the runway near parked commercial airliners, police said. When officials approached him, he fled in the car, which had been reported stolen in Tampa earlier that night.

Police chased Moreno until he crashed into a US Coast Guard security gate. Then, the suspect got out of the car and allegedly fled on foot before climbing into a parked C-130 aircraft and entering the cockpit.

Thats where officials were able to catch up to Moreno and arrest him.

Moreno has been charged with grand theft auto, two counts of criminal mischief, burglary, fleeing and eluding and being a habitual traffic offender. Police also said he could face federal charges.
France will outlaw the culling of male chicks in the poultry industry in 2022 after years of protests from animal welfare activists, Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said Sunday.

Millions of male chicks are killed after hatching every year, most often by being shredded or gassed with carbon dioxide, because they do not produce eggs and do not grow as large as females.

Farmers say no practical and affordable ways exist to tell a chick's sex in the egg at mass production facilities, and an EU directive from 2009 authorises shredding as long as it causes "immediate" death for chicks less than 72 hours old.

But opponents denounce unnecessary cruelty and point to improving techniques for finding males before they hatch.

"As of January 1, 2022, all poultry hatcheries will have to have installed or ordered machines letting them learn a chick's sex in the egg," Denormandie told the daily Le Parisien.

"2022 will be the year when shredding and gassing of male chicks ends in France," he said, saying the law would prevent the killing of 50 million male chicks every year.

The state will provide a financial aid package of 10 million euros ($11.8 million) to help farmers buy the necessary equipment, he added.

The move comes after Germany said in January that it would also ban the controversial practice next year.

Switzerland banned the shredding of live chicks last year, but still allows them to be gassed.

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Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz make an appearance at a rally Saturday, July 17 in Riverside, California (Cindy Yamanaka/The Orange County Register via AP)

Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a free speech protest on a sidewalk in California after no one would give them a venue for their America First rally.

The Republican lawmakers spoke to around 100 supporters outside of Riverside City Hall after an event space in Anaheim became the latest place to cancel their booking on Saturday.

The members of Congress reported that they had secured the M3 Live Anaheim Event Center for the rally, despite opposition from city leaders.

But after Anaheim officials criticised the controversial politicians for bringing the event to the city, the venue changed its mind about hosting the pro-Trump representatives and their supporters.

It came after two venues, the Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center in Laguna Hills and the Riverside Convention Center, cancelled on the GOP members when complaints flooded in.

The pair also spent time together with supporters on Huntington Beach.

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We wont back down, Rep Greene told the Riverside rally where they spoke for ten minutes. The radical left wants to threaten you, they want to harass you, they want to target you, and they want to cancel you.

She added: And heres what were going to do, America. Youve got two members of Congress right here and we refuse to be canceled because we wont let you be canceled.

She then told the small crowd that Donald Trumps policies are going to save our country and stop the Communists that are trying to destroy our freedom.

Ms Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, lost her house committee assignments in February after videos emerged of her supporting QAnon and 9/11 conspiracy theories, along with harassing school shooting survivors.

She also called for the execution of House leader Nancy Pelosi in a Facebook post, and compared the Senates mask mandate to the Holocaust, for which she later apologised.

Mr Gets, a congressman from Florida, also told the crowd that he refused to be cancelled.

Marjorie and I called out the (Make America Great Again) army a few hours ago and you are here because you love America, he said.

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They may try to cancel us online. They may try to pursue us in real life. They may try to shut down our venues. But we will take take this fight to them in the courts, in the halls of Congress and if necessary, in the streets.

Mr Gaetz is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged sex trafficking, which he has strongly denied. He has not been charged with any crimes.

Read More

The Chelsea Pensioners advise to 'push off politely' in fraud awareness campaign

3rd venue cancels Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene rally

Third California venue cancels on Gaetz and Greenes America First rally
When Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel spoke at the Republican National Convention, he made a policy-laden case for Donald Trump.

Instead of going to Mars, we have invaded the Middle East. We dont need to see Hillary Clintons deleted emails: Her incompetence is in plain sight, Thiel said. She pushed for a war in Libya, and today, its a training ground for ISIS. On this most important issue, Donald Trump is right. Its time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country.

Thiel was said to grow disillusioned with Trump during last years reelection campaign. But he is still boosting populist Republican candidates, including a pair of Senate contenders.

TUCKER CARLSON REIGNITES THE NSA SURVEILLANCE DEBATE ON THE RIGHT

Blake Masters, the chief operating officer of both Thiel Capital and the Thiel Foundation, is running for Senate in Arizona against incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly for the seat John McCain held until his death in 2018.

Our leaders have shipped millions of jobs to China, and the internet, which was supposed to give us an awesome future, is instead being used to shut us up, Masters said. The truth is, we cant take America for granted. And, if we want to keep it, weve got to fight for it  because we are up against a media that lies to us; schools that teach our kids to hate our country and corporations that have gotten so big, they think theyre bigger than America.

Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance is running in Ohio, eyeing the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. A pro-Vance super PAC received a $10 million donation from Thiel. A super PAC backing Masters may get comparable support.

Vance, whose influential book told the story of economic devastation and cultural despair in some white working-class communities, was for Trumpism before he was for Trump.

I sort of got Trumps issues from the beginning, the 2016 Evan McMullin voter told Time earlier this month. I just thought that this guy was not serious and was not going to be able to really make progress on the issues I cared about.

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Vance added that Trump is the leader of this movement and if I actually care about these people and the things I say I care about, I need to just suck it up and support him.

The question is whether Trumps base will show the same amount of support to these candidates. Masters and Vance are offering a somewhat higher-brow pitch based on substantive policies. Trump also had an attitude, fame, and a carefully crafted image in business before seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

Populism is bigger than Trump, said a Republican media consultant. But Trump is pretty big.

When former Attorney General Jeff Sessions ran to reclaim his Alabama Senate seat on a platform of Trumpian skepticism of foreign wars, sprawling international trade deals, and uncontrolled immigration, Trump endorsed against him. Trump picked Tommy Tuberville for the same reasons he ultimately pushed Sessions out at the Justice Department: recusal in the Trump-Russia investigation.

Tuberville won the primary by a 20-percentage-point margin and coasted in the general election. Six years prior, Sessions was unopposed in the November election and won 97.3% of the vote. His experience shows that populist policies could potentially be less important than tapping into Trumps grievances, ranging from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation to the 2020 presidential election.

In Kansas, Trumpian populist Kris Kobach has lost races for the governorship and the Senate despite financial backing from Thiel. Kobach, who did win statewide elections for secretary of state, is less charismatic than Trump.

Vance has of late taken a more combative tone on Twitter, moving closer to Trump in style as well as substance. When academic and commentator Marc Lamont Hill urged his followers to do the work in a racist, sexist, and homophobic world, Vance replied, Better yet: go to church and stop being a tool.

Others have used the Thiel connection to cast aspersions on the populist bona fides of his preferred candidates. Masters and Vance, a venture capitalist, are successful, Ivy-League-educated businessmen in their own right.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

There are multiple Republican candidates who plan to vie for Trumps support in both states. In Ohio, former state Treasurer Josh Mandel is running. Investment banker Mike Gibbons has loaned his campaign for the GOP nomination $5.7 million.

In Arizona, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich and wealthy businessman Jim Lamon are among the other Republicans running for Senate. The chamber is deadlocked 50-50 and is under Democratic control solely because of Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Campaigns, 2022 Elections, Donald Trump, Peter Thiel, JD Vance, Arizona, Ohio, Fundraising, Campaign Finance

Original Author: W. James Antle III

Original Location: Genteel Thiel populists seek to capture Trump magic
Goose criticizing the gander

Gov. Greg Abbott has criticized Texas House Democrats for flying to Washington on cushy private jets. Texas Ethics Commission data shows that Abbott spent more than $941,000 of his political action committees money flying on private jets in 2019 and 2020. The Democrats have said they are also spending PAC money. So, Abbott is shading them for what he does exponentially.

- Jim Bates, Watauga

What is really suppression?

A letter writer argued Friday that the voter security laws that will be enacted are designed to suppress the vote. (15A) Is voter suppression making sure that a person can legally vote, or is it when a person who is not eligible votes and cancels out a legal vote? The latter is real voter suppression.

Look at the federal bill Democrats want to enact for our voting system. That sounds like real voter suppression.

- Gene Tignor, Emory

Lets make voting easier

I will believe we need new voting laws when Republican lawmakers, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sign a resolution or simply state that Joe Biden won and that the level of fraud that former President Donald Trump claims is a lie.

Easier measures for voting due to the pandemic did not result in widespread fraud or any that would significantly affect an election. So why the push for new laws, other than that your side lost? Voting is a sacred American right. Democrats dont have an issue with showing IDs to vote. We have an issue with not making it easier.

- Keith Kindle, Aledo

The long slog isnt over

New books detailing eyewitness accounts of authoritarian acts during the final days of the Trump regime should be reminders that our democracy is still threatened.

It seems inevitable that Donald Trump will run again in 2024.With states passing voting restrictions based on Trumps big lie of voter fraud in the 2020 election, we must vote to defend the constitution and democracy in the 2022 midterms.

As a former history teacher, I will use an analogy from World War II: The battles of Midway and Stalingrad were turning points in defeating fascism, but the war wasnt over for three more years. President Joe Bidens victory was a turning point, but democracy is still threatened.

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- Brian E. Rosson, Fort Worth

Democrats dont really care

I want to remind those who think we should impose carbon tax legislation that the United States accounts for but 4.25% of the total world population. All of Europe is 10.7%.

Most of the world will continue cutting old-growth forests, building dirty fuel electric plants and driving vehicles that pollute. The restrictions that Democrats want to impose are purely for taxation.

- James Cain, Benbrook

Barely any pain to wealthiest

Infrastructure bills pending in Congress can be paid for quite easily. All Congress needs do is repeal the billionaires bailout known as the Trump tax cuts and restore the highest-tier tax rate to its previous level. It would barely pinch the fat cats and would not touch middle- or working-class taxpayers.

- Paul R. Schattman, Arlington

Looking outward pays us back

The COVID-19 vaccination rate is not where it should be to reach herd immunity, and the presence of the highly infectious delta variant is putting Americans lives in danger.

The answer lies in getting vaccinated. Health organizations are taking the initiative to distribute vaccines globally, and just as Americans should be able to make this decision, communities outside our borders should, too. The U.S needs to invest in global health.

Interning at The Borgen Project, a national nonprofit working to make poverty a focus of U.S foreign policy, has shown me the effectiveness of investing internationally. Furthering foreign assistance will protect U.S national security and quash the pandemic globally.

- Maria Roth, Flower Mound

Your dogs get shots, dont they?

Please get your COVID-19 vaccination.

Being 68 years old, I appreciate vaccinations. I took a sugar cube vaccine in Travis Elementary School in Mineral Wells so I didnt get polio. I had seen others who got the disease, and it made me sad.

Rabies vaccines made it safe for me to have a dog. Watch the films Old Yeller or To Kill a Mockingbird to see the devastating effects of rabies in dogs. If you love your dogs, you protect them with vaccinations. Do the same for your family.

- Bettye Sue Parker, Trophy Club
Wearing a bulletproof vest, Martine Moise arrived by plane 10 days after surviving the attack

The widow of Haiti's assassinated president has returned to the Caribbean nation after being treated in Florida for wounds suffered in the attack.

Martine Moise was seen wearing an arm sling and a bulletproof vest after arriving by plane at Port-au-Prince airport on Saturday.

Her husband Jovenel Moise was killed by assassins in their home on 7 July.

Mrs Moise was injured in the attack, and was flown to a hospital in Miami, Florida for treatment.

In a tweet, a Haitian official said Mrs Moise had returned to the country to prepare for her husband's funeral next week.

Flanked by security agents, she was pictured being greeted by Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph and other officials on the tarmac.

Mrs Moise has made few comments since the attack, for which police have blamed a group of foreign mercenaries, most of them Colombians.

From her hospital bed, she recorded an audio message in which she described the moment assassins "riddled" her husband with bullets after bursting into their home in the middle of the night.

Mrs Moise said the attack happened so quickly that her husband was unable to "say a single word". Earlier this week, she tweeted: "This pain will never pass."

Mr Moise, 53, had been president of Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, since 2017. His time in office was rocky as he faced accusations of corruption and there were widespread demonstrations against him earlier this year.

Correspondents say that as a witness to the attack, Ms Moise could help investigators understand who carried out the assassination and why.

Many of the details surrounding the attack remain a mystery.

Haitian police say a group of mainly foreign mercenaries - 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans - made up the group that carried out the killing.

At least 20 have been detained, while three were killed by police and five are still on the run.

Haitian police have also arrested a Florida-based Haitian doctor, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, whom they described as a "key suspect" in the assassination.

Click here to see the BBC interactive
Jul. 18Five swimmers in distress at China Walls were rescued by lifeguards within two hours today.

Honolulu Ocean Safety reported that the rescues were part of two separate cases, with the first occurring just after 1 :15 p.m. and the second at 2 :30 p.m.

In the first incident, a group of six people "were all in an unsafe situation near the rocky shoreline." Half the group was able to leave the situation, but three unidentified males who were part of the group were smashed onto the rocks by waves and were unable to leave on their own.

Lifeguards on Jet Ski found the swimmers in the water and brought them to shore. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services was at the scene and evaluated one of the patients who then refused further medical treatment.

At 2 :30 p.m., patrolling lifeguards rescued two more distressed swimmers at China Walls and also brought them to shore.

The Honolulu Emergency Services Department encouraged the public to know their limits before entering the water and walk to others before going into an unfamiliar area.
A former Walmart employee with down syndrome was awarded $125 million in a disability discrimination lawsuit against the superstore chain that fired her -- but shell only see a tiny sliver of that money, a company spokesperson says.

On Friday, an eight-member jury sided with former employee Marlo Spaeth, who has down syndrome, on claims that the retail giant discriminated against her, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced in a release.

Spaeth was fired in July 2015 after 16 years working at a Wisconsin Walmart, after changes made to Spaeths longstanding work schedule caused her significant difficulty, the release said.

Spaeth, whose life had hinged on her routine, was struggling to get to work on time consistently, her lawyers argued, according to the Herald Times Reporter. She was eventually fired as a result, though she repeatedly requested her schedule be changed back to what it had previously been -- a difference of 60 to 90 minutes.

Despite having consistently received positive performance evaluations from her managers, Spaeth was turned down later on when she sought to be rehired, the EEOC said.

The jury here recognized, and apparently was quite offended, that Ms. Spaeth lost her job because of needless  and unlawful  inflexibility on the part of Walmart, Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney of the EEOCs Chicago District Office, said in a statement.

However, the nine-figure sum awarded to Spaeth exceeds the federal limit allowed in such discrimination suits, Walmart told the Associated Press. Instead of $125 million, Walmart must only pay $300,000, a spokesman said.

That comes out to about 0.24 percent of $125 million.

This seems to match information on the EEOC website, which lists the limits on compensatory and punitive damages. For a company employing more than 500 people, the cap is set at $300,000.

Still, the EEOC said the outcome is a victory for Americans with disabilities, and sends a strong message to employers that disability discrimination is unacceptable in our nations workplaces.

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Walmart told the Herald Times that the chain does not allow discrimination, and if the EEOC had not become involved in the case, no legal action would have been necessary.

We often adjust associate schedules to meet our customers expectations and while Ms. Spaeths schedule was adjusted, it remained within the times she indicated she was available, a spokesman told the outlet. Were sensitive to this situation and believe we could have resolved this issue with Ms. Spaeth, however the EEOCs demands were unreasonable.

Walmart ordered to pay $17 million to woman injured after workers confront shoplifter

Note left in Walmart bathroom helps cops find woman being held captive, PA officials say

Women used phones to steal over $100,000 from Walmarts across 5 states, AZ police say
Jessica Marroquin fought back tears as she cuddled her 7-month-old daughter and said how scared she is of losing her child to the state if she ends up again having to live on the streets of Kansas City.

Thats a fear that no 25-year-old working mother who is struggling to feed, diaper and protect her baby should have to worry about, but its exactly the situation Marroquin may find herself in, in a few days.

The young mother is one of about 400 Kansas City residents who have temporarily been staying in hotels around the city. Now about 200 of them face living back on the streets, under bridges or in the woods since the citys 90-day initiative to house them ended.

Wednesday night was their last one in hotel rooms paid for by the city. Marroquin has saved enough to pay her own way, maybe until Tuesday. If she doesnt find a really cheap apartment by then, she and baby Jazmine are at the mercy of friends with couch or floor space. Otherwise, its the streets.

Kansas City says that, through partnerships with social service groups, it has already helped more than a couple hundred other unhoused people over the last three months  about 120 people got first-time benefits like Social Security, 200 received medical assistance, 20 got lifesaving treatment and one baby, not Jazmine, was born while its mother was living in one of the hotels, says John Baccala, a city spokesman.

The city set aside $3 million to pay for hotel rooms. That hasnt all been spent, but officials say that for now they have done what they can.

It certainly seems the city did what it intended, and that is to get the homeless who in March pitched encampments of dozens of tents on the south lawn of City Hall and at a major intersection in Westport, out of sight. Where do you suppose all these poor people without homes will go now? Does the city even care, as long as theyre not in its front yard?

These citizens are pleading to city leaders to extend their hotel stay. The initiative was initially set to end July 7, the city stretched it a week more to July 15.

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Three months is just not enough time, said Anton Washington, a community activist whos been helping people like Marroquin navigate the complex system of services. And of course thats not enough time.

Imagine having nothing. How long might it take to find a job, in your free time locate housing thats affordable on a minimum wage, and get approval to move in? Keep in mind, you dont have transportation and maybe not even the appropriate documents needed to satisfy an employer or landlord.

Still, many did manage to find work while in hotels, Washington said, adding that it helps to have an actual door to knock on and phone number that employers and social service groups can call.

Single mother works two jobs for less than $500 a week

Everyone who has relied on hotel housing has a different set of circumstances. Ask 10 people you will hear 10 different stories, Washington said.

Marroquin has been working two jobs from noon until 2 a.m. most days and earns less than $500 a week. Diapers and formula are expensive. Many others told me that because of some previous criminal conviction or mental and health issues, they have found no path to getting a more permanent place to stay.

A plan the city announced two months ago to create a small village of tiny individual home-style housing units for residents experiencing homelessness was delayed a second time Wednesday when the City Council tabled it until next week, with no sense of urgency for the lives depending on it. The city ordinance would allow $2.7 million to be spent for about a 200-bed village.

In April, City Manager Brian Platt said the aim was to establish the first pilot community with about a dozen units within a few weeks. That hasnt happened. Neither has there been a location marked for it.

This is a citywide problem, said James Shelby, who goes by the name Qadhafi. He emerged as a spokesperson for Kansas Citys unhoused after hundreds in March were moved out of a temporary shelter in Bartle Hall following a particularly cold part of the winter.

Qadhafi, who has met regularly with Mayor Quinton Lucas, in seeking help for his community, is angry that Kansas City has shuffled homeless around like cattle.

These are people, he said Wednesday. They said this would not happen. They promised me. And I promised people that. They said no one who went into this initiative would go back on the street. But everything that got said was a lie.

The homeless situation is complex, here, in other cities, and for all those in the throes of it. A long-term solution will likely cost many millions and take years. Certainly it will take a commitment to doing more than temporary fixes every few months.

Qadhafi is right. These Kansas City residents are those of us with the least. Some are sick, emotionally and mentally unhealthy. Others are just down on their luck, and too many may never have had much of a chance at all. But it is a citywide issue and will require a city-involved solution.
A press release revealed that Isaiah Stokes was indicted for murder in New York City. Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Actor Isaiah Stokes was indicted for murder by a Queens grand jury on Friday.

Stokes, 41, was also indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

He appeared in TV shows like "Law & Order: SVU" and "Power."

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Actor Isaiah Stokes is indicted for the February murder of a New York City man, according to the Queens County District Attorney.

Isaiah Stokes, 41, was indicted by a Queens grand jury and arraigned by the Supreme Court on Friday. Stokes faced a three-count indictment that charged him with murder in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, a press release stated.

The press release said the incident happened on February 7 around 2:45 pm at an intersection in Jamaica, Queens. Video footage allegedly showed Stokes exiting a vehicle parked at the intersection before approaching a nearby white Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Stokes allegedly reached the driver's side window and fired nearly a dozen gunshots into the vehicle, hitting 37-year-old Tyrone Jones of Queen Village. Jones later succumbed to his injuries and died.

"The defendant is accused of unloading nearly eleven shots during this brazen afternoon shooting. Gun violence is all too prevalent in our neighborhoods. We will not allow it to become the norm," wrote Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in the press release.

Stokes is scheduled to return to court on July 19. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Representatives for Stokes did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Stokes has acted in a number of TV series since 2006, including "Power," "Law & Order: SVU," "Boardwalk Empire," and "Blue Bloods."

Read the original article on Insider
Protesters and counter-protesters descended on a Korean spa in Los Angeles that became the latest culture war flashpoint just weeks ago when a customer complained that a transgender woman allegedly disrobed in the women's area.

Antifa counter-protesters clashed with baton-wielding LAPD officers near the spa on Saturday, according to videos posted by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager.

The LAPD arrested several dozen people and found multiple discarded weapons, including a stun gun, knives, and pepper spray.

One video showed an LAPD officer hitting a protester with his baton after the person appeared to spit in the officer's face, while another video showed an LAPD officer shooting a protester with a rubber bullet at close range.

CUBAN AMERICAN PROTESTERS SHUT DOWN EXPRESSWAY IN MIAMI, BLAME BIDEN FOR LACK OF SUPPORT

A flyer posted online by the southwest chapter of the Youth Liberation Front, which was described by the Seattle Times as "a persistent militant voice," encouraged followers to gather at Wi Spa at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday to "SMASH TRANSPHOBIA" and "SMASH FASCISM."

"ROUND TWO MOTHER F******," the group tweeted.

The first round of protests occurred on July 3, when rampant fighting broke out between protesters and counter-protesters outside the spa.

A customer at Wi Spa posted a viral video to Instagram on June 24 in which she complained that a transgender woman exposed her genitals "right in front of young girls, teens and grown women."

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Wi Spa responded by saying that California's anti-discrimination law protects transgender individuals, but it does not tolerate lewd conduct by anyone.

"As a spa located in Los Angeles, Wi Spa complies with California law prohibiting discrimination by a business, including the Civil Code provision set forth above," the spa said in a statement. "Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa. Wi Spa strives to meet the needs and safety of all of its customers, and does not tolerate harassment or lewd conduct by any customer, regardless of their sex, gender, or other characteristic."

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Maine police officers get jail time for beating porcupines to death while on-duty (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Two former Maine police officers were sentenced to prison for beating porcupines to death while on duty.

The shocking behaviour was reported to Rockland police bosses in August by another officer and both were fired from their jobs in September.

Addison Cox, 28, and Michael Rolerson, 31, pleaded guilty in Knox Superior Court to misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and night hunting, according to court documents.

Rolerson told investigators from the Maine Warden Service that he had killed eight of the spiky rodents, which he believed were a nuisance that caused damage, according to The Bangor Daily News.

He was sentenced to 270 days in jail, with all but 20 days suspended.

He was also fined $1,000, placed on probation for six months, and must give up his Maine Criminal Justice Academy Credentials.

Rolserson will serve his prison sentence in January, court documents state.

Cox admitted that he had killed three of the animals and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with all but 10 suspended.

He was also fined $1,000, cannot apply for a law enforcement job for six months, and must complete 100 hours of community service.

Cox will serve his prison sentence on weekends, according to court papers.

Prosecutors asked for a heavier sentence for Rolerson as the was the senior officer and had killed more of the animals.

District Attorney Natasha Irving said that prosecutors had agreed to reduce the charges to misdemeanors, partly because both men were military veterans who had seen active duty.

Rolserson had previously told investigators that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as a Marine in Afghanistan.

Both men are now receiving treatment from the Veterans Administration.

That was a mitigating factor, that they both experienced war zones. Ultimately I want them never to hurt another living thing again, said Ms Irving.

And she added: I think that addressing the mental health component, I think thats a really important part of it.
Jul. 17A man is in the hospital after a shooting reported outside of Club 425 in Springfield late Friday night.

Emergency crews responded to the 400 block of Harrison Street after a report of shots fired in the area, according to the Springfield Police Division.

Crews found a man at the scene who had been shot.

Medics transported the man to Springfield Regional Medical Center, but the man was later flown to Miami Valley Hospital by a CareFlight medical helicopter.

Springfield police said that there are currently no suspects in the shooting, but detectives are investigating.

We are working to learn more and will update this story with any new information.
By Andre Paultre

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Martine Moise, the widow of Haiti's assassinated president Jovenel Moise, returned to the Caribbean nation on Saturday for his funeral after she was treated in a Miami hospital for injuries sustained during the July 7 attack at their private residence.

Jovenel Moise was shot dead when assassins armed with assault rifles stormed his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince, tipping the country into uncertainty and sparking a frenzied investigation to identify the authors of the plan.

The Prime Minister's office tweeted a video of Martine Moise arriving back at the Haitian capital's Toussaint Louverture international airport on Saturday, wearing all black clothing, donning a bullet proof vest and with her right arm in a sling. She was greeted by Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph.

"The Prime Minister, Dr. Claude Joseph, welcomes the First Lady, Martine Moise, who arrives in Haiti for the funeral of her husband," the Prime Minister's office said.

Martine Moise had tweeted earlier this week while in Miami that she was still coming to terms with the killing of her husband and had thanked a "team of guardian angels who helped me through this terrible time."

Earlier on Saturday, the important Core Group of international ambassadors and representatives had urged "the formation of a consensual and inclusive government".

"To this end, we strongly encourage the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government," the group said. Henry, who Moise designated Prime Minister shortly before being killed, has not been sworn into his position and the country is being led by Joseph.

The Core Group is made up of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, the European Union and special representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

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"As Haiti faces serious dangers, the members of the group express the wish that all political, economic and civil society actors in the country fully support the authorities in their efforts to restore security throughout the country," it said.

The group also called for the organization of "free, fair, transparent and credible legislative and presidential elections as quickly as possible".

Senior opposition Senator Patrice Dumont, one of only 10 sitting lawmakers in the normally 30-seat Senate said on Thursday that fair elections cannot be held for at least a year due to the influence of violent gangs and a compromised electoral council.

On Friday a Colombian police chief said the assassination may have ordered by a former Haitian justice ministry official, citing a preliminary investigation that has implicated Haitian-Americans and former Colombian soldiers.

(Additional reporting by Adam Jourdan in Buenos Aires and Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
From left: Oliver Daemen, Wally Funk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Bezos. Blue Origin

The richest person on Earth is about to rocket to the edge of space, but he won't be doing it alone.

Jeff Bezos, who founded the spaceflight company Blue Origin in 2000, is set to take its New Shepard rocket for a ride next week. He's taking three others with him: his brother Mark, an 82-year-old aviator named Wally Funk, and an 18-year-old high school graduate named Oliver Daemen.

If all goes according to plan, that motley crew will lift off from Blue Origin's West Texas launchpad at around 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The New Shepard rocket will scream through the atmosphere, pressing the passengers into their seats, before releasing the passenger capsule and allowing it to arc past the edge of space.

For about three minutes, Bezos and his companions will feel weightless. They'll be able to float around the spaceship's cabin, admiring the Earth's curvature below them, before gravity begins to pull them back down. After a high-speed plunge through the atmosphere, the capsule should release three parachutes and drift safely to the Texas desert.

New Shepard has flown 15 times, but never with humans on board. This will be Blue Origin's first passenger flight. Here's what we know about the soon-to-be space tourists.

Mark Bezos is Jeff Bezos' younger brother

Mark and Jeff Bezos in 2017. Amy Harris/Invision/AP

When Jeff Bezos announced that he would be heading to space, he also revealed that he invited his younger brother, Mark. In a video posted to Instagram, Bezos said that he asked his brother to come along "because we're closest friends."

Mark, who is six years Jeff's junior, is a former marketing executive and volunteer firefighter. He's been involved in the Bezos Family Foundation for over 20 years, and was also an early investor in Amazon, likely making him a millionaire several times over.

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Read more: As Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson blast off, here are 11 of the most exciting space startups according to VCs

Jeff has described his brother as the "funniest guy in my life" and said that when they're together - often drinking bourbon - "I just laugh continuously."

Wally Funk is an 82-year-old aviator who trained to go to space in the 1960s

Wally Funk at a Virgin Galactic event in 2010. MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Bezos announced earlier this month that Funk would be Blue Origin's "honored guest" on its upcoming flight.

In 1961, Funk joined an all-woman space mission dubbed "Mercury 13." But the program was ultimately scrapped - seemingly for sexist reasons - and Funk never made it to space. Funk later embarked on a long career in flight and says she has taught over 3,000 people to fly.

"No one has waited longer," Bezos wrote in an Instagram post announcing that Funk was joining the mission. "It's time. Welcome to the crew, Wally."

Oliver Daemen is an 18-year-old soon-to-be college student from the Netherlands

Oliver Daemen. Blue Origin

Daemen will be Blue Origin's first paying customer - he bid for the seat at an auction last month, ultimately losing out to an anonymous bidder who paid $28 million for the opportunity. But Daemen is flying in that passenger's place after "scheduling conflicts" arose, Blue Origin said in a blog post on Thursday.

Daemen's father, Joes Daemen, the CEO of real estate private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners, paid for the seat, according to CNBC.

Daemen graduated from high school in 2020, took a gap year to obtain his pilots license, and will attend college for physics and innovation management this fall.

Daemen will be the youngest person ever to go to space, while Funk will be the oldest.

"I've been dreaming about this all my life," Daemen said in a video posted to Twitter. "I am super excited to experience zero-g and see the world from above."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit flood-ravaged areas in Germany on Sunday to survey the damage and meet survivors, after days of extreme rainfall in western Europe left at least 171 people dead and dozens missing.

Merkel is scheduled to travel to the village of Schuld in Rhineland-Palatinate state, one of the two hardest-hit regions in western Germany, where the swollen Ahr river swept away houses and left debris piled high in the streets.

At least 144 people have died since Wednesday in Germany's worst flooding in living memory, while 27 people have lost their lives in neighbouring Belgium.

Rescue crews in both countries were sifting through rubble to find victims, often in dangerous conditions.

The historic downpours also battered Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

As the waters began to recede in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North-Rhine Westphalia, concern shifted south to Germany's Upper Bavaria region where heavy rains inundated basements and swelled rivers and creeks late Saturday.

One person died in Berchtesgadener Land, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian district told AFP.

In Austria, emergency workers in the Salzburg and Tyrol regions were on high alert for flooding. The historic town centre of Hallein, near the German frontier, was under water.

Merkel has called the floods a "tragedy" and pledged support from the federal government for Germany's stricken municipalities.

Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, Merkel said her "heart goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones".

The government has said it is working to set up a special aid fund, with the cost of damage expected to reach several billion euros.

- 'Sorry' for laughing -

The disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads to the polls on September 26 for a general election that will mark the end of Merkel's 16 years in power.

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With experts saying climate change is making extreme weather events like these more likely, candidates vying to succeed the veteran leader have called for more climate action.

Armin Laschet, the premier of hard-hit North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state and frontrunner in the race for the chancellery, said efforts to tackle global warming should be "speeded up".

But Laschet, who heads Merkel's CDU party currently leading in opinion polls, scored an own goal Saturday when he was filmed laughing in the devastated town of Erftstadt in NRW, where a landslide was triggered by the floods.

In the footage, Laschet could be seen chatting and joking in the background as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a statement expressing his sympathies to grieving families.

"Laschet laughs while the country cries," wrote the top-selling Bild daily.

Laschet later apologised on Twitter for the "inappropriate" moment.

- Divers, armoured vehicles -

The scale of the flood impact was gradually becoming clear in Germany, with damaged buildings being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts under way to restore gas, electricity and telephone services.

In some areas, soldiers used armoured vehicles to clear the debris clogging streets.

In NRW, divers were sent in to search submerged homes and vehicles.

Local authorities in NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate said dozens of people remain unaccounted for across both states.

They have stressed however that disruption to communication networks made a precise assessment difficult, and the real number of missing could be lower.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said more than 670 people were injured.

"I've lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I've never seen anything like it," said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near Schuld.

Across the border in Belgium, the death toll jumped to 27 with many people still missing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.

"Europe is with you," von der Leyen tweeted afterwards. "We are with you in mourning and we will be with you in rebuilding."

Belgium has declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.

bur-mfp/tgb
Rosebud entourage with Sac and Fox tribal citizens in at Meskwaki Settlement, Tama, Iowa (Photo/Facebook)

TAMA, Iowa  The long journey home from Carlisle, Penn.both in distance and timeto the Rosebud Indian Reservation for the remains of nine children who died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School some 140 years ago included a stop Meskwaki Settlement, near Tama, Iowa on Thursday evening.

The remains were turned over to Rosebud tribal officials and 12 members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribes youth council, in a ceremony that included Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), actor Mark Ruffalo, and others. After the nine cedar coffins were transferred, the Rosebud Tribes entourage left Carlisle on Wednesday afternoon to make the 1,400 miles trip back to their reservation.

On Thursday afternoon, the Rosebud entourage was greeted by the Tama Tribal police chief and Meskwaki Veteran Motorcycle Escort near Tama and then escorted into the Meskwaki Settlement.

As the Rosebud entourage arrived at the tribal gym where they were to be fed, a resounding silence fell upon dozens of Meskwaki Sac & Fox tribal citizens assembled for the historic moment.

We realized what were looking at. The trailer carrying those nine little caskets. As a Meskwaki people we believe just as the Lakota people believe their spirits are here with them. So, it was very humbling and sad to realize we were literally welcoming these young little baby ancestors to our home for a moment, Yolanda Pushetonequa, Meskwaki Sac & Fox tribal citizen, said to Native News Online.

And then the mix of sadness and happiness as we saw the Lakota elders, youth and leaders get out of their cars and walk toward us. We didnt have everything planned to a T, so I was not expecting that all our people would run outside when they showed up but we all did! Everyone just ran out of the gym to witness them pull in and get out. That was important for us and Im glad we did greet them that way, Pushetonequa continued.

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Members of the Rosebud Youth Council who escorted the nine remains of their ancestors back home. (Photo/Facebook)

According to Pushetonequa, the Sac and Fox Tribe as Lakota and Dakota relatives married into their community who live there.

"I feel like this was very important for them and a showing of support for them as well. I know they attended and it probably meant a lot to all of them that their Meskwaki relatives and friends did this for their people. But for everyone it was all for those children who never made it home. Everyone can imagine the pain of having their child taken from them and never to be seen again. That pain is never going to be gone but we felt like we had a chance to help someone as they go through this moment of healing," Pushetonequa added.

The Meskwaki Tribal Council on behalf of the tribe presented a gift to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Chairwoman Judith Bender and Treasurer Delonda Pushetonequa welcomed the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to the Meskwaki Settlement upon their arrival and presented a large replica clay pot. Tribal citizens came together to feed the Rosebud entourage.

The Rosebud entourage continued their journey home to the Rosebud Indian Reservation. They arrived Friday and the nine children who died at Carlisle were laid to rest for their final time.

About the Author: "Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
A Bath and Body Works store. AP

A man injured at least 30 people by spraying bear mace during a suspected robbery, police said.

The incident occurred at Miami International Mall in a branch of Bath and Body Works.

Dozens were injured following the incident and one store manager was hospitalized.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

A suspect in Doral, Florida, escaped from Miami International Mall after spraying customers with bear repellent before stealing candles from a store, police said.

The incident occurred on July 17 at around 4 p.m EDT, according to authorities. Police said the suspect stole two bags of scented candles from homeware chain Bath and Body Works. They then sprayed the manager of the store directly in the face before fleeing, NBC 6 first reported.

At least 30 people were injured, which included 15 Bath and Body Works employees, customers and mall shoppers outside the store, Doral police spokesperson Rey Valdes told CNN.

The manager of the store was hospitalized following the incident, according to Valdes.

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"We started coughing, actually, where we were and we weren't even that close," a mall shopper told NBC 6. "We felt it. We could smell it. We could breath it."

Doral Police and Miami International Mall did not immediately reply to Insider's request for comment.

Authorities said that each injured person could be considered a victim of aggravated battery, according to CNN.

Commenting on the incident, Valdes told the outlet: "This is one of those 'only in Miami' stories."

The suspect was last seen exiting the mall in a yellow taxi, according to Valdes. He has not yet been identified by authorities.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BAGHDAD (AP)  A U.S. drone attack targeted a truck for an Iran-backed militia in eastern Syria on Sunday, destroying the vehicle without causing any casualties, two Iraqi militia officials said.

The attack came amid increasing tensions in the region between the U.S. military and Iran-backed Iraqi militias in recent weeks. The Americans have targeted militants who used drones and rockets to hit bases housing U.S. troops.

The Iraqi militia officials refused to say what the truck was carrying. They said the U.S. drone first fired a warning shot, after which the driver jumped out, and a missile hit the vehicle shortly afterward. They said the truck belonged to Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which is active along the Iraq-Syria border.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military.

Syrian state TV reported the attack saying it was carried out by American drones. It said the truck was carrying food and there were no human losses.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the truck was carrying weapons and ammunition for an Iraqi militia and was hit shortly after crossing the border from Iraq. It claimed that the driver was killed.

On June 27, U.S. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Four militiamen were killed.

Days later, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada's commander vowed to retaliate and since then several rockets attacks have been reported against bases housing U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of the war against the Islamic State group. Thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed in different parts of Syria to help President Bashar Assads forces in the 10-year conflict that killed half a million people.
"What's where's the reward money at," Lorraine Graves commented on the Tulsa Police Department's Facebook post about her. Tulsa Police Department

Lorraine Graves is charged with accessory to murder and was wanted by the police.

Tulsa Police Department shared a "most wanted" Facebook post calling for information on her whereabouts.

Graves responded to the post, asking about reward money. She was later arrested.

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An Oklahoma woman who was wanted in connection with a fatal shooting was arrested after commenting on police department's Facebook post about her, KFOR-TV reported Friday.

Lorraine Graves, who is charged with accessory to murder, was featured in a weekly "most wanted" fugitive post on the Tulsa Police Department's Facebook page on Wednesday night.

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The post said the police department was "looking for information about the whereabouts of Lorraine Graves" after the arrest of two men were charged with the murder of Eric Graves in March.

Cops didn't have to look very far. Within hours, Graves had responded to the Facebook post. "What's where's the reward money at," she commented.

A Facebook user whose name was redacted responded to Graves, wrote, "giiiiirl you better stay off social media they can track you !!"

Detectives arrested Graves in north Tulsa the next day, Fox 11 reported.

She's being held in Tulsa County Jail with a bond set at $500,000, the local broadcaster said.

She could be sentenced to up to 45 years in prison, according to Oklahoma law.

Read the original article on Insider
Getty Images

Jerusalem is known for many things: for the Temple Mount, for the Mount of Olives, for being the location for the death of Jesus and the setting for violent crusades, for dozens of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrimage sites and, now, for prehistoric shark teeth. In a nearly 3,000-year-old basement in the City of David scientists have unearthed a mysterious cache of 80-million-year-old fossilized shark teeth. How the fossils got so far inland is currently unknown. Barring an ancient Sharknado event, someone must have moved them.

In a presentation at the Goldschmidt Conference, archaeologist Dr. Thomas Tuetken of the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Mainz, said that the shark teeth were found among a collection of debris and discarded material that were used to fill in the lowest level of an Iron-Age house in the Palestinian village of Silwan (what was once the City of David). As reported by Heritage Daily, the teeth were found with food waste and pottery shards from a period that dates just after the death of the biblical King Solomon.

Initially, the archeologists thought that the teeth were just waste from food preparation. It was only when a reviewer prompted them to revisit the evidence that they realized that the remains came from a Late Cretaceous shark that had been extinct for at least 66 million years. Further scientific testing performed by the team revealed, said Tuetken, that all 29 shark teeth found in the City of David were Late Cretaceous fossilscontemporary with the dinosaurs. The strontium isotope composition of the teeth suggests an age of about 80 million years.

The question at that point was, how did the teeth get there? Tuetken notes that they were almost certainly transported to the region, possibly from the Negev, at least 80 km away, where similar fossils have been found. The teams working hypothesis is that the teeth were brought together by collectors There are no wear marks which [had they been present] might show that they were used as tools, and no drill holes to indicate that they may have been jewelry. We know that there is a market for shark teeth even today, so it may be that there was an Iron Age trend for collecting such items. The 10th century BCE was a period of economic development and flourishing in Judea. Collecting is a wealthy persons hobby: that the teeth were discovered alongside administrative bullae (the seals used to secure and authenticate ancient correspondence) further supports this theory. We dont have anything to confirm that, cautioned Tuetken, its too easy to put 2 and 2 together to make 5. Well probably never really be sure.

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The teeth in question have been identified as belonging to several species of extinct Squalicorax, or crow shark, a coastal predator and scavenger that grew to between 2 and 5 meters (for reference a great white shark grows to between 3-6 meters depending on its sex). The presence of sharks in the Mediterranean is well documented in archaeology, but is also clear just from reading ancient literature. The third century BCE Greek poet Leonidas describes the death of a sponge diver at the hands of a shark and Aristotle even gives a lengthy description of the shark in his History of Animals. The Roman admiral and encyclopedia writer Pliny notes that sponge divers often had run-ins with sharks and advised that the only safe course is to turn on the sharks and frighten them (Natural History 9.148) Other writers like Diogenes describe sea monsters that can swallow up both ships and their men.

Arguably the expert here is the second century CE Greek writer Oppian, whose influential poem the Halieutica uses the world of the sea to describe the order of the universe. As University of Nottingham classicist Emily Kneebone shows in her engaging and recently released book on the subject, Oppian describes the terrors of the seathe Hammer-head, Saw-fish, Dog-fish, and solitary sharksas outstripping their terrestrial counterparts the lion, leopard, bear and wild boar. The terrors of the sea were so considerable, Oppian writes, that the young of Dogfish would renter her loins when they got frightened (yes, it was apparently as painful as it sounds). The poem concludes with a whale-chase to make Melville envious: a huge sea monster from the depthssomething that Kneebone describes as lying somewhere between a shark and a whale in formis hunted down and killed.

While it tends not to provide anatomical descriptions, the Bible has more than its fair share of sea monsters. In the book of Jonah the protagonist is famously swallowed whole by a big fish while trying to evade Gods prophetic call. The story sounds absurd but was mirrored by an incident last month when Cape Cod lobster diver Michael Packard was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale and lived to tell the tale. In the 19th century the story of a modern day Jonah went viral when a man named James Bartley was allegedly eaten by a sperm whale only to be cut out of the creatures stomach alive 36 hours later.

The most terrifying biblical sea creature, however, is Leviathan, an enormous sea monster referenced in Psalmody, by the prophets Amos and Isaiah, and in the book of Job. According to some Leviathan was a sea serpent but some Jewish traditions refer to it as a dragon or just a monster. A popular 19th-century theory speculated that it was a crocodile. According to the Rabbinic text Baba Bathra 75 Leviathan will be killed and eaten at the banquet that takes place at the end of time (the rest of it gets hung on the wall). Other Jewish legends about Leviathan preserved in rabbinic texts include the idea that it can make the waters of the ocean boil, smells dreadful, and is afraid of a small worm that gets in the gills of fish and kills them.

In Christian tradition Leviathan is associated Satan and envy. His jaws are sometimes shown as the hellmouth, the gateway through which people descend into hell at the Last Judgment. Even serious theologians develop this theme: one prominent theory of salvation espoused by prominent bishop and saint Gregory of Nyssa in his Great Catechism pictures the devil as a large fish who swallows people when they die. After the crucifixion Satan mistakenly consumes Jesus on the assumption that he is just another human being. Its a trap. Jesus becomes the fishhook by which Satan is forced to bring up againi.e., vomitall of the people he had previously swallowed. Call this the emetic theory of salvation, if you will (or its actual name the Christus Victor theory of salvation). Traces of this idea are found in Christian writers as early as the second century and show, as Kneebone argues for Oppian, the way that the sea monster is both a mythical prototype for everything bad and a plausible candidate for the terrors of the natural world.

Though almost no sharks stalk the waters of the Mediterranean today, its easy to see why ancient Israelites would collect their teeth. For centuries human-eating sea monsters dominated the imagination of ancient peoples, who saw them as inherently terrifying. What better testimony to the triumph of human ingenuity could there be than to collect their most fearsome attributes?

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The U.S. Navy christened the USNS John Lewis on Saturday, honoring the late congressman on the one-year anniversary of his death.

Family and friends of the civil rights icon joined senior lawmakers for the christening ceremony in San Diego.

Its fitting that we honor John Lewis with this formidable ship, because John Lewis was a warrior. One of the mottos of the Navy is Semper Fortis  Always Courageous  and John Lewis was indeed always courageous, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said at the event.

This ship will be a beacon to the world reminding all who see it of the persistence and courage of John Lewis, she added.

Actress and activist Alfre Woodard, the ships sponsor, christened the John Lewis with champagne saying, May God bless this ship and all who sail in her.

We miss him on this platform but we will never be without him. I am honored. I am fortunate. I am eternally grateful to have lived in the time of John Lewis, she said.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who was also at the ceremony, later tweeted that, John was a warrior for peace and justice, and today reminded us that he passed the baton to us in our fight for liberty and justice for all in his honor, she wrote. I miss him deeply.

On behalf of my beloved uncle, the entire Lewis family, were humbled and grateful for the christening of the USNS John Lewis, said Marcus Tyner, a nephew of Lewis.

We all agree that what is most important at this critical time, and what will please my uncle most is the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill, he added.

Lewis, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, representing Georgias 5th Congressional District. He held the seat until his death, exactly one year ago.

He survived a brutal beating while leading a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in March1965, and for decades after that he remained a leading voice in nonviolent protests and a towering force in U.S. politics.

The USNS John Lewis is a 742-foot-long vessel designed to transfer fuel to Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the Navy said.

It is the first replenishment oil ship in its class, and it will be operated by the Navys Military Sealift Command. The rest of the six ships in its class will also be named after civil rights leaders.
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP)  Nepals new prime minister got the support of more than half the members of the House of Representatives, which would allow him to continue in power until general elections scheduled for next year.

Sher Bahadur Deuba got 165 votes in his favor while 83 members of parliament's lower house voted against him Sunday, Speaker Agni Sapkota announced.

This is Deuba's fifth time as prime minister of the Himalayan nation, which is currently struggling with political divisions and the coronavirus. The leader of the Nepali Congress party  the country's oldest political party  was appointed Tuesday after the Supreme Court reinstated the House of Representatives and upheld his claim to be the new leader.

A court order on Monday had ousted Khadga Prasad Oli, who had been running a caretaker government until planned elections in November this year.

Deuba was previously appointed prime minister in 1995, 2001, 2004 and 2017, but has never served a full term. This time, as well, he is to serve only until parliamentary elections are held by 2022.

He is likely to bring Nepal back closer to India after Oli favored ties with its other giant neighbor, China.

Deuba has been active in politics since he was a college student. He was jailed for nine years for protesting against the now-deposed monarchys autocratic rule.
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria has put six states on red alert after seeing a "worrisome" rise in COVID-19 infections, a government official said, urging people to curb gatherings and hold prayers outside mosques during this week's Muslim festival Eid-el-Kabir.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is like most parts of the continent now facing a COVID-19 third wave after detecting the more transmissible Delta variant.

The head of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory had been placed on red alert as part of preventive measures against the pandemic.

A red alert allows authorities in the states to restrict celebrations and gatherings to a minimum.

"These steps are critical as we begin to see worrisome early signs of increasing cases in Nigeria," Mustapha said in a statement.

Mustapha said there was potential for wider spread of the virus during the Eid-el-Kabir gatherings and said Friday prayers should be held outside local mosques.

He also suspended Durbar, an annual Muslim festival in northern Nigeria, which is marked by colourful horse riding events watched by large gatherings.

Last week, Nigeria, which has recorded 169,329 cases and 2,126 deaths said it expected to receive nearly 8 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of August, including from a U.S. government donation.

(Reporting by Felix Onuah, Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe)
North Korean state media has urged its young people against using slang from South Korea and told them to speak North Korea's standard language.

There were also fresh warnings in North Korea's official newspaper against adopting the fashions, hairstyles and music of South Korea.

It is part of a sweeping new law which seeks to stamp out any kind of foreign influence, with harsh penalties.

Those found in breach of the law can face jail or even execution.

Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned millennials of the dangers of following South Korean pop culture.

"The ideological and cultural penetration under the colourful coloured signboard of the bourgeoisie is even more dangerous than enemies who are taking guns," the article read.

It stressed that Korean based on the Pyongyang dialect is superior, and that young people should use it correctly.

The North has recently sought to stamp out South Korean slang, for example a woman calling her husband "oppa" - which means "older brother" but is often used to refer to a boyfriend.

Kim Jong-Un has labelled K-pop a "vicious cancer" (pictured: BTS)

Foreign influence is seen as a threat to North Korea's communist regime, and it's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un's grip on power.

He recently labelled K-pop a "vicious cancer" that corrupts the youth of North Korea, according to the New York Times.

Anyone caught with large amounts of media from South Korea, the United States or Japan now faces the death penalty. Those caught watching it face prison camp for 15 years.

But despite the risks, foreign influence continues to seep into the North, and highly sophisticated smuggling rings to bring in banned media reportedly continue to operate.

Some North Korean defectors have said that watching South Korean dramas played a part in their decision to escape.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told the Korea Herald that Kim, who was educated in Switzerland, "is well aware that K-pop or Western culture could easily permeate into the younger generation and have a negative impact on its socialist system".

"He knows that these cultural aspects could impose a burden on the system. So by stamping them out, Kim is trying to prevent further troubles in the future."

Click here to see the BBC interactive
Just over a week after Richard Branson flew to the edge of space, fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos is set for a similarly high-stakes trip aboard his own rocket.

Bezos will attempt to fly to space on Tuesday, July 20, launching aboard a rocket and capsule developed by Blue Origin, the Amazon founder's private space company. It will be the first crewed launch for Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, and if successful, Bezos will make history for taking part in the first unpiloted suborbital flight with a civilian crew.

Several other milestones may be set on the trip. Joining Bezos will be one passenger who stands to become the oldest person to reach space and another who would be the youngest.

Wally Funk, 82, is a former test pilot who was one of the Mercury 13 women who underwent training in the 1960s to demonstrate that women could meet NASAs standards for its astronaut corps. At 18, the Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen could become the youngest astronaut. Rounding out the four-person crew is Bezos' brother, Mark.

"Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space," Bezos wrote June 7 in an Instagram post announcing the flight. "On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend."

The New Shepard rocket launches from a site in the West Texas desert, southeast of El Paso. Since it's a suborbital flight, the capsule will not enter into orbit around Earth, but will instead reach the edge of space, at an altitude of around 65 miles, where passengers will experience several minutes of weightlessness.

The capsule will then descend under parachutes and land again in the Texas desert. The entire journey is expected to last roughly 10 minutes.

The launch is an important step for Blue Origin, which is banking on a future market for high-priced joyrides to space. Blue Origin is hoping to begin operational flights with paying passengers in the near future, and while the company has not announced the price of individual tickets, they are expected to cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Bezos' attempt to reach space comes after Branson took part in a risky test flight on July 11 aboard a rocket-powered vehicle developed by his private space company, Virgin Galactic. But unlike Virgin Galactic's Unity space plane, the New Shepard rocket and capsule fly autonomously, without pilots onboard.

Blue Origin's capsule is also designed to reach a higher altitude than Virgin Galactic's vehicle. The edge of space is often defined by the so-called Karman line, at an altitude of 62 miles. While the New Shepard capsule flies above the Karman line, Virgin Galactic's craft reached an altitude of around 53 miles during Branson's flight.

This discrepancy has fueled competition between the rival billionaires, with Blue Origin officials suggesting that Virgin Galactic's flights don't actually reach suborbital space.

Branson and his crew were eligible to receive their commercial astronaut wings, however, because the Federal Aviation Administration and the United States Air Force recognize the boundary of space at 50 miles.

Both Branson's and Bezos' flight could jump-start the space tourism industry, which until now, has made slow progress over the last two decades, said Marco Caceres, a space industry analyst with the Teal Group Corporation. Private citizens have paid for orbital flights to the International Space Station before, but all were launched aboard Soyuz rockets and capsules operated by the Russian Space Agency.

"For all practical purposes, the space tourism industry doesn't really exist right now," he said. "This officially marks the beginning."

In addition to suborbital jaunts from Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, Elon Musks company, SpaceX, is planning orbital tourism flights, beginning with the first mission to space with an all-civilian crew this year.

Caceres said all of these tourism ventures could become a lucrative sector of the commercial spaceflight industry, but it will likely take time.

"If it's one flight every few months, that's not enough to create an industry," he said. "But if these companies start launching on a weekly basis, and you start seeing dozens or hundreds of these flights, that's when you can feel like this is something real."

Branson, Bezos and Musk have all faced backlash for their private spaceflight aspirations, with some criticizing the billionaire entrepreneurs for investing in frivolous, self-serving ventures.

But such criticisms are short-sighted, said Jim Cantrell, CEO of Phantom Space, an Arizona-based startup that aims to build and launch commercial satellites, and a former executive at SpaceX.

"You can't look at it in the context of this one hop to space," Cantrell said. "You have to look at it in the context of the bigger picture. This used to all be government dominated, but we've gotten to the point where individuals can do this. That's the hopeful, inspiration part of all this."
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  OPEC and allied nations agreed Sunday to raise the production limits imposed on five countries next year and boost their production by 2 million barrels per day by the end of this year, ending a dispute that roiled oil markets.

The disagreement, sparked by a demand by the United Arab Emirates to increase its own production, temporarily upended an earlier meeting of the cartel. In a statement Sunday, the cartel announced that Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE would see their limits rise.

What bonds us together is way much beyond what you may imagine, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said. We differ here and there but we bond.

Prince Abdulaziz declined to elaborate on how they came to that consensus, saying it would see the cartel lose our advantage of being mysterious and clever. But he clearly bristled at earlier reports on the dispute between Saudi Arabia, long the heavyweight of the Vienna-based cartel, and the UAE.

Prince Abdulaziz deferred at the beginning of a news conference afterward to al-Mazrouei in a sign of respect.

The UAE is committed to this group and will always work with it and within this group to do our best to achieve the market balance and help everyone, al-Mazrouei said. He praised the deal as a full agreement among all the parties.

Outside of OPEC, however, tensions still remain between the neighboring nations. The UAE largely has withdrawn from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, while also diplomatically recognizing Israel. Saudi Arabia also has opened its doors to Qatar again after a yearslong boycott, though relations remain icy between Abu Dhabi and Doha. Saudi Arabia also has aggressively sought international business headquarters  something that could affect the UAE's business hub Dubai.

Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the country's de facto ruler, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been close though over the years. The two leaders likely will meet Monday in Saudi Arabia.

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Under the new production limits, the UAE would be able to produce up to 3.5 million barrels of crude oil a day beginning in May 2022. That's below the 3.8 million barrels a day it reportedly sought. Saudi Arabia's limit of 11 million barrels a day would rise to 11.5 million, as would Russia's. Iraq and Kuwait saw smaller increases.

In its statement, OPEC acknowledged oil prices continued to improve.

Economic recovery continued in most parts of the world with the help of accelerating vaccination programs, the cartel said.

Prince Abdulaziz also mentioned OPEC members Algeria and Nigeria had raised concerns about their production limits as well.

Oil prices collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic as demand for jet fuel and gasoline dropped amid lockdowns across the globe, briefly seeing oil futures trade in the negatives. Demand since has rebounded as vaccines, while still distributed unequally across the globe, reach arms in major world economies.

Benchmark Brent crude oil traded around $73 a barrel Friday.

Once muscular enough to grind the U.S. to a halt with its 1970s oil embargo, OPEC needed non-members like Russia to push through a production cut in 2016 after prices crashed below $30 a barrel amid rising American production. That agreement in 2016 gave birth to the so-called OPEC+, which joined the cartel in cutting production to help stimulate prices.

OPEC+ agreed in 2020 to cut a record 10 million barrels of crude a day from the market to boost prices. It's slowly added some 4.2 million barrels back over time.

Beginning this August, the cartel said it separately will increase its production by 400,000 barrels a day each month through December  a total of 2 million barrels. The cartel then will assess plans on whether to phase out its current 5.8 million barrel of oil production cut by the end of 2022 as planned by the initial agreement.

OPEC member nations include Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Venezuela. Members of the so-called OPEC+ include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Prince Abdulaziz, in praising Sundays agreement, offered a cheery assessment of the future despite the recent turmoil, suggesting at one point the enlarged group might last beyond the expiration of the cuts next year.

OPEC+ is here to stay, the prince proclaimed.

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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
ABC News

America's top general on Wednesday spoke publicly for the first time about whether he feared then-President Donald Trump would try to involve the military in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as reported in a newly-released book. While Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, at a rare Pentagon news conference, declined to comment on specific claims made in the book, he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Wednesday were emphatic that the military is and ought to remain a strictly "apolitical" institution. "I, the other members of the Joint Chiefs, and all of us in uniform, we take an oath, an oath to a document, an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and not one time do we violate that," Milley told reporters asking about the book excerpts.
The New York Times

Sasha Piton was on a hike near her home in Idaho Falls, Idaho, when she realized something was wrong. The trek was just a few miles, and not strenuous, but a rash was spreading along the crease above her thigh. Piton quickly identified the cause. Like many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she wears a white two-piece set of sacred temple garments, which are functionally underwear, almost all of the time. After another painful hike, Piton reluctantly stopped wearing the
In preparation for Hurricane Emily, Cancun halted the sale of alcohol

Listen to The Weather Network's This Day in Weather History podcast on this topic, here.

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features stories about people, communities, and events and how weather impacted them.

--

On Monday, July 18, 2005, Hurricane Emily made landfall over Playa del Carmen, Mexico, as a Category 4.

The storm started on July 6 as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa. By July 10, the disturbance started to become more organized and concentrated. On July 11, the storm strengthened and was given the name Tropical Storm Emily.

On July 13, Emily reached hurricane status while passing near Tobago. On July 14, the hurricane made landfall on Grenada with wind speeds as high as 135 km/h.

1920px-Hurricane Emily tree Mexico

"A tree damaged by Hurricane Emily in Mexico." Courtesy of Wikipedia

On July 16, the storm reached Category 5 status, making it the strongest hurricane on record to form in July. Emily's wind speeds reached 260 km/h, becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin.

Emily continued westward, weakening into a Category 4 while passing near Jamaica. The hurricane remained as a Category 4 as it struck Cozumel just before making mainland landfall at Playa del Carmen. Emily sustained winds up to 210 km/h as the eyewall passed over Cozumel.

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To prepare for Emily, Mexico evacuated tens of thousands of tourists and residents from the Cancun, the Riviera Maya, and Cozumel areas.

Some hotel guests on the second floor were given the option to remain in their rooms or to be bussed to safer locations. No one was allowed in the beach areas. In Cancun, everyone had to stop selling alcohol 36 hours before the storm, to prevent drunken tourists from being injured overnight.

Emily hit the Yucatan Peninsula on July 18 as a Category 4 but didn't cause too much damage as the extreme winds remained in the storm's centre. Areas around Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cozumel received the most severe damage.

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Emily caused $1.01 billion worth of damage, mostly in Mexico. The storm caused 17 fatalities, five people in Jamaica, Haiti, and Mexico and two elsewhere. Hurricane Emily is the costliest Category 5 on record that hasn't had its name retired.

To learn more about Hurricane Emily, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei.

Subscribe to 'This Day in Weather History': Apple Podcasts | Amazon Alexa | Google Assistant | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Overcast'

Thumbnail: "Hurricane Emily making landfall on July 18, 2005." Courtesy of Wikipedia
John Lewis

Jeff Hutchens/Getty

The nation is celebrating the life of John Lewis on the 1-year anniversary of the renowned civil rights activist's death.

Lewis died on July 17, 2020, at age 80 after battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Events honoring the late Georgia representative took place in both Atlanta and across the United States on Saturday to honor his commitment to the country.

Six members of Lewis' family and several senior U.S. lawmakers convened in San Diego for the official christening of the USNS John Lewis.

RELATED: John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon and Longtime Congressman, Dies at 80

"This ship will be a beacon to the world reminding all who see it of the persistence and courage of John Lewis," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the ceremony, according to USA Today.

Georgia congressman Buddy Carter, who attended the event, shared a glimpse of the new ship on social media. The 63-year-old also offered some kind words for his late friend.

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"You know, it's hard to believe it's been a year since we lost our friend John Lewis, a man who dedicated himself to a more perfect union," Rep. Carter said in a video statement on Twitter. "In his early days in Nashville fighting segregation and the freedom rides to his service in Congress, John Lewis set a great example for all of us."

President Joe Biden recalled a personal anecdote from his final conversation with Lewis in a statement honoring the late congressman.

"Days before he died one year ago today, Jill and I spoke with John Lewis for the last time. He asked us to remain focused on the unfinished work  his life's work  of healing and uniting this nation. With John's spirit guiding us, we must be unafraid and never give up," Biden tweeted Saturday.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland also lauded Lewis for "fearlessly" fighting for decades to "ensure people's freedom, equality, and other basic human rights" in a statement released Saturday. The 68-year-old called on Congress to honor his legacy by passing a bill named after the civil rights icon that's aimed at improving voting rights nationwide.

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RELATED: Rep. John Lewis Honored at Hometown Memorial Service: He Has 'Come Home'

"We need Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would provide the Department with important tools to protect the right to vote and to ensure that every vote is counted. There is no more fitting way to honor the profound legacy of Congressman Lewis," Garland stated.

Former First Lady Laura Bush, First Lady Michelle Obama, US President Barack Obama and US Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, holds hands during an event marking the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty

House majority whip James Clyburn offered a similar sentiment in his tribute to Lewis on Twitter.

"Today marks one year without my dear friend, John Lewis, a stalwart in the fight for voting rights," wrote Clyburn, 80. "We ought to honor his memory and life's work by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and protecting the right to vote.

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Former President Barack Obama honored both Lewis and C.T. Vivian, who died on the same exact day, in his Twitter tribute on Saturday.

RELATED: Late Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for Final Time

"John Lewis and C.T. Vivian loved this country so much that they risked their lives so that it might live up to its promise," Obama, 59, captioned photos of him adorning the two activists with the Presidential medal of freedom in 2011.

"They gave all of themselves to the cause of freedom and justice, and inspired generations to follow their example. Now it's up to us to continue the work," he added.

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Michelle Obama also shared a call to action in her post remembering Lewis' legacy.

RELATED: John Lewis Memorial Will Replace a Confederate Monument in Atlanta

"As we celebrate the king of good trouble  his legacy of perseverance; his ability to find moments of joy and lightness in the midst of real struggle  we should also recommit ourselves to building the future he envisioned," she captioned an image of a young Lewis.

"All across our country, the sacred right to vote that he marched and bled for is being threatened. That's why we've got to do everything in our power to pass the #ForThePeopleAct and the #JohnLewis Voting Rights Advancement Act," the former First Lady added. "Everyone deserves to have their voices heard and their votes counted, and I can't think of a better way to honor Congressman Lewis than by turning these bills into law."

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Lewis played a pivotal role during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He was one of six leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., to organize the historic 1963 March on Washington. Two years later, he led numerous marches from Selma to Montgomery across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

RELATED: Late Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for Final Time

In 1986, Lewis was elected to Congress for the first time. He was re-elected 16 times and used his time as a representative to continue his fight to improve civil rights in the U.S.

Barack Obama walks alongside Amelia Boynton Robinson (R), one of the original marchers, the Reverend Al Sharpton (2nd R), First Lady Michelle Obama (L), and US Representative John Lewis (2nd-L), Democrat of Georgia, and also one of the original marchers, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty

In an interview with New York Magazine shortly before his death, Lewis shared his views on activism, racial injustice, and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"We must never ever give up, or give in, or throw in the towel. We must continue to press on! And be prepared to do what we can to help educate people, to motivate people, to inspire people to stay engaged, to stay involved, and to not lose their sense of hope," urged Lewis.
A salon owner in Connecticut sold his business to an employee for the price of $1.

Pio Imperati, the 79-year-old owner of Pio of Italy Hair Salon in New Haven, Connecticut, sold the studio for a pittance to Kathy Moura, 32, who began working at the store 15 years ago, as she was "worthy" of a "good foundation."

Pio noticed Kathy was special when she first came in for her interview with her mom. She was shy, family oriented and eager to learn, the salon told the Washington Examiner in an email on Tuesday.

SIX NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS HOSPITALIZED WITH HEAT-RELATED INJURIES AFTER TRAINING EXERCISE

After graduating from her technical high school around 2006, Moura had difficulty finding a job due to her lack of experience. The only salon that would give her a chance was Imperatis. He gave her a tryout before eventually hiring her, and now Moura will inherit the salons building as well as all the equipment inside, according to the New Haven Register.

Kathy was shocked when Pio told her about the price, she couldn't believe it. A salon normally sells for thousands of dollars and here Pio was basically just giving it to her, the salon said.

She will pay rent to Imperati, whom she retained as a privately contracted hairdresser, as he does not plan to retire any time soon. He has been in business since 1965 and has owned multiple locations across the state.

Imperati came up with the price because he thought it would be a way of allowing her to succeed and giving her a good foundation for her to start the running of the business, the salon told the Washington Examiner.

Eventually, it was a dream of mine come true to be able to turn the salon over to someone worthy, Imperati said in an interview with the New Haven Register.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

We grew like a family.  Thats how he treats everyone who walks into the salon. Any person who works here, he wants you to flourish and become something of yourself, Moura told the local outlet.

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Tags: News, Connecticut, Italy, small business, employment, money

Original Author: Charles Hilu

Original Location: Salon owner sells business to employee for $1
Jul. 18POTTSVILLE  Two of the highest-profile candidates running on the Democratic ticket for Senate next year emphasized their support for members of the LGBTQ+ community but stressed the need for more inclusive policies for all residents.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta were among the speakers at Saturday's Pottsville PrideFest, which took place at the Lions Club amphitheater at Gen. George Joulwan East Side Park.

Kenyatta, a Democrat who represents part of Philadelphia, is the first openly gay Black man elected to the state legislature, while Fetterman actively supports the community.

They were introduced by Schuylkill County Democratic Committee Secretary Todd Zimmerman, who is gay.

Fetterman, who wore a rainbow flag, lei and cowboy hat, told the crowd he has been to a lot of Pride events in counties that lean red in the state and they have been "loud and boisterous." In Schuylkill County, voters overwhelmingly supported former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, with 47,863 registered Republican voters and 28,981 registered Democrats before the May primary election.

He said he was proud of the work being done in the state to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community, but more needs to be done. He criticized Republican lawmakers for quashing a bill guaranteeing full equality to residents and instead passing a law banning him from flying rainbow and transgender rights flags from his office balcony in Harrisburg.

"I have unflinching support for the LGBTQ community," he said, noting that he performed weddings for LGBTQ+ couples as mayor of Braddock in Allegheny County before it was legal to do so.

Fetterman, who leads in fundraising efforts in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who declined to run for a third term, was joined at the event by second lady Gisele Fetterman, who said events such as the one in Pottsville were "joyful" and she was "glad to tag along."

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Before speaking, the couple walked around the amphitheater grounds, talking to attendees. Kenyatta also chatted with those who came to the festival.

Addressing the young attendees at Saturday's PrideFest, Kenyatta said they were "blowing his mind" with their activism. He added that seeing rainbow and transgender pride flags is beautiful, but there is still work to be done.

He urged them to run for office and change the world.

"What you are doing is changing the course of history," Kenyatta said. "You matter."

He noted his work as a sponsor of House Bill 300, or the PA Fairness Act, which would prohibit discrimination against residents based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Dan Frankel and Jessica Benham, both of Allegheny, and Brian Sims, also of Philadelphia.

Fetterman and Kenyatta are among 13 Democratic candidates who are running for Senate next year. There are also 11 Republicans that have announced they are running in the race, which is expected to be competitive.

Contact the writer: clee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6028; @Cleespot on Twitter
BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. God knows how I appreciate this.

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

Nearly 36% of 3,815 tests carried out in the past 24 hours came back positive, the health ministry said Saturday. Senegal has reported 50,374 cases and 1,214 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Faced with the dramatic increase, President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands. On Friday, Sall threatened to close borders and impose a state of emergency again if numbers continue to rise.

Many in Senegal have relaxed their use of masks and other precautions after the country's early surges weren't as severe as the outbreaks in other countries.

Tabaski, which will be celebrated on July 21 in Senegal, sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings. Many health officials are worried because in the run-up to the holiday, people throng marketplaces and gather to buy sheep.

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Only about 600,000 people of Senegal's population of more than 16 million have been vaccinated. The country has a limited supply of vaccines and is awaiting further deliveries of Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.

About 30% of the new coronavirus infections in Senegal are from the delta variant, according to Souleymane Mboup, the director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, one of Senegal's testing labs.

We are facing a much more contagious virus, Mboup said.

The increase in cases is unprecedented," health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye said.

The pandemic has impacted especially the most vulnerable segments of the population, said Anne Catherine Dupre, project coordinator in Senegal for the group Secours Islamique France.

Since last year, 30% of the thousands of people supported by the group were forced to reduce their consumption of food as a result of the pandemic, she said.

We are already dealing with populations that are very vulnerable, so in fact, for them to reduce it, means theyre only going to eat once a day she added.

Secours Islamique France has been working in Senegal since 2008 and has distributed food and sheep during Ramadan and Tabaski. This year they had to increase their donations because of the rise in vulnerable people because of the pandemic.

Its important for them to celebrate Tabaski. Its the most important celebration in a country where more than 80% of the population are Muslims, she added.

The organization also distributes food and money, supports education and training for unemployed people. It plans to distribute about 2,000 sheep in the greater Dakar area.

Meanwhile, Ndiaye and others hope the pandemic ends soon so things can go back to normal.

I pray for the COVID to stop, she said. If there is good health, we can all work.

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AP reporter Babacar Dione in Dakar contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show that the name of the organization is Secours Islamique France, not Islamic Relief France.

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Follow all AP stories on the global pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
D.C. Metropolitan Police

Washington, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contees voice was thick with anger on Saturday night as he talked about the latest victim of gun violence in the city: a bubbly 6-year-old named Nyiah Courtney, who was riding her scooter when a drive-by shooter snuffed out her life.

I am asking that we all stand together and say, No more! Contee said. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Just after 11 p.m. on Friday, Nyiah was on the street with her parents and sister when a barrage of gunfire erupted. Six people were shot; police bundled Nyiah into a patrol car and rushed to the hospital, but she could not be saved.

Also wounded was Nyiahs mother, who underwent several surgeries and had not yet been told her child was killed, NBC Washington reported.

Nyiah was starting the first grade this fall and now that wont happen and frankly that is unacceptable to me and it should be for every resident of this city, the chief said at a press conference.

The cowards who committed this crime came into this community without any regard for human lifewithout regard for Nyiahs life, he added.

It is time for us to say enough is enough.

Policewho were on the scene 34 seconds after the first shot rang outreleased video of the silver sedan involved in the shooting in southeast D.C., and authorities offered rewards totaling $60,000.

Although gun violence is up in many cities this year, statistics from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department show the number of murders and assaults with a deadly weapon so far in 2021 is the same as at this point last year.

However, homicides in the district have doubled in the last decade.

Mayor Muriel Bowser called for members of the community to provide any information about the shooting to police.

We dont let people get away with murder in our townand we dont do street justice, she said.

Asked whether the closure of recreation centers could be contributing to violence, Bowser grew defensive. Im not convinced that person who went through that intersection, popping off indiscriminately, would have been in a rec centerthats a killer.

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D.C. Councilman Trayon White said more services were needed in the area, but called for the community to take responsibility for the safety of its children.

No one is coming to save us but us, he said.

Balloons tied to a lamppost served as a shrine to Nyiah as local residents and her family recalled an energetic little girl who was excited about starting a new school.

She put a smile on everybodys face, Andrea Courtney, Nyiahs grandmother, told The Washington Post.

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Singapore's CBD skyline seen on 14 July 2021. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

[UPDATE Monday, 19 July, at 7.30am: The MOH has clarified that its initial press release had errors. It said that there were 12 cases of serious illness  among them are five cases in the 0-11 years old age group  requiring oxygen supplementation. An updated release shows that there are five cases in total requiring oxygen supplementation. We have reflected the changes accordingly.]

SINGAPORE  The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (18 July) reported the detection of 92 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, taking the country's total case count to 63,073.

Of the new cases, 88 are local transmissions  of which 25 are part of the growing KTV cluster and 42 are linked to the Jurong Fishery port cluster  said the MOH in a news release.

Thirty of the local cases are linked to past cases and have already been placed on quarantine, while 48 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance.

Ten of the new cases are currently unlinked. Among the new cases are four seniors above the age of 70, who are at risk of serious illness, said the MOH.

There are also four imported cases, all of whom have been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. One case was detected upon arrival, while three developed the illness during SHN or isolation.

29 active clusters under monitoring

There are currently 29 active clusters, ranging between three and 173 infections, the ministry said.

The largest cluster is the KTV lounges/clubs cluster which now has a total of 173 cases.

Among those included in the KTV cluster is a 40-year-old passenger on board a Dream Cruises ship, which turned back three days after it set off from Singapore  on a cruise to nowhere  following the discovery.

The first reported case in the cluster was a Vietnamese hostess on a short-term visit pass to Singapore and who had been to many of the KTV outlets.

The second largest cluster is the Jurong Fishery Port/Hong Lim Market & Food Centre cluster, which currently has 63 infections.

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MOH investigations show that there are other cases or clusters at markets and food centres that are likely seeded by fishmongers who visited the Jurong Fishery Port to collect their stock and sell at the markets. It has ordered the closure of Chong Boon Market & Food Centre to all members of the public from 18 July to 1 August. Fresh fish and seafood stallholders at markets managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators have also been asked to stop operations as a "precautionary measure" to curb the spread of COVID-19 among fishmongers.

The ministry has also detected cases among fishmongers working in Haig Road Market and Cooked Food Centre, Jurong Central Plaza, and Shunfu Mart. This is in addition to 13 others  including Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, and Chong Boon Market & Food Centre  announced earlier.

As such, the NEA has announced that from Monday, it will, together with Town Councils, be progressively implementing access control with interim fencing and mandatory SafeEntry check-in at markets where COVID-19 cases have been detected among stallholders or stall assistants.

Four more KTV lounges/clubs with likely ongoing transmission

MOH's epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at the following KTV lounges/clubs:

Maze Club (2 Aliwal Street)

China Doll (1 Sophia Road)

Club Myth (1 Coleman Street)

Martell W Ktv Chivas (6 Foch Road)

This brings the total of such premises where there is likely ongoing transmission to 19.

Overall, the MOH noted, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 17 cases in the week before to 325 cases in the past week. "We are likely to see rising cases in the coming days as we step up efforts to detect them to contain their spread in the community," it said. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from eight cases in the week before to 31 cases in the past week.

The 7-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 42.0 and 4.4 respectively.

5 require oxygen supplementation; 1 in ICU

Over 62,000 cases in Singapore, or over 99 per cent of the total tally, have fully recovered from their infection.

Updated table of deaths and active cases in ICU or requiring oxygen supplementation, by age group. (TABLE: MOH)

As of Sunday, 243 cases are currently warded in the hospital, most of whom are well and under observation. There are currently five cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, while one case  aged above 60 and unvaccinated  is in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU). None of the cases are fully vaccinated.

Apart from the 36 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

Over the last 28 days, 17 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to the ICU, or passed away. Of them, 11 are unvaccinated, six are partially vaccinated and none are fully vaccinated.

As of Saturday, 6.73 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme. Some 4.14 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Of some 2.68 million who have completed the full vaccination regimen, 86,182 are individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 and have received at least one dose while the remaining are those who have received two doses.

MOH guidelines state that recovered individuals  who are likely to have a strong immune response against COVID-19 within the first six months after their infection  are recommended to receive a single dose of vaccine to further boost their immunity against the disease.

Those who have received the Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine locally are not included in Singapore's national vaccination numbers. As of 3 July, 17,296 people here have received one dose of the Chinese-made vaccine.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

Singapore's KTV cluster grows to 120 COVID cases  largest recorded in community

Fishmongers at all markets to be tested for COVID-19 following port cluster

Enforcement is 'cat and mouse' game, agencies stretched: Lawrence Wong

COVID: Dine-in to be scaled back to groups of 2 from 19 July

COVID: Over 400 nightlife venues that pivoted into F&B suspended
The 150th Open Championship will be at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland in 2022.

The next three after that have also been officially announced.

Based on multiple reports in the United Kingdom, golf fans should expect word soon that that 2025 British Open will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

Im delighted its coming back to Northern Ireland and the smart money is on 2025, North Antrim MP Ian Paisley, vice-chair of the All Parliamentary Group for Golf at Westminster told the BBC at Sandwich, England, at this weeks British Open. He added: I would like to think that there will be an official announcement about Northern Ireland and Royal Portrush next year.

Royal Portrush hosted the Open for the first time in 1951, but didnt host it again until 2019, when Irishman Shane Lowry was the champion. It will come as no surprise to Lowry, who said at his winners press conference, Id be very surprised if its not back here in the next 10 years.

That it will happen sooner rather than later likely will be well received.

Thats great. Thats a lot sooner than I thought it would be there, Rory McIlroy told Golf Channel. Thats only six years with one of those years missed, last year, so thats great. Were nearly to 2022, were not that far away so its something to look forward to.

McIlroy made an 8 on his first hole in 2019 at Portrush and went on to miss the cut.

Ill try to cut that first-hole score in half and go from there, he quipped to Golf Channel.

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JOHANNESBURG (AP)  South Africa's leader went to Johannesburg's Soweto township Sunday to view badly damaged shopping centers where people were trampled to death in rioting sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

President Cyril Ramaphosa toured the Ndofaya Mall in the Meadowlands part of Soweto, where at least 10 people died in the ransacking.

South Africas unrest erupted earlier this month when Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He had defied a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The protests quickly escalated to a weeklong spree of violence, South Africa's worst rioting since the country achieved majority rule democracy in 1994. The unrest hit the KwaZulu-Natal province, which is Zuma's home area, and Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province, which includes Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Trucks were burned, strategic highways blocked and thousands of rioters ransacked malls and shopping centers in the two provinces.

In the eastern port of Durban, rioters attacked industrial areas, where they emptied warehouses and factories and arsonists set them alight.

At least 212 people died in the unrest, many trampled to death when shops were looted, said police. More than 2,500 people have been arrested for theft and vandalism.

Looking at the shattered glass entrance to a cellphone shop Sunday in Soweto, Ramaphosa was told several people died there.

We are all really concerned about what happened here," Ramaphosa said. "But we are also saying we have learned valuable lessons. The most important lesson is, in the end, that we must tighten up our security forces.

Thanking the community volunteer groups helping to clear up the debris, Ramaphosa, speaking in the Zulu language, reiterated his pledge that those who plotted the rioting would be brought to justice.

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Theyll be arrested, all those who are behind this damage, he vowed sternly. "We are going to make sure that they are arrested and sent to prison for a long time.

He thanked law-abiding South Africans for standing together against the lawlessness.

We shall never be defeated because a united people will never be defeated, said Ramaphosa, to cheers from a small group that had gathered. Whether they like it or not, theyll never defeat us. We will be victorious.

Ramaphosa spoke on the anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, the country's first Black president, whose election in 1994 marked the end of South Africa's brutal apartheid regime of white-minority rule. To honor Mandela, many South Africans on Sunday did acts of community service.

___

AP journalist Nqobile Ntshangase in Johannesburg contributed.
Jul. 18CANTON  St. Lawrence County lawmakers again heard from constituents last week about injustices allegedly perpetrated by the Department of Social Services.

For nearly an hour Monday night, statements to the Board of Legislators built on previously submitted letters that allege misconduct, mismanagement and ethical impropriety particularly within Child Protective Services, county foster care and Fostering Futures, a program of the Children's Home of Jefferson County that supplements care in counties across Northern New York.

"I realize that we are bringing up problems and not proposing solutions," Casey M. Whitcomb told the board. "But we need to first realize that there is a problem."

Legislators did not address the statements during the meeting.

Ms. Whitcomb, of Potsdam, stood before the board three years ago, pleading for legislative support during two meetings. The concerns she outlined about CPS on Nov. 5 and Dec. 3, 2018, are similar to the concerns that surfaced in June and again this week.

A February 2015 letter to the editor published by the Times further stretches the publicly documented timeline of concern among county residents. The letter, "Who pays when CPS makes arbitrary and capricious decisions?" ultimately answers its own question.

"Who pays?" it asks. "The very children they are hired to protect, and in a way that CPS will never admit to and most of us will never truly understand."

The mammoth child welfare system, with local arms funded by taxpayers across the country, is regulated by state and federal law. Child and family welfare advocacy groups, separate from government agencies, have written about the multi-layer system for years, and the narrative is generally the same.

"Probably no other public agency leaves victims and advocates more perplexed than Child Protective Services," the Women's Justice Center of Santa Rosa, Calif., wrote in a report about "the system" more than a decade ago.

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"On the one hand, people think of CPS with appreciation as they envision a selfless agency rescuing innocent children from horrific conditions," the report reads. "Indeed, CPS workers across the country do this routinely. The gratitude is deserved."

Then, the usual caveat takes shape: "At the same time, the agency seems to be perpetually marred by a steady drumbeat of nightmare stories about CPS emanating from the very families CPS is supposed to serve."

In some cases, like in North Carolina last year and South Carolina earlier this month, allegations have been criminally pursued.

Three former employees of Cherokee County DSS were indicted in North Carolina in May 2020, on dozens of felony and misdemeanor charges related to a longstanding department practice "that separated children from parents without the oversight of a judge," according to the Carolina Public Press.

A former Horry County CPS investigator was arrested by South Carolina law enforcement on July 6, for allegedly falsifying a report in a child abuse case she was assigned in April. The child died in May, according to the Post and Courier in Myrtle Beach.

New community efforts to organize in St. Lawrence County stem from "a horrific and traumatic ordeal" Courtney A. Fantone experienced as a foster parent. Last summer, Plattsburgh attorney Michael J. Phillips and Ms. Fantone, of Potsdam, established the limited liability company CHILD  Community Helping Individuals Living in Distress  to review DSS foster care cases and data using the department's own documentation and court records.

A dozen letters from biological family members and foster parents were submitted to the Board of Legislators ahead of its June 7 full board meeting. Nine of those letters were signed and three were anonymous. This week's meeting drew 11 people who addressed legislators in varying formats, including via pre-recorded audio clips, in writing and in-person.

Two people who spoke Monday night called for the resignation of Legislator John H. Burke, R-Norfolk, for comments he made during the board's June 28 Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Burke asked whether the county would be responding to the public about the letters submitted in June. He said the letters seemed to place DSS staff "under attack," and he asked fellow legislators: "If we don't stand up for them, who will?"

County Administrator Ruth A. Doyle was not present for Monday's meeting, but on June 28 she said an in-progress county investigation into the allegations will need to conclude before a response is issued.

Ms. Whitcomb, who said she fought for more than a year to be reunited with her two kids, described those in foster care as being additionally traumatized by the actions of the department, now with an expanded staff of caseworkers and supervisors hired this year.

"Changing administrators and hiring more workers will not begin to fix the problems pervasive in this and many other organizations that ostensibly protect children," Ms. Whitcomb said. "These children are not to be used as weapons or leverage against people. But unfortunately, I have heard the term 'or else' from caseworkers one too many times."

Allegations against the department include forged signatures by caseworkers; prioritization of DSS employees as foster parents; removals by caseworkers without legal consultation or court orders; strategically timed orders that hinder families from retaining legal representation on weekends; retaliation by employees against foster families; and employees providing medical and mental health input outside the scope of their qualifications and responsibilities.

"We stand firm on our position that our concern with CPS, Child Protective Services, in St. Lawrence County is real," Gouverneur mom of two Rachel I. Raven told the board. She used her hands to gesture air quotation marks around "protective."

Ms. Raven, a practicing nurse practitioner and former pastor, is a CHILD board member, working with Ms. Fantone and Mr. Phillips to litigate her own case and review the cases of others. Ms. Raven left an abusive marriage with her children in 2018 and now sees them only during supervised visits. In tears after sharing some of her story, she asked the board to take the concerns seriously.

"Because we are not going to be stopping," she said. "We have more momentum, and we will be back and back until there is resolve."

The board meets on Monday night for two committee meetings. The Services Committee meeting, during which DSS typically presents a department report, immediately follows the Operations Committee meeting that starts at 5:30 p.m.

The Services Committee agenda includes an anticipated statistics report from DSS Commissioner Cynthia M. Ackerman. The agenda also lists a DSS vacancy report involving the filling of six positions and the creation of a supervisor position. Two of the positions are for CPS, according to the agenda.

County meetings are live streamed on YouTube and open for in-person participation in the legislative board room, 48 Court St., Canton.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sided with Los Angeles County's recent measure reinstating mask mandates for all residents inside public spaces regardless of vaccine status, calling it "reasonable" amid the recent uptick in COVID-19 delta variant cases.

The delta variant has emerged as the most common strain of COVID-19 in the United States in recent weeks, accounting for 57% of cases reported between June 20 and July 3, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas with higher infection rates share a trend with localities that have fewer vaccination rates, Murthy said, noting there are "millions of people in our country who are not vaccinated."

"In areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, or where cases are rising, it's very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures, like the mask rules that you see coming out in LA," Murthy told ABC on Sunday, adding, "That's not contradictory to the guidances the CDC has issued."

Los Angeles County's indoor mask mandate went into effect late Saturday but has already been subject to contention, specifically by County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who announced on Friday that his department would "not expend our limited resources" to enforce the order, noting he is asking for "voluntary compliance."

LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF WON'T ENFORCE MASK MANDATE 'NOT BACKED BY SCIENCE'

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Villanueva argued that the reinstated mandate "contradicts" CDC guidelines, however, Murthy clarified that the new order is within the bounds of the agency's health advice.

Murthy said counties certainly have the right to put mitigation measures back in place," adding that the CDC will send surge response teams to regions experiencing higher rates of cases.

On June 15, the day the state fully reopened from previous pandemic measures, California reported 1,002 new coronavirus cases. The Golden State reported 4,651 new cases on Friday, according to the state's coronavirus tracker  a sign of a new surge with the highly transmissible delta variant spreading nationwide.

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"We saw this during the last year of the pandemic, that we have large numbers of people gathering in indoor spaces that is the right setup for COVID-19 to spread," Murthy said.

Sixty-eight percent of adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, according to the latest CDC report.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

At least 12,960 new cases were reported across the U.S. on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The highest concentration of outbreaks was reported in Florida and Southern California.

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Tags: News, Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, California, Los Angeles

Original Author: Kaelan Deese

Original Location: Surgeon general calls Los Angeles County mask mandate 'reasonable' amid delta surge
The 16-year-old died after the electric scooter he was on was involved in a collision with a car. (Stock image: Getty)

A 16-year-old has died after the electric scooter he was riding was involved in a collision with a car.

Police said they were called to the incident in Bromley, south-east London, at around 1.20am on Sunday (18 July) where officers and paramedics found the teen with serious injuries.

He was taken to hospital in central London but sadly died, the Met Police said. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

The collision happened on Southborough Lane in Bromley in the early hours of Sunday (18 July). (Google Maps)

The 20-year-old driver of the car, who did not stop at the scene, was later arrested on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene of a collision, causing death by dangerous driving and providing a positive alcohol breath test.

The car, a red Fiat Punto, was found the same morning in Southwood Close in Bromley, police said.

Read more: Woman's body pulled from sea on busy Devon beach packed with holidaymakers

The force is also investigating the disappearance of the e-scooter that was being ridden at the time of the collision which is believed to have been stolen from the scene.

Police said a dark-coloured people carrier-type car with a sliding door was seen in the area and officers are keen to speak to the occupants of it.

They are also urging any witnesses to the crash or any local residents with doorbell video cameras to get in touch.

People who saw a red Fiat Punto in the area are also being urged to contact police, as well as those who may have dash cam footage from that night.

Watch: What UK government COVID-19 support is available?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to breakaway north Cyprus Tuesday, to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion, a visit infuriating Greek Cypriots with island reunification talks in limbo.

Erdogan's visit is seen as a show of strength to support a two-state solution to the island's decades-long division, but also to bolster his ambitions to dominate the strategic eastern Mediterranean.

In a gesture set to send tensions soaring, Erdogan will review some of the thousands of Turkish troops in the self declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the abandoned beach resort of Varosha, which the invasion emptied of its Greek-Cypriot inhabitants.

"It is not only a symbolic visit... but one that will affect the Cyprus problem," said Giannis Ioannou, of the Geopolitical Cyprus think tank.

Tensions are already running high, fuelled by an influx of undocumented migrants into in the south that the government there sees as a pressure tactic by Ankara.

On Friday, Cyprus government spokesman Marios Pelekanos condemned Turkey's "aggressive behaviour" after Cypriot police said the Turkish coastguard fired warning shots at one of its vessels off the island's north coast, a report denied by Ankara.

- 'Red line' -

The Turkish invasion -- launched in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia designed to unite Cyprus with Greece -- was followed in 1983 by the proclamation of the TRNC, still recognised only by Ankara.

Varosha -- once the playground of celebrities and dubbed a "Jewel of the Mediterranean" -- was left a fenced off ghost town, where former luxury hotels have become overgrown by weeds.

The Turkish army restored public access to parts of the beachfront last year and Erodgan is expected to extend that during his visit.

"He will announce the opening of new parts of the city. His message is clear: he wants to change the paradigm for the future negotiations," Ioannou said.

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"Varosha is a red line not to cross for the Cypriot government," he added.

The majority Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, a European Union member with effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island, condemned Erdogan's last visit in November 2020 as a "provocation without precedent".

UN-backed talks on reunifying the island as a bicommunal federation collapsed in 2017 and efforts to revive them have hit a new, tougher line from Ankara demanding a two-state solution.

In April, a UN summit in Geneva failed to broker a deal to start a new round of talks.

"Erdogan... believes Greek Cypriots do not want the peace, but to keep the status quo," Ioannou said, accusing the Turkish president of exploiting Varosha as a "card" for "retaliation".

When Erdogan last visited Varosha in November, he said "compensation would be paid" to Greek Cypriots who lost properties in the resort.

- 'Harsh bargaining' -

But Ahmet Sozen, a Turkish Cypriot at the head of the Cyprus Policy Center at the Eastern Mediterranean University, argues Erdogan has only made this proposal so as to blame "bad will" for its refusal.

"Turkey wants to start the future negotiation cycle with a higher position, and to impose the two states solution," Sozen said. "It is a harsh bargaining period."

Proponents of the two-state solution argue that it would allow the economy of northern Cyprus to diversify, and be viable without the constant backing of Ankara.

Earlier this month, however, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would "never, ever accept a two-state solution."

Erdogan "knows well this solution won't fly, no country will support it," Sozen said.

But for Kemal Baykalli, a Turkish Cypriot analyst and an activist for Unite Cyprus Now, the island of some one million people is no match for the power of near neighbour Turkey, which lies just 70 kilometres (44 miles) to the north.

"What the EU forgets is that Cyprus is too small to be divided," Baykalli said.

"If you let Turkey have the upper hand too long, it will end up dominating this European island."

Erdogan's visit is also being scrutinised for what it could say about Turkish regional ambitions and the search for oil and gas in disputed eastern Mediterranean waters.

"Turkey is fighting against the new block formed around Cyprus on the gas issue," Sozen said.

"Turkey feels isolated and is ready to use any means to pressurise Cyprus, and it can use Varosha."

Israel, Greece and Cyprus last year signed the EastMed deal for a huge pipeline to ship gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, triggering objections from Ankara.

"It's a poker game," said Baykalli, adding that there is "no doubt that Cypriots -- especially people from Varosha -- will be the big losers."

all/pjm/kir
Elon Musk. Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Tesla is offering a new payment method for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.

Customers can now pay $199 a month, rather than $10,000 upfront.

Tesla says customers can cancel their subscription whenever they want.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Tesla owners can now subscribe to have the company's "Full Self-Driving" software in their cars, rather than paying upfront for it, as first reported by Electrek.

Tesla announced the new payment method Saturday, giving customers an alternative to paying $10,000 to have Full Self-Driving included in their car's capabilities.

Tesla's website states the subscription is not a long-term commitment and customers can cancel their subscription "at any time."

As Tesla warns on its subscription page, its Full Self-Driving mode does not make a vehicle fully autonomous. "The currently enabled features require a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment," the company said.

Read more: Meet 9 former Tesla execs who left Elon Musk to become power players at rivals like Apple and Rivian

Tesla rolled out a new beta of its Full Self-Driving software this month. While it's able to control the car in some situations, it still makes major mistakes. Earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk urged customers to "please be paranoid" when using the feature. In addition, Tesla said it may "do the wrong thing at the worst time."

Tesla has come under fire for its Autopilot software, which includes Full Self-Driving. It is being sued by the family of a 15-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash where one of the cars was a Tesla with Autopilot enabled. It's also under scrutiny from lawmakers, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced in June it's launching an investigation into Autopilot's role in 30 crashes.

The company attracted particularly intense scrutiny in April after two people died in a fiery Tesla crash and police said no one was behind the wheel. Elon Musk disputed that any Autopilot features were enabled at the time of the crash.

Read the original article on Business Insider
TOKYO  The Japanese musical maverick who composed some of the score for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics has apologized after revelations that he bullied disabled classmates recently resurfaced.

The composer, Keigo Oyamada, also known as "Cornelius," boasted to Japanese magazines in the 1990s about how he had tormented fellow students. The boasts came back to haunt him less than a week before the games are to kick off Friday.

Back in the 1990s, when his star was still on the rise, Oyamada, now 52, recalled in interviews with local music magazines that he would, among other things, force a mentally disabled boy to eat his own feces and masturbate in front of other students.

"These reflections were not looked back on regretfully, but instead were seen as funny childhood moments," the popular blog ARAMA! JAPAN wrote. "He spoke of them in a boastful nature."

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Often compared to pioneering American musicians like Beck and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, Oyamada is best known in Japan as one of the originators of the kitschy Shibuya-kei sound, which drew heavily on American pop music from the 1960s produced by the likes of Burt Bacharach and Phil Spector.

Oyamada, whose stage name is a tribute to the "Planet of the Apes" movie character Cornelius, posted his mea culpa on his website and on Twitter.

He said that he was "very immature" when he preyed on his classmates and that he felt "deep regret" about for what he did. He said he understood why some might object to his participation in the games.

"I apologize and I will try to be a better person," he wrote.

On social media, critics were far from forgiving. "How can a person who committed such discriminatory and violent acts considered qualified for getting involved in Olympic and Paralympic Games?" a person posted on Twitter.

The revelation and Oyamada's public apology appeared to catch organizers by surprise.

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"We understand that he apologized and it is true that we didn't know about this," Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, said Saturday at a news conference.

But Muto said organizers have no plans to ban Oyamada or his music. "We wish him to continue with his participation," Muto said, adding, "He is sorry for his past actions, and he has said that he wants to act with higher moral standards."

NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC News, owns the U.S. broadcasting rights to the games.

It is not the first storm the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee has had to contend with since it announced that it would restart the games, which were derailed last year by the coronavirus pandemic.

In February, the president of the committee, Yoshiro Mori, was forced out after he said female sports officials talk too much during meetings. A month later, the games' creative director, Hiroshi Sasaki, was ousted for comparing Japanese celebrity Naomi Watanabe to a pig.

Organizers are staging the games while Tokyo is in a state of emergency  and in the face of polls that show that many Japanese fear that the arriving athletes will worsen the Covid-19 crisis in the country.

Two athletes already bunking in the Olympic Village tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, a day after a games organizer became the first foreigner in the sealed-off section of Tokyo to test positive for the virus.
A group of protesters who showed up outside a Los Angeles spa on Saturday were met by a large police response resulting in more than a dozen arrests.

The protests stemmed from a video that showed a customer of the Wi Spa in Koreatown angrily confronting a staff member complaining that a disrobed transgender woman had entered into the womens section.

The video, which was shared on social media earlier this month, quickly went viral in far-right and anti-transgender websites, but its veracity has since been put into question.

A source at the spa told the Los Angeles Blade that theres no record of appointment of any of its usual transgender clients on the day in question. Additionally, treatments at the spa are by appointment only, and most of its trans clients are known to the staff, the source said.

On Saturday morning, LGBTQ activists gathered outside the spa to counter a protest of people who opposed access of trans women to the facility, carrying signs that read Save our children and Stop defending pedos.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the two groups clashed around noon, prompting the LAPD to declare an unlawful assembly in the area.

Most people did leave the area, but currently there are a number of arrests made for failure to disperse, LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar Aguilar said.

Videos circulating on social media show police officers in riot gear hitting protesters with batons, shooting bean bag rounds and 40-millimeter hard-foam projectiles at protesters, the Times reported.

Lois Beckett, a reporter for The Guardian, posted a short video of a group of anti-trans protesters throwing bottles of water at her.

Just got thrown to the ground by right-wing anti-pedophile protesters as a crowd [converged] on me and chased me. They threw water at me and screamed about Jesus and said to grab my phone, she wrote. Police would not let me through the police line but after I got thrown on the ground they did.

According to the L.A. Times, anti-transgender protesters were demonstrating against the spas policy of opening their doors to transgender clients.

After the video incident, Wi Spa defended its position in a statement sent to Los Angeles Magazine.

Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa, the statement said. Wi Spa strives to meet the needs of all its customers.
Discovery+

Time to buckle up: the 90 Day Fiance franchise has a new spinoff series set against the backdrop of the Caribbean, and its anything but paradise.

Ushering in a new set of on-the-rocks couples, Love in Paradise: The Caribbean, premiering July 18 on Discovery+, whisks viewers away to Jamaica, Panama, Costa Rica, and Barbados to gawk at four Americans who are trying to salvage relationships with their holiday flings.

As it always goes, the couples wistfully recall how they were swept off their feet and fell hard in love while on vacation, and are now heading back to see if they can make things work. But within the first few minutes of the series, the cracks in the relationships are already showing.

Alon Orstein, the Senior Vice President of Production and Development of TLC and Discovery Life Channel, told The Daily Beast that while the franchise might not have the best track record with success stories, the casting team truly aims to find couples who are all-in. And despite having a rabid fanbase who gleefully rejoice when things go up in smoke, the show truly hopes that the couples can work things out.

Its hard for us to see any relationship that goes out, he admitted. One of the things we look for in casting is to make sure that theres an opportunity to root for these people. Youll probably see some relationships that maybe you thought might not work out, actually do.

Why Is the U.K.s Horniest Show Vastly Superior to Americas?

But this is the real world, and relationships that dont work out are part of the story, Orstein added. We want to make sure that theres an opportunity for people to see both sides of the couples POV to relate to them in some way, shape, or form.

Its sure to be a long journey, as each couple faces unique issues from the jump.

Perhaps in the most precarious situation is 25-year-old Aryanna, who is headed to Jamaica to finally reunite with 35-year-old Sherlon, last seeing him on a whirlwind vacation. But a month after she returned to Illinois, she realized she was pregnant.

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It wasnt the smartest decision, we were caught up in the moment, she cries to the camera of their decision not to use protection. A decision I made in paradise will impact the rest of my life.

Still, Aryanna is determined to make it work. The same cant exactly be said of Sherlon, who seems more excited about his job at a swingers resort than the fact that their baby is arriving in three months.

Its all about nakedness and sex, he raves. Although hes not supposed to interact with the guests, Sherlon laughs and boasts that hes broken the rule more times than you can count.

Aryanna is hoping that Sherlon will move to Illinois and help raise their child, but Sherlon seems unwilling to give up his life on the island. Plus, his initial meeting with her family didnt go smoothly. In an uncomfortable grilling, Aryannas mother racially stereotypes Sherlon, who is Black, asking him how many other kids hes had with tourists.

Also on unsure footing is 30-year-old Amber, from Florida, and her 23-year-old fiance Daniel, who have been together ever since meeting nearly three years ago in Costa Rica. The couple hadnt seen each other in months due to COVID-19, plus the pandemic derailed their K-1 visa application, making a process that is supposed to take around six months stretch to 11.

Amber is also at her wits end with having to foot Daniels bills and expenses because he lost his job during the pandemic. She feels her hand is forced when Daniel asks her to pay for his Wi-Fi bill and bring him a new phone, otherwise she wont be able to communicate with him. To top it all off, Daniel isnt holding up his end of the bargain and hasnt sorted out any of the paperwork he needs to finish the expensive and complicated visa process.

As Amber lands in Costa Rica and gives Daniel a hug, he makes a startling confession to the camera. I havent been telling the truth, he admits. I havent been honest all my life. Shes going to be pissed for sure.

Meanwhile, theres Martine and Steven, who met on a boozy cruise and became inseparable. For the past three years, Miami-local Martine travels as often as she can to visit Steven in Barbados. Now, shes over Stevens lackadaisical approach to their relationship and is ready for him to make a serious commitment: propose.

But party-boy Steven is in no place to settle down, previously admitting to cheating on Martine during their first year together. Plus, because of a disastrous breakup with the mother of his daughter, he has vowed to never get in a relationship that serious again.

Things quickly become rocky on their first night together, butting heads over a waitress flirting with Steven in front of Martine. Shes not sure if she can trust him, especially because hes surrounded by women when he DJs. Martine is convinced that its only a matter of time before he gives in to temptation.

Theres a glimmer of hope for the most promising couple of the series: Mark, who is traveling from California to Panama to see his long-lost love Key. The two met nearly a decade ago while he was running a hostel in the country. After a hot-and-heavy two weeks, they stayed in touch every day until Key called Mark out of the blue and confessed she had to go to rehab for her addiction to ketamine.

Mark dropped everything and flew to be with Key and her family in Argentina, staying with them for six months to help with Keys recovery. But they drifted apart because Mark couldnt speak any Spanish and Key and her familys English was equally poor.

After nine years of radio silence, however, Key reached out to Mark, leading them to see if they could finally make things work. But Key doesnt necessarily believe in monogamy and has no interest in moving to the United States. Maybe [they have] the best peanut butter, nothing else, she shrugs.

Overall, Orstein hopes Love in Paradise: The Caribbean resonates with the franchises superfans the same way the other spinoffs have developed cult followings. What makes this unique is that it is concentrated to a specific region. It really shines a light on one territory and how romantic journeys unfold in that particular location.

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A look at the shareholders of Energy One Limited (ASX:EOL) can tell us which group is most powerful. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Dont tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

With a market capitalization of AU$175m, Energy One is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions don't own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Energy One.

View our latest analysis for Energy One

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Energy One?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Energy One's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

It looks like hedge funds own 7.9% of Energy One shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The company's largest shareholder is Ian Ferrier, with ownership of 27%. Vaughan Busby is the second largest shareholder owning 16% of common stock, and Topline Capital Partners, LLC holds about 7.9% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Shaun Ankers directly holds 3.2% of the total shares outstanding.

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To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Energy One

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Energy One Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. Given it has a market cap of AU$175m, that means they have AU$101m worth of shares. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 24% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Energy One. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 8.9%, of the Energy One stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Energy One better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stood by federal guidance that those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer needed to wear masks, while blaming social media companies for fueling vaccine misinformation.

Murthy told CNN's "State of the Union" that allowing vaccinated individuals to forgo masks also gives communities the flexibility to revert to mask mandates based on new infections and vaccination rates, as Los Angeles https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mask-mandate-returns-los-angeles-coronavirus-cases-rise-2021-07-15 has done.

Nationwide, new U.S. COVID-19 cases surged 70% this week compared with the prior seven days to an average of 30,000 new infections a day, fueled by the Delta variant. Deaths rose 26% week-over-week to an average of 250 lives lost a day, mostly in unvaccinated patients. (Graphic of global cases and deaths) https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi

Murthy said that social media companies have fueled false narratives about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, echoing President Joe Biden's comments that social media companies were "killing people." https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/white-house-says-facebooks-steps-stop-vaccine-misinformation-are-inadequate-2021-07-16

"There have been positive steps taken by these technology companies," Murthy said. "But what I've also said to them publicly and privately is that it's not enough."

Facebook defended itself against Biden's assertion in a post https://bit.ly/3xSyRDV on Saturday, saying that it promoted authoritative information about vaccines and acted aggressively against health misinformation on its platforms.

Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar told CNN's "State of the Union" that she was looking into ways to hold social companies legally responsible for vaccine misinformation and suggested some might even need to be broken up.

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"I am a fan of using anti-trust so we can get true competition against the dominant platforms," Klobuchar said.

Ken McClure, the mayor of Springfield, Missouri, blamed misinformation as part of the driving force behind poor vaccination rates in his community which has experienced a huge spike in COVID-19 cases.

"I think we're seeing a lot spread through social media," McClure told CBS's "Face the Nation." "I think we as a society and certainly in our community are being hurt by it."

(Reporting by Joel Schectman and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -Some U.S. tech companies expressed disappointment with a ruling by a federal judge that blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Friday sided with a group of states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, arguing that it was illegally created by former President Barack Obama in 2012.

We have long argued in support of this program, filing an amicus brief in this case, and we are very disappointed by the decision (from the judge), Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.

Dreamers and immigrants make the United States  and Twitter  better, a spokesperson from social media platform Twitter said in an emailed statement.

Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Photoshop maker Adobe urged the U.S. Congress to come together to protect Dreamers, with Google saying they wanted DACA to be cemented into law.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said that the disappointing ruling created uncertainty yet again for Dreamers.

The judge ruled on Friday that the program violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when it was created but said that since there were so many people currently enrolled in the program  nearly 650,000  his ruling would be temporarily stayed for their cases and their renewal applications.

Biden, who was vice president when Obama created the program, has said he wants to create a permanent pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, known as Dreamers.

On Saturday, Biden vowed to preserve the program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, promising to appeal the judges ruling invalidating it and urging Congress to provide a path to citizenship.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Nick Zieminski)

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
By William James

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak will both self-isolate in line with national guidance, abandoning heavily criticised plans to take part in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to continue working.

The U-turn comes a day after health minister Sajid Javid said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and at a time when the government's coronavirus response is under intense scrutiny.

Almost all remaining restrictions in England will be lifted on Monday despite a surge in infections as ministers put their faith in the advanced vaccine programme.

Cases are rising by more than 50,000 a day and hundreds of thousands of Britons are being asked to self isolate for 10 days, causing havoc for employers and parents, prompting train cancellations and forcing some businesses to close their doors.

The government announced at 0700 GMT that Johnson and Sunak had been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and would take part in a trial scheme that allowed them to keep working instead of self-isolating.

But less than three hours later that decision had been reversed after a flurry of criticism from voters, political opponents and business owners.

"We did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme... but I think it's far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules," Johnson said in a video message from his country residence, where he will isolate until July 26.

The Telegraph reported https://bit.ly/3z63x4K late on Sunday that ministers were urging Johnson to ditch the requirement for fully-vaccinated people to self-isolate entirely.

Opposition politicians had said it was hypocritical for Johnson and Sunak to have tried to exempt themselves from some of the rules.

"Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been busted yet again for thinking the rules that we are all following dont apply to them," said Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.

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Sunak also acknowledged the backlash over their initial decision.

"I recognise that even the sense that the rules arent the same for everyone is wrong," he said on Twitter.

The government's handling of the pandemic has been dogged with episodes that have damaged public trust - most recently when then-health minister Matt Hancock was pictured kissing an adviser, in breach of social distancing regulations. He later resigned.

Housing minister Robert Jenrick confirmed that the government would go ahead with its "freedom day" plan on Monday, removing the requirement to wear face masks, lifting limits on social gatherings and allowing high-risk businesses to reopen.

Johnson used his video message to plead with the public to take a cautious approach to the change of rules.

"Please, please, please, be cautious," he said.

"Go forward tomorrow into the next step with all the right prudence and respect for other people, for the risks that the disease continues to present and, above all, please, please, please when you're asked to get that second jab ... please come forward and do it."

Ministers argue that the vaccination programme, under which 87.8% of the adult population has had one vaccine dose and 67.8% have been double vaccinated, has largely broken the link between cases and mortality.

"The last time we had cases at the level we do today, the number of people dying from the virus was 30 times the number it is today," Jenrick told the BBC.

(Reporting by William James and Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis)
US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy (2021 CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

The USs top doctor is predicting that more cities and municipalities will follow the lead of Los Angeles County and reinstate mask mandates as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy said the rising rate of cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated Americans in many states could lead to localities reinstating mask mandates.

Such a move would likely trigger a major backlash in some conservative circles, where resistance to mask mandates and other Covid-19 preventative measures has been pronounced.

What were seeing in LA County is concerning, this rise in cases, and unfortunately we are seeing rises particularly among the unvaccinated in many parts of the country now, Dr Murthy said on ABCs This Week.

Now, in areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, or where cases are rising, its very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures...and I anticipate that will take place in other parts of the country too, Dr Murthy continued.

The Surgeon General went on to note that many who have unvaccinated family members, such as young children, have continued to wear masks in public as mask mandates have ended due to concerns about spreading the virus to those individuals.

His comments followed a statement from Dr Jerome Adams, Surgeon General under the Trump administration, taking responsibility for erroneous advice in the spring of 2020 urging Americans not to wear masks.

Dr Adams and others such as Dr Anthony Fauci have said that the guidance was aimed at the time at preserving scarce personal protective equipment for medical professionals. However it has been blamed for the skepticism many Americans have shown in taking basic measures to stop the virus from spreading.

Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it, tweeted Dr Adams on Saturday.

Im worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of [rising cases of] delta variant, he continued.

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California saw its one-week total for Covid cases double over last week, as it now lags behind only Tennessee in terms of the rate of new cases being reported.

A variant of the virus thought to be more infectious than previous iterations, known as the Delta variant, has also been recorded in all 50 states. Health experts have warned that hospital systems in rural areas and places where unvaccinated rates are high could be overwhelmed if current trends continue in the weeks ahead.

Just over half of Californias eligible population is vaccinated, while 63 per cent of its eligible residents have received one dose.

Despite the surge, the sheriff of one of Californias largest counties, Los Angeles County, falsely claimed in a statement this week that mask mandates for vaccinated Californians was not backed by science and would not be enforced by his department.

Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the sheriffs order falsely claims. CDC guidelines state that localities can reinstate such guidelines if case numbers are rising significantly.

The Independent has reached out to the sheriffs department for comment.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has authority to enforce the order, but the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance. We encourage the DPH to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science, Sheriff Alex Villanueva added.

Misinformation about vaccinations is now one of the leading causes of the dropping vaccination rates around the country, Dr Murthy said at a White House address earlier this week, and now poses a major public health risk.

"This is about the health of Americans and the reality is that misinformation is still spreading like wildfire in our country, aided and abetted by technology platforms," he added today on Fox News Sunday.

Read More

The Chelsea Pensioners advise to 'push off politely' in fraud awareness campaign

US surgeon general issues official warning over vaccine misinformation but wont pinpoint culprits

Klobuchar: Infrastructure bill could include voting measures
A long-running corruption trial of South Africa's jailed ex-president Jacob Zuma will resume virtually on Monday, despite deadly violence that swept the nation after his imprisonment in an unrelated case.

Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering related to a 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and military gear from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.

He is accused of taking bribes from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales, which has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

The trial started in May after numerous postponements and delays, as Zuma's legal team worked fervently to have the charges dropped.

The 79-year-old Zuma appeared in person for the opening and said he was innocent.

Thales also pleaded not guilty, and the next hearing was set for Monday.

But things took a nasty turn when on June 29, Zuma was found guilty of contempt of South Africa's top court for snubbing graft investigators probing his tenure as president. He was jailed a week later.

The incarceration sparked protests in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, which snowballed into a week of looting and arson that spread to the economic hub Johannesburg, claiming over 200 lives.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to office promising to curb graft, said the riots were a "coordinated and well-planned attack" on the country's young democracy.

"Using the pretext of a political grievance, those behind these acts have sought to provoke a popular insurrection," Ramaphosa said on Friday night.

Monday's hearing could reignite tensions that had eased late last week, analysts warn.

- Stability at stake -

"People will be watching the behaviour of judges," said Sipho Seepe, a fellow of the University of Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal.

"If they feel justice is not done, they will protest."

Monday's hearing will focus on an application by Zuma's legal team for chief prosecutor Billy Downer to remove himself from the case over claims he leaked information to the media.

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"We will argue vigorously for the application to be dismissed," National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga told AFP.

The trial will be heard virtually to "avoid disruption", Mhaga said.

Zuma supporters are still likely to gather in front of the Pietermaritzburg High Court to show support, as they have during past hearings.

Zuma's lawyers claim the virtual format is unconstitutional and have applied for the trial to be adjourned.

His foundation confirmed on Twitter late Sunday that the ex-president would attend Monday's hearing virtually "for the postponement application of his trial".

Zuma and his supporters have repeatedly dismissed all the probes as politically motivated and warned his jailing would spark unrest.

But they deny being behind the recent turmoil.

Carl Niehaus, a close friend of Zuma, told reporters this week that there was no "coordinated campaign to lead to looting and violence".

"There is however an uprising of people who are deeply concerned and angered by [his] imprisonment."

- 'Ride the storm' -

Zuma, once dubbed the "Teflon president", is meanwhile seeking to reverse his 15-month jail sentence.

He was arrested for disobeying a Constitutional Court order to testify before a judicial panel probing the plunder of state coffers during his nine-year rule.

Most of the transgressions investigated by the commission involve three brothers from a wealthy Indian business family, the Guptas, who won lucrative government contracts and were allegedly allowed to choose cabinet ministers.

Zuma only testified once in July 2019.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party forced Zuma -- who is a member of the country's dominant Zulu ethnic group -- to resign in 2018 after mounting graft scandals.

But Zuma has retained a fervent support base within the ANC and among the general public, viewed by many as a "people's man" and a defender of the poor.

Ralph Mathekga, author of "When Zuma Goes", says judges in the graft case will not bow to "political pressure".

"Not prosecuting Mr Zuma will have serious implications for the rule of law," he told AFP. "The judiciary is going to have to ride the storm."

sch/jxb
Its Christmas in July. The federal government this week began sending millions of families monthly cash payments through the new, expanded Child Tax Credit.

Through the end of the year, all but the wealthiest families with children will receive $250 per month per child ages six to 17 and $300 per month for each child under six.

Most parents will receive the payments as direct deposits and will take the remainder as a credit when they file their 2021 taxes next year.

The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides the largest Child Tax Credit ever and historic relief to the most working families ever  and most families will automatically receive monthly payments without having to take any action, the White House says online.

Families will, that is, if all goes as planned. With 90% of the nations 74 million children eligible, this is a massive undertaking.

Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, hailed the expanded tax credit as the most transformative policy to come out of Washington since F.D.R. that will effectively cut in half child poverty in this country.
3. Why arent people more worked up over deteriorating schools? Once again, we see people showing up en masse at local governing bodies to protest something those boards cant do anything about. A few years ago, it was the push to get local boards of supervisors to declare themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries. Did that make any difference? No. Now, we see crowds showing up at school boards to protest critical race theory (something that schools say theyre not teaching). Yet why arent these same crowds voicing equal displeasure with the physical state of their schools? Or school funding in general? We have some rural schools held together by duct tape. We have some schools  and not just rural schools  with ceilings falling in. Why arent people getting upset about that? We habitually blame the General Assembly  which under both Republicans and Democrats has shown little interest in the subject. But at some point, we have to blame voters themselves.
DES MOINES  The past seven months under a Democratic administration have made the America of the previous four years unrecognizable to the political speakers at a Christian conservative event held Friday in Des Moines.

Former vice president Mike Pence, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the speakers at The Family Leadership Summit, the 10th annual event hosted by The Family Leader, an Iowa-based Christian conservative advocacy organization.

Pence, Noem and Pompeo are all possible Republican presidential candidates for 2024  likely depending on whether former President Donald Trump decides to run again  and they took turns lambasting President Joe Bidens administration.

The damage theyve done to this country in such a short period of time, Pence lamented during his remarks.

Noem talked about recently becoming a grandmother for the first time, and offered her own lament.

I really hate this America that were giving (her new granddaughter), Noem said. I dont recognize the country I had an opportunity to grow up in.
The district said this was higher than expected and could indicate decision-making based on the real or perceived reputation of the Davenport schools.

Of the 131 transfer requests for which the district has demographic information available, 70% were white students and just 8% were black, according to school data. The districts student body is 53% white and 20% black.

Davenport superintendent T.J. Schneckloth said the new law is what it is. He said the district is attempting to offset the transfers impact by highlighting the education services and opportunities for students to succeed that it offers.

What were going to do is, were going to make Davenport the destination of choice, Schneckloth said. The only thing that we can do is move forward and make Davenport the place to be, and thats what we intend to do.

Schneckloth said the transfers could also create financial issues for the district, which budgets for an expected enrollment figure and could wind up with a significantly different number. He said he could not provide a dollar amount for the financial impact of the transfers or forecast what the final enrollment number will be, but that the district will need to be able to somehow forecast that impact in the future.

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The class, which will total more than 40 hours of instruction time, will help students build foundational skills in coding, design, data, infrastructure and management. It will include projects that will allow students to begin building a portfolio they can share with potential employers and give them an opportunity to earn a certificate.

In the metro area, the two biggest areas which we are seeing demand are coding and data, Matis said. However, we are facing a shortage of local tech workers in all of the areas which we are targeting in this course.

AIM Institute experts will bring the training to the students through southwest Iowa training sites and online instruction, Matis said.

We will offer a variety of in-person and virtual options for the classes, depending on where the students are located, with some courses taking place in Council Bluffs and the surrounding area and the rest offered online, she said.

Students will be assisted by navigators from the AIM Institute, who will divide their time between the Southwest Iowa program and AIMs code school, Matis said.

We plan to hire a few more, provided we have enough participants to warrant it, she said. I also will be working to help students as well, in my capacity as code school director.
China has struck back aggressively, arguing that attempts to link the origins of COVID-19 to a lab are politically motivated and has suggested that the outbreak might have started abroad. At WHOs annual meeting of health ministers in the spring, China said that the future search for COVID-19s origins should continue  in other countries.

Most scientists suspect that the coronavirus originated in bats, but the exact route by which it first jumped into people  via an intermediary animal or in some other way  has not yet been determined. It typically takes decades to narrow down the natural source of an animal virus like Ebola or SARS.

Tedros said that checking what happened, especially in our labs, is important to nailing down if the pandemic had any laboratory links.

We need information, direct information on what the situation of this lab was before and at the start of the pandemic, the WHO chief said, adding that Chinas cooperation was critical. If we get full information, we can exclude (the lab connection).

Throughout the pandemic, Tedros has repeatedly praised China for its speed and transparency despite senior WHO officials internally griping about obfuscation from their Chinese counterparts.
For Iowa farmers, the loss of river shipping would be devastating, Lillibridge said. He estimates at least 30 percent of Iowa-grown corn is exported. If the lock and dam system shuts down and 30 percent of his market goes away, Ive got a huge problem, he said.

If all of a sudden Im sitting on 30 percent of my corn and have no place to go with it, well see prices crash, profitability will be zero, you will see a farm crisis like youve never seen before, Lillibridge warned.

With nearly two-thirds of the nations grain exports traveling on the Upper Mississippi River System, we cannot afford to let this situation worsen, Hinson said.

She and Grassley think upgrading the system fits nicely into the infrastructure plan, especially in terms of job creation. Modernizing the system would provide roughly 10,000 construction jobs over the lifetime of the program, which is about 20 years of construction, Hinson said.

Corn and soybean shipments account for more than half of the goods moved by weight, according to a study for the Iowa Department of Transportation. However, Iowa businesses also ship coal, fertilizer, industrial and road salt, biodiesel, lumber, rebar, steel, precast concrete, sand, molasses and gasoline.
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I think all of us take a lot of pride in how it looks and how it developed, Jeff said.

On Friday, a friends and family night gave the owners the opportunity to see their dream in action before opening to the general public.

(My feelings are) relief that its finally here, Necole said. Weve had so much emotion rolling up into this point and were finally able to sit back and take a big breath in and realize that all of that prep work is over (is a relief).

She said it was great to see everyone on Friday having so much fun.

Taking a look last night out at everybody who had kids outside playing with the corn hole boards, its just a great family atmosphere, Necole said. Everybody was able to get outside away from electronics, away from all of that and just enjoy time together.

Sharon said the history of the depot came to light when Donnees Electric was cutting holes in the wall to put in the electricity.

We found an old UP (Union Pacific) ledger from the early 1900s in the wall of the freight room, Sharon said. The station masters name was LJ Morton. He had big, beautiful signature and we kept seeing it everywhere in the ledger.
The Lincoln County Commissioners will discuss and consider acceptance for a bid for the North Platte Trail Network Bike Trail at Mondays meeting.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Room at the Lincoln County Courthouse, 301 N. Jeffers St.

The board will:

 Discuss and consider a special designated liquor license application submitted by Big Red Liquor for a wedding reception on Aug. 7 at Harbor Lights.

 Discuss and consider authorizing the chairman to sign a Nebraska Office of Highway Safety grant application for the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office  National Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, Aug 20 to Sept. 6.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

 Go into closed session regarding personnel matters in the Roads Department, which includes job performance and conduct being evaluated, to protect needless injury to the reputation of the individuals.

 Consider authorizing the chairman to sign the right-of-way application submitted by Beveridge Well Drilling for Scott Chase.

 Consider authorizing the chairman to sign the right-of-way application submitted by McCook Public Power District.
Theres talk about community policing and some (departments) are really good with it, while for others, it is just a word that people throw out. I think we have worked hard to ensure that the public understands that we are a community-based organization.

He added that he is leaving a solid department with strong leadership at each level. Hudson said his goal over the next few months is to try and ensure that the transition for the next police chief is one that is convenient, comfortable and helpful for whomever the next individual is.

Hudson added he is willing to be a resource to tap into even when he is out of the office.

The beautiful thing about todays modern age is phones ring wherever you are, he said.

Hudson admitted that a law enforcement career was not something he envisioned growing up in western Nebraska. It is not until he joined the Marines that it became a goal for him and his friend in the service.

Thats all we talked about was, Were going to join the LAPD., Hudson said. I think the longer in the military the more there is that drive that you want to serve. I think it is a natural progression or step to then go into law enforcement.
Localnews

editor's pick

Disinformation hampering vaccination effort

Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter These signs announcing The Vaccine Will Kill You! are popping up in front of several houses along Route 19 north of Waynesburg. Local health experts said disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine are hampering the effort to protect people from the virus.

Early in the vaccination effort this winter, many Americans were desperate to get their COVID-19 shots as they either struggled to find available appointments or patiently waited for their turn in line.

As more doses became available in the spring, the United States ramped up the vaccinations with a peak of 4.4 million shots on April 8.

But the urgency earlier this year to get shots into arms is slowing down significantly. Last week, the country averaged just 400,000 shots a day, raising concerns from public health officials who are trying to remind people that the COVID-19 pandemic still isnt over.

While there was hesitancy for some early in the process, there now appears to be an outright disinformation campaign against the vaccine on social media and within some local communities.

The state has been anticipating hesitancy for a while, said state Rep. Tim ONeal, who is a member of the states COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. I think theres always going to be a contingent  I think its a relatively small contingent  that will never trust the vaccine and will never get it. Thats OK. Thats their personal choice.

More concerning, however, is the conspiracy theories and disinformation that is bubbling up about the vaccine, prompting the Biden administration to change its approach recently as it tries to educate the unvaccinated to protect themselves from the virus.

Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

That has been the case locally after signs began popping up a few months ago in Greene County announcing that The Vaccine Will Kill You! The professionally made yard signs began multiplying recently and are now in front of several homes along a stretch of Route 19 a few miles north of Waynesburg. One resident who was approached by a reporter last week to discuss the sign declined to comment, except to say she will never get the vaccine.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert in Pittsburgh and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, thinks some people have shut their minds off to science.

I think there will be some segment of the population that will be adamantly against the vaccine no matter what the evidence will show, Adalja said. These people are probably out of reach because they are beyond rational thought of reason and science.

There are others, however, who are hesitant to get the vaccine because they are worried about possible side effects, are waiting to see how others react to it or they want to see it receives full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, Adalja said.

There have been some adverse reactions from people who have received the vaccine, most notably three people who died from blood clots that were tied to the J&J vaccine, prompting federal regulators to temporarily pause administering that particular brand. But Adalja said the benefits from the vaccine far outweigh the risks associated with it, which are low compared to the effects from the virus itself.

I have run into a brick wall with some people. ... Ive also been able to talk to other people while walking them through the data, he said.

But he was disappointed to hear about the signs on Route 19 in Greene County spreading disinformation, which could lead to an uptick in infections in the area if people remain unprotected from the virus. Less than 13,000 people in Greene County are fully vaccinated  about 40% of its eligible population  putting it near the bottom of the list in the state, according to state Department of Health statistics.

Signs like that are false, spreading lies and defaming the vaccine companies, Adalja said. Theres no place for that.

Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi, who received the vaccine last summer as part of Pfizers clinical trial, isnt surprised by the reaction from some and thinks the hyperpartisan mood of the country has contributed to the problem. He remembers being called a sheep by some on Facebook last fall after first announcing he was part of the clinical trial.

What Ive seen locally and nationally, we had a heated presidential race last year and we were in the middle of a pandemic, and it became politicized, Maggi said. You had these two forces come together and it really made it difficult.

He continues to return to Columbus, Ohio, for regular checkups while remaining in the clinical trial, and he is still comfortable with his decision to get the vaccine. He hasnt had any troubling side effects and believes the Pfizer vaccine has kept him safe from the virus.

I believed in the trial, I felt comfortable, I researched it and I dont have any regrets, Maggi said. Youve got to trust something, and I happen to trust the medical professionals and the scientists.

The conversation between patients and their doctors can change peoples minds, although Dr. Ben Kleifgen is cautious about how he approaches the subject with patients. Kleifgen, a pediatrician at Washington Pediatrics in the Washington Health System, speaks to many parents about it, letting them know the options for children 12 and older who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. Hes also talking to parents with children younger than 12, explaining that the vaccine will likely soon be available in phases to those different age groups.

I feel like a lot of people have already made up their mind. It runs the gamut. But it does seem to be polarizing, he said.

I try to do a lot of listening. Why do you feel that way? What have you heard? Typically, there are a few reasons people raise. I try to listen without feeling like Im lecturing, Kleifgen added.

One of the biggest concerns is that the vaccine was rushed into production, but Kleifgen points out that theres never before been a worldwide effort with seemingly unlimited resources to develop one so quickly. He added that his discussions with children and their parents is a low pressure sale since his office doesnt currently offer the vaccine, although that could eventually change.

Most people have questions, and I respect that. I try to get to the specific concerns before firing off some facts and figures at them, Kleifgen said. Im trying to leverage the relationship as their pediatrician. Hopefully Im someone you trust. I have your kids best interest in mind. I trust the data.

Thats something ONeal, the state representative on the vaccine task force, has been particularly proud of as WHS has led the way in the vaccination effort in Washington County.

Theyve played a significant role to put medical professionals at the front of this, said ONeal, R-North Strabane. The trust for the government just isnt there.

But ONeal and others have growing concerns about a resurgence in COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people. He noted that the task force has found that more than 95% of the most serious illnesses and deaths from COVID-19 in Pennsylvania are occurring in people who still have not been vaccinated. ONeal said the task force is trying to focus its resources on educating ethnic minorities and people living in rural communities, where there is the greatest mistrust of the vaccine.

I definitely wouldnt describe it as a brick wall, ONeal said of the vaccination progress. There are many people who havent got it for a variety of reasons.

But with three vaccines readily available, its ultimately up to individuals to protect themselves and other in their community, said Adalja, the infectious disease expert in Pittsburgh.

The virus is completely in the hands of people who live in (the community), Adalja said. Any future deaths are completely self-inflicted.
We will be starting the moving around 9:05 PM ET

HERE

OP is a scaredy-cat, so let's do something kinda wholesome tonight. Thanksfor finishing up the Fear Street Trilogy. For my next trick, I will be screening the Amy Poehler helmed Netflix film, Moxie!Synopsis:and we'll be using the Chrome extension Teleparty. Unfortunately, Teleparty can only be used on desktops and laptops to chat. Here's some instructions on how to install Teleparty.
it's under "celebrity social media", OP!

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well there's my answer!! I kept looking under 'social media' and was coming up empty! 

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Gigi does seem like a sweetheart. I respect that she put a lot of work into modeling when she could have just coasted like Kendall.

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aww how sweet. This made me tear up lol



I'm glad Nanga has booked some more gigs

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I saw this and absolutely loved it! She seems like a genuinely sweet girl.

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That's really sweet. I love a wholesome celeb moment!

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gigi seems like a genuinely good egg, bless her



hope Nanga gets lots of work from this!

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This girl is the sister of Azah, whos currently a contestant on BB23!

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Omg is she really?! Azah is so gorgeous that family has amazing genes.

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Omg! Good ass genes in that family, Azah is also stunning

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for real?! that's awesome - I'm really liking Azah. AND MAN THOSE GENES.

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no way omgggg!

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Thats really nice

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This is nice and she's beautiful!

I'm glad she's getting more work now.

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She honestly seems like a good person.

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That turned out really great but what if she wasnt a model? Idk Gigi has a huge following and Id be mortified is someone shared a photo of me like this. Obviously Im ugleeh and I didnt mean in like a model context but do yall remember that crazy white girl who took a photo of an unsuspecting lady at her gym and posted it to her stories? Low key my worst nightmare so Im probably just projecting

Idk like I said this turned out great and shes stunning like absolutely stunning but I hate that our image and photos of us become property of the person that took them most times without consent

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Then the person probably could have said "I'm not a model, but I can do xyz" or "i'd like to be a model", but I do get your point. There have been plenty of people wo take photos of others at work and bother the hell out of them at their jobs and in public. I'm reminded of Alex from Target I think.

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Girl gigi wont post you if you're ugleeh so 

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jameela teas

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Thats not the point Christ

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Yeah I think its horrible when someone uploads a photo poking fun at someones appearance/weight or snooping into someones private life.



I would love for a situation like this instead haha although I think Id be startled at first N G L!

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I think it's different bc in this situation it was Gigi complimenting her and saying she was her inspiration, not mocking her

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Yeah that was my first reaction. Don't post private citizens. I'd be pissed. Gigi has a habit of not asking permission for this kind of stuff and getting in trouble.

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Yeah I agree. Im really private so having a candid pic posted to millions of people would freak me out. Even if the post was positive, comments can get out of hand.



However this is just from behind (no one would know it was her if she didnt say) and is a compliment so I guess it gets a pass from me.

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If a supermodel praised my looks online, I think Id be stoked. Whatever youre reaching for doesnt live here.

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I love stuff like this too.  Just little compliments or acts of kindness from strangers can help me get out of my negative headspace.



Sending good vibes to Nanga Awasum.

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Love this post! So heartwarming

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Bitcoin mining continues to rely predominantly on electricity generated from fossil fuels despite the heightened attention to the climate toll of crypto mining.

Kazakhstan, where fossil fuels make up nearly all the energy mix, has seen its global share of Bitcoin mining surge in recent months, just ahead of a Chinese crackdown on the mining of the worlds most popular cryptocurrency.

The Chinese authorities crackdown on crypto mining saw more than 90 percent of Chinas Bitcoin mining capacity shut down as of last month.

The Chinese ban didnt mean that crypto mining has ever stopped. Miners just had to find new markets to do it. One of those places is Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country rich in oil, gas, and coal resources, New Scientists technology reporter Matthew Sparkes notes.

Kazakhstan noted the rise in crypto mining activitywith power generated from fossil fuels, mostly coaland decided at the end of June to levy a surcharge of electricity for crypto miners. The additional fee is expected to come into force at the beginning of 2022, blockchain and Bitcoin magazine ForkLog reported.

Cryptocurrency mining has recently attracted a lot of attention because of the large amount of energy it sucks. Elon Musk, who had said earlier this year that people could buy Teslas with Bitcoin, backtracked on this promise a few weeks later, saying that crypto mining is still largely powered by fossil fuel-derived energy. Most recently, Musk said last month that Tesla may start accepting cryptocurrency again if crypto mining becomes green.

Kazakhstan, where renewables accounted for just 1.4 percent of the energy mix in 2018, per International Energy Agencys (IEA) data, saw its global Bitcoin mining share jump almost six-fold from 1.4 percent in September 2019 to 8.2 percent in April 2021, catapulting it to third place in global mining power share, new research from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) showed on Thursday. The report found that Chinas share was declining sharply even before the government crackdown in June. Chinas share of total Bitcoin mining power fell from 75.5 percent in September 2019 to 46 percent in April 2021, CCAF said.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
School officials in Nebraska are getting conflicting health guidance on whether students should quarantine next school year after contact with someone positive for COVID-19.

As a result, parents may have to wait a little longer for officials at their childs school to sort out how theyll handle such contacts.

The clock is ticking, though, with many schools starting in less than a month.

Under new guidance from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services dated July 7, a student who had contact would not have to quarantine.

The student could self-monitor for symptoms of the disease, and if symptoms appeared, the student would then isolate.

Thats significantly less stringent than the rules in effect during most of last school year.

As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was recommending quarantining for students who have close contact and are not vaccinated.

The CDC says vaccinated people who are showing no symptoms are not required to quarantine after a contact.

HHS and CDC both define contact as when an individual has been within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes in a 24-hour period.
Boys Town Mayor Maddie Hagan, a 17-year-old senior, was ecstatic be on the tour, though she was expecting somber moments when encountering places where people were brutalized.

She and Megan Lambert, a 16-year-old junior, said they planned to share what they learn with their peers, and to apply it in their lives as young Americans with an opportunity and responsibility to help change their world.

Its different to see this face to face than in a textbook, Hagan said.

Kristine Denton, principal of Minne Lusa Elementary School, leaped at the opportunity offered by OPS administrators. She said it would help her learn, grow and positively serve the community she works with.

And I love the whole message of not only learning our history, but being able to learn it through the lens of the students that are attending, so that we can come back and share not only the story of our past but the story of the future, because the teenagers going are just going to just grow and get a whole lot from this.

McMillan Magnet Middle School Principal Monica Green said she saw the trip as an opportunity for her as well as the students participating to understand how history affects people, including themselves.
Stothert, who was criticized for attending the U.S. Senior Open last weekend, signed off on an emergency declaration through Douglas County on Wednesday.

Still, some residents said they felt like the initial message from the city was: Youre on your own.

We dont ask the city for very much, said Michelle Jackson-Triplett, president of the Miller Park Minne Lusa Neighborhood Association. It felt like they kind of blew us off as well, youll have to figure out how to help yourselves. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. There were no bootstraps to pull. We had no boots.

Even amid the frustration, Omahans did rally to help one another.

Trent Hulett, owner of Precision Turf Omaha LLC, parked a dump trailer in his northwest Omaha driveway for people to dispose of debris so they could avoid long lines that developed at the citys drop-off sites earlier in the week. Hulett didnt refuse payment offers, but he also didnt require them.

I didnt give anybody a set price, just whatever they thought was fair or reasonable. And then, if they couldnt pay at all, that didnt bother me, he said. Im just here to help people out, get the debris out of their yard for them.
Signs advertising cannabis  complete with large, green marijuana leaves  have sprouted up across Nebraska.

From Benson to South 24th Street to midtown Omaha, in Kearney and Scottsbluff and Lincoln and Norfolk, gas stations, smoke shops and specialty stores are offering THC-laden edibles, smokable hemp and vape pens.

For nearly the past year, the hot seller at many of those shops has been Delta 8, a byproduct of the hemp plant thats chemically similar to Delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)  the chemical associated with the high effect produced by marijuana.

Experts say the Delta 8 products are less potent than their close cousin, marijuana. But Delta 8 is psychotropic, meaning that it produces a high.

Marijuana remains illegal in Nebraska, though hemp, which comes from the same plant, is legal. The 2018 federal farm bill legalized and regulated production of hemp, but no limits were placed on the derivatives of the hemp plant, including Delta 8. That created a loophole allowing for its sale.

Those who use Delta 8 say it has similar benefits as cannabidiol, or CBD, the non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis that some people use for sleep, or to treat pain or inflammation. CBD has been sold in Nebraska for a few years.

Shop owners say their customers range from 18-year-olds to 80-year-olds, some of whom use Delta 8 because they say it alleviates the effects of seizures, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Theres not a federally set age limit on the products, though minors cant purchase smokable products, and some shops dont sell to anyone under 21.

An Omaha police spokesman said sale of the substance is legal. Gov. Pete Ricketts, who opposes legalization of marijuana, has asked the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office to review the sale of Delta 8, his spokesman said.

Concerns have been raised nationally about its regulation and whether some of the products contain contaminants. Nebraska shop owners acknowledge that the growing market for Delta 8 and other hemp derivatives is unregulated, and they say its largely up to retailers to ensure that theyre selling quality products.

On the shelves at Greenlight Natural, located on Bensons main retail strip, products for sale include gummy candies, cake pops, cookies, oils, vape pens and even pre-rolled joints that contain Delta 8.

Greenlight Natural owner Chris Potratz said sales of Delta 8 have surpassed CBD.

Its pretty much the vast majority of what I sell, Potratz said. I would say nine out of 10 customers who come in are looking for Delta 8.

Its absolutely everywhere.

After years of discussion about allowing cultivation of hemp in Nebraska, the U.S. Congress cleared the way by legalizing it in the 2018 farm bill.

The law was hailed as a possible savior for Nebraska farmers, a small group of whom are in the early stages of trying their hand at growing hemp for commercial uses. Hemp can be used to produce items like cloth, paper and cosmetics.

Under the law, hemp must have less than 0.3% Delta 9 THC to be legal. But in opening the door to hemp, the farm bill also made legal derivatives found in hemp, including Delta 8  provided that the final product is below the 0.3% threshold.

Officer Michael Pecha, a spokesman for the Omaha Police Department, said: OPD monitors and checks on the shops selling these products to make sure they are selling items that are legal in Nebraska. If a business is found to be in violation, we will take enforcement action.

Ismail Dweikat, a professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the hemp plant produces more than 100 different cannabinoids that produce different effects when consumed, including CBD and Deltas 8 and 9.

Dweikat, who specializes in plant breeding and genetics, said Delta 8 is a minor cannabinoid with a low concentration of THC. A lower potency generally produces a less pronounced high feeling, he said.

Passage of the 2018 farm bill prompted the Nebraska Legislature to pass a complementary law in 2019 allowing cultivation of hemp. The law provided for the licensing and regulation of the new crop, and created the Nebraska Hemp Commission to promote hemp and its products.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, who introduced Nebraskas hemp bill, said in 2019 that he introduced the measure to create jobs in Nebraska and hoped that hemp processing facilities would sprout up in his North Omaha district.

In a recent interview, Wayne said lawmakers at the time didnt discuss the possibility of hemp derivatives that contain THC making their way into Omaha storefronts.

But Wayne, who supports legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, said he doesnt have a problem with the product.

Delta 8 doesnt bother me personally, Wayne said. Our laws and regulations have to catch up.

An opponent of Nebraskas hemp bill, State Sen. John Lowe of Kearney, warned at the time that the hemp bill could make it more difficult to hold the line on legalizing marijuana. He said he thought that the Legislature was going down a path without knowing the depth.

To be sure, the federal governments position on CBD and other hemp derivatives is confusing, the Harvard Medical School noted, as Delta 8 is still included on the Drug Enforcement Administrations list of controlled substances.

Some industry watchers have expressed concerns about a lack of oversight of Delta 8 and what may be in the products that contain it.

Large cannabis producers have been pushing to clamp down on Delta 8 after two tests of samples  one by the U.S. Cannabis Council trade group and another commissioned by Bloomberg News  found high levels of intoxicants in several of the products, as well as metals in some of them, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In recent months, 14 states, including Colorado and Iowa, have blocked the sale of Delta 8, citing lack of research into the compounds psychoactive effects, NBC News reported in June.

Wayne said he would like to explore consumer protection legislation related to Delta 8 to provide a framework to make sure that theres a healthy and safe product being offered.

Shiva Kumar, a co-owner of Lincoln-based CBD Remedies, said the highly unregulated nature of the market poses a challenge to consumers to ensure that theyre purchasing safe products. Its incumbent on retailers to know the source of their products, he said.

CBD Remedies includes consultants Andrea Holmes, a professor of chemistry at Doane University, and Dr. Amanda McKinney, a board-certified physician who is associate dean of health sciences at Doane.

Kumar, Holmes and McKinney said CBD Remedies products are tested by third-party labs and come with certificates of analysis that detail the potency and contaminant level of the product.

Products at Greenlight Natural, too, come with a QR code that a customer can scan with their smartphone. The code directs them to lab results showing information about the potency of the product and contaminant levels.

Holmes said generally speaking, the high feeling produced by Delta 8 is about four times less than what someone would feel after consuming Delta 9 THC from marijuana. But the difference isnt as clear-cut as that: Age, body type and the method of consumption all play a role in how someone will feel.

Its not one-size-fits-all, she said.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a measure to treat marijuana like alcohol or tobacco, allowing it to be taxed and regulated, though states could still outlaw its use. Under the proposal, those under 21 couldnt purchase it, and it would remain illegal to sell significant quantities without proper licensing and authorization.

In Nebraska, a push is underway to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana is collecting signatures to put the issue before voters in 2022.

That effort follows a similar one in 2020 that failed when the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the proposal violated a requirement that a ballot initiative stick to a single subject.

McKinney said she hopes that scientists and doctors who understand cannabis are included in discussions by state and federal leaders about regulation of such products, and in the larger conversation about legalization of marijuana.

Holmes said experiments and trials have shown Delta 8 to be a pretty powerful anti-inflammatory that can also help nausea in cancer patients, among other uses.

McKinney said, Im looking forward to that day (that marijuana is legalized), but right now were fighting all of these little battles  first it was CBD and now its Delta 8, and thats going to continue until its fully legal ... at the federal level.

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BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. God knows how I appreciate this.

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.
Rauch argues that one root of our current political crisis is an epistemic war, a battle over whether such a thing as objective truth exists  or whether politicians should be free, as one Trump aide argued, to invent alternative facts.

Rauchs title, The Constitution of Knowledge, refers to his argument that Americans with differing beliefs need to agree on basic principles about truth, just as politicians with differing views adhere to the same Constitution.

People need not and cannot all agree that the same things are true, but a critical mass needs to  support norms like freedom of expression, intellectual pluralism, commitment to learning and respect for factuality and truthfulness, he writes.

Is there a way out of this crisis?

There is, Rauch argues  but its going to take time and effort from a lot of people.

Media organizations have stopped mindlessly spreading Trumps most egregious lies, as some did in his first presidential campaign in 2016. Now they need to reinvest in fact-based journalism and in more and better fact-checking.
Even after the White House explained that federal workers would not be enlisted for this effort, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., warned that this could lay the groundwork to go door to door and take your guns. They could go door-to-door and take your Bibles.

Now that would be unconstitutional. But going to extraordinary lengths to fight a pandemic isnt. In 1796, Congress passed An Act Relative to Quarantine, authorizing the president to direct the revenue-officers and the officers commanding forts ... to aid in the execution of quarantine and in the execution of the health laws of the states.

The president was George Washington, a man with some passing knowledge of the Constitution.

But you dont have to go back centuries to understand that federal action is neither illegal nor unconstitutional. People go door to door all the time. The Census Bureau does it (and that is in the Constitution). Political campaigns do it, as do churches, charities and activist groups. Supporting local efforts to promote vaccination is a perfectly reasonable response to an ongoing pandemic (with new strains popping up) that has cost America more than 600,000 lives and trillions of dollars.

You can just say, Not interested.
And under this new system, how would the people express their will? How would they point the government toward the future they wanted for the country?

By voting.

Casting a ballot is the all-important linchpin of our constitutional system. It is the foundation of the American concept of government. It is hard to exaggerate how precious the right to vote is under our system. Any action that erodes the right strikes at the fundamental principle on which our system of government rests.

If Nebraska does implement a voter ID program at some point, it must include major safeguards to ensure that Americans retain full opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Note the language: Their right to vote. A right not just for some Americans, but for all.

Theres a second, powerful reason why present-day society should tread carefully in taking any steps that potentially could impede peoples voting: In our nations past, an enormous set of obstacles long blocked major segments of American society from being able to vote. Such restrictions denied the franchise to non-property-owning Americans; Blacks; women; Native Americans; Asian Americans; and residents born overseas.
Ruth McMaster, Omaha

Storm preparedness

When more than 150,000 OPPD customers were left without power because of a freak snowstorm on Oct. 25, 1997, it took more than a week to restore power.

Because of the proliferation of older, mature trees, especially silver maples, the east and north sections of Omaha were more vulnerable to downed lines and power restoration.

Now we find ourselves in a similar situation: A freak storm on July 10, 2021, pummeled Omaha with hurricane-force winds that downed mature silver maples, which resulted in downed power lines. More than 180,000 OPPD customers went without power.

OPPD crews got back to work to restore power. They are to be commended for their dedicated hard work.

But now, it has taken almost a week to restore power to the same areas of Omaha. Once again OPPDs explanation is that the proliferation of older, mature silver maples crashing into power lines made power restoration very difficult.

What steps were taken since 1997 to ensure that the OPPD power lines would not be affected in the same way?
Planting For Food and Jobs is a policy by President Akufo-Addo's administration to encourage Ghanaians in agriculture and also ensure food security in Ghana.



Ghana is said to have hardly suffered shortages in food supply despite the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.



In line with this policy was another initiative called ''Ghana Beyond Aid'' introduced by the government which was to ensure Ghana is self-dependent.



These two programmes are all aimed at stimulating Ghanaians to depend on their own, especially to purchase made-in-Ghana commodities.



In view of promoting the spirit for made-in-Ghana goods, Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, George Mireku Duker has disclosed that Ghana will in the next two years stop importing rice.



Speaking to host Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Hon. Mireku Duker, reading from a statement by the Agriculture Minister, said; ''They will ban rice importation by 2023''.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The deadly violence and looting that have rocked South Africa for the past week were planned, President Cyril Ramaphosa has alleged, during his first visit to areas affected by the worst unrest in the countrys post-apartheid era.



It is quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated, there were people who planned it and coordinated it, he said on Friday.



Ramaphosa made the remarks when he visited Ethikwini Municipality, which includes the port city Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province, one of the worst-hit areas in a week of looting that destroyed hundreds of businesses. At least 117 people have died, some shot and others killed in looting stampedes.



We are going after them, we have identified a good number of them, and we will not allow anarchy and mayhem to just unfold in our country, Ramaphosa told reporters.



The government said on Thursday that one of the suspected instigators had been arrested and 11 were under surveillance. In all, 2,203 people have been arrested during the unrest for various offences, including theft.



Ramaphosa did admit, however, that his government could have acted quicker to prevent the unrest and expressed concerns about growing racial tensions in KwaZulu-Natal.



Zuma jailed



Protests broke out a day after Ramaphosas predecessor Jacob Zuma, who wields support among the poor and loyalists in the governing African National Congress (ANC)  began a 15-month jail term for refusing to testify to a corruption investigation.



They quickly turned into looting as crowds pillaged shopping malls and warehouses, hauling away goods as police stood by, seemingly powerless to act.



South Africa has deployed more than 20,000 defence personnel to assist police in quelling the unrest.



In one of the largest troop deployments since the end of white minority rule in 1994, the government said 10,000 soldiers were on the streets by Thursday morning and the South African National Defence Force has also called up all of its reserve forces of 12,000 soldiers.



South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said that the government is now in control of most of the areas where there has been looting and riots.



There are still pockets of areas, where there continue to be some looting, she told Al Jazeera.



Local communities have stood their ground to repel any individuals, trying to enter businesses, Pandor said.



In the majority, it is now quiet. What we need to do is to maintain stability to start the process of rebuilding, she added.

Source: Aljazeera









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A police officer arrested by the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in connection with a robbery incident, involving a gold dealer from Burkina Faso, has been freed.



The Director-General in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), COP Isaac Ken Yeboah said the officer was freed after several attempts made by the police to get the Burkinabe, who is the complainant, to assist them with their investigations, failed.



He confirmed to Daily Guide that the CID office took over the case which was initially reported to the Tesano Police Station in Accra.



He said through their investigations, the police officer believed to be the driver in charge of the police vehicle used for the alleged $209,172 gold robbery incident, was arrested.



However, the CID boss said after several attempts were made by the investigators in charge of the case to get the complainant help identify the suspect had failed, the police had no option but to release the officer involved.



It would be recalled that, two police officers were on Monday, February 8, 2021, accused of robbing a business man of about $209,172 which was believed to be proceeds from a gold business.



The incident occurred at a spot near Abeka Lapaz, Accra, at about 1:30pm.



The policemen were said to be driving a police vehicle with registration, GP 3513, at the time of the alleged incident.



Superintendent Sheilla Abayie Buckman, Director in charge of the Public Affairs Department of the Police Headquarters, at the time of the incident had confirmed that a police officer who was in the police vehicle mentioned, was picked up to assist in investigations.



The suspected police officer was arrested same day the issue was reported at Tesano Police Station and he is assisting us with investigations, she had said but had refused to give details.







Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Firefighters battle the Tamarack Fire in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 32 square miles (82 square kilometers) as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said, and was burning toward the Alpine County Airport after jumping a highway.

A notice posted on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.

"It happened so fast," Pennington said. "We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left."

The Tamarack Fire burns behind a greenhouse in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Saturday's ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year during the coronavirus outbreak.

Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

"They just said this is just how it goes," Burgess said. "It's part of climate change to a certain extent, it's part of just a lot of fuels that are not burnt, the humidity is low, the fuel moisture levels are low, and ... around the state, many parts of it are much like a tinderbox."

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 kph) fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.

A scorched car rests on a roadside as the Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank. The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.

The fire was 453 square miles (1,173 square kilometers) in size, or more than 100 square miles larger than the area of New York City.

"This fire is large and moving so fast, every day it progresses 4 to 5 miles," said Incident Commander Joe Hassel. "One of the many challenges that our firefighters face every day is working in new country that can present new hazards all the time."

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves tied to climate change have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

A scorched car rests on a roadside as the Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In southern Oregon, fire crews have dealt with dangerous and extreme fire conditions, including massive "fire clouds" that rise up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze. The Bootleg Fire has destroyed at least 67 homes and 117 outbuildings.

The conflagration has forced 2,000 people to evacuate and is threatening 5,000 buildings, including homes and smaller structures in a rural area just north of the California border.

The Tamarack Fire sent heavy smoke over Lake Tahoe and into Nevada.

The National Weather Service warned of possible thunderstorms stretching from the California coast to northern Montana on Sunday and that "new lightning ignitions" are likely because of extremely dry fuels across the West.

Firefighters said in July they were facing conditions more typical of late summer or fall.

The Tamarack Fire burns behind a greenhouse in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

The fires were just two of numerous fires burning across the drought-stricken U.S. West, as new fires popped up or grew rapidly in Oregon and California.

There were 70 active large fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers) in the U.S., the National Interagency Fire Center said. The U.S. Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.

A fire in the mountains of northeast Oregon was also growing rapidly and was 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) in size on Saturday. The Elbow Creek fire started Thursday and has prompted evacuations in several small, rural communities around the Grande Ronde River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to mobilize more firefighters and equipment to help fight that fire.

The Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Flames lick at a roadside as the Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

A firefighter walks towards a home while battling the Tamarack Fire in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In this photo taken with a drone provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, a pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, is seen over the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Smoke and heat from a massive wildfire in southeastern Oregon are creating "fire clouds" over the blazedangerous columns of smoke and ash that can reach up to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and are visible for more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. Authorities have put these clouds at the top of the list of the extreme fire behavior they are seeing on the Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. Credit: Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP

Jessica Bell takes a video as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Benjamin Bell watches as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, the Bootleg Fire burns at night near Highway 34 in southern Oregon on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources. The Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., has torched more than 377 square miles (976 square kilometers), and crews had little control of it. Credit: Jason Pettigrew/Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, smoke from the Bootleg Fire rises behind the town of Bonanza, Ore., on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources. The Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., has torched more than 377 square miles (976 square kilometers), and crews had little control of it. Credit: Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP

Smoke rises from the Dixie Fire burning along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, columns of smoke from the Bootleg Fire rise behind a water tender in southern Oregon on Friday, July 16, 2021. Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources. The Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., has torched more than 377 square miles (976 square kilometers), and crews had little control of it. Credit: Lisa Chambers/Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP

Smoke billows behind power lines as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Jessica Bell watches as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Jessica and Benjamin Bell watch as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

The Dixie Fire, near the 2018 site of the deadliest fire in the U.S. in recent memory, was 5% contained and covered 39 square miles Saturday. The fire was in the Feather River Canyon, northeast of the town of Paradise, California, and survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched warily as the new blaze burned.

Officials ordered the evacuation of a wilderness recreation area and kept in place a warning for residents of the tiny communities of Pulga and east Concow to be ready to leave.

"We're prepared," said Mike Garappo, a retired military veteran. "We've dealt with fires living in the mountains forever. We know there's a chance it may not hit here, but we're ready to go in case."

Explore further California fire cancels bike ride, prompts evacuations

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
In this Jan. 11, 1961 file photo, then Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn reaches for controls inside a Mercury capsule procedures trainer as he shows how the first U.S. astronaut will ride through space during a demonstration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Center in Langley Field, Va. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival from July 16 through July 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/File

John Glenn has been honored over the weekend with a three-day festival in Ohio marking what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday.

Glenn, who died in 2016, was the first American to orbit Earth, making him a national hero in 1962. Before that, he served as a military fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War and set a transcontinental air speed record. In 1998, he became the oldest person ever to go into space at 77. He spent 24 years as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

The John Glenn Centennial Celebration Friday to Sunday was a collaboration between Cambridge, where Glenn was born on July 18, 1921, and nearby New Concord, where he grew up and met his late wife, Annie, who died last year at 100 of complications from COVID-19.

Lyn Glenn, the late senator's daughter, watched parade floats go by Saturday from the front porch of her father's boyhood home, a place she felt at home, too.

"We moved around a lot as a family, and so they always brought us back here for holidays because this is the most consistent place in my life," she told the Zanesville Times Recorder. "Coming back here is so familiar, and it's so personal as well."

The paper reports that one admirer after the other approached Lyn Glenn throughout the day to share their memories, and they included Glenn Schuck, a reporter from New York City named for her father a few years after his orbit of the planet.

In this June 18, 1963, file photo, astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, poses before a Project Mercury tracking station at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival from July 16 through July 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo, File

In this Jan. 2, 1962, file photo, astronaut John Glenn climbs into the "Friendship 7" Mercury capsule at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival from July 16 through July 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/File

In this Feb. 20, 2012, file photo, U.S. Sen. John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival from July 16 through July 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File

In this Jan. 25, 2012, file photo, former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn poses for a photo during an interview at his office in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival from July 16 through July 18, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File

Edward and Jill Schuck wrote to John Glenn letting him know they'd be naming their son after him, not expecting a response. Instead, they got a letter from NASA with photos signed by Glenn for his namesake in New Jersey and a letter to the boy's parents saying he was honored by their gesture.

Those correspondences would continue throughout Schuck's childhood. In 1969, when Schuck was 5, Neil Armstrong walked the moon. John Glenn made sure to have signed photos sent to Schuck to commemorate the historic occasion.

"I would get stuff from him like all the time in the mail without even asking," Schuck said.

The weekend's festivities were also to include a presentation by ex-shuttle astronaut and fellow Ohioan Don Thomas, rocket car rides, space movies and rides in the type of biplane a young Glenn flew over Cambridge. Other commemorations of Glenn's birth a century ago are planned in the area all month.

Explore further Events expanding to mark 100 years since John Glenn's birth

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
German animal rights activists throw toy chicks into a fake shredding machine to protest the killing of male chicks.

France will outlaw the culling of male chicks in the poultry industry in 2022 after years of protests from animal welfare activists, Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said Sunday.

Millions of male chicks are killed after hatching every year, most often by being shredded or gassed with carbon dioxide, because they do not produce eggs and do not grow as large as females.

Farmers say no practical and affordable ways exist to tell a chick's sex in the egg at mass production facilities, and an EU directive from 2009 authorises shredding as long as it causes "immediate" death for chicks less than 72 hours old.

But opponents denounce unnecessary cruelty and point to improving techniques for finding males before they hatch.

"As of January 1, 2022, all poultry hatcheries will have to have installed or ordered machines letting them learn a chick's sex in the egg," Denormandie told the daily Le Parisien.

"2022 will be the year when shredding and gassing of male chicks ends in France," he said, saying the law would prevent the killing of 50 million male chicks every year.

The state will provide a financial aid package of 10 million euros ($11.8 million) to help farmers buy the necessary equipment, he added.

The move comes after Germany said in January that it would also ban the controversial practice next year.

Switzerland banned the shredding of live chicks last year, but still allows them to be gassed.

Explore further Swiss government bans 'shredding' of male chicks

 2021 AFP
GLENS FALLS  The Glens Falls baby who police said was assaulted by his father has died.

Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Seth French said Sunday that the nearly 8-week-old infant died on Saturday at Albany Medical Center from injuries he suffered on July 4.

French said he had no further information to release at this time. An update would likely come on Monday, he said.

Police said the boys father, 19-year-old Tyler Zaugg, struck the baby in the head and torso with a closed fist. The infant had a brain injury and cracked ribs.

Zaugg had been alone with the infant in their Broad Street apartment and police determined that he harmed the boy.

Zaugg was indicted on July 9 on felony charges of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He may face more charges in the wake of the babys death.

His girlfriend, Delaney Locke, had told police that Zaugg had been watching the infant while she was at her mothers home. Zaugg had called her to say that the baby had slipped in the tub when he was giving him a bath and he needed to come home.
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Shore towns seeing rash of rowdy youths, and many blame state's approach

Bill Barlow / Bill Barlow, Staff Writer Ocean City Boardwalk JOHN RUSSO, Staff Writer Greyhound Poker Palace owner Jared Nesi says he sometimes sees up to 200 kids hanging around, being loud and causing a scene. JOHN RUSSO, Staff Writer James and Debbie Rusin, of Audubon, Camden County, have a home in Avalon and frequent the Boardwalk and beach about once a week. They said police may be limited in their response but that youths dont appear to be doing anything warranting harsher action. JOHN RUSSO PHOTOS, Staff Writer I want them to have a good time, but they must gravitate (to this area) and communicate like flash mobs.  The police chase them off and they just come back. I dont think a curfew is going to change anything, said Bob Pryzwara, 60, of Avalon, with his niece Emily Fossler, 32, and her husband, Bryan Fossler, 34, both of Madison, Wisconsin. Pryzwara has a condo near the end of the Boardwalk on 32nd Street.

Amid a recent wave of public disturbances committed by youths at the Jersey Shore, many local officials believe the states new approach to juvenile justice is to blame.

In several towns, officials have begun to voice their struggles in dealing with large crowds of teenagers allegedly disrupting businesses and destroying property. Residents on social media have shared this frustration, with the topic being a regular discussion on Facebook shore community pages. Concerns over the situation have made it as far as Gov. Phil Murphys office.

Jared Nesi, owner of Greyhound Poker Palace, an arcade at 29th Street and the Avalon Boardwalk, says he has had a lot of issues all summer with large crowds of juveniles hanging out in front of his arcade and then coming in and causing a scene while spending little to no money.

The 68-year-old Marmora resident, who has owned the business for about 25 years, said in all his time with the arcade, this is the worst its been. Hes frustrated the police arent allowed to do anything about it outside of warnings.

The 11 p.m. Boardwalk curfew doesnt help him either since he also closes at 11.

Weve had about 200 kids out here, bikes parked in the street and blocking the whole street. Cars cant move, Nesi said Wednesday. They (the kids) dont care. Theyll do what they want, stand where they want and the cops arent allowed to do anything.

According to Jody Levchuk, an Ocean City councilman and business owner on that citys Boardwalk, juveniles are well aware of the limitations placed on police. He said teens have gathered on the Boardwalk for decades, and have drawn the ire of some adults for just as long. But this year, young people have a new confidence that there is little police can do.

For instance, he said if he catches a young person shoplifting, the juvenile knows officers cannot search them. He said he is much more likely to be cursed out than to receive an apology.

Im inconveniencing my shoplifter, I know, Levchuk said.

Some believe that reckless behavior stems from the states recent changes to its juvenile justice policy, which states officers should avoiding detaining and charging minors in all but the most serious cases. Instead, there is a greater emphasis on curbside warnings.

Alex Panas, a 19-year-old from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, thinks Ocean City should follow Avalons lead and consider a curfew.

When I hang out with my friends, we try to hang out in a small group, Panas said. I usually see a lot of what occurs on the Boardwalk on social media, like Snapchat. I think a curfew would be best for small businesses. Working on the Boardwalk, I see how bothersome some groups of teens can be, but kids will always be kids.

Tyler McKelvey, 17, agreed.

I work here every day, so I think its childish that many teens decide to come onto the Boardwalk and the beach to do stupid stuff, the Pleasantville resident said. It really depends on the group of friends. Maybe the curfew can be enacted towards a certain age, like anyone under the age of 16 should be home by 10 (p.m.).

Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi, among others, places blame squarely on the Governors Office.

The state is directly responsible for unlawful conduct which compromises public safety, Pagliughi said. From juvenile justice reform, the elimination of bail in many cases to threats of charging police officers with third-degree crimes for investigating potential offenses, the responsibility for the proliferation of this conduct starts where it was authorized, in the hands of the governor who signs this legislation.

The intention of the directive was to keep young people out of the criminal justice system, but its already proven to be divisive. While some deem it necessary to make sure the next generations dont go down the wrong path, others think it strips police of too much power and gives teenagers free rein to do as they please.

Last week, a Beach Haven Council special meeting attracted more than 200 residents virtually and in person, complaining of the same issues affecting Avalon.

Three months earlier, Ocean City and Atlantic City dealt with their own problems. In Ocean City, Boardwalk visitors complained of dangerous bicycle riders, and in Atlantic City, a Boardwalk robbery ended in a store owner dying from a heart attack.

Just last week, close to midnight Thursday, police in Ocean City had to break up a fight involving several juveniles. Witnesses reported seeing a large group of young people involved in an altercation, with at least 80 people involved.

Longport has also reported large crowds of juveniles, but Chief Frank Culmone said it only happened once on May 28, and they were dispersed without incident.

Asked about it during a coronavirus briefing Monday, Murphy did not say whether the state would reconsider the new policy but said the majority of people are behaving.

Beach Haven residents, council seeking solutions to disruptive teen crowds BEACH HAVEN  Borough residents said Fourth of July weekend was one of the worst they've ever seen when it comes to crowds of rowdy teenagers.

I think there are a lot of reasons why folks are behaving the way they are, Murphy said. Coming out of a pandemic when youve been locked down, when youve been going to school remotely, when youve been working remotely ... Id throw in that hot-as-heck weather, which is always an ingredient. The shore is booming.

I would just ask everybody, we understand youve been cooped up 16 months. We get it. We know its hot as heck outside. Please behave responsibly.

For state Sen. Mike Testa, that wasnt enough.

Its not just Avalon where this is happening, Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said in a statement following the briefing. All across New Jersey, Gov. Murphy has stripped police of their power to enforce the law and protect the public while clear violations are being committed before their eyes. Kids know theyre above the law, and theyre taking advantage of it.

Not everyone shares that strong sentiment. Some feel that kids around that age are liable to act a certain way, but the pandemic may have just amplified it.

James and Debbie Rusin, of Audubon, Camden County, have a home in Avalon. They frequent the beach and Boardwalk there about once a week.

After last year, its really great people are finally out and enjoying themselves, James Rusin said. Lets face it, teenagers in that 14- to 21-year-old range can be unruly at times.

While Debbie Rusin agreed to some degree that police are limited in their responses, she didnt think the kids are doing anything warranting harsh action.

Theyre not malicious. They can get a little rowdy, she said. And its a shame the police are handcuffed. I dont think they should arrest them, but they should disperse them.

William McKnight, a criminal justice professor at Stockton University and former Atlantic City police officer, said he understands why the state implemented the new policy but it should be revisited.

The intent was good. Keep them out of the criminal justice system, he said, but wow, with the stuff that Im hearing and reading about, its disturbing.

With the governor giving no clear indication on the states willingness to revisit the guidelines, McKnight said the best police can do in the meantime is to continue building positive relationships with their communities.

Having grown up in Atlantic City as a youngster, I knew the cops and the cops knew me, McKnight said. If I did something wrong, well, maybe they didnt catch me but they certainly would talk to my parents and they would know. Then I would deal with the consequences there.

Staff Writer Bill Barlow and Adriana Alfaro contributed to this report.

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DENNIS TOWNSHIP  Puff, a three-month-old pony foal, lays in the hay in a patch of sunshine on a July Sunday morning, seemingly without a care in the world.

Life did not start out easy, though. His mother was already pregnant when she arrived at Starfish Equine Rescue on Hagen Road. At birth, he was reluctant to feed.

I stayed up all night, said Abby Revoir, who founded and runs the rescue. It was almost 4:30 a.m. when he finally took the bottle. She named him for his forelock, a puff of soft, light hair at the top of his head. She said Puff seems to think of her like an additional mother.

Puff is one of about 18 rescued animals at the center that runs parallel to Revoirs Star Hollow Stables, which offers riding lessons, a camp and boarding for some of the students horses. The name emphatically does not come from Stars Hollow, the fictional small town in Connecticut in The Gilmore Girls, although Renoir said since she named the center many people have told her she looks like a character from the show.

The rescued animals at the center include mules and race horses, former work horses and ponies. Some had been abandoned, malnourished or mistreated. Most were bond for slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada, Revoir said.
Clinton is now sober and in the process of moving into her first home with her children and her boyfriend, Miguel.

When Clinton heard the needle exchange program was at risk of being repealed by City Council, she was shocked.

+3 Advocates gather to save Atlantic City needle exchange ATLANTIC CITY  A group of nearly 30 people gathered across from City Hall on Tuesday to pro

If you get rid of this, where are these people going to go to get help? Clinton said. People think its a program that just allows people to keep using (drugs), but thats not true. It helps keep people safe, from spreading diseases.

Harm reduction experts, health care professionals and advocates have a grave prediction if the program is shuttered.

People will die, said Jenna Mellor, executive director of the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition. It really is that straightforward: People will die.

The program, which was the first needle exchange to open in New Jersey in 2007, has long been debated by city officials. Council cast the first vote for an ordinance to repeal the program during a June 16 meeting. In a 7-2 vote, the members overwhelmingly supported getting rid of the needle exchange.

Were only one town. When do our children come first? Council President George Tibbitt said during the meeting. Share the burden, we cant handle it all.
WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING OF STARZ' HEELS SET FOR NYC

The 92nd Steet Y, a big cultural hub in New York City, announced they will be hosting the world premiere screening of the forthcoming Starz drama Heels on 7/29.

Following the screening, actors Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig, Alison Luff, James Harrison and executive producer Mike OMalley will take part in an in-depth conversation about the series.

The official promotional material for the series notes, "Set in a tightly-knit Georgia community and telling the story of two brothers (played by Amell and Ludwig) chasing their dreams of becoming professional wrestlers and the people in their orbit, Heels is a gripping drama that tells the story of small town America like nothing else. Hear them discuss the making of the show  their intensive training, blurring the line between heroes and villains (or heels, as theyre called in the wrestling world), stories from behind the scenes, and more."

The one hour Starz drama is built around the story two brothers, one a babyface and the other a heel inside the ring, and the struggles they have both on camera and behind the scenes after the death of their father, the promoter of the Georgia-based wrestling promotion they both work for and have now inherited. Amell will be playing Jack Spade, the heel brother.

CM Punk will be appearing in at least one, possibly more episodes. Longtime wrestler and stunt actor Luke Hawx (Logan, The Fate of the Furious) is the wrestling coordinator for the series. A number of other wrestlers including Doc Gallows, Steve Richards, Perry Hawx and J Spade have also filmed roles for the series.

Heels will debut on Starz on 8/13.

For ticket information to the premiere, click here.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Mogerman first met Springfield resident Julie Cellini when the two were in the Junior League of Springfield. They became close friends, according to Cellini, 79, the 2015 State Journal-Register First Citizen.

Cellini said Mogerman became interested in and joined the campaign that Cellini, a community volunteer, spearheaded to develop a library devoted to Springfield's most famous citizen and the nation's 16th president.

Cellini said Mogerman began working with her in the 1980s on the frustrating but eventually fruitful task of generating enthusiasm among state, local and national leaders for a Lincoln presidential library.

"It seems strange now, but it was very, very tough," Cellini said. "Just getting anybody to have interest in it  it took years.

"Susan was, for me, the go-to person," Cellini said.

Mogerman acted as a sounding board and was an expert writer and communicator whose roots in journalism fueled her passion for establishing a place where the whole story of "the president who saved this nation" could be told, Cellini said.

"A journalist can never resist a good story," Cellini said. "What better story was there than Abraham Lincoln? Lincoln is such a universal figure. It goes way beyond Springfield."
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa  Hy-Vee Inc. will again partner with Kelloggs and Keurig Dr Pepper for the second year of its End Summer Hunger campaign. This year, Chobani has also joined the campaign that helps to provide meals to children and families in need through the Feeding America network of food banks. During the month of July, for every qualifying purchase made at a Hy-Vee grocery store, Kelloggs, Keurig Dr Pepper, Chobani and Hy-Vee will help provide one meal to families in need this summer.

COVID-19 has caused the number of people experiencing food insecurity to double in many areas across our eight-state region. Even as the pandemic wanes, the increase in those who are food insecure remains at an all-time high and will continue to be for quite some time, Tina Potthoff, senior vice president of communications for Hy-Vee, said in a news release. Hy-Vee, along with our partners, are proud to support Feeding America with this campaign to ensure families have access to meals no matter what time of year it is.

During the school year, 22 million children have access to free or reduced-cost meals at school. But less than 4 million kids receive similar meals through USDA Summer Food Service Programs, leaving a gap of 18 million children who may not know where their meals will come from over the summer.
She lived by herself and it just really exacerbated her substance use from the start of the shelter-in-place, Hassler said.

Robert Duckels, 47 of Carlinville, knows firsthand how working from home can worsen an addiction.

About three years ago, before COVID-19, the attorneys drinking problem became more severe as he worked from home. He stashed liquor bottles throughout his house to drink in secret, away from the eyes of his children and wife, who were mostly at work and school during the day.

Though Duckels didnt work and drink at the same time, I would arrange my workdays around how and when I would get my work done so I could drink, Duckels said. When youre not being watched then it is much easier to feed your addiction in a way that will cause your body to get used to more consumption consistently throughout the day.

He managed, for a time, to do his job despite his addiction. But when he reached a low point, and he finally told his law firm that he was an alcoholic and needed to take a leave to go to rehab, his bosses didnt seem very surprised, he said. He believes he would have eventually lost his job as his drinking worsened and his productivity continued to slide.
IN THE NEWS

Sentencing delayed in Tibbetts case

A judge delayed sentencing for the man convicted of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts after defense lawyers said they needed time to investigate new information pointing to other potential suspects. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 27, was scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday before his lawyers revealed newly obtained information that they say might implicate a sex trafficking ring in her kidnapping and death. Defense lawyers requested a new trial, saying two witnesses recently came forward to partially support Riveras testimony.

Home test: Test Iowa, the states free COVID-19 testing program, will transition from testing at drive-thru sites to providing access to free, self-administered test kits. Iowans will be able to receive a free kit, collect a saliva sample at home, return the sample by UPS, and receive results through email.

Plane crash: Two people died after a private airplane they were on crashed in rural Muscatine County. Muscatine County Sheriff Quinn Riess said the victims names are being withheld until after an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma Republican Party members have rejected a resolution to censure the state's two GOP U.S. senators for not objecting to the Electoral College votes that certified Democrat Joe Biden as president on Jan. 6.

In the vote Saturday, 122 members of the Republican State Committee opposed the nonbinding resolution to censure U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford, while 93 supported it. The resolution also called for them to resign.

Inhofe has said that not voting to certify the Electoral College votes would be a violation of his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution.

Lankford was among more than a dozen senators who initially objected to the certification of the 2020 election results. He changed his mind after insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Inhofe called Saturday's vote a step toward uniting the Oklahoma Republican Party against Democrats and Bidens agenda.
The district said this was higher than expected and could indicate decision-making based on the real or perceived reputation of the Davenport schools.

Of the 131 transfer requests for which the district has demographic information available, 70% were white students and just 8% were black, according to school data. The districts student body is 53% white and 20% black.

Davenport superintendent T.J. Schneckloth said the new law is what it is. He said the district is attempting to offset the transfers impact by highlighting the education services and opportunities for students to succeed that it offers.

What were going to do is, were going to make Davenport the destination of choice, Schneckloth said. The only thing that we can do is move forward and make Davenport the place to be, and thats what we intend to do.

Schneckloth said the transfers could also create financial issues for the district, which budgets for an expected enrollment figure and could wind up with a significantly different number. He said he could not provide a dollar amount for the financial impact of the transfers or forecast what the final enrollment number will be, but that the district will need to be able to somehow forecast that impact in the future.
Pritzker, who has made positive comments about the bill since its passage, hasn't said whether he will sign it into law. Pritzker didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, D-Hillside, didn't join in the GOP's call for a tweaking of the bill through an amendatory veto. He wants to see the bill signed into law, and he supports "continuing conversations" about how to further strengthen ethics protections, according to spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll.

"The speaker believes this ethics package is a sound, bipartisan first step to reforming Springfield," Driscoll said.

She said Reps. Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park, and Maurice West, D-Rockford, members of the ethics commission, "have committed to continuing conversations about how to strengthen and improve the legislation. But this ethics reform bill is needed and benefits the people of Illinois."

Bourne voted for the bill, saying in the House debate on May 31 that it contained "some tiny pieces of small steps in the right direction."
Additionally, she said nurses can become emotionally exhausted when they dont have a sense of control and that nurses need a sense of community within the workplace.

She said emotional exhaustion may not be apparent within the nursing unit, but can manifest itself in a variety of ways.

There are emotional aspects, such as not wanting to do anything with our friends and family. We just want to go home, stay home and not interact with people and our tempers become short. We also can see it with things like depression or stomach aches, she explained.

Williams said it is the very nature of nursing  the call to care for others  that makes the job challenging, especially when patients suffer or pass.

In this job you take things personally, Williams said. We get to know these patients and their families and we make connections. It can be really difficult.

Steve Marlow, administrator of The Voyage, an assisted living facility in Murphysboro, said more has been asked of nurses during the pandemic.

With all of the extra hours, all of the extra precautions in all environments, its really been a strain on the nursing staffs, he said. Burnout is the real deal.
Taking them all together, said Sir David King, chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, these are casualties of the climate crisis: we will only see these extreme weather events become more frequent.

For Diederik Samsom, the European Commission's Cabinet chief behind this week's massive proposals to spend billions and force industry into drastic reforms to help cut the bloc's emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55% this decade, this week's disaster was a cautionary tale.

People are washed away in Germany ... and Belgium and the Netherlands, too. We are experiencing climate change," he said on a conference call of the European Policy Centre think tank. "A few years ago, you had to point to a point in the future or far away on the planet to talk about climate change. It's happening now  here.

And climate scientists point toward two specific things that have contributed to this week's calamity.

First, with every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in temperature, the air can take in 7% more humidity. It can hold the water longer, leading to drought, but it also leads to an increase in dense, massive rainfall once it releases it.
MOSCOW (AP)  Heavy smoke from raging wildfires covered the Russian city of Yakutsk and 50 other Siberian towns and settlements Sunday, temporarily halting operations at the city's airport.

Russia has been plagued by widespread forest fires, blamed on unusually high temperatures and the neglect of fire safety rules, with the Sakha-Yakutia region in northeastern Siberia being the worst affected.

Local emergency officials said 187 fires raged in the region on Sunday, and the total area engulfed by blazes has grown by 100,000 hectares (about 247,000 acres) in the past 24 hours.

The situation with wildfires in our republic is very difficult. I repeat that we are experiencing the driest summer in the past 150 years in Yakutia, and the month of June was the hottest on record. This, together with the dry thunderstorms that occur nearly daily in our republic, brought about significant wildfires," Aysen Nikolayev, Yakutia's governor, told reporters.

Smoke from the fires covered 51 towns, settlements and cities in the region, including the capital Yakutsk, forcing authorities to suspend all flights in and out of the city.
And if you think contorted districts are necessary to protect minorities, I have a bridge I want to sell you. The map of Chicago neighborhoods (Google it) shows relatively compact racial and ethnic groupings.

GOP leaders should be expressing more outrage over the maps, which are gratuitously abusive of both elected Republicans and of just plain citizens like you and me.

Think of the voters in these giraffe-neck districts. How in the world will they ever know which district they are in, who represents them, and of whom to contact when they might have a problem with Illinois government?!

We wouldnt be facing such atrocious maps had not the state high court in 2016 blocked a petition drive signed by 700,000 voters. The ballot proposal would have allowed voters to determine if they wanted an independent commission to draw maps, without partisan gerrymandering.

But the court, in a vote of four Democrats over three Republicans, blocked this opportunity. The majority opinion was the most contrived bit of jurisprudence since the Dred Scott decision, which prompted the Civil War.
Bob Sticklings letter of July 7 on the increase in gun violence addresses a national problem. President Joe Biden doesnt target only Democratic cities, although the letter listed some. Surely there are more Democratic cities with increasing gun fire. There are mushrooming killings in 25 Republican states, unfortunately. Could it be an American problem, regardless of party?

Now with the NRA disintegrating because of its officer's fraud and bankruptcies, skyrocketing gun sales have a life if its own. From 393 million a few years ago to 470 million. We have the best armed citizens in the world. In Iowa, gunmen can "carry" combat-grade weapons with dozens of flesh shredding bullets. Thanks to Governor Kim Reynolds' "stand your ground" law, should you believe your life is threatened, you may open fire. Is that a sensible way to govern Iowa?

The bullets have the same result with Democrats and Republicans, as well as the unarmed.

On the other hand, is it possible to try to mitigate the slaughter? I hope you agree that its worth a try.

Incidentally Mr. Stickling, President Biden isnt senile, but you may be confused because he speaks in sentences instead of gibberishly unfinished phrases.

Don Wagschal

Davenport

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Climate migrants are placing stress on the Valley. Average home prices have risen 38% in the past five years, with 10.2% of that in the past year, according to a recent Zillow estimate. Forty-four new homes were sold in the first six months of 2021, with a median sale price almost 23% higher than in the same period of 2020, according to local appraiser Darwin Ernst.

Many of those have wells and septic systems, depleting groundwater and potentially polluting what remains. Many newcomers have built or purchased homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), which comprises 3% of Ravalli County. These homes are vulnerable to wildfires, which are likely to continue to become more common as our climate warms and summers become drier. Additional homes in the WUI mean additional stress on emergency services.

Besides stressing the housing market, reducing open land, and increasing homes in the WUI, new migrants to our valley crowd and degrade the amenities that make the Bitterroot attractive. National forests and wilderness areas are becoming more crowded and their trails are eroding from overuse. There is increased hunting and fishing pressure on our fish and wildlife, plus more people on the ski slopes and cross country ski and bike trails. There is increased demand for valley services, like water, sewer and power, and infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, schools, libraries and fire departments.
Saturday's ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year during the coronavirus outbreak.

Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

They just said this is just how it goes, Burgess said. "Its part of climate change to a certain extent, its part of just a lot of fuels that are not burnt, the humidity is low, the fuel moisture levels are low, and ... around the state, many parts of it are much like a tinderbox.

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 kph) fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.
Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.

A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up  their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.

It may only be possible to clear up in weeks how much damage needs to be compensated, he said.

Steinmeier said that people in the affected areas need continuing support.

Many people here in these regions have nothing left but their hope, and we must not disappoint this hope, he said.

In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.

The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged. Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.
This summer is shaping up to be a much better season for Virginia Beach hoteliers, who are still digging out of the COVID-19 trench. The tide started to turn in May. Memorial Day weekend was one of the best weekends the area has had in a long time, said John Zirkle, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association. It was hopping. But its going to take a long time for the numbers to ...
The obvious source for positive returns in bonds during 2021s robust economic recovery is high-yield, or junk, a category always known to piggyback on rollicking growth and booming oil prices.

But as usual, tax-exempt bonds are also in the green.

The numbers for 2021 are not spectacular. For example, a clutch of broad-based municipal indexes is up 0.5% to 1%. (Returns are through June 4.)

Even so, municipals prices are not nearly as sensitive to interest-rate bumps as are Treasuries or corporate bonds. There is less trading, and more municipal bondholders stay put until maturity, so the prices are stickier until and unless rates seriously soar.

And the perception now is that high-income investors are due for big income tax increases, so they are frantic for shelters, and tax-free bonds are easy to buy.

But tax-policy talk is always a questionable explanation for municipal bonds success.

It seems that many investors just do not want a tax liability when it is optional. It doesnt matter whether their personal tax rate is low, they live in a tax-haven state, or Congress puts them into a combined 50% state and local bracket.
LONDON (AP)  Graham Vick, a British director who founded Birmingham Opera Company and worked in opera houses around the world, has died of complications from COVID-19. He was 67.

Birmingham Opera said it was devastated to announce that Vick, its artistic director, died Saturday.

Born in Birkenhead in northwest England in 1953, Vick was a champion of taking opera to the people. As director of productions at Scottish Opera in the 1980s, he toured productions to remote communities. After setting up a company in Englands second city, Birmingham, in 1987, he staged operas in nontraditional venues including factories, warehouses and nightclubs.

In Birmingham we go out and find our audience; meeting them on their own ground, Vick said in a 2016 speech. He said he believed that you do not need to be educated to be touched, to be moved and excited by opera. You only need to experience it directly at first hand with nothing getting in the way.

Vick was director of productions at Englands Glyndebourne opera festival between 1994 and 2000, and directed for leading companies including New Yorks Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera in London and La Scala in Milan. He was known for his bold, innovative stagings of both traditional and modern works.
The Library of Virginia, by restoring the Evergreen records, is providing support to open the pathway for families to discover the burial plots of their loved ones and possibly many other unknown family histories, said Larry Clark, president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogy Society, Greater Richmond VA Chapter. Having clear and accurate cemetery records is critical to the Evergreen families quests to understand the history and lives of their ancestors. Unfortunately, at times, this is the only information that can be found pertaining to an ancestors birth and death information.

Stuart Scott, a local church leader in the Richmond area, said Evergreen Cemetery is a significant historic site, but that its well-known as a place thats fallen into disrepair. Evergreen, according to the Library of Virginia, was formed before the city in 1919 started requiring perpetual care funds for new cemeteries.

As a result, both cemeteries fell into states of disrepair, the librarys guide to the collection says.

Scott said the preservation of Evergreen and its historic records are important to understanding history and peoples ancestry.
Collaborative member Dominique Chatters, whose four children are enrolled in the countys public school system, told the crowd of about 40 people gathered around the steps about disparities shes observed in schools, which motivated her to advocate for children. Chatters on Saturday advocated for people to accept, learn about and teach the history of civil rights and racial injustice.

Respectfully, shut up and listen, she said to the crowd. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. We need to listen more and talk less. We need to listen to the voices, of the voices we normally do not hear. Theres nothing wrong with reaching out to your neighbors and the people in your neighborhood to find out their opinions, but wouldnt it be better to reach across another neighborhood, at another school, at another district to see how things are going there?
I now teach one or two students at a time, here in my backyard, he said. Most of my students are retired officers of some type, one a retired police captain, another a U.S. Army vet, still another a retired air marshal.

He keeps teaching and writing because he likes to pass along what hes learned, and because hes been lonely since his wife died of cancer a few years ago. He also enjoys the company.

His students call him Po, an honorific for an older person in the Philippines, and he doesnt just see them as students.

I treat them as friends, and look forward to them coming to learn, he said.

Hes taught some students for a long timeone woman has been with him since 2000.

Marinas said he had a group of air marshals come to learn to use extendable batons, and a police captain who wanted to learn disarming techniquesall skills in his martial arts wheelhouse.

We have fun, as I will challenge them at times, telling them that if they stick four knives in a row, Ill treat them to coffee, he said laughing. Then they come back at me and ask if two hits will get them half a cup.
A judge sentenced Robert Lee Strickland Jr., 64, of Poquoson for concealing a 2018 hit-and-run crash that killed 50-year-old cyclist Brian Leonard Utne, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

Authorities say Utne, a Newport News Shipbuilding engineer, had just finished a group ride after work. On his way home, he was struck by a Ford F-350 pickup, splitting the bike in two.

The pickups driver, Alexander Crosby, 28, of New Kent County, was sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and failing to stop. Prosecutors said he was towing a trailer in a work convoy when he hit Utne and kept going.

York-Poquoson Commonwealths Attorney Ben Hahn said that instead of calling 911, Strickland fired Crosby and told him to leave the area. He had the pickup towed to a body shop to fix the damage. The next day, he told workers that as far as you know, Alex hit a deer. Several witnesses came forward, and Strickland and Crosby were arrested.

Man who didnt answer one phone call is back in prison

NEWPORT NEWS  After a halfway house couldnt reach a former Newport News investment broker on home confinement, he was taken into custody to serve five more years in prison.
We cannot ignore the wide-reaching and disproportionate impact of gun violence in the commonwealth. In Virginia, 82% of firearm homicide victims are male, and Black males are disproportionately impacted. Nationwide, Black males ages 15 to 34 have a firearm homicide rate nearly 16 times higher than white males of the same age group. And the devastating truth is that homicides represent only 1 in 3 gun deaths in Virginia because two-thirds of gun deaths  the vast majority  are suicides.

We also cant ignore the gun violence in Virginia homes, where the intersection between guns and domestic violence is a recipe for horrible and preventable tragedies. A woman is 400% more likely to be killed by an abuser if there is a gun in the home, and half of all intimate partner homicides are perpetrated using a gun. New research shows that two-thirds of mass shootings are linked to domestic violence.

Behind these statistics are the people weve met in every corner of the commonwealth. Beyond the immediate victims  as we both know all too well  loved ones and communities live with the trauma of violence every day.

As we make progress on COVID-19, we cannot return to normal on Virginias epidemic of gun violence. The voters of the commonwealth of Virginia and our next governor can choose to make our communities safer. To do so, we must elect a governor committed to implementing the public health approach and creating an office of gun violence prevention. We are determined that the tragedies that have altered our lives from gun violence never should affect another family in Virginia.
Vistar Eye Center is building a new office in Roanoke County where it will offer primary and specialized care.

The new building, located on Airport Road, will be more than 26,000 square feet. Construction has already begun and is expected to be completed in roughly 18 months. The company declined to share the cost of the project.

Dr. Frank Cotter, a partner in Vistar, said the new building is a response to growth. He noted that the practice now has 25 doctors, locations throughout Southwest Virginia and numerous surgery centers, including one thats expected to open in Wytheville this fall.

With this growth and with the growth of doctors, we need places to put doctors to see patients from all these different areas, he said.

Vistar has increased the number of retina specialists in its group  there are now five  and wanted to house them in a central location that was easily accessible to patients who travel a significant distance to see them, Cotter said. The Airport Road location was a good fit since its not far off the interstate.
I cant believe that this was the type of situation that the Federal government envisioned when it created the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses, and the communities they serve, make it through these difficult times, Johnson wrote in an email.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who along with fellow Virginian and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner urged FreightCar in 2019 to reconsider its plans to leave Roanoke, said though a spokesperson that the legislation was passed to help small businesses keep workers on their payrolls.

We need strict oversight to ensure thats where the money went, Kaine said in a statement earlier this month.

In its filing with the SEC, FreightCar said the loan enabled it to keep employees working at the Alabama facility through February of this year. The plant employed about 600 people at the peak of its production.

Officials with FreightCar did not respond to questions last week.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, which administers the Paycheck Protection Program, does not comment on whether individual loans have been forgiven. But overall numbers show that applicants have not been required to pay back 99% of the total dollar value to date.
Of course, the caller didnt know my sisters history, but he heard what I heard  alarm  and he was using that against her. He was close to getting what he wanted. That is, until I got on the line.

You can listen to the audio of the call here: wapo.st/3xuI7Ov

Heres why he was able to disarm my sister: He already had a lot of her personal information, which played into her thinking perhaps what he was telling her was legit. He knew where she banked and how many accounts she had.

Currently what would be the balance of your savings account at Wells Fargo? he asked.

Dont tell him, I whispered.

Im not giving that out, my sister said.

By now, after a short pep talk with me, she had regained her composure. She played along. (This is not something you should do, by the way. I was on a fact-finding mission as a journalist. You should not engage a con artist. Instead, report the scam.)

Undeterred, the scammer persisted in trying to get my sister to give up the amount of money in her bank account, asking, Less than a hundred dollars, less than five hundred dollars?
Coy Barefoot, a historian of Charlottesville, wrote on Facebook that Sacagawea was at the time of the statues creation in 1919 the symbol of the National Womens Movement.

Charlottesvilles major early 20th century philanthropist Paul McIntire had not commissioned her inclusion in the statue, but loved its addition by the sculptor Charles Keck. McIntire wrote, The Indian girl is the best of the three, Barefoot said, noting that in his opinion the removal of the Lee and Jackson statues also given to the city by McIntire constituted good riddance, but not the Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea monument.

That statue will likely be saved and placed in an appropriate venue with much more historical context, said Alexandria Searls, executive director of the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center, where the monument is to be reinterpreted.

Searls said studying the monument closeup and talking with the sculptors granddaughter, Pat Keck, has given her new insights into its artistic value and worthiness.

I have good feelings about the statue having examined it at eye level off its pedestal, including the opportunity for new relationships with Indigenous peoples and others as it is reinterpreted.
The company told Pro Publica that it hadnt intended to shutter operations when it received the money. Some workers at the Alabama plant dispute that. When the Mexican plant opened, we were told at the beginning they would just be helping Shoals and making parts for the trains, one worker said. But the whole time, it was a setup, we were gone.

Pro Publica pointed out that FreightCar America isnt the only company that took taxpayer dollars and then shut down. Maybe this isnt a scandal  maybe the PPP money kept the companies going longer than they ordinarily would have but, ultimately, sometimes companies fail. Thats just a natural state of events.

On the other hand, the timing of it all sure looks bad  a company pocketed taxpayer dollars and then eliminated American jobs.

Either way, the PPP money is a passing issue. The bigger issue is the transfer of American manufacturing jobs to Mexico. This is hardly unique to FreightCar America.

Manufacturing jobs have been moving out of the U.S. to other countries for a long time now for a very simple reason: Workers in those other countries are a whole lot cheaper.
In "Disaster descending on Virginia public schools" (July 11 opinion), Tom Taylor begins his criticism of the state's new transgender guidelines by calling the theory of evolution irrational, even though the evolution of COVID-19 into more dangerous variants has been major news for months.

He then says the evolution of genders wasn't blind chance, as both religion and science (which he now seems to consider a rational enterprise) proclaim.

What he is really saying, it appears, is that God made only two genders and it is wrong to deny God's will. But nature's God  to use Thomas Jefferson's phrase  created gay people, biologically intersex people, and, as we are becoming more aware, people who feel strongly that their bodies are at odds with their gender identity  so strongly, in fact, that to express themselves they risk being ostracized and bullied, dangers that the new school guidelines are seeking to mitigate.

Studies show that the social stigma against transgender children makes them far more likely to attempt suicide than their "normal" peers. Evidently, being transgender is no more a deliberate choice than being gay.
FLORENCE, S.C.  A cornerstone of Francis Marion University is saying goodbye.

Teresa Ramey, a longtime senior staff member who arrived on campus in 2006, is bidding FMU farewell this summer as she moves on to her new position as the vice president for community, diversity and inclusion at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.

Ramey first came to FMU as the dean of students, but she quickly rose through the ranks, and eventually ascended to the position of vice president for student affairs and dean of students in 2010.

In 2019, she was promoted to vice president for regional and community programs, serving to facilitate liaisons, partnerships, and collaborations on behalf of the university within the region.

Ive truly come to love the campus community and environment, Ramey said. When I first visited the campus for my job interview, the beauty of the campus was hard to ignore, but the people here really give it a sense of community.

College is often seen as a place of growth and self-actualization, and for someone in Rameys position, helping to give courage and credence to a students fulfilment is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
Photograph: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

It was described as a dialogue, the first high-level meeting in months between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers to address the ongoing border aggressions that have pushed the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of war.

But those hoping Wednesdays meeting would help break a year-long stalemate during which 200,000 troops have built up on both sides of the Himalayan frontier were to be left unsatisfied.

There was one point of agreement, however. As Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, noted, relations between India and China are still at a low point.

In June last year, following several months of rising tensions along the India-China border in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, 20 Indian soldiers and reportedly four Chinese soldiers were killed in the deadliest clash between the two countries in more than 50 years. Forbidden from firing weapons, the two sides instead fought on the icy mountain precipice of Galwan valley in medieval fashion, using spiked clubs and engaging in hand-to-hand combat, with several soldiers falling to their deaths.

The clash did not result in all-out declarations of war, but pledges of de-escalation and multiple rounds of failed military talks have instead been overshadowed by a year of troop, artillery and infrastructure buildup on both sides of the 2,100-mile border unlike at any other time in history, including when China invaded India in 1962.

Indian army officials allege the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is becoming more aggressive with every passing day. Though recent skirmishes between the two sides have been denied by the Indian government, army officials told the Guardian that the situation in areas of eastern Ladakh including Galwan valley and Hot Springs remained extremely tense.

Every month there are two to three face-offs in these areas, said another army officer posted in the area, the information corroborated by local police and intelligence officers.

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To avoid further escalations we started fencing some areas around Galwan but Chinese objected to it and we had to remove it, said another officer.

The ministry of defence and the military did not respond to requests for comment.

Indian army officers described the military buildup on the border in Ladakh as like never before. Government sources corroborated reports that an additional 50,000 troops, as well as artillery and fighter planes, including the Russian-made MiG-21, had been deployed.

In a sign of the shift in Indian military priorities, some of the additional troops on the Chinese border, including Ladakh and the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, have come from the border with Pakistan, which for decades was Indias most turbulent frontier.

The greatest test for both sides was surviving the hostile winter, where temperatures dropped to below 40 degrees. Yet Indian officers spoke of proudly staying the course, even when it got so cold that the fuel in the tanks froze. Despite the glacial temperatures, the soldiers have to stay in tents that can be moved quickly.

We should have prefabricated living spaces given the harsh weather, said an Indian army commander posted in the region. But due to the unpredictability of Chinese moves, we are relying on tents as they can be relocated quickly whenever needed.

While Indian army officers say they cannot match the hightech Chinese infrastructure, they at times admitted to copying their way of living. For instance, we saw Chinese would dig trenches and then put tents in them, said an army officer. We realised it helps warm up the canopy and since then we have been doing that way.

For locals in the Indian state of Ladakh, who have spent a year witnessing soldiers, tanks, helicopters and heavy artillery brought up along the frontier, fear remains palpable.

I hope war never breaks out here, said Dolma Dorjay, who grew up in the village of Chushul near a sprawling army base along the line of actual control [LAC], the unmarked disputed border between India and China. But the preparations seem to be happening for a war.

Prior to the clash at Galwan, Dorjay and most of the villagers, who are tribal Changpa cattle herders, would take their livestock into the vast, sweeping valleys without another thought of the border and would freely mingle with the shepherds from the Chinese side. We would trade cattle and carpets and more with the people of the other side, he said.

Sonam Tsering, another resident and former local councillor of Chushul, said the situation along the border was the most militarised anyone in the village could recall, with two armies appearing to be poised for attack, particularly in areas of eastern Ladakh.

Our elders say that men and machinery were not deployed like this even in the 1962 war, he said. The army base in Chushul has expanded multiple times. Now people are not allowed to go near the border and tourists are banned from visiting.

Durbuk is another strategic military base in eastern Ladakh that has vastly expanded. The locals say that hundreds of new tents have been pitched in recent months to accommodate more and more arriving soldiers, while new structures have been put up to shield tanks and bigger vehicles.

Deldan, who operates a guest house in Durbuk village, described how during the night, we see large convoys of army trucks and tanks heading towards the border.

In some of the tensest areas, a buffer zone has been agreed between Indian and Chinese troops to prevent troops coming to blows, and according to the Chinese foreign minister frontline troops have disengaged in the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Lake area. But locals say this does not reflect the reality on the ground and are dismissive of any talk of de-escalation.

In the Pangong lake, locals say India has not regained territory where the Chinese encroached. The land which belonged to us is now the buffer zone, said Padma Yangdog, a resident of Meerak, a village opposite an area of Chinese encroachment. How have they [Chinese troops] moved back?

As made clear when Jaishankar and Wang met at the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers in Tajikistan on Wednesday, India and China still have starkly different views on the border situation.

Jaishankar said it was only with Chinas de-escalation and disengagement from the border that formerly cordial bilateral ties could be resumed. Wang, however, said that the responsibility does not lie with China to resolve the issue, and appeared to call on India to accept the current status quo in the interest of good relations. According to Wang, despite the heavy troop presence, the situation in the China-India border area has generally been easing.

Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi, said it was clear India and China are now locked in an uneasy military stalemate, and the entire frontier has become a hot border.

The Chinese tried to ward off India through a frenzied military buildup but the Indians have refused to buckle, he said. The fact that the Indians managed to stay put through the harsh Himalayan winter makes it quite likely that this crisis is not going to end anytime soon.

According to Chellaney, the only way to break the stalemate is if the Chinese decide to start a war. But, as the Chinese realise, even all-out conflict is likely to still end in another stalemate.

With India refusing to back down, the choice for China is to either quietly roll back its intrusions in areas where the biggest standoffs are taking place, he said, or to let this deadlock continue.
The Larsons pointed to the changes over the years  new utilities, roads, trees, parking pads and even playground equipment. No cleanup could begin until the water receded, meaning little major work could commence until 2012, Doug said.

Really, it was the middle or end of September (2011) before the flooding ended, he said. We did a lot of cleanup. The debris was mostly trees, and we had help with cleanup. Then we had to rebuild all the utilities. It was sad.

The expanded beach during this years drought marks a sharp contrast from the flood water that ravaged most of the development during the 2011 event.

The sandbagging efforts at the time sought not only to keep out flooding but also to offer any bank stabilization, Doug said.

If you (previously) saw the shoreline, it gradually sloped way out. After the flood, it dropped 14 feet straight down because of the bank erosion, he said. Right out by the light pole, the sandbags were 7-8 feet high, and the water still went over it.

The surprise was not only the quick arrival of the flooding but also its massive power and duration, Linda said. The combination of factors made recovery much more difficult than any other disaster, she added.
Julia Ducournau's Titane, a wild body-horror thriller featuring sex with a car and a surprisingly tender heart, won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival, making Ducournau just the second female filmmaker to win the festivals top honor in its 74 year history.
Meetings and events

Bruguier's Cabin Tours, the second Sunday of the month from June to September, special group tours can be arranged by calling 712-490-6506.

Top O' Morning Toastmasters Club, Mondays, noon to 1 p.m. Contact LeAnn Blankenburg, 712-870-1120, for meeting information.

The Siouxland Ostomy Support Group, find us on Facebook. For more information and meeting times contact Dick Lindblom at 712-251-2453.

Southside "South Bottoms" former residents, 6 p.m. potluck, second Wednesday of the month at Goodwill Industries cafeteria, 3100 Fourth St. Gert, 258-2227.

Siouxland Metal Detecting and Archeology Club, 6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of the month in the Gleeson Room at 4510 Buckwalter Drive. Visitors welcome. Ray Turner, 712-899-2114.

American Legion Post 64, 7 p.m. last Thursday of the month at 4021 Floyd Blvd. 712-258-3986.

Marine Corps League, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Elks Club on TriView Ave. All marines welcome. For more information, call Cathy Moreno, 712-899-8441.
SIOUX CITY -- Labor leaders from around the country paid tribute Saturday to the late Mac Smith, a longtime Sioux City lawyer and labor leader.

Family, friends and former colleagues gathered at the Orpheum Theatre to celebrate Smith's life and honor his memory.

Robert MacDonald (Mac) Smith died Feb. 3 at the age of 72, according to his obituary.

Ken Sagar, President Emeritus of the Iowa Federation of Labor, Des Moines, knew Smith for nearly 30 years, and remembers him fondly.

"He was an educator, he was a friend and mentor, and had a wicked sense of humor," Sagar said. "He kept me from doing things that I probably shouldn't have done. He's a very good legal adviser and probably more to the point, I would say he had wisdom."

Smith always had a passion for Woodbury County politics.

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He graduated from Bishop Heelan High School in 1966 and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1970. He completed his studies at the University of Iowa College of Law in 1973. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1968-1978 as a captain.
In 2015, Elise Winter published a book, Once in a Lifetime: Reflections of a Mississippi First Lady. She told Elbert Hilliard, director emeritus of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, during an interview in front of an audience in May 2015 that she had used a recorder to dictate her thoughts for what she what she intended only a historical record, usually after her husband was asleep. After she was persuaded to publish those recorded journals as a memoir, she worked with one of her friends, author and editor Joanne Prichard Morris, to put the book into shape.

I found that ... in recording, that you could say what you felt, Elise Winter said.

Elise Winter told Hilliard that as first lady, she became interested in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. She said she walked with her husband as he stuck his hands between bars of prison cells and introduced himself to inmates. She said he always said, 'Tell me who you are, how far you got in school.'

A number of these young people had not had any opportunity or had not had taken what opportunities they had to go to school, Elise Winter said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation  of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history  is fueling delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6.

Hate is love. Violence is peace. The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots.

Months after the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol that winter day, Trump and his acolytes are taking this revisionism to a new and dangerous place  one of martyrs and warlike heroes, and of revenge. It's a place where cries of blue lives matter have transformed into shouts of f--- the blue.

The fact inversion about the siege is the latest in Trump's contorted oeuvre of the "big lie compendium, the most specious of which is that the election was stolen from him, when it was not.

It is rooted in the formula of potent propaganda through the ages: Say it loud, say it often, say it with the heft of political power behind you, and people will believe. Once spread by pamphlets, posters and word of mouth, now spread by swipe of finger, the result is the same: a passionate, unquestioning following.
TOKYO (AP)  Struggling businesses forced to temporarily shut down around Olympics venues. Olympic visitors ordered to install invasive apps and allow GPS tracking. Minders staking out hotels to keep participants from coming into contact with ordinary Japanese or visiting restaurants to sample the sushi.
ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans spokesman on Sunday condemned a European Union court decision to allow employers to ban staff wearing Muslim headscarves as appeasing Islamophobia.

The decision by the European Court of Justice on headscarf in the workplace is another blow to the rights of Muslim women with headscarf and will play right into the hands of those warmongers against Islam in Europe, Ibrahim Kalin tweeted.

Does the concept of religious freedom now exclude Muslims?!

The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that companies can ban employees wearing religious or political symbols if firms desire to pursue a policy of political, philosophical and religious neutrality with regard to its customers or users."

The ruling applies to any symbols where there is a genuine need for a ban.

The Luxembourg-based courts ruling reaffirms a 2017 decision. The case has been seen as contradicting a European Court of Human Rights decision from 2013 that allowed Christian crosses to be worn at work.
It has been four years since Iowa legalized fireworks, after 80 years of peace and quiet. After yet another Fourth of July, where our veterans suffering with PTSD have to be tortured with the forced recollections of the horrors of war, elderly and others suffering with asthma and COPD, forced to breathe the smoke and pollution of fireworks, and the poor pets and nature's animals scared out of their wits, I believe that this experiment is a total failure.

Hospitals all across the state have had to deal with fireworks injuries, from burns to amputations. Numerous fires started by fireworks, as to the list of destruction caused by fireworks.

I believe that it is time that we come to our senses and restore the peace that was once ours.

Fireworks have nothing to do with patriotism, as was proved by the 80 years of fireworks absence. There were still professional fireworks displays for people to awe over. No, setting off fireworks has more to do with a desire to blow things up, and to satisfy an inner pyromaniac demon within ourselves.

There are still so many ways to celebrate the Fourth of July: picnics, parades, concerts, reading of the Declaration of Independence, and so many others.
Since we started the gaming expansion, something strange has been going on. We won a Nebraska Supreme Court case, which shocked us as much as anybody. We won the election despite some overtly negative campaigning. We even recently had state legislation passed by a wide margin, which helped clarify some aspects of gaming expansion.

Like it or not, we have stumbled into the mainstream of Nebraska commerce. I went to a public meeting recently. We were seeking tax-increment financing for help with some infrastructure in Omaha. It was a little controversial because it was for a gaming establishment, but anyone who drives down near the proposed facility knows we are going to need to work on Q Street and surrounding public infrastructure to make it safer and more convenient for people to visit the area.

Public infrastructure is exactly the kind of role that this program was designed to stimulate. However, a few anti-gambling people were there objecting to our application. One of my team told me they heard a comment from an objector about the greedy Indians. What?

I had thought I had heard it all when it came to insults about tribes. We have been described as poor, lazy and alcoholics, but we have never been considered greedy. Now that I think about it, I suspect no group has been more generous to this country than Natives.
As the floodwaters started to recede rescue workers are racing to find survivors as the devastation left by flooding in western Germany and Belgium is starting to become clear amid a rising death toll that reached at least 183 with many still missing. Around 156 people died in Germany in what is the countrys worst natural disaster in more than half a century. Around 110 of those deaths took place in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. In Belgium, most of the dead were found around Liege, a city of around 200,000 people.

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It is terrifying, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday. The German language can barely describe the devastation thats taken place. Earlier, Germanys president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said he was stunned by the devastation left by the flood. A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building uptheir possessions, their home, the roof over their heads, he said, adding it could take weeks before the full extent of the damage is clear. Officials warned the death toll was likely to rise even further after days of rain turned into devastating floods. Residents and business owners are now struggling to try to deal with the devastation in some places that look unrecognizable. Everything is completely destroyed. You dont recognize the scenery, Michael Lang, the owner of a wine shop in the town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Ahrweiler, said.

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The high death toll in the floods is in part perplexing because the European Flood Awareness System issued an extreme flood warning earlier in the week. That has led many experts to say the entire system put in place to prevent just this type of disaster failed. The floods are now likely to play a key role in the upcoming elections on Sept. 26, when voters will go to the polls to choose who will succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel. Suddenly the floods have turned climate change into one of the main topics of the campaign. For a long time, chatting about the weather was synonymous with triviality. Thats over now, Germanys ARD public television said in its lead editorial on the Friday evening news, notes the New York Times. The weather is highly political; there is hardly any nonpolitical weather anymore, especially not during an election campaign.

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Amid all the tragedy, a senior German politician came under fire after he was caught on camera joking with colleagues as Steinmeier expressed sympathy for the victims. Laschet laughs while the country cries, the newspaper Bild said on its website in reference to Armin Laschet, who is the conservative candidate to succeed Merkel.

Experts have said this type of disaster is likely to start becoming more frequent due to climate change. Some parts of western Europe received up to two months of rainfall in the space of two days, World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said. Although its too soon to blame it on warming, the climate crisis has been increasing the frequency of extreme events while many single events have been shown to be made worse by global warming, Nullis added.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is pushing back against a new requirement to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status that is set to take effect Saturday night. The countrys most populous county is instituting the new mask mandate amid a surge in cases but Villanueva says the move contradicts guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted Covid-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science, Villanueva wrote in a statement posted on his departments website. Although Villanueva recognizes that the countys Department of Public Health has authority to issue the order, the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance.

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The mandate comes after weeks of public health officials urging people to wear masks indoors s the highly contagious Delta variant is making COVID-19 cases soar across the state. But its unclear whether people will be willing to put on masks again, particularly with Villanueva making it clear there will be little, if any enforcement. The L.A. County Department of Public Health could issue citations to businesses that dont comply but a spokeswoman said education and information sharing would be the main strategy. Our community will not be able to enforce our way out of this pandemic, the spokeswoman, Natalie Jimenez, said.

Los Angeles County has been recording an average of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases each day over the past week. And on Friday there was another big jump with more than 1,900 new COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations are also increasing although the vast majority of patients are unvaccinated. With the new mandate, vaccinated people are being asked to make a sacrifice to help slow coronavirus spread among the unvaccinated, notes the Los Angeles Times. Around 52 percent of L.A. County residents are fully vaccinated and around 60 percent have gotten at least one shot. L.A. County also isnt alone in urging people to wear masks indoors.

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Villanuevas combative statement against the new mandate comes at a time when the sheriff who was elected by winning over liberal, progressive voters has taken a marked turn to the right. The Los Angeles Times detailed this shift in a recent profile:
Trainer Trevor Williams accounted for half the victories on the 10-race card at the Miami Fair on Saturday (July 17) including a victory in the co-featured $2,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace with Pure Addition.

Opening the afternoon, Pure Addition toured the track through fractions of :29.4, 1:00.4 and 1:30.3 to hit the beam in 1:59.1 in rein to driver Glenn Le Drew. A Cowboys Dream finished second, beaten 2-1/4 lengths, with Tami Blue another five lengths behind in third. Williams co-owns the five-year-old Riverboat King mare, who won her 14th race from 50 starts and pushed her bankroll to $61,102, with Aurel Vodon. She paid $5.40 to win.

Williams sent the odds-on choice in the following race  the $2,000 Horses & Geldings Open Pace  however team Grundy and Senga Savannah spoiled as the longest shot on the board with a come-from-last victory in the quartet.

Also a five-year-old by Riverboat King, Senga Savannah sat last through a clip of :28.3, :58.2 and 1:27.3 set by Baylor Out and prompted mid-race by first-over pressure from favourite Read The Proposal. Driver Tyler Grundy started reeling in the battling leaders with his gelding off the final turn and rallied to a half-length victory in 1:58.3 over Read The Proposal. Trainer Jacqueline Grundy owns the eight-time winner who has banked $47,294 and paid $24.00 to win.

Most of Williams wins came in the second half of the card. He sent Lisplaced ($2.60) to an 11-3/4-length romp before scoring a natural hat trick in the penultimate races on the card, winning with Lilpieceofmyheart ($2.50), Farmerstrikesfame ($2.50) and Bold N Sporty ($2.90).

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Miami.
Any adult who has the courage to step forward and speak up, go to the Literacy Council and ask for help with reading or math skills, should be recognized simply for taking that step to improve themselves, Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said.

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The stories behind these people are so varied, they should not be judged, she said. One woman I worked with had a very difficult family situation, a single parent, and after she bought a small house, a hurricane came through and dropped a tree on it. She was struggling to make ends meetit was very bad luck. Its very unfair for people to blame people for the situations they find themselves in.

At Stanford, Seillier-Moiseiwitsch chaired the universitys biostatistics department. More recently, she was department chair and director of biostatistics and bioinformatics at Georgetown University. And later, she was director of biostatistics and data management for the infectious disease clinical research program of the federal Uniformed Services University.

Shes very, very busy, but Francoise always finds time to tutor, Utz said. We offer much more than just reading. Theres math, but also computer literacy. We help people pass the GED test, the equivalent of a high school degree.
Virginia State University announced Friday that it will use CARES Act funding to clear unpaid tuition and fee balances for students who were enrolled during the COVID-19 impact period.

Students who took classes during spring, summer, fall and winter 2020 as well as spring 2021 are eligible to have their outstanding balances paid off.

The university will clear the balances after federal, state and private awards are applied.

We care about our students and their academic success and want to provide them the privilege of moving forward with a zero balance, said Donald Palm, provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs, in a news release. We believe that relieving them from these balances will provide much-needed relief that will allow our scholars to focus more intently on their academics and degree completion.

The payoff will apply only to VSU balances, not loans from outside entities, for tuition since March 13, 2020.

VSU joins other universities in Virginia that have announced balance forgiveness with the help of the CARES Act.
Cady said the duo will cater their summer performances to whatever the summer reading theme is for each year, to make it particularly special for young readers.

Well pick routines that we have that will fit the theme and then usually come up with something original too, he said. It will be fun.  I think theres something special about watching a show with two performers, and you get to see the interaction of the two characters. So like I said before, its a classic vaudeville duet.

Carlson said the laugh-out-loud show isnt just for summer readers though.

Although this is the wrap up for summer readers and their families, we want to welcome everyone from the community to attend, childrens librarian Deb Carlson said. They do not need to have been registered in the program. It will just be an entertaining evening for the whole family.
Area schools are voicing their stance on the states health education standards following Gov. Pete Ricketts visit Thursday.

Ricketts, joined by speakers from the National Catholic Conference and the Nebraska Family Alliance, spoke out against the Nebraska State School Board of Educations proposed health education standards during a town hall meeting in Gering. The town hall, called Protect Our Kids & Schools, focused on arguments opposing the standards, made public in March.

Following Thursdays town hall, some districts are still awaiting the revision process before taking a stance on the standards while others have voiced opposition.

Hemingford Public Schools Superintendent Charles Isom said, As a district, we are taking a wait and see what the revision process sets in place from NDE. As a district, we do have the control to develop our own standards if need be.

Chadron Public Schools also is awaiting the second draft of the proposed standards before making a decision, according to Superintendent Ginger Meyer.

At this time we have not taken a public stance, she said. We have assured patrons that these standards are optional. I understand that NDE is going to look at the standards and revise to a new draft.
On Friday, Monika Gross, executive director of the Nebraska Foster Care Review Office, described some results of high caseloads and rising turnover to the investigative committee. She said the cases represented just a few of those encountered by her staff involving St. Francis.

Among them was the case of five children placed in foster care with relatives. The foster family moved in October, but the childrens records have yet to be updated with their new address. No home study has been conducted in preparation for their planned adoption, and no records have been kept of their medical, dental, vision and mental health care.

The children went without medication for almost a year because their Medicaid coverage was ended. So far this year, the children have had three different St. Francis case managers.

There was also the case of a young child placed in foster care with a relative. The child was left there even though the relatives significant other did not pass a background check and other children were barred from being placed in the home.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A federal freeze on most evictions enacted last year is scheduled to expire July 31, after the Biden administration extended the date by a month. The moratorium, put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September, was the only tool keeping millions of tenants in their homes. Many of them lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and had fallen months behind on their rent.

Landlords successfully challenged the order in court, arguing they also had bills to pay. They pointed out that tenants could access more than $45 billion in federal money set aside to help pay rents and related expenses.

Advocates for tenants say the distribution of the money has been slow and that more time is needed to distribute it and repay landlords. Without an extension, they feared a spike in evictions and lawsuits seeking to boot out tenants who are behind on their rents.

As of June 7, roughly 3.2 million people in the U.S. said they face eviction in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus Household Pulse Survey. The survey measures the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic every two weeks through online responses from a representative sample of U.S. households.

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Still, improved compensation was something other job seekers were looking for as they enter the workforce.

Logan Hines said he was looking for something that paid more than $12 an hour as he talked to several of the 42 employers with approximately 1,300 available jobs.

What Ive seen is a majority of manufacturing jobs, but I will take any job thats offered to me as long as the pay rate is above $12, Hines said. Its been a matter of getting hired. I havent got calls back, or theyll say theyll call for me to come in and never do.

An employees market

For Brookdale Peachtree and others on the hiring side of things, sometimes its the opposite as they cant get some potential employees to follow through with the process.

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Our biggest challenge is getting people to apply, and once you apply, just following through with scheduled interviews. Its hard to get people to show up for them, Shameka Smith of Brookdale Peachtree said. She said the market is very different than it was before the pandemic.
Facebook's algorithms sometimes flag the word hoe in a New York gardening group's posts for violating community standards, apparently confusing that word for another without an e on the end.
Caribbean

T he Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is sending additional vessels to the southeast Bahamas in anticipation of a possible mass exodus of migrants fleeing Haiti in the aftermath of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, RBDF Commodore Dr. Raymond King said.



News of Moises murder shocked the region on Wednesday, with many observers fearing that the attack could plunge the already troubled island nation deeper into a political and social crisis.



According to the Nassau Guardian, King said the increasing instability warrants efforts to shore up Bahamian borders.



What we are basically doing is enhancing our strategic posture and positioning in the southeastern Bahamas and, in particular, along the windward passage and the waters between Great Inagua and the coast of Haiti, he said.



King continued, What we are in the process of doing, and we have already started mobilizing additional vessels, in total we would have a dedication of four surface assets in that area, as well as our aircraft, [which] will be assigned to that area to provide intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance support to our surface vessels.



And we really beefed up on our human intelligence aspect so we can get proactive or a preemptive idea of whats going on in Haiti and if any mass exodus is about to occur.



Once more, we are working collaboratively and in a coordinated fashion with OPBAT, the Police Marine Unit, as well as the United States Coast Guard.

Their cutters are also out with helicopters onboard to provide air support in tandem with our aircraft to get a birds eye view and a very early warning of any pending exodus or movement of migrants to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.



The Bahamas borders have been closed to travelers from Haiti since earlier this year, with the government citing concerns over COVID-19 and the low level of vaccination in Haiti.



With tens of thousands of Haitians migrating to The Bahamas in recent decades, many of them fleeing poverty, the two countries have deep cultural ties.



The ceaseless flow of poor migrants has bred contempt and resentment among many in The Bahamas, who view irregular immigration as one of the most pressing issues facing the country.



Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield said in the hours after Moises death that civil unrest will likely provoke more Haitians to leave their country.

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis also shared similar concerns, as he called for the government to work with regional partners to help promote stability in Haiti and also secure The Bahamas borders.



King, however, said that in recent months, migrants appear to be less inclined to attempt the journey to The Bahamas.



Over the past year, what we have actually experienced is that when unrest and things really get chaotic  we have seen an increased movement towards Turks and Caicos islands, primarily because the run time is shorter, its more direct and its because of our presence in the southeastern and central Bahamas, he said.



We are doing a yeomans job, and I give thanks to the squadron team for protecting, patrolling, and guarding our borders.



So, we have had a strong deterrent impact on dissuading them from making the long transit through The Bahamas, because there is less likelihood of success and we are forcing them to use routes that they dont really want to use that have increased risk associated.



And they would likely end up on Family Islands that they dont want to go to. So, it makes it easier to corral and return them.






Shirley Contreras lives in Orcutt and writes for the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society. She can be contacted at 623-8193 or at shirleycontreras2@yahoo.com. Her book, The Good Years, a selection of stories shes written for the Santa Maria Times since 1991, is on sale at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society, 616 S. Broadway.
Federally-qualified health centers, like Cowlitz Family Health Center, that mostly serve people with Medicaid or who are uninsured, may be behind because of COVID, Amundson said.

Family Health Center has three dental clinics, in Longview, Woodland and Ocean Park. The organization primarily sees patients on Apple Health or who are uninsured, said Dental Director Dr. David Meyers.

Meyers said many patients are behind on care and may have gotten out of the habit of coming in regularly. At the beginning of the pandemic, many people didnt want to leave home, he said. Some do not want to come to appointments because face masks are still required in healthcare facilities.

We see a large number of no-shows, but its unclear how many are related to the pandemic, he said.

The organization is also short staffed and has several positions open that it would love to fill so that we could help to see the number of patients that need care, Meyers said.

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Some Family Health Center patients dont realize they have dental coverage through state insurance, and the coverage can be quite complex, Meyers said.

In Washington and Cowlitz County, 38.8% of Medicaid clients received dental services in 2018, according to the Health Care Authority.
Telegram users have received a big shock. The messaging app that is touted as an alternative to WhatsApp, has reportedly had to patch up security vulnerabilities, according to a group of researchers at the Royal Holloway, University of London. Telegram platform offers opt-in end-to-end encryption (E2EE) which users can turn on for individual chats, but the service offers non-E2EE chats by default. According to the researchers, the bug discovered on the Telegram app was connected to the technology used to protect the second type of chats mentioned above.

What is End-to-end encryption?

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) refers to the technology used to protect the contents of a chat to prevent anyone but the sender and recipients from seeing. Apps that offer E2EE encryption protect chats in such a way that the chats cannot be read by the companies concerned either  WhatsApp and Signal enable this by default. Apps like Telegram, Skype, and Facebook Messenger do offer a form of E2EE chats, but they have to be manually turned on, failing which the apps can read all the users chats. One big advantage of E2EE chats are that users are protected from Man in the Middle (MITM) attacks, where a person or group is able to read the chats in a group.

Together with Lenka Marekova, @kennyog and Igors Stepanovs, we took a deep dive into @telegrams symmetric cryptography: Four Attacks and a Proof for Telegram to be presented at @IEEESSP 2022. https://t.co/60sSPD07Hq  by @kennyog and me: pic.twitter.com/jn5P72kWS9  Martin R. Albrecht (@martinralbrecht) July 16, 2021

What did the researchers discover?

According to the researchers, the messaging apps non E2EE chats suffered from a bug that could allow an attacker to change the order of messages on the app. For example, if a user wrote I say yes and to pizza and I say no with to crime then the attackers could possibly rearrange the messages to say I say yes to crime.

In fact, the vulnerability could be used to manipulate bots on Telegram, the report said. Bots are automated systems on Telegram that can be used in groups to automate tasks like moderating groups. Similarly, the researchers also found that attackers could extract the chats in readable form from encrypted messages on the apps for iOS, Android and the Telegram desktop apps. However, the report states that such an attack would need to be carried out by a significant adversary, such as attackers backed by a nation-state.

What did Telegram have to say about the issue?

A Telegram blog post on July 16 explained that the company had already fixed the security flaws related to the app. The latest versions of official Telegram apps already contain the changes that make the four observations made by the researchers no longer relevant. Overall, none of the changes were critical, as no ways of deciphering or tampering with messages were discovered, the company stated on the blog post. The researchers had responsibly disclosed the vulnerabilities to Telegram in advance to allow them to fix the issues before they were disclosed.

What can users do?

As Telegram has fixed the bugs with their apps, users should not be affected as long as they have updated to the latest version of the app on their devices. Users can head over to the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store or the official Telegram website to download the updated version of the messaging app for their devices.

Alternatively, they can go and download the always-on, end-to-end encrypted messenger Signal to keep their messages safe and secure so only the intended recipients can view them.
Google Doodle today has honoured one of the leading lights, not just in Indian medical history, but also in the movement for women's liberation, Kadambini Ganguly. Today is the 160th birthday of Kadambini Ganguly. Dr Ganguly was a pioneering spirit who set up her own medical practice and more than that, paved the way for the entry of other women into the medical field, which was, till then an area that was exclusively the preserve of men. Another woman doctor pioneer in that era was Anandibai Joshi in Mumbai.

Born in July 1861, in Bhagalpur (which is now in Bangladesh), Kadambini was the first woman to be admitted to the Calcutta Medical College and one of the first women to study modern medicine in the country.

Also read: Looking for a smartphone? Check Mobile Finder here.

The Google Doodle was designed by Bengaluru-based artist Oddrija (Adrija Ghosh. She said, that making the drawing of a spirited woman who made a pioneering contribution to the medical field in India is a "proud moment for a Bengali". Oddrija's familial roots too are in Bangladesh.

She added, "Looking back in time, Kadambini Ganguly was a frontrunner in her contribution to medical infrastructure in India with her indomitable spirit and inquisitiveness that landed her a triple diploma in her studies in Western Medicine."

In the 19th century India, education for women in India was quite uncommon, but Gangulys father enrolled her in medical school at a time when there were only men studying there. When she finished studying in 1883, she and her peer Chandramukhi Basuln were the first women to graduate from college in India. After her marriage, she was then admitted to the Calcutta Medical College and graduated in 1886, when she became the first woman who was an Indian-trained doctor. She worked and studied in the United Kingdom, bringing home three doctoral certifications, specializing in gynaecology, starting her own practice in the 1890s. Kadambini Ganguly was the second wife of Dwarakanath Ganguly, who lost his first wife a few years before he married her. He was a Brahmo Samaj leader.

Alongside Ganguly, many other successful women doctors were also ahead of their peers, gaining training in the medical field at a time when it was dominated by men. One such example was Anandibai Joshi, who was a contemporary of Kadambini Ganguly. They both graduated in 1886, but the former passed away at the early age of 21.

Ganguly also went on to be one of the six all-women delegation for the fifth session of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Independence.

Oddrija relates the the contributions to the fraught present global situation too by saying, In the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen how medical infrastructure and doctors have been hailed as heroes for becoming the saviors the world needs.
By now, you probably know what the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 would look like. Renders of the device have appeared recently, along with details on the new WearOS-based One UI Watch. But we've also got some new details about its specs.

According to Sammobile, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will come with a storage upgrade to 16GB. For your reference, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Galaxy Watch 3 had 4GB and 8GB of storage, respectively. This means that the new model will have double the storage of its predecessor.

One of the reasons for the massive upgrade is the operating system. With the new One UI Watch OS, the Galaxy Watch 4 series will have access to a wider range of apps. In fact, users can download any smartwatch version of certain apps (like Spotify) to the watch. Besides that, the new models are expected to feature a new 5nm Exynos W920 chipset that can deliver more CPU and GPU performance.

The Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are definitely shaping up to be exciting new smartwatches, so we can't wait for them to launch next month. With that said, what do you think of them so far? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for further updates.
Pegasus activates a phone's camera and microphone, acting as a pocket spy.

An Israeli firm accused of supplying spyware to governments has been linked to a list of tens of thousands of smartphone numbers, including those of activists, journalists, business executives and politicians around the world, according to reports.

The NSO Group and its Pegasus malwarecapable of switching on a phone's camera or microphone, and harvesting its datahave been in the headlines since 2016, when researchers accused it of helping spy on a dissident in the United Arab Emirates.

Sunday's revelationspart of a collaborative investigation by The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde and other media outletsraise privacy concerns and reveal the far-reaching extent to which the private firm's software could be misused.

The leak consists of more than 50,000 smartphone numbers believed to have been identified as connected to people of interest by NSO clients since 2016, the news organizations said, although it was unclear how many devices were actually targeted or surveilled.

NSO has denied any wrongdoing, labelling the allegations "false."

On the list were 15,000 numbers in Mexicoamong them reportedly a number linked to a murdered reporterand 300 in India, including politicians and prominent journalists.

Last week, the Indian governmentwhich in 2019 denied using the malware to spy on its citizens, following a lawsuitreiterated that "allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever."

The Post said a forensic analysis of 37 of the smartphones on the list showed there had been "attempted and successful" hacks of the devices, including those of two women close to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018 by a Saudi hit squad.

Among the numbers on the list are those of journalists for Agence France-Presse, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, El Pais, the Associated Press, Le Monde, Bloomberg, The Economist, and Reuters, The Guardian said.

The use of the Pegasus software to hack the phones of Al Jazeera reporters and a Moroccan journalist has been reported previously by Citizen Lab, a research center at the University of Toronto, and Amnesty International.

Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based journalism nonprofit, and Amnesty originally shared the leak with the newspapers.

Pocket spy

The Post said the numbers on the list were unattributed, but other media outlets participating in the project were able to identify more than 1,000 people in more than 50 countries.

They included several members of Arab royal families, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists and more than 600 politicians and government officialsincluding heads of state, prime ministers and cabinet ministers.

Many numbers on the list were clustered in 10 countries: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Pegasus is a highly invasive tool that can switch on a target's phone camera and microphone, as well as access data on the device, effectively turning a phone into a pocket spy. In some cases, it can be installed without the need to trick a user into initiating a download.

NSO issued a denial on Sunday that focused on the report by Forbidden Stories, calling it "full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories," and threatening a defamation lawsuit.

"We firmly deny the false allegations made in their report," NSO said.

It said it was "not associated in any way" with the Khashoggi murder, adding that it sells "solely to law enforcement and intelligence agencies of vetted governments".

Roughly three dozen journalists at Qatar's Al-Jazeera network had their phones targeted by Pegasus malware, Citizen Lab reported in December, while Amnesty said in June the software was used by Moroccan authorities on the cellphone of Omar Radi, a journalist convicted over a social media post.

Founded in 2010 by Israelis Shalev Hulio and Omri Lavie, NSO Group is based in the Israeli hi-tech hub of Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.

 2021 AFP
1 event to mark on your calendar

Our Saviours Lutheran Church in College Station will host a fine arts camp Aug. 2-5 for children ages 3 to 8. The faith-based day camp will include music, storytelling, visual arts, science, nature and kitchen creations. The cost is $25 per child and includes supplies and a T-shirt. For more information or to register, visit oursavioursbcs.org or call 764-9095.

SUNDAY

EVENTS

Voices from Vietnam: Stories from Those Who Served, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of the American GI, 19142 Texas 6 in College Station. Free admission to Vietnam veterans.

Grimes County Charity Gun Show, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Grimes County Expo Center, 5220 F.M. 3455 in Navasota. General admission is $5.

Vacation Bible School, through Wednesday at Wellborn Baptist Church, 14575 F.M. 2154 in College Station. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. for children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade. Participants will become junior archaeologists to study the history of Jesus.
A recent Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation survey of dozens of local companies shows overall faith in the regions ability to continue recovering from the worst of the pandemic-related economic downturn. Interviews with local business leaders indicate confidence in the economy despite wage-related hiring challenges and supply chain difficulties.

From March to June, the BVEDC talked with more than 50 companies from a range of fields to conduct the survey. About 50% of the surveyed companies said their revenues grew in 2020, while 42% said they maintained and 8% reported declines. When asked about future hiring, 92% of respondents said they planned to add employees by May 2022.

Matt Prochaska, president/CEO of the BVEDC, said surveyors talked with companies from a wide array of industries and a size range from fewer than 10 employees to over 500.

What I continue to hear from these companies is that our local economy is strong and still relatively resilient from the potential ups and downs brought by the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, Prochaska said. That is a testament to the strength of our companies, the diversity of industry that we have, and the collaboration we have with the Texas A&M University System  and the support from our local jurisdictions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a statement Friday evening, vowed that Democrats will continue to push for passage of the DREAM Act, and called on Republicans to join us in respecting the will of the American people and the law, to ensure that Dreamers have a permanent path to citizenship.

In Friday's ruling, Hanen wrote that the states proved the hardship that the continued operation of DACA has inflicted on them.

He continued: Furthermore, the government has no legitimate interest in the continuation of an illegally implemented program.

Biden has already proposed legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without authorization. He also ordered agencies to make efforts to preserve the program.

Supporters of DACA, including those who argued before Hanen to save it, have said a law passed by Congress is necessary to provide permanent relief. Hanen has said Congress must act if the U.S. wants to provide the protections in DACA to recipients commonly known as Dreamers, based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act.
The new numbers show slightly more than a third of the 188,829 people encountered at the border in June had unsuccessfully tried to cross at least one other time in the previous 12 months.

The CBP last month expelled 104,907 people under the pandemic powers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection since October has offered an exception to that order for children traveling alone and announced Friday it would allow the exception to stand following a review, allowing those minors to avoid deportation. The CDC said it determined there is sufficient infrastructure in place to protect the children, caregivers, and local communities in the U.S. from the virus.

The number of single adults encountered at the border fell in June, but they were the largest group of people trying to cross. Encounters with children traveling alone increased by 8% last month, to 15,253, compared with 14,137 in May. June's figure is still well below the high of 18,663 unaccompanied children encountered in March by the Border Patrol, which began publishing numbers in 2009.

The number of children in CBP custody fell to 832 on June 30 from 5,767 at its peak on March 29.
Some think the vaccines havent been tested well enough. Some will never get vaccinated for religious reasons.

Some simply dont like or trust vaccines  or a federal government that forces potentially unsafe vaccines on them.

It shouldnt surprise you that Cameron voted for Donald Trump.

But despite what Bidens surgeon general and some liberal pundits want everyone to believe, President Trump is not the reason he has not been vaccinated  and never plans to be.

As he says, I think the vaccine should be for people in high-risk categories  if you have a compromised immune system, youre a 300-pound diabetic or over 70.

Cameron says Trump has nothing to do with his Latino friends not getting vaccinated, either.

They think its just weird. Its stupid. Its American silliness  crazy gringos.

Theyre in all age groups. Armenians and Russians that I know think the same. They dont believe the hyperbole. A lot of them are young and healthy and feel their immune systems are fine.

As for his daughters, Cameron says, They will not get vaccinated. Theres no way. They are 3 and 5. Im not going to do it.
Now, China has landed a rover on Mars.

A week ago, the idea that any of us could fly in space  if we only had a spare quarter of a million dollars or so  became reality when billionaire Richard Branson and a few of his employees rocketed 53 miles to the edge of space.

On Tuesday, billionaire Jeff Bezos plans to take his turn heading into space on his Blue Origin spaceship. Along for the ride will the youngest person to fly in space, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen.

While the idea of space travel for most of us still is beyond economic reality, the opportunity is there and eventually the cost will come down.

Some people have criticized Branson and Bezos for spending so much to fly in space. That money could have been used to help people on earth.

That is true, of course, but how we spend our money is up to us. The two billionaires likely do a lot of good for a lot of people through donations and other help.

But we shouldnt begrudge their space fantasies. They are reopening the heavens for all of us, re- creating the rush to space, renewing the excitement we once felt when sending people to the moon.
TMPA will still be responsible for completing the remediation efforts on the mine even after the contract is signed, Kahn said.

The lignite mine was operational from 1982 until 1996 when TMPA shut it down and began importing coal from Wyoming, according to the TMPA website. Lignite is a low-grade form of coal. Since closing, the mine has been in reclamation. The reclamation operations are more than 90% complete, and Kahn said they should be done in a year or two.

At the time of an interview earlier this month, Bryan City Manager and TMPA board member Kean Register said there were 10 fast-close cash offers at $60 million or more for the mining land. The TMPA agenda from Thursdays meeting says that there were numerous proposals for the mine, and that the five highest bidders were considered by the board of directors. The $75 million offer from 3S Real Estate was the highest and best bid, according to the agenda.

The TMPA board of directors, Kahn said, will probably decide what to do with the funds that come from the sale at a September meeting. He said it is likely that it will be divided up based on how much each member city owns. In that case, Bryan would receive 22% of the $75 million since the city owns that much in land.

Kahn said he is not sure how 3S Real Estate plans to use the mine land.
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Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm with a Grand Island office, recently formalized a new offering, Transaction Advisory Services.

TAS will offer Quality of Earnings reports, assistance with transaction structuring, due diligence consulting and general consulting related to merger and acquisition transactions.

Taylor Kendall, consulting shareholder and TAS lead, said, We have completed numerous projects for our clients over the last several years to assist with their individual growth strategies and are excited to formally promote this offering. Our goal is to help clients structure and evaluate transactions to mitigate risk, identify opportunities, and accurately assess the past and future performance of their acquisition target. We understand there isnt a one-size-fits-all deliverable, so we work to tailor our services to the unique needs of each client.

Drawing on its talented and dedicated team members, with expertise in a variety of industries, Lutz provides accounting, tax, and business consulting services through the full transaction process. Through extensive analysis and review of financial information, its goal is to aid in decision-making by providing sound advice to its clients.
Alongside the increase in hospitalizations, daily virus-related deaths have risen to levels not seen since March. Another 49 virus-related deaths were recorded Friday, taking the U.K.'s total to 128,642, the seventh-highest in the world.

Government medical adviser Whitty warned that the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 is doubling about every three weeks and could reach quite scary numbers if the current trend continues.

We are not by any means out of the woods yet on this. We are in much better shape due to the vaccine program, and drugs and a variety of other things," he said.

But this has got a long way to run in the U.K., and its got even further to run globally," he added.

One potential implication of the big spike in cases  for much of the spring, cases in the U.K. hovered around the 2,000 mark  is that it may overwhelm England's efforts to track contacts of those infected with the virus, including the app that is widely used and which has come under criticism in recent days.

I dont imagine track and trace will function for much longer," said James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute at from the University of Oxford "Neither it or the app were designed for 100,000 cases in a highly vaccinated population.
In a country where profitable corporations and rich individuals find ever more creative ways to avoid paying federal taxes, forcing a money-losing business to pay more than its fair share is not just outrageous, its downright un-American.

There are some glimmers of hope that the federal government will eventually liberalize its sclerotic view of marijuana.

In January, Republican U.S. Rep. W. Gregory Steube of Florida introduced a bill, the Marijuana 1-to-3 Act, that would knock pot off the Drug Enforcement Administrations list of most dangerous substances, Schedule I, and list it in Schedule III, the category for drugs that have a currently accepted medical use and a risk of dependence.

In April, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow cannabis-related businesses to access the banking system in states where they are legal and regulated. (This is the fourth time the House has taken on this issue; the first was in 2013.) The current bill passed with bipartisan support  321 to 101  and had the backing of 106 Republicans.

In the past, bills like these havent gotten far  the first bill to deschedule pot was introduced in 1981, after all  but attitudes toward cannabis have changed dramatically in the last decade.
Fischer, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said her bill, Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, would extend the Reid vapor pressure volatility waiver to ethanol blends above 10%.

According to Fischer, her bill would increase market access and continue to allow retailers across the country to sell E15 and other higher-ethanol fuel blends year-round, eliminating confusion at the pump.

She said higher blends of ethanol burn cleaner, providing a way for more Americans to be part of the climate solution.

Nebraska is ranked second in the nation in biofuel production and has 25 operating ethanol plants across the state. These plants produce more than 2 billion gallons of renewable fuel annually and have created more than 1,300 good-paying jobs. More than 40% of Nebraskas corn crop is made into ethanol.

These statistics show why it is so important to our state that ethanol be available to motorists without restrictions on blends of more than 10% all year long.

Agriculture is a major component of the Nebraska economy and we must speak up to support our corn farmers and ethanol companies, both by pressuring Congress to act and by putting ethanol blends in our vehicles to show the interest in ethanol by our countrys citizens.
Mike Disfarmer, East Faust



Another Chance: My old friend Kim K. has posted an accessible mix at Mixcloud. Called "2nd Chance," it includes The Grateful Dead, XTC, Gomez, Bob Dylan, Another Sunny Day, and more. I've always loved the opening Dead song, and check out that zany harmonica on this version of "Desolation Row." Funky and funny. Typically, I liked the song that turned out to be Nick Lowe. (I like Nick. Jesus of Cool was an album I liked in the days of the old New Wave.) And check out that "cover" photograph: oddly touching, isn't it? The missing part graced a heart-shaped locket maybe. And I wonder what became of the locket? Surely the lover and the beloved are gone now, but what treasure the memento must have been to each other in their time. The more you can honor the one you love and the love you share, the happier both of you will be. By the bye, I use the Shazam app to identify the cutsit can peg most of them, although Kim regularly stumps it. 2nd Chance is a nice listen for this cloudy Sunday.

Moose demos: TOP reader Moose posted a comment yesterday that linked to a couple of wonderful graphicsby hovering your mouse over several labels, you can compare and contrast various processing applications for phone pictures.

Sunset, Alameda Lagoon

Salad, Barley & Hops Pub, Occidental, CA

Quite a difference! I've never done much in the way of processing of phone snaps, but Moose has explored it thoroughly. Don't miss this. It only takes a few minutes to check it out and it's pretty eye-opening. Thanks, Moose.

Watch watch: Almost four weeks ago I did a post called "My New Watch," and I started a watch collection. I'm collecting only quartz watches, mostly in the "affordable" category. You might think affordable is a euphemism for "cheap," but it's actually one level above cheap, because cheap watches are really cheap*. I wanted to start out with a small group as a core, so I've had eight watches pass through my hands, and three of them have made it into the collection. Here's a fourth I'm considering now:

You can see the tag is still on it. I haven't decided if I'll keep it yet. For a guy who doesn't like color much, I find I really like touches of color in watch designs. You can see some of the little green accents in this one. Very pretty. Goes with my green shirt. On the other hand, I really don't like watches with advertisements printed on the dial like this one has. I had to buy this from the Netherlands for an inflated price...Casio doesn't bring its better Oceanus watches to the U.S., and the Edifice line is hard to find here too (although you can get the chronograph version of this one from Amazon.) This set me back $120 and change, which is higher than it was when you could buy it here, yet it's still high value: it's got a sapphire crystal, for one thing, which is rare at this price.

I call myself a "quartz snob." It's a joke, because watch people don't like quartz. Quartz watches have so many disadvantages: they require much less tending, you don't get to pay for regular servicing, they're less expensive to begin with, and they're far more accurate. No fun at all, in other words. I'm timing out that little Seiko I bought back on June 22nd, and after nearly a month, it is slowbut by about half a second. What a terrible watchyou hardly ever get to reset it! :-)

Annals of the legal profession: Do you remember Mike Disfarmer? He was the Vivian Maier of the 1970s, a local "find" by a man named Peter Miller who rescued and publicized the work. By now the subject of many books whose prints sell for high prices, Disfarmer has joined Maier in that his archive is in legal dispute. A group of about 60 distant relatives are fighting for control of the valuable estate. It's the subject of a new article in The New Yorker called "Who Owns Mike Disfarmer's Photographs?" written by Eren Orbey. I haven't actually read it yet, but I'm a-gonna.

Mike

*In fact, I doubt any other single class of product has a wider range of prices on Amazon. At the high end, there's a Breguet Double Tourbillon in rose gold listed for $299,999.00, and at the low end there seem to be numerous Chinese watches listed for 1...apparently they make it up in the $10+ shipping charges.

Product o' the Week:



Ringlight for Zoom, Facetime, vlogging, streaming, video recording, remote working or remote learning. Holds a phone, or you can set it behind and above a desktop computer with a built-in camera. The following image is also a link:

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)

Featured Comments from:

Joe Holmes: "That Mike Disfarmer article in The New Yorker originated with Ron Slattery, who is mentioned in the article. I'm an old online buddy of Slattery, and he contacted me a few months ago to ask if I knew any magazine that might be interested in writing up this crazy tale. My wife Sara Bennett had worked with Eren Orbey at one point...

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/life-after-prison-for-women-who-served-decades-behind-bars

...so I put Orbey and Slattery together and the result you can now read at The New Yorker. I told each of them that I feel like the guy at the wedding who had introduced the bride and groom way back when."
The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
The 73-year-old cried for help and asked for his keys back, but Harris punched him in the back of his head, causing Cooper to clutch his head and step backward, Allen said. Thats when the 17-year-old allegedly pushed his torso as Cooper continued demanding his keys.

Ultimately, the two teenagers were unable to get inside the vehicle. Before they fled, the 17-year-old held his waistband to apparently indicate he was armed, but a witness yelled out that he had no weapon, Allen said.

Cooper collapsed and stopped breathing, and an off-duty paramedic gave him chest compressions. The 73-year-old died at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and his cause of death was pending as of Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiners office.

Afterward, the 17-year-old and Harris were spotted by Chicago police at a nearby synagogue courtyard and identified as the assailants by witnesses, Allen said.

The 17-year-olds public defense attorney, James Kozlowski, argued the boy is not a real and present threat to others despite the allegation he shoved Cooper in the torso. He said it was inconclusive whether that push caused Coopers death.

There was no indication that he intended to cause harm to this individual, Kozlowski said.
SunGrains allows for the distribution and open sharing of genetic materials, or germplasm, researchers can use to breed for new and improved lines of small grain cultivars.

The long-term goal is to produce more efficient cultivars that can be grown throughout the southeastern United States.

The challenge for a project such as this is selecting the appropriate genetics that will allow for the development of a superior line of wheat that can be grown in the southeastern United States, Boyles said.

The SunGrains program brings together small grains programs from member universities across the greater Southeast region  University of Arkansas, University of Georgia, University of Florida, North Carolina State University, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M University and, now, Clemson  to maximize funding and research opportunities and share resources and royalties. During the study, Boyles will work with researchers at these land-grant universities in their respective states.

Locations for the study in the states were strategically chosen to represent major, yet environmentally different, wheat production areas in the southeastern United States, Boyles said.
Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of former Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave $560 million to 22 Black colleges, including some with very limited endowments, as well as to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund, both of which raise money for Black colleges and universities. Netflix founder Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, split $120 million among the United Negro College Fund, Spelman and Morehouse. Former New York mayor and entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg pledged $100 million for student aid at the four historically Black medical schools.

Its allowing the schools to see the opportunity to be bigger than they previously thought was possible, said Harry Williams, president and chief executive of the Thurgood Marshall fund.

Yet many lesser-known schools continue to struggle and scrape for money. Shaw, one of the oldest historically Black colleges in the South, has an endowment worth just $8,436 per student and did not benefit significantly from the wave of private giving last year, said David Byrd, the colleges vice president of finance.
The South Carolina Encyclopedia describes the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina as part constitution and part promotional tract. Although the first draft, also known as the Grand Model, is in John Lockes handwriting, many scholars believe that it was the combined work of the eight lords Proprietors. Since Locke was secretary to the chief proprietor of Carolina, Anthony Ashley Cooper, he is sometimes credited with authoring much of the constitution. It outlined a society based on hereditary property and religious toleration, overseen by the Lords Proprietors and creating a nobility of men called landgraves. In the original draft, it was not legal to sell or purchase land and all who settled in Carolina were required to pledge their support for the constitution and their allegiance to the proprietors.

This first draft was shipped to Port Royal in the fall of 1669 and another copy was sent to the settlement at Albemarle, on the West Ashley River, and arrived in early 1670. Along with the constitution, the Lords Proprietors appointed new Deputies in Albemarle and gave them instructions to implement the "Grand Model." Settlers in Albemarle and in Charles Town objected to several of the stipulations in the document.
2. "That the FBI knew the Steel dossier was a DNC op.

3. "That Steeles source told the FBI the info was unserious.

4. "That they did not inform the [FISA] court of any of this and kept spying.

Some might say they were shocked to find corruption in the government. Thats not what broke the confidence of Trump supporters. Cooper pointed out, The behavior of the corporate press is really what radicalized them. They hate journalists more than they hate any politician or government official, because they feel most betrayed by them. The idea that the press is driven by ratings and sensationalism became untenable.

He continued, Trump supporters always claimed the media had liberal bias. Fine, whatever: they still thought the press would admit truth if they were cornered. They dont think that anymore. Its a different thing to watch them invent stories (out of) whole cloth in order to destroy regular lives and spark mass violence. And, thats exactly what the corporate press did.
Heres more about why we choose today to recognize Col. Bowden posthumously more than a year after his death:

Bowden, born in 1938, matriculated at South Carolina State and enrolled in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC), graduating in 1960 with a degree in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. At graduation he was honored as one of three Distinguished Military Students in his class and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S.Army. He was immediately assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky., and was sent, temporarily, to Fort Benning, Georgia, to Jump School, where he earned a Parachute Badge before returning to Fort Campbell to serve with the prestigious 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles).

While on active duty, Bowden earned a masters degree from Pepperdine University in human resources management and several other awards and recognitions including The Parachute Badge, The Bronze Star (Vietnam), The Combat Infantry Badge, The Korean Defense Service Medal, The Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, The Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters and The Army Commendation Medal.
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For Fox, that means a few things  but keeping the courts operations transparent and accessible is at the top of the list.

Many cases that land in the Supreme Court, she says, also give the justices an opportunity to make tangible changes in the lives of Wyomingites.

What people dont realize is how many people there are who need help with basic stuff, Fox says. We see that in the judiciary, thats for sure.

The judiciary needs to be for everybody, she adds. And if were not, were not doing our job.

Shes involved with a few projects that are working to make it easier for anyone to access the court. Several committees are in the process of improving the courts electronic filing system, which makes documents and cases visible to the public.

Others, in the wake of the pandemic, are reckoning with how to proceed with hearings and arguments in an increasingly virtual world. Especially in a place as vast as Wyoming, Fox says, having the option to argue in front of the Supreme Court from Kemmerer or Powell makes it easier for lawyers from outside Cheyenne to make their cases. It also makes it easier to hire those lawyers  clients dont have to pay costly travel expenses.
An airman will make his last flight Monday.

The body of Lt. Alva Krogman, killed when his plane crashed during the Vietnam War, will arrive at Billings Logan International Airport on his way to his hometown of Worland, Wyoming.

Id just ask that people be respectful. The last person we took down to Wyoming, people were lined up on both side of the highway all the way into town, all the way into the cemetery where they were going to inter him. It seemed like whole town was out to watch and support, said Danny Glover with the Patriot Guard of Montana, which will be a part of the procession out of Billings.

Krogman was born in Worland in April 1941. He was piloting an O1-F Birddog in the skies over Laos about 25 years later. Krogman graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1964 before receiving his pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in Texas, according to an archive maintained by his fellow academy graduates.

His first assignment overseas was with the 504th Tactical Air Support Group, based out of Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam.
He applauded Gordon for his attempts to convince the National Rifle Association to move its national headquarters from New York to Wyoming.

And finally he supported Gordons announcement that he is collaborating with Wyoming Homeland Security to consider the requests by the governors or Arizona and Texas to help secure the border with Mexico.

He called on citizens to contact Gordon to let him know they support use of national guardsmen or other resources to support the two governors.

What does this mean? Are we to assume that CROW followers no longer consider Gordon a RINO?

Will members of the the hard right GOP embrace Gordon as their own?

That was the question I wanted to ask Edmonds but he did not respond to my e-mail request.

Theres no question, however, that two of the actions Edmonds listed are welcomed by the GOP right wing in particular  the NRA move and help to the border states.
Last but not least, and very politically impressive, was Governor Gordons announcement that he, in collaboration with Wyoming Homeland Security, is considering requests by Texas Governor Abbot and Arizona Governor Ducey to have friendly states provide assistance with the restoration of law and order at the U.S.  Mexico border. The magnitude of this border crisis unprecedented, and it is wise of Governor Gordon to not dismiss this request out of hand, but rather to take the time to learn the facts and to decide how best Wyoming can help. Mr. Gordon had previously offered aerial support valued up to

$250,000 but found ultimately it did not fit the needs at the border.

But the fact he is on record as recognizing the threat to our nation if we do not secure our borders is something he should be congratulated for. It is the right policy position. Wyoming citizens would do well to write or call Mr. Gordon and let him know they support the use of our National Guardsmen or any other resources to secure our border and thank him for working to provide the right assets to Texas and Arizona.
For whatever reason, that song, Cyah Take Dat, has been playing in my head constantly since midnight on Tuesday.

I clearly remember the moment I received the message that the Great Griot had passed. I was watching When Sharks Attack on the National Geographic channel. There was shock, disbelief and my body got frighteningly cold as I tried to process what I had just been told.
The rich abandon the poor on a violent and barren post-apocalyptic planet Earth for a luxurious life on a space colony floating among the stars.

Thats the intriguing premise of Trinidadian filmmaker Shaun Escaygs new popcorn-ready sci-fi thriller IKARUS.
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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday implored the population to get vaccinated, as he expressed horror over three generations of a family being wiped out by Covid-19.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference in Tobago, Rowley further warned that it would be foolish to think the deadly Delta variant would not come to Trinidad and Tobago, as he emphasised vaccination is the best defence.
On the sands of Manzanilla Beach on Trinidads East Coast, Spiritual Shouter Baptist believer Tameka Harris stood in the darkness before daybreak among the worshippers who had brought her there to be cleansed of her troubles.

There was a full moon and the tide was low that early morning in March.

The Government-imposed Covid-19 restrictions at that time said beaches and coastal waters were open to the public from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

However, at 4.16 a.m., Tameka slipped away from the others, shed her clothing and walked into the sea where she died.
The funeral of Haitis former president Jovenel Moise is scheduled for today in Cap Haitien, his countrys second city and his own home base.

But in his troubled country, even that event looks precarious.

On Wednesday, locals in Cap Haitien threw stones at the motorised convoy of the national police chief Leon Charles. They were angry that Charles had not prevented Moises killing on July 7, or done more to find the culprits.
Just moments after it had opened for lunch on Friday, July 16, Zio Peppe's pizzaiola Koda  they go by one name  faced down a stack of pizza orders.

Koda is one of four women who make pizzas for the east-side restaurant that partners and longtime friends Devon Sanner and Mat Cable opened in early May at 6502 E. Tanque Verde Road.

Sanner said he's not positive, but he surely has never heard of a pizzeria staffed with an all-woman pizza-making staff.

Koda said the crew calls itself Pizza Riot, a name that seems to fit as you watch Koda take a ball of dough from a large bin, flour it on both sides and knead it before tossing it in the air.

There's a shield partly hiding the pizza operation from the dining room, but on that afternoon, you could see the dough fly from Koda's hands into the air. After one toss, she caught the dough and spread it out on a wood counter where they keep all the toppings in refrigerated trays.

On the house favorite Margherita, she topped a bed of red sauce made from Stanislaus tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and large sweet basil leaves.
Upon takeoff of the two-manned crew, the airmen spotted bad weather across Afghanistan, including snow and, in some places, cloud coverage from the surface all the way up to 20,000 to 30,000 feet in the air. Due to the harsh weather conditions, other crews who previously attempted to reach the Afghan combat outpost could not break through.

The weather was so extreme that Bier said he couldnt determine where the clouds and the mountains met each other. At the time, Bier and Nordhagen were the only airmen airborne throughout Afghanistan because of the lack of visibility.

The terrain actually looks a lot like Southern Arizona, where you kind of have some desert valley floors with a lot of mountains  at least in the southern part of Afghanistan, Nordhagen said. So our challenge was to stay below the weather, while still making it up to the combat outposts, so that we could actually see what was going on.

On top of extreme weather conditions, the airmen faced communication difficulties while in the air.
So, even as the delta variant is causing COVID-19 cases to spread faster again, Ducey has used his emergency public-health powers to work against public-health measures.

Thats what he did in June, when he signed an executive order preventing universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or documentation of them, even while the universities continue to require other vaccines. He also signed an executive order preventing schools from requiring masks, before each of those measures became laws.

In the most recent case, Harrier noted in her letter that children under age 12 cant get the vaccine and that potentially an exposure in a classroom could empty it for two weeks under the districts quarantine rules. But thats prejudging and misunderstanding how public health officials handle possible quarantines, Garcia said.

The Pima County Health Department works closely with schools and can be more specific than to quarantine a whole classroom just because one student was exposed, Garcia said. For example, a group of friends who spend more time together, rather than a whole class, might be considered exposed if one gets sick or has close contact with a COVID-19-positive person.
NEW CONCORD, Ohio (AP)  John Glenn has been honored over the weekend with a three-day festival in Ohio marking what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senators 100th birthday.

Glenn, who died in 2016, was the first American to orbit Earth, making him a national hero in 1962. Before that, he served as a military fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War and set a transcontinental air speed record. In 1998, he became the oldest person ever to go into space at 77. He spent 24 years as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

The John Glenn Centennial Celebration Friday to Sunday was a collaboration between Cambridge, where Glenn was born on July 18, 1921, and nearby New Concord, where he grew up and met his late wife, Annie, who died last year at 100 of complications from COVID-19.

Lyn Glenn, the late senator's daughter, watched parade floats go by Saturday from the front porch of her father's boyhood home, a place she felt at home, too.

We moved around a lot as a family, and so they always brought us back here for holidays because this is the most consistent place in my life, she told the Zanesville Times Recorder. Coming back here is so familiar, and its so personal as well.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  A county in coastal Georgia had to delay the swearing in of its new police chief, whos still awaiting his credentials to serve as a law enforcement officer in the state.

Local officials had planned to swear in Jacques Battiste as Glynn County police chief Thursday evening, but the ceremony was postponed at the last minute.

That's because Battiste still hasnt completed his Georgia law enforcement certification as required by the states Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, The Brunswick News reported.

County officials had mistakenly believed Battiste could still be sworn in while awaiting his certification, said Glynn County spokesman Matthew Kent.

Even while he waits to be certified, Battiste is able to supervise the Glynn County Police Department in an administrative capacity, Kent says. But for the moment he has no arrest powers or authority to perform other law enforcement duties.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP)  Police officers in Maryland fatally shot a 21-year-old outside a McDonald's restaurant after an armed standoff, the Montgomery County Police Department said in a news release Saturday.

The shooting took place Friday night after police said officers responded to a call about a customer who had ordered food but was refusing to move through the drive-thru lane at the McDonald's in Gaithersburg, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Washington.

Once an officer spotted a handgun on the front passenger seat of the man's car, backup was called, police said. Additional officers secured the area and evacuated McDonald's staff.

According to police, an armed standoff ensued, during which officers tried negotiating with the driver for about 30 minutes.

Circumstances that are still under investigation led to officers firing their weapons and the driver was shot, the news release said.

Officers rendered aid to the driver until he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The officers involved are on standard administrative leave.
OPINION: Letter writers are sharing who they think should be voted onto the City Council for Ward 3 and 6. Who do you think is the best candidate? Write a letter to the editor at tucson.com/opinion.
Having known and worked with Kevin Dahl for decades, I was SO EXCITED when he decided to run for office. His political skills are second to no
Q: I booked a weekend train trip from Portland to Brunswick, Maine, last year through Show of the Month Club, a tour operator. They contacted me in June to cancel the trip due to the pandemic. In August, they contacted me again to verify my address so they could issue the refund.

Ive received no money from Show of the Month Club. Its been nine months. Can you help me get my $600 back?  Mary Roberts, Plaistow, New Hampshire

A: Youre right  thats way too long to wait for a refund.

Typically, a refund should take about two to three weeks. During the pandemic, you might give a company a few extra weeks. But nine months? Thats really testing your patience.

My readers have had this problem time and again during the past year. I can understand why a business, particularly a tour operator, would be slow to issue a refund. Some of the money you paid to the company may already have been paid out to a rail operator or hotel. And even if its still with the tour operator, that business might need the money to make payroll or cover other operating expenses.
Did she really buy ice-cream for all of the kids who streamed after the truck with us as I vaguely recall? Probably not, but I remember a day  most likely that summer  when after chasing down that truck with me in her arms, she bought me an ice-cream sandwich instead of the much cheaper vanilla ice-cream cone with sprinkles that had been our routine.

Id like to think it was her way of celebrating the signing of the Civil Rights Act in the only way a 4-year-old would understand  through the deliciously exquisite pain of brain freeze caused by the first ice-cream sandwich Id ever had. Whenever it happened, it created an indelible memory of a summer that has never gone away.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965  legislation designed to cement the civil rights gains of the previous legislative session, which Southern politicians were already hard at work trying to circumvent.

Specific legislation was needed to outlaw literacy tests at the polls, especially in the South where Black voters were often required to recite whole sections of state constitutions or interpret obscure sections of the law before being allowed to vote.
The Porter Lions Club also had its annual, pride peach auction at the current grandstand, Saturday July 17, at noon. Sixteen baskets of Livesay Orchards finest, prized peaches were donated to individuals and businesses. Those funds will also go toward stage repairs and improvements.

We need to replace the flooring and expand it. Its not really big enough for when we get large bands up there, Warren said. Wed also like to put some sound absorption panels in there so its easier for the musicians.

The grandstand, of course, is not only for the Porter Peach Festival, but for the entire town of Porter to enjoy year-round. Essary loved Porter.

Essary was born in Muskogee in 1946. He began farming with his father and brothers while still in grade school. The Essary family was one of the top watermelon growers in Oklahoma through the 1970s and 1980s, according to his family.

He was a 1964 graduate of Porter High School and graduated from Northeastern State University in 1968. He married his wife, Nana (Johnson) Essary on August 31, 1967 and made their home in Porter.

Essary was later drafted to Vietnam and served as an infantryman from 1969-70. He earned a bronze star and two purple hearts.
I will say that they are definitely my favorite band from the 80s, and they would probably be in my top five bands of all time. Im a huge fan of Leon Russell, as well. I have very eclectic tastes in music, and I am actually, oddly enough, friends with a lot of the musicians that I am really into. I knew Leon. I am still friends with his family. I am friends with Dwight Twilley. I love Dwights music. A lot of the music I get into, I really have kind of a personal relationship with it. But from the period that The Call was in, they were my favorite band.

I had talked about doing it for four or five years and kind of joked around with Scott about doing it. I started buying up some of their old memorabilia (including show posters and record contracts). I was buying up research to do the book. Basically when all the COVID stuff hit early last year, I told Scott, I said, I think Im going to write that book about you guys. He kind of laughed it off at first a little bit. I dont think anybody really took it too serious because I had been talking about it for four or five years. As the year went on, it was, Oh, hes really doing this. I interviewed all the guys in the band and all the past band members. I interviewed Peter Gabriel and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds. I also tried to take a little bit different approach with the book, too. I wanted to give their history and their backgrounds, but then I wanted to do interviews where they got to tell some of those stories in their own words. Then I wanted to do the discography and memorabilia and some of that. Its kind of in three different sections, really. I wanted to tell the complete story and complete the picture for all the people that kind of know something about them and kind of remember them but maybe dont know everything.
A mile and a half southeast of town, the Cedar Creek Stock Farm had a reputation for breeding some of the finest hogs in Oklahoma. But in late December 1909, owner Herbert Woodward agreed to sell roughly 34 acres to the city of Tulsa, and officials announced plans to build a new park.

A lot of people seemed to think it was an absolutely ridiculous idea, according to newspaper archives and historical records.

Woodward Park, as it became known, was accessible only by deeply rutted wagon trails, and was hardly accessible at all after a heavy rain. Who was going to go way out there for a park?

Lack of money kept Tulsa from building the park right away. Then Woodwards daughter sued the city, arguing that her white father hadnt had the right to sell her Muscogee Nation allotment. And the legal entanglements kept the city from using the property until after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ended the case in 1930.

By then, the suburbs had begun to grow up around the old Woodward farm. And it seemed like a perfectly sensible place for a park.
ICEd in: U.S. Sen. James Lankford complained to the Biden administrations nominee to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ed Gonzalez, that deportations of illegal immigrants hit a record low in May.

In particular, Lankford claimed ICE agents have been told to only apprehend criminal aliens.

Gonzalez, a former Harris County, Texas, sheriff, said those elements should be given a higher priority, but that didnt mean others should be excluded.

Any agency that has limited resources, man power, and other considerations, I think its appropriate to have priorities, Gonzalez said. I think we could always assess if those are effective. It doesnt preclude any of the others from being potentially up for enforcement removal, but again I think that I would trust that our personnel on the field could make those judgment decisions.

The ICE agents that we interact with say that theyre the ones being handcuffed, not able to actually do law enforcement, Lankford replied. Or theyre being told by regional leadership, No, that doesnt meet the standard. ... Theyre requesting to be able to go and actually interdict, and theyre being told, no, they cannot do that.
After seeing the support for Oklahomas Black community during the centennial commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre, I felt some hope that we might be progressing as a state toward true equity, said Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa.

We cannot move forward until we better understand the past, he said. This rule change is not only unnecessary but also dangerous. The children in our schools represent the state that we as adults are leaving behind. We should empower Oklahoma students to not repeat the atrocities that exist in history books ... but to end them. We start that process by teaching them why those atrocities exist. This rule hampers an educators ability to do that.

The state board of education says the new rules do not countermand state teaching standards, which include instruction on race and racism.

Tulsa Public Schools said the new rules will not change its curriculum.

Scholarship winners: Sydney Bush of Bixby High School and Megan Merrill of Booker T. Washington are this years winners of Republican Womens Club of Tulsa County scholarships.
Theres a bear in the web

Biden gave Putin a short not these list,

Of U.S. sites, where hacking should desist.

But Russians once more,

A hacking coup scored,

Rousing Joe to shake his weakly clenched fist.

John Staedke, Tulsa

Roll up your sleeve

Wish more Sooners would vax.

Its a worry. Weve been so lax.

No time to cheer;

Delta variant is here.

Get the jab, stop COVID in its tracks

Martha Earls, Tulsa

The $pace Rae

The space race is on again

With three of the worlds richest men.

Three more steps for mankind.

Come with us next time!
It wasn't oilmen or ranchers who blocked the proposal for a Tallgrass Prairie Preserve  some welcomed the possible purchase of their land; others just wanted to ensure adequate access to their properties.

Besides the access question, the main problem with the original proposal was that it would have destroyed the ability of the Osage Nation to realize the benefits of the below-ground mineral rights to which they were legally entitled and which provided a significant part of the nation's income.

My staff and I spent months meeting with environmentalists, ranchers, farmers, community leaders and tribal nation leaders and developed a compromise agreed to by all the interested parties.

I introduced the bill and was joined by the rest of the Oklahoma congressional delegation.

The Sierra Club  one of the parties that had agreed to the compromise  then sent a letter to its members urging them to lobby committee members to reject the compromise and go back to the original proposal.
Here are todays leading news stories:

Politics

-- The first session of Vietnams 15th National Assembly is scheduled to take place from July 20 to 31, which is five days shorter than the original schedule, the NAs Party delegation and governments Party Civil Affairs Committee agreed during a meeting in Hanoi on Saturday.

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health documented 2,454 local COVID-19 infections, including 1,756 cases in Ho Chi Minh City, on Sunday morning, raising the national tally to 51,002, with 10,312 recoveries and 225 deaths.

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has requested local authorities, airports, and airlines to provide favorable conditions for people in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities to return to their hometowns.

-- The Ministry of Industry and Trade has sent a team of officials to southern provinces and cities to assist in the supply of goods, making sure local residents have access to sufficient essentials.

Society

-- Customs officers in Da Nang confirmed on Saturday they had discovered a shipment containing over 138 kilograms of suspected rhino horns and 3.1 metric tons of suspected wildlife bones, which were imported to Da Nang Port from Africa.

-- The north-to-south railway route was immobilized for multiple hours after a cargo train derailed in the north-central province of Quang Tri on Saturday morning.

-- A company and over 30 employees have been fined a combined VND450 million (US$19,500) for gathering at a rubber tree plantation for work in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, which is against social distancing regulations in the locality.

-- Officers at a COVID-19 checkpoint at the border of Ho Chi Minh City and Long An Province have arrested two men for trading narcotics after they hid the illegal products inside packs of instant noodles.

Business

-- Facing the complicated COVID-19 situation, national carrier Vietnam Airlines said it has built a feasible business plan with a goal to earn VND37.364 trillion ($1.6 billion) in consolidated revenue this year, equivalent to 88.4 percent of the 2020 figure, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A charity initiative administered 700 care packages on the weekend to workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Binh Tan District, as well as Lao and Cambodian students in the Pre-University College of Ho Chi Minh City.

The initiative was undertaken by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, supermarket chain Saigon Co.op, and e-commerce platform Shopee, with support from the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

The organizers prepared essentials, including rice, cooking oil, and fish sauce, and divided them into thousands of gift packages, each of which was priced at VND145,000 (US$6.3) on Shopee.

The packages were delivered on Saturday directly to the beneficiaries, including 500 workers who are struggling financially in Binh Tan District, 200 Lao and Cambodian students and those of Vietnam's ethnic minorities at the Pre-University College in District 5.

Among the recipients was Tran Ngoc Sang, a manufacturing worker in Binh Tan District who hails from Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta.

I feel blessed to receive these essential items, which will help ease the burden on my family during social distancing, said the sole breadwinner for the family of seven.

Other demographics, including youths in locked-down areas of Hoc Mon District, as well as unofficial workers in Cat Lai Ward of Thu Duc City, also received the care packages of the initiative.

After the first run on Saturday and Sunday, the organizers plan to hand another 2,500 packages to struggling people in cordoned-off areas in Ho Chi Minh City on July 22 and 25.

They are currently accepting donations on Shopee and ShopeePay.

In June and early July, many working-class residents in Ho Chi Minh City suffered from lay-offs or reduced income as the southern metropolis emerged as Vietnams coronavirus epicenter, with its caseload rising in the thousands daily.

The alarming situation has prompted authorities to put the city under a tightened social distancing mandate that forbids public gatherings of over two, bans non-essential businesses and services, and requires people to stay home, effectively cutting off the livelihoods of many unofficial workers.

Representatives from Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper hands care packages over to struggling workers in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Vuong My Phuong, a resident in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City receives a gift ticket on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Struggling workers in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City keep a safe distance while waiting to pick up their care packages on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Tran Ngoc Sang, a furloughed manufacturing worker and breadwinner of his family in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, receives care packages on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

A student at Pre-University College in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City receives care packages on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Khammoungkhoun Khampasong (front), a student at Pre-University College in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, holds a care package on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Students at Pre-University College in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City receive care packages on July 17, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

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A company and over 30 employees have been fined for gathering at a rubber tree plantation for work in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Phuoc, which is against social distancing regulations in the locality.

The Peoples Committee in Chon Thanh District, Binh Phuoc confirmed on Saturday they had imposed VND450 million (US$19,556) worth of fines on Dai Thien Phuc Investment Trading Service Company and its 32 employees for violating regulations on public assembly.

The company was slapped with a VND30 million ($1,300) fine, while 24 out of the 32 employees were each fined VND15 million ($652).

The remaining eight staff members were fined VND7.5 million ($326) each because they are under 18 years old.

Dai Thien Phuc previously gathered 32 employees at a rubber tree plantation near its office at around 8:00 am on July 12 for work arrangements.

They were later caught red-handed by local authorities.

Employees of Dai Thien Phuc Company are caught gathering at a rubber tree plantation in Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam, July 12, 2021. Photo: N.N. / Tuoi Tre

The staff were required to file health declarations and get tested for COVID-19. Their results have come back negative.

Provincial authorities decided to implement extensive social distancing measures in Chon Thanh District for 15 days from 12:00 pm on July 11.

Local residents have to follow regulations under the prime ministers Directive No.16, which prohibits public gatherings of more than two and requires people to stay home.

Vietnam had documented 51,002 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday morning, with 10,312 recoveries and 225 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country has recorded 47,394 local infections in 58 provinces and cities, including 67 cases in Binh Phuoc, since the fourth transmission wave broke out on April 27.

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Tens of thousands of people have left Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring localities for the Central Highlands region over the past few days, right before mass social distancing in southern Vietnam aimed at curbing the increasing COVID-19 spread.

Numerous people have left three economic and industrial hubs in the southern part of Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai Province, and Binh Duong Province, for Central Highlands provinces from Friday, sources from Dak Nong Province said on Sunday.

The exodus came in the context that 19 southern provinces and cities will simultaneously perform enhanced social distancing measures under the prime ministers Directive 16 from 0:00 on Monday.

Among these provinces, the three economic and industrial hubs have earlier taken such measures to slow coronavirus infections.

Since Friday, tens of thousands of people flocked to the Cai Chanh COVID-19 checkpoint in Dak Rlap District of Dak Nong Province to perform necessary procedures before being allowed to enter the province, a gateway to the Central Highlands region.

There was a time when thousands of people came to the point at one time to carry out such procedures, including health declaration, said Dao Kim Nghiep, deputy director of the districts health center.

Around 6,700 people congregate around the checkpoint on Friday, mainly on their personal vehicles, and the figure increased to some 10,000 on Saturday, the center reported.

At midnight on Saturday, over 1,000 travelers queued in a line stretching nearly one kilometer at the Cai Chanh checkpoint, Nghiep said.

On Sunday morning, a long line of people was seen waiting for performing procedures at the checkpoint, where staff were increased by 2-12 times to take charge of two counters for health declaration, with the support of police, soldiers, and other forces.

Nghiep said the checkpoint still needed more people to help relieve pressure on the current staff and speed up the procedures.

People waiting to pass the checkpoint were mainly workers and students from Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City, said Phan Thanh Huong, a checkpoint staff member.

Most of them were returning to the Central Highlands area, except for a minority that traveled to northern places.

The Central Highlands region comprises five provinces, including Dak Nong, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Lam Dong, and Kon Tum.

The Ministry of Health on Sunday morning confirmed 2,472 newly-detected coronavirus cases and 626 patients reported additionally by Ho Chi Minh City, which have taken the countrys tally to 51,002, including 10,312 recoveries.

Among the latest cases, 1,756 were detected in Ho Chi Minh City, 281 in Binh Duong, and 75 in Dong Nai.

Since April 27, when the pandemics fourth wave appeared in Vietnam, the Southeast Asian nation has documented 47,394 infections in 58 of its 63 provinces and cities. Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 29,081 infections.

This image shows a surveillance camera at the Cai Chanh checkpoint in Dak Rlap District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, July 17, 2021. Photo: Dinh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

Staff are on duty at the Cai Chanh COVID-19 checkpoint in Dak Rlap District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, July 17, 2021. Photo: Dinh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

A person fills out a health declaration form as required by epidemic control rules at the Cai Chanh COVID-19 checkpoint in Dak Rlap District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, July 17, 2021. Photo: Dinh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

People wait to carry out procedures at the Cai Chanh COVID-19 checkpoint in Dak Rlap District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, July 17, 2021. Photo: Dinh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

People wait to carry out procedures at the Cai Chanh COVID-19 checkpoint in Dak Rlap District, Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, July 18, 2021. Photo: Dinh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

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Officers at a COVID-19 checkpoint in southern Vietnam have arrested two men for trading narcotics after they were found stashing the illegal products inside packs of instant noodles.

The incident took place at the border of Ho Chi Minh City and Long An Province on Saturday afternoon, Long An police confirmed later the same day.

A man from Ho Chi Minh City came to the COVID-19 checkpoint and was not allowed to enter Long An as he lacked a required negative test certificate.

He then contacted another man from Can Giuoc District in Long An and told him to receive his delivery at the checkpoint.

Upon his arrival, the man from Long An took a plastic bag containing several packs of instant noodles and paid VND500,000 (US$21) to the man from Ho Chi Minh City.

As instant noodles cannot cost that much, on-duty officers felt suspicious about the two men.

They decided to inspect the delivery and discovered that narcotics were hidden inside the packs of instant noodles.

The suspects were then arrested for trading drugs.

A similar incident also took place at this checkpoint on Friday afternoon.

A man from Ho Chi Minh City headed to the site and left behind a box that was carefully wrapped up.

After being questioned by on-duty officers, he stated the box contained sugar.

The officers later found narcotics inside the box and apprehended the suspect.

Due to the serious COVID-19 pandemic, checkpoints have been established at all of Ho Chi Minh Citys entrances.

People can only pass them if they have tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

Vietnam has recorded 47,394 local infections in 58 provinces and cities since the fourth transmission wave broke out on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh City is the hardest-hit locality with 29,081 cases, while Long An has detected 746 cases in this bout.

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HANOI -- Vietnam will impose restrictions on movement in 16 southern provinces for two weeks from Monday as the country faces its worst COVID-19 outbreak so far, the government said on Saturday.

Vietnam has managed to keep coronavirus cases relatively low due to targeted mass testing and strict contact tracing, border controls and quarantine measures, but new clusters of infections in recent weeks have triggered concern among health officials.

The current outbreak we are facing is getting more complicated, the government said in a statement. The curbs are to protect peoples health.

The Southeast Asian country reported 3,718 new infections on Saturday, the highest daily increase and the third straight day it has recorded more than 3,000 cases.

Three-quarters of the confirmed cases were detected in southern areas, especially Ho Chi Minh City, and the Health Ministry said it had deployed at least 10,000 health workers to hard-hit provinces.

Vietnam, which has a population of 98 million, has recorded 47,904 infections in total and 225 deaths.

The current surge in cases has increased pressure on the government to boost vaccines supplies and accelerate inoculations, with less than 300,000 people fully vaccinated so far.

Vietnam has received nearly 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said the United States would provide an additional three million Moderna vaccine doses to Vietnam via the international COVAX programme.
Customs officers at the Da Nang port in central Vietnam have discovered a shipment of over 100 kilograms of suspected rhino horns and more than three metric tons of alleged wildlife bones imported from South Africa with a fraudulent customs declaration.

The discovery was made when customs inspectors, in conjunction with other relevant units, examined a suspicious shipping container of goods shipped to the port of Da Nang City on Saturday.

The inspectors found 138kg of suspected rhino horn and about 3.1 metric tons of animal bones probably from rare and precious wildlife species, which were all packed in cartons placed in the container.

The shipment owner had falsely declared the imported goods were wood.

Local customs are coordinating with competent agencies to verify and handle the suspected wildlife items.

Rhino horns are strictly banned from being traded in, imported to or exported from Vietnam as the rhino and many other wild animals are on the list of endangered wildlife protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which the country has been a party since 1994.

Transporting or trading wildlife parts is a criminal offense in Vietnam punishable by between six months and 12 years in prison, according to the Penal Code.

In December 2020, authorities at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City detected 93kg of suspected rhino horns at a warehouse within the airport area.

The large amount of alleged rhino horn was in transit from Africa before being transported to some Asian countries, officials said.

In March last year, a Vietnamese man was caught carrying nearly 30kg of rhino horns stashed in his suitcases after his flight from South Korea landed in Vietnam.

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Over the weekend Seven was under fire from all sides, and from within, over the casting of Katie Hopkins on Big Brother VIP.

Politicians were baying for blood, social media was calling for network boycotts, advertisers were being targeted, and Seven staff were questioning decisions by those at the top.

It was the last thing the network needed just days from the Tokyo Olympics.

But Hopkins mocking of quarantine rules online gave them a way out

While Seven had never formally confirmed her inclusion (and technically still hasnt), it was common knowledge in media circles.

While Hopkins may argue she was only joking online, when she advocated to breach quarantine rules, it was arguably a breach of contract, which obliged her not to bring the network into disrepute.

When you have the Deputy PM, Health Minister and Home Affairs Minister speaking out against you, along with Labor and Greens, its a pretty strong case.

Given Hopkins track record over matters of race, migrants Manchester bombing and more, many were asking how she managed to get a visa to enter the country on grounds of character. Others pointed to the frustration over stranded Australians to get home.

Even Seven staff are understood to have been shocked by her casting in Big Brother VIP. and wanted her fired. It smacked of contradicting CEO James Warburtons own statement last week over a racist headline following the Euro 2020 final.

The post was inexcusable, embarrassing and clearly does not meet the expectations of our company and the values that weve all worked so hard on over the past 12 months, he said.

Some were left to wonder how the casting of Katie Hopkins fits with those same values.

Seven and Endemol Shine Australia failed to read the room on this one.
Local

centerpiece

Family Tradition: Texas Rose Festival royalty includes generations of dedicated volunteerism

Don Spivey From left, Jack Walker, Martha Walker, John Walker, Texas Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth "Ellie" Reid Walker, Andy Wall, Diane Wall and Andrea Walker stand together for a family photo after the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey From left, Martha Walker, Texas Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth "Ellie" Reid and Diane Wall stand together for a family photo after the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Martha Walker and Diane Wall are Ellie Walker's grandmothers, and they have both been involved in volunteering for the Texas Rose Festival for several years. Don Spivey/FREELANCE PHOTOS From left, Martha Walker, John Walker, Texas Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth Ellie Reid Walker, Andy Wall and Diane Wall stand together for a family photo after the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Ellie Walkers grandparents (pictured here) have all been involved in the Texas Rose Festival for decades. Don Spivey Texas Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth Ellie Reid Walker talks with her dad Jack Walker after the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Texas Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth "Ellie" Reid Walker speaks during the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Texas Rose Festival Queen Anna Grace Hallmark speaks during the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Duchess of the Rose Growers Emily Ann Milton speaks during the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Bruce Faulkner, president of the 88th Texas Rose Festival, speaks during the kick-off news conference for the 88th Texas Rose Festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Attendants for the 88th Texas Rose Festival pose for a photo at the kick-off event for the festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Attendants for the 88th Texas Rose Festival pose for a photo at the kick-off event for the festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Court royalty and attendants for the 88th Texas Rose Festival stand together ahead of the kick-off news conference for the festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Bruce Faulkner, president of the 88th Texas Rose Festival, speaks as attendants of the 88th Texas Rose Festival stand at both sides of the podium during the kick-off news conference for the festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night. Don Spivey Court royalty and attendants for the 88th Texas Rose Festival and Texas Rose Festival President Bruce Faulkner (in back) stand together for a photo after the kick-off news conference for the festival at the Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler on Friday night.

Not only does the Texas Rose Festival span 88 years honoring Tylers rose industry, but its also become a generational family tradition, especially for 2020 and 2021 Rose Festival Princess Elizabeth Reid Walker.

Elizabeth Reid Walker, also known as Ellie, has connections to the Texas Rose Festival on both her mother and fathers sides of the family.

Her grandmothers, Martha Walker and Diane Wall, have spent years volunteering in some capacity for the festival, and her maternal grandfather, Andy Wall, was the Texas Rose Festival president in 1989.

In addition to serving as an attendant in a past festival court, Ellie Walkers parents and other relatives have participated in festivals as well.

I think (my family members) were excited. Theyve done so much and had different jobs. Theyre excited for me to experience it, she said. I helped out for a while; I was a dresser when I was little. So its kind of like relapsing on that now that Im older its like a bigger deal.

A 2019 All Saints Episcopal School graduate, she is majoring in studio art at the University of Texas at Austin and a part of a sorority focused on philanthropy. She enjoys giving back to the community, such as by volunteering at the East Texas Food Bank.

With Rose Festival Ive done a lot during COVID at the food bank. I helped package some stuff and that was really fun, she said. The pageantry is fun. Its fun to celebrate it but its also a giving back element that makes it all hustle together.

On Friday evening, the Walker and Wall families and several others celebrated their princess as well as Texas Rose Festival Queen Anna Grace Hallmark, Duchess of the Rose Growers Emily Ann Milton and festival volunteers at the kick-off for the festival at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler.

The event honored the volunteers and sponsors while also starting the countdown for the festival set for Oct. 14 to 17. The festival in 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19 so members of the court are continuing their reign.

Ellie Walkers paternal grandmother Martha Walker has been a part of the Rose Festival for at least 40 years, serving as coronation chair and other leadership positions.

Shes been our princess in our family her entire life, but I think shes a wonderful representative for Tyler. Im so happy for her and proud of her too, Martha Walker said. Weve always been active in the Rose Festival. We love the Rose Festival.

Martha Walker said the Rose Festival has given Tyler a national presence.

People associate us with roses and beauty, and I love that, she said. I think as far as from a commercial standpoint, I think its extremely important. We have lots of people that come in from all over and see our city at its very best and have a good time and remember the good memories of Tyler.

An opportunity to become a member of the Rose Festival court is a chance to meet many friends and create memories, Martha Walker said.

You can live a normal happy life and never get to do this. But if you do, you will end up with more of an appreciation of your community and the people it takes to put on something like this, Walker said. It gives you a special presence and a polish that will probably come later on in life but it comes early and so you have that gift that is yours forever.

Ellie Walkers maternal grandmother Diane Wall said seeing her granddaughter be the princess feels magical. She and her husband have been working with the Texas Rose Festival since 1965.

We moved here and we hit the road running. My husband Andy was president in 89, and its just a joy for her, Diane Wall said. Its a dream come true. I love that its a city-wide love of Tyler and all the volunteers come together and really support it.

She recalled writing scripts for members of the court and having various leadership roles. Her daughter and Ellies mom, Andrea Walker, was a lady in waiting.

Im so grateful that our children participate in the Rose Festival because Andy and I did. We just participated in everything in every way, Diane Wall said. (Ellies) a fun, neat gal and were so proud of her like all grandmothers are.

Andy Wall said hes grateful to be back after serving as festival president 32 years ago.

Its really awesome that our granddaughter is involved in it and the Walkers were close friends of ours anyway, Dr. Walker and Martha, he said. To have their son marry our daughter was a real blessing.

From his presidential tenure, Andy Wall remembered he and other leaders decided to move the queen from the front of the parade to the back.

It came off a lot better, he said. We had a beautiful day for the parade, and thats one thing we want to go well because the community really participates in that.

Bruce Faulkner, president of the 88th Texas Rose Festival, said Friday the purpose of the kick-off in July was to honor the participants and volunteers working tirelessly behind the scenes.

Were here to promote the local rose industry, celebrate community, volunteerism, instill community pride and attract visitors and commerce to our incredible community, Faulkner said. Im proud to say that this marks the 88th anniversary of the Texas Rose Festival.

Hallmark called serving as queen for two years a true blessing and honor, and shes enjoyed promoting the rich history of the Texas Rose Festival.

While many aspects of the festival, such as the themes and costumes have evolved over the past decade, one thing has remained the same  the strong sense of service and support from its many volunteers and sponsors in Tyler and Smith County, Hallmark said. It is especially evident how strong our community is as we pull through the COVID pandemic. Im proud we are able to gather and celebrate again together.

Melton said she was honored to represent her familys legacy in the rose industry as the duchess of the rose growers for both 2020 and 2021.

The Rose Festival along with the city of Tyler has focused on the same tradition for many years: celebrating the beauty of the rose, promoting the local rose industry and its history and attracting tourism to the city of Tyler, Milton said.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers almost 10,000 positions in it drawn hunt program ranging from white-tailed deer to alligators, dove, turkeys and exotics like this sambar deer.
Sports Editor

I am a native Tylerite and I grew up reading the Tyler Morning Telegraph and The Tyler Courier-Times. My parents took both the morning and afternoon papers. I came to work here 35 years ago at the age of 23, right after college.
By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators are studying the backgrounds of Colombian mercenaries accused of assassinating Haiti's president last week to see if any of them had past ties to U.S. government agencies, a U.S. source familiar with the investigation said.

Seventeen Colombians and two Haitian-Americans were arrested last week by Haitian authorities and accused of shooting President Jovenel Moise dead in his home, an event that further destabilized the poor Caribbean nation.

The source said that so far U.S. investigators have not found hard evidence of any connections between the Colombian suspects, who include former members of the Colombian military, and the U.S. government. But they believe some evidence of links are likely to turn up.

One of the two Haitian-American men arrested and accused of taking part in the assassination was a former informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA said on Monday. Two U.S. government sources identified him as Joseph Vincent, 55, of Florida.

Vincent and the other Haitian-American man accused of joining the assassination, James Solages, 35, told a source they acted as interpreters.

Meanwhile, court documents and a defense lawyer said that a Haitian living in Florida who Haitian investigators want to talk to about Moise's murder cooperated with the DEA in a large-scale drug trafficking investigation.

Rodolphe Jaar, who was jailed by U.S. federal authorities in 2015 for his alleged role in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine via Haiti, is the subject of a wanted poster which Haitian police issued related to the assassination.

Documents filed in Federal court in Miami, Florida, allege that Jaar "conspired to have a portion of a 420 kilogram cocaine load that arrived in Haiti," from Colombia or Venezuela in February 2012 and was ultimately headed for the United States set aside "for his personal gain/interest."

At a sentencing hearing in 2014, a federal prosecutor told the court that Jaar "was cooperating with the DEA at the time of the offense, making them aware of a drug shipment that was coming into Haiti", and that "because of his efforts" the DEA was able to seize more than half of the drugs and make an arrest. Prosecutors recommended a reduced prison sentence for Jaar due to his cooperation.

A third Haitian-American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was arrested on Sunday by Haitian authorities, who accused him of being a mastermind of the attack.

(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by Scott Malone and Marguerita Choy)
In June, two important events vaulted Iran's navy into international headlines. The first was the sinking of the IRIS Kharg in the Persian Gulf on June 2. Kharg, a British-built Ol-class replenishment tanker, was the Iranian navy's flagship and one of its most important vessels. As Business Insider writes, the second important development was the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by two Iranian warships, the seabase ship IRINS Makran and the frigate IRIS Sahand, on June 4.

Makran, a converted oil tanker, is Iran's largest vessel, while Sahand is one of its newest and most advanced warships. They are the first Iranian naval vessels to sail into the Atlantic, a long-sought achievement. These are the latest signs of progress for Iran's navy, which has been modernizing with the goal of being able to operate across oceans. Now, 33 years after a devastating defeat by the US, that navy is showing what it can do.

An unrealized plan

Officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, or IRIN, Iran's navy is largely the result of an incomplete plan to turn its predecessor, the Imperial Iranian Navy, into a first-rate force. Before his overthrow in 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi invested heavily in US and European warships, intending to make Iran the region's dominant maritime power. The shah hoped to support NATO operations in the Indian Ocean and wanted the alliance to establish a naval headquarters at Bandar Abbas.

The buying spree included four British-made Alvand-class frigates, 12 French-made La Combattante IIa-class fast-attack craft, and four US-made Bayandor-class corvettes. The shah even considered buying a number of Invincible-class aircraft carriers and Sea Harriers from Britain and wanted to build a naval base at Chabahar capable of hosting US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, but those plans were cut short by the 1979 revolution.

The new Islamic Republic eventually received some vessels that had already been paid for, like the Kharg. Other orders, including those for four specially designed Spruance-class destroyers from the US and multiple submarines, were canceled. The IRIN's leadership was also purged by Iran's new authorities and then immediately thrust into the Iran-Iraq War, during which the navy took heavy losses. In 1988, the IRIN lost two warships sunk, one heavily damaged, and dozens of sailors killed in a clash with the US Navy, known as Operation Praying Mantis.

Homegrown warships

After the war, the IRIN recognized that it needed to modernize. "Praying Mantis was a turning point because it showed how the IRIN's conventional naval assets were vulnerable to the US," Farzin Nadimi, an expert on Iranian defense affairs with The Washington Institute, told Insider.

Iran acquired some foreign vessels, including three Russian-made Kilo-class attack submarines and several North Korean mini-subs and torpedo boats, but its nuclear program led to increased sanctions and foreign efforts to block its purchases of military hardware. "With all the sanctions as a result of their nuclear ambitions, Iran never managed to rebuild its navy quite substantially," Nadimi said. "So, gradually, Iran embarked on this project of making their own warships."

Despite its industrial limitations, Iran has built a number of domestically designed vessels, including four Mowj-class frigates, five Sina-class fast-attack craft, and at least one Fateh-class submarine. The four Mowj-class frigates, which include Sahand, are the IRIN's most advanced warships. They have phased-array radars and carry domestically made anti-ship missiles with a 124-mile range. The IRIN has still faced setbacks. In addition to Kharg, Iran has lost two ships in the last three years, one of which was accidentally hit by a friendly anti-ship missile in 2020, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 more.

Newer fleet, newer mission

New vessels were not the only changes. Iran's leaders, believing that asymmetric warfare was the best way to secure Iranian waters, shifted the IRIN's role in 2008. The IRIN is now responsible for the Gulf of Oman and waters beyond Iran, while the Persian Gulf is guarded almost exclusively by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, known as the IRGCN. Created in 1985, the IRGCN fleet is mostly composed of armed speedboats, small missile boats, and patrol craft. It is frequently involved in provocations in the Persian Gulf. IRGCN vessels harassed US ships several times this spring, including a May incident that led a US Navy ship to fire warning shots at the Iranians.

While the IRIN and IRGCN do share responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz, they do not have a history of cooperation. "The IRGCN is completely different organizationally and ideologically" and is "amongst the most religious and loyal" groups even within the larger Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Nadimi said. The IRGCN's expansion, which includes new advanced vessels, has largely come at the IRIN's expense.

The IRGC itself tends to get two to three times more funding than Iran's military. Combined the IRGCN's reputation for being more aggressive, that imbalance has led to tension between the two branches. "There have been decades of coexistence between the two, but they have never had any major joint exercises, and that is very telling," Nadimi said. "They don't have any joint training, and they don't have any coordination at the command levels. They even have separate naval academies." While the IRIN and IRGCN will fight together in a conflict, that lack of a real relationship leads many to believe they will not be as effective.

Blue-water ambitions

The IRIN, meanwhile, has ambitions for blue-water operations. It's already a player in the Indian Ocean and the recent trip into the Atlantic may have had multiple objectives. US officials reportedly suspected that the Makran and Sahand were headed west for Cuba or Venezuela, potentially to deliver fuel and weapons. They continued sailing north, however, and their final destination is unknown, though it is believed to be Syria or Russia. Using the IRIN to deliver fuel and weapons may seem odd, but it benefits Iran. Official naval vessels cannot be boarded and searched like regular tankers, allowing Iran to avoid sanctions.

Despite its recent losses, the IRIN is pressing ahead with its modernization and expansion. Iran has plans for new larger submarines and destroyers, including an ambitious trimaran design. Now that the UN arms embargo has ended, Iran is looking to China and Russia for help in developing its shipyards and fleet. It may buy ships from China and Russia or use Chinese and Russian designs and technology transfers to build vessels on its own. "If there aren't going to be any future sanctions, we will see more of the IRIN in the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, and even the Pacific," Nadimi said.
Armenia is setting up a new national airline following nearly a decade without a flag carrier. President Armen Sarkissian and senior Armenian aviation officials signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates-based low-cost airline Air Arabia on July 14 to create the new Armenian airline. "Armenia is currently facing a challenging period. We appreciate our friends who stand with us, especially at this stage, to start new cooperation, a new project in Armenia, Sarkissian said at the signing, Eurasianet reports.

The contract is between Air Arabia and the state-run Armenian National Interests Fund, and it will establish an independent joint venture. The officials said the new national airline will be low-cost and based at Yerevans Zvartnots International Airport. The airline does not yet have a name; Armenian officials said they would be taking emailed suggestions from citizens.

The airline should launch flights in 2022, the officials said. Its not yet clear which destinations it will serve.

Our vision for Armenia is to improve air connectivity significantly and as a result bring economic growth and jobs to the country, said Tatevik Revazyan, chair of Armenias Civil Aviation Committee. Having a strong national low-cost airline is essential for developing Armenia's air transport sector, especially as a tool to recover faster from the COVID-19 crisis.

Discussions about creating a national airline have been underway since shortly after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took power in 2018.

Pashinyan and Revazyan, who assumed her post in July 2018, have repeatedly voiced skepticism about creating a national airline that would potentially have to be subsidized by the state. "Are we ready to have an airline that will fly empty? she rhetorically asked reporters in December 2020. Are we ready to bear the cost as a state?"

The concerns were not entirely unfounded. The previous national airline, Armavia, which was owned by oligarch Mikhail Baghdasarov and had a 10-year exclusive right to domestic and international routes, declared bankruptcy in 2013. The fact that Armavia operated with such advantages and still went under tarnished Armenias reputation in global aviation circles and so the country needed to proceed cautiously, Revazyan said in 2019. Now we have two [private] Armenian airlines, but before we give them the status of a national airline we need to give them time to prove themselves, she said.

Many have been arguing more strongly that Armenia needed a national airline.

In 2013, when Armavia went under, the former head of the Civil Aviation Agency Shahen Petrosyan said it was a matter of national security. We are in such a situation that if there is any disaster in Armenia, or a war, no one will fly to our country, he told RFE/RL at the time. That fear was borne out during last years war with Azerbaijan, when some airlines suspended service. Not having a national air carrier during emergencies can lead to Armenias isolation, the news website Ampop.am wrote on July 2. Armenia needs first of all to reduce the risk of isolation threatening our country and the market and to prevent possible price increases.

Former president Robert Kocharyan, while he was running in June elections to replace Pashinyan, criticized the governments aviation strategy. "Armenia needs to have a national air carrier, he said during a June 10 press conference. During the war, everyone realized that this was a big problem, he added, without elaborating. During his tenure Armavia flew seven flights daily to Europe alone, he said.

He also took a shot at Revazyan, who assumed her post at age 30 and bills herself as the youngest head of a civil aviation agency in the world. In the last three years, there is simply no government at all. From what I know, no one in that department has the slightest idea about aviation. In our country, if you've sold airline tickets, they can appoint you an aviation director," Kocharyan said.

Civil aviation has had a rocky run in the Pashinyan era, and its frequent stumbles have been a hot topic of discussion in Armenia. The European Union blacklisted seven private Armenia-based carriers in June 2020, saying they did not meet international safety standards.

And the Civil Aviation Committee was widely criticized for its uneven handling of a murky disappearance of a plane in 2021. The Boeing 737-300, operated by Fly Armenia Airways, was conducting a technical flight with no passengers on board sometime in February when the flight crew deviated from the planned flight path and flew to Varna airport, in Bulgaria, and then towards the United Arab Emirates before landing in Mehrabad airport in Iran. The planes story has still not been explained, but in response to reports that it had been sold to a customer in Iran, the U.S. embassy issued a statement reminding that selling U.S.-made aircraft to Iran would be a violation of American sanctions. The plane later returned to Armenia.

It also oversaw the arrival for the first time of European low-cost airlines flying to Armenia, with Ryanair and Wizz Air both starting flights to Yerevan in 2019. While both suspended flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wizz Air has since resumed flights. Ryanair has not.
The Talibans supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada has said he strenuously favours a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan even as the group launched a sweeping offensive across the nation, Al Jazeera reports.

The announcement on Sunday comes as representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban armed fighters sat down for a new round of talks in Doha over the weekend, stirring hopes that the long-stalled peace talks were being resuscitated.

In spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] strenuously favours a political settlement in the country, Akhunzada said in a message released ahead of next weeks Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system, peace and security that presents itself will be made use of by the Islamic Emirate, he added.

For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital but have achieved little, if any, notable success, with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the Taliban group made significant gains on the battlefield, especially with foreign forces finalising their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The two sides began talks in Doha again on Saturday.

The Taliban leader said his group remained committed to forging a solution to end the war but slammed the opposition parties for wasting time.

Our message remains that instead of relying on foreigners, let us resolve our issues among ourselves and rescue our homeland from the prevailing crisis, he added.
British health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he had tested positive for COVID-19, but added that his symptoms were mild and he was thankful to have had two doses of vaccine against the disease, Reuters reports.

Javid, who has been health secretary for three weeks, has backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to scrap all remaining legal coronavirus restrictions from Monday, despite a fresh surge of cases fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

"This morning I tested positive for COVID," Javid said in a tweet, adding he had first taken a rapid lateral flow test, and then later his positive result was also confirmed in a PCR test, which needs processing in a laboratory.

"My positive result has now been confirmed by PCR test, so I will continue to isolate and work from home."
The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Committee in coordination with the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic has held a webinar to introduce the electronic customs of the European country.







Indonesian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Kenssy Dwi Ekaningsih, who is also Chairwoman of the ASEAN Committee in Prague, and Trousir Jiri, Deputy Director General of the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, co-chaired the event.

It attracted the participation of more than 30 delegates from six embassies of ASEAN countries in Prague and representatives of the Czech businesses.

Tomas Kocourek, an expert in charge of customs clearance procedures, gave an overview of the Czech customs system.

He said the customs regulations of the country were unified and complied with that of the EU. However, member countries can decide for themselves on value-added tax (VAT) and special consumption tax.

In his presentation, the expert also introduced in detail customs clearance procedures for export, import, and shipment operations in the Czech Republic, including procedures for registration of electronic signatures, registration for customs inspection.

Only about two percent of customs clearance cases in the country are conducted in the traditional form and the rest are all done through electronic customs, he said.

Participants at the webinar shared opinions on factors such as product standardisation, certification of origin, and freight transport procedures.

According to Vietnam Trade Counselor in the Czech Republic Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy, the workshop aims to establish relationships with local customs authorities, creating information channels and cooperation toward simplifying procedures, facilitating the growth of trade in goods between ASEAN and the Czech Republic.

She suggested that more seminars should be organised with specific themes to connect businesses in member countries as well as other organisations specialising in animal and plant quarantine or trade marks regulations.

She said ASEAN countries are a potential market and a promising investment environment that the Czech state and businesses are interested in the near future.

ASEAN countries recognise that traditional handicrafts, agricultural products, food and essential consumer goods have many opportunities to enter the Czech market, she said, adding that this is also a bridge to penetrate the EU market.

In terms of two-way trade relations, Vietnam is the second largest country in ASEAN after Malaysia in import and export turnover with the Czech Republic.

Thuy also said the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) brings many benefits to Vietnam and the EU, including the Czech Republic, one of the first countries to ratify it.

One of the biggest benefits of the EVFTA is the elimination of 99 percent of tariffs, which saves costs for Vietnamese, Czech and EU exporters and importers. This creates opportunities for Czech businesses to export goods in areas where the country has strengths such as textile-garment industry, glass, automobile, mechanical engineering, food, and chemical.

Vietnam has an action plan to implement the binding provisions of the free trade agreement, including a commitment to sustainable fisheries management, Thuy said, adding that the country has made great efforts in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing to meet standards relating to the environment.

Sourcce: VNA
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan has said that we usually gather to fight natural disasters, but when natural disasters are over, we neglect natural disaster prevention.





Nguyen Van Hat, whose house is on the bank of the Kien Giang River, in Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district of the central province of Quang Binh, still remembers the floods in mid-October 2020.



That day, floodwaters rose to the roof of his house. Hat and his wife were trapped on the roof. For three days, the couple had to eat raw instant noodles to survive, while their children were luckier as they were taken to the house of the commune vice chairman for shelter.



The couple was rescued from the submerged house, but they lost their house and everything else.



Hat's family was one of hundreds of thousands of families in Central Vietnam who suffered heavy damage from floods at that time. And almost every year, people in the central region have to struggle to cope with floods, while natural disasters are becoming more and more unusual.



Heavy damage





According to the General Statistics Offices data, in October 2020 alone, floods in the central region caused 129 deaths, 214 injured people, 111,200 collapsed or damaged houses; more than 1,000 hectares of rice and 7,200 hectares of crops flooded or damaged. The estimated loss was VND2.3 trillion, accounting for 83.8% of the total damage caused by natural disasters.



The provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Binh suffered heavy damage with 106 deaths; 133 injured people; 95,300 houses collapsed and damaged; and hundreds of thousands of cattle and poultry heads died, totaling over VND1.4 trillion in losses.



According to the General Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, natural disasters occurred rapidly and especially fiercely in Vietnam last year.



Specifically, 16 of 22 types of natural disasters occurred, including 14 storms and one tropical depression; 265 thunderstorms; 120 flash floods and landslides; 90 earthquakes



Natural disasters caused 357 deaths and missing persons; 3,429 collapsed houses, 333,084 damaged houses; over 198,000 hectares of rice and crops damaged; 52,000 cattle heads and 4.1 million poultry killed. The total loss was over VND39,962 billion.



Forcasts for this year say that the number of storms and low pressures in the East Sea, which affect Vietnam, will be equal to the average of many years.



Scientific application for early forecast of natural disasters

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan.



Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan has said that we usually gather to fight natural disasters, but when natural disasters are over, we neglect natural disaster prevention. This warning needs to be taken seriously, especially in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic.



There are still concerns about natural disaster prevention and control tasks in Vietnam, including the lack of initiative in reviewing and approving response scenarios before the rainy season. There is a shortage of fundamental and sustainable solutions to adapt to and mitigate consequences of natural disasters.



Vietnam has applied many technologies to inform people about storms, especially via sending texts via phones, which is conducted by the Ministry of Information and Communications.



However, it is a must to speed up the move of people in high-risk areas to safe places.



In addition, due to limitations in science and technology, Vietnam is still incapable of making forecasts of flash floods and landslides, a type of natural disaster that always causes heavy loss of life and property. Therefore, it is necessary to have solutions to improve this task, aiming at not only giving warning, but also defining the specific sites of risks.



In particular, it is necessary to focus on natural disaster prevention and control solutions applied by developed countries such as the US and Japan, which use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and forecast rain and floods.



Tran Hai

Natural disaster preparedness should be long-term: minister Disaster prevention should be a radical, long-term strategy, based on new technology such as forecasting and remote sensing to minimise damage.
Vietnams GDP growth rate in the first half of 2021 stood at 5.64% which surprised many people.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investments report, the processing and manufacturing industry achieved a high growth rate of 11.42% during this period. This contributed to helping Vietnam's economy stand firm in 2021 and is expected to be a premise for growth recovery in the following years.



The "key" to prosperity





However, this figure reveals some problems. Although the growth rate of the processing and manufacturing industry is higher than other industries, it is still quite low compared to the criteria of an industrialized country. The structure of Vietnams processing and manufacturing industry is problematic as the supporting industry has developed very slowly and the foreign-invested sector accounts for more than 50% of production value and about 80% of export turnover.



The Ministry of Planning and Investment forecasts that the world economy will recover strongly after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. The epidemic has disrupted many supply chains. Therefore, this is an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global supply chain. However, it is difficult for the manufacturing and processing industry, with most Vietnamese firms still doing outsourcing.



The processing and manufacturing industry has long proved its importance in the process of industrialization and economic development. From the rise of Britain in the 19th century, to the rise of the United States, Germany, and Japan in the 20th century and the newly industrialized countries in the second half of the 20th century, the success of these countries in the industrialization process proves that the manufacturing industry is the "key" to prosperity.



Reality also indicates that when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred all economies were affected, but the countries with a high proportion of manufacturing industries in their GDP were affected more slowly and mildly.



According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the proportion from the processing and manufacturing industry in Vietnam's GDP increased from 13.4% in 2016 to 16.58% in 2020.



Meanwhile, for industrialized countries, during the past 20 years the manufacturing industry has always contributed 20% or more to GDP. For example, China's manufacturing and processing industry contributes 27.1% of GDP; South Korea 25.3%; Thailand 25.3%; Malaysia 21.5%; Japan 20.7%... Developed countries have moved their production bases abroad, so the manufacturing capacity is much larger.



Vietnam with 100 million people, in order to be independent, self-reliant and prosperous, needs to have a strong and developing processing and manufacturing industry.



The Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress set a goal to increase the proportion of processing and manufacturing industry in GDP to over 25% in the period of 2021-2025.



FDI dependence and the low-value trap





However, there are concerns that Vietnam can easily fall into the "low value-added trap". The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says a country trapped in a low value-added trap attracts FDI from businesses that do not intend to form links with the domestic economy, cannot create spillover effects, and operate with short-term goals.



In recent years, Vietnam has led Southeast Asia in attracting foreign investment. Among foreign-invested projects in Vietnam, there are many projects of leading multinational corporations in many fields.



However, foreign-invested groups are creating their own economy, lacking connections to Vietnamese firms, and thus they do not bring in spillover effects. Many investors believe that low labor costs and energy prices as well as attractive tax incentives are the main reasons to invest in Vietnam. Very few foreign-invested corporations think that highly skilled workers or competitive domestic supply chains are Vietnam's strengths.



Vietnam needs to renew its strategy to attract foreign investment in general and the processing and manufacturing industry in particular to escape the middle-income trap.



With the manufacturing and processing industry, growth is mainly based on external resources (foreign-invested sector), and when domestic advantages no longer exist (low labor costs, attractive tax incentives...), foreign investors shift to countries with better advantages, which will lead to the process of industrial disarmament.



A country may be caught in the "low value-added trap" due to other reasons, mainly a weak and self-reliant domestic private sector which is unable to mature or become independent, or unable to master the economy and have enough competitive power in the global market. In essence, the low value-added trap is also a manifestation of the middle income trap.



In fact, in the period from 1951 to 1989, newly emerging economies in Asia all attracted large investment sources from developed countries. However, after 20-30 years, South Korea and Taiwan have built a strong industry that is no longer dependent and has global competitiveness.



Meanwhile, some economies in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have so far depended on foreign-invested enterprises in most industries.



Experts say that in order to avoid the "middle income trap" or "low value-added trap" and become a developed and high-income country, Vietnam needs to change its strategy to attract foreign investment in general and foreign investment in the processing and manufacturing industry in particular.



Vietnam must attach foreign investment attraction to national development strategies and plans, form supply chains and industrial clusters, and focus on industries and stages that create high added value, are environmentally friendly and use low energy-consumption technology.



However, foreign-invested enterprises in the processing and manufacturing industry are only a driving force. Domestic industrial enterprises are a solid foundation to help a country escape the "middle income trap". Therefore, it is necessary to build a strong domestic force that plays a leading role and forms a domestic supply chain.



Resolution 50/NQ-TW on orientations to perfect institutions and policies, and improve the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation to 2030 of the Politburo emphasizes:



Firstly, the foreign-invested economic sector is an important component of the Vietnamese economy, which is encouraged and has created favorable conditions for long-term development, cooperation and healthy competition with other economic sectors. The State respects and protects the legitimate rights and interests of investors; and ensures the harmonization of interests between the State, investors and employees in the enterprise.



Secondly, it is necessary to build and perfect institutions and policies on foreign investment in line with development trends, approach international advanced standards and harmonize with international commitments, and ensure synchronization, consistency, openness, transparency and highly competitiveness.



Thirdly, the attraction of foreign investment must be selective, taking quality, efficiency, technology and environmental protection as the main evaluation criteria. Prioritizing projects with advanced technology, new, clean and modern technology.



Fourthly, as for foreign investment, Vietnam must diversify partners and investment forms, intertwine interests in foreign investment cooperation and organically connect with the domestic economic sector, in line with the orientation of restructuring the economy and sustainable development goals; protecting the environment, ensuring national defense, security, and order...



Tran Thuy

20 years for Vietnam to become rich and strong If developing countries do not make breakthroughs during the golden population period, they will find it difficult to overcome the middle-income trap to become developed countries.
Vietnam needs to lure foreign investment but should not forget domestic enterprises.

In the past, we had the opportunity to receive foreign direct investment (FDI) but were not successful. In fact, we only became an outsourcing place," said Nguyen Xuan Phu, Chairman of Sunhouse Group at a recent seminar entitled "Vietnam is ready to welcome the wave of FDI: Opportunities and challenges," organized by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Hanoi.



Phu said: As an outsourcing place, we have to suffer from environmental pollution, the negative side of FDI and pay the price. Therefore, we should consider FDI attraction this time with a cautious view and I hope that this time Vietnam will effectively receive the FDI inflows.



From a business perspective, Phu recalled the time his company made a joint venture with a Korean business 16 years ago. He said that in the past, Sunhouse was a Korean brand, but now it is Vietnamese brand.



In the US and European countries, import and export only accounts for 15-20% of GDP. Such economies are truly self-sufficient and self-reliant. We are just an outsourcing place, so we make very little profit in the value chain. Meanwhile, our children have to suffer from environmental pollution that takes many generations to solve," said Phu.



Phan Huu Thang, former director of the Department of Foreign Investment, said: In fact, we depend too much on the external market. Without lucid policies, we will fail. We can win today, tomorrow but in the long run we won't win if we don't learn from experience.



"To develop, we must have a self-sustaining economy to develop," he said.



Is there really this supply chain shift? When did this wave begin," Thang asked. Most of us think that thanks to Vietnam's success in fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, foreign enterprises will come. It is not so easy like that. When the US-China trade war occurred, there was a shift in the supply chain. That shift must look in the direction of a global shift, not just from China.



According to the former Director of the Foreign Investment Department, it is not easy to relocate a factory from one country to another. In the Covid-19 pandemic, the market of each country changes. Foreign investors in China will make their own choices, like reducing investment in China and gradually moving to other countries, including Vietnam.





Thang said that this opportunity not only comes to Vietnam but also other countries such as India and Indonesia. For foreign investors, when deciding to pour capital into any country, are also interested in preserving capital and making profits.



Based on his own experience, Phu said that relocating a factory is very difficult. While companies in the world are shrinking because of the epidemic, it is hard for them to open more factories in Vietnam. Therefore, the wave that Vietnam can welcome is the shift of orders to Vietnam by international corporations.



"Foreign corporations will have to transfer technology, shift part of the supply and production chains to avoid risks from taxes or from the epidemic when they are all located in China. Being close to China gives Vietnam an advantage. Vietnamese people are also very flexible," said Phu.



He added that the art of receiving FDI capital is to be smart so that we can be the outsourcing place at the beginning, but we must learn technology and gradually master, and understand the needs of customers.



Once we grasp the technology, we can create products for Europe and America, then we have to create our own brands. If we keep outsourcing, we can benefit only 5% in the value chain," emphasized Phu.



To do that, it is necessary to have the States assistance.



Commenting on the Prime Minister's establishment of the Working Group on FDI attraction, Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, said this proved that Vietnam has good opportunities and must change to achieve the goal of receiving quality capital flows.



Toan also shared the view that Vietnam needs to lure FDI but should not forget domestic enterprises. "Vietnamese enterprises must grow up to be able to compete with FDI enterprises," said Toan.



According to Phan Huu Thang, solutions are not good over time. Applying a solution forever will not bring good results.



He said: The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a lesson in mobilizing resources of the whole people. Therefore, there should be close guidance on foreign investment attraction. The working group on FDI attraction must assign specific tasks, like fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, to create a consensus so that the entire political system understands the role of foreign investment.



Luong Bang

Vietnam welcomes third FDI wave Vietnam is committed to developing its role in the production value chain through FDI and has been preparing for many years to improve the qualifications of its workers.
Besides changes from the new normal to a new future, Vietnam needs to improve its tourism products and services to continue tapping into global tourism, including the potential market of Japan.



The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines today (July 17) reopened its flights connecting Hanoi and Tokyo, marking its rebound in the global aviation market amid the Covid-19 outbreak and contributing to promoting tourism service between Vietnam and Japan.

The news has made Misato Nakamura, a Tokyo resident, feel pleasantly excited as it is a great chance for her to return to Hoi An - her beloved travel destination in the country.

Like a toddler waiting to receive the thousand-year-old candies on the occasion of the Shichi-go-san [a Japanese festival for kids held annually in November], Misato told The Hanoi Times.

Misato recalled one evening in March 2020, she had leisurely strolled on the famous bridge in Hoi An ancient town - the Japanese Pagoda Bridge. The bridge was named by locals for the way it was created. It was built in Japanese architecture by the Japanese merchants who used to live here about four centuries ago.

She said she had had a busy day sightseeing in the town, shopping for leather items, having an ao dai tailor-made within 24 hours, and attending lantern crafting.

Hoi An ancient town, a world heritage site in Vietnam, is one of the hallmarks of Japanese culture, which was introduced to Vietnam in the 16th century, marking a milestone for the development of a bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Misato was one of the last Japanese who was able to visit Vietnam since March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 as a global-scale pandemic. She said she may as well be one of the first Japanese tourists who visit Vietnam after the pandemic.

According to Japanese tour operators, among Japanese tourists who visited Vietnam, 60-70% of them came to Hoi An ancient town at least once. Many destinations in Vietnam's central region are generally favored by Japanese tourists for their beautiful beaches, world heritage sites, and extraordinary landscapes.

Vietnam has eight World Heritage Sites recognized by UNESCO, including five cultural sites, two natural sites, and one mixed. This has attracted tourists from other countries, especially Japan, the Vietnamese Ambassador in Japan, Vu Hong Nam, told Japanese media.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of tourists from Japan to Vietnam grew steadily. In 2019, the number amounted to around 952,000 people, an increase of 15% comparing to the previous year.

Development disproportionate to potential

Despite having many tourism advantages such as a rich culture, beautiful landscapes, and many tangible and intangible heritages of the world, Vietnam is not the first choice for a number of Japanese travelers when visiting ASEAN, according to tourism experts.

Vietnam Tourism has done very well to attract Japanese tourists during the past few years. However, some other neighboring countries performed even better, said Masato Takamatsu - Vice President of Japan Tourism Marketing Co.Ltd at a conference themed Japanese tourist market organized by Saigon Tourist Co.Ltd earlier this year.

He gave evidence that compared to Thailand, Vietnam is far behind in terms of tourism promotion. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has 17 representative offices in 14 countries worldwide, three of which are placed in Japan holding hundreds of tourism promotion events and campaigns each year to lure Japanese tourists.

The experts at the conference agreed that Vietnam needs to train more human resources, display more hospitality and professionalism when providing tourism services. It is mandatory to have stronger coordination between tourism and the aviation industry to promote Vietnams tourism in Japan.

Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group told The Hanoi Times that Vietnam needs to focus on tourism services quality rather than quantity when serving the Japanese.

Tour guides should speak Japanese and tourism products need to be more novel and creative to satisfy Japanese tourists, which may lead to them having more meaningful experiences and spend more money when traveling to Vietnam, Ha said.

According to the latest survey on the Japanese tourism market conducted by the ASEAN Japan Centre this year, only 8.9% of the 10,000 Japanese who took part in the survey used to visit Vietnam. The country ranked fifth after Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia among ten ASEAN countries.

Additionally, 63.4% of respondents said that they intend to visit Vietnam for sightseeing, meanwhile, 70% of the people who used to visit the country said that they would come back to the country in the future.

In terms of travel companions, most of the Japanese visitors traveled to Vietnam together with Spouse/partner (30.5%) while 27.5% came with Friends and acquaintances, the rest visited Vietnam either Alone, with Family and relatives, or Company colleagues and stakeholders.

Roughly 20.3% of the respondents said they chose Vietnam as a destination after being recommended by family, friends, or acquaintances, a smaller percentage were attracted by the low living cost (20.3%) or were motivated by online blogs and review sites (18.1%).

According to the survey, Japanese visitors are most satisfied with the cuisine, scenery, atmosphere, and places of interest/historical sites when visiting Vietnam. Most of the Japanese visitors were impressed by Delicious food (28.4%) followed by Rich in history and culture (26.2%).

In terms of things that make Japanese travelers disappoint the most when traveling to Vietnam, Public security ranked first with a percentage of 11.8%, followed by Experience and activities (9.1%) and Access (8.8%).

The data presented by the survey also indicates a significant preference toward Hoi An as a tourist destination compared to other provinces, since more than 40% of the respondents favor the ancient town above other cities.

Based on this survey, new policies would be mapped out to better catering to the needs of Japanese travelers.

Japan is the third-largest source market for Vietnamese tourism, after China and South Korea.

In recent years, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has been taking measures to draw Japanese travelers to Vietnam, especially through visa facilitation with an exemption for people staying less than 14 days.

The world tourism industry will change drastically after Covid-19. The behavior and habits of tourists in general and Japanese tourists, in particular, will change, Ha told The Hanoi Times.

According to Ha, Japanese tourists tend to look for quieter and more beautiful places with hygienic and healthy food after Covid-19. In addition, with more direct flight routes opened and improved trading between Japan and Vietnam, the country will have a competitive advantage in attracting Japanese tourists over other countries in the region.

He believes that Vietnam tourism will definitely make a greater performance and attract more Japanese tourists in the near future.

Source: Hanoitimes
When she first saw the babys head, Kent said she experienced a little bit of internal panic but knew she had to remain calm.

While Kent had been able to assist in other deliveries through a previous internship, she had never had to assist in the back of an ambulance on the side of the road.

Kent said that despite the pressure, she was excited to be part of that call.

I thought Wow, I get to see a baby today, Kent said.

The medic driving the ambulance pulled over to a safe place on the side of the road and the crew started the delivery process. Kent said they reassured the mother-to-be that everything was going to be OK.

Really its the moms job to do. We are just there to help, Kent said. She was incredible. She did everything she was supposed to.

A healthy baby boy was born.

It was incredible, Kent said. I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of the beginning of that babys journey and the moms journey because I feel like she is not going to forget she gave birth in the back of an ambulance.

She said the experience solidified her confidence that she picked the right career path.
When you do a double-back, thats a lot of stress on the glass, Schumacher said, raising his voice to be heard over the forge. So what I do is put it back in the fire when its not so hot, and it cools off the bend slower.

After the shaping process, he attaches the glass to a machine to remove the air inside and fill it with his gas of choice, then powers it on to test it. Argon will glow white, neon will glow red, and most glass used in signs has a colored coating applied to the outside.

Schumacher, who still speaks with a German accent and identifies as Texan, started out as an employee at a sign shop in Killeen in 1982 at the age of 25. While he was there, an older employee getting ready to retire taught Schumacher everything he could about how to shape glass.

Well, now Im the old man and I cannot find anybody! Schumacher said as he put finishing touches on a glass tube he had just finished bending and cutting into shape. Thats the problem with this industry, all neon benders are old and kind of fading away. Neon really came back strong over the last couple of years, but hardly anybody can do it anymore.
Under the congressional budget process, certain measures regarding revenues, spending and the debt can be approved with a 51-vote threshold, which is why Democrats are pursuing it. The process allows them to bypass a near-certain filibuster from Republicans.

But theres a catch: The Senates nonpartisan parliamentarian can rule for the removal of any provision not directly related to the budget, or items whose budget impact is merely incidental to their intended policy changes.

In the end, Democrats would not achieve their goal of federal standards through the infrastructure bill alone but could incentivize some states to move in that direction.

Money with incentives has passed before. So lets see what we can get approved, Klobuchar said. But again, that is only part of it. Look, its not the whole thing, right? But its a tool you dont want to let go.
The Haitians employ several proverbs to describe their lives. One Creole proverb: Lespwa Fe Viv, which translates to, Hope makes one live. What our American eyes could not see in those early days, amidst the challenges and the suffering, were the glimpses of hope that somehow motivated some of the worlds most under-resourced humans we have been privileged to now call our friends.

While many know only our work as Mission Waco, our full title is Mission Waco/Mission World. For more than 28 years our purpose, here and afar, is to empower the poor and the marginalized; engage middle-class folks to become compassionately involved with them; and deal with the systemic issues that keep others poor and powerless. To that end, our departure from the training in Haiti 37 years ago never really ended at all. In fact, it has increased a hundredfold in the same village where our hearts were broken and our eyes opened.
Just Google it?

Since actual critical race theory is only taught in college, in particular law school, go ahead and ban CRT from high school and below, since its not taught there anyway. Now ask yourself if we should be teaching our children the triumphs AND failures of our country. Because that is what will really get banned under the guise of CRT. The legislation that states are passing, or trying to pass, will be banning our teachers from talking about our countrys failures and only teaching the triumphs. Would you rather these students learn from their teachers or from Google? Because the minute some question comes up that the teacher is forbidden from answering, that student is going to go home and Google it, which may or may not be accurate. I would much rather my kids learn from their teachers. Those who dont learn from history (the good, the bad, and the ugly) are doomed to repeat it.
Portman said meetings were planned Sunday to discuss alternatives to the IRS provision.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressuring lawmakers to reach agreement this week on the pair of massive domestic spending measures, signaling Democrats desire to push ahead aggressively on President Joe Bidens multitrillion-dollar agenda.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week that he is scheduling a procedural vote for Wednesday to begin debate on the still-evolving bipartisan infrastructure bill. Senators from both parties, bargaining for weeks, have struggled to reach final agreement on a $1 trillion package of highway, water systems and other public works projects.

Portman on Sunday called that an arbitrary deadline and one that was premature given that senators haven't even agreed on details of the complex bill yet.

We want to get it right. Its not too much to ask that we have time to do that," Portman said. "We ought not to have an arbitrary deadline forcing this process.

Schumer said he also wanted Democratic senators to reach agreement among themselves by Wednesday on the specific details of a separate 10-year budget blueprint that envisions $3.5 trillion in spending for climate change, education, an expansion of Medicare and more.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
WASHINGTON (AP)  So much for Donald Trump's quest for "perfect" hair.

President Joe Biden's administration is reversing a Trump-era rule approved after the former president complained he wasn't getting wet enough because of limits on water flow from showerheads.

Now, with a new president in office, the Energy Department is going back to a standard adopted in 2013, saying it provides plenty of water for a good soak and a thorough clean.

The rule change will have little practical effect, since nearly all commercially made showerheads comply with the 2013 rule  the pet peeve of the former president notwithstanding.

A department official said the action clarifies what's been happening in the marketplace. Showers that provide the extra supply of water desired by Trump are not easily found, said the official, who insisted on anonymity because the rule change had not been made public.

Since 1992, federal law has dictated that new showerheads should not pour more than 2.5 gallons (9.5 liters) of water per minute. As newer shower fixtures came out with multiple nozzles, the Obama administration defined the showerhead restrictions to apply to what comes out in total. So if there are four nozzles, no more than 2.5 gallons total should come out among all four.
October 26, 1925-July 17, 2021

WATERLOO-Wayne W. Burger, 95, of Waterloo, died Saturday, July 17, at Ravenwood Specialty Care.

He was born October 26, 1925, in rural Fox township in Black Hawk County, the son of Albert A. and Anna F. Arend Burger.

Wayne graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1944 and served in the United States Navy Air Force during Word War II. He was employed as a plumber by numerous Waterloo plumbing contractors, also served as plumbing inspector for the city of Waterloo for 25 years, retiring on January 5, 1988.

Survivors include: his son, Wayne W. Bill Burger II of Cedar Falls and several nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by: his parents; his sister and brother-in-law, Theodora and Melvin Brustkern.

Mass of Christian Burial: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Full military rites will be conducted by Evansdale Amvets Post 31, assisted by the United States Naval Honor Guard. Public visitation from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, at Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service on South Street, where there will be a 4 p.m. rosary. Visitation also one hour prior to services Wednesday at the church.
CEDAR FALLS  Two people were killed when a barn collapsed in Cedar Falls on Friday night.

On Saturday, the Dike-New Hartford School District sent a letter offering condolences to families affected by the loss of two people killed in a barn collapse, according to a Dike parent who received a copy.

The letter identifies those killed as Andy Kaufman and his son, Beckett, who was about to enter fourth grade. The Courier was unable to confirm the letter refers to the Cedar Falls barn collapse.

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Cedar Falls Fire Rescue was dispatched to 9702 Viking Road at around 6:30 p.m. Friday for a response to traumatic injuries. Dispatch advised that a barn had fallen on two male subjects, according to a news release.

After arriving on scene, firefighters were told there were possibly two people in the barn when the roof collapsed. Bystanders said they hadnt been able to get a response from those trapped in the rubble. During the recovery effort, two victims were found obviously deceased, the release said. Fire officials determined the victims died instantly in the collapse.

Cedar Falls Fire officials said Sunday they weren't yet able to release the names of the deceased, and did not have a timeline for when that might occur.
By level, 87 of the requests are at the elementaries, 21 at the middle schools and 28 at the high schools.

Its definitely skewed toward our littlest learners, said Lindaman, noting the districts open enrollment requests are generally weighted toward early elementary grades. Proportionally, its very heavily skewed toward our kindergarten class.

That can be seen in the 29 Waterloo Schools open enrollment out requests accepted Monday by Cedar Falls Community Schools Board of Education. Nine requests were for kindergartners, five for first-graders and four for fourth-graders. One to three requests were made for students in the other elementary grades along with three sophomores and one senior.

The Cedar Falls board denied 15 other requests to open enroll in from Waterloo Schools. All but two were for students going into seventh- through ninth-grades. Cedar Falls Superintendent Andy Pattee said those denials related to capacity limits at the districts two junior high schools. The other two at Cedar Falls High School were denied due to program needs.

Along with those 44, Waterloo Schools officials said they have received four other open enrollment out requests to Cedar Falls, and seven of the total are for the districts virtual learning program.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Los Angeles County will again require masks be worn indoors in the nation's largest county, even by those vaccinated against the coronavirus, while the University of California system also said Thursday that students, faculty and staff must be inoculated against the disease to return to campuses.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  President Joe Biden has nominated former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver to the board of a federal organization that works to ensure rural areas have access to credit.

If confirmed by the Senate, it would be Culvers second turn serving on the board of the Federal Agriculture Mortgage Corp., commonly referred to as Farmer Mac. President Barack Obama appointed Culver to the board in 2012 and he served until December 2019, when he was removed by President Donald Trump.

Farmer Mac is governed by a 15-member board, five of whom are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Five members are elected by stockholders representing banks and insurance companies and five are elected by stockholders representing the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending and service organizations focused on financing the agriculture sector.

Farmer Mac was created by Congress after the farm crisis of the 1980s.

The bottom line is we want to make sure capital is flowing to rural America to farmers, to rural communities, to co-ops. Any rural-based business or industry can benefit from Farmer Mac, Culver said. I want to make sure that continues into the future and thats another reason Im privileged and honored to serve."
Its all about the quality and the skill of the people that you hire and are working with, she said.

Thomas said many companies often experience issues with delivery and quality when outsourcing their tool production, which, in turn, gives his company the opportunity to make things right.

With Ford and GM, we kept them from shutting down because of a poorly made part offshore, Thomas said. We were able to improve the tool enough that we could take it to their facility and run it in their presses.

However, Thomas also attributed the companys continued success to its investment in quality employees. The company participates in promoting trade school education, and those that it hires are given competitive pay and workplace flexibility.

Its the people that you hire, and the people that grow every day that make the company better, Thomas said. This is a family business. Its not just about pushing numbers.

Though the company faces challenges, ranging from workforce shortages to a transition from in-person to online sales methods, Thomas said he feels confident in the future of his now-historic family business.

Its really rewarding, he said. Seeing our employees and our company grow is a rewarding thing to see.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Telegraph Herald.

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DES MOINES --- The past seven months under a Democratic administration have made the America of the previous four years unrecognizable to the political speakers at a Christian conservative event held Friday in Des Moines.

Former vice president Mike Pence, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the speakers at The Family Leadership Summit, the 10th annual event hosted by The Family Leader, an Iowa-based Christian conservative advocacy organization.

Pence, Noem and Pompeo are all possible Republican presidential candidates for 2024 -- likely depending on whether former President Donald Trump decides to run again -- and they took turns lambasting President Joe Bidens administration.

The damage theyve done to this country in such a short period of time, Pence lamented during his remarks.

Noem talked about recently becoming a grandmother for the first time, and offered her own lament.

I really hate this America that were giving (her new granddaughter), Noem said. I dont recognize the country I had an opportunity to grow up in.
The cops havent talked to me. No one has talked to me. You are the first person that has called me, said Jones, of Oskaloosa. I wasnt involved in anything. I have alibis and everything. I am just waiting for someone to come talk to me.

He ended the interview without answering whether he had made prior statements about Tibbetts' death.

The 24-year-old Hansen, of Sigourney, said allegations that he was involved in Tibbetts death are crazy" and starting to spread online.

I have no clue why my name even got brought up with this, Hansen said.

Jurors convicted Bahena Rivera in May after a two-week trial during which prosecutors argued that the 27-year-old farmhand stalked and approached Tibbetts while she was out for an evening run. They said he killed her after she threatened to call police and dumped her body in a cornfield.

Bahena Rivera claimed in his courtroom testimony that two masked men broke into his trailer and forced him to drive them around at gunpoint. He said they came upon Tibbetts, and that one of them stabbed her to death and loaded her body in his car's trunk before instructing him to dispose of it.
The U.S. should be better than that. Yet the Republican Party doesnt want any discussion of the history of U.S. systemic racism. Iowas Republican-controlled Legislature outlawed teaching that the U.S. or Iowa is fundamentally or systematically racist or sexist. They should read Richard Rothsteins The Color of Law about institutional racism imposed by Republicans and Democrats. Theyd learn government is largely to blame for segregated housing, slums and entrenched poverty. During much of the 20th century, the Federal Housing Administration had an openly stated prohibition on sales to Blacks. Nationwide, it wouldnt even insure mortgages for Whites if Blacks lived in the neighborhood. A cooperative, including Black members, bought a 260-acre ranch in Palo Alto, Calif., to build 400 homes in 1948. Banks wouldnt finance it because the FHA denied insurance.
My heart breaks for them, she said. I think something needs to be done about this ride.

Best said Estradas account was consistent with what happened to the Jaramillos and suggests the boats were not properly floating on the day of the incident.

There was a broader problem, he said.

Adventureland attorney Guy Cook said Friday that the park was unaware of Estradas claims and that the investigation to date has found no such narrative.

The senior operators have no reports of any difficulties with the boats from guests prior to the tragic accident, he said. Nevertheless, all information and reports will be considered as the investigation continues.

The state report notes that the parks maintenance staff took the Jaramillos boat and others out of service earlier that day due to rafts on boats deflating. Workers replaced the deflated bladders in the rafts before putting the boats back into service.

Cook said each boats raft has eight bladders, and they are monitored and routinely taken out so they can be refilled with air or replaced if they get deflated.

Theres nothing unusual about that, he said.
The pandemic has presented many a sad sight around San Francisco and beyondanyone who always got a smile from the city's passing cable cars has missed the ding and whir and those historic trolleys, which went on hiatus during quarantine. Guess what? They're back.

Plus, SF's big new crop of parklets is here to stay, one of Oakland's Victorian homes could be yours for free, and more local headlines to make you feel warm and fuzzy.





Cable Cars Return For Testing and (Maybe) Free Rides, SFist

In the coming weeks, expect to see some cable cars cruising around the city as they gear up for full service in the fall plus free rides in August. If you're lucky, you just might find an operator willing to welcome you on board for free this month. Read more.





San Francisco makes parklets program permanent, SFGate

Thanks to an unanimous board vote, SF's beloved sidewalk-adjacent parklets can stay long after the pandemic is over. Fees for restaurants won't begin for two years and businesses can opt to close their parklets overnight. Read more.





Meet the Bay Area word nerds that make New York Times crosswords, Berkeleyside

Ever wondered who makes the ever-so-puzzling crosswords? A couple of Bay Area residents have contributedand there's a budding collaborative community here too. Read more.



How Berkeley Bowl cashiers memorize literally everything in their legendary produce department, SFGate

With some 3,000 produce items and no standard codebook, getting familiar with all of Berkeley Bowl's offerings is no easy feat. To get started, new cashier trainees have just one week to memorize codes for the 100 most popular produce itemsand take a test. Read more.





S.F.'s Kuinini "Nini" Manumua will represent Tonga as a weightlifter in Olympics, SFChronicle

Less than a decade after she began weightlifting at Lincoln High School, Hunters Point resident Kuinini "Nini" Manumua is heading to Tokyo to make history. Read more.





Oakland Victorian house on the market for freeon one condition, Kron4

If you've got some extra land on hand and are prepared to undertake the home's relocation process and much-needed makeover, then the house 2428 Chestnut Street could be yours. Check out the Craigslist listing. Read more.
Margaret Manson and Jared Hanson met as so many creative Bay Area types do: at Philz Coffee.

Manson, a freelance copywriter, was doing the work-from-Philz thing that day; Hanson just happened to get a nail in his tire and was waiting on a repair nearby. And so began their first date: After chatting a bit at the cafe, he asked her out to lunch; they spent the next couple hours at a restaurant around the corner. Two years later, he proposed on their deck in the Berkeley hills post-New Year's Eve fireworks.



The couple wanted a wedding that would be authentic to themno hotel ballrooms that would feel like a disconnect.

"We wanted our friends and family to arrive at our wedding and think, 'Oh yeah, this is so Margaret and Jared,'" says Manson. While brainstorming, the couple who loves eating out together kept circling back to one big priority: great food and drinks. They decided to treat their guests to "an incredible culinary experience," not typical wedding fare. "We had many guests traveling from out of town, and we wanted to highlight the Bay Area's focus on great, fresh food."

The other requirement: an outdoor ceremony.

Berkeley's Oaxacan eatery Comal has been their favorite for years (it's within walking distance of their home), and it was their top choicebut the restaurant had never hosted a wedding before. "When Comal said they thought it would be fun to host our wedding, we literally did a happy dance. We felt like we had hit the jackpot, because Comal is representative of us. We eat there often, and we were excited to share our favorite neighborhood restaurant with our loved ones."

The spacious, outdoor patio provided a rustic-chic alfresco spot for the ceremony where, in an "unorthodox" move, family members' speeches took place (the couple wanted dinner to be uninterrupted). "It ended up being one of the best decisions we made," says Hanson. "Not only did our speakers have everyone's undivided attentionwithout guests attempting to eat while listeningbut it also gave our families the opportunity to say a few words before we became husband and wife, which made their blessings an integral part of the ceremony."

The couple had also shared their vows with each other before the big day so that they could relax and really appreciate what they were promising to each other rather than being flooded with raw emotion. "Some purists might disapprove of this idea, but we followed what felt right to us and it ended up enhancing our experience," says Manson. "Everything happens so fast on your wedding day that it's difficult to absorb each moment and every word."

And then it was on to dinner inside, where there were fresh tortillas, mezcal tastings, and signature his-and-hers cocktails ("the Hanson" and "the Manson"). Chef Matt Gandin personalized the experiencetheir friends and family are still raving. Then it was back outside for dancing under the stars.



"Most wedding venues are very prescriptive: You can only use certain caterers, the music has to be off at 10pm on the dot, and you pick from a limited and basic beverage list," says Manson, praising the Comal team for being so open about the details. "Also, Comal has such a cool environment that we didn't need to bring in decor. We brought flowers, and that's it. The restaurantboth outside and insideis modern while feeling warm and inviting, and that's our own design aesthetic at home."

Favorite moments? They surprises they planned for their loved ones. Manson and her family love to dance, so she and her dad and sister choreographed a routine. Then, Hanson's cousin grabbed the mic and sang "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" to invite everyone else to the dance floor.

"Our message to couples is this: Don't be scared to deviate from traditions if it feels right for you, because those unusual moments will be the ones that you and your guests enjoy the most," Hanson says. Cheers to that.

Venue: Comal

Wedding Coordinator: Etc. Events

Florist: Belle Flower

Hair and makeup: Angela Womack

Dress: The Blair from Rime Arodaky (French designer found at Loho Bride in San Francisco)

Bride's engagement ring: Custom made by Margaret's mother's partner (David Byron Design)

Bride's wedding ring: Sausalito Jewelers

Bride's hair accessories: "Take My Breath Away Hairpins" from Olivia the Wolf

Bride's necklace and earrings: Luv Aj

Bride's shoes: Sexy Thing from Aquazurra

Groom's suit and shirt: Custom Giorgio Armani

Groom's shoes: Giorgio Armani

Groom's wedding ring: titanium ring from Curtis Arima, found at Shibumi Gallery in Berkeley

Save the date cards, invitations and thank you cards: Minted

Photography: Melissa Gayle Photography

Videographer: Imperial Productions

DJ: Dart Collective
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

When a young Tania Pomales informed the grown-ups she wanted to become an artist, they sometimes said she was crazy.

I said, I know Im going to be an artist and you cant change my mind!  the New Jersey-based painter exclaimed in a phone interview.

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Today, her oils weave echoes of Frida Kahlo with a dash of surrealism grounded by the Day of the Dead.

Skulls take center stage, trailed in flowers and vines. Moths flutter at the center, while hummingbirds hover. The artist shows her work at Santa Fes Keep Contemporary.

Pomales family embraced their Puerto Rican heritage and passed on those traditions to their daughter.

I grew up in a very Hispanic-influenced household, the artist said. I learned English and Spanish at the same time. They instilled in me a love for the culture and the language.

In school, Pomales was always the art kid.

When her mother came home from shopping, she always brought her daughter pencils and pens.

Pomales scribbled and drew across old phone book pages from the time she was 3.

I always had a knowing, she said of her future profession.

During the pandemic, Pomales devoted all of her time to her painting, producing between 25 and 30 works. She prefers the richness of oils and the consistency of its color.

I call it magic, she said.

Im inspired by Day of the Dead, but Im also inspired by the idea of dying and learning to live your life while youre on this Earth, Pomales continued. Its an exploration of the cyclical nature of life.

The oil-on-wood panel I Am Clarity stemmed from a recent series called Incantations. Many of Pomales ideas arise during daily 30-minute meditations.

I just let the ideas come to me, she said. All of the titles of the paintings are affirmations.

With a rare white hummingbird arising from the top of a skull, her oil-and-silver-enamel Spirit was part of a show of small paintings at Californias Dark Art Emporium, called Tiny Terrorists.

Everything had to be 10 inches or under, Pomales explained. I was trying to tell the story of the ephemeral nature of the human soul. We have to give the soul wings and let it fly.

Deaths Warm Embrace revisits the continuity of life and death in oil on wood panel through a skull sprouting mushrooms.

Its the idea that something dies and it becomes a tree; its taken into the ground and turns into a tree, Pomales said.

This piece was part of an online show at Gristle Gallery in New York called Toadstools, Pomales continued. The theme was anything fungi-related.

The late author and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer inspired Give and Receive, with its hands emerging from a hearts ventricles.

What you put into the world, you get out of it, Pomales said. If you want kindness, you give out kindness. When you give out that kindness, you always get it back.

Some observers have called her work dark and surreal.

Pomales agrees.

I use a lot of images of skulls and death. But I try to pair it with life. And its surreal because, sometimes, I cant wrap my head around it.

When Pomales feels discouraged, she remembers Frida Kahlo.

She lived a life of physical pain and anguish, and she managed to create work that transcended time and her generation, she said. When I feel down, I look to her.
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Last month, a group of 24 New Mexico Democrats sent a letter to President Biden supporting the administrations moratorium on federal oil and gas leases.

While my former colleagues are correct that we have a responsibility to combat climate change, they conveniently fail to acknowledge the devasting impact banning oil and gas operations on federal lands and waters will have on our recovering economy here in New Mexico, and the fact that President Bidens executive order could very well just be the tip of the iceberg.

The Biden administration has clearly made environmental regulation a priority, but additional  and potentially overreaching  regulation of the oil and gas industry will gravely impact our state, and threaten its revenues and future. Our elected officials need instead to find a solution that works for both New Mexicos business community and our environment.

The oil and gas industry plays a critical role in New Mexico, creating jobs and boosting local economies through employment, as well as payments to state and local governments. Over one-third of our state is made up of federal land, enabling our communities to benefit from the development of oil and gas resources by the Bureau of Land Management. In 2020, proceeds to New Mexico derived from drilling on federal land totaled $707 million  the highest amount of any state in the country  and accounted for nearly 10% of our states total budget. However, if this leasing ban were to be enacted permanently, this revenue would be gone.

That potential lost revenue is concerning. As a former Democratic state representative and current chairman of Sustainable New Mexico, I am well-versed in just how critical money received from oil and gas operations can be to local, tribal and state authorities. Funds from oil and gas operations help to support a range of public outlays, including schools, hospitals, parks and other essentials. Without this monetary support from the oil and gas industry, communities across New Mexico could face a budgetary crisis.

Most notably, oil and gas has provided our state with $1.37 billion for education, accounting for over one-third of our annual education budget. This money goes toward salaries, professional development and other needs, helping to provide a reliable educational foundation for New Mexicos youth that prepares them well for the future. Yet, it remains to be seen how this funding would be sourced if a federal leasing ban were to become permanent. New Mexican students would suffer unduly as we would need to balance education funding with support for our reopening and recovery.

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Additionally, the oil and gas sector supports 134,000 jobs in New Mexico, providing well-paying careers and consistent paychecks to workers in every corner of the state. However, a report by the American Petroleum Institute found that, if the federal leasing ban is made permanent, New Mexico could lose up to 62,000 jobs by 2022 and risk $1.1 billion in state revenue. We cannot simply write off the livelihoods of 62,000 New Mexicans in one fell swoop  especially not as our state tries to recover from one of the most trying periods in history. A permanent leasing ban would do irreparable damage to our local communities and economies.

While the White Houses focus on combating climate change is well-intentioned, the unintended consequences of a federal leasing ban are too severe to be ignored. If leasing of federal lands were to be halted, billions in tax revenue that fund education, health care and other public initiatives in New Mexico would disappear. This unfairly harms the children, families and communities that comprise our state  including many in rural or tribal areas. In terms of leasing bans, I can only hope that President Biden understands both the pros and the cons of such an action. Oil and gas operations provide crucial revenue streams to New Mexico and other energy states. A federal leasing ban would only hurt New Mexicans at a time when they need help the most.

Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde is a former Democratic member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, where he served as vice-chairman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. He is currently the chairman of Sustainable New Mexico.
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The Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was the violent consequence of a collaborative plot instigated by the 45th President of the United Sates, Donald Trump, and supported by dishonest members of Congress, a former general and unethical, so-called news media to overturn the election of Joseph Biden, the 46th president of the United States.

Throughout the campaign, Trump continually undermined confidence in the upcoming election, and appointed and cheered on a Postal Service CEO who initiated policies that hindered mail-in ballots from being received prior to election deadlines.

On the night of the election, Trump shamelessly claimed victory before all the votes were tabulated, but he began to claim election malfeasance and fraud when the votes showed he was going to lose. Subsequently, discredited attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell filed nearly 60 lawsuits on behalf of the Trump campaign, claiming election irregularities and fraud  all, or nearly all, of which were thrown out of court for lack of evidence.

Undeterred by law, Trump unscrupulously attempted to intimidate the Georgia Secretary of State to find him the votes necessary to win the state. Similarly, he personally intervened with state officials, trying to convince them not to certify the election in their states, and, finally, he tried to get several state legislatures to overturn the certified votes from their state.

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Trump was informed by numerous officials, including his attorney general, that there was no degree of fraud to change the election results; he had lost. Nevertheless, he continued  and continues  to claim that he was cheated.

Trump should have been declared a nut case by the media and every reputable official, but his unhinged claims of election fraud were widely and unethically repeated and supported by Fox News and News Max personalities, as well as numerous members of Congress, namely Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Steve Scalise and New Mexicos Yvette Herrell.

It is also well established that some members of Trumps failed presidential campaign and his political allies played key roles in organizing the Washington rally at which Trump, Giuliani, Mike Flynn and others spoke, and which became the premise to assemble a mob near the U.S. Capitol. Trump and his accomplices knew very well the potential consequences of the rally  listen to their rhetoric on Jan. 6.

Trump and numerous Republican members of Congress knowingly lied to the American people and committed sedition to overthrow the election of the next President of the United States. As such, they also betrayed their oath of office to defend the Constitution of the United States.

The American people must never forget, and we must hold them responsible for the crimes they willfully committed against the United States. Unfortunately, the Republican Party believes that protecting their corrupt cronies is more important than their country. The betrayers among them must never again be elected to any office, and I urge the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute  all of them.

Joseph DAnna lives in White Rock.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A community science project is unfolding on the mountain slopes above Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico and elsewhere are asking bird-watchers to take note of the birds they see and hear during breeding season  part of a multi-year project intended to help scientists understand how bird populations respond to climate change.

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Ethan Linck, a postdoctoral research fellow in biology at UNM, helped start the project, called the Mountain Bird Network. He described it as a fun, meaningful way to involve the community in scientific research.

Scientists, Linck said, have examined how bird populations in tropical areas are responding to climate change. But they could use a good baseline for birds in North America  information they can come back to in future years to see whether certain species are, say, moving up the mountain side as the Earth gets hotter.

There have been relatively few studies asking this same question in North America, Linck said in a recent interview. But what we do have is an amazing, dedicated group of bird-watchers all across the country.

Deception Peak by the Santa Fe ski area and the Sandia Mountains by Albuquerque, he said, are great places for watching birds.

They are part of the project, along with Mount Hood in Oregon and Mount Seymour in British Columbia.

The project is already attracting experienced birders.

Jenna McCullough, a third-generation bird-watcher and doctoral student at UNM, said she visited Santa Fe several mornings in June, stopping at a series of campgrounds and pullouts near the ski area for five minutes at a time to record birds.

She said she jumped at the chance to bird with a purpose.

Involved in science

The project monitors birds during breeding season. This years work started June 1 and was set to end Thursday, though Linck said any data collected in the week or so would likely by helpful, too.

Birders who want to help are asked to visit either the Deception Peak area  such as the road up to Ski Santa Fe  or the Sandia Mountains between sunrise and 10 a.m.

Basically, anywhere on the mountain is fair game, Linck said.

Using the free eBird app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, participants should stand in one place for five minutes and record all the birds they see and hear. More specific instructions are published on Lincks Mountain Bird Network site.

Linck said the project isnt just for experienced birders. People who arent confident in their skills are welcome to download the Merlin Bird app or other tools that use photos and audio recordings to identify birds.

Even if people arent experts, if they can identify any bird they can help out  even if you just know what a robin looks like and thats the only species you know, Linck said.

One goal of the Mountain Bird Project, he said, is simply to get ordinary people involved in science.

Linck said he hopes the project helps demystify science and show that it isnt something confined to exclusive universities.

When you participate in one of these community science projects, he said, you are playing a role in the scientific process that can then be turned into public knowledge.

It also lets people see some of the messiness in the science. Theres going to be a lot of uncertainty, he said.

Learning to care

McCullough, who studies the genetics and evolution of such pacific birds as kingfishers, said the project was a fun way to contribute to scientific research.

The more people connect with nature, she said, the more theyll care about it and care about conservation.

Linck said the project will help shed light on how New Mexico species are adapting to climate change. Roadrunners, for example, are a frequent sight in Albuquerque, but they appear to be showing up more often, he said, in Santa Fe County.

Learn more

github.com/elinck/mountain_bird_network
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Cannabis legalization comes with many legal nuances states will need to negotiate. For New Mexico, these include how the state is equipped to handle a likely increase of cannabis DUIs, cannabis DUI testing and officer training surrounding cannabis.

When Colorado and Arizona legalized recreational cannabis, the two states saw an increase in impaired drivers, Capt. Micah Doering, district 10 commander with the New Mexico State Police, said. He added that, when Colorado legalized pot, he saw an increase in cannabis DUIs and crashes in the northwest corner of the state.

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Doering, based out of Farmington, is an instructor in the state polices Drug Recognition Expert program for officers, he said. Currently, there isnt a threshold for cannabis impairment like there is for alcohol, he said.

For alcohol, a person is legally considered impaired if their breathalyzer test comes back with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher, he said. Since cannabis impacts everyone differently depending on a persons use and tolerance level, its more difficult to establish these types of thresholds.

This is why its important to have Drug Recognition Expert officers, Doering said, noting that these officers can help distinguish if a person is truly impaired by cannabis.

There are those who use regularly and are far less impaired, or not impaired, with cannabis in their system, he said. We need to treat people individually based on their personal impairment level, not just a number.

He said alcohol is more predictable in terms of impairment than cannabis. Someone who has never had cannabis before will be more impaired at a much lower level than someone who uses regularly, he said.

There are about 70 to 80 Drug Recognition Expert officers in the state, Doering said. He said he would like to see more participation in the program to help spread the workload and have more expertise at law enforcement agencies.

With legalization, New Mexico lawmakers also approved legislation that included $750,000 in funding to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to help more officers get Drug Recognition Expert certification and roadside impairment tests.

At the Santa Fe Police Department, there are currently two Drug Recognition Expert officers on staff, Support Operations Capt. Anthony Tapia said. He said hed like to have at least six such officers, giving the department one drug expert per shift.

(Its) a difficult course to get officers into, especially with the legalization, he said. We hope that the state of New Mexico will bring those courses locally, so we can send more officers to that type of class.

Tapia said hes spoken with Colorado agencies, which say they saw an increase of DUIs with legalization and expect that to be the case in New Mexico. He said he hopes people are responsible, and do not consume cannabis and drive.

As far as detecting whether someone is intoxicated, both Tapia and Doering said a standard field sobriety test is used for both alcohol and drugs. Officers will first look for erratic driving, bloodshot eyes, possible impaired speech and the smell of such substances as alcohol or pot.

Officers can still use the smell of cannabis in DUI investigations, just like they would with the smell of alcohol, the two officers said. However, officers can no longer use the smell of cannabis as a suspicion of illegal activity or to search someones vehicle.

Things get a little trickier when chemically testing for cannabis impairment versus alcohol. With alcohol, officers can use a breathalyzer test to determine someones blood alcohol content  but no such test exists for cannabis.

Currently, the main way for law enforcement to check for cannabis use is a blood test, judicial and law enforcement officials said. However, the test determines only recent use.

Laboratory blood testing does not determine intoxication, David Morgan, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Health, said via email. It demonstrates exposure and possible intoxication.

The Departments Scientific Laboratory Division is responsible for testing for cannabis. The toxicology bureau tests blood for the presence of cannabis and cannabis metabolites, which can indicate recent use that may, or may not, cause impairment.

He said its more difficult to test blood for active cannabis metabolites versus alcohol. Its also harder to extract from blood and requires a skilled forensic scientist to analyze the sample.

Cannabis is more potent: blood concentrations are about 1,000 times less for cannabis versus alcohol for similar potential driving risk, he said in his email.

He said he doesnt know if there will be increased demand for cannabis testing with legalization.

However, defense attorneys say its important to distinguish cannabis use from cannabis impairment.

I think, with a lot of drugs, people just automatically think anybody thats using something is impaired, Chief Public Defender Ben Baur said. There are all kinds of things that we take, with or without prescriptions, including alcohol and  antidepressants, that actually do not impair peoples ability to drive.

Appellate Defender Kim Chavez Cook with the Public Defenders Office said she thinks that what officers observe from the driver is more important than any number on a piece of paper from a chemical test. With its current illegal federal classification, researching cannabis is still challenging.

There isnt a consensus among the scientific community on cannabis impairment like there is with alcohol, she said.

(Cannabis) stays in your system for hours so, even once youve sobered up, that number might still suggest that you would be impaired, but the fact is that you werent, Chavez Cook said.

She added its important to note arrest for a cannabis DUI doesnt necessarily equate to conviction. She noted the increase in cannabis DUI arrests in Colorado with legalization, but said there wasnt good data to show how many of these arrests led to a conviction.

Dianna Luce, 5th Judicial District Attorney and president of the New Mexico District Attorney Association, says this speaks to the importance of drug recognition officers. She said that because there isnt a good way to chemically test for impairment, cases will likely depend on officers observations.

The question is, how will they be investigated? And what will be the quality of the case that comes to a prosecutors office for review? Then, will that lead to a conviction, or not enough evidence, as deemed by a judge or a jury? Luce said.

Due to a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court Case, Birchfield v. North Dakota, officers can no longer require a warrantless blood test on DUI cases, Luce said. In New Mexico, a person arrested for a misdemeanor DUI is not required to do a blood test. The person still must comply with a breathalyzer test because that is considered less invasive and falls under implied consent.

To get a blood test, the person must willingly comply with officers or, in a felony DUI case, officers must get a search warrant. This leaves one more piece of evidence prosecutors wont be able to use in cannabis DUI cases,Luce said.

She said shes worried about public safety with a likely increase in cannabis DUIs and the limited number of drug recognition officers in the state.

Defense attorney David Foster said its important to protect someones constitutional rights to privacy when it comes to blood tests, as the Supreme Court ruled. He said the blood test evidence might also be confusing to a jury.

He added officers also shouldnt be able to use the mere presence of cannabis in a vehicle as indicative of consumption. He said it should be treated like an unopened alcohol bottle because even an old, half-consumed cannabis joint in a car doesnt indicate recent use.

Foster said he believes prosecutors need more education on how cannabis metabolites can affect someone; without it, he fears too many people will be improperly charged.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Bill Haggerty, author of Discovering the Colorado Plateau: A Guide to the Regions Hidden Wonders, thinks that hidden in the subtitle really means less-visited.

The book purposely avoids the well-traveled public land destinations on the plateau, such as Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Mesa Verde and Capitol Reef national parks. I made a conscious effort to not write about the big ones, Haggerty said in a phone interview from his home in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The high desert plateau encompasses 140,000 square miles in chunks of four states  northwest New Mexico, western Colorado, southern and eastern Utah, and northern Arizona. Its brimming with wondrous treasures, hidden and famous  national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, a national historical park, millions of acres of national forest, Bureau of Land Management lands and other protected public properties.

Haggertys book is a plainspoken, information-packed travel guide to the regions less-visited public lands with snappy, bright discussions and asides on their history, geography, archaeology, geology, culture and politics. All are enticements for hiking, biking, birding, rafting or photographing. Or simply admiring the beauty of the landscapes  canyons, mesas, rock formations and ancient ruins.

One chapter of Part 3 (Aztec Ruins National Monument) and four chapters of Part 4 focus on the hidden wonders of public lands in New Mexico. These are the four:

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 El Malpais National Monument and National Conservation Area just south of Grants. Malpais translates from the Spanish as badlands. Haggerty recommends a signature activity in each chapter. For the Malpais, lava tubing. A rough, bumpy hike through a very dark (cave-like) lava tube.

You havent lived until youve cruised through a lava tube! the author writes.

 El Morro National Monument. An awe-inspiring spiral rock formation known for its many centuries-old inscriptions and etchings. The nearest towns are Gallup and Grants.

 Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Hunter-gatherers lived here from 900 B.C. It is considered an important pre-Columbian cultural and historical area. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The nearest communities are Cuba, Nageezi and Farmington.

 Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, south of Farmington. The area contains a pack of strange toad-shaped rock formations.

Every chapter in the book gives an overview of a public property as well as relevant facts such as size, year established, nearest public property, whether fees/permits are required and if its dog-friendly.

Haggerty writes the Bisti is nasty hot at certain times of year, no water or shade, and after wandering a few miles, the rock takes a toll on dog paws.

He inserts lively sidebars. In one, Haggerty tells of the artist Georgia OKeeffe driving 150 miles over horrific dirt roads from her Ghost Ranch home to the Bisti in 1936 and for the next 14 years to camp, to sketch and to contemplate nature 

Each chapters signature activity has relevant points for visitors  why go, the trailhead/put-in, distance/length of trail, average trail time required, trail difficulty, contact/managing agency, and special considerations (i.e. suggested time of day to travel, requirements for water, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and learning to use GPS).

Haggerty hopes readers, despite being cooped up so long during the pandemic, wont break out and love the less-frequented wonders to death.

I hope people who read the book understand the sensitivity of the environment. You have to tread lightly. Please dont trash it, he urged.

Working on the book over two years, Haggerty figured he put 30,000 miles on his 2015 Toyota Tacoma and 18-foot Airstream trailer.

Besides being a writer and photographer, hes a conservationist, naturalist, wildlife enthusiast and public lands advocate.
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FORT SUMNER  Did Billy have a gun?

July 14 marked the 140th anniversary of the night Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett killed outlaw Billy the Kid in a darkened room of a house in Old Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Thats a fact. Never mind what you saw in the Young Guns II movie, most reputable historians and researchers agree that Garrett shot the Kid to death that night. What some doubt, however, is that the Kid was carrying a gun at the time, as Garrett and others on the scene reported.

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If Billy the Kid had had a gun that night in Fort Sumner, there would have been another dead Lincoln County Sheriff, said Paul Hutton, distinguished professor of history at the University of New Mexico. If he had had a gun, hed got Garrett.

A grave situation

On a recent weekday morning, Jody McCulloch was reading information posted on placards and slabs near the Kids grave in the Old Fort Sumner Cemetery. McCulloch, 69, of Smyrna, Tennessee, and his sister, Margie, 72, of Nashville, Tennessee, were on a Southwest road trip, heading to Albuquerque, when a highway sign lured them to this quiet place.

Ive always been a Western fan, Jody said.

Billys outlaw pals, Tom OFolliard and Charlie Bowdre, both killed by Garrett and his posse in December 1880, are buried next to the Kid. The graves and grave markers of the three are enclosed within bars to protect them from miscreants. Billys headstone was stolen in 1950 and again in 1981, but recovered both times.

Whod do something like that? McCulloch asked as he read about the thefts.

A different story

The Kid, convicted and sentenced to hang for his role in the 1878 ambush killing of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady, was on the loose after killing two guards and breaking out of the Lincoln County Courthouse jail on April 28, 1881.

Hunting for the Kid, Garrett and two deputies rode to the home of Pete Maxwell in Old Fort Sumner, arriving about midnight on July 14, 1881. Billy was supposedly in a romantic relationship with Petes young sister, Paulita.

Leaving the deputies on the porch, Garrett went into Maxwells dark bedroom to ask if hed seen the Kid. According to Garrett, this is what happened next.

Billy comes onto the porch with a pistol and a knife, intending to cut some meat off a beef hanging there. Startled to see the deputies, the Kid backs into Maxwells room, asking Pete about the strangers. The sheriff recognizes Billys voice and draws his gun, firing twice. One bullet hits the Kid squarely in the chest.

The only eyewitnesses to the event tell that story, and, as a historian, you have to deal with what you have, Hutton said. But he doesnt believe it.

Was the Kid in (Maxwells) sisters bedroom, and did they just kick in the door and shoot him? Hutton wonders.

Bob Boze Bell, executive editor of True West magazine, thinks Garretts story was devised to protect the reputations of Paulita and the Maxwell family  not to mention his own.

Bell sticks to the Garrett story in the 1992 and 1996 editions of his book The Illustrated Life & Times of Billy the Kid, but in a recently published third edition, he gives an account in which Billy is not armed.

The first two editions, I followed the company line, Bell said in a phone interview. Well, this time I needed to tell my version of what I believed happened. I think Billy was in the house with Paulita, heard some commotion and went into Petes room to see what was going on and got shot.

Legends never die

The Maxwell house is gone, the last remnants of it washed away 80 years ago by Pecos River floodwaters. But within walking distance west of the Old Fort Sumner Cemetery, northwest of the Bosque Redondo Memorial, are markers showing where the house had been and the approximate location of Billys death.

A corner in the Bosque Redondo Memorial commemorates the Kids role in the regions history and his significance as a pop culture icon. A display case there contains an ash tray, a yo-yo, a knife, a shot glass and a bottle opener inspired by the Kids legend.

According to Tim Sweet, about 25,000 people a year visit the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner, an off -the-beaten-path De Baca County town of just over 1,000 people.

Sweet, 63, the grandson of the late Ed Sweet, the museums founder, runs the place with his father, Don, and mother, Lula.

Among the extensive displays of antique firearms, clocks, spurs, saddles, automobiles, typewriters, etc., are museum exhibits directly related to the Kid  a Winchester rifle he once owned, a rock on which he scratched his name and a date, a barber chair in which the Kid is said to have had his hair cut in Mesilla.

Tim said the museums business is booming now that coronavirus restrictions are being lifted.

People are tired of being cooped up, he said. We are averaging about 130 people a day.

Folks seem never to get enough of Billy and his story  no matter what that story is.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Fort Sumner

WHERE: Fort Sumner is about 162 miles southeast of Albuquerque. From Albuquerque, drive 60 miles east to Clines Corners and take Exit 218 onto U.S. 285 and drive south 44 miles through Encino to Vaughn and then 60 miles east on U.S. 60 to Fort Sumner.

Old Fort Sumner Cemetery, 3501 Billy the Kid Drive. Go three miles east of Fort Sumner on U.S. 60/84 and then three miles south on Billy the Kid Drive. Cemetery is behind what is now the Chamber of Commerce Building. No admission charge.

Fort Sumner Historic Site/Bosque Redondo Memorial, 3647 Billy the Kid Drive. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; $7 adults, free for children 16 and younger, free for all New Mexico residents the first Sunday of the month. 575-355-2573.

Billy the Kid Museum, 1435 East Sumner Ave. Open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily from May 15 to Oct. 1, closed Sundays from Oct. 1 to May 15; $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 7-15 years old, free 6 and younger. 575-355-2380.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Editors note: The Journal continues Whats in a Name?, a twice a month column in which staff writer Elaine Briseno will give a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.

Los Alamos Ranch School emerged atop the Pajarito plateau in 1917, fulfilling the dream of Ashley Pond, a free-spirited businessman from Detroit.

He could have never imagined that the campus, an outdoor sanctuary for burgeoning young men, would become the site of one of the countrys most celebrated, and deadly, scientific achievements  the atomic bomb. The campus also gave rise to Bathtub Row, one of the most prominent and unusually named streets in the area.

Ponds father was a well-respected attorney in Detroit who was at one time even considered for the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a piece by Los Alamos Historical Society member Sharon Snyder.

But Pond wasnt like his father and had no desire to spend his days in an office or a courtroom. His love was the outdoors, believing in its restorative powers. He also believed in the benefits of a hard day of physical labor.

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He brought the two ideas together with his school, which offered a college preparatory and rigourous outdoor curriculum for boys. He modeled the schools program after the Boy Scouts of America. In addition to academic studies, students were expected to exercise and help maintain the campus, which had buildings, including dormitories and faculty houses. Seven of those homes sat in a row and included what was a luxury in that remote area at the time  bathtubs.

The bathtubs, or lack thereof, would become more pronounced in the years to come.

During World War II, the military came knocking.

The U.S. Army appropriated the school and 60,000 surrounding acres in 1943 so it could build the bomb. Its remote nature, access to water, excessive land and already existing buildings made it an ideal location for the Manhattan Project.

The Bathtub Row homes, also referred to as master houses, were the residences of scientists working on the Manhattan Project.

An Oct. 1, 1945, article in the Santa Fe New Mexican with the headline Apartments Provide Comfort for Bomb People described the living situations there at the time.

The snootiest dwellings in the democratic community are six or seven houses on Bathtub Row. They were the homes of faculty members of the school and were grabbed up by early-arriving scientists.

Those living in the snooty dwellings included J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director overseeing the research and design of the atomic bomb and Nobel-prize winning physicist Edwin McMillan.

Later in life, McMillans wife Elsie recalled that time in an interview posted by the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Now we are on Bathtub Row, she said. They really dont like us because weve got a bathtub and only about eight houses have bathtubs. But, shucks, we came so early. Thats the only reason we have a masters home.

She went on to explain her house might have had a bathtub, but the luxury didnt extend to the kitchen. There was no stove, and her husband suggested she cook over the fireplace, which left Elsie less than enthusiastic.

Another family on Bathtub Row was that of Englishman Sir James Chadwick, also a Nobel Prize winner. He moved with his London debutante wife and twin daughters to Los Alamos in 1943. According to the historical society, the three never adapted to the mountain town.

They just did not appreciate the mud streets and the cold winds that blew here in the springtime and the dust. They really did not like living in Los Alamos, Heather McClenahan, then executive director of the historical society, recalled in 2018.

Chadwick moved his family back to Washington, D.C., after only a few months, but stayed involved with the project.

For a long time, Bathtub Row was simply a nickname and the roads true name was 20th Street. Residents petitioned the city council to make the nickname official in May of 2007 and the request was granted. The reasons cited were that the street traverses the Historic District, its wide acceptance and its power to commemorate an important part history.

The homes are now owned by private residents and the Los Alamos Historical Society.

This column does not, cannot, even begin to tell the whole story of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project. The Atomic Heritage Foundation website (atomicheritage.org) provides a deeper look, including interviews and short bios. The Manhattan Project Voices website (manhattanprojectvoices.org) includes an extensive oral history from people who worked on the Manhattan Project. The two groups collaborated with each other and the historical society to record the history.

Pond probably never imagined his love of nature would morph into the site for building a bomb, and that the same site would lead to the creation of a town and Los Alamos National Laboratory, which employs more than 13,000 people today.

Bathtub Row is still offering inspiration, even beyond the occasional historic talk or tour.

A co-op pub and brewery opened in Los Alamos in May of 2015 on Central Park Square. Its members voted to name it Bathtub Row Brewing.

Curious about how a town, street or building got its name? Email staff writer Elaine Briseno at ebriseno@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3965 as she continues the monthly journey in Whats in a Name?
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Another year, another 50th ranking for New Mexico in the Kids Count report. This doesnt even take into account the impact of COVID, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams lockdowns and over a year of lost schooling.

The average child has lost five to nine months of learning, according to a report from McKinsey & Company. With high poverty rates and lack of broadband access relative to other states, combined with more lost classroom time than all but five other states, the picture is bleak for New Mexicos youth.

Normally, this is when we hear Thank God for Mississippi! But at 50th, we cant say that anymore. In fact, while the Magnolia State shares many of New Mexicos deep-seated problems, in fourth grade reading, Mississippi is rapidly improving while New Mexico remains stuck.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the recognized gold standard for educational performance. It is implemented in every state every two years.

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While all aspects of learning are important, fourth-grade reading scores are recognized to be critical. Before fourth-grade students are learning to read; after, they read to learn.

Back in 2013 Mississippis fourth-grade reading scores were comparable to New Mexicos, with Mississippi holding a slight advantage: 209 to 206. By 2019, Mississippis fourth-grade reading scores rose to 219 while New Mexicos barely budged to 208. Mississippi has opened up a growing gap between itself and New Mexico in reading skills acquisition.

What happened in Mississippi that didnt happen here?

We talked to experts in Mississippi and heard about reform efforts that may sound familiar. Mississippis reforms included a 2013 law called 3rd grade reading gate which included resources for early childhood reading and teacher training in phonics-based teaching. Mississippi also stopped social promotion with intensive intervention for failing students and adopted an A-F school grading system based on improving student outcomes.

If this all sounds familiar, thats because it is. Mississippis reforms are based on successful reforms in Florida more than a decade ago under then-Gov. Jeb Bush. Floridas reforms were also the basis for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinezs reforms when she came into office in 2010.

The difference between Mississippi and New Mexico is that the former had the political will to implement the reforms while Susana Martinez and her Education Secretary Hanna Skandera had to fight tooth and nail against legislators and the unions. The Florida model was abandoned immediately upon Michelle Lujan Grisham taking office.

The Florida model may not work in New Mexico, but it would be nice to try. Unfortunately, New Mexico students missed a lot of class time relative to their peers in other states during the pandemic due to political decisions made by the current administration.

New Mexican children need a high-functioning school system now. New spending proposals aside, we cant be myopic about solutions that have worked elsewhere. This approach has left the Land of Enchantment dead last in educational outcomes. We must be open to new approaches. Perhaps the governor could try her own version of the Florida/Mississippi model? Ojala. (Hopefully.)

Opportunity for All Kids New Mexico, www.oaknm.org, is dedicated to reforming New Mexicos education system.
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Protecting the health and safety of any workplace is paramount to a happy and productive workforce, as well as an essential ingredient for organizational success. Even before the recent pandemic, employers and employees strived for decades to set ever higher standards of workplace protections to help ensure people would be safe in their jobs. Along with these workforce protections, the country undertook a parallel legal process to create new standards to protect employees civil liberties and their privacy when it came to their personal health and medical backgrounds. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a byproduct of this effort to grant medical privacy rights to every American.

The COVID pandemic has forced us all to reimagine the traditional workplace; arguably some of those changes have been good, but there have also been some that could be considered bad. One of the more troubling aspects of this post-pandemic environment is the willingness of some employers to force employees to take the vaccine as a condition of keeping their jobs.

This type of effort is happening right now in Socorro County as the nonprofit organization that operates the Very Large Array (VLA), the satellite field made famous by the blockbuster movie Contact, has announced it will soon be enforcing a vaccine requirement. Sadly, this shortsighted and anti-employee choice effort will likely result in 60 people losing their high-paying jobs.

Like many other states across the country, New Mexicos economy has been severely impacted by the pandemic, with economic hardship in rural areas being especially bad. In other words, rural New Mexico, such as Socorro County, cannot afford another major blow to its economic well-being, but it will happen if these 60 people employed at the VLA lose their jobs. Sadly, the economic impact of losing these high-paying jobs is significantly greater in Socorro than it would be in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, and these are not lost jobs due to budget cuts or a business relocation, it is simply an unnecessary decision by management.

Not only will our neighbors lose their sources of income, but future funding for the VLA could also be in jeopardy. The VLA is scheduled for a major expansion in the next couple of years, which could result in billions of dollars of new federal investment coming to our community. However, the loss of these jobs, as well as the inability of the VLA to find highly skilled replacement workers, could terminate this planned expansion. Strangely, the VLAs management has admitted as much, yet still insists on the vaccine mandate.

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Some will say just get the shot and move on, but people have many legitimate grounds for not wanting to get vaccinated  including health reasons and religious beliefs. Regardless of why some decide not to get the vaccine, it is simply unacceptable to force people into a position where they must decide between their livelihoods and their personal beliefs.

This either-or scenario is also unnecessary as management of the VLA can protect their employees by requiring masks for those unvaccinated, conduct weekly COVID testing and maintain social distancing and other safe practices. Implementing these proven alternatives would also give employees a real choice in whether they need to get the vaccine or not. It is also fair to ask the VLAs management one simple question: If hospitals are not requiring their medical staffs to be vaccinated in order to work, why is it so important to impose a vaccine mandate which threatens the livelihood of people and the economic future of our rural community?

JOURNAL

Radio antennas in a tight formation at the Very Large Array near Socorro.
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Except for a slight weather delay, it was a seemingly flawless flight into history with the world watching.

Virgin Galactics mothership VMS Eve, with VSS Unity attached, took off from Spaceport America at 8:40 a.m. last Sunday with company founder Richard Branson, two pilots and three other crew members strapped into Unitys cabin. Forty-five minutes later, Unity broke away, fired up its motors and shot into space before descending gently back to a landing on the Spaceport runway, a giant leap toward commercial passenger service into space.

Welcome to the dawn of a new space age, Branson said to cheers after landing.

The cheers were well-deserved, both for Virgin Galactic and New Mexico officials  beginning with then-Gov. Bill Richardson  who had the vision and determination to place their bets, along with political capital and taxpayer money, on a potential new industry. It was a long shot, Richardson said. We waited a long time, and it required patience. But we stuck with it.

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That involved more than $225 million from the states coffers to build the futuristic spaceport and find money to keep it operating even as Bransons company struggled to master the technology for Sundays epic flight. As Richardson put it, Branson did his part after their famous handshake deal in the desert. Virgin Galactic invested more than $1 billion and overcame a tragic test flight accident in 2014. It took 17 long years from a sales call in London by Richardsons economic development director, Rick Homans, to reach the point of Sundays flight.

Richardson and Homans both said that now is the time to ramp up New Mexicos efforts for space tourism. New Mexico is going to have to be even more aggressive and more visionary to stay out front, Homans said.

Alicia Keyes, the states current economic development secretary, is on board. Weve been preparing for this for more than 16 years, and now its time to focus on the future of space tourism, which can be a magnet for many more companies to operate out of the spaceport, she said. Its all about diversifying our economy.

If things go according to plan, thats not far off.

Virgin Galactic plans to begin commercial service for paying passengers early next year, after a four-month hiatus for upgrades and maintenance on both Unity and the mothership. Hundreds have signed up to buy tickets at $250,000 apiece, including A-Listers like Tom Hanks, Katy Perry and Brad Pitt.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos is set to fly July 29 from West Texas with three passengers aboard the New Shepard rocket, kicking off commercial service for his company, Blue Origin. And Elon Musks SpaceX plans to launch four passengers in September on a three-day orbital flight around earth.

So the competition Virgin Galactic has said is both welcome and essential to the industry is already here.

An initiative announced last week is one example of ways New Mexico is working to capitalize on last Sundays historic achievement. NewSpace New Mexico announced the launch of a new innovation hub in Albuquerque to grow the states space industry. Called Unite and Ignite Space, it is housed in an 8,700-square-foot facility near the Albuquerque International Sunport and will provide co-working areas, access to resources, meeting spaces and networking events to facilitate collaborations among space-related companies and government agencies.

Unite and Ignite was created through a partnership including NewSpace, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the University of New Mexicos space-focused research center COSMIAC. It is backed by $11 million in federal funding Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., helped secure. This is really the start of something big for our nation and for the world, Heinrich said.

So yes, we have momentum. Networks and news channels covered Sundays launch live, people gathered at watch parties and vehicles started pulling into the access road to Spaceport America at 3:30 a.m. the morning of the launch. John and Delia Comacho of El Paso were among those who preferred seeing the event live to television or streaming. Delia Comacho said watching the mothership take to the skies carrying Unity on its journey to space gave me a sense of hope. Its like a new frontier.

It is, indeed. It began as a gamble by Richardson and Branson, but we now find ourselves on the edge of a frontier with challenges and possibilities for a better economy and a better world that we cant yet imagine.

For perspective, it was on Dec. 17, 1903, that Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C. Considered a remarkable achievement, on their fourth try their aircraft flew 852 feet and stayed aloft for 59 seconds. Now, we are on the verge of space tourism, discussions of suborbital flights connecting spaceports around the world and even a Mars mission.

In the words of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the sky is no longer the limit.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
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Editors note: The Albuquerque Journal, in partnership with KOAT-TV and KKOB News Radio, continues its yearlong, coordinated effort to explore the issues and seek potential solutions to New Mexicos ongoing literacy crisis.

Through The Literacy Project, the three newsrooms will publish and air in-depth stories and interviews to identify gaps, resources and opportunities to create positive, workable solutions.

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

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Dozens of readers  several of them current and former educators, reading specialists and literacy advocates  responded to the Journals initial stories published in May describing the grim statistics that make up New Mexicos literacy crisis. The letter writers offered critiques, opinions and observations.

What follows are a few of their voices, which are reflective of some recurring themes cited by many who wrote to us. In follow-up interviews, these individuals talked about insufficient teacher training, the increased time and resources teachers need to make an impact and the fundamental disagreement on what and how to teach literacy.

These are their opinions and suggestions based on what they have witnessed at ground level. The purpose of publishing them is to generate ideas and discussion about how we can move the needle forward on this issue in New Mexico, which ranks 49th in the country and has made no measurable progress in the last 20 years. The truth is that three out of four New Mexico fourth graders cannot read at grade level.

Again, The Literacy Project invites all interested parties to email their thoughts and suggestions, with the goal of providing a spectrum of voices as we seek ways to improve literacy across the state. Send your thoughts to literacy@abqjournal.com.

A teacher speaks

Annie Syed, a level three English language arts teacher at Desert Ridge Middle School in Albuquerque, said she previously taught three sections of an accelerated seventh-grade English language arts class at the school in 2018-19. To her surprise only about 50% of those students were reading at grade level, and their writing skills were even less proficient, she said.

The accelerated program was later discontinued for seventh graders but not eighth graders. Fellow teachers at the time questioned the wisdom of starting students on such a competitive, labeled track, as early as seventh grade, Syed said.

Her response was that seventh grade accelerated programs prepare kids for eighth grade accelerated programs, which prepares kids for ninth grade honors classes. And by the time theyre in high school, its sink or swim, she said.

Further, she said, if we take away the labels, how do we best identify and provide the support to the students who are coming in with deficiencies?

Syed, who has taught for 14 years in charter, private and public schools in California, New York and Kansas, said that in her opinion, Albuquerque Public Schools does not provide enough professional development to the specific needs of teachers across content areas, and what they do offer lacks depth and nuance with respect to teaching literacy.

For that reason, Syed often pays out of her own pocket to travel and attend out-of-state professional development conferences.

In addition, the process of promoting students if they do not perform at grade level becomes pointless, Syed said.

A student who is reading at a fourth grade level and going into eighth grade is only going to present challenges for the teacher and the incoming eighth graders. And yet, passing a student on to ninth grade as part of social promotion feeds into the low literacy rate we have in New Mexico, she said.

Syed suggests more vocational programs be created, starting in eighth grade for students who are just not going to make it successfully through high school. She said programs could be literacy-based, emphasizing the need to be able to read written text and use basic math found in instructional manuals aimed at respective vocations.

The skills required for raising ones literacy level, do not necessarily have to be acquired in a traditional classroom setting, Syed said.

Expand literacy goals

Thomas McGaghie of Grants also questions social promotion of students in any grade.

Traditionally, the concern was, why would you want to stigmatize a kid? But, whats worse, having to hold back a kid in second, third, fourth or fifth grade to make sure the kid gets up to the right skill level, or having that kid move on to eighth or ninth grade, never having had to produce? By the time kids get into high school, if they cant produce, they fail and just drop out, and then its more difficult to get them back, he said.

A retired educator with more than 40 years of experience teaching at the college level and in adult education, McGaghie is also a past president of the New Mexico Adult Education Association.

New Mexicos educational system, he said, could benefit by keeping kids in school longer than the current schedule of about 180 days, and moving to a more up-to-date schedule that reflects the needs of the 21st century. He noted that many other countries where students perform better than students in the United States have more in-classroom hours.

Further, he said, the summer brain drain is real, and that during the extended summer break students lose some of the material that theyve learned the year before, so why not just keep them in school straight through?

The idea of improving literacy needs to be redefined as something more than just reading and writing at a certain level, he said. It should also include an ability to comprehend history and have a basic understanding of math and sciences. To be functional in our society, he said, people need to have no less than a 10th- or 12th-grade education.

Adult education programs can go a long way to fill in those gaps for people who didnt get to a proficient literacy level via the traditional school classroom track. In New Mexico, adult education is available to anyone age 16 and older. Parents in particular should be open to filling in the gaps in their own education because if you can raise the literacy level of parents, then your chances of raising the skill levels of their children are much greater, he said.

Seeking balanced literacy

Reading specialist Grace Sussman taught language arts in kindergarten through college level and currently teaches at Central New Mexico Community College, working with students who want to improve their literacy skills to qualify for college admission, she said.

In the beginning, I was shocked by my students unfamiliarity with text or print material, and their lack of reading comprehension or reading strategies. To me, that meant our education system has failed these people, she said.

And many public education officials are aware of the systems shortcomings, but still struggle.

They recognize its a crisis and have been working hard and long without enough funding and support, Sussman said.

A realignment of our priorities as a nation with more financing for education would advance the cause of literacy, she said.

At least part of the problem with low literacy is that reading is a complex process and teachers are not really taught how to teach reading in a way that supports that complexity, she said.

Related to that is the ongoing debate of phonics vs. whole language in the teaching of reading.

Phonics involves teaching how to match the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters and using the different letters to assemble words. The whole language approach does not involve dissecting the words by sounds or letters. Instead it relies on identifying individual words based on literary context. So students are expected to kind of intuit the phonics as they are immersed in the language, she said.

The fact that theres a debate shows that there is a lack of understanding that we need both. Students need the immersion plus the specific instruction in phonics, a blending of the two approaches that is often referred to as balanced literacy, Sussman said.

In addition, school libraries are often ill-equipped to supply reading materials that match students interests and backgrounds, and they sometimes spend money on purchasing expensive reading programs that students may not use or need.

You dont need a lot of expensive instructional programs, and there have been studies that bear that out, Sussman said, adding that whats really required is dedicating no less than 15 minutes daily to students for reading and writing.

Another simple strategy is reading to students, even at the middle and high school levels, she said. By exposing students to what books offer makes a difference in how they regard books and reading.

Too many cooks

Jennifer Gufreda of Bernalillo taught elementary school for 10 years before taking time off to have a baby and pursue a new career as a teacher of children with dyslexia.

Related to the overall literacy issue is the manner in which schools and school districts adopt expensive programs for teaching English language arts and how quickly those programs are dropped and replaced, she said.

Its very cyclical. It seems like every two or three years theyve adopted another program to teach literacy, she said.

Gufreda studied for her teaching degree at Santa Fe Community College, and by the time I hit the classroom, I felt like I had wasted time and money, and I felt completely unprepared, she said. We were taught how to assess childrens reading skills using a particular program, and then when you actually hit the classroom theyre using a completely different assessment.

SFCC textbooks emphasized a specific program of daily small-group instruction to supplement classroom literacy, and which produces testing materials, but the state does not use any of the testing products. I think any person in a teaching program is going to assume that if were learning these materials, its because thats what were going to use, she said.

Instead of the initial assessment materials, she had to become familiar with a new one, which itself was later replaced with another.

Some of the changes were at the direction of the state Public Education Department, some came from district leadership, and some of the more informal assessments were the prerogative of teachers, Gufreda said.

Many of the programs, she said, dont take into account the entire literacy framework and are missing components of phonics, phonological awareness, comprehension, text fluency or vocabulary.

Another problem that affects teaching literacy is that most districts give teachers a block of about 120 minutes a day in which to teach literacy. That time is divvied up by whole group learning, which takes about an hour, followed by another hour or so of small group learning, in which kids with similar literacy skills are brought together and the teacher works with them to address specific needs.

The problem is that for some of our students who may have learning disabilities but dont qualify for special education services, thats simply not enough time, Gufreda said.

Its also clear that we need to support parents more, because we have a lot of parents who cant read, or read at low literacy levels, and they cant help their kids as those kids move into higher grades in school.

Readers interested in offering their thoughts and comments can email literacy@abqjournal.com.

 NM ranks 49th in literacy nationwide, barely ahead of Louisiana

 Literacy rates have shown no significant progress in 20 years Almost a third of NM adults, 29%, read at the level of children ages 5-7 Three out of four, 76%, of fourth graders are not proficient in reading Those fourth graders are four times more likely to drop out
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Both violent and property crimes appear to have increased in the unincorporated areas of Bernalillo County in 2020, according to unofficial data recently released to the Journal in response to an Inspection of Public Records Act request.

The statistics that the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office sent to the FBI for its annual Crime in the United States report show that violent crime  homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assault  increased 26.6%, from 792 incidents in 2019 to 1,003 in 2020.

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Property crimes  burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson  increased 16.5%, from 2,647 to 3,084.

Records Department personnel and a BCSO spokeswoman stressed that the statistics are considered raw data and unofficial and that the agency was in a transition period and becoming compliant with a new way of reporting data to the FBI. No one from BCSO would do an interview with the Journal.

Crime within city limits followed different trend lines during the same period of time  with property crimes decreasing and violent crime increasing only slightly. For 2020, the Albuquerque Police Department reported a 10% decrease in crimes against property and a 2% increase in crimes against persons and a 4% increase in crimes against society, which includes animal cruelty, drug offenses, prostitution, weapon law violations and more. Homicides in the city have increased dramatically since the start of 2021.

However, the two agencies categorize crimes differently, making it hard to compare them.

APD breaks down crimes into 52 separate categories across crimes against persons, crimes against property, and crimes against society in accordance with National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS. BCSO will continue to use the traditional eight-category format, spokeswoman Jayme Fuller said.

The data we provide will still be the same format; the only difference is how NIBRS uses those codes and deciphers it into their published data submitted to the FBI, Fuller wrote in an email. NIBRS is an optional program. All agencies can collect data in the way they wish and still be NIBRS compliant as long as the final NIBRS submissions meet the FBIs technical specifications.

Bernalillo Countys population is about 678,000 but the Sheriffs Office has primary law enforcement responsibility for about 118,000 residents who live in 973 square miles outside the citys jurisdiction.

A national study from the U.S. Department of Justice reported that there was only a small increase  less than 1% to 4.5% depending on the category  in crime rates when agencies switch from reporting their data in the traditional summary format  which only counts the highest-level crime committed during an incident  to the NIBRS format  which counts each crime committed during an incident.

Fuller and Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, who is running for mayor, did not respond to questions about what the sheriff believes caused an increase in crime in his jurisdiction or what steps the office has taken to address the increase.

Crime data irregularities

An agencys participation in the annual report is voluntary, said representatives from the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting program.

BCSOs crime stats have not been included in the FBIs annual report since the 2018 publication on the 2017 data.

Thats because for 2018 BCSO only submitted five months of data and for 2019 the FBI had not received any data by the deadline, according to the UCR program.

Fuller, the BCSO spokeswoman, said prior to June 2018 APD handled the Sheriffs Offices data submissions. She said the deadline to submit 2019 stats was in March of 2020 but the Sheriffs Office wasnt certified as being compliant until May.

We did submit all of our catch-up stats which were updated in the FBI master files but were not able to be published due to the deadline issue, Fuller said.

She said now BCSOs data is submitted monthly by Motorola, which pulls the statistics from its Record Management System.

Initial stats inaccurate

Ten days before the end of 2020, Sheriff Gonzales and then-U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson held a news conference about the partnership between the two agencies.

BCSO provided unofficial and preliminary crime stats for the year and credited task forces for a decrease in both violent crime and property crime in Bernalillo County.

The data was raw and had not been analyzed and cleaned up for NIBRS submission. And Capt. David Funes, with BCSOs Criminal Investigation Division, acknowledged to the Journal that the decrease touted during the news conference could have been due to the fact that it usually takes a couple of weeks for reports to be included in the statistics.

In fact, the numbers the Sheriffs Office reported at the news conference do differ significantly from what they provided to the FBI.

At the news conference BCSO said there had been 81 reported robberies in 2020, a double digit decrease from the year before. However, the department reported 127 robberies to the FBI  a 47% increase from the year before.

Similarly, BCSO said there had been 377 burglary cases through 2020  a 29% decrease from the previous year  but reported 615 burglaries to the FBI  a 9% increase over the previous year.

At the news conference BCSO said there were 945 larceny (theft) cases  a 19% decrease from the previous year  but reported 1,507 cases of larceny to the FBI  a 28% increase.
Facebook Celebrity

Brian Johnson and his bandmates are 'excited' to 'bring quality beverages to the music superfan' as they announce the upcoming release of special craft beers.

Jul 18, 2021

AceShowbiz - AC/DC have joined the craft beer craze with the release of two new brews.

The rockers have teamed up with bosses at KnuckleBonz, Inc. and Calicraft Brewing Co. for the new beer, set to be launched at a series of festivals and events in California next weekend (23-25Jul21).

"We are excited to announce this is the first in a series of AC/DC branded beers to be featured in this unique collaboration to bring quality beverages to the music superfan," a joint statement from KnuckleBonz and Calicraft reads.

The two beers are AC/DC PWR UP Juicy IPA and AC/DC TNT Double IPA.

"We blend a mix of Australian Cascade, American Cascade and Simcoe to create a big, bold 8.2% Double IPA," a description reads. "Flavours of fresh-cut grapefruit, sweet mango and fresh pine explode out of the glass. Inspired by the first international AC/DC album, AC/DC TNT Double IPA proves that classics never go out of style."

AC/DC released their latest studio album "Power Up" last year. It marked the return of vocalist Brian Johnson, drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Cliff Williams. They all previously left before, during, or after the supporting tour for 2014's LP "Rock or Bust".

The album also served as a tribute to the band's co-founder and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young who passed away in 2017.

"This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother," said guitarist Angus Young. "It's a tribute for him like Back in Black was a tribute to Bon Scott."

"Even the title we give it, 'Power Up', pretty much sums him up, too," he explained in a different interview. "When he put on that guitar, he was one big guitar. To put it this way: When he played guitar, it sounded like there were two people playing."
Great Salt Lake is also known as America's Dead Sea -- owing to a likeness to its much smaller Middle Eastern counterpart -- but scientists worry the moniker could soon take new meaning.

Human water consumption and diversion have long depleted the Utah lake. Its level today is inches away from a 58-year low, state officials say, and Western drought conditions fueled by the climate crisis have exacerbated conditions.

The worst part? It's only July, and the lake historically doesn't reach its annual low until October.

"I have never seen it this bad -- not in my lifetime," said Andy Wallace, soaring over the body of water in a prop plane, as he's done for years as a commercial pilot.

Simply put, the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere is shrinking rapidly. Left alone, the lake's footprint would span 2,100 square miles -- more than three times the area of Houston. An analysis published last year showed that water siphoned off the rivers that feed the natural wonder had reduced its level by 11 feet, depleting the lake area by more than half.

"Twenty years ago, this was under about 10 feet of water," said Kevin Perry, chairman of the department of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah, as he rode a bike in July across the desiccated lake bed.

Dying organisms and arsenic

Perry and other scientists worry they're watching a slow-motion calamity unfold. Ten million birds flock to the Great Salt Lake each year to feed off of its now-struggling sea life. More pelicans breed here than most anywhere else in the country.

The trouble trickles up the food chain. The Utah Geological Survey openly expressed its fear Thursday that the shrinking lake levels threaten to kill microbialites -- underwater reef-like mounds that help feed brine flies, brine shrimp and, thus, the 338 species of birds that visit each year.

"We think of these structures as living rocks," said Michael Vanden Berg, manager of the survey's energy and mineral program. "The population in Great Salt Lake is one of the largest accumulations of modern microbialites in the world."

If the lake continues to recede to historic levels, a heretofore unseen proportion of the lake's microbialites will be exposed, a news release said. It can take only weeks for the microbial mat to erode off the "living rocks," it said, and it could take years to recover, even if lake levels return to normal.

Brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys, are also battling the rising salinity that comes with less water. They're not just bird food, either. They're exported as fish food, and commercial harvesting contributes to an estimated $1.5 billion economy -- which, along with recreation and mineral extraction, helps feed fishers and others living around Great Salt Lake.

Economic downturn isn't the only threat to humans in the area. Utah's soil is naturally high in arsenic, a toxic compound that causes a frightening range of health problems. When it washes downstream, it lands in the lake, Perry said. When the wind blows, as it regularly does quite fiercely, it kicks up the dusty lake bed.

"One of the concerns we have is the particles that are coming off the lake getting into people's lungs," he said. "Fifteen to 20 years ago, when the lake was higher, most of these dust spots were covered up, and if you cover them up with water, they don't produce dust. And so as the lake has receded, it's exposed more and more of that lake bed. ... As we get the larger area, we have more frequent dust storms."

Owens Lake, a mostly dry lake east of the California's Sequoia National Forest, was diverted to the Los Angeles Aqueduct almost a century ago, Perry noted. Though some water is returning to the lake, its dry bed is the largest source of PM-10 pollution -- large, inhalable dust particles -- in the nation. Great Salt Lake is much larger than Owens Lake, and whereas the population around Owens Lake is about 40,000, there are more than 2 million people living around Great Salt Lake, Perry points out.

"This lake could become one of the larger dust emission sources in North America as well," he said. "Right now, the lake bed is protected by a fragile crust, and if that crust is disturbed or erodes over time, then this lake could start to emit a lot more (dust)."

'We're on the doorstep of a catastrophe'

Huge swaths of the Utah lake look more like Death Valley than any waterway, the ground barren and fractured from dry heat. Other areas look like sprawling street puddles. Birds wade through shoreline muck along empty marinas, their slips sagging to the ground.

"The saltiest sailors on the planet have had their sailboats hoisted out of the Great Salt Lake's marinas by crane in recent days, due to dropping Lake levels," the Utah Rivers Council wrote in the introduction of a report warning that a dam, pipeline and reservoir proposal to the east will only compound problems.

While human behavior remains scientists' primary concern, the lack of rain out West isn't helping. Great Salt Lake now is like water sitting in a plate, whereas most lakes resemble a cup, said Jaimi Butler, co-editor of the 2020 analysis showing the lake area had shrunk by 51%.

The shallow waters are more prone to evaporation in drought conditions, and while the lake's level ebbs and flows over any given year, the lake tends to reach its low point in the fall, around October. The lake will continue to drop and shrink over the next three months, and the water level could sink as much as 2 more feet by Halloween, Butler suspects.

"Keeping water in Great Salt Lake is the biggest thing that keeps me up at night," said Butler, a wildlife biologist who grew up around the lake and serves as coordinator for the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College. "We're on the doorstep of a catastrophe."

Mother Nature and residents must join forces

Butler wept contemplating the ramifications of not taking strong action to save the waterway.

"Great Salt Lake will be an environmental, economic and, really, cultural catastrophe all in one," she said. "I grew up here. A place becomes you. ... We are all Great Salt Lake. All of us are, and we shouldn't let it go away."

Humans created the problem, and humans will have to take part in the solution, she said. Curbing water usage and raising water utility rates to deter waste would be a start, she added.

Despite the warning bells, water meant for Great Salt Lake continues to be diverted to farms, ranches and cities -- the latter of which enjoy some of the cheapest water in the nation, Butler said.

Salt Lake City residents paid one of the lowest water rates of major US cities, according to an analysis by Circle of Blue, a nonprofit advocating for responsible stewardship of water resources. A family of four using a 100 gallons a day paid $32 a month in 2018 -- about half of what New Yorkers paid, a third of what Atlantans paid and a quarter of what San Franciscans shelled out that year. Among the major cities, only Memphis residents paid less.

But it seems residents around Great Salt Lake have been acting more conscientiously, said Marcie McCartney, the water conservation and education manager for the Utah Division of Water Resources.

"Everybody around and in that basin is doing all they can to use water as wisely as possible," she said. "We're seeing a lot of (water) saving this year, which is awesome, but the Great Salt Lake is definitely suffering, and the only way we're going to get those lake levels up higher is a better water year for our snow pack."

Officials charged with monitoring the snow runoff into streams and reservoirs must calculate how much is needed for water supply -- drinking, agriculture, etc. -- and the rest can be released downstream into Great Salt Lake, McCartney explained. This year's "poor snow pack" melted too quickly, she said, "and the soil is really thirsty."

"Mother Nature is going to take her share first, and we'll get the rest," she said.

In November, Butler co-wrote an obituary for Great Salt Lake in Catalyst Magazine, based in the Utah capital.

"Great Salt Lake experienced her final glimmering sunset today, succumbing to a long struggle with chronic diversions exacerbated by climate change," it began. "Her dusty remains will be scattered across the Salt Lake Valley for millennia -- we will be constantly reminded of her passing by our air quality monitors."

The piece laid out the history of the reservoir, how it found itself in dire straits and what concerned Utahans can do to change the narrative and amplify their voices to save the beloved body of water.

"There was action to prevent the death of Great Salt Lake, but it was too little, too late," the obit read. "She supported Utah's economy for many years, but we did not adequately fund her healthcare in time. Had we done so, we may not be mourning her death today."

Speaking to CNN, Butler reiterated many of those points, imploring, "We've changed our world, and we need to change our behaviors to keep incredible ecosystems that include humans like here at Great Salt Lake."

The-CNN-Wire

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At first glance, "Matte Nox" looks like your typical thirty-something wannabe Internet influencer, flaunting a lavish lifestyle on his public Instagram and TikTok accounts.

He drives a black Porsche Panamera around Los Angeles at night, often to the soundtrack of club music. He lives in a luxury high-rise apartment downtown and parties with aspiring models at nightclubs. He posts shirtless selfies, displaying a prominent chest tattoo that reads, "God Will Give Me Justice." He shows off his crystal-encrusted Gucci rings, Yves Saint-Laurent sunglasses and a handmade designer hat with his name engraved.

"Your life doesn't need a purpose, just money," Nox writes in one post.

Nox is an "award-winning writer" and "executive producer," according to his online bio. In his LinkedIn accounts, he describes himself as an investor in "women-led ventures," including a modeling agency and a beauty company that sells face masks.

But like so many things on the internet, "Matte Nox" is not who he appears to be. "Matte Nox" is the assumed name and online persona of Matthew Tunstall, a 34-year-old from Texas who over the past three years has raised millions of dollars operating two political action committees that impersonated the Trump campaign.

Founded in 2018 and 2019, Tunstall's two PACs, Support American Leaders and Campaign to Support the President, have together raised a total of $3.4 million to date, according to federal filings. While much of that money pays for the billions of robocalls the two groups make, almost all of which feature recorded soundbites of public statements from Trump, a CNN KFile analysis shows that the PACs paid Tunstall at least $738,000 of that money to date.

In just the 2020 cycle alone, the Support American Leaders PAC paid Tunstall more than 360 separate times -- by far the PAC's largest number of expenditures. The majority of their contributions come from retirees, according to their filings.

None of the money the two groups have raised went directly to Trump or his campaign during the 2020 cycle. Even though Tunstall reports on his federal filings that his PACs have spent approximately $407,000 toward supporting Trump, a close analysis of those independent expenditures shows that approximately $380,000 of that money was spent on robocalls and operating expenses; about $27,000 was spent on advertising.

Tunstall, meanwhile, has been paid nearly double what he claims to have spent on supporting Trump.

CNN first reported on Tunstall in 2019, noting his robocall practices appeared to run afoul of multiple federal rules. At the time, telemarketers making the calls for Tunstall's Support American Leaders PAC falsely told CNN that the calls were made by the Trump campaign. Following CNN's report, the Trump campaign filed a disavowal notice, formally saying they had nothing to do with the PAC.

Tunstall told CNN at the time that the robocalls using Trump's voice were the result of a technical error and that his PAC had ceased to use calls like it. But he kept at it and over the next two years built the most prolific political robocall campaign in the country, according to data shared with CNN from NoMoRobo, a widely used application that blocks robocalls.

Tunstall's two Trump PACs have placed an estimated 3.48 billion robocalls since October 2019, according to NoMoRobo. That averages out to about 184 million robocalls every month to Americans' phones across the country.

Tunstall did not reply to CNN's numerous attempts to contact him for this story.

A system ripe for abuse

PACs have been around since the 1940s and were designed to pool donations in support of a candidate or a cause. But in recent years, so-called scam PACs have become more prevalent.

Adav Noti, the senior director of litigation at the Campaign Legal Center, says a scam PAC is typically seen as one that "exists primarily to raise money that is then paid to the PAC's own operators rather than to engage in bonafide political activity."

There is no hard-and-fast rule that limits how much an operator can pay themselves, nor is there a legal definition of what exactly constitutes a scam PAC, making the line between what's legitimate and what's not fuzzy and hard to enforce.

"Self-enrichment is the defining characteristic of a scam PAC, regardless of what they're saying they're doing or in fact doing with the money," said Paul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at the watchdog group Common Cause. "Just saying that you spent the money on robocalls doesn't negate allegations of scam PAC-i-ness."

The Federal Election Commission, which regulates PACs, lacks criminal enforcement authority, leaving it up to the Department of Justice to bring prosecutions, and so far, the nation's top law enforcement agency has focused on the most extreme violations, according to experts.

The DOJ didn't federally prosecute its first scam PAC operator until three years ago, when an Arizona man pleaded guilty to orchestrating multiple scam PACs that solicited tens of thousands of small-dollar donations purporting to support political causes. In actuality, the groups contributed less than 1% of donations to candidates for office, according to the DOJ, and virtually all of the money raised by the groups were used to pay the operator or perpetuate the fraud.

The operator was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to defraud tens of thousands of donors.

The Justice Department told CNN that it does not track the number of scam PACs it's prosecuted. Noti, who tracks scam PACs closely, estimated that DOJ has prosecuted one to two cases a year over the last few years.

Experts who spoke to CNN said that Tunstall's filings demonstrate the hallmarks of a scam PAC, which comes down to self-enrichment. His PACs appear to follow a simple, cyclical pattern: they raise money to pay for robocalls so they can raise more money to pay for more robocalls. Nearly all of the money not used to sustain the PACs goes toward paying Tunstall. Even the paperwork the PACs are supposed to file regularly with the FEC raises serious concerns, according to experts, and the PACs frequently miss reporting deadlines.

Tunstall has faced practically no consequences. The FEC has written his PACs more than two dozen letters raising issues with the PACs' filings and has levied a little more than $14,000 in administrative fines against him. Tunstall has paid just $10 toward those fines and has avoided any civil or criminal penalties.

Tunstall's operation is so egregious, it "could almost be construed as a performance art piece designed to showcase the FEC's fecklessness," said Rob Pyers, a campaign finance researcher who tracks scam PACs on Twitter.

"Hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash-on-hand have vanished off the ledger from one reporting period to the next," said Pyers. "None of the expenditures during their first year of operation are accounted for, and about a third of the operating expenditures they have deigned to report have gone to enrich the PAC's founder."

But recently there are indications that Tunstall has changed his tactics. In mid-June, not long after CNN first contacted one of the PAC's former treasurers, Tunstall's PACs stopped making robocalls. The last ones occurred on June 18, according to data from NoMoRobo. Just four days before that, Tunstall made a surprising amendment to his most recent quarterly report, stating that one of his PACs suddenly had a negative cash-on-hand balance of more than -$280,000. The filing does not list any outstanding debts, raising more questions about the report's accuracy.

To Pyers, though, the most recent amendment to Tunstall's paperwork is another example of how his record-keeping is a "trainwreck."

"Who knows what the cash situation actually looks like?" said Pyers.

"Hi, This is Donald Trump."

When someone answers one of Tunstall's robocalls, they are usually greeted by a recording of the former President saying, "Hi, this is Donald Trump."

Typically, the calls splice together recordings of a series of public statements made by Trump. A narrator then urges listeners to donate to support Trump by pressing a number on their keypad. Those who do are transferred to a call center where they sometimes donate as little as $1 and as much as $8,000.

Sometimes, the calls directly mimic pitches sent by the Trump campaign, like a February 2019 call asking for money to send fake bricks to Democratic Congressional leaders at the same time the President's campaign was doing the same. At the time, the call contained no disclosure -- which would violate federal rules -- that the call was coming from Tunstall's PAC.

"This was a technical error if you heard this, there were many different variants that have been recently tested for different political ads regarding support for President Trump," Tunstall wrote CNN in an email in 2019. "I've been instructed by multiple legal sources that using voice clips from politicians is acceptable and not considered 'impersonating' because politicians are public officials and do not have rights to their likeness like normal private citizens and celebrities do."

Since then, the calls have included a sped-up recording at the very end that discloses the true nature of the robocall, telling listeners in a voice very quickly: "Paid for by Support American Leaders. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee."

But even that may violate the FEC's rules on advertising that stipulate "a disclaimer is not clear and conspicuous if it is difficult to read or hear, or if its placement is easily overlooked."

The phone number listed for Tunstall's PAC in the calls is not a working number. Nor are numbers on the website for Support American Leaders PAC. His PACs can only be contacted one way: if you receive a call and are connected to the call center soliciting donations.

Throughout and after the 2020 presidential election cycle the PACs urged call recipients to help "save President Trump from impeachment," and re-elect the President.

And later, after Trump lost the 2020 election, the PACs' robocalls' began to echo Trump's lies that the election was fraudulent and stolen. A "I'm Donald Trump" robocall in November and December 2020 opens with a recording of Trump asking people for "emergency support" to help "the campaign," and to help President Trump stop Democrats attempts to "steal this election."

The period after the 2020 election in which one PAC parroted election lies proved to be one of the most lucrative fundraising periods. In just a few weeks, Support American Leaders raised $536,000.

Tunstall paid himself almost $177,000 during that period.

Late filings and $500,000 in missing money

A closer look at Tunstall's PACs' FEC filings reveals, at best, late paperwork and, at worse, missing funds.

Since its founding in September 2018, the Support American Leaders PAC has raised nearly $3.2 million and spent nearly $2.6 million. Tunstall's other PAC, Campaign to Support the President, has raised approximately $193,000 since its founding in 2019, spending much of the money raised on "fundraising and travel," according to filings. Between the two PACs, Tunstall was paid at least $738,000.

During 2020, quarterly filings were routinely submitted months after they were initially due to the FEC. In one case, the PAC missed an FEC filing deadline by eight months.

The FEC sent four letters to each of Tunstall's PACs notifying them they failed to submit their 2020 reports on time and warned that the PACs could face administrative fines.

According to public records, which only show closed cases, in June 2020 the FEC fined the Campaign to Support the President $5,086 and the Support American Leaders $9,446 for failure to submit reports on time. And so far, each PAC has paid only $5 each toward its respective administrative fines.

A CNN KFile examination of the Support American Leaders PAC filings reveals that between the spending, filings and cash-on-hand, more than $500,000 is unaccounted for.

It's unclear where that money went, but a close look at two filings from 2019 show how much of it vanished from the books. At the end of the third quarter in 2019, Tunstall reported having cash of a little more than $423,000. But at the beginning of the next quarter, that turns into just about $1,400 -- meaning more than $420,000 was unaccounted for from one quarter to the next.

Among the dozens of letters the FEC has sent to the two PACs, one letter specifically noted the discrepancies between the cash-on-hand numbers between the 2019 filings referenced.

The law forbids the commission from disclosing any audits or enforcement actions until after the process is completed.

A symptom of a broken system

Election law experts see PAC operators like Tunstall as a symptom of an FEC that over the past decade has become dysfunctional thanks to fierce partisan deadlock, rendering it incapable of using the few tools it does have to regulate scam PACs. The result is a corner of the election economy where Tunstall can brazenly defraud people of millions of dollars.

"People complain to the FEC all the time about [scam PACs]. It's a scourge of the current finance system," said Noti, of the Campaign Legal Center, who previously worked in the FEC general counsel's office. "The FEC doesn't crack down on anything, but this, they would crack down on if they could."

"It's a matter of getting a law on the books that would let the FEC do it," Noti said.

The prospects of that remain bleak. For years, the FEC has asked Congress to empower it to address potentially fraudulent activity. And while lawmakers have introduced legislation in the past year to grant the commission that authority, nothing has gained traction. The most recent legislative effort to fix the FEC sought to alter the commission's makeup in order to ease the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed it. But that proposal was a part of the Democrats' ambitious voting rights bill, the For the People Act, which died before being debated in the Senate on June 22.

It may be years until the public has a clearer picture on whether the FEC ends up taking any enforcement action against Tunstall because their enforcement actions are confidential until complete.

It's also possible he also may shut down his PACs before they are able to.

Some experts speculate that Tunstall's recent actions, including his decision to list a negative balance for his PAC, could be part of a potential exit strategy where he shuts down his robocall operation and declares bankruptcy. Other experts suggested Tunstall's actions followed a pattern of egregious bookkeeping and that it was unclear what the recent filings meant.

But a worst-case scenario, according to Ryan, of the watchdog group Common Cause, would play out like this: the FEC fines would continue to grow but a PAC "so deep in the red could just shut down. It could close its bank account, close its office or P.O. Box and, for all intents and purposes, disappear," said Ryan.

And because PACs are typically corporations, said Ryan, "The people who set up the PAC are only personally financially liable under campaign finance law if they've knowingly and willfully violated the law."

Tunstall, meanwhile, could continue to escape consequences from the FEC and any creditors the PAC may owe money to.

CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena contributed to this story.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the title of Paul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at the watchdog group Common Cause.

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Alton, IL (62002)

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Devon Grubbs was just a freshman when he was called upon to lead the backfield for the Deser
Alexander City, AL (35010)

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Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

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Grow and Share OHCE met for its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on July 12 at the Lutheran Church. Amy Erikson served as hostess. President Janet Cunningham called the condensed business meeting to order. The meeting was condensed to allow ample time for the canning workshop. Nine members were present. Guests present were Tim and AnnaLisa Roggow. Minutes for the June meeting were read and approved as corrected. Jean gave the treasurer's report.

The OHCE Newsletter was received. Important information was reviewed. There were no committee reports given. Unfinished business included discussion of the Woods County Fair items. Jean reported that she has agreed to be one of the fair superintendents.

Under new business, Janet reported that Grow and Share needs a representative for the pie booth committee. Either Amanda Jones or Carol McDaniel will serve when the meeting is called. Amanda and Jean volunteered to make additional pies for the pie booth.

Members were reminded of the workshop on foil pack meals, sheet pan dinners, dump cake magic will be held on Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Major County Fairgrounds in Fairview, Oklahoma.

Amy gave the lesson on canning. She defined common canning terms such as water bath canning and pressure cooking canning. She talked about the jar head space required for different fruits and vegetables and the importance of sanitation. Seven members participated in the canning workshop after the business meeting and each canned a pint of tomatoe/vegetable relish. Secret Pal gifts were exchanged. Amy served refreshments including a sample of relish.

The meeting adjourned to the August regular meeting to be held on August 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Mary Hamilton's house. Amanda Jones will be the hostess.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  A judge is expected to delve into the jury selection process at a hearing Thursday for the upcoming murder trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was chased and shot after he was spotted running in a Georgia neighborhood.
Stewart Buller, 54, has spent the last two months at a Lake Charles RV park, living in a rundown camper that has power, but no running water. Disabled for the last two years, he has to retrieve water from a nearby faucet, urinate in cups and defecate in buckets.Buller said his brother gave h
Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615)

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A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Mostly clear. Low 77F. Winds light and variable..

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A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Mostly clear. Low 77F. Winds light and variable.
As if the conflict between American parents, their public school districts, and CDC requirements were not already enough to create a firestorm of unpredictable proportions, President Joe Biden has dramatically increased the stakes by announcing a door-to-door policy to inoculate millions of Americans. The prospect of a national at-your-front-door vaccination program represents a massive Fourth Amendment assault that threatens the future of the countrys Constitutional republic.

As appears to have been the case since Covid was first identified, politics more than the science continues to guide public health decisions rather. Reputable scientists have connected what has been identified as spike protein bioweapon with what is more commonly referred to as Covid 19; which is not a scientific vaccine yet is still classified by the FDA as an untested Emergency Use Authorization in order to facilitate public usage.

As if Bidens announcement was not enough to cause great clanging alarm bells, WH press secretary Jan Psaki removed any doubt as to the governments true agenda. Her follow-up to Bidens announcement included reference to the creation of strike forces which removed any benign appearance from what may be shaping up to be the implementation of a nation-wide militarized deployment. Psaki averred:

Dr. Fauci has addressed this a number of times and has conveyed that  herd immunity is kind of an outdated term . So we had set a goal of reaching 70% of adults by July 4th and we reached that goal of adults 27 and older by that date. Well continue to press to reach it and we will in the next couple of weeks for adults over the age of 18. Our work doesnt stop there and we are going to continue to press to get 12-18 year olds vaccinatedto continue to work with communities where theres lower vaccination rates. Thats one of the reasons we initiated these strike forces to go into communities and work with them to determine what they need; to take a localized specific approach that works with elected officials and communities. emphasis added]

With only 48.1% of Americans fully vaccinated against Covid (approximately 159 million), the government failed to meet Dr. Faucis 70% target of vaccinated Americans  which necessitated the vaccination of children. Biden provided no other details on exactly how the deed would be accomplished other than to suggest his outreach team, later referred to as surge response teams, will consist of CDC officials, FEMA, and other health-related agencies as they initially focus on targeted communities in 1000 American counties which had achieved only a 30% vaccination rate. As part of the HHS Department, a Community Corps has already been dispatched to provide Covid information to unvaccinated residents.

Meanwhile, in a recent CNN interview, US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra threw kindling on a smoldering fire when he told CNN that it is absolutely the governments business to know who has been vaccinated. Becerra went on to condescend to Americans who pay the bills and who have suffered the consequences of the Federal governments surrender to Fauci and Big Pharma when he suggested that Perhaps we should point out that the federal government has had to spend trillions of dollars to try to keep Americans alive during this pandemic, so it is absolutely the governments business. Further totally missing the impending crisis, he suggested that knocking on a door has never been against the law as Republican governors begin to line up in opposition to a door to door visit from the Federal government.

Becerra declared that his comments had been wildly out of context as he later tweeted that government has no database tracking who is vaccinated which is not a factual statement. Each vaccinatee has received a preliminary id card just as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has sent out multiple solicitations to Colorados unvaccinated residents.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Co) questioned Door to door to vaccinate Americans this year door to door to confiscate guns next year?

Bidens door-to-door initiative depends on Dr. Faucis abandoning of the herd immunity concept as no longer a goal while alleging that a vaccination rate of 70% - 85% is required to conquer Covid. He inexplicably continued to ignore natural immunity. Herd immunity occurs when enough people become immune to a contagious disease thereby limiting further spread of the disease. What Fauci ignored is that undercounting or removing the number of Americans who possess natural immunity is considered a scientific error of omission. While infection disease professionals estimate that 60% of the population needs to have been exposed for herd immunity to be reached, John Hopkins has estimated that 80%  85% of American adults have acquired natural immunity.

Faucis view has remained critically unexamined by the old guard medical, political, and media establishments as his speculation justified the need to include a mandatory vaccination policy for children. The failure to acknowledge natural immunity has led to a government policy of indiscriminate vaccinations.

In early March, a California Department of Public Health report said that only 8.7% of the states population had ever tested positive for Covid-19 while at least 38.5% of the population had coronavirus antibodies. Adjusting for cases between now and then, and accounting for the amount of time it takes for the body to make antibodies, it can be estimated that as many as half of Californians have natural immunity today. The same report found that 45% of people in Los Angeles had Covid-19 antibodies.

Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment which reads, in part, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated was originally taken from the British maxim that every mans house is his castle.

More than any other amendment, the Fourth is a direct consequence of pre-revolution Colonial America when the British parliament enacted the Quartering Act in 1774 which allowed royal governors, rather than colonial governments, to quarter British soldiers. Colonists were further enraged by having a standing foreign army quartered among a civilian population which they saw as a usurpation of American liberty. Upon the eve of what became the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson was tasked with preparing the list of grievances against King George III which became the Declaration of Independence. Those 27 grievances were ultimately culled into the Bill of Rights and adopted into the United States Constitution.

As in Katz v. United States (1967), the Supreme Court held that Fourth Amendment protections extend to intrusions on the privacy of individuals as well as their physical locations and that .. to claim the protection of the Amendment depends not upon a property right in the invaded place but upon whether there was a reasonable expectation of freedom from governmental intrusion.

While it is true that radical, challenging times like what we are living through today can bring a sense of despair against seemingly insurmountable odds, it is also true that such dire straits can bring out the most courageous, encourage the best from each of us, and that such difficult, profound situations require each to rise to their highest, their most authentic potential in the name of truth, justice, and integrity.

Image credit: Pixabay license

Renee Parsons served on the ACLUs Florida State Board of Directors and as president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, staff in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and a staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. She can be found at reneedove3@yahoo.com.

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First, they came for the white cis-gendered hetero-normative males...but I wasnt male. You can imagine the rest of the verses.

I am white, though; not just any white -- fish-belly white. If thats a problem for anyone, please go dig up my Welsh, Irish, and Scottish ancestors and have a word with them. Better still, dig up my African ancestors from 50,000 years ago who departed the continent on foot heading north, and ask them why.

I bet their sifted remains will tell you that they were always up for adventure, took greater risks than more settled individuals, maybe even that they had an insatiable curiosity about what was over the next ridge. For some of us, that urge to risk it all for greater knowledge and understanding never goes away. Perhaps thats how the Pythagoreans (in Italy) came to give us modern math; the Greeks logic; Germans the printing press; and thus onto the Enlightenment.

Anyway, white skin in northern people is a genetic modulation designed to allow for greater production of Vitamin D in locales where available sunshine is limited by the tilt of the earth. Because Vitamin D strengthens the immune system, in areas of low winter light, lighter-toned skin enhanced survival.

But wait, recent research sheds more light on skin pigmentation. UPenns article in Nature is explained in clear terms in Big Think. Turns out the near precursors to humans may have had light-to-white skin, covered with dense hair. As hair receded from the species, pigmentation increased. This too is believed to be a survival-enhancing response to the sun.

So, geographically we all started out as African. In terms of pigment, we may have all started out as white. Medically, as we age, the melanocytes (pigment-bearing cells) in our skin decrease in number, and we become paler. Good Lord, in another few years Ill look like a wrinkled-up Casper the Friendly Ghost.

No aspect of ourselves should be held up for ridicule, denigration, or belittling. Theres no shame in being how we are made in the womb. As Jessica Rabbit said, Im not bad, Im just drawn that way.

Skin tone is not immutable, however. Who can forget orange man bad? Throughout history, the lowest economic classes have labored in the sun, and thus arises one explanation for classic societal bias against the darker-skinned across the globe.

Its not my fault that Im white, nor am I responsible for what some other white person did to someone centuries ago, or even yesterday. The New Segregationists take exception to this, of course. For them, the sins of the fathers are to be visited upon the children, or someone who merely looks like them, until the end of time, no forgiveness, no redemption, no existence outside of group identity. We cannot repair the damage done to people in the past, neither to the slaves nor their descendants.

Im one. My Scottish ancestor was brought to the New World, in chains, on a ship, hundreds of years ago. He was enslaved in his home country by his fellow countrymen. Morally wrong but legal. Native Americans, though actually not indigenous to the Americas, captured and kept slaves for millennia before slavery was outlawed. Morally wrong but culturally traditional.

If were going to tell the truth about slavery, lets tell it all. The hypocrisy of the Left is shown in their failure to address this: The black African slaves brought to this land were enslaved and sold in Africa. Some, most likely, by the same tribes and peoples who traveled to European parts and enslaved whites for trade in Africa and the Middle East centuries earlier. Morally wrong, but an accepted practice throughout these areas.

To the European shipmasters looking for treasure to resell back home, the enslaved were a commodity they found available for purchase. Buying and selling people, whether in Africa, Europe, or the Americas, was morally wrong but also an in-demand economic activity as more land was opened for agriculture.

Until recently, slavery of one sort or another was common among mankind. Now it is illegal in most parts of the world and less commonplace in others. The modern, leftist, pretend historians would have us believe that it is interchangeable with racism and that it is integral to our national identity. However, the founding document of the United States of America, her Declaration of Independence, refers only to all men, that is all humanity, without regard for any attribute, condition, time, or location.

Our Constitution noted a full count as a person, for the purpose of apportioning representatives, to all free men, again regardless of any personal trait. Only those relegated to life-long slavery were counted as less. But not as nothing, and thus the camels nose was under the edge of the tent. (Additionally, the three-fifths compromise was to prevent the Southern slave states from having too much power in the House.) It took fewer than one hundred years after that to free all persons and fully count them.

The history of abolition is very interesting, starting as it did a couple of thousand years ago. Some listened to their consciences and did not have to be forced by terrible war to correct this moral outrage.

Our institutions have been repaired and improved, and discrimination based upon skin tone is no longer tolerated in legal, governmental, and commercial activities. Education, however, seems to be the system fostering the systemic racism the pro-regressives appear to decry. The websites The College Fix, Legal Insurrection, and Campus Reform uncover this plainly.

The human heart cannot be regulated the way human actions are. It must learn to value open, loving appreciation for the other, regardless of how that otherness is constituted. It must learn that inherited biological characteristics are passive. The hearts of children must be guided to see society as a collection of individuals. They must learn to see and judge appropriately; by their fruits shall you know them. Remember this one -- Love the sinner, hate the sin?

History of both evil and good must be taught. Children should understand the good that was codified by rejecting slavery. In fact, they should understand the particulars of the influence, control, and oppression exerted by the Democrat Party upon peoples of color throughout the history of this nation. No truth should be withheld, correct?

However, the proponents of Critical Race Theory want to take this in a different direction. They want fear, racism, discrimination, and hatred to abound in our society, and for interracial violence to rule the streets. Let no one dispute this  weve seen their fruit maturing over the past little while.

To teach a white child that unmitigated guilt is its only heritage, and a nonwhite child that oppression is its only future is a cruelty that can only result in resentment against the elders that allow this to be, in hatred against the other, and in destructive self-loathing. Our children need to be reassured that whatever evil still remains of this terrible history, their invitation is to join with the larger society and each other to continue to improve the lot of all.

Theres a special place in hell reserved for Robin DiAngelo, Ibram X. Kendi, Randi Weingarten, that crazy psychologist Aruna Khilanani, their slavish supporters, their mindless amplifiers, and all their ilk. Let us pray that they will be enlightened by the understanding of true brotherhood and turn from this hateful messaging to one of lovingkindness and that their current reservation in the afterlife will result in a no-show cancellation.

Anony Mee is a retired public servant.

IMAGE: Many-colored hands. Rawpixel.

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How can you tell we're slipping under the yoke of totalitarianism? The New York Times has declared that the word "freedom" is merely an "anti-government slogan," and the Biden regime refuses to condemn Cuba's communist police state, even as it "disappears" Cuban dissidents during live video feeds. I don't know how much clearer the State and its "news" propagandists can be. If "freedom" is a dirty little word as meaningless as "hope and change," then everything upon which the United States of America has been built is dead, and if the Obama-Biden cabal running the White House find common cause with the same Castro-Guevara mass murderers who have tortured and summarily executed innocent Cubans in the name of "revolution" for sixty years, then the federal government cannot be trusted.

This isn't a surprise to anyone paying attention. Two months ago, the U.S. State Department draped embassies around the world with Black Lives Matter flags, and today BLM has pledged its allegiance to the communist Cuban regime while blaming the U.S. for Cuba's island prison of poverty, violence, and repression. There has never been any doubt that BLM is a Marxist organization intent on destroying American freedoms, yet Democrats, corporate boards, and even Mitt Romney have sung its praises for years. Hanging those insidious BLM flags on American consulates overseas was tantamount to hanging the hammer and sickle over the stars and stripes. Their meaning was self-evident: the U.S. is under new Marxist management. Still, too many corporate sellouts and political backstabbers honored BLM as some sort of paragon for civil rights, even as its members routinely engage in arson, larceny, intimidation, and murder.

Now that BLM has made its allegiance to America's communist enemies abundantly clear, will any of those corporate or political invertebrates walk back their support for BLM's pro-Castro movement? Surely not. They've chosen a side; they're totalitarian appeasers now, giving aid and comfort to those who wish America harm. Is that too harsh? Is it unfair to accuse American companies and politicians of casting their lot with the intellectual heirs of Stalin and Mao? A man should be judged by his deeds, not his words, but as far as I can see, none of these pro-BLM sycophants has done or said anything while the Biden administration embraces Cuba's police state tactics here at home. Their inaction speaks volumes.

We are now living in a land where the government uses corporate monopolies to restrict political speech it dislikes, abuses the criminal justice system to protect Antifa criminals doing its bidding on the streets, holds political prisoners in solitary confinement for over six months under spurious charges, spies on citizens' private text messages in the name of safety, and designates its political adversaries as "domestic extremists" and "terrorists." At the same time as the Cuban regime has shut down the Internet to hinder a popular revolt against communism, the Biden regime has admitted to actively censoring Americans on social media and on cellular networks for spreading "disinformation." (There's a distinction without a difference!) And as demonstrable evidence of provable fraud in both Georgia and Arizona increasingly renders the whole 2020 presidential election illegitimate, the beneficiary of that election fraud has mobilized the federal government to vilify the truth-tellers as enemies of the state. If American companies and politicians can sit silently while such unprecedented attacks on civil liberties take place, then either they grotesquely fail to see the parallels between what is going on in America today and what took place in Germany during the 1930s, or they are blind to nothing and like what they see. Certainly, when they decide to take a righteous stand against voter identification and against secure elections but choose to demonize white Americans for the color of their skin, they are a far cry from any noble tradition we would ascribe to defenders of American freedom.

Tell me how the U.S. military's purge of Trump voters or the FBI's insistence that citizens narc on their friends and family for wrongthink is distinguishable from the communism of Cuba or China or any of the great totalitarian regimes of the last century. Tell me how indoctrinating young children to hate themselves for their "whiteness" is fundamentally different from Hitler Youth being taught that their Jewish neighbors were rats. Oh, because nobody's been lined up against a brick wall with his family and gunned down, as Che Guevara and his "social justice" hit-squads enjoyed doing? Or because no one's yet been forced to relocate to concentration camps for failing to abide by the State's experimental vaccine mandates? Give it time. There's no way to go halfsies on totalitarianism. Once the government decides it may declare who has rights and who has none, it is a short walk for the government to decide who has life and who has none. Over 63 million babies have been killed since Roe v. Wade, after all, and once you teach a population that a baby is only as alive as a woman chooses, it's not difficult to teach those same people that political opponents are not worthy of life at all. When individual liberty and private ownership are ridiculed in the name of the "common good," taking life for the "greater good" is never far behind.

Isn't that what we're already seeing with the federal government's "planned resettlement" of foreign nationals illegally crossing into the United States? The same U.S. military that could not be bothered to help secure the southern border while President Trump was in office out of fear that any actions it took would damage the perceived political neutrality of the armed forces is now engaged in the secret and illegal transportation of non-citizens in the dead of night to undisclosed communities around the country (a recognized form of hybrid warfare in other nations). While the CDC and the White House use the pretext of the China Virus pandemic to arbitrarily close businesses, churches, and civic events of every kind (except those perpetrated by regime-enforcing Antifa and BLM Marxists, of course), other federal agencies have taken advantage of the nation's unenforced borders to send unvaccinated illegal aliens into unsuspecting communities. Either the severity of the virus is not nearly as lethal as the Washington woke pretend it to be, or else the federal government cares so little about the health and survival of its citizens that it is willing to put lives at risk when doing so can help turn "red" districts "blue." That might not be quite as shocking as the sight of regime paramilitaries summarily executing dissidents, but it's certainly a step in the same direction. And if "red state" voters happen to die from the China Virus while the federal government takes over state elections so newly settled foreign nationals can illegally vote with ease, who could blame the totalitarians in charge for needing just a little more lebensraum for achieving their objectives?

There's nothing moral or right about what the federal government is up to these days, and there is no excuse for those people in positions of power who continue to remain silent about what is happening. This is the "speak now or forever hold your peace" moment in American history, and it's all-hands-on-deck for anyone not willing to let American freedom slip away. This is the right time to think earnestly and pray, but as the old saw goes, "If you're going to pray for potatoes, you'd better grab a hoe."

Hat tip to "fysammy."

Image via Pixnio.

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Florence Ashley, a Canadian bioethicist, recently took to Twitter to chastise people for "gendering animals." Ashley opined that "[g]endering animals serves to normalize bio-essentialist conceptions of gender." Ashley added, "When we gender animals, we forget that sex is assigned. We begin to believe that sex is literally ~in~ the body."

So "gendering" animals is bad? Not just "misgendering" them? Note to Florence: Sex is  literally  in the body. If it weren't, none of us would be here. (Not that that would be considered a bad thing by many progressive wackos and "bioethicists.")

For those unfamiliar with the concept, bio-essentialism is the belief that biology determines specific attributes and traits, including those related to gender identity. Or, as defined by Oxford Reference: "The belief that 'human nature', an individual's personality, or some specific quality (such as intelligence, creativity ... masculinity, femininity, or a male propensity to aggression) is an innate and natural 'essence' (rather than a product of circumstances, upbringing, and culture). The concept is typically invoked where there is a focus on difference, as where females are seen as essentially different from males[.]"

Anyone who has had more than one child or who has picked a puppy from a litter knows they have distinct individual traits and personalities right out of the chute, so to speak. To deny that is to deny reality, thereby rendering one's judgment on all other matters suspect at best.

If anything is demonstrably real or true, bio-essentialism is, at least as regards biological sex. No one who is serious about science or possesses an I.Q. greater than that of a paramecium can honestly doubt this. As regards sex, biology determines if a person is born a boy with a penis or a girl with a vagina...and those traits determine if and how reproduction takes place.

If we can't gender any living things, we can't categorize them in any other way, either. This would not have been a good thing for increasing our understanding of the world. Medical professionals don't assign sex at birth. And if biology doesn't, either, then how is this determined? Who or what put the parts there? God? The gender fairy? One can say there is no such thing as sex, much as one can say there are no such things as biology, fact, or truth. (But, if there is no sex, then there can be no real misogyny, either.) Just because we refuse to acknowledge something doesn't mean it doesn't exist  much like the mental illness tragically afflicting the vast majority of the hyper-woke.

CNN recently ran a commercial proclaiming that just because someone calls an apple a banana, it doesn't make it so. Let's apply that concept to this subject. Just because someone calls a boy a girl, that doesn't make him one. And vice versa. Yet CNN routinely calls truth fiction and fiction truth. That, too, is nuts.

In conclusion, a clinical observation: Why are so many with "ethicist" in their job title apparently utterly amoral?

Image via Max Pixel.

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President Biden delivered a speech (transcript here), allegedly on voting rights, in Philadelphia, July 13 -- but the speech was, in truth, a call for the partisan weaponizing of the right to vote.

To appreciate the falsity of Biden's July 13 remarks, herewith is an analysis by way of the last paragraph of Chief Justice John Marshall's opinion in the 1824 Supreme Court case of Gibbons v. Ogden, holding that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution bars state interference with traffic on the (interstate) Hudson River. Here is the text of the full opinion. But focus on the opinion's concluding paragraph:

Powerful and ingenious minds, taking, as postulates, that the powers expressly granted to the government of the Union, are to be contracted by construction, into the narrowest possible compass, and that the original powers of the States are retained, if any possible construction will retain them, may, by a course of well digested, but refined and metaphysical reasoning, founded on these premises, explain away the constitution of our country, and leave it, a magnificent structure, indeed, to look at, but totally unfit for use. They may so entangle and perplex the understanding, as to obscure principles, which were before thought quite plain, and induce doubts where, if the mind were to pursue its own course, none would be perceived. In such a case, it is peculiarly necessary to recur to safe and fundamental principles to sustain those principles, and when sustained, to make them the tests of the arguments to be examined.

This explanatory (and concluding) paragraph in the Gibbons v. Ogden case suggests that clever people may, by sophistry, "so entangle and perplex the understanding, as to obscure principles, which were before thought quite plain, and induce doubts where, if the mind were to pursue its own course, none would be perceived." To this writer's understanding, what Chief Justice Marshall advises is this: When faced with a clever, but specious, argument, apply a good dose of common sense.

Chief Justice John Marshall in 1832

Painting by Henry Inman

Just consider President Biden's assertion -- echoed by the media -- that Republican state legislatures are using voting legislation to impose Jim Crow restrictions on likely Democrat voters. Biden put it this way in his Philadelphia false statement:

"The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It's unrelenting, and we're going to challenge it vigorously."

The reality is the obverse. There is no "Jim Crow assault" on any voter today. Biden blithely ignores the purpose of "Jim Crow" laws -- to prevent blacks from voting in southern states. The stratagems covered by the term "Jim Crow" included the poll tax and literacy tests.

What Republican state legislature, today, proposes a literacy test or poll tax for a citizen to qualify as a voter? None, of course.

At one point in his speech, Biden asserted "The Big Lie is just that: a big lie." This taunt, directed at Republicans, informs the speaker's own remarks, from July 13. For example, at one point in his speech, Biden said:

There is an unfolding assault taking place in America today -- an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in free and fair elections, an assault on democracy, an assault on liberty, an assault on who we are -- who we are as Americans.

For leftists like Biden, voting reforms aimed at ensuring "free and fair" elections are abhorrent, are obstacles to leftist hegemony in the country for generations to some. Included among his lies on vote reform was Biden's complaint about measures to make sure observers of ballot-counting are not prevented from carrying out their responsibilities. Who would object to a reform providing for bipartisan monitoring of ballot-counting -- other than someone who wanted ballot-count finagling to bar an honest count?

At another point, Biden said:

[H]ere's the deal. In 2020 democracy was put to a test -- first by the pandemic; then by a desperate attempt to deny the reality and the results of the election; and then by a violent and deadly insurrection on the Capitol, the citadel of democracy.

Common sense suggests that "the pandemic" served as an excuse for relaxed vote procedures, including early voting and ballot-harvesting, procedures that arguably resulted in ballots of dubious authenticity. Common sense also tells us that by that phrase "a violent and deadly insurrection on the Capitol," Biden is in lockstep with Speaker Pelosi's apparent plan to use her "Jan. 6" select committee to light political fires for autos-da-fe of the GOP.

This is not to say that political truth cannot be discerned in reading the text of Biden's false statement on voting rights. Consider this statement in the July 13 speech: "[M]ake no mistake, bullies and merchants of fear and peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundations of our country." Indeed so. But the common sense test points to leftists as Biden's "bullies and merchants of fear," and their mouthpieces at propaganda mills like The New York Times and Washington Post as the "peddlers of lies."

In short, this is to advise Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures to use Chief Justice Marshall's concluding paragraph in Gibbons v. Ogden as a working guide to disclose to the American people the false claims in any given statement from an ingeniously-minded Democrat.

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Every solid blue city has its horrors -- from murders in Chicago to organized thievery in San Francisco.

In San Diego, where I live, the problem is homeless attacks. Seems the homeless aren't just unsightly, unsanitary, or famous spreaders of disease, they're dangerous, and when you have a lot of them, you have a lot of unprovoked random assaults on law-abiding residents. The problem is out there, and too bad for those who don't like it. San Diego's new leftist mayor, Todd Gloria, is de facto advising the victims that he's going to create more of it.

Here's the local NBC News report:

[Resident Aislinn] Fava [aged 31] was walking along Broadway between 4th 3rd avenues to grab a smoothie in the middle of the afternoon when a homeless man ran up from behind her and punched her in the back of the head, slamming her into the ground. She said he punched her a second time and tried to steal her purse before police arrested him. Giovanni Moore, 31, is now in jail and facing criminal charges for battery and robbery. The thing that really freaks me out the most is that there really wasnt anything I could do to prevent it, Fava said. I couldnt have seen in coming. I didnt exchange words with this guy. Nothing. It was so bizarre, so random, thats kind of the freakiest part. Fava shared her experience on social media and the comments came flooding in. Below are just a few examples: East village is a war zone for women. I had an incident near Albertsons last year. I pepper sprayed him to get him off of me I work on India St and I have seen so much aggressive behavior from them such as dancing with a knife and wielding it at people I had a homeless woman charge at me, screaming obscenities..." The same week of Fava's attack, a City Heights surveillance camera captured the moment a homeless man struck another man from behind with a skateboard. Police say the suspect did it again to another random victim just minutes later.

Which is pretty hellish, given that homes in the vicinity now run at about a million dollars a pop, though they're pretty ordinary to look at. Not surprisingly, the residents are complaining. Good luck with that.

Gloria, billed by the press as a man of historic "firsts," -- first gay mayor, first Latino mayor -- but in reality, first crazy radical wokester leftist mayor, is telling the residents how to handle it:

"For those individuals who raise up the issue of homelessness as a concern, I'd ask them to be a part of the solution," Gloria said. "I'd ask them to participate in the efforts. We have to build more housing. We need to have more shelter beds. That's something communities often struggle with accepting."

Is he insane? It's the very presence of shelter beds and social service treatment centers, which have proliferated in San Diego, which makes it so easy to be homeless and out and about on the prowl. Gloria in fact has requested $10 million for more homeless services, doing his best to catch up with San Francisco.

Gloria seems to think that more homeless shelters in residential neighborhoods are actual solutions -- hence, his arch little statement tailored to lefties that they should be "part of the solution" by welcoming in more homeless shelters to their neighborhoods.

It's a stunning kind of statement because it goes against all that is already known about the nature of homelessness and crime.

Back in 1993, I recall that a key finding, published in City Journal in those days, was that the angry Upper West Siders in New York were inundated by social service agencies bringing in the homeless which was very precisely linked to the upsurge in crime at the time. As a result, the locals there surprised everyone by electing Rudy Giuliani. (I can't find the link, but I got that assignment as a student at Columbia journalism school from Professor Robin Reisig, and would never have heard of it otherwise).

Gloria's logic is utterly absurd, completely against historic experience, and frankly counterproductive. He sounds like Joe Biden actually, in his absence of a relationship to reality.

He seems to think that the problems associated with chronic homelessness are merely based on not having a home, with that at the root of it, buying a homeless person some kind of home will actually fix it.

In reality, chronic homelessness is a symptom, not a problem itself. The reality is, particularly with those homeless inclined to crime, that it involves drugs. Drug treatment centers in residential neighborhoods with the homeless allowed to move about freely in their off-hours is a recipe for crime waves and new victims.

Does he recognize that many of these random assaults described above look like marijuana-induced psychosis? Lovely thing, that pot legalization, which is now all over the city. Lovelier still, all the drugs rolling in with Joe Biden's open border policies, which allow in all comers. Drugs are reported to be flooding the country now, and San Diego at the border is right there at the intake.

Not only are shelters the problem, so is the other issue, which is that many homeless resist using shelters. They gather to use certain social services, but only those to the extent that they help perpetuate their drug-fueled lifestyle.

Has Gloria not learned that many homeless resist living in shelters based on their restrictions to drug use? Those rules are there to preserve safety for other homeless clients, though it doesn't always work out that way, and shelters typically remain dangerous places.

San Francisco decided to dispense with that rule and allow its shelters and hotels to become open-air drug bazaars, complete with drug deliveries to homeless residents sheltered at ritzy hotels such as the Mark Hopkins, and well, got a lot of kicked out walls, and plenty of OD deaths. Apparently, that idiocy has been stopped.

Claiming that shelters are a solution is nonsense. Drug addicts need huge labor-intensive treatment, with constant surveillance and continuous hand-holding, and there isn't enough of that to go around, nor is there anyone responsible when the homeless in shelters go out to commit crimes. To set up more shelters, even with an expanded 9 to 5 social-worker force of 300 as Gloria proposes, only encourages more homelessness and more crime.

Gloria seems unaware of chronic homeless dynamics and the knowledge that has come of years of observation, which typically, is that homeless people gather around a drug dealer and revolve their lives around paying him in order to obtain more drugs.

His argument to residents that they take in more homeless shelters and import more homeless into their neighborhoods as a means of keeping down crime is not only invincibly ignorant, it's downright outrageous. San Francisco, which spends more money on homeless "services" than it does police, is a textbook case that throwing public money at a problem not only doesn't work, it creates more of it. You can have all the poverty you'd like to pay for, as economist Thomas Sowell has quipped.

Gloria also blamed the problem on the pandemic, which is another lie, given that the homeless issues -- from hepatitis to bums eating food off people's tables in street cafes (most in North Park have since installed clear barriers now) have been going on for a long time. Here's a San Diego Reader piece from pre-shutdown 2019 describing the locals' defensive reactions to the onslaught of crime-inclined homeless.

Will the local victims finally wake up and recognize that government cannot solve this problem by throwing money at it? It's hard to think they won't keep resisting homeless shelters in their neighborhoods no matter what Gloria and his crew say, as it's gone on so long with so little resolution that they might just not buy it anymore. But it's hard to turn a lefty.

As for Gloria, he's new, but he's already on the runway to join other failed blue city mayors for the ongoing derby of which failed mayor -- Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington, Baltimore, New York, Seattle -- is the worst.

Image: Port of San Diego, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped) // CC BY 2.0

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Allison Hopper, in an op-ed somehow published in Scientific American, declared that "denial of evolution" is a form of "white supremacy" and perpetuates violence against Black people. (In reality, it is Black people who perpetuate violence against Black people, not a denial of evolution. That is simply a statistical fact.) Hopper's bio states that she is a "filmmaker and designer." There's a shock! Imagine that! A self-professed artist ("artiste"?) who is projecting her privilege onto others!

Hopper opined: "I want to unmask the lie that evolution denial is about religion and recognize that at its core, it is a form of white supremacy that perpetuates segregation and violence against Black bodies. Under the guise of 'religious freedom,' the legalistic wing of creationists loudly insists that their point of view deserves equal time in the classroom. Science education in the U.S. is constantly on the defensive against antievolution activists who want biblical stories to be taught as fact." Moreover, for many decades, "entrenched racism and the ban on teaching evolution in the schools have gone hand in hand." This raises the question: "WTH?"

If literally everything is proof of white supremacy, nothing is. If there is a "legalistic wing of creationists" loudly insisting that their point of view be given equal time in the classroom, they are doing a poor job. "Science education" in the U.S. is continually on the offensive against Christians and anyone else who dares to question the "experts" who purport to represent the "scientific consensus." Remember, "the science is settled"...because we said so.

Truth be told, and that is not often these days, conservatives and traditionalists are on the defensive  in the classroom and everywhere else. "Critical Race Theory," the transgender rights movement, socialist dogma, and anti-Americanism in general have largely pushed conservative thought and Christian sentiment out of the classroom...and off campus.

So how did we get here? Let's start from the beginning. Evolutionists believe that first there was a sort of "primordial soup," sometime after which there was a lightning strike, and  poof  life was created and walked out of the soup, waiting for evolution to perfect it. Or at least lead to Homo sapiens living in urban areas and playing "Grand Theft Auto" for seven hours every day. But if evolution determines everything, then it must have led to white supremacy as well. Tough realization, though "scientific," right?

On the other hand, creationists look toward Genesis for our genesis. Genesis states:

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. [But definitely not Black!]

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." ["Including any negroes or particularly tan people."]

Alright, I admit it: I added the italicized words in parentheses to the actual Scripture shown above. But creationism still perpetuates violence against peoples "of color," does it not? Denial of evolution is another name for white supremacy, is it not? Deniers are bad! Who would deny that?

Image via Max Pixel.

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Democrats, who've made all manner of political hay on COVID, advising us as Our Betters on lockdowns and masks, don't think they need to take their own advice.

So now we have these charmers, the Texas Democrat "fleebag" legislators, who are in Washington and making the rounds and hamming for the cameras.

According to the Austin American-Statesman:

WASHINGTON  Three Texas House Democrats have tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., according to Texas House Democratic Caucus leadership. They're among nearly 60 lawmakers who fled the state Monday to break quorum in the House, part of an effort to block the passage of a GOP-led elections bill during the Legislature's special session. Most members are staying in the same hotel. One of the three members found out about their positive test result late Friday evening, but doesn't have symptoms, caucus officials said. All House lawmakers were alerted and received a rapid test after that member's positive result. Two additional members tested positive in a rapid test Saturday morning, including state Rep. Celia Israel of Austin. Israel said in a statement that she is experiencing mild symptoms and plans to quarantine until she tests negative for the virus.

That would be these people, below, who were having a grand old time riding unmasked together in a private jet airplane:

Fleebaggers. Flying with no masks? All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others https://t.co/AS9aXEhu1z pic.twitter.com/URAoZAEFMD  Brad H. (@Labman53) July 13, 2021

Now they're spreading COVID with every beer swig and taking their superspreader act over to Washington, where at least some of them exposed Vice President Kamala Harris. More on that in a minute.

It was bad enough as they got started. As I wrote here at the time, they made themselves figures of fun:

Start with the flight: they got on their flight together and posed for a group selfie but forgot some important details. One was that they weren't wearing masks, despite dictating it for others. Two was that the private flight seems to have been paid for by a Lebanese hedge fund manager, which, if true, makes it even more gamy. Three, it was a private plane, and these people hector us on global warming. Four, alert internet sleuths spotted a big box of Miller Lite beer taking up one of the seats and drew their own conclusions. The flight became an "insane party plane," as Trish Regan noted. Everyone wondered whether they'd been swigging the beer early, given their happy no-mask faces. After that, they got off the plane and immediately got to work taking selfies on the tarmac. Sound like modern-age George Washingtons at Valley Forge as they've positioned themselves? Nope, more like cosseted spoiled brats or maybe overgrown college students. It got worse. They began to...sing. Bad singing, like maybe they'd had a few. They sang an old anthem of the civil rights era in keeping with the hero, but they got the lyrics wrong, as AT deputy editor Andrea Widburg noted in this excellent piece. Was it because they were drunk or because they were ignorant? They left the audience to guess.

Now they've spread COVID quite possibly to one another and at a minimum exposed others. According to the Austin American Statesman:

Texas Democrats have met with a slew of Capitol Hill Democrats this week, including U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Vice President Kamala Harris also met with them Tuesday.

They claim to have been fully vaccinated, of course.

Anyone intelligent would ask for proof about those vaccinations and they've not provided it, to start. But even if they were vaccinated, wouldn't this be a good occasion to start treating COVID as the flu instead of an economic shutdown mechanism? Nobody's gonna die if they've been vaccinated and the risk is quite low of any real trouble. Nope, with this bunch, they double down on the hypocrisy and use the occasion to pontificate anew to us.

Get a load of this statement from one of them, from Politico:

Let this be a reminder that COVID-19 is still very much among us, with infection rates on the rise and more contagious variants spreading nationwide, she said in the statement, urging unvaccinated people to get a shot. "Most importantly, I hope this instance highlights the sacrifices we're willing to make for the cause of democracy. I would not change anything to protect the right to vote."

As for Harris, a previous vaccine-skeptic herself, she, through her spokesweasel, says nothing to see here, move along:

On Tuesday, July 13th, Vice President Harris met with members of the Texas state legislature who are temporarily in Washington, D.C. Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that two of the members at that meeting tested positive for COVID-19, said Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders. Based on the time line of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined. The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated.

Nobody knows how close the contact was, given that news pictures show them all in the same conference room. Two of them have not been named, so who knows the truth of it? More to the point, if all the Texas COVID cases were from legislators who had been vaccinated, why is the vaccinated Harris somehow immune? Something doesn't jibe there.

Meanwhile, a Texas Republican legislator, back home, says he thinks they're faking COVID to be able to stay in Washington longer, calling their claimed cases "a gimmick."

It all goes to show the none of this makes any sense, it's all craziness. Either mask up or don't mask up, but don't go playing Our Betters on the matter of COVID as the pandemic burns out and expect to be called "heroes" for escaping the state to avoid a vote and then spreading disease elsewhere. Is their credibility shot yet with voters? Seems a bit overdue at this point.

Image: Twitter screen shot

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Larry Nassar is the disgraced team doctor employed by USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University who is now imprisoned for sexually abusing hundreds of female gymnasts, women, and girls. The investigation of Nassar turned up more than 37,000 images of child pornography and a video of Nassar allegedly molesting underage girls. This evidence prompted a Michigan judge in one of Nassar's trials to say there were "over 265 identified victims and an infinite number of victims" of his sexual predation. The abuse of one of the victims started when the girl was just six years old.

The details of Nassar's crimes are unsettling and are summarized in a section of Malcolm Gladwell's book, Talking to Strangers.

Nassar was eventually convicted in multiple courts on various charges and is now serving what amounts to a life sentence without the possibility of parole. So has justice been served? Not quite. There's the role played by our illustrious Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, when suspicions of Nassar's behavior first surfaced, the national gymnastics body did its own inquiry into Nassar over a five-year span. Having a pile of incriminating evidence, the matter was brought to the Indianapolis office of the FBI in 2015. From this wealth of information, the FBI proceeded with its own investigation. Incredibly, it consisted of conducting a single interview with just one gymnast whom Nassar allegedly abused, and that was done by telephone. There the matter stood.

In mid-2017, the WSJ started to document delays in the Nassar investigation. Then an internal report by the Office of the Inspector General was released. The OIG found that that single interview in 2015 wasn't even fully documented. The WSJ story continued:

And the report says, the Indianapolis agent failed to transfer the Nassar allegations to the FBI's resident agency in Lansing, Mich., the most likely place to investigate potential federal crimes that had been committed in the area, even after they had been advised by an assistant U.S. attorney to do so and they told USA Gymnastics that they had. Nor did the FBI contact state or local enforcement or take any other action to mitigate the risk to gymnasts whom Nassar continued to treat. The report details multiple false statements to internal FBI investigators by Indianapolis agents, including the special agent in charge of the office, Jay Abbott, and a supervisory agent who isn't named, dating from the earliest days of the gymnasts' complaints.

The FBI added one lie on top of another. The WSJ says the supervisory special agent's initial 2015 write-up of his interview with a single victim "contained materially false statements and omissions and the agent also made materially false statements when questioned later about the interview." The OIG report also added that Jay Abbott, the agent in charge, "made materially false statement[s] during his IOG interview to minimize the errors" made by his office in handling the Nassar allegations.

Making a false or misleading statement to the FBI is a crime. "Under 18 USC Section 1001, it is a felony to make a 'false statement to an agent or agency of the federal government in connection with a federal matter.'" A defense lawyer might argue that sexual abuse, even on the multi-state scale that Nassar engaged in, is not a federal crime. In any event, lying in an internal FBI investigation must be a crime, no? But as has been amply demonstrated over the past six years, we live under a two-tier system of justice  laws are for us to obey, not for them.

And where is special agent in charge Jay Abbott today? He's in retirement, no doubt with a healthy pension. His lawyer says, "Mr. Abbott thanks law enforcement officers and prosecutors who brought Larry Nassar to justice. Mr. Abbott hopes the courageous victims of Nassar's horrible crimes find peace." If that doesn't take the cake, I don't know what does. How much more abuse happened because of Abbott's neglect? Not to be placated, however, many of Nassar's victims have filed lawsuits, plus they're demanding that criminal charges be brought against Abbott and the special supervisory agent. If there is any semblance of justice left in the system, such demands will be met.

The past six years have shown that the FBI and other federal agencies are corrupt and owe their allegiance more to the ruling class than to the American people and the Constitution. To that, gross incompetence can be added. So tell me again: why should the FBI be respected?

Image via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

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Before I get to the missing link subject of this article, I want to be clear that I think theres a broader missing link in the leftist brain. That link is for logical thinking and truth recognition. Weve been asked  no, its demanded of us  to ignore critical thought for so long, that some people have forgotten how to think and question. We all need to exercise our minds, and be vocal, too.

The specific missing link Im talking about is in the COVID dialogue. As I watch California attempt to send its populace into another panic over the Delta variant, I realize that much angst could have been (still can be) avoided if we do one simple thing: Even if you staunchly believe all the COVID news, believe (erroneously) in the safety of the vaccines, believe (erroneously) that masks are a help in stopping the spread, and respect the (craven) people and government entities providing all this information, theres a piece of the jigsaw thats been purposely left out of the box.

That piece? Antibody testing. This is the test that will tell if youve had COVID and, therefore, developed natural antibodies. We know that people who had the virus have antibodies, which do a fine job of preventing them from getting COVID again. Those who have already had COVID are also the people who have had the worst reactions to the shots. I want to be clear about one more thing here  Im talking about adults. In my humble opinion, given that children dont succumb to COVID infection, they should never be vaccinated for it.

About 34 million people have had, and survived, COVID. The death rate from those who had the virus is between 1-2%, and that number reflects primarily the elderly and people with co-morbidities. Nobody who survived COVID needs to have the vaccine.

If you have antibodies, they are better than having had the jab, in terms of keeping you from further infection. A large percentage of people whove had the shots are getting breakthrough cases of COVID. Vaccines certainly dont protect everyone, so the claim that they do is a blatant lie.

The logical sequence of events, from the start of the big vaccination drive, should have been (1) get your antibody test and then (2) if you dont have antibodies, get the vaccine if you want it.

A vaccine passport, is simply a form of government control. Without it at this point, we are punished by being excluded from most activities of a fun nature, things such as concerts, cruises, etc. Instead of a vaccine passport, if they switched to an Immunity Passport, the dread millions of us have of taking the shot would be allayed. It shouldnt say whether you have had a vaccine, it should simply say whether you have immunity to COVID. That is equity in the realm of health care, even under the current draconian system.

The test, per WebMD, is a simple finger-prick blood test done at a lab. The three-page article is not dated, but one might assume that WebMD keeps its articles relatively up-to-date. It mentions that the government is looking for 10,000 people to get this test, to determine how many people have had COVID without knowing it. It adds a link to email the NIH to participate in this study. It says the test is claimed to be 100% accurate, and that the government monitors such facts. One further thing it talks about is the donation of Convalescent Plasma, which has been shown to help with treating people with COVID. Again, thats something that has seemingly fallen by the wayside in the vaccination push, but its website, at least, still exists.

This antibody test, to clarify, is not an alternative to the Coronavirus test. That one is advised if you think youre sick and want to be sure its with COVID. This one is for when you think you have had COVID at some point.

From my POV, Ill be happy if I have antibodies. The Delta variant appears less deadly, and its easily transmitted. Im out and about a lot, and I just got over a few days of being sick with a headache and sore throat, muscle aches, a slight fever  the apparently mild symptoms of Delta. So maybe Ive had it.

Id like to know, no matter what, because having all the facts makes an informed decision easier. Ive been sick, mildly, a couple of other times since the beginning of COVID. Being a healthy person, I dont stay sick for long. If I could get my passport stamped IMMUNE, Id be happy. Since Ill never take the jab, it would allow me to live my life as a free citizen once again.

The absolute lunacy of not doing what I just suggested is to the benefit of those who want to maintain tight control over society, rather than the people they supposedly serve.

IMAGE: Blood test image from rawpixel (with added text).

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In mid-July 1965 Anniston was reeling from the savage violence that cut down Willie Brewster, 38, a black man who had been returning home to Munford from his job at Alabama Pipe three days previous. While Brewster was driving along Alabama 202, white men shot into the car, gravely wounding him. In one voice a significant section of the community rose up and said enough; a $20,000 reward (enough at that time to buy an average house) was offered for information leading to the shooter's arrest and conviction. The piece of paper reproduced above showed readers how they could get the information to authorities and keep their own identity secret.
Katie Hopkins has been axed from the upcoming season of Australias Big Brother VIP after reportedly admitting to deliberately disobeying strict hotel quarantine rules.

The former Apprentice star turned far-right commentator arrived in Australia this week and was immediately placed into two weeks of quarantine in a government-mandated hotel.

On Saturday, the 46-year-old reportedly said in an Instagram live video she was deliberately disobeying quarantine rules by taunting guards and opening her hotel room door without a mask.

Her actions quickly drew a wave of criticism and, on Sunday, the Seven Network  which airs the reality TV show  said she would not feature in the upcoming season.

It said in a statement: Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP.

Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.

Earlier on Sunday, the countrys immigration minister Alex Hawke said the border force had launched an investigation.

Referring to a story on Hopkinss actions, he said in a statement on Twitter: With NSW & Victoria in lockdown, a reminder that temporary visa holders must obey public health orders.

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Australian Border Force is reviewing this matter. Where visa conditions are breached, individuals may face visa cancellation in accordance with the law.

The NSW Police Force said it was aiding the border force review.

A spokeswoman told the PA news agency: The NSW Police Force is working closely with Australian Border Force to ascertain whether the visa to enter Australia provided to a 46-year-old woman from the United Kingdom remains valid.

The NSW Police Force will assist with any operational requirements to assist the woman to return to her country of origin if it is deemed necessary.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Australias health minister Greg Hunt condemned Hopkinss actions as dangerous and irresponsible.

Hopkinss reported comments attracted a wave of criticism (Danny Lawson/PA)

He said: These actions, if accurately reported, are dangerous, irresponsible and apparently deliberate.

We know that at the moment the UK has the highest reported daily case numbers in the world and so this is a particularly dangerous and irresponsible action.

Katie Hopkins has called it out herself, shes boasted of this so last night I contacted the minister for home affairs Karen Andrews, but Karen had already referred the matter to the Australian Border Force. That was going to be my request but she was already onto this.

Border Force is considering it right now. In my view, if the facts are borne out of deliberately exposing someone to potential contact with a person who has not completed quarantine, then the strongest action should be taken.

My view is if the stories are accurate, instead of Big Brother watching Katie Hopkins, Katie Hopkins should be watching Big Brother from a long long way away.
Sun worshippers returned to beaches across Northern Ireland on Sunday as high temperatures continued.

The region saw a new record high temperature on Saturday, according to the Met Office.

The mercury hit 31.2C in Ballywatticock close to Newtownards in Co Down at 3.40pm.

Previously, the highest temperature of 30.8C was recorded on July 12 1983 and June 30 1976.

Ballywatticock in Co Down where a new record high temperature in Northern Ireland of 31.2C was recorded on Saturday (Johnny Caldwell/PA)

Ballywatticocks new claim to fame was marked with the changing of a speed limit sign to reference the 31.2C temperature recorded in the tiny area on Saturday.

Beaches across Northern Ireland remained packed on Sunday as the public enjoyed the sun.

Police described traffic congestion in the popular coastal towns of Helens Bay and Crawfordsburn in Co Down. The road into Helens Bay was closed to all but residents on Sunday afternoon as crowds flocked to the beach.

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On Friday NI Water urged the public to urgently reduce water usage to avoid shortages.

Director of customer operations Des Nevin said if the current demand continues, it will lead to failures in the system and some customers will lose supply or suffer low pressure.

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The temperatures are expected to remain up to 27C in Northern Ireland over the coming week.

Sundays high temperatures mark the beginning of an official heatwave across the UK, as in London and the South East, temperatures must exceed 28C for at least three days to record a heatwave, and Sunday is the third day.
When the gunshots started to echo all around Nationals Park, San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. quickly thought about the team's family members and friends in the seats.

Tatis bolted from the bench down the left field line Saturday night, helped open a gate to the stands and began ushering a group back to the dugout to shelter.

Our family, loved ones, little kids. Feel like somebody needed to go get them, Tatis said Sunday. I feel like the safest place was the clubhouse and we were trying to get our families into a safe place.

The top half of the sixth inning in the game between the Padres and Washington Nationals had just ended in front of about 33,000 fans when several shots were heard from an incident that occurred on South Capitol Street, just outside the third-base side of the stadium.

But in the moment, no one knew whether the rapid series of shots was coming from inside the ballpark or beyond.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler was on his way to see plate umpire Jordan Baker about a pitching change in a game San Diego led 8-4.

Hes like, Did you hear that?'' Tingler recalled Baker saying. Im like, yeah, I think so and it kind of registered what it possibly could have been and obviously it was just a nightmare.

A chaotic scene quickly developed. As the Padres cleared the field, some fans rushed to leave the stadium while others ducked and tried to hide, looking for cover.

Everybody running. It was crazy. You couldnt figure out what was going on. If it was one or two people, Tatis said. I was just trying to get to the safest place and get our families.

Tatis and teammates Manny Machado and Wil Myers drew praise for helping guide  and even carry  fans out of harms way.

The situation changed immediately, Tatis said. Theres no longer players, fans. I feel like everybodys just people, human beings trying to be secure.

The game was suspended at that point and resumed Sunday, ahead of the regularly scheduled game.

The shooting, an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars, left three people injured, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan Police Departments executive assistant police chief. One of the people who was shot was a woman who was attending the game and who was struck while she was outside the stadium, he said Saturday night. Her injuries werent considered life-threatening.

Two people who were in one of the cars later walked into a local hospital with gunshot wounds and were being questioned by investigators, Benedict said, and the extent of their injuries wasnt immediately clear. Investigators were still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting.

As the shots rang out, Nationals manager Davey Martinez was making sure his players were safe.

Then I started worrying about their families and trying to do the best I could to get them down to the players, Martinez said. And I started worrying about the fans as well.

Seeing the reaction on the third base side of the stadium, fans on the first base side began fleeing their seats as well. Some of them went down to the field.

There was a bunch of fans, they were in our dugout and I wanted to get them safe as well, Martinez said. "We got them in through the tunnel and got them in safely and tried to keep them safe. For me it was just about protecting our people and doing the best I can to stay calm.

Like Tingler, Martinez got emotional recounting the previous nights events.

Minutes after the shots were heard, a message appeared on the Nationals Park scoreboard saying that the incident was outside the park and fans should remain inside. About 10 minutes later, fans were instructed to leave by the center- and right-field gates.

We started to get word that everything happened right outside the stadium, Tingler said. "Thats when we started to feel a little bit better. You never feel great.

___

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Father Jim Mosier is the retired rector at St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Ontario. He can be reached in care of The Argus Observer, 1160 S.W. Fourth St., Ontario, OR 97914. The Argus Observer weekly faith column features a rotation of writers from many different faiths and perspectives.
According to information released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on July 17, 2021, U.S. Army Pacific Air and Missile Defense units working with Australian Defence Force counterparts completed the first-ever Patriot surface-to-air missile firing on Australian soil during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia, July 16, 2021.

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U.S. soldiers with 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, fire the MIM-104 Patriot to destroy a drone target Jul. 16, 2021, at Camp Growl in Queensland, Australia, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021. (Picture source U.S. DoD)

In the historic first, Soldiers based in Japan and Guam from 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, successfully engaged drone targets with Patriot missiles as part of TS 21, Australias largest military exercise with the U.S.



The 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is an active United States Army unit that provides air and missile defense to critical assets in the Pacific theater. Since 2018 the brigade headquarter is based at Sagami General Depot in Japan. The unit includes the 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, based at Kadena Air Base in Japan which is equipped with MIM-104 Patriot.

Australian and U.S. Forces combine biannually for Talisman Sabre - a key exercise supporting the Indo-Pacific Pathways initiative to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening relationships, building trust and interoperability among allies and partners.

This years iteration involves more than 17,000 participants from seven nations in a month-long multi-domain exercise that aims to strengthen military capabilities to respond to the full range of Indo-Pacific security concerns.

In addition to the U.S. and Australia, this years exercise involves participating forces from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom and delegations from India, Indonesia, France, and Germany will observe the exercise.



The MIM-104 Patriot is one of the most popular air defense missile systems in the world which is in service with 18 countries including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.





A Patriot battery includes several components including the AN/MPQ-65 Radar Set (RS), M903 Launch Stations (LS), AN/MSQ-104 Engagement Control Station (ECS), and several supporting systems for power generation and communications, including the AN/MRC-137 Communications Relay Group, OE-349/MRC Antenna Mast Group, and AN/MSQ-24 Electric Power Plant (EPPIII).

The Patriot MIM_104 is able to fire a full range of missiles that includes the MIM-104E Patriot Advanced Capability 2 (PAC-2) Guidance Enhanced Missile  Tactical ballistic missile (GEM-T), MIM-104F PAC-3 Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI), and MIM-104F PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE).

The PAC-1 missile of the Patriot MIM-104 has an operational range of 70 km, while the PAC-2 is able to reach a maximum firing range of 160 km. The latest generation PAC-3 missile can destroy ballistic missiles at a maximum range of 20 km, and 35 km for the PAC-3 MSE.
The three IPS officers were individually invited to separate meetings where they were offered the state DGP post by a senior bureaucrat

After storming to power for the third consecutive time, the Trinamul Congress supremo reinstated Virendra as the state top cop and shunted Mr Pandey to fire and emergency services department as it's DG. (Representational image: PTI)

Kolkata: In a major embarrassment to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, three senior IPS officers, also batchmates, have flatly turned down her government's offer for the state director general of police (DGP) post, apparently bypassing the Union Public Service Commission guidelines, to succeed present incumbent Virendra retiring on August 31.

The three upright cops, Nirajnayan Pandey, Adhir Sharma and Suman Bala Sahoo, belong to the 1987 batch of the West Bengal cadre. Among them, Mr Pandey was appointed as the state DGP by the Election Commission in place of Virendra during the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state.

After storming to power for the third consecutive time, the Trinamul Congress supremo however reinstated Virendra as the state top cop and shunted Mr Pandey to fire and emergency services department as it's DG. While Mr Sharma is DG (railways), Ms Sahoo is DG (telecommunication) of the state police.

According to sources, the three IPS officers were individually invited last month to separate meetings where they were offered the state DGP post by a senior bureaucrat. But none of them accepted it after having an ethical thought, sources claimed to this newspaper.

Sources indicated that the senior IPS trio perhaps felt that since they rose to the DG rank through hard work, passion and dedication while working under a state government over the years, they should not go against the UPSC rules to get the hot seat.

Stung by their rejection, the state government later decided to go by the rulebook of the UPSC mandated by the Supreme Court. It has empanelled 21 senior most IPS officers including 10 in DG rank, which has Mr Pandey, Mr Sharma and Ms Sahoo on board also, and 11 others as additional DGs to be counted as eligible before the UPSC.
At Bharatnagar in the Mahul area, 19 people died as a compound wall came crashing down on four to five houses located on a hillock at 1 am

Rescuers look for survivors after a wall collapsed on several slum houses heavy monsoon rains in the Mahul area of Mumbai, India, Sunday, July 18, 2021. (Photo:AP)

Mumbai: Torrential rains and thunderstorms caused havoc in Mumbai on Sunday as 31 people were killed in rain-related incidents like wall collapses and landslides in different parts of the city. The water supply to the city was also severely affected due to flooding at the citys key water purification complex. The weather department has predicted further heavy rainfall in the city for the next 24 hours.

Incessant rains lashed Mumbai city and its suburbs for several hours late Saturday night and Sunday morning, resulting in severe waterlogging at several places. Suburban train services were suspended, whereas several routes of BEST (city transport) buses were diverted. However, a majority of Mumbaikars were spared from inconvenience as it was a Sunday.

At Bharatnagar in the Mahul area, 19 people died as a compound wall came crashing down on four to five houses located on a hillock at 1 am. Ten slumdwellers died as six shanties collapsed after a landslide in Vikhroli at 2.30 am. A 16-year-old boy died after a forest department compound wall collapsed in Bhandup, while at Andheri, a 26-year-old man died due to electrocution in his shop.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the suburban parts of Mumbai received 235 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, while the city received 197 mm rainfall. A red alert was issued for Mumbai on Sunday with the forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations. Images from a doppler radar showed that the thunderstorm had a cloud top height of nearly 18 km (around 60,000 feet), the IMD said.

To put in other words, the height/vertical extent of this monster thunderstorm is approximately twice that of Mount Everest! tweeted meteorologist Akshay Deoras. Such thunderstorms are definitely uncommon for Mumbai or the west coast during an active phase of the monsoon and in a month like July. The cloud top height of this monster thunderstorm is definitely comparable to the one that produced rains on 26 July 2005, he further said.

The rains also affected water supply in most parts of the city as the water purification complex at Bhandup saw heavy flooding. The electrical gear that controls the pumping and filtration processes at the complex was inundated with water, leading to technical problems. As a precautionary measure, the power supply of the complex was also discontinued. The Brihanumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed citizens to boil water before drinking.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed grief over the loss of lives in incidents at Chembur and Vikhroli due to torrential rains and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakhs for the kin of each of the victims. The injured would be provided free treatment, he said.

Mumbai Suburban guardian minister Aditya Thackeray said the state government has decided to shift those people who are living in the dangerous zone. A decision is taken to shift the people, who are residing in the dangerous area, he said.

Relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar said 350 mm rainfall was recorded from Saturday night to Sunday morning. People were taken to safer places in the city after a red alert was announced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed anguish at the loss of lives caused by wall collapse incidents in Mumbai. His office announced Rs 2 lakhs each for the next of kin of the deceased from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund. A sum of Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured.

Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that those who are injured have a speedy recovery, Mr Modi said.
The chief minister has offered to resign on the condition that his son Vijayendra should get a good position in the state party unit

New Delhi: Ahead of the BJP government completing two years in Karnataka, speculations are rife that the central leadership could go in for a leadership change, replacing the 78-year-old Lingayat leader and chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa. However, Mr Yediyurappa, who met the BJP top brass, including PM Narendra Modi, rejected claims that he had been asked to quit or had offered to quit.

The BJP government will complete two years in the state on July 26 and speculations are rife that the CM, during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told him that the party leadership can replace him but not without agreeing to his conditions, including a successor of his choice and prominent positions for his sons in the state.

However, Mr Yediyurappa, who was in the national capital since Friday and met party leadership including the PM, party president J.P. Nadda, Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, rubbished reports that the BJP leadership wanted to replace him and in fact said that he would be back again in August to meet the party leadership to seek more assistance from the central government for the state.

Discussed on various matters including further strengthening the party's prospects in Karnataka ahead of 2023 general elections," tweeted the CM after meeting Mr Nadda. On reports of leadership change in the state, the CM said No one asked me for my resignation. No such situation arose. There was no discussion over leadership change in the state.

After his meeting with the Union home minister later, Mr Yediyurappa said that the home minister asked him to work hard and come back to power in the state.

He (Shah) asked me to work hard to come back to power in Karnataka and also that we must win more seats in Lok Sabha elections, Mr Yediyurappa added

Meanwhile, a leading newchannel, citing sources, claimed that Mr Yediyurappa offered to resign citing ill health during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening.

Sources, according to the news channel, said that the probable names for the CM's post are state home minister Basavaraj Bommai, mines minister Murugesh Nirani and parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi.

Sources added that the chief minister has offered to resign on the condition that his son Vijayendra should get a good position in the state party unit.

Though a section within the state BJP has been demanding a leadership change and have even cited alleged corruption charges against the CM to put pressure on the party leadership to heed to their demand, accommodations of Mr Yediyurappa's close aide Shobha Karandlaje in the PM's council of ministers, was perceived as an indication by many that the Lingayat strongman might finally agree to the leadership change. Keeping in mind the influential Lingayat vote bank and the past experience when Mr Yediyurappa had quit the BJP after being ousted from the CM's post in 2012, the BJP top brass is unlikely to antagonise the Lingayat leader.
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The British automaker couldnt pass the opportunity to celebrate six decades of Cooper magic, which brings us to the limited-run Anniversary Edition. Available in the three-door MINI Cooper, Cooper S, and John Cooper Works, the special edition will number 740 units worldwide.Anniversary models are offered in green as standard, which pays tribute to John Coopers racing cars. Beautified by retro white accents, these pocket rockets are also available in black or Rebel Green. The red accent line on the front grille needs to be highlighted as well, along with 74 decals. According to the BMW-owned company, the classic Mini Cooper once wore the starting number 74 when it won its first class on the racetrack.A set of 18-inch John Cooper Works light-alloy wheels featuring a two-tone finish and a lot of Cooper badges round off the list of exterior goodies. Hopping inside the Anniversary Edition, the first element that captures ones attention is the Nappa leather-wrapped steering wheel with a Cooper logo.On closer inspection, the drivers side of the cabin further reveals the signatures of John, Michael, and Charlie Cooper. The latter continues his fathers and grandfathers legacies as a racing driver and brand ambassador.Anniversary models are rounded off by John Coopers signature on the drivers door frame, a handwritten note that reads 1 of 740, and the evocative words 60 years of Mini Cooper - The Unexpected Underdog.In related news, the Mini wouldnt be too impressed by MINI because of the sales slump that continues to affect the automakers financial situation. The BMW-owned company sold 28,047 units in the United States last year, and the European market isnt exactly receptive either. In 2020, the MINI lineup moved 172,798 units, representing a 19.69 decline compared to 2019.






When it comes to on-road manners (off-roading won't even get a mention), there isn't that much between them, but it's the little things that drag the



Then there's the interior and the technology. The dashboards of the new Mercedes-Benz models are a work of art and even though BMW's isn't bad either, it doesn't even hold a candle to the GLE's. The displays in the Merc also have better all-round image quality, so even if it's not by a landslide since the BMW is aging gracefully, it's still a clear win for the Benz.



With price and fuel efficiency failing to provide a much-needed clear-cut differentiator, reaching a decision is tricky. If you ask us, the people who buy this type of vehicle do so for two reasons: comfort and interior space. Driving dynamics matter, but only to the point where there is a significant gap between the two. If not, then the SUV that is more practical and has a better interior should win since, in many cases, these vehicles double as family cars as well.



For the logical, impartial observer, the Mercedes-Benz GLE is the winner. Rory disagrees, though. He says that, for him, handling and ride quality matter a lot, so he's at peace with the choice he made. But even he admits most people would prefer the GLE, so it's almost a perfect 50:50.



Next up is the passenger comfort, and this is where the GLE scores its first big win. There are tons of space in the back and there are also digital climate controls and USB ports, two things the BMW lacks. Trunk space is similar, but the X5 has that split opening that can be very useful - it's not enough to count as a win, though.When it comes to on-road manners (off-roading won't even get a mention), there isn't that much between them, but it's the little things that drag the Mercedes-Benz down. For instance, the suspension is too soft over bumps in the road, though it stiffens nicely when cornering. Even so, the X5 does what BMWs do best and edges in front as being the clearly more driver-oriented vehicle out of the two.Then there's the interior and the technology. The dashboards of the new Mercedes-Benz models are a work of art and even though BMW's isn't bad either, it doesn't even hold a candle to the GLE's. The displays in the Merc also have better all-round image quality, so even if it's not by a landslide since the BMW is aging gracefully, it's still a clear win for the Benz.With price and fuel efficiency failing to provide a much-needed clear-cut differentiator, reaching a decision is tricky. If you ask us, the people who buy this type of vehicle do so for two reasons: comfort and interior space. Driving dynamics matter, but only to the point where there is a significant gap between the two. If not, then thethat is more practical and has a better interior should win since, in many cases, these vehicles double as family cars as well.For the logical, impartial observer, the Mercedes-Benz GLE is the winner. Rory disagrees, though. He says that, for him, handling and ride quality matter a lot, so he's at peace with the choice he made. But even he admits most people would prefer the GLE, so it's almost a perfect 50:50.

The two German brands have been illustrating the "competition drives innovation" principle for decades now, pushing each other to come up with better and better vehicles while also splitting the automotive fanbase in two in the process. Well, saying you like a brand or a car is one thing, but actually putting your money where your mouth is, completely another.AutoTrader's (and, albeit briefly, former Top Gear's) Rory Reid has chosen BMW but, as it so often happens after making an important decision such as buying a new car, shortly after he was overwhelmed with doubt. Was it really the best choice? Should he have opted for the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class instead?Being an automotive journalist, getting a test vehicle wouldn't have been a problem, but it was one of those questions you don't really want to find the answer to. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. What you don't know can't hurt you, and all that.Well, he must have realized a video comparing the two models could benefit a lot of people, so he finally mustered the courage to put the two side-by-side - his own car, and a brand-new Mercedes-Benz GLE . The Bimmer is an X5 30d, which means it packs a 3.0-liter straight-six turbodiesel with 282 hp (286 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque.The Merc's powertrain, on the other hand, sits one level higher as it's the 400d. Like the X5, it also has a 3.0-liter straight-six turbodiesel under its hood, but it makes 326 hp (330 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 N) of torque. Considering the GLE 350d slots underneath the X5 30d's figures, let's just say it's impossible to match them perfectly and move on.Starting with the one thing we all judge any car on the first, exterior design, Rory feels like the GLE looks "miserable" (as in sad). We would rather interpret its looks as aggressive, but that just goes to show why you should never expect other people to share your opinions on styling: everyone sees it differently.
There are, however, two problems that hamper down the appeal of the Stinger . Utility vehicles account for a large chunk of new-vehicle sales, which is why traditional body styles are slowly but steadily going the way of the dodo. Brand snobbery comes in a close second, and who could blame someone for buying a used 530i for the same price as an all-new Stinger?From a high point of 16,806 sales in 2018, the Stinger slid to 13,861 and 12,556 units in the United States, which makes it hardly profitable for the South Korean automaker. European sales are even worse at 1,387 in 2020.According to South Korean industry sources, our friends at The Korean Car Blog understand that the Stinger will be axed by the second quarter of 2022. This report isnt backed up by an official statement from Kia, but given the numbers presented earlier, the writing is on the wall for the sporty liftback.The Sohari assembly plant in Gwangmyeong where the Stinger is currently manufactured will be retooled for electrified vehicles in 2022, including a hybrid variant of the family-hauling Carnival. Retooling will begin early next year, and as far as I know, Kia doesnt intend to electrify the Stinger.As we sit here, waiting for Kia to give an official statement in regard to the Stinger, its worth remembering how much car youre getting for $36,090 excluding freight charge. The base GT-Line trim level rocks a 300-horsepower turbo four-cylinder engine, LED headlights, leather upholstery, Android and Apple CarPlay for the 10.25-inch touchscreen, wireless phone charging, and many other convenience features such as push-button engine start.At the other end of the spectrum, the GT2 flaunts a 3.3-liter V6 boosted to 368 horsepower, Brembo brake rotors and calipers, electronically-controlled dampers, Nappa leather, heated and ventilated front seats, a head-up display, and many more for $51,290. All-wheel-drive is also available at $2,200, which makes the range-topping Stinger a genuine performance bargain.
Full Self-Driving

FSD

SUV

Be that as it may, regulatory counsel Eric C. Williams told the California DMV that both systems amount to Level 2 assistance . Its a bit of a shame considering that Autopilot andCapability indicate Level 5 autonomous tech, but Tesla doesnt plan to leave things as they are now.In order to democratize semi-autonomous driving tech,is now available as a monthly subscription, which is far more convenient than the $10,000 standalone FSD option. Basic Autopilot to FSD Capability costs $199 per month while Enhanced Autopilot to FSD Capability is $99 per month.These subscriptions are available through the Tesla mobile app on vehicles with the FSD 3.0 computer or above. Customers who cancel their subscriptions, regardless of reason, will enjoy Full Self-Driving Capability features for the remainder of their current billing periods as per Tesla.Currently available only in the United States, the FSD subscriptions arent trivial expenses. Standalone, the Full-Self Driving Capability package costs the equivalent of 50 months of the $199 subscription, which means that a subscriber can match the $10,000 optional extra in just over four years.The closest rival to Teslas subscription system is Super Cruise from General Motors, which is going to extend from certain Cadillac nameplates such as the Escalade full-sizeto the GMC Sierra 1500 Denali for the 2022 model year. Super Cruise retails from $2,500 with three years of service included in the Escalade, but following this period, Cadillac charges $25 per month on a standalone basis or $15 per month when bundled with an OnStar plan.At the present moment, Full-Self Driving Capability augments the Autopilot system with Level 2 semi-autonomous features such as Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, Summon, Autopark, and Lane Change Assist. By the end of the year, Autosteer on city streets will be added to the suite in the U.S. of A.
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Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has begun sowing distrust in next years elections, alarming lawmakers and the courts alike.

Details: In speeches, Bolsonaro, a former military captain, has been questioning the integrity of an electronic ballot system thats been in place since 1996 and suggesting he might not even allow elections to happen.

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is currently the runaway favorite heading into the October 2022 contest.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court opened an investigation into the Bolsonaro governments handling of vaccine contracts, and the Senate is holding hearings, which could lead to impeachment  something a majority of Brazilians support.

"Bolsonaro is facing an uphill battle, but it remains far too early to rule him out of contention," journalist Gustavo Ribeiro told Axios World.

The latest: Bolsonaro was taken to the hospital Wednesday with abdominal pains and hiccups, and will be under medical observation until Saturday.

Go deeper: Amid vaccine scandal, Bolsonaro threatens to reject election results
The families of five Maryland newspaper employees who were killed in a mass shooting in 2018 and some of the employees who were in the Capital Gazette newsroom during the attack have sued the parent company, alleging it did not do enough to prevent the attack.

Driving the news: Two lawsuits were filed on June 24 and were unsealed on Thursday, according to the Baltimore Sun, which is also named as a defendant.

Had Defendants taken reasonable steps to protect The Capital and its employees, Ramos would have been detected and stopped prior to entering The Capitals newsroom, and he may never have attempted the assault at all, one of the complaints alleged, per AP.

The big picture: Jarrod Ramos, who opened fire and killed five people in June 2018, was found criminally responsible on Thursday, with a jury rejecting defense attorneys mental illness arguments.

Ramos faces a life sentence for the murders.

Baltimore Sun Media, whose parent company is Tribune Publishing Co., acquired the Capital Gazette newspapers in 2014.

Attorneys for the Sun denied allegations in court documents, according to AP.

"We recognize and share the continued grief of the victims family members, friends and colleagues," Tribune spokeswoman Renee Mutchnik said in a statement.

"The five lives lost in this senseless attack always will serve as a reminder of the important role that independent journalism provides for communities across America."

Go deeper: Capital Gazette gunman found criminally responsible for killing 5 people
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is planning to travel to Morocco in early August to inaugurate the new Israeli diplomatic mission in Rabat, Israeli sources told me.

Why it matters: Lapid would be the first Israeli minister to visit Morocco since the nations re-established diplomatic relations last December as part of a three-way deal with the U.S., in which the Trump administration recognized Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara.

Driving the news: Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita agreed on the visit during a phone conversation Friday. Israeli sources told me it's expected to take place on August 10th or 11th, subject to the COVID situations in Israel and Morocco by then.

The State of Play: The Moroccans stopped short of fully normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel when the deal was signed in December, preferring instead to mutually open diplomatic liaison offices in lieu of embassies  and potentially retaining bargaining chips should the next administration consider rolling back the Western Sahara decision.

Two months ago I reported that Secretary of State Blinken told Bourita the Biden administration is not rolling back Trumps decision. Bidens top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, spoke with Bourita two weeks ago and reiterated this position.

Because of the Biden administrations position, Morocco plans to conclude its normalization process with Israel by turning its diplomatic liaison office in Tel Aviv into an official embassy, sources familiar with the issue told me.

Last week during a meeting with the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Lapid said Israel is planning to open an embassy in Morocco. Israeli officials told me Lapid didnt misspeak, and that Morocco and Israel are negotiating the possibility of announcing the upgrade of the diplomatic offices to full embassies during Lapids visit.

What they're saying: Lapids office declined to comment.
The obscure Investigations and Threat Management Service within the Department of Commerce went "rogue" across multiple presidential administrations by conducting unauthorized "race-based" investigations into department employees, according to a new Senate report.

Why it matters: The unit was allowed to abuse its authority for years without repercussions and became what whistleblowers described as a gestapo" within the department that habitually targeted people of Chinese and Middle Eastern descent.

The Commerce Department created the ITMS to provide security services to the secretary during the George W. Bush administration, but it began to take on a law enforcement role soon after its establishment, according to the report, which was prepared by the minority staff of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

The report details how ITMS, obsessed with concerns about rampant Chinese espionage in the United States, "broadly targeted departmental divisions with comparably high proportions of Asian-American employees."

"The ITMS collaborated with agencies in the Intelligence Community to conduct counterintelligence operations, despite lacking any form of legal authorization to participate in these activities," according to the report.

The report alleges that the department's inspector general, Peggy Gustafson, reviewed whistleblower complaints against ITMS beginning in 2017 but "failed to identify and address the units deficiency."

In one instance, ITMS investigated renowned Chinese-born hydrologist Sherry Chen based on allegations that she downloaded and distributed unclassified information to a foreign national.

ITMS agents reportedly interrogated her for seven hours, denied her counsel, ignored exculpatory evidence and forced her to draft an incriminating statement, Chen claimed in a lawsuit filed afterwards.

The agents then referred their investigation to the FBI, and Chen was arrested, though the Department of Justice dropped the criminal charges against her a week after her arrest.

What they're saying: "For sixteen years, the Investigations and Threat Management Service operated within the Department of Commerce without proper authority or meaningful oversight," the committee said.

"The unit regularly disregarded the rule of law, committing gross abuses of power and misusing taxpayer funds to perform missions the unit lacked authorization to undertake," it added.

The big picture: The Commerce Department ceased ITMS investigative activities on May 14, 2021, after Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the committee, sent a letter of concern to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
A Wisconsin jury this week awarded a woman with Down Syndrome $125 million in punitive damages in her suit against Walmart for wrongful termination, the New York Times reports.

State of play: Marlo Spaeth began working at Walmart as a sales associate in 1999. In November 2014, after Walmart altered her shift schedule, Spaeth repeatedly asked the company to return her normal work hours, per the Times.

Spaeth's Down Syndrome meant she benefited from a regular routine and the new schedule was a "significant hardship," her lawyers argued, according to the Times.

In July 2015, Walmart fired Spaeth for excessive absenteeism, which Spaeth and her lawyers argued was caused by the new schedule. Her termination letter said she could be rehired, but Walmart refused to do so despite Spaeth's entreaties to get her old job back, per the Times.

The bottom line: The jury awarded Spaeth $125 million in punitive damages and $150,000 in compensatory damages, noting that Walmart had violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, reports the Times.
Three Texas state House Democrats who traveled to Washington, DC, this week have tested positive for Covid-19, The Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement Saturday.
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She went to jail after hallucinating a shooting at O'Hare Airport. Now she advocates for those with mental illness in the criminal justice system.
More About The Lowly Oregon Coast Rockfish Than You Realize

Published 07/14/21 at 5:55 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  The lowly (but often tasty) rockfish: there's more to these colorful little guys than you may think. Oh, sure, they're a yummy treat when part of the right recipe. However, some species can live as long as 70 years or even 116 years out in the wilds of Oregon coast waters. (Above: China Rockfish. All photos courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

They are a staple on the dinner plate around the Pacific Northwest and on fishing expeditions in the region's waters  a favorite pastime on their own. There's some 13 species off the Oregon coast, but two are especially colorful.

Seaside Aquarium has extensive dealings with both the Tiger Rockfish and the China Rockfish, including featuring them quite often.

Both are quite colorful and striking.

The aquarium's Tiffany Boothe is quick to note that about the China Rockfish (Sebastes nebulosus).

In our humble opinion these are one of the most attractive species of rockfish out there, she said. They can vary in color from black or blue-black, mottled with yellow and sometimes white.

Indeed, her photos of them make them look almost glowing; slightly iridescent. It's as if this kooky little fish was dressed for a rave. They have a dark blue or black body, with splotches of yellow and a wide yellow strip along their sides. Yet in her photos they look like they might do something spectacular visually if you hit them with a black light.

Boothe said they currently have three China Rockfish there, all of which have been at the aquarium for over 20 years.

Like other species of rockfish, they have a relatively long lifespan, often exceeding the age of 70, she said.

China Rockfish live at fairly shallow depths, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), generally 10 to 400 feet deep and always around rocky reefs.

They can be quite territorial and are not much for traveling, Boothe said. Usually most active at dusk, they do not travel further than 20 or so feet from their established territory. They prefer complex habitats like boulder fields or kelp beds and are sometimes found living in dens or caves occupied by giant Pacific octopus.





The Tiger Rockfish (Sebastes nigrocintus) is also quite a splash of color, and these live up to a whopping 116 years old in the natural world.

They can vary in color having either a grey, pink, rose, or white body with five black or red bars, Boothe said.

They're also fairly reclusive and territorial, and they get quite aggressive towards their own kind when they intrude. Tiger rockfish tend to stick around their home, normally not venturing far beyond their territory, which is usually along deep vertical rocky areas.

When not getting into fights with their own kind, they're chowing down on small hermit crabs,larger crabs and brittle stars, Boothe said.

Boothe said the aquarium crew had an endearing encounter with some baby Tiger rockfish a few years back when on a call for a stranded mammal on the beach. They noticed a pile of kelp on the sand  which is what baby Tiger rockfish hide in when young. When they moved the pile, a few babies fell out and they were still alive.

Too little to return to the ocean (as they would simply wash back onto the beach) we brought them back to the aquarium, she said. It was about a week before these little beauties were big enough for identification and they were indeed baby tiger rockfish. Our entire staff has fallen in love with them and they are now probably the most loved rockfish in the world.



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A company in charge of the waste treatment plant for Country Side Estates in Nederland has officially been given more than $68,000 in fines for violations dating back to at least 2017.

Aqua Texas, a company that specializes in creating private wastewater treatment systems, was fined at the end of June after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2019 investigated the Nederland facility.

In documents reviewed by TCEQ commissioners earlier this summer, investigators listed a number of violations and misreports at the facility, including the observation of wastewater and sewer sludge overflowing into the front of the plant that dated back to at least Summer 2017.

Two years later, investigators found a layer of sludge up to 6 inches thick at least 60 yards downstream from the outflow.

In all, TCEQ highlighted more than a dozen violations at the facility, most of which were failures to keep accurate records and correctly calculate how much waste was being contained and treated in the system.

According to a timeline provided to the Enterprise by TCEQ spokesperson Brian McGovern, the agency started an investigation after reports in 2018 regarding discharges from the plant into a ditch at its fence line.

Investigators focused on incidents reported from 2017 to 2019 and several instances where the facilitys manager didnt meet response deadlines after the investigation began, but they also reviewed its compliance history back to 2014.

Aqua Texas is part of a larger national company, Aqua Inc., that operates in eight states.

The company told the Enterprise that most of the issues with the plant were related to large quantities of rainwater that made its way into the system and increased the water flows. Representatives with the company said the contamination was contained to the plant and cleaned afterwards.

Although the company did admit it had to update record-keeping and flow calculations, it still disputes TCEQs findings that sludge from the facility was making its way to a ditch in 2019.

A spokesperson with the company told the Enterprise in an email that the area where they believe investigators gathered samples could have caught overflow from a retention pond, and it believes TCEQs analysis wasnt sophisticated enough to determine whether it was sludge from the Country Side Estate system.

Aqua Texas continues to disclaim liability but nonetheless chose to enter into a settlement that would avoid costly litigation, a spokesperson with the company wrote in an email to the Enterprise.

To put Aqua Texas $68,000 fine in perspective, Bridge City was fined $86,050 in 2014 due to discharges of sludge at its treatment plant, but those eventually were reduced by around $20,000 after the agency took storm damage to the system into account and acknowledged good faith efforts by the city to improvement equipment.

Repairs to the system at Country Side have been in the works since 2019, and the company has submitted missing reports and data, but the agency has ordered more corrections that must be finished in the next several years.

Among those corrections includes a TCEQ order for the construction of a new system that must be in place within the next 10 months.

A request for bids for the estimated $2 million project was advertised in January 2020, according to an online listing.

Alston said the company had been working on a plan to replace the facility before TCEQ made the order.

The plant replacement/upgrade was initiated as part of Aquas regular capital improvement process and not specifically related to the TCEQ action, the spokesperson said in an email.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
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Tom OConnor, the British comedian and host of game shows like Crosswits, Password and Name That Tune, has died. He was 81.

OConnors family told the BBC that the comedian, who had Parkinsons disease for over a decade, died in a hospital in Buckinghamshire on Sunday.

OConnor began his career in show business on the talent show Opportunity Knocks, which he won three times. His television breakthrough was on the show The Comedians, where he performed stand-up sets. But OConnor was best known as the host of several classic game shows, including Crosswits, Password, Name That Tune, The Zodiac Game and Gambit.

Born on Oct. 31, 1939 in Bootle, Merseyside in England, OConnor originally became a math and music teacher at a school in Bootle, performing at night in the working mens clubs of the time. After appearing on Opportunity Knocks and The Comedians, OConnor quickly became one of the most recognizable faces on British TV in the 70s and 80s as a game show host.

Beyond hosting, OConnor soon added acting to his resume, making his stage acting debut in 1991 as Pike in The Perils of the Pond. He also had a recurring role on the BBC series Doctors from 2000 to 2004, playing a Catholic priest named Father Tom. Toward the end of his career, OConnor began appearing on game shows himself, and was even given an award for having been on the show Countdown 100 times. In 2010, OConnor won the Channel 4 show Celebrity Come Dine With Me, and in 2011 he appeared on BBC Ones Pointless Celebrities with his daughter-in-law, Denise Lewis.

Speaking to the BBC, OConnors son, Steve Finan OConnor, said his father was a unique comedian who was light years ahead of political correctness.

Survivors include OConnors wife and four children, as well as 16 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, according to the BBC.

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A military veteran was saved last week from potentially jumping off the Rainbow Bridge between Port Arthur and Bridge City.

Local law enforcement officials were alerted Tuesday afternoon of a possible missing person after receiving the report of an abandoned SUV on the Texas 87/73 bridge between Port Arthur and Bridge City.

Deputies found the SUV, but at the time it was unclear why the vehicle had been left behind and where the owner had gone.

Officials searched on land and water where the high bridge  along with the neighboring Veterans Memorial Bridge  crosses over the Neches River just upstream from Sabine Lake.

Orange County Sheriffs Office Det. Josh Lockett said any time there is a situation where a person may have been at the bridge and fallen, been pushed or jumped, rescue boats are sent out from the sheriffs office to evaluate all potential circumstances.

Hours passed as the search continued, and some area residents, including the mans family who feared he had jumped, began to fear the worst.

The Southeast Texas mans mother, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect her familys privacy, said her son had previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps and had recently hit a dark point because of some troubling circumstances in his life.

All she and her family knew Tuesday afternoon while police were searching was that her sons SUV had been found running with his cell phone still inside.

I was very concerned, she said. We definitely thought that he had made the jump.

Fearing the worst, her other children left their jobs and traveled home from the Houston area to gather as a family.

We were driving around, looking for this guy, checking the bridge, checking with family members (when) we get a call from a civilian who was up on the bridge with this guy when he tried to jump, Lockett told The Enterprise. He ends up tackling him.

Lockett said the rescuer told deputies he had once been in the same position and simply was in the right place at the right time to intervene on the bridge where many people have died by suicide in the past.

After tackling the veteran, Lockett said the good Samaritan put him in his own car. He was planning to drive back around to the other mans car, but officials already had towed it, Lockett said.

Ultimately, the good Samaritan and the veteran, who now is receiving mental health support, met law enforcement at the Bridge City Police Department.

The veterans mother said she believes the good Samaritan, who talked her son off the ledge and spent time talking to him, including about religion, was sent to answer the familys prayers.

Myself and my family are just so thankful and feel so blessed that someone was gracious and kind enough to stop and talk our son down, the mother told The Enterprise.

I dont know what was said to him personally, but it had to be some great encouragement, and I feel like God put that Good Samaritan there for my son at the exact right time, and God also allowed my son to open his heart and hear what the man was saying to him.

Words just cant explain how grateful and thankful we are to this guy. she said. He means the world. In our eyes, he did Gods work.

She believes the man, who she is attempting to reach out to, somehow knew the right words to say to make a difference for her son, who she described as a believer going through a tough time.

Before we got the word that he had been rescued by this person, needless to say we were devastated  we felt hopeless, the mother said.

When we got the good news that our son was indeed saved by this guy, and thats how we look at it, we were so thankful and bless and we couldnt tell the guy how much we thank him for that.

Just dont give up hope. God is always there at the right time  and thats from my heart, she said before her voice cracked, overwhelmed with emotion.

The mother said her son is stable and doing well.

Lockett said the sheriffs office is appreciative of residents stepping up and helping the officials out. He encouraged people who may be struggling to reach out and explore available resources.

Reach out and talk to someone before you make a rash decision or a knee-jerk reaction, Lockett said.

There are people and places that can help if you are going through something. Theres several organizations, there are people to help veterans, theres people to help regular citizens.

Theres avenues out there, he said. You are not alone.

meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  Three of the Democratic state lawmakers who fled Texas to stymie a Republican-backed effort to impose broad new voting restrictions have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quarantined, the Texas House's Democratic Caucus director said Saturday.

One lawmaker tested positive Friday and the other two did so on Saturday, according to caucus director Phillip Martin. All three were fully vaccinated against the disease, according to Martin, who declined to release their names or conditions to respect the privacy of Members and their personal health.

More than 50 Texas lawmakers arrived in Washington on Monday after leaving their home state on a private charter flight. They received criticism from Republicans and others after a photo showed them maskless on the plane, though federal pandemic guidelines dont require masks to be worn on private aircraft.

Rep. Chris Turner, the caucus chairman, said in a statement that the caucus was conferring with health experts in Texas for additional guidance.

This is a sober reminder that COVID is still with us, and though vaccinations offer tremendous protection, we still must take necessary precautions, Turner said.

COVID-19 infections in people who have been fully vaccinated against the disease  also referred to as breakthrough infections  are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Democrats left the state to deny the Republican-controlled Legislature the necessary quorum to pass a bill that would place new restrictions on voting in Texas.

Members of the caucus met with Vice President Kamala Harris, including two of the three lawmakers who tested positive, Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders said a statement on Twitter.

Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined, Sanders wrote.

The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated, according to Sanders.

Martin said it is not known where or when the three Texas lawmakers were infected.

We dont know. In order to be on the plane everybody had to be fully vaccinated, according to Martin.

Members of the group also met with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, but none of the three infected attended that meeting and Schumers office has been notified of the positive tests, according to Martin.

Turner said the White House was also notified.

Texas House Speaker Dade McPhelan, a Republican, issued a statement saying he and his wife were praying for the health and safety of the sick lawmakers.

"My staff has reached out to Dr. John Hellerstedt, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and his epidemiology team for any additional guidance on protocols for those exposed to COVID-19 post-vaccination, Phelan wrote.

___

Miller reported from Oklahoma City.
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THEATER REVIEW

What: The Stranger. Written for the stage by Agatha Christie from her short story Philomel Cottage. Directed by John Trainor

With: Sasha Conley, Matthew Tyler, Cara Moretto, Stephen Haskett, Monica Bliss

Where: The Theater Barn, 654 Route 20, New Lebanon, N.Y.

When: Through July 25. 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; 2 p.m., Thursday and Sunday; 4 p.m., Saturday.

Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes (including one intermission)

Tickets: $33; $30 (senior citizens and veterans  Sunday matinee)

Reservations and information: 518-794-8989; thetheaterbarn.org

NOTE: All performances are for fully vaccinated patrons only.
You are the owner of this article.
Reporter

Greta Jochem, a Report for America Corps member, joined the Eagle in 2021. Previously, she was a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is also a member of the investigations team.
Gloria Richardson, the first woman to lead a prolonged grassroots civil rights movement outside the Deep South and one of the nations leading female civil rights advocates, died Thursday (July 15) at age 99.

Richardsons granddaughter, Tya Young, said Richardson died in her sleep in New York City and had not been ill, Associated Press reports. Young told AP that, while her grandmother was a pioneer of the civil rights movement, Richardson did not seek praise or recognition.

She did it because it needed to be done, and she was born a leader, Young said.

Richardson was born in Baltimore and later lived in Cambridge on Marylands Eastern Shore, in the same county where Harriet Tubman was born. She began her activist career after entering Howard University at age 16, where she protested segregation at a DC drugstore.

In 1962, Richardson led the Cambridge Movement, where she helped organize sit-ins to desegregate restaurants, movie theaters, and bowling alleys. During the Cambridge Movement, she was photographed pushing away the rifle of a National Guardsman.

Joseph R. Fitzgerald, who wrote the 2018 biography The Struggle is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation, told AP, I say that the Cambridge Movement was the soil in which Richardson planted a seed of Black power and nurtured its growth. Everything that the Black Lives Matter movement is working at right now is a continuation of what the Cambridge Movement was doing.

RELATED: Inspired By Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The New Generation Of Civil Rights Isnt Asking For Change, Theyre Demanding It

Richardson also advocated for the right of Black people to defend themselves when attacked. In a 2018 interview with Topic, Richardson said, "I didn't believe in non-violence if people were coming shooting into your houses. It was just people whose lives were at stake and in danger and it was a life and death situation almost every day."

The Cambridge sit-ins turned violent in the summer of 1963 and Governor J. Millard Tawes declared martial law under the National Guard. Cambridge Mayor Calvin Mowbray asked Richardson to end the protests in exchange for a promise not to arrest Black protestors, but Richardson refused to compromise.

While the city was still under martial law, Richardson met with U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to negotiate what became informally known as the Treaty of Cambridge, which ended segregation in public accomodations in Cambridge in exchange for a one-year ban on demonstrations. While Richardson did sign the treaty, the unrest continued in Cambridge until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Richardson also stood on the stage at the 1963 March on Washington as one of six women called fighters for freedom, though was only allowed to say hello before the microphone was taken from her.

Richardson led the Cambridge, Maryland, Nonviolent Action Committee for three years before her resignation in 1964. After her resignation, Richardson married photographer Frank Dandridge and moved to New York, where she worked a variety of jobs including a stint at the National Council for Negro Women.

Richardson is survived by her daughters, Donna Orange and Tamara Richardson, and her granddaughters, Young and Michelle Price.
John Lewis legacy is nothing short of legendary. From his work to expand voting rights to his activism for poor and working class people, the civil rights giant left this world a better place than he found it.

Lewis is also leaving behind his last literary testament on the one-year anniversary of his passing. Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation is the longtime congressmans brand new book and contains his final reflection after his extraordinary life.

Published on July 13 by Grand Central Publishing, the book also focuses on the things that mattered most to Lewis and shares his hard-earned wisdom with the world one last time.

RELATED: New Doc 'John Lewis: Good Trouble' Celebrates The Living Icon And His Passion For Social Justice

The book contains the late congressmans final reflections after a lifetime on the front lines of the battle for Americas soul, focusing on the things that mattered most to him and sharing his hard-earned wisdom with the world one last time, the publisher says, according to USA Today.

Carry On includes a foreword by Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and Ambassador to the United Nations, and comes in hardcover, e-book and audiobook versions. The latter is read by Academy Award nominated actor Don Cheadle.

To get a copy or obtain the audiobook version of Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation click here.
Michelle Obama is ready to get out there again and is making her first public appearance since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.

PEOPLE reports the former first lady is slated to appear at The Nantucket Projects 10th annual gathering in September and will share the dais with Russell Brand, Ashley Judd and Megyn Kelly.

"Mrs. Obama is the perfect person to help us emerge from the pandemic in a live setting," Nantucket Project co-founder Tom Scott said in a statement to the magazine. "She represents everything we believe in and the ethos that has driven us for the last decade; curiosity, exploration, an understanding of the importance of community and the power of conversation. To say we are excited is an understatement."

RELATED: Michelle Obama Has One Rule For Hanging Out With Her Family

The Nantucket Projects goal is to bring together a diverse group of thinkers who tell stories via live talks, films and music.

The Circus of Ideas and Conversations is the title of this years event, which will include four days of "live talks, original films, and unforgettable experiences."

The event is slated for September 23-26 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and will mark the official launch of the Neighborhood Project, which will allow members, known as Neighbors, to join groups or start their own in order to bring about meaningful conversations.

"In the 70's jogging was a concept that outliers pursued  today it's commonplace," Scott told PEOPLE. "Conversation is headed on that same journey."

While this is Obamas first in-person appearance at an event since the COVID shutdown, she made an in-person studio appearance in May on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
A federal judge sentenced a former St. Louis cop who brutally beat a Black undercover colleague he thought was a protester to four years in prison Tuesday (July 14). Randy Hays, 34, pleaded guilty in 2019 to using excessive and unreasonable force during a September 2017 incident where he and other officers attacked and arrested Luther Hall, who was undercover at a protest in response to a controversial court ruling.

Hall and his partner had been following a group of people who were damaging buildings and reporting their activity to an intelligence center, during a protest that broke out after a white officer was acquitted for fatally shooting Anthony Lamar Smith.

According to the complaint filed in civil court, when police arrived to break up the crowd, Hays and other officers stopped him, slammed him face-first into the pavement twice, and then punched, kicked, and attacked him with batons. Halls partner, who was white, was arrested but not beaten.

RELATED: Wisconsin Ex-Cop May Face Charges For Fatal Shooting Through Rare Legal Process After Being Cleared

Hall suffered herniated discs, a rotator cuff tear, a bruised tailbone, a concussion and other injuries as a result of the violence, according to the Washington Post. Prosecutors read Halls written statement at Tuesdays hearing, in which Hall said that the experience left him feeling withdrawn.

I feel the same helplessness I felt the night of the assault, as I laid on the ground being beaten in the head, neck, and torso. The days I cant sleep, I lay in bed in the dark and all I hear is the sound of my camera impacting the ground and voices of people yelling commands at me, Hall wrote.

An attorney for Hall told the Washington Post that he wont comment or have his legal team comment until the criminal cases are over.

At Tuesdays hearing, Hays said he was deeply sorry for his actions. I am a good person, but I made a mistake, he said.

Hays was the first of three officers involved in the attack to be sentenced. A second officer, Bailey Colletta, was sentenced Thursday (July 15) to three years of probation for her role in the attack. Colletta pleaded guilty in 2019 to making a false declaration to a grand jury, in an effort to cover up the attack on Hall, the Washington Post reports.

Hall also said in his written statement that he has had three surgeries and multiple procedures due to his injuries, and will probably need more. The reality is I will live out the rest of my life in some degree of pain. Because of the [conscious] decision of Randy Hays and Bailey Coletta my physical being, mental health and overall life will never be the same. The decision of these officers has altered my career, professional and personal life, he wrote.

The City of St. Louis agreed to settle Halls civil suit for $5 million last February.
News

Smiths Grove apartments denied; Plum Springs homes move ahead

In the battle between developers aiming to meet Warren Countys growing need for more residences and preservationists looking to maintain their quiet neighborhoods, both sides could claim victory Thursday night.

The City-County Planning Commission of Warren County, in a meeting that brought a standing-room-only crowd to the Bowling Green City Commission chambers and lasted nearly six hours, approved a 158-unit subdivision in Plum Springs despite heavy opposition and denied a 236-unit apartment development in Smiths Grove that likewise brought out many naysayers.

Opposition to the Plum Springs development did lead to some compromises, with the original plan for 180 lots being whittled down and other development plan conditions being added to lessen intrusion on neighbors.

In the end, the application by developer Rodney Rogers and property owners Norman and Velma Ehresman to rezone from agriculture to single-family residential 57.2 acres at 2675 Plum Springs Road near Meadowview and McKinney Farms subdivisions was approved 5-1, with commissioner Rick Starks casting the lone dissenting vote.

Rogers, chief executive of Bowling Greens Stewart Richey Construction, said he expects development of the property to be completed in three to four years.

His development plan calls for homes of at least 1,200 square feet with one-car garages and sidewalks on each side of the interior streets.

Chris Davenport, the attorney representing Rogers, said the development meets an urgent need in a real estate market experiencing a dearth of mid-priced homes.

These are entry-level homes, Davenport said. We all understand the need for these homes, as demonstrated by the success of other neighborhoods in the area.

But that doesnt mean the neighbors welcome the development. Eleven residents from nearby properties spoke against the project, with the chief opponent being Mark Guy, who owns property at 2383 Plum Springs Road.

Guy was represented by attorney Tad Pardue, who argued that the development would infringe on the 17-acre tract where Guy has built a track for racing motorcycles.

My motorcycle facility comes within 15 feet of the development, Guy testified. Im concerned about security and the privacy of my property. If this subdivision comes in, 90% of the reason I bought this property will be gone.

Guy was joined in opposition by others who said the development will create traffic and drainage problems.

Pardue argued that the development plan doesnt contain any commitment to preserving a heavily wooded area and wetland areas on the property. Conversely, Davenport maintained that the development complies with the planning commissions Future Land Use Map and is compatible with adjoining subdivisions.

After hearing from the residents opposed to the development and conferring with Rogers, Davenport did drop the number of lots and agree to forming a homeowners association for the development.

Davenport said Rogers also agreed to maintain all healthy and mature vegetation within 25 feet of the property line and to have 25-foot setbacks for all lots adjoining Guys property.

Those compromises were enough for the planning commission but not for Guy.

I just feel like we werent treated fairly, Guy said Friday. There were a lot of politics involved. I got the impression it was almost premeditated.

Guy foresees problems when the houses go up next to his property.

I am still going to do my activities, he said. If people move into these houses, it will lead to a neighbors feud. There will be ongoing controversies.

The rezoning will go to Warren Fiscal Court for final approval, but Guy said he is considering appealing the rezoning to Warren Circuit Court.

While the concessions made by Rogers may have helped his development win approval, some changes in the Smiths Grove apartment proposal didnt sway the commissioners.

Bryan Groce, who last month withdrew his application to develop 288 apartments on 16.725 acres along Stanley Rice Road just outside Smiths Grove, came back Thursday with an altered plan for 236 apartments on 12.6 acres.

Groce and Tennessee-based builder Jeremy Riggs applied for a Future Land Use Map amendment to change the propertys designation from low-density residential to high-density residential and for a zone change from highway business to multi-family residential.

Pardue, representing Groce and Riggs, told the commissioners that this new application addressed concerns raised in June.

In addition to a reduction in the number of apartments, the revised development plan called for such amenities as a swimming pool, sidewalks, dog park and fitness facilities. It also committed the developers to widen Stanley Rice Road to conform to the width of the adjoining Vincent Street.

My clients took your concerns and addressed them in a way that will make this an asset to the community, Pardue said.

Pardue also argued that the propertys current highway business zoning could lead to development of a hotel, a gas station or other businesses that could be more intrusive than an apartment complex.

Despite the changes, nearly two dozen Smiths Grove residents showed up to oppose the application.

Attorney David Broderick, representing some of the small citys residents, did most of the speaking in opposition to the proposed development.

Its very clear the Future Land Use Map calls for low-density residential in this area, Broderick said. Density and compatibility are substantial issues here.

In his closing argument, Broderick said: Theyve shown us nothing to indicate that the Future Land Use Map is wrong.

The commissioners voted unanimously to deny the FLUM amendment, so the zone change didnt come up for a vote.

In other action at Thursdays meeting, Lewis Logans application for a FLUM amendment changing the designation for property at 4526 and 4534 Ky. 185 was approved with some opposition.

The commissioners approved Logans application in a 7-2 vote, with Starks and Sandy Clark voting no.

The FLUM amendment changes the 1.45-acre propertys designation from agriculture to industrial.

Logan indicated that he plans to come back at a later planning commission meeting with a zone change application that would allow him to operate his tree service business out of the property.
Spearfish, SD (57783)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
DAYTON, WA - The Green Ridge Fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain on the Pomeroy Ranger District, approximately 30 miles east of Walla Walla, Washington. According to an update provided Sunday morning from the Northwest Incident Management Team, the fire was last estimated at 1,067 acres with 15% containment. That estimate however was taken Saturday morning.

The fire did see growth on Saturday, however an updated acreage was not available on Sunday because of a technical problem with the evening infrared detection flight.

A total of 294 fire personnel have been assigned to this fire, including seven crews, one helicopter, five engines, one dozer, four water tenders and four masticators.

On Saturday, firefighters completed structure protection measures on Oregon Butte Lookout. The fire grew generally to the south and southeast, on West Butte Ridge east of Turkey Creek.

On Sunday, crews are cutting, clearing, and chipping vegetation, and continuing to lay hoses to deliver water for reinforcing the indirect fire lines along Kendall Skyline Road and the 4608 Road south and west of the fire. Scouting and line location continues to the east and north to identify features on the landscape, such as trails and unvegetated areas, where indirect fire line will be most likely to contain the fire. Crews will continue improving structure protection around Godman Guard Station and the Little Turkey Tail Recreation Residential tract. Where terrain and fire behavior allow crews to safely engage, firefighters will directly limit the fire spread using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Values at risk include structures, the Mill Creek Watershed, wilderness, and recreation areas in the vicinity.

Closures

On Friday, July 16, 2021, the Umatilla National Forest implemented a Forest-wide closure across the entire Umatilla National Forest. The Forest is closed due to extreme fire danger and multiple fires across the Forest.

Fire officials remind everyone that the current fire danger rating is EXTREME and public use restrictions involving chainsaw use, smoking and off-road travel are in effect.

Columbia County Level 1 Evacuation Notice

On Saturday, July 17, Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm issued a Level 1 Evacuation Notice for a broad area to the north of the fire. Level 1 means BE READY for potential evacuation.

Beginning at the intersection of County Road 9233 (Tucannon Road) and County Road 1931 (Hartsock Grade Road/Maloney Mountain Road); south on County Road 1931 to the forest boundary; west and south along the forest boundary back to County Road 1931; then west along County Road 1931 to its intersection with County Road 1424 (at Eckler Mountain Snow Park); south on County Road 1424 (Kendall Skyline Road) to the forest boundary where Forest Service Road 46 begins; south on Forest Service Road 46 to Midway Campground then east to the Columbia/Garfield County line; then north and west along the Columbia/Garfield County line to the point of beginning.

Level 1-Green, Ready

Persons are warned that current or projected threats from hazards association with the approaching fire(s) are severe.

This is the time for preparation and precautionary movement of persons with special needs, mobile property, and (under certain circumstances) pets and livestock.

You will be kept advised as conditions change. Area radio and television stations have been asked to broadcast periodic updates.

If conditions worsen, we will make every attempt to contact you. If you are absent from your home for more than a short period of time, please leave a note with your name and a contact telephone number in a visible location. An attempt will be made to contact you by phone.

This Level 1 evacuation notice will remain in place until rescinded by the Columbia County Sheriff.

Sheriff Joe Helm

Columbia County, WA
THEY represent the modern Afghanistan that the Taliban hate so much. In Kabul, BILD am Sonntag met women who have regular jobs and who are concerned that the radical Islamists might also take over the capital.

They are already being threatened and live in constant danger of becoming the victims of attacks  just because they are women who want to live an autonomous life.

Nadima (37, blogger)

Nadima is a social media star in Afghanistan

Every morning, I jog through Kabul. Then I go to a gym where, other than me, only men work out. Of course, thats dangerous. Sometimes I get funny looks, but I have a positive attitude in life, and I want to share this positivity with my followers and give them hope. Am I afraid of the Taliban? No, because I do not think they can destroy our lives  we are too many for that. Many years ago, I fled to Canada with my family. I returned only a few years ago. I will not leave again, but will fight for Afghanistan. At the next election, I want to run for parliament.

Vida (28, police officer)

Vida works for the Afghan police in the fight against organized crime

I am engaged in the fight against organized crime. There are 2000 women here who are active as police officers. We have many enemies, but the Taliban are the most dangerous of them. I have received several threatening letters  the most recent one only a few weeks ago. In it, the Taliban demand that I immediately stop working. Otherwise, they would kill me and my family. It is generally the case that the Taliban want to lock up or even kill all women who are working.

I now have additional security with me and also carry a gun in private. Quitting is not an option for me. I am the one who feeds our family. How should I find another job? If the Taliban really were to attack Kabul, I would have to flee, though. I hope that Germany would then take me in.

Lima (21, model)

Lima is a model in Afghanistan and was therefore attacked by her uncle

Lima (21, model): Because I work as a model, my uncle attacked me with a knife six months ago. I managed to flee. My family has never accepted that Im working. But I want to do my thing and hope that I can also take part in movies. I am very scared of the Taliban. They want to kill us independent women. I hope the government troops can protect Kabul. When I see pictures of the regions in which the Taliban have seized control, I know that I could never live like that. Then I would immediately have to flee Afghanistan.

Harima (23, English teacher)

English teacher Harima receives threatening letters because of her work

The danger is always present for us women. Including now  as Im sitting here in the restaurant with you, giving an interview to foreign reporters  an attack could happen. It has become so dangerous that I can no longer go to my institute as an English teacher. Im doing everything online. There were several threatening letters. Since my childhood, I have witnessed that the situation for women has significantly improved, also because of the protection by the international troops. Things here have become increasingly like a comparatively modern society. We women have achieved a lot. But currently everything is changing for the worse again.

I still want to stay here, because it is our country. I do not want to flee. However, if things were to become worse and the Taliban were to come here, I would probably have no other choice. However, I am one of the optimists and believe in our government.

Nazifa Ahmedi (20, TV-Journalist)

Journalist Nazifa Ahmedi worries about Afghanistan's future

With the return of the Taliban, it looks as if we will end up back in the darkest times again in which women had no rights whatsoever, did not receive any education, and had no jobs. All of the women I know are afraid of the future. If the Taliban were to come into government power, the last 20 years would have been completely for nothing. We would go back to where we were before the international troops arrived.
Watch the latest video at FoxNews.com By Bill O'Reilly Back in 1948 little Al Gore was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and maybe, maybe it should have stayed there. His father an oil man and a senator of the United States raised Al in privilege. And with all the comforts he became a champion of the left in adulthood cashing in big time on the global warming issue. The former vice president used some of that money to then invest in a far left cable network that has been a colossal failure. And so Al and his merry men decided to sell that network. And according to the "New York Times" today, they wanted to close the deal last week to avoid the higher capital gains tax this year. It sounds like good business sense, right? But here's what's confusing. Just two months ago old Al gave an interview to the Reuters News Service and said this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GORE: The single most popular proposal we had was to reduce taxes on working people and lift the higher rate. Let's give an incentive to work and let's ask the most fortunate in our society, including me and you. REUTERS HOST: Yes. GORE: To do our fair share. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: To do our fair share. Isn't that fascinating? So, what is our fair share? Oh, I guess that means selling assets at the lower capital gains rate. And it even gets worse. Al Gore sold his cable network to, wait for it -- Al Jazeera -- the anti-American network out of Qatar which recently ran a documentary sympathetic to Osama bin Laden. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the story of bin Laden, through the eyes of people who met him. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very conscious of his appearance. He would touch his beard, robe. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he looked me in the eyes and he was answering my questions, he had the tone and manner of an old uncle. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: Oh, an old uncle who is a mass murderer? Now when you think about it, this is really stunning. A former vice president of the United States selling his far-left cable operation to anti-Americans and then trying to jam the deal to avoid taxes to the federal government. "Talking Points" believes Al Gore has shamed himself simply by selling to Al Jazeera which will now have access to about 40 million more American homes. Now I'm not for censuring Al Jazeera that's what they do in the Islamic world. We are better than that here. But this is just sleazy, Al. This is disgraceful. Perhaps the "New York Times" got it wrong and Al Gore did not try to avoid paying higher taxes. If that's the case, we'll be happy to correct the record and give Mr. Gore all the time he wants on "The Factor" to set things straight. But I think we all know that old Al isn't coming on this program. He never has and I don't believe he ever will because we have problems with hypocrites in the "No Spin Zone." And Al well knows it. And that's "The Memo." - You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com. Transcript Show Name: O'Reilly Factor
Watch the latest video at FoxNews.com By Bill O'Reilly As you may know, there is a new book out about the Obamas in which the First Lady is discussed at length. ABC News reported on the book last night and used me, your humble correspondent, to represent pundits critical of Michelle Obama. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A new book called "The Obamas" paint the portrait of a First Lady who in the beginning was frustrated and unhappy with life in the White House. The image of an angry Michelle Obama has long been fodder for critics. O'REILLY: I have a lot of people who call me on the radio and say she looks angry. And I have to say there's some validity to that. She looks like an angry woman. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: Well that sounds kind of bad, does it not? But here is the context. That interview was done about three and a half years ago... three and a half years ago when the country was still getting to know Mrs. Obama who did have some problems in the beginning. You will remember the "proud of her country" remark. My interview back then was with Rebecca Johnson who wrote a profile on Michelle Obama for "Vogue" magazine. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REBECCA JOHNSON, "VOGUE" MAGAZINE: I found her lovely, actually. Very bright, very thoughtful and you know, an impressive person, intelligent and she was great. I was impressed. O'REILLY: I have a lot of people who call me on the radio and say she looks angry. And I have to say there's some validity to that. She looks like an angry woman. Did you ask her about that? JOHNSON: Don't they say that about you too? O'REILLY: Yes but I'm not running... I'm not going to be the First Lady. I hope not anyway. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: As usual I did my job. I asked the tough questions about Mrs. Obama because there was a perception and everybody knows it that she was not happy-go-lucky. In fact she told CBS News she is tired of being labeled an angry black woman. That's what she said. On "The Factor" Ms. Johnson was given plenty of time to set the record straight as she saw it. That's why we had her on. Subsequently since the Obamas have occupied the White House I have been generally favorable to Michelle Obama. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: The President and First Lady were very gracious to me. This was the first time I spoken to Michelle Obama and I was impressed. She's charismatic, articulate and beautiful. Mrs. Obama was participating in the Healthy Kids Fair and the hula hoop is good exercise for the mid section. For being hoop conscious Michelle Obama is a patriot. For trying to help American vets the First Lady is a patriot. But don't you think that Michelle Obama speaking out about healthy food is... I think it's noble. I think it's a good thing. Then they brought her into the White House Michelle Obama and they basically placed her in a position where she is glamorous and she is. She is like Jacqueline Kennedy. I believe Michelle Obama is a good woman who wants the best for all Americans. (END VIDEO CLIP) O'REILLY: But those statements did not fit into the narrative that ABC News wanted to present last night. That of guys like me hammering Michelle Obama. ABC News also did not tell its audience that it got its clip they used on me from the far left Web site Media Matters which is in business solely to smear non-liberal media people. Now we brought the situation to ABC's attention today and they say from now on they'll call people like me who are injected into their news coverage. And I think it's important. Because I'm simply not going to let... I'm not going to let the presidential campaign degenerate into a race- baiting media propaganda exposition. All who participate in that and there are plenty of them are going to be called out on it. From my vantage point Michelle Obama has been a fine First Lady helping kids and articulating important issues like nutrition. For ABC News to paint me as critical of her is flat-out dishonest. All of us have a lot riding on the presidential election this year. It's about America's future. So let's cut the crap. Shall we? And that's "The Memo."  You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com. Transcript Show Name: O'Reilly Factor
Watch the latest video at FoxNews.com By Laura Ingraham In an ideal world, the press is supposed to be a check and balance on the power of politicians from both parties. Last night we discussed how Joe Biden gets away with outrageous statements and gaffes in a way that someone like a Michele Bachmann or maybe a Sarah Palin never could. But the media's willingness to give Biden a pass for his incompetence is nothing compared to the leeway it gives the President himself. This love affair with the President goes back a long way to the 2008 campaign. Jake Tapper of ABC News, one of the few honest brokers out there in the non-Fox White House Press Corps appeared with me on the radio today conceding... (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) JAKE TAPPER, ABC NEWS: I thought the media helped tipped the scales. I mean you know, I didn't think the coverage in 2008 was especially fair to either Hillary Clinton or John McCain. It wasn't always the fairest coverage and I hope it doesn't... I hope that doesn't happen again. (END AUDIO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Well, don't hold your breath. Take the latest distraction of Congressman Todd Akin's offensive rape comments. Every Republican has denounced him. Most have asked for him to withdraw from his Missouri senate race. Yet, this story has dominated the news cycle for the past 48 hours and was the first softball question at the President's presser yesterday Week after week the Obama campaign dabbles in distractions... Bain, Romney's tax returns and now absurd attempts to tie Romney to Akin. And the President's media enablers are always at the ready, covering these side shows instead of demanding answers to the real challenges facing our country. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) TAPPER: We are spending a lot of times in the last few weeks, those of us in the political world talking about things other than the economy. So you know, a lot of people are hurting out there. I would like to see more action taken and more emphasis given to this issue. (END AUDIO CLIP) INGRAHAM: So voters, choose your media carefully. The news division at Fox prides itself on being fair and balanced, holding all sides accountable. And there are a few other good folks in the media who balk the pro-Obama spin. It's important to note Romney may have a lot more campaign cash in the end than Obama. But Obama has most in the media, including the entire Hollywood establishment at his beck and call. That takes a smart counter strategy to overcome. And that's "The Memo." - You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com. Transcript Show Name: O'Reilly Factor
President Biden seems to be a welcoming kind of guy. Especially to folks who want to live in the United States without legal credentials. While President Obama deported tens of thousands of foreign nationals, and President Trump shut down many immigration scams, Joe Biden has thrown the southern border wide open: hola, amigos!



Let's examine some facts that rolled in a few days ago. The Customs and Border Protection Agency reports 1.1 million apprehensions in the first nine months of the federal governments fiscal year. According to The Washington Post, which is somewhat shockingly covering the story, the last time a million migrants were detained was in 2006, and that was for the ENTIRE year. Under Biden, apprehensions could reach 1.5 million this fiscal year, which would be a record number by far.



The acting commissioner of border protection, Troy Miller, told the Post: We are in the hottest part of the summer and we are seeing a high number of distress calls from migrants abandoned in treacherous country by smugglers with no regard for human life.



Of course, American agents rescue migrants even if they are in Mexico. They are treated by US medical personnel, as they should be. You dont let human beings die.



However, they shouldnt be in jeopardy in the first place. But they are because President Biden dismantled the Trump remain in Mexico policy, effectively opening the border to anyone who desired asylum, as tens of millions all over the world do. That enormous mistake has provided incentive to the poor and aggrieved to make the dangerous trek north.



Now, poor people are dying every day. And thousands of others are being horribly assaulted in lawless Mexico. And what does Biden say? Nothing. Does he even understand whats happening?



Vice President Harris was put in charge of this humanitarian disaster, so what does she say? Dont come. Thats what she said knowing full well her boss has wrecked border security.



What does Speaker Pelosi say? Nothing. How about the lapdog White House press corps? Are they peppering Jen Psaki with border questions? No, they are not.



What a disgrace across the board. What a colossal dereliction of duty by President Biden. Its almost impossible to believe that any president would eliminate a border strategy that was working simply because far left kooks demanded it.



Biden is directly responsible for this horrible situation, just as hell be directly responsible for the painful economy which is coming soon to your house.



The truth is this guy in the White House is brutal. Just like the border policy he imposed and now ignores. Please pray for the suffering migrants.
First entrepreneurial alliance between the two universities to shape the next generation of entrepreneurs and further advance innovation and enterprise in Singapore and the region

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate in the areas of innovation and enterprise. NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and SUTD President Professor Chong Tow Chong signed the MOU during InnovFest, the official start-up event of Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG).

The MOU underscores the two universities shared efforts to cultivate new ideas; nurture entrepreneurial, research translation and innovation talents; and create opportunities for technology commercialization and co-sharing of facilities and expertise. This is the first such partnership entered by both universities to collectively groom the next generation of talents to further build momentum in innovation and enterprise.

Prof Tan said, For entrepreneurs to realize their full potential, it is essential for universities to provide support for a dynamic ecosystem, and help these budding entrepreneurs catalyse ideas and bring them to fruition. Both universities bring strengths to the partnership and NUS is delighted to partner with SUTD to create more opportunities for their students and professors to be exposed to innovation and entrepreneurship. By opening up our programmes, this collaboration will help to foster greater vibrancy in our start-up ecosystem and facilitate sharing of information, resources and access to technology innovation. Through this initiative, we hope to seed and nurture new ideas, groom talents in research translation, and advance innovation in Singapore and beyond.

Prof Chong said, SUTD has partnered NUS in the past to establish education programmes such as the SUTD-NUS Joint PhD Programme and the SUTD  DukeNUS Special Track. We are pleased to further deepen our educational, research and enterprise collaboration with NUS. The new partnership will help us develop the next generation of talents who have the technological know-how and business acumen to identify gaps, challenge the status quo, seize opportunities and chart the way forward for Singapore and the world using technology and design.

Entrepreneurship education

From Academic Year 2022/2023, SUTD students will be able to take credit-bearing entrepreneurship- and innovation-related electives offered by NUS Enterprise. SUTD undergraduates will also get to participate in the NUS Overseas Colleges programme to promote stronger cross-institutional start-up teams among NUS and SUTD students.

Research and innovation

SUTD faculty members will participate in translational research and commercialisation at the NUS Guangzhou Research Translation and Innovation Institute (NUSGRTII) in China. The Institute conducts research translation, pioneers technological innovations, incubates start-ups and offers education programmes to train R&D talents in Guangzhou and the Greater Bay Area.

Venture creation

Both universities will collaborate on the research translation and commercialisation of SUTDs technology and intellectual property through the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme, the Universitys flagship programme for producing deep tech start-ups.

Facility and expertise sharing

Both universities will leverage each others equipment and facilities for innovation and product development. In particular, SUTDs signature advanced rapid prototyping facilities and interdisciplinary maker spaces will provide good infrastructures for the NUS-SUTD enterprise ecosystem as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Caption: NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (left) and SUTD President Professor Chong Tow Chong (right) inked the first entrepreneurial alliance between the two universities to collaborate on innovation and enterprise
All the institutions functioning in the Ayurveda campus in Jamnagar have been brought under the umbrella of ITRA

An MoU has been signed between Jamnagar-based Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) under the Ministry of Ayush and the Government of Gujarat in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitinbhai Patel and Secretary, Ministry of Ayush Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha.

Through this MoU, all the institutions functioning in the Ayurveda campus in Jamnagar have been brought under the umbrella of ITRA, the only institution under the Ministry of Ayush that has been accorded the status of Institute of National Importance (INI).



Underlining the importance of the MoU, Nitinbhai said that this will pave the way for the strengthening of the education system in all branches of Ayurveda. The MoU was exchanged between the Director, ITRA, Prof Dr Anup Thakar and HP Jhala, I/C Registrar, Gujarat Ayurveda University.



This arrangement will result, in due course, in the opening of new doors in the fields of education, research and medicine, said the Deputy CM on the occasion of the signing ceremony. It is hoped that in the field of Ayurveda, it will be easier to prepare new teaching, medical and research methods and the study-research process will be intensified, expanding the overall scope of Ayurveda education and research.



Addressing the gathering, Kotecha said that in the field of Ayurveda, it will be easier to prepare new teaching, medical and research methods. He said that the study and research process can be made more in-depth and ITRA will be an exemplary institution for Ayurveda education and reshaping research institutes across the country.
MONTREAL - There won't be any more negotiations over a proposed natural gas pipeline crossing Indigenous lands in northern Quebec, say Innu leaders who oppose it.

A Greenpeace banner reading "No GNL" is shown hanging from a building under construction on the site of the MIL campus of the University of Montreal in Montreal, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. The Innu First Nations of Mashteuiatsh, Pessamit and Essipit say they are ready to take any measures  even legal action  to stop the GNL Quebec project. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL - There won't be any more negotiations over a proposed natural gas pipeline crossing Indigenous lands in northern Quebec, say Innu leaders who oppose it.

The Innu First Nations of Mashteuiatsh, Pessamit and Essipit say they are ready to take measures  even legal action  to stop GNL Quebec's Energie Saguenay project from being built on their territories.

The statement released on Friday was a response to comments from GNL Quebec president Tony Le Verger, who said last weekendhe wanted to continue negotiations with the Indigenous communities.

Charles-Edouard Verreault, vice-chief of Mashteuiatsh First Nation and spokesman for the three Innu First Nations, said in an interview on Friday that GNL Quebec won't receive their consent.

The Innu First Nations had previously expressed opposition to the multibillion-dollar plan in May, following the publication of Quebec's environmental review board report on the project.

"We listened, we did our own researches on the project, and following the conclusions of the BAPE report, it is clear that our position will remain the same," Verreault said. "This project won't be happening on our territories."

The 500-page BAPE report, by the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, said the benefits from the 750-kilometre-long gas pipeline would not outweigh the environmental costs associated with it. The project's review drew the greatest response to any BAPE report with more than 2,500 briefs presented, 91 per cent of which were against the idea.

"As mentioned in the report, GNL Quebec has no way of ensuring that liquefied natural gas would effectively serve as a substitute to polluting fuels already used in targeted export markets," Verreault said. "It's impossible for the company to meet its commitment in terms of reducing greenhouse gases."

GNL Quebec spokesman Louis-Martin Leclerc said in an interview the company remains open to negotiations with the communities in order to explain the project's benefits.

"We are and remain open to dialogue in order to have the opportunity to explain our commitments and demonstrate that the Energie Saguenay project will provide liquefied natural gas with the lowest carbon footprint in the world, thus making an important contribution to the fight against climate change," said Leclerc.

The Energie Saguenay project was first introduced to the Indigenous communities in 2014 as a measure to fight climate change, Verreault said.

The proposed route would carry liquefied natural gas from Western Canada to a liquefaction plant in Port Saguenay, Que. However, Verreault said the route would cross Indigenous lands.

For the Innu First Nations, accepting a project that could pose environmental threats would go against ancestral values, he said.

"This territory is where our ancestors have been settled for centuries and where we hold ancestral rights and Innu titles," Verreault said.

The Innu First Nations ancestral rights, however, have yet to be officially recognized by the Quebec government.

Quebec's Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafreniere said on Friday he was aware of the Innu position but was awaiting Environment Minister Benoit Charette's decision on the project.

Quebec's government said in April it would make a decision on whether to give the project the green light by the end of the summer.

"All the options are on the table, in terms of the actions we could take (to stop the project) if the government goes ahead with it," Verreault said.

"There is no way that GNL Quebec sees the light of the day on the Innu territory."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 17, 2021.
I received a letter from Indigenous Service Canada on June 29, 2021 thanking me for my application for registration under the Indian Act. They were also pleased to confirm that I am now registered as an Indian in accordance with section 6(1) (a.3) of the Indian Act.

I received a letter from Indigenous Service Canada on June 29, 2021 thanking me for my application for registration under the Indian Act. They were also pleased to confirm that I am now registered as an Indian in accordance with section 6(1) (a.3) of the Indian Act.

As I was reading the letter, my hands started to shake, and tears started to flow from my eyes. My kids asked if I was okay and I replied, "Im an Indian." With a big smile on my face, I wiped my eyes and finished reading the letter stating the community in which our family is from, the Animbiigoo Zaagiigan Anishinabek First Nation. I could feel myself glowing with pride, and I shared with my kids what it meant to be proud of ones identity.

Growing up Ive always known who I was. I was a half-breed. I am light brown, I was a mix of cultures with a background of Anishinaabe (Ojibway), French and Scottish. I was a Non-Status Indian as described under the Indian Act and started to learn more about these laws in my 20s and into the new millennium.

For a lot of you reading, this is the point in which you start asking yourself, "What is the Indian Act, and why are you so excited to be an Indian?" Please keep reading, and for those of you who have some knowledge of the Indian Act and understand the circumstances behind an application to be registered as an Indian in this great county of Canada, miigwetch for taking time to learn about regulations and laws that have been in place for the past 145 years that has allowed the government to have authority over areas of Indian Status, land, resources, education, and band administration on First Nation reserves.

Since 1876, the Indian Act has given Canada the regulation in areas of policy-driven law that has affected Indigenous peoples still to this day. Why would I know this information and why would I bother to understand the terms of its act?

Before receiving the letter of my Indian Status, I had identified as a Non-Status Indian and this was very educational not only for myself, but also in sharing with others why the term was necessary and what it meant. Because my First Nations mother married a non-Indigenous man in 1976, she lost her Indian Status. But because of Bill C-31 she was able to re-apply for her Indian Status after changes were made to the Indian Act in 1985.

Why did I wait so long to apply for my government-issued identification card to tell me who I was? As mentioned, I have always known who I am, but like so many other Indigenous Canadians we dont always have the opportunity or benefit of having all the required information to make an application, the funds to apply for the required pieces of information in the first place or the doors for help didnt always exist.

About a year and a half ago we were lucky enough to have an event held in Brandon that offered the opportunity for members of the community and region to apply for their Secure Certificate for Indian Status, and so I applied.

At a time right now in Canada, with what we are seeing on the news and in our communities, we know it has not always been a place of pride in being able to identify as an Indian, and I hate to say it but we had shame for who we were as Indigenous peoples and how we saw ourselves being treated by others. We also have a colonized history of displacement, unjust, and racism that still exists today, however times of change are upon us, and we are still learning every day how we can make tomorrow better.

On July 9, 2021, my official Secure Certificate for Indian Status identity document, or better known as the Status Card, showed up in my mailbox. I will be turning 45-years-old in a couple of weeks and to be achieving moments of such clarity with my identity humbles me as a person. We are raised with values, morals, stories and teachings and it is our stories that impact our children and new knowledge for implementing our next steps to identifying our cultural selves.

Oh Status, my Status. We are reminded of our pasts every day in Canada and as an Indian of this land I can proudly stand strong and have hope for our next seven generations. But we must face the truths of a past in order to understand and support reconciliation in our future.
Australian film Nitram scooped one of the major awards at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night, when Spike Lees jury named Caleb Landry Jones as best actor.

Jones, who gives a disturbing performance as the volatile loner who would become the Port Arthur killer, was so overwhelmed onstage at the awards ceremony that he managed only to thank director Justin Kurzel before finding himself unable to say anything else.

Caleb Landry Jones with his best actor award for Nitram. Credit:Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

I cant do this! Thank you! he gasped finally before scooting back to his seat.

Later, at a press conference with award winners, Jones said he was amazed to win at a festival showing some of the best films in the world.
Bob Carr, a former NSW premier and Australian foreign minister, has appealed to UNESCO to send a team to survey the threats to the World Heritage status of the Blue Mountains, giving it the same urgency as a review now under way for the Great Barrier Reef.

In a letter to Mechtild Rossler, director of the World Heritage Centre, Mr Carr said a draft decision due by the end of July on the Blue Mountains did not take into account the damage from the huge 2019-20 bushfires nor the threat posed by the Berejiklian governments plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall by 14 metres.

Bob Carr, whose state Labor government blocked bigger dams in the Blue Mountains, has appealed to the World Heritage committee. Credit:Brook Mitchell

It is deeply disturbing to me that the environmental protections established by my government for the Blue Mountains have been undermined in recent years, particularly through the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall, Mr Carr wrote.

The draft decision proposed by the World Heritage Secretariat does not recognise the urgency of threats facing the property and concerns are held about its technical validity in consequence.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Star Trek promised us a lot, didnt it? Not only did Captain Kirk and his crew travel the universe lightning fast using handy warp drives that could distort spacetime, but whenever they felt like going on a jaunt to a nearby planet they needed only to step up to the ships teleporter and utter those immortal words, Beam me up, Scotty and they would find themselves dissolving and reassembling in the next scene. And they never even ended up somewhere weird like inside a rock or a giant aliens digestive tract. But is this vision of a star-hopping, teleporting human race total fantasy? Science-fiction writers might gloss over some of the finer technical difficulties of faster-than-light travel but scientists are yet to rule it out as impossible  its just mind-bogglingly hard, says experimental physicist Ben Buchler at the Australian National University. And yet already Buchler and other scientists have teleported lasers across rooms and even into space, and frozen light mid-air  like a Sith lord straight out of Star Wars  with the help of strange quantum phenomena. Now, as our space missions eye destinations many light years away (thats trillions of kilometres), scientists are hunting for even more of these loopholes in the laws of physics. Credit:Artwork: Matt Davidson What if we could take a shortcut through a wormhole? Or move space itself around our ship? Or suppose we have to build huge generation ships to see us through hundred or even thousand-year trips between the stars? Would you sign up to boldly go where no one has gone before then? Could humans ever teleport?

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Lets start with the real shortcut. Teleportation, at least the Star Trek-style that helped popularise the idea, means beaming matter from one point to another by breaking it down into tiny, transmittable form (those glimmers of light you see on screen) and then reconstructing it again, with hairstyle still intact, at the other end. This was actually brought into the original 1960s TV series to keep its budget down (even simulated starship landings are pricey). But if teleportation was to ever work, scientists say it wouldnt actually be able to move matter. The stuff we are made of does not pass easily through walls, and the energy required to break apart the powerful forces binding our atoms at a smaller, subatomic level would be astronomical, way over budget. As theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku explains transporting actual atoms is too dangerous. Instead, he says we could send all the information about someone, scanning down to that subatomic level, so they could be rebuilt in the exact same way at another location. Kaku thinks this human fax machine could work, in theory, using an MRI, which already scans living tissue  only this one would have to be powerful enough to generate images as precise as one atom per pixel. Buchler then imagines a reconstruction station like a 3D printer with big bottles of every necessary chemical element that puts you together piece by piece. But this is where it gets a bit philosophical, he warns. If you could measure every atom inside a brain, all their interactions, their precise [chemical state] and then reconstruct it somewhere else. If you did it perfectly, then, depending on your belief in souls or otherwise, in principle, in physics at least, it would be the same brain with the same thoughts and feelings and everything. Scientists have spent a surprisingly large amount of time considering whether Star Treks iconic Transporter teleportation tech could work in real life. Credit:Fair Use

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Most of the cells in your body are constantly replacing themselves over time, naturally. But, if this happened all in one go, would the reassembled you still be you or a clone? As Kaku himself muses: If you ... zap [Captain Kirk] across the room, youve now seen Captain Kirk die, youve seen his atoms fall apart but here is this other Captain Kirk on the other side of the room, who has the same bad jokes, the same character [and memories] as the original ... so who is this imposter? It raises the question: are we nothing but information? And theres a catch. In 1993, a panel of scientists showed that perfect teleportation was technically possible but in order to work the original thing being copied would have to be destroyed. Thats because in order to measure the exact quantum state of any particle, how it is on its smallest scale, scientists have to disrupt it. To see where it is, you need to bounce a particle of light, known as a photon, off it, but doing so changes its momentum in an unpredictable way, losing all previous measurements about how fast it was travelling. So youve disrupted its quantum state just by measuring it, Buchler says. Some imagine we may be able to take a less accurate scan of the body and still recreate someone faithfully, with all the mysterious emotions and chemistry that make them who they are. Our brains might not be as sensitive to these [quantum mechanical processes], they might not factor in, Buchler says. No one knows because no one knows how consciousness works yet. Still, the amount of data required to read someone even down to just their atoms is difficult to comprehend. Humans are made up of 37.2 trillion cells, more than there are stars in the sky, and there are trillions more atoms within them. In 1995, physicist Lawrence Krauss calculated that if you stacked up the pile of hard drives needed to store the data of just one human being it would reach light years into space and take longer than the entire life of the universe so far (roughly 13 billion years) to upload anywhere. Imagine the dramatic tension then for the Enterprise crew. It would literally be faster to walk. Krauss didnt expect computer storage and transfer speeds to be up to the task until at least the 23rd century, and Buchler admits, even with todays advances in computing, capturing all of a living organism in data may never be possible. Even if someone offered me a $20 trillion grant to build a teleporter for an amoeba, I wouldnt know where to start, he says. So teleporting is definitely out?

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Never say never. Scientists have already discovered another way to collect information about a particle  from great distances away. They do this by taking advantage of a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, or what Einstein called spooky action at a distance, where two particles behave as if they are connected, even if they are light years apart. Changing the state of one particle affects the other, as if the particle is in two places at once. Quantum entanglement mostly happens on a scale we cant see. As tiny particles interact or split apart, some stay entangled. It probably doesnt always do much, says Buchler, who has entangled laser beams in the lab by splitting photons apart. But some people [theorise] entanglement may play a role in chemical processes like photosynthesis ... or explain how birds can navigate using magnetic fields. In 1986 horror The Fly, Jeff Goldblum is accidentally entangled in his teleporter with a stray insect (which he likely missed in all that dry ice). Credit:Fair Use Right now, this kind of quantum teleportation has mostly been done with entangled photons, and with individual atoms. While Kaku optimistically predicts we will soon be teleporting larger molecules, such as water and even DNA, this way, Buchler says the real story of quantum entanglement is the power to send unhackable messages, giving hope to the creation of a quantum internet. If one person has an entangled photon, encoded with a message, only the person with the other entangled photon can unscramble it. If anyone else tried, we know from the strange world of quantum mechanics, that the act of measuring it would change it, revealing it had been compromised. This is the only secure communication guaranteed by the laws of physics, Buchler says. As for scanning and entangling the atoms of people, he says that would ultimately be destructive. You would have to put someone in suspended animation, freeze them and then maybe slice them up very finely to do the measurements and entanglements, probably over a period of thousands and thousands of years. Then, supposing we do figure out a way to keep someone alive during the process, theres the formidable task of reconstructing them with at least atomic accuracy on the other side, without anything getting scrambled up. Remember what happened when The Fly snuck into Jeff Goldblums teleporter? Things could go very wrong, Buchler says. The idea of doing this to any living thing is incomprehensible. Youd never get ethics approval.

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In Jumper, Hayden Christensen plays a man born with the ability to travel wormholes (shortcuts in space) lightning-fast. Credit:Fair Use But were still travelling the solar system, right? For sci-fi authors, humans travelling the galaxy seems inevitable. In 1969, putting a man on the moon was seen as the first step on our new stairway to the stars. (NASA had plans then to visit Mars by the 80s.) But, like our long-promised hoverboards, delivery has been delayed. In fact, for the past 40 years, thanks to a slew of setbacks and budget cuts, our ambitions in space have gone backwards. The last time we set foot on the moon was 1972. Now things are changing again  fast. A new breed of rockets and rocketeers, coupled with a surge in political rivalry  always important  has kicked off a new era of space research. Explorers are eyeing the moon as a resource-rich launching pad for human missions to Mars and then further afield, including the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Loading Designs are getting smarter, lighter and more reuseable, driving down costs, as tech moguls join the space race alongside nation states. The rocket that took astronauts to the moon in 1969 was 111 metres tall, weighed 2.8 million kilograms, and cost about $US66 billion to develop. In 2014, India famously spent just $100 million, less than the budget of the space film Gravity, to send an unmanned orbiter all the way to Mars. If we can find materials strong enough, we may even build space elevators (straight out of sci-fi novels like Kim Robertsons Red Mars), which could ferry supplies more easily in and out of Earths powerful gravity well. Of course, once were out of orbit and looking beyond our own galactic backyard, our main problem becomes distance. Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our sun, and even has what looks like a rocky planet in its habitable zone. But if you could travel at the speed of light (1,080,000,000 kilometres per hour), you would still take four years to reach it. The fastest a man-made object has travelled is an embarrassing 393,044 kilometres an hour. At that speed, youre looking at a round trip of at least 6000 years.
The trucks, and about 100 others on the Sturt Highway between Tarcutta turn-off and Wagga, are carrying about 5,000 tons of goods. Perishable goods for Sydney comprise about half the tonnage. Therell Be Trouble The drivers are eating raw vegetables. Several have caught colds sleeping in the cabins of their trucks night after night. Thousands of pounds worth of vegetables, including potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages are rotting on the backs of the trucks.

One driver, Merv Chalker, of Yagoona, Sydney, said last night: Therell be trouble tomorrow unless we can get through. Wed have the road fixed in a couple of hours if theyd let us have a go at it. Constable Roy Monaghan, of Holbrook, said last night the men were desperate. Trucks and drivers stranded on washed out Hume Highway, Wagga Wagga. Credit:A. Iverson In Melbourne last night the Victorian Minister for Public Works, Sir Thomas Maltby, said many of the stranded drivers had only themselves to blame.

He said that at the request of the N.S.W. authorities he had earlier this week warned Sydney-bound hauliers not to use the Hume Highway. The N.S.W. Main Roads Commissioner, Mr. H. M. Sherrard, said last night that the Hume Highway would be open to heavy traffic in about a week if no more rain fell. The chief engineer of the Main Roads Board, Mr. C. A. Hawkins, said: We have 70 men in the area working daylight hours seven days a week. We are handicapped in our progress because the ground on either side of the road throughout the area is waterlogged. Could Not Use More Men

We could not use any more men or equipment than we are now. We appreciate that the Army is willing to come to our help, but they could do no more than our men at present. A meeting of stranded drivers in Wagga yesterday protested against what it termed victimisation by State and local road authorities. Drivers bitterly complained that all offers by their members to help repair the roads had been refused. At Holbrook drivers have formed a committee to control the behaviour of their members and to provide amenities.

The committee is organising squads to prevent some drivers from defying the five-ton load limit. There have been some ugly scenes as some drivers have attempted to run the blockade over the highway late at night or in the early hours. Mr. J. Glanville, of Northcole Street, Auburn, a truckdriver stranded at Tarcutta, said yesterday: I got here on Monday and there were 40 trucks in front of me. Clearing the mud from one of the trucks bogged down after trying to break the blockade by a back road. July 24, 1956. Credit:Staff photographer Now there are 160 trucks behind me. The butcher ran out of meat this morning but the beer supply has not failed yet.

A lot of the boys are browned-off and think the Government should get the Army to hurry things along a bit. Mr. F. Wolstenholme, of Kogarah, a director of a transport and construction company, said last night it would take weeks to move trucks bogged on the Hume and Sturt Highways. Mr. Wolstenholme who returned to Sydney yesterday after he could not pass the line-up of trucks to Wagga, said more than 1 million worth of goods was on the bogged trucks. Allegation Of Going Slow In Sydney last night, the president of the Long Distance Road Transport Association, Mr. W. V. Rowe, said his association considered the State Government was going slow with the Hume Highway repairs.
Queensland recorded one new overseas-acquired case of COVID-19 on Sunday, detected in hotel quarantine.

There were 39 active cases in the state, with 10,507 COVID tests conducted in the past 24 hours. There were no new locally acquired cases.

Queensland recorded one overseas-acquired case of COVID-19, but zero local cases, on Sunday. Credit:Felicity Caldwell

Queensland shut its border to Victoria on Saturday, prompting returning Queenslanders to undertake 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine.

A new locally acquired case on Friday linked to two potential Delta-strain clusters in Queensland also triggered an extension of mask wearing and restrictions in the south-east until July 23.
A toddler is fighting for her life after suffering burns to her face, head and chest in a house fire in central Queensland.

Emergency services were called to the fire on Haupt Avenue in Pialba, almost 300 kilometres north of Brisbane, just before 9pm on Saturday to save the family.

The family, including two adults and seven children, was rushed to hospital. Credit:Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

A mother in her 30s with burns to her arms, a father in his 30s, and seven children, including the toddler, were rushed to Hervey Bay Hospital.

Queensland Ambulance Service supervisor Logan McIntosh said five units responded to the blaze.
Australia cannot hit net zero emissions by 2050 without a policy for the transport sector, experts say, and it must be focused on driving people to buy electric vehicles.

In the first of a series of industry reports, the Grattan Institute argues strict regulations are needed to phase out petrol cars with emissions standards that tighten to zero by 2035.

The Grattan Institute says the federal government needs new policy to bring electric vehicles to the market or risk economic pain in years to come. Credit:Getty

It says a carbon price is the most economically efficient way to address emissions, but as that has been rejected by both of Australias major political parties sector-specific policies are needed to reduce greenhouse gases industry by industry.

Grattans report says there are no federal government policies to reduce transport emissions at any significant scale and it called for tax breaks on electric vehicles and swift rollout of emissions standards because the national fleet takes more than 20 years to replace and vehicles sold after that date could be in operation after 2050.
Singapore: Australian economist Sean Turnell has developed cold and flu symptoms inside the COVID-19-hit Myanmar prison where he is being held.

Turnells wife, Ha Vu, on Sunday night issued another plea for him to be allowed to return home, saying his health was at tremendous risk and urging the military to release him so he could be beside his ailing father, who has been diagnosed with cancer and does not have long to live.

Australian economist Sean Turnell with his wife Ha Vu. Credit:Facebook

Turnell, a former adviser to overthrown civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been behind bars at Insein Prison in the countrys largest city, Yangon, for much of the time since he was arrested on February 6 following a military coup five days earlier.

Nearly 50 prisoners at the jail have already caught COVID-19.
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will both self-isolate in line with national guidance, abandoning plans to take part in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to continue working.

The government announced at 7am (local time) that Johnson and Sunak has been exposed to COVID-19 and would take part in a trial scheme that allowed them to keep working instead of self-isolating for 10 days.

Less than three hours later, that decision was reversed after a flurry of criticism from voters, political opponents and business owners.

The pair are believed to be contacts of Health Minister Sajid Javid, who on Sunday said he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Berlin: The frontrunner to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germanys September election has apologised for a scene in which he was seen laughing in the background as the countrys president delivered a statement on the devastating floods in western Germany.

Armin Laschet, the candidate of Merkels centre-right Union bloc to be Germanys next leader, is also the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state  one of two badly hit by last weeks floods. On Saturday (German time), he visited the town of Erfstadt, which was the scene of a dramatic rescue effort after the ground gave way, with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

North Rhine-Westphalias state premier and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Armin Laschet visits flood-hit areas by the Erft River. Credit:Getty

While Steinmeier gave a statement to reporters after the visit, Laschet and a group of others stood in the background. Photos showed him turning to someone else and laughing.

Lars Klingbeil, the general secretary of the center-left Social Democrats, told Sundays Bild am Sonntag newspaper that Laschets behaviour was lacking in decency and appalling.
Albert Jacka.

Another list of honors for officers and soldiers of the British forces has been published. The Victoria Cross has been conferred upon an Australian, Lance-Corporal Albert Jacka, of the 14th (Victorian) Battalion, Australian Infantry Force.

Lance-Corporal Jacka, for conspicuous bravery on the night of 19th May at Courtneys Point. He was holding portion of a trench which four men heavily attacked. When all of them had been killed, seven Turks rushed the trench. Jacka gallantly attacked them single handed. He killed five by rifle fire and two with bayonet.

First published in The Age on July 27, 1915

OUR V.C. HERO
Boston: An investigation by a group of global media outlets has provided evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents.

From a list of more than 50,000 mobile phone numbers obtained by the Paris-based journalism non-profit Forbidden Stories and the human rights group Amnesty International and shared with 16 news organisations, journalists were able to identify more than 1000 individuals in 50 countries who were allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance.

Journalists at Al Jazeera have been targeted by the advanced spyware. Credit:AP

They include 189 journalists, more than 600 politicians and government officials, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists and several heads of state, according to The Washington Post, a consortium member. The journalists work for organisations including The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde and The Financial Times.

Amnesty also reported that its forensic researchers had determined that NSO Groups flagship Pegasus spyware was successfully installed on the phone of Post journalist Jamal Khashoggis fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, just four days after he was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The company had previously been implicated in other spying on Khashoggi.
DOYLESTOWN >> The Bucks County Commissioners this month appointed Angela Nagle, a college athletics and recreation administrator for more than 15 years, to be director of the county Parks and Recreation Department.
Automobile from India recovered in the first quarter with all vehicle segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessing growth following an improvement in the pandemic situation across various international markets.

As per the latest SIAM data, total vehicle during the April-June quarter this fiscal stood at 14,19,430 units as compared with 4,36,500 units in the same period of 2020-21 which saw massive disruptions due to the COVID lockdowns across the country, hampering sales as well overseas shipments.

SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon told PTI that while two-wheeler shipments were better than previous three years, passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles export numbers were yet to catch up with numbers in the first quarter of 2018-19 fiscal.

"If we just compare export numbers of Q1 of 2021-22, two-wheelers have done better than previous three years, however, the total number of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles were higher in Q1 of 2018-19," he noted.

In the April-June quarter, passenger vehicle exports from the country stood at 1,27,115 units as against 43,619 units in the same period of 2020-21.

Passenger car exports stood at 79,376 units, utility vehicle shipments at 47,151 units while van exports were at 588 units.

Maruti Suzuki India led the passenger vehicle segment with exports of 45,056 units followed by Hyundai Motor India which shipped 29,881 units during the period.

Kia Motors shipments stood at 12,448 units while Volkswagen India chipped in with 11,566 units during the quarter.

Two-wheeler exports rose to 11,37,102 units in the April-June period as against 3,37,983 units in the same period of FY20.

Similarly, commercial exports during the first quarter stood at 16,006 units as compared with 3,870 units in the April-June period of 2020-21.

Tata Motors led the segment with shipment of 6,653 units followed by Mahindra & Mahindra with 3,931 units.

Three-wheeler exports rose to 1,37,582 units in the period under review as against 50,631 units in the first quarter of 2020-21.

Domestic wholesales across all categories in the first quarter stood at 31,80,039 units as compared with 14,92,612 units in the April-June period of 2020-21.

Comparatively, total dispatches in the domestic market stood at 60,84,478 units in the first quarter of 2019-20 financial year.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two new about the final year of Donald J Trumps presidency are entering the cultural bloodstream. The first, Landslide, by the gadfly journalist Michael Wolff, is the one to leap upon, even though the second, I Alone Can Fix It, from Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, is vastly more earnest and diligent, to a fault.

This is Mr Wolffs third book about Mr Trump in as many years. Its Ms Leonnig and Mr Ruckers second, after the excellent A Very Stable Genius, which appeared in early 2020. This one, alas, reads like 300 daily newspaper articles taped together so that they resemble an inky Kerouacian scroll.

Perhaps its not the authors fault that I Alone Can Fix It is gruelling. It may be that a reader, having survived Covid-19, stop the steal and the bear-spray wielders, and feeling a certain amount of relief is uneager to rummage so soon through a dense, just-the-facts scrapbook of a dismal year.

A primary achievement in I Alone Can Fix It, however, is its bravura introduction of a new American hero, a man who has not received a great deal of attention: Gen Mark A Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A better title for this book might have been Mr Milley Goes to Washington.



There tend not to be a lot of people to root for in Trump Reading them is like watching WWE fights in which all the wrestlers are heels, smashing each other with folding chairs. General Milley provides Ms Leonnig and Mr Rucker not just with an adult in the room, but a human being with a command of facts, a long view of history, a strong jaw and a moral centre.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trumps Catastrophic Final Year | Author: Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker | Publisher: Penguin Press | Price: $30 | Pages: 578

We were, General Milley suggests, closer than we knew to the precipice. The book details the final weeks of Trumps presidency, when the stitching was really coming off the ball. General Milley told aides he feared a coup, and, Ms Leonnig and Mr Rucker write, saw parallels between Trumps rhetoric of election fraud and Adolf Hitlers insistence to his followers at the Nuremberg rallies that he was both a victim and their saviour. Milley told aides: This is a Reichstag moment.About the Proud Boys and their ilk, he tells military and law enforcement leaders: These are the same people we fought in World War II.I Alone Can Fix It is an almost day-by-day accounting of Mr Trumps last year in office, from the fumbled Covid response to the second impeachment to Rudy Giulianis public self-immolations. There are apocalyptic scenes of Mr Trump dressing down and humiliating those around him, including former Attorney General William P Barr.

In Landslide Mr Wolff, too, tells a broad, jumpy, event-laden story about this shambolic final year. But hes particularly interested in Mr Trumps X-factor as well as his darkly telepathic relationship with his admirers and the sick realisation that in his universe standard morality is waved aside as if by force majeure.

Mr Wolff blames the striving, orderly, result-oriented, liberal world and its media, including this newspaper, for missing the point about Trump. He suggests Mr Trump dwells outside the conventionally understood. He was never cynical and armed with a grand strategy. He had completely departed reality.



Mr Wolff is a sometimes-mocked figure in the worlds of journalism and politics. Hes been accused of being less than diligent in his fact-checking and for careless writing. These complaints are valid, up to a point. But Landslide is a smart, vivid and intrepid book. He has great instincts. I read it in two or three sittings.

Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency | Author: Michael Wolff | Publisher: Henry Holt | Price: $29.99 | Pages: 312

Mr Wolff doesnt have Mark Milley. Hes not so interested in the Covid narrative. He zeros in on the chaos and the kakistocracy, on how nearly everyone with a sense of decency fled Mr Trump in his final months, and how he was left with clapped-out charlatans like Sidney Powell and Giuliani. Mr Giulianis flatulence is a running joke in this book, but the author doesnt find him funny at all.

Mr Wolff has scenes Ms Leonnig and Mr Rucker dont. These include election night details, such as the freak-out in Trump world when Fox News called Arizona early for Joe Biden. Mr Wolff, who wrote a biography of Rupert Murdoch, describes the frantic phone calls that flew back and forth before the word came down from the old Dirty Digger himself: [Expletive] him.



In this accounting, Mr Trump belittles his followers. Trump often expressed puzzlement over who these people were, Mr Wolff writes, their low-rent trailer camp bearing and their get-ups, once joking that he should have invested in a chain of tattoo parlours and shaking his head about the great unwashed.



It was another Wolfe, Tom, who commented that the dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe. The authors of both these conclude with fresh Trump interviews, seaside at Mar-a-Lago. None think the threat of that night will pass anytime soon.
Five year ago, former top Flipkart executives and friends Amod Malviya, Sujeet Kumar, and Vaibhav Gupta started business-to-business e-commerce start-up Udaan. Malviya, Kumar, and Gupta, who are all engineers from the countrys top Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), hail from small towns in states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where, growing up, they didnt have access to supermarkets, and had to travel to the nearest big city for large purchases. In just 5 years, under their leadership, Udaan has built the capacity for taking the small retailers in Bharat (tier-2 and tier-3 cities and rural India) into the digital ecosystem to benefit from the e-commerce scale

Bengaluru-based Udaan is now eyeing to tap a $100 billion opportunity in the next few years. The aim is to have 10% of the total transactions ($1 trillion) on the Udaan platform in the next few years. Most of this growth would come from Bharat. This is because about 70% of the countrys population resides there and they are catered to by small kirana and retail shops

This is a $1 trillion market, said Sujeet Kumar, co-founder, Udaan, in an interview. Our vision is that we would do transactions worth $100 billion in the next 7-8 years.

Udaan is planning to increase warehousing capacity five-fold to 50 million sq.ft in the next few years to meet the infrastructure required for achieving these business objectives.

Another Udaan co-founder Vaibhav Gupta said the firm is expanding into building a digital trade ecosystem. It includes offerings such as commerce marketplace and lending and logistics platform. This ecosystem would transition offline unorganized trade to a future digital economy.

In 10 years, if we can run 10% of trade in India, then you have created something powerful, said Gupta. This can really impact the economy and society of the country.

Indeed, about 90-95% of the countrys population depends upon neighborhood stores and retail stores for their everyday consumption. This includes grocery, medicines, vegetables, and garments. This got highlighted during the pandemic when these stores became the lifeline of the country. Bharat is actually fuelling Udaans business during the pandemic.

For Udaan, there is an increased digital adoption among small businesses and kiranas. This year the firm is targeting 80-100% growth over the previous year. Udaans daily food business volume has already crossed 8000 tonnes, making it the largest grocery placer in the country. There was an over 50% increase in the number of buyers in the food category during the past several months.

The pandemic has given more confidence and accelerated the reliance of retailers on Udaan, said Kumar.

Also, pharma became the fastest growing business for the company. The segment witnessed five-fold growth since its launch, one-and-a-half years ago. Besides that, nearly 15 million Covid Safety Essentials catering to over 23,000 orders from over 400 sellers across 5,000 pin codes were sold on Udaan, during the second wave of the pandemic. The e-commerce platform witnessed a five-fold surge in the demand for items like protective masks, face shields, and PPE suits.

During the pandemic, we launched an app for people to locate stores for covid related essential medicines, said Kumar.

Realising the importance of e-commerce amid pandemic, this year Udaan attracted $280 million in additional financing from its existing and new investors including Lightspeed, Yuri Milners DST Global, and Tencent, at a valuation of over $3.1 billion. The funding is helping Udaan to strengthen its supply chain and logistics capability and serve small businesses across the country, through UdaanExpress. However, booming online retail sales show that smaller cities and rural areas of the country are now a key market not only for Udaan, but e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Flipkart, Reliances JioMart and Tata as well. Despite having a first-mover advantage, analysts said Udaan is expected to see serious competition from these players in the business-to-business e-commerce space.

However, Kumar said Udaans understanding, execution, and scale, is much bigger than other players. He said that Udaans capabilities are more suited to the requirements of the retailers and smaller brands that are lacking distribution in the country.

We are meeting millions of retailers on the ground and we dont see much presence of anybody (e-commerce firms) else, said Kumar.

For Udaan, there are now high repeat purchases by buyers on its platform. About 90% of the average B2B buyer shops 10-12 times a month on Udaan compared to 2-3 times per month in the case of a business-to-consumer platform.

The firm has crossed over 3 million registered users. Over 1.7 million retailers, chemists, kirana shops, HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and cafe) and farmers are doing over 4.5 million transactions per month. Over 30,000 sellers are actively engaged on the Udaan app to trade digitally 24X7 at their convenience. More than 5 lakh products are curated across 2500 brands that are available on the platform. Udaan delivers around 1.75 lakh orders daily (both food and non-food category).

Gupta said what also differentiates the firm is the ability to reach directly to the source of products such as farm fields and garment factories. It is also building quality sourcing, selection, and buying on the platform. It is focusing on the mass market of India. This results in bringing down the cost for the retailers. For instance, Gupta said about 80% of the retailers in this mass market wont buy footwear worth Rs 2000, but they would rather purchase local products at one-tenth of that price.

At Flipkart, we were more attuned to branded categories, said Gupta.

Indeed, the company witnessed a spurt in demand for local products in 2020. It saw a huge surge in business across its food, lifestyle, electronics, and pharma categories amid the pandemic. These categories together accounted for over 1500 sellers from across India, primarily Bharat registering a sales turnover of more than Rs 1 crore each on the Udaan platform during last year.

The second covid wave was much deeper, said Gupta. But we were fundamentally more resilient as a company, unlike the first wave.

What helped in this resilience are the processes created in the last 5 years. After testing the business model, Udaan built scale and created logistics and lending capabilities such as UdaanExpress and UdaanCapital. It has built an extensive supply chain and logistics network with daily delivery covering over 900 cities and 12,000 pin codes  through UdaanExpress. This includes one of the largest logistics networks, having 200 warehouses, over 10 mn sq ft space.

UdaanCapital also has grown 30 times in AUM (assets under management) and 40 times in credit lines over the last 2 years. Gupta said the credit rotation for UdaanCapital was faster than pre-covid times as other channels dried up for the retailers.

Udaan said it has seen overall business growth of 900 times in GMV (gross merchandise value) over the last 4 years.

The firm is now focusing on institution building. This includes long-term capability building and customer relationship management. It is also scaling up hiring and increasing focus on creating the right culture. The other aspects include organizing the unorganized (unbranded) food market and sourcing capabilities. It is also focusing on repeat purchases and targeting an increased share of the wallet of kirana stores.
Digital classroom solutions company Globus Infocom expects to grow business by around 70 per cent to Rs 350 crore by the end of the current financial year, on account of expansion in the domain of online educational content.

Globus Infocom CEO Kiran Dham told PTI that the company has posted over twofold growth in the financial year 2020-21 to Rs 208 crore, compared with Rs 100 crore in 2019-20.

"This year, I think we should be able to close at around Rs 350 crore. With the right solutions, we have already touched 25,000 customers pan-India and we are increasing day-by-day.

"We will also expand our partner base. Overall, the users are in the right frame of mind and the acceptance of technology has come up beautifully in all the domains," Dham said.

The company has been providing digital classroom solutions like workstation, displays and camera, and has now started developing its own learning management solution which includes digital educational content.

"We have a 50 per cent repeat order ratio and they trust us with their requirements.

"We touched around 10,000 education institutes and maybe 5,000 colleges and the rest are from paramilitary organisations, defence organisations, government organisations and some of them are corporates," Dham said.

The company plans to increase headcount to 400 by the end of 2021, from 245 at present.

"Currently, I have a team strength of 245 members in the family but this year, I am targeting 400 as we will hire a lot of developers and a lot of software engineers, academics and subject matter experts.

"Obviously, to develop the content is a big responsibility and it has to be because of the new education policy which will be rolled out within 1.5 years," Dham said.

She said the company is studying the new education policy, and the content required under the policy will be developed by Globus Infocom in-house which it claims would be affordable for the students.

"We are not only planning to reach the upper strata but also coming up with solutions that are affordable, so that a child from a rural segment is also able to learn.

"Obviously, it has to be with a lot of support from the government, because yes providing the infrastructure to the child like a tab or a laptop or a phone, but then something is required for a child to learn," Dham said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Total earning of the Group from exports in FY'21 rose 29.08 per cent to Rs 5,934 crore, the company's latest annual report said.

While, the earned by Ltd was up 31.2 per cent to Rs 4,600 crore, mainly on account of exports of agri-commodities, it said.

"During the financial year 2020-21, your company and its subsidiaries earned Rs 5,934 crore in foreign exchange," the company said in their report.

In FY'20, the direct earned by was Rs 3,506 crore and the total earning including its subsidiaries was Rs 4,597 crore.

While ITC's expenditure in foreign currency amounted to Rs 1,664 crore for the year ended March 31, 2021.

This comprises the purchase of raw materials, spares and other expenses of Rs 1,366 crore and the import of capital goods of Rs 298 crore.

"Your company continues to view foreign exchange earnings as a priority," the annual report said.

Foreign exchange earnings of the ITC Group over the last ten years aggregated nearly USD 7.3 billion, of which agri exports constituted 56 per cent.

"Earnings from agri exports, which effectively link small farmers with international markets, are an indicator of your company's contribution to the rural economy," it added.

The company senses a great potential in the export of agriculture products.

"However, India's agri-exports aggregating approximately USD 42 billion represent a global market share of only about 2.5 per cent," it added.

Expert studies indicate the potential to double India's agri-exports by strengthening the competitiveness of agri-value chains in areas that are aligned to global demand and where the country has inherent advantages.

"This calls for a transformational shift of the agri ecosystem from the conventional production-centric supply chains to demand-responsive value chains anchored by market players," it said.

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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Ltd's plans for investing Rs 75,000 crore in solar, batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen could create valuation of USD 36 billion (Rs 2.6 lakh crore) for the new energy business, Wall Street brokerage Bernstein Research said in a report.

Reliance currently has three verticals -- oil-to-chemical (O2C) business that houses its oil refineries, petrochemical plants and fuel retailing business; digital services that comprises telecom arm Jio; and retail including e-commerce. New Energy will be the fourth vertical.

At the company's annual general meeting of shareholders last month, Ambani announced a plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore in a new energy business over the next 3 years in the next stage in its transformation. Under plans announced, the company will invest across solar, batteries and hydrogen to create an integrated clean energy ecosystem.

Other big announcements at the AGM were the launch of the new smartphone JioPhone Next and induction of Aramco chairman to the RIL Board, which is positive for the spin-off in O2C business.

"Clean energy has the potential to be value accretive if Reliance can pull it off," it said. "Based on capex for clean energy, we see a route to Reliance building a clean energy business, which could be worth USD 36 billion."



It put a valuation of over USD 69 billion for the O2C business, USD 66 billion for digital services and USD 81.2 billion for retail. Upstream oil and gas operations are worth another USD 4.1 billion. Other investments such as in the media and hospitality space are valued at USD 3.7 billion.

The entire conglomerate is worth over USD 261 billion.

"Many oil have tried and failed to become clean energy manufacturing and instead focus on clean energy production. Reliance's focus on manufacturing is distinctive and potentially offers higher margins but is also higher risk given their limited capabilities in clean energy," Bernstein said.

Reliance will need to find partners to work with them given the technology requirements needed for fuel cells and batteries.

"While will be reluctant to share their technology with a potential competitor, the market opportunity in India may be enough to persuade some," it said. "Korean battery makers could be potential partners in energy storage, while companies like Plug and Ballard could be partners in fuel cell manufacturing."



Funding is not an issue for Reliance given the current balance sheet. Reliance is almost debt free and will generate cash flow of Rs 65,600 crore in FY22 and grow to Rs 1.5 lakh crore by FY26, it said.

The logic of investing in clean energy is compelling. USD 70 trillion will be spent globally on the energy transition over the next 30 years.

While India has yet to declare a net zero target, the direction towards low carbon is clear, it said adding with solar becoming cheaper than coal and hydrogen reaching cost parity with diesel, there are clear economic and energy security reasons to believe that India will transition towards clean energy.

In this context it is also logical to assume that India will seek to develop technologies in manufacturing capacity given the huge investments which are needed.

Bernstein said O2C margins continue to improve, raising hopes for Aramco investing in buying 20 per cent stake in the business.

"For FY22, we expect Reliance will deliver O2C EBITDA of Rs 52,200 crore (+90% y-o-y)," it said. "We remain optimistic that a deal will come together with Aramco albeit at a slightly lower valuation."



At the time of announcing talks to sell stake to Aramco in 2019, Ambani had put USD 75 billion as the valuation of O2C business.

Reliance will spend Rs 60,000 crore to construct four 'giga factories' to make integrated solar PV modules, electrolyzers, fuel cells and batteries to store energy from the grid. The site of these plants will be located at the new 5,000 acres Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat. An additional Rs 15,000 crore will be used for investments across the value chain, technology, and partnerships for the new energy business.

Ultimately, Reliance plans to offer a fully integrated end-to-end renewables energy ecosystem to customers through solar, batteries and hydrogen.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As many as 11 people were killed after a wall collapsed on some shanties in Chembur's Bharat Nagar area in due to a landslide, said Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday.

As per Mumbai's fire brigade team that also reached the incident site, 16 persons were rescued from the debris of the wall collapse in Chembur.

operations for the people trapped are underway, said NDRF.

Following incessant rains in Maharashtra's Mumbai, several parts of the city reported waterlogging on Sunday.

The rainwater even entered houses located in Hanuman Nagar, Kandivali East area of

Sion railway track in was also waterlogged after continuous heavy rainfall.

Routine movement of commuters' was also affected as roads waterlogged in Gandhi Market area following a heavy downpour.

On Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange alert for Mumbai and predicted rains in the city for the next 24 hours.

To tackle waterlogging the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had rushed three teams to Mumbai on Saturday. City buses on certain routes along low-lying areas were also diverted yesterday.

Sion, Chembur, Gandhi market, Andheri market, RCF colony, LBS Road and Wadala Bridge are among the areas that have been affected in the heavy rains, BEST Traffic Control had said.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Tulsi lake, one of the two lakes that supplies water to the BMC area started overflowing due to rains. The lake supplies an average of 18 million litres (1.8 crore litres) of water to Mumbai per day. Due to the rains in the catchment area of the lake over the past few days, the lake has started overflowing, according to the water engineer department of the corporation.

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As many as 31 Bills, including two related to finance, are likely to be taken up by the Centre during the that will commence from Monday.

Of these, the government has proposed to bring 29 Bills, including six on Ordinances which were passed after the Budget Session, and two legislations related to finance during this session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed during an all-party meeting held on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the all-party meeting in Parliament premises, sought cooperation of all parties in the smooth conduct of Business and passage of these legislations, said Joshi.

Quoting the Prime Minister as saying, Joshi informed that he stressed for healthy and meaningful discussion in the 19-day Business of the Monsoon Session beginning.

Emphasising that the Parliamentarians should try to make it a peaceful session, the Prime Minister said that all issues should be discussed democratically and that all parties cooperate in running the House.

"The Prime Minister also assured that the government is ready to discuss on each issue under process," Joshi added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, DMK's Tiruchi Siva among others attended the all-party meeting.

The Monsoon Session is set to be stormy with the opposition ready with strategy to corner the government over several issues that include rising petrol and diesel prices and the infrastructure lapses during the second wave of Covid.

The Opposition is likely to raise objections to the formation of the ministry of cooperation on the grounds that cooperatives is a state subject, and this move is an infringement of the rights of states. The Congress and NCP have raised this issue and the matter is likely to be raised in the House.

The Opposition has demanded discussions on a host of issues including the Covid situation and threat of a third wave, farmers' protest, alleged threat to cooperative federalism, relations with Afghanistan and China.

This session will see the newly inducted ministers in action. Prime Minister Modi has directed them to spend more time in the House to learn.

Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will function from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday and there are 19 sittings scheduled for this session. The session will end on August 13.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the session will be held in both the Houses of Parliament with all the necessary protocols and arrangements being made to accommodate the MPs on a social distancing basis.

Parliament Sessions have been affected ever since the pandemic hit the country last year forcing early closure of last year's Budget and Monsoon Sessions and this year's Budget Session. The 2020 Winter Session was skipped completely due to the public health crisis. --IANS

rak/dpb

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At least 33 people were killed in different incidents as rain fury rocked Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region since midnight, hitting road, rail and air traffic for several hours, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Sunday.

As Mumbai snoozed peacefully, the skies suddenly opened up with thunder, lightning and heavy cloudburst-like rains measuring between 197 mm to over 235 mm in some areas, as per the IMD Mumbai.

The incessant downpour lasting 4-5 hours resulted in heavy waterlogging in many lowlying areas of Mumbai and MMR, besides crippling road, rail and air traffic for hours.

In the worst tragedy, a retaining wall of the BARC Complex here collapsed at Vashi Naka, New Bharat Nagar in the Chembur area around 1 a.m., crushing several homes and burying many people under the soil and rubble.

Till evening, at least 19 persons were reported dead and some more still missing with sniffer dogs deployed to trace them by the rescue teams.

In another incident, at least 10 people perished when a few hutments caved in the Suryanagar slums in Vikhroli east.

A 16-year-old boy Soham M. Thorat was killed when the wall of his home collapsed early on Sunday, while a 26-year-old youth Salim M. Patel was electrocuted in his sweetmeat shop in Andheri west, while one man drowned in a ditch in Thane.

Around another 12 persons, injured in all these incidents, have been rushed to various hospitals and are undergoing treatment, with their condition described as stable.

Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik, Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray and Leader of Opposition Pravin Darekar, senior civil and police officials rushed to these spots to supervise the rescue and relief operations.

President Ram Nath Kovind expressed grief over the tragedies while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray mourned the loss of lives and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

Speaking to the media, Malik said that a retaining wall of the BARC complex here collapsed due to triggering the landslide on the small hillock which buried around a dozen hutments below, resulting in the massive tragedy.

Thackeray said that the government would extend all possible help to the victims and the injured, adding no politics should be played on the disasters.

Darekar accused the BMC of lapses and not being concerned about people's safety, while the Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Preeti Sharma-Menon slammed the civic body for making false claims of monsoon preparedness.

Stunned locals pointed out how rescue efforts were hampered owing to heavy flooding, muck, a narrow approach road which prevented fire brigade, police and medical vans from reaching the affected spots. This forced the rescue teams to work in groups manually shifting the mound of rubble to locate the victims.

Till this evening, the BMC's gauges recorded rainfall of 177 mm in South Mumbai, 205 mm in Eastern Suburbs and 195 mm in Western Suburbs, and the IMD has forecast with strong winds over the next five days.

CM Thackeray ordered officials to pay special attention to hilly areas, low-lying parts prone to landslides or floods and take appropriate measure to prevent tragedies, while the BMC will work round-the-clock to monitor developments.

In many areas, people reported waist-deep water with the flood waters entering the ground floor homes or shops in the vulnerable or low-lying areas.

The downpour, which started around midnight, continued virtually non-stop with waterlogging or flooding in most parts of Mumbai, besides the coastal Konkan districts of Raigad, Thane, Palghar, parts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

Owing to inclement weather, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport operations were suspended for nearly four hours from 12.42 am to 5.24 am, resulting in 9 flights being diverted to other locations, according to a spokesperson.

The rains hit suburban train services with WR lines flooding at Nalla Sopara and Virar, and the CR tracks getting submerged at Dadar, Sion, Kurla, Parel, Chunabhatti and Tilaknagar.

By 7 a.m. as the water levels receded from the railway tracks, the WR resumed services between Churchgate and Borivali and the CR started services on the mainline and Harbour Line.

The BMC said there were 11 incidents of house/wall crashes, waterlogging or flooding was reported in at least 31 localities across Mumbai, including the regular hotspots and the east-west subways in the western suburbs.

However, being a Sunday, the rain's repercussions were not felt much for the commuters with most people remaining indoors but nature enthusiasts like Nitin Sunderji Shah cautiously ventured to the ravaged Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for his morning jog.

After muddy flood waters entered the Bhandup Water Treatment Plant, the BMC announced water shortages in some parts of the city till repairs are completed and urged people to use water sparingly.

The IMD Mumbai has warned of more rains during the nex couple of days, including a few very heavy spells for which the BMC, NDRF, Police, Fire Brigade and other agencies are on high alert in Mumbai and the entire coastal Konkan region.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

qn/kr

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Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met Union Home Minister on Saturday during his visit to the capital and stated that the latter asked him to work hard to come back to power in and also the party must win more seats in Lok Sabha elections due in 2024.

"Called on Union Home Minister Ji in New Delhi today. Wished him on his new role as the Minister in the newly created Ministry of Cooperation and discussed matters related to the state," the Chief Minister tweeted.

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Yediyurappa said: "He asked me to work hard to come back to power in Karnataka and also we must win more seats in Lok Sabha elections. He said that we will win 100 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and in Karnataka, we have a bright future. He said to take the responsibility of strengthening the party in Karnataka."

Earlier on Saturday, the Yediyurappa strongly denied having tendered his resignation amid speculation about leadership change in Karnataka.

"There is no truth in it... Not at all, not at all.." Yediyurappa told reporters in Delhi when asked if he had resigned, and added that he would be returning to the capital city next month.

"Yesterday I met the Prime Minister. We discussed in detail the development of the state and I will come back to Delhi again in the first week of next month. There is no value of such news (regarding resignation)," he added.

Yediyurappa reached Delhi on Friday. He had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended other meetings regarding the ongoing COVID-19 situation and development projects in the state.

Last month, party MLAs and ministers had demanded that Yediyurappa step down as chief minister. State Tourism Minister CP Yogeeshwara in a statement had said that instead of the Chief Minister, his son has been ruling and controlling the Ministries of Karnataka.

MLC AH Vishwanath had also said that 80 per cent of legislators, who met the general secretary in charge of the State Arun Singh, felt that leadership in the state should be changed.

Yediyurappa, however, denied the allegations and said that confusion among members would be cleared.

He also said, "I will resign the day party high command asks me to quit. I do not speak about the rumours and the speculation created by some of the ministers and legislators."

The Chief Minister also met president JP Nadda on Saturday.

"We discussed in detail the development of the party in Karnataka. He has a very good opinion of me. I will work for the party to come back to power in the state again," the Karnataka Chief Minister said.

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Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday, but remained socially distanced and wore masks as the takes its toll on the hajj for a second year running.

What once drew some 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from across the globe, the is now almost unrecognisable in scale.

The pared down hajj of this year and last due to the COVID-19 outbreak not only impacts the ability of people outside Saudi Arabia to fulfil the Islamic obligation but also the billions of dollars annually that Saudi Arabia draws from being custodian of its holy sites.

The Islamic pilgrimage lasts about five days, but traditionally Muslims begin arriving in Mecca weeks ahead of time. The hajj concludes with the Eid al-Adha celebration, marked by the distribution of meat to the poor around the world.

This year, 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia have been allowed to perform the hajj due to continued concerns around the spread of the It's a far greater figure than last year's largely symbolic hajj that saw fewer than 1,000 people from within the kingdom taking part.

With no clear or agreed upon standard for a vaccine passport, vaccine inoculation rates vastly uneven and new variants of the virus threatening the progress already made in some nations, it's unclear when Saudi Arabia will play host again to the millions more Muslim pilgrims it planned to receive in years to come.

The kingdom's Al Saud rulers have staked their legitimacy in large part on their custodianship of hajj sites, giving them a unique and powerful platform globally among Muslims. The kingdom has gone to great lengths to ensure the annual hajj continues uninterrupted, despite changes caused by the pandemic.

Robots have been deployed to spray sanitising disinfectant around the cube-shaped Kaaba's busiest walkways. It is here where the begins and ends for most.

Saudi Arabia is also testing a smart bracelet this year in collaboration with the government's artificial intelligence authority.

The touchscreen bracelet resembles the Apple Watch and includes information on the hajj, the pilgrim's oxygen levels and vaccine data and has an emergency feature to call for help.

International media outlets already present in the kingdom were permitted to cover the hajj from Mecca this year, but others were not granted permission to fly in as had been customary before the pandemic.

Cleaners are sanitising the vast white marble spaces of the Grand Mosque that houses the Kaaba several times a day.

We are sanitising the floor and using disinfection liquids while cleaning it two or three times during (each) shift, said Olis Gul, a cleaner who said he has been working in Mecca for 20 years.

The hajj is one of Islam's most important requirements to be performed once in a lifetime. It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.

The hajj is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater unity among Muslims.

The communal feeling of more than 2 million people from around the world Shiite, Sunni and other Muslim sects praying together, eating together and repenting together has long been part of what makes hajj both a challenging and transformative experience.

There are questions around whether the hajj will be able to again draw such large numbers of faithful, with male pilgrims forming a sea of white in white terrycloth garments worn to symbolise the equality of mankind before God and women forgoing makeup and perfume to focus inwardly.

Like last year, pilgrims will be drinking water from the holy Zamzam well in packaged plastic bottles. Pilgrims will also have to carry their own prayer rugs, were provided with umbrellas to shield them from the sun and must follow a strict schedule via a mobile app that informs them of when they can be in certain areas to avoid crowding.

I hope this is a successful hajj season," said Egyptian pilgrim Aly Aboulnaga, a university lecturer in Saudi Arabia.

We ask God to accept everyone's hajj and for the area to be open to greater numbers of pilgrims and for a return to an even better situation than before.

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the kingdom was working to vastly expand Mecca's ability to host pilgrims with a $60-billion Grand Mosque expansion. On the mosque's south side stands the 1,972-foot (600-meter) clock-tower skyscraper, part of a completed seven-tower complex that was built to accommodate high-end paying pilgrims.

The kingdom, with a population of more than 30 million, has reported over half a million cases of the coronavirus, including more than 8,000 deaths. It has administered nearly 20 million doses of vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Throughout the pandemic, public health decisions have been based on the government's interpretation of data.

With Covid restrictions lifting in England on Monday July 19, that onus will now fall primarily on the general public  and the news media that keeps them informed.

The success of this shift from government responsibility to public responsibility will be a fundamental factor in how successfully the UK plots its path out of the pandemic. And at its heart it's a question of data literacy, or the ability of the public to understand and make informed decisions  about mask-wearing, self-isolation and home-working  based on the Covid data they're exposed to.

As an expert in data literacy, I've watched as data has assumed a central role in determining the degree of society's freedom since March 2020. Niche statistical jargon and data visualisations are now widespread in the public domain, with specialist data sites such as Johns Hopkins Covid-19 Map and the Worldometer's page receiving a surge of traffic.

But are English people really ready to digest the deluge of Covid data on their own? One study has already suggested that lockdown ending will result in the public taking Covid-19 less seriously.

Coupled with the fact that Covid data is complex and subject to constant change as new variants emerge and spread, it's unclear whether the general public is prepared to make informed, data-driven decisions after July 19.

Data indigestion

I find it tempting to celebrate the public's expanding access to data and familiarity with terms like flattening the curve. After all, a better informed society is a successful society, and the provision of data-driven information to the public seems to contribute to the notion that together we can beat Covid.

But increased data visibility shouldn't necessarily be interpreted as increased data literacy. For example, at the start of the pandemic, it was found that the portrayal of Covid deaths in logarithmic graphs confused the public. Logarithmic graphs control for data that's growing exponentially by using a scale which increases by a factor of ten on the y, or vertical axis. This led some people to radically underestimate the dramatic rise in Covid cases.

The vast amount of data we now have available doesn't even guarantee consensus. In fact, instead of solving the problem, this data deluge can contribute to the polarisation of public discourse.

One study recently found that Covid sceptics use orthodox data presentation techniques to spread their controversial views, revealing how more data doesn't necessarily result in better understanding. Though data is supposed to be objective and empirical, it has assumed a political, subjective hue during the pandemic.

These examples show that data literacy must accompany data availability in the coming weeks and months. Only a data-literate public can make decisions that keep everyone as safe as possible. And empowering the public with this competency is in turn the responsibility of journalists and educators.

Making sense of information

Journalists are vital conduits between the scientific community and the general public. Data journalism in particular, a relatively small subset of journalism before the pandemic, has been essential in communicating how the scientists who inform governments reached their decisions.

Yet data journalists themselves may not be as data literate as the scientific community. Attempts by journalists to portray accurate accounts of the Covid situation are not always successful.

Countries hit early by the pandemic, such as Italy, were also the first to reveal the limitations of data journalism, and have since provided valuable reports on the lessons they learned. In 2019, there were only 20 data journalists in the whole of Italy.

This is where educators come in. The pandemic has only strengthened the case presented by academics for data literacy to be included in the curriculum at all educational levels, including primary. This could help citizens navigate our data-driven world, protecting them from harmful misinformation and journalistic malpractice.

Data literacy does in fact already feature in many higher education roadmaps in the UK, though I'd argue it's a skill the entire population should be equipped with from an early age.

Misconceptions about vaccine efficacy and the severity of the are often based on poorly presented, false or misinterpreted data. The fake news these misconceptions generate would spread less ferociously in a world of data literate citizens.

To tackle misinformation derived from the current data deluge, the European Commission has funded projects such as MediaFutures and YourDataStories.

Media Futures aims to reshape how the media uses data, while YourDataStories aims to develop tools to bring data-driven information suppliers closer to journalists, with a focus on open data. The Commission also funds data literacy education across the EU, indicating how seriously public authorities are now taking data literacy.

Data literacy is the key to harnessing the value of data in order to make smart and safe decisions. Suppliers and consumers of Covid information have a shared responsibility to make sense of the data deluge as the UK government pulls pack and eases restrictions. But with data literacy still lacking, even among data journalists, efforts must now be made to educate the public about how best to read data.

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The has asked the to keep extra vigil on its seven metro stations and close them if needed in view of the farmers' protest against the three agri laws in front of Parliament from July 22, officials said on Sunday.

In its letter to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the has said the protesters may use metro to reach the New Delhi area since it is the most favoured form of conveyance in the capital.

The seven metro stations are Janpath, Lok Kalyan Marg, Patel Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Mandi House and Udyog Bhawan.

The farmer unions have planned a protest near Parliament against the three agri laws from July 22.

"DCP, New Delhi district has requested to keep extra vigil at the seven metro stations as well as other stations which lies in the New Delhi area, and may be closed w.e.f 19.07.2021 onwards till the monsoon session is over, at very short notice to refrain the protestors from reaching Parliament via metro and avoid any untoward incident," the letter said.

A senior police officer said it is just on a precautionary basis and if required, only then the metro stations will be closed.

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Highlighting that trade in



illegal in is worth about Rs 5,000 crore annually, Chief Minister Sunday urged the police to be unrelenting in their war on

He also emphasised the need for proper rehabilitation of reformed drug addicts and directed the Health and the Social Welfare departments to work together in this regard.

" worth Rs 163 crore were seized between May 10 to July 15 this year. If this is, say, 20 per cent of the drugs which are being trafficked through the state every month, the trade in illegal drugs in would be of at least Rs 5,000 crore per year," he said, speaking at a programme for disposal of the seized drugs at Barhampur in Nagaon district.

The entire money goes outside Assam, without payment of any tax or anything going to the state exchequer, Sarma said, while stressing that the money used by addicts to procure the drugs comes at the cost of well being of families.

"When even one member of a family becomes an addict, the entire family is ruined. The addicts steal from their own homes or even threaten and extract money from the members. And at last, many even take recourse to crimes and anti-social activities," he said.

He said the fight against drugs is a three-pronged one



first to check the supply chain, then to curb the distribution network, and third to rehabilitate those affected by its abuse.

Pointing out that people want the drug peddlers to be shot dead instead of arresting them, Sarma said though the police must act tough against the criminals, they have to do so by following laid-down rules.

"I have given permission (to police) for extreme action (against drug peddlers), but within the law," he added.

Speaking on similar lines at another programme in Hojai district, Sarma said, "We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy against drugs. I have asked the police to use all legal means, including provision for preventive detentions for up to one year, to check this menace."



He further said the burning of seized drugs, with due permission from the court, will be undertaken from time to time.

As many as 1,493 drug peddlers have been arrested, 874 cases registered against them, and illegal drugs worth Rs 163 crore seized in the state since Sarma assumed the charge of chief minister on May 10.

The seized contraband includes 19 kg heroin, 8,276 kg ganja, 14 kg opium, 67,650 cough syrup bottles, 1,920 kg morphine, Rs one crore in cash and foreign currency worth Rs 13,630, the chief minister said.

Altogether 9.733 kg heroin, 253.301 kg cannabis, 977 gm of opium, and 2,71,904 seized tablets were burnt in Nagaon, while 324.732 kg heroin, 1015.627 kg ganja/ cannabis, and 35,522 seized tables were destroyed in Hojai.

This was the second and last day of publicly setting ablaze illegal drugs and psychotropic substances with two similar programmes held at Golaghat and Diphu on Saturday.

The chief minister himself took part in the four programmes since Saturday to give out a message of zero- tolerance against illegal drugs.

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Over 41,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 41,157 fresh infections on Sunday, taking the cumulative caseload to 31.1 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 518 more deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 413,609. The active caseload is at 422,660, while the total recoveries have surged to 30.2 million. As many as 404 million vaccine shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 5.1 million were given on Saturday. Read more

Covid can make a person more susceptible to TB but no direct link yet: Govt

The health ministry said Covid could make a person more susceptible to developing (TB), but added that there was not enough scientific evidence to link the two, according to a report in the Scroll. Doctors are worried about a sudden spike in the number of TB cases among patients recovering from Covid, the government said. The dual morbidity of and Covid-19 can be further highlighted through the facts that both the diseases are known to be infectious and primarily attack the lungs, presenting similar symptoms of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing, although TB has a longer incubation period and a slower onset of disease, the government said. Read more

Over 30 mn in get at least one dose of Covid vaccine

Over 30 million people in are at least partially vaccinated, a report in The India Express said. Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary (health), Maharashtra, told the paper that of these, more than 8.8 million have received the second dose also. We lead in the number of persons fully vaccinated, said Dr Vyas. Read more

Let out during Covid, about 2,500 Delhi jail inmates fail to surrender

As many as 2,490 inmates who were released last year to prevent Covid cases during the pandemic have failed to surrender, a report in The Indian Express said. This comes even as the Delhi Prisons department continues to release inmates to decongest jails. The department has now contacted Delhi Police to trace these inmates and ask them to surrender again. Police said the tracking of the criminal has become stressful as many of the inmates went on to commit crimes again or fled to other states. A total of 6,740 inmates were released on emergency parole and interim bail last year from the three jails  Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini, the report said. Read more

Kanwar Yatra called off in Uttar Pradesh

In light of the Covid pandemic, the organisers of the Kanwar Yatra have called off this year's annual pilgrimage, a report in IndiaToday said. The decision was taken in consultation with the Uttar Pradesh administration. The development came a day after the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to reconsider its move to allow "symbolic" observance of the annual pilgrimage. Earlier this month, the Apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of the Yogi Adityanath government's decision to allow the yatra despite the threat of Covid spreading further, the report said. Read more
A collaborative investigation involving more than 80 journalists in 4 continents on Sunday showed how powerful spyware licensed only to governments targeted journalists, activists and more. The investigation was conducted by 17 media outlets, including Wall Street Journal, CNN, the New York Times, Al Jazeera, Guardian, Economist, Reuters.

NSO Groups Pegasus spyware, licensed to governments around the globe, can infect phones without a click. Pegasus is a malware that infects iPhones and Android devices to enable operators of the tool to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones. NSO Group, an Israeli firm, is a leader in private spyware industry.

Reporters were able to identify more than 1,000 people through research and interviews on four continents: several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials.

The consortium found many of the phone numbers in at least 10 country clusters, which were subjected to deeper analysis: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In India, the numbers of phones belonging to hundreds of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, government officials and business executives were on the list, as were numbers in several other countries in the region, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, reported Washington Post.

Over 40 Indian journalists from prominent outlets featured on the list.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology refuted the reports of surveillance of journalists and said, "There has been no unauthorised interception by government agencies."

"The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever. In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian State. Those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court," the Ministry said in its response.

Government of Indias response to inquiries on the Pegasus Project media report. pic.twitter.com/F4AxPZ8876  ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2021

"This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions," the Ministry added.

NSO has long insisted that the governments to whom it licenses Pegasus are contractually bound to only use the powerful spying tool to fight serious crime and terrorism, reported Guardian.
Slain photojournalist Danish Siddiqui will be laid to rest at the Jamia Millia Islamia graveyard, according to a statement on Sunday.

"Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Vice Chancellor accepted the request of the family of late photojournalist Danish Siddiqui to bury his body at the JMI graveyard meant exclusively for university employees, their spouses and minor child," the university said in the statement.

Siddiqui had done his masters from the university. His father Akhtar Siddiqui was the Dean of Faculty of Education there.

Danish Siddiqui had studied at AJK Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC) from 2005 -2007.

The Jamia Teachers' Association (JTA) expressed condolences at the death of Danish Siddiqui.

The Officiating Director of AJK MCRC said, "Danish was one of the brightest stars in our hall of fame and a proactive alumnus who kept returning to his alma mater to share with students his work and experiences. We will miss him deeply but are determined to keep his memory alive."



Professor Sabeena Gadihoke said his photographs were hard-hitting but he never compromised on the dignity of those within his frames.

"Danish had the unique ability to bestow a journalistic picture with empathy and to give dignity and grace to his subjects," she added.

In 2018, Danish Siddiqui was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by MCRC. During the ceremony, he described being a photojournalist as both an honour and responsibility to bear witness for those who could not speak for themselves, in the hope that he could make a change for the better, the JTA said in a statement.

JTA president Professor Majid Jamil described his death as a big loss to journalism and the Jamia community.

Siddiqui, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, worked for Reuters news agency and was killed on Friday in the town of Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan. He was embedded with Afghan special forces at the time of his death.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Sunday prohibited the annual Kanwar Yatra in the city to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"No celebrations, processions, gatherings, etc. shall be allowed during forthcoming Kanwar Yatra-2021 starting from July 25 in NCT of Delhi," stated an order issued by the DDMA.

The DDMA order came a day after the yatra was cancelled in Uttar Pradesh.

The yatra usually goes on till the first week of August and sees thousands of Shiva devotees, called 'kanwariyas', travelling mostly on foot from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, to collect water from the Ganges in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that governments should take every step to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday appointed as the new president of the party's unit, notwithstanding the strong opposition from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Gandhi also appointed four working presidents to assist Sidhu in the run-up to the next assembly elections.

The appointments came after days of internal squabbling and public bickering that virtually divided the state unit between two factions owing allegiance to Singh and Sidhu.

The new working presidents are Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra, who represent different regions and castes.

" president has appointed as the president of Pradesh Committee with immediate effect," according to a party statement.

"The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC president Sunil Jakhar,"the statement said.

Nagra, who was in-charge of party affairs in Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura, has been relieved of his present responsibilities.

Sidhu, who joined the Congress from the BJP ahead of the last assembly elections in 2017, has increased his efforts to gather support in the past few days and met several MLAs and leaders.

With the decision, the party leadership has clearly signalled to put its weight behind Sidhu while ignoring Amarinder Singh's opposition.

The leadership feels Sidhu can lead the party's campaign with fresh energy and enthusiasm and help ensure its victory in the upcoming assembly polls slated for early next year.

Sidhu's ability to pull crowds and launch a vigorous campaign has worked in his favour as the party feels that infusing fresh energy in the party ranks is required at a time slackness has set in after four-and-half years in power.

The support of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also helped in Sidhu clinching the post despite strong resistance.

The cricketer-turned-politician now faces the challenge of uniting the party and bringing cohesion in its ranks, besides winning the trust of the old guard and veterans.

Chief Minister Singh is learnt to have told Sonia Gandhi that he will not meet Sidhu till he publicly apologises for his attacks on him in the recent past.

Calls are being made by party veterans to unite the party ahead of the assembly polls, else the AAP and the Akali Dal-BSP combine could upstage it.

AICC general secretary in-charge for affairs of the party Harish Rawat congratulated Sidhu and the four working presidents.

He expressed his gratitude to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for granting approval to the new team in Punjab. "Thank you madam for your great gesture," Rawat said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Sunday objected to the government's offer for a joint address to all MPs by the prime minister on Covid at the annexe, saying this will be "highly irregular" at a time when will be in session and it aims to "bypass" norms.

Leaders, including from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M), also said that when the Covid pandemic and issues related to it can be discussed on the floor of the House, what was the need to go "outside".

The annexe is a separate building within the premises of the complex.

In an all-party meeting on Sunday, a day before the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi announced that Prime Minister will address MPs of both the Houses -- Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha -- on July 20 and speak on the pandemic.

"What is the need to go outside Parliament? Any address should be on the floor of the House. This is another idea to bypass Parliament. Stop making a mockery of the Parliament. How far will Modi and (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah go? Just when we thought that they cannot go lower, they want to make a presentation in the annexe and not on the floor of the House," TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien, who was at the meeting, said.

The meeting was attended by 33 parties ahead of the Monsoon session which will conclude on August 13.

"MPs do not want fancy power point presentations on COVID-19 from the PM or this government in some conference room. Parliament will be in session. Come to the floor of the House," O'Brien said.

Sources in other confirmed that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi's offer has been refused and that some have even suggested a joint sitting of the Houses at the Central Hall.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the party's position has always been that when Parliament is in session, whatever the government has to say, it can do so on the floor of the House.

"It is highly irregular for the government to do this. When the Parliament is in session, any address or presentation the government wants to make, it has to be done from inside Parliament. Our stand on this has been very clear," he said.

O'Brien claimed that all opposition leaders present in the meeting, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Mishra refused to be addressed "outside" Parliament.

Some opposition party MPs, on the condition of anonymity, said some parties have already planned to give notices on the Covid situation issue in Parliament and no one wanted to listen to the government anywhere other than the floor of the Parliament.

The sources also said that NCP leader Sharad Pawar was the lone opposition leader who did not outright reject the proposal of the prime minister's address at the Parliament annexe.

During the meeting, almost all parties raised issues related to fuel prices, farm laws, Covid and the state of the economy, they said.

Kharge hit out at the prime minister over his absence from the meeting and said that it was an "insult" to all political parties present. He also raised the issue of appointment of a deputy speaker, and said this should be done.

While the DMK raised the issue of GST devolution, the TRS urged the government to make public sector units profitable and not go for disinvestment. The Samajwadi Party accused the government of passing Bills in a hurry and its leader Ramgopal Yadav alleged that the Maharashtra and West Bengal governors had belittled chief ministers of the states.

The BJD demanded that the Centre to procure surplus rice from Odisha, release pending food subsidy and provide a share of the additional cess from fuel and cooking gas to states to help them fight Covid.

Several parties said that their concerns were not being heard by the government and being "bulldozed".

The TMC, during the all-party meet, alleged ruining of the federal structure, "motivated" functioning of the central agencies and lack of Covid vaccines. The return of MPLAD funds and Women's Reservation Bill issues were also raised by the party.

Four political parties, including TMC, TRS, YSRCP and BSP, demanded that there should be a discussion on Schedule 10 of the Constitution which deals with disqualification of lawmakers.

Multiple petitions by the TMC and the YSRCP are with the Lok Sabha speaker and they seek disqualification of MPs. They had earlier demanded a time-bound process for this.

The government is slated to bring in 29 bills and two financial bills during the Monsoon session.

have made it clear that the government must allow proper discussion and review of the bills before they are passed.

On day one of the session, the prime minister will introduce the newly inducted ministers to both the Houses.

It is the convention that after the formation of a new government or an expansion or reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers.

There was a major rejig in the Union Council of Ministers recently. While several new faces were inducted, some ministers were elevated to the Cabinet rank and portfolios of some others were changed.

Some new members who recently entered Lok Sabha following bypolls would also take oath as members of the lower house on Monday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The projected statistics that pendency in Indian courts has reached 45 million cases, which is perceived as the inability of the to cope with the caseload, is an "overstatement" and an "uncharitable analysis", said Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Saturday.

Delivering his keynote address at the India-Singapore Mediation Summit titled "Making Mediation mainstream: Reflections from India and Singapore", he said that people are confident that they will get relief and justice from the judiciary. "People know that when things go wrong, the judiciary will stand by them. It gives them the strength to pursue a dispute."

"The often-quoted statistic that pendency in Indian Courts has reached 45 million cases, which is perceived as the inability of the to cope with the caseload is an overstatement and an uncharitable analysis," the said.

Underscoring that conflicts are unavoidable in any society for various reasons, including political, economic, social, cultural and religious, he stated that there is a need to develop mechanisms for conflict resolution and referred to the Mahabharata, providing an example of an early attempt at mediation as a conflict resolution tool."Mediation is deeply embedded into the Indian ethos and was prevalent before the British adversarial system in India, various forms of mediation were being practised as a method of dispute resolution," he said.

He further admitted that the issue of judicial delays is a complex problem, not just in India.

He provided several factors that contribute to such a situation. "One of them is an Indian phenomenon called - 'luxurious litigation'. It is a specific type of litigation wherein parties with resources attempt to frustrate the judicial process and delay it by filing numerous proceedings across the judicial system. Undeniably, the prevailing pandemic has also contributed to our woes," the said.

Earlier on Saturday, Ramana launched the live streaming of Gujarat High Court proceedings and also released the Live Streaming Rules of the High Court.

During the event, he said that a judge should never be deterred from his duty to protect the right of one against the might of many and as a repository of people's faith, a judge cannot afford to lose objectivity.

The CJI said that he is keen to start live streaming in at least a few of the courts at the Supreme Court.He stressed the importance of live streaming of Court proceedings and said it is important for the dissemination of information as a part of Article 19 of the Constitution.

"We are keen to start live proceedings at least for some of the courts in the Supreme Court. We are working out the logistics and working on the consensus of the full court. With the aid of modern technologies, I am given to understand that we can introduce this live streaming feature in a cost-effective manner without imposing much of a burden on the exchequer," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Twenty five people died in rain-related incidents as incessant heavy downpour overnight during a major pummeled Mumbai, causing severe water logging and traffic disruptions in the financial capital on Sunday, officials said.

The Western Railway and Central Railway briefly suspended suburban train services in Mumbai after the heavy rains, and many long distance trains were terminated or regulated at various stations, officials said.

Seventeen people died as a compound wall came crashing down on some houses located on a hillock after a landslide, a fire official said.

The retaining wall of the Bharatnagar locality in Mumbai's Mahul area collapsed at 1 am, the official said. Seven people were injured and taken to nearby Rajawadi hospital, he added. A civic activist said this is among the 257 hutments that have come up on hillocks in the city. In the last 29 years, 290 people in such localities have been killed in landslides and collapses during monsoon, he added.

Seven hutment dwellers died as six shanties collapsed after a landslide in Mumbai's Vikhroli suburb at 2.30 am, a civic official said. Two persons were injured and were sent to a nearby hospital, he added.

A 16-year-old boy died after a forest department compound wall collapsed in suburban Bhandup, an official said.

Mumbai recorded over 250 mm of rain in just three hours (between midnight and 3am), touching 305 mm by 7 am on Sunday, a meteorologist said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Mumbai was placed under a red alert, indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations for the rest of the day.

Images from a doppler radar showed that the had a cloud top height of nearly 18 km (around 60,000 feet), the IMD said.

To put in other words, the height/vertical extent of this monster is approximately twice that of Mount Everest!, tweeted meteorologist Akshay Deoras.

Such thunderstorms are definitely uncommon for Mumbai or the west coast during an active phase of the monsoon and in a month like July. The cloud top height of this monster thunderstorm is definitely comparable to the one that produced rains on 26 July 2005, he said.

Thunderstorms have already been observed on the following five days in this month: On July 9, 11, 12, 16 and 17, said Deoras, a PhD student in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Minister of state for Railways Raosaheb Danve said he will travel by a local train from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai to Kalyan in Thane district to review monsoon-related works carried out by the railways.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation asked citizens to boil water before drinking as over the last two days had led to flooding in the water purification complex at Bhandup.

The flooding has affected electrical equipment that control the pumping and filtration processes there, one of the major sites of water supply to the country's financial capital, he said.

The inundation at the complex has affected water supply in most parts of the metropolis, the official added.

Meanwhile, the heavy overnight rains led to Vihar Lake overflowing on Sunday morning, a civic official said.

A BMC statement said the lake, with a storage capacity of 27,698 million litres, is the smallest of the water bodies that are part of the supply mechanism to the metropolis.

Built in 1859, the lake supplies 90 million litres water per day, the civic body said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives caused by wall collapse incidents in Mumbai.

His office also announced Rs two lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. A sum of Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured.

"Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that those who are injured have a speedy recovery," Modi said



President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed grief over the rain-related deaths in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed grief over the loss of lives and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of each of the victims.

A viral video showed a two-wheeler being dragged in water in an inundated street in Chinchpokli area. The BMC said 43 pumps in six storm water pumping stations of the civic body were operating continuously to discharge rain water into the sea and have so far pumped out 442 crore litre water. Suburban train services in Mumbai were suspended due to water logging on the tracks due to the overnight heavy downpour, railway officials said, adding the services were resumed in the morning.

Before the pandemic, both the Central Railway and Western Railway used to ferry over 75 lakh commuters a day in over 3,000 suburban train services, which are now operated only for emergency services staff and government employees.

The rain fury reminded some Mumbaikars of the the 24-hour rainfall figure of 944 mm on July 26, 2005.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai in the backdrop of heavy rains, a BMC official said.

Alerts by the IMD are colour-coded from green to red. A 'green' alert stands for 'no warning': no action needs to be taken by the authorities, and the forecast is of light to moderate rain. A 'red' alert stands for "warning", and asks authorities to "take action". An orange' alert indicates that the authorities are expected to be prepared.

Mumbai would receive heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, the IMD said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Soon after NCP MP and actor Dr Amol Kolhe claimed is Chief Minister of Maharashtra only because of Sharad Pawar's blessings, adviced its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally to not being ill will between the two parties and let the 'grapes of power' that they got 'turn sour'.

In a reply to Kolhe's comment, spokesperson Kishor Kanhere in a statement asked the NCP's Shirur MP to not forget that "Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Dada Pawar and Dastur Sharad Pawar himself are constantly consulting with Uddhav Saheb to run the state."

"The time has come for Amol Kolhe's memory test. An actor, who is used to read out written dialogues, has perhaps forgotten that he is in politics because of the blessings of the same Don't let the grape of power you got get sour," said Kanhere.

On Saturday, Kolhe at a public event claimed Thackeray is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra "only because he has Sharad Pawar's blessings."

Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief Minister at the latter's residence in Mumbai. Notably, it was the second meeting between Pawar and Thackeray in the last one and a half months and came at a time when speculations are rife about trouble in the coalition.

As per sources, in the meeting that lasted 30 minutes, the two leaders discussed the coordination of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state among other issues.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UK government on Sunday declared it had hit its target of offering every adult in the country a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month ahead of time.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said a total of 81,959,398 doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in the UK, with 46,227,101 people receiving a first dose (87.8 per cent) and 35,732,297 people receiving both doses (67.8 per cent).

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had set targets to offer a vaccine to all adults in the UK and to vaccinate two in three adults with both doses by July 19 and DHSC said both targets have now been achieved ahead of the so-called Freedom Day on Monday, when England is to emerge from all legal lockdown restrictions.

Barely eight months since the first vaccine was given, reaching these targets is another extraordinary achievement, said Johnson, who is now in self-isolation at his Chequers country retreat after being alerted of his contact with COVID positive Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Thank you again to everyone coming forward, and to those helping others to get jabbed. You are the reason we are able to cautiously ease restrictions next week, and return closer towards normal life. Now let's finish the job. If you're over 18, book both your jabs today, he said.

All adults in the UK are able to get their second doses after a gap of eight weeks, shortened from 12 weeks to cover more people with added protection against the Delta variant's spread in the country. This means every adult has the chance to have both doses by mid-September, DHSC said.

People are urged to get their first and second doses as soon as possible to protect themselves and the people around them. Double vaccinated people will be able to return to doing the things they have missed, such as going on holiday and attending events which require the NHS Covid Pass, it said.

Data from Public Health England (PHE) shows COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta variant, the B.1.617.2 mutation first identified in India. The analysis shows the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96 per cent effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses.

Further analysis from PHE and the University of Cambridge also suggests vaccines have so far prevented an estimated 11.8 million infections and almost 37,000 deaths in England alone.

Our world-leading vaccination programme is helping to build up a strong defence around our population, saving tens of thousands of lives and preventing millions of infections to allow us to cautiously progress through the roadmap, said Sajid Javid.

As we start to cautiously ease restrictions, I implore every adult, no matter your age, background or occupation, to get your vaccine as soon as possible, added Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi.

Under the updated rules, people who have been vaccinated with both doses will not have to quarantine on their return to England from an amber or low risk country with the exception of France, where the Beta variant is on the rise from Monday, providing they received their second jab at least 14 days prior.

From August 16, double vaccinated people will also no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case. They will instead be encouraged to take a test to confirm in case they are also COVID positive.

The daily infection rate in the UK remains high, with 54,674 new cases and 41 deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period over the weekend.

Many scientists and medics have warned against a complete lifting of lockdown rules, with different parts of the United Kingdom choosing to keep face masks in enclosed spaces compulsory beyond Monday.

In England, the government guidance urges people to continue to wear masks indoors, with London's transport network keeping it a compulsory requirement.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahmedabad-based pharma major Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) is planning to start clinical trials on children aged 5 years and above soon for its DNA-plasmid technology-based Covid-19 vaccine, claimed a senior official.

Meanwhile, the company is awaiting approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for its vaccine ZyCoV-D. It has sought approval for use in children above 12 years, and has already submitted safety and tolerability data from the phase 2 clinical trials and has generated data on 1,000 adolescents (between 12 to 18 years) from its phase 3 trials too. The 1,000-volunteer data will be submitted with the regulator soon.

We now plan to start trials on children aged five years and above if the regulator approves, said Sharvil Patel, managing director of So far, no other vaccine has been approved globally for children below 12 years. Indias Bharat Biotech is now in the middle of conducting clinical trials on children above 2-years for Covaxin.

If things go well, ZyCoV-D could be the first approved vaccine for adolescents. Zydus has also claimed that its vaccine works against the Delta variant; as the trials carried out in more than 50 clinical sites spread across the country and during the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 has shown the vaccines efficacy against the new mutant strains, especially the delta variant.

At the moment, the DCGI and its expert committee are reviewing the data submitted by Zydus from a 28,000 people phase 3 efficacy trial. According to sources, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) is likely to take up the review of ZyCoV-D this week. So far the regulator and experts have been studying the data submitted.

ZyCoV-D has shown a 66.6 percent efficacy in interim analysis of phase 3 trials, and can be stored at 25 degree Celsius for three months. It is a three-dose vaccine given on day zero, day 28 and day 56.





No moderate case of COVID-19 disease was observed in the vaccine arm post administration of the third dose suggesting 100 percent efficacy for moderate disease. No severe cases or deaths due to COVID-19 occurred in the vaccine arm after administration of the second dose of the vaccine, the company claimed.

Meanwhile, Zydus has also submitted immunogenicity data from a two-dose regimen (using 3 mg doses) trial to the DCGI, which shows equivalent immunogenicity with that of the three dose regimen. Patel is thus hopeful that there would be a good discussion point with the regulator for approval for a two-dose regimen.

Conventional active vaccines are made of a killed or weakened form of the infectious agent. DNA plasmid vaccine is a relatively new approach where a piece of DNA containing the genes for the antigens is injected. The body then learns to develop an immune response against the antigen, and when the actual pathogen attacks, the body is able to generate the specific antibodies against it.

DNA vaccines, Zydus has claimed, have been shown to stimulate sustained immune responses.

ZyCoV-D efficacy is in the range of Johnson & Johnsons single dose vaccine which uses a human adenovirus vector Ad26  66.3 percent efficacy in preventing Covid19 illness.

As for Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the WHO notes on its website, The AZD1222 vaccine against COVID-19 has an efficacy of 63.09 percent against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bharat Biotechs Covaxin has shown 77.6 percent efficacy against symptomatic Covid illness from interim analysis of phase 3 trials, while Russias Sputnik V has shown 97.8 percent efficacy against severe Covid disease in an 81000 subject trial in UAE recently.
Total outstanding dues owed by distribution utilities or to power producers fell 15.25 per cent to Rs 82,305 crore in May 2021 from a year ago.

Distribution companies (discoms) owed a total Rs 97,111 crore to power generation firms in May 2020, according to portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators).

The outstanding dues of towards producers have been increasing year-on-year as well as month-on-month for years showing perennial stress in the power sector till February this year. It has started tapering off from March 2021.

Total dues in May increased sequentially compared to Rs 77,203 crore in April this year. The PRAAPTI portal was launched in May 2018 to bring in transparency in power purchase transactions between generators and

In May 2021, the total overdue amount, which was not cleared even after 45 days of grace period offered by generators, stood at Rs 68,762 crore as against Rs 84,691 crore in the same month a year ago.

The overdue amount stood at Rs 63,050 crore in April this year.

Power producers give 45 days to discoms to pay bills for supply. After that, outstanding dues become overdue and generators charge penal interest on that in most cases.

To give relief to power generation companies (gencos), the Centre enforced a payment security mechanism from August 1, 2019. Under this mechanism, discoms are required to open letters of credit for getting power supply.

The Centre had also given some breathers to discoms for paying dues to gencos in view of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The government had also waived penal charges for late payment of dues.

In May, the government announced Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion for discoms under which these utilities would get loans at economical rates from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd. This was a government initiative to help gencos remain afloat.

Later, the liquidity infusion package was increased to Rs 1.2 lakh crore and further to Rs 1.35 lakh crore. Under the liquidity package, over Rs 80,000 crore has been disbursed.

Discoms in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu account for the major portion of dues to gencos, the data showed.

Overdue of independent power producers amounted to 35.86 per cent of the total overdue of Rs 68,762 crore of discoms in May, 2021. The proportion of central PSU gencos in the overdue was 47.59 per cent.

Among the central public sector gencos, NTPC alone has an overdue amount of Rs 8,297.29 crore on discoms, followed by NLC India at Rs 3,918.61 crore, Damodar Valley Corporation at Rs 3,847.90 crore, NHPC at Rs 2,432.65 crore and THDC India at Rs 1,130.33 crore in May 2021.

Among private generators, discoms owe the highest overdue of Rs 17,338.48 crore to Adani Power followed by SEMB (Sembcorp) at Rs 2,420.53 crore, IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company at Rs 2,004.53 crore, Jindal Steel and Power at Rs 1,659.61 crore and Bajaj Group-owned Lalitpur Power Generation Company at Rs 1,608.10 crore and in the month under review.

The overdue of non-conventional energy producers like solar and wind stood at Rs 11,373.88 crore in May, 2021.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The of domestic companies more than doubled to USD 2.80 billion in June this year, according to data.

had invested USD 1.39 billion in overseas ventures in the year-ago month.

However, on a month-on-month basis, the investment was lower by over 58 per cent from USD 6.71 billion in May 2021, as per the data on outward investments by Indian firms.

Of the total investment during June 2021, USD 1.17 billion was in the form of issuance of guarantee, USD 1.21 billion was given as loan, while the equity investment stood at USD 426.84 million.

Among the major investors included Tata Steel USD 1 billion in a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore; Wipro USD 787.5 million in a wholly owned unit in the US; and Tata Power USD 131.25 million in a fully owned unit in Mauritius.

Reliance Industries invested USD 56 million in agriculture and mining based WOS in Singapore; Interglobe Enterprises invested USD 51.5 million in a joint venture in the UK; ONGC Videsh Ltd USD 48.31 million in a JV in Mozambique and Paharpur Cooling Towers USD 48 million in a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore.

Among others were Tata Communications' USD 50 million in WOS in Singapore; ONGC Videsh invested USD 48.70 million in a JV in Russia; and WNS Global Services invested USD 45 million in a JV in the Netherlands.

The said the data is provisional and subject to change on online based reporting by the authorised dealer banks.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Joe Biden's administration has proposed the first in-person "Quad" meeting with leaders of India, Japan and Australia in late September.

This meeting would mark unity among the four Indo-Pacific democracies amid China's growing assertiveness, President Biden is seeking to build "a position of strength" to directly engage with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as reported by Kyodo News.

This meeting is scheduled to take place after the general debate of the UN General Assembly, which is to be held in September in New York City.

But Japan's political schedule is unclear, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga facing two key tests during the same time in his country.

Earlier, Kurt Campbell, White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, said that the US has planned to host the first in-person summit in Washington, Kyodo News reported.

The meeting is expected to clamp down on China's so-called 'vaccine diplomacy', in which Beijing is giving vaccine shots to the developing nations.

Various issues including vaccine production and cooperation in infrastructural projects could also be discussed in this meeting.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Boris Johnsons decision to ease remaining restrictions in has sparked fears and calls for caution, raising concerns that a surge in infections will put pressure on hospitals and Britains health.



Johnsons government is due to lift remaining restrictions for in a day its dubbed Freedom Monday. As daily case numbers are continuing to rise across the UK, businesses have raised concerns about staff shortages due to the numbers of people being told to self-isolate.



However, the government has said its successful vaccination programme will serve as a wall between a rise in cases being followed by a rise in hospitalisations and deaths.



Johnsons aspirations have already been hampered by knock-on effects from the sharply rising cases. UK workers are expected to isolate after being contacted by the governments coronavirus contract tracing app, and businesses from stores to car factories reported disruptions this week after more than half a million people were pinged.



Under the rules in place, there is a legal obligation to self-isolate if the NHS Test and Trace directly calls someone to inform someone about a Covid positive contact.



The NHS Covid contact tracing app also pings people to alert them of such a contact, but being pinged is only a guidance to self-isolate and not a legal requirement.



Latest figures show over 500,000 people were pinged by the NHS app in a week, leading to concerns over the system being over-sensitive and resulting in many deleting it from their smartphones to avoid self-isolation.



With social distancing and mandatory wearing of masks due to end on July 19, Johnson is moving forward with dropping virus measures even as a new wave of the pandemic takes hold. According to modeling by the UKs Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), daily hospital admissions are expected to reach 1,000-2,000 per day in August and more than 200 daily deaths are expected.



Johnson urged caution when announcing the decision on July 12, urging the public to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces and on buses and trains. He said that while the general directive to work from home will end, we do not expect the whole country to return to their desks from Monday. He said businesses should plan for a gradual return to work over the summer.

Unfolding disaster



The question is whether Johnsons move is too much of a gamble: although the countrys vaccination roll out has significantly weakened the link between rising virus cases and hospitalizations and deaths, a resurgent pandemic would mean more pressure on the NHS and will add to the uncertainty for businesses.



Doctors Association UK, a non-profit organisation, said a surge in coronavirus cases would be a disaster for hospitals as the

NHS already faces an unprecedented workload, with many staff self-isolating.



The disaster that awaits us in autumn and winter is the largest public health experiment ever conducted, said Elizabeth Toberty, a general practitioner and spokeswoman for DAUK. The governments strategy to open up completely lacks logic and stands to put both patients and public services at risk.



A survey of 2,500 doctors by the British Medical Association found that 90 per cent wanted masks to remain mandatory on public transport, and 78 per cent wanted them to continue to be worn in stores.



In U-turn, PM to isolate after Covid +ve contact





British Prime Minister will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office said Sunday  reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine. Johnson's 10 Downing Street office said on Sunday that the prime minister and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were both alerted overnight by Englands test-and-trace phone app.



He had a meeting on Friday with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. Javid, who has been fully vaccinated, says he is experiencing mild symptoms.



Long Covid fears grow in Britain as Delta surges

For about 1 million people across the UK Covid-19 didnt just go away. Instead it lingered, causing exhaustion, shortness of breath, cognitive issues and other health problems. With preparing to lift virtually all curbs even as cases are surging again, scientists are concerned that the numbers impacted by what has become known as long Covid will climb much higher.



In a bid to understand more, the UKs National Institute for Health Research on Sunday announced about 20 million pounds ($27.5 million) in funding for 15 studies analysing the causes of long Covid and its physical and mental health impacts. Britain has fully vaccinated 53.2 per cent of its population.
The first meeting of Nepal's lower house, after its reinstatement by the last week, is set to begin from Sunday.

A notice from the Parliament Secretariat stated that the meeting will start at 4 pm (local time) today.

verdict on July 12 had overturned the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

A five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana had ordered to reinstate the Parliament by annulling the government's decision to dissolve it.

The meeting of the reinstated House will begin at a time when the ruling CPN-UML party is embroiled in intra-party wrangling.

The SC had also ordered to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

President Bidya Dev Bhandari had dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR) for the second time upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on May 22.

Following the dissolution of the HoR, NC President Deuba had filed a writ petition with the signatures of 146 lawmakers in the

Earlier on December 20 last year, President Bidya Bhandari had dissolved the HoR on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli. The apex court had then annulled the government's decision to dissolve the HoR on February 23 for the first time.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The death toll from flooding in Western climbed above 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Police put the toll from the hard-hit Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state at more than 110 and said they feared the number may still rise. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany's most populous, 45 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. And Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to visit Schuld, a village near Ahrweiler that was devastated by the flooding, later Sunday. Her visit comes after Germany's president went to the area on Saturday and made clear that it will need long-term support.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he will propose a package of immediate aid at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros ($354 million) will be needed. And he said that officials must start setting up a rebuilding program which, from experience with previous flooding, will be in the billions of euros.

Although rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted in other parts of western and central There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, across the country from where last week's hit, and in Germany's southeastern corner and over the border in Austria.

Some 65 people were evacuated in Germany's Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed.

A flash flood swept through the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties.

Heavy rain and storms caused serious damage in several parts of Austria.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.

Scientists can't yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather that has been on show around the world.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Julia Ducournau, the 37-year-old French director of Titane, a freaky and provocative body-horror drama has become the first female director in 28 years to win the Film Festivals Palme dor.



The awards of the 74th Film Festival were decided by a jury chaired by Spike Lee and handed out at the events closing ceremony in the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Saturday.





Titane tells the story of a young woman who survives a car crash as a child and goes on to have a peculiar relationship with cars in adulthood

For the first time in history, women outnumbered men five to four in the Film Festivals main competition jury.

The women members of the jury were Mati Diop, Mylene Farmer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hausner and Melanie Laurent. Kleber Mendonca Filho, Tahar Rahim and Song Kang-ho served alongside the quintet.



Ducournau burst on the scene with Raw, which bowed in the Critics Week in 2016. She is only the second female director to ever win the Cannes top prize.



New Zealands Jane Campion was the first woman to win the Palme d'or for The Piano in 1993.



The Grand Prix, regarded as the festivals runners-up prize, was shared by two films Iranian Asghar Farhadi's A Hero and Finnish director Juho Kuosmanens Compartment No. 6.



Leos Carax won the Best Director Award for the pop-opera musical Annette, the Marion Cotillard-Adam Driver starrer with which the festival kicked off on July 6.



The Camera dor for the best first film screened in Cannes this year went to the coming-of-age drama Murina, a Directors Fortnight title directed by The New York-based Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic.



The jury gave the Best Actor prize to Caleb Landry Jones for his lead performance in Australian director Justin Kurzels Nitram, a disturbing peep into the mind of a mass killer.



Norwegian Renate Reinsve was named Best Actress for her part in The Worst Person In The World

The Best Actress prize was bagged by Norwegian late-bloomer Renate Reinsve, whose performance in Nordic auteur Joachim Triers The Worst Persona in the World had critics gushing over her.

The jury adjudged Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oes screenplay for the critics favourite Drive My Car, the formers screen adaptation of a Haruki Murakami short story of the same name.



The Jury Prize was shared by Nadav Lapids Aheds Knee and Apichatpong Weerasethakuls Memoria, by far

one of the best-reviewed films of the entire festival. agencies
Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday comfortably won a vote of confidence in the reinstated lower House of

Deuba, the 75-year-old chief of the Nepali Congress, secured 165 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives, the Himalayan Times reported.

As many as 249 lawmakers participated in the voting process and 83 of them voted against Deuba while one lawmaker remained neutral, it said.

A total of 136 votes were required for Deuba to win Parliament's confidence.

Deuba took the oath of office and secrecy on July 13 for a record fifth time, a day after a five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in five months.

The lower house was unconstitutionally dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari for the second time in five months on May 22 at the recommendation of then Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

Deuba won the vote of confidence on the first day of the restored House session.

The President had summoned the meeting of both the Houses of the on Sunday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Afghan leaders are in the Middle Eastern state of talking peace with the Taliban, whose leader on Sunday issued a statement saying the insurgent movement wants a political settlement to Afghanistan's decades of war.

Still, there are few signs of a political agreement on the horizon, as the battles over Afghan districts continue in dozens of provinces and in the cities there are thousands seeking visas to leave.

Most are frightened that the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops after nearly 20 years will plunge their war-ravaged nation into deeper chaos.

Militias with a brutal history have been resurrected to fight the but their loyalties are to their commanders, many of whom are U.S.-allied warlords, whose followings are often ethnic-based.

This has raised the specter of deepening divisions between Afghanistan's many ethnic groups. Most are ethnic Pashtuns and in the past there have been brutal reprisal killings by one ethnic group against another.

Meanwhile in his statement ahead of Tuesday's Eid al Adha Islamic holiday, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader, said the Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban called their government during their rule that ended with the U.S.-led coalition invasion in 2001, favoured a political settlement.

In spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate strenuously favours a political settlement in the country, and every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system, he said.

But there are no signs that either side has softened its position, even as the highest-level delegation ever sent by Kabul, headed by Abdullah Abdullah, the chief of the country's national reconciliation council, is in Doha to jumpstart peace negotiations that have lay dormant for months.

Akhunzada's statement refers repeatedly to the Islamic Emirate and yet that name is a source of contention. Earlier this year in Moscow the United States, Russia, China and Pakistan signed a joint statement saying they did not support a return to the Islamic Emirate and yet the Taliban have been steadfast in their refusal to accept the Islamic Republic as Afghanistan's name.

Akhunzada's statement referred to the imposition of an Islamic system without explaining what that meant and how that differed from the system of the Islamic Republic of

He promised to support education, but for girls he said the Islamic Emirate will . . . strive to create an appropriate environment for female education within the framework of sublime Islamic law.

He didn't say how that differed from the educational institutions that have been created over the last 20 years and whether women would be allowed the freedom to work outside their home and move freely without accompanied by a male relative.

He said the Taliban have ordered their commanders to treat civilians with care, to protect institutions and infrastructure, yet cases have emerged of schools being burned and women restricted to their homes and some government buildings even blown up.

The Taliban have denied reports of destruction by their commanders saying that the footage being shown is old and accuses the government of propaganda.

Meanwhile in Doha a first round of talks was held on Saturday, with a second round to start late Sunday afternoon.

Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is also in Doha and at a conference last week in Tashkent expressed a hope for a reduction in violence and possibly a three-day cease-fire over the Eid holidays.

With the U.S. withdrawal more than 95 per cent complete, Afghanistan's future seems mired in uncertainty.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
OPEC+ ministers agreed on Sunday to boost oil supply from August to cool prices which have climbed to 2-1/2 year highs as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The group, which includes countries and allies like Russia, crucially agreed new production allocations from May 2022 after Saudi Arabia and others agreed to a request from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that had threatened the plan.

"We are happy with the deal," UAE's Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui told a news conference. Saudi minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, refused to answer questions on how the compromise was reached.

OPEC+ last year cut production by a record 10 million barrels per day (bpd) amid a pandemic-induced slump in demand and collapsing prices. It has gradually reinstated some supply to leave it with a reduction of about 5.8 million bpd.

From August until December 2021 the group will increase supply by a further 2 million bpd or 0.4 million bpd a month, said in a statement.[O/R]

The group had agreed to extend their overall pact until the end of 2022 from an earlier planned date of April 2022, to leave more room for manoeuvre in case global recovery stalls due to new virus variants.

Whilst both Riyadh and the had been supportive of an immediate output boost, the had objected to the Saudi idea to extend the pact to December 2022 without getting a higher production quota.

To overcome the disagreement, OPEC+ agreed new output quotas for several members from May 2022, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait and Iraq.

The overall adjustment will add 1.63 million bpd to supply from May next year, according to Reuters calculations.

The will see its baseline production, from which cuts are being calculated, increase to 3.5 million bpd from May 2022 from today's 3.168 million.

Saudi and Russia will see their baselines rise to 11.5 million bpd each from the current 11 million. Iraq and Kuwait will see their baselines rise by 150,000 bpd each.

Prince Abdulaziz said Nigeria and Algeria could also see their baselines revised.

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova, Rania El Gamal, ALex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar, Vladimir Soldatkin and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Philippa Fletcher)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Ahead of a likely revamp of the unit in Punjab, 10 MLAs on Sunday issued a joint statement in support of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and urged the party high command not to let him down.

Seven legislators and three AAP MLAs who recently switched over to the ruling party also said Navjot Singh Sidhu was a celebrity and was no doubt an asset to the party but condemning and criticising his own party and government in public has only created a rift in the cadres and weakened it.

Singh and Sidhu have been at loggerheads over various issues. The statement came amid reports that Navjot Singh Sidhu is likely to be appointed as the state chief.

The joint statement was issued by Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on behalf of the 10 legislators.

Among the seven Congress legislators are Kuldeep Singh Vaid, Fatehjang Bajwa and Harminder Singh Gill.

Besides Khaira, two rebel AAP legislators who issued the statement are Jagdev Singh Kamalu and Pirmal Singh Khalsa. Three of them had switched over to the Congress in the month of June.

In the statement, the legislators urged the party high command not to "let down" Amarinder Singh, saying because of his unrelenting efforts, the party stands well entrenched in

They said there was no doubt that the appointment of Pradesh Congress Committee chief was the prerogative of the party high command but at the same time washing dirty linen in public has only decreased the party graph during the last couple of months.

They said that Singh commanded immense respect across different sections of the society in the state, particularly the farmers for whom he even endangered his chair as CM while passing the 2004 Termination of Waters Agreement Act.

Singh stood as a tall leader amongst the Sikhs because of his principled stand during testing times, they said in the statement.

They said Singh had to also face extreme vendetta at the hands of the Badal family, for filing corruption and disproportionate assets cases against them in his first tenure as chief minister.

The MLAs said since merely six months were left for the elections, pulling the party into the different directions will only harm its prospects in the 2022 polls.

They also supported the decision of Singh not to meet Sidhu until he publicly tenders an apology for his derogatory tweets against him.

They said Sidhu should tender a public apology, so that the party and government can function in tandem.

They said they hoped the party high command would take cognizance of their suggestions and would definitely keep in mind the status, contribution and background of Amarinder Singh while making vital decisions for the party.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the Monsoon session, leader on Sunday alleged that the government is attempting to use Parliament as the notice board instead of a forum for taking accountability.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "We want to use Parliament as the forum for the accountability of the government. And the government will try to use Parliament as the notice board. This is where the two differences are. We want to make sure government discusses the issues and not just give the information."

He said the government must take accountability for 'terrible mismanagement' regarding COVID management and vaccine policy.

"People are concerned about the COVID situation and terrible mismanagement by the government and the vaccination policy as people are lining up across the country at vaccination centres and there are not enough vaccines. This is a major issue at which the government has to be accountable," he stated.

Raising concerns about the economy, the MP said, "The second crucial area is the economy as GDP has been plunging down and has not gone so low in 30 years and unemployment has never been so high."

He further questioned the central government over its perspective on Afghanistan.

"Where is that (Afghanistan) country going at the moment and what is India's perspective on that? Our taxpayers' USD 3 billion is invested in Afghanistan. Is that all going to go down the drain as the Taliban coming back to power? These are important questions," emphasized

The MP further said the government needs to take the nation in confidence and reveal the status quo after Chinese aggression along LAC.

"China's refusal to disengage and withdraw to restore the status quo after 11 rounds of talks... The government needs to take the nation in confidence," added Tharoor.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament, 2021 will commence from Monday and continue till August 13.

The Opposition is gearing up to corner the BJP-led NDA government on a range of issues including price rise, increasing cost of diesel and petrol and issues related to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
OPEC and allied nations have agreed to eventually raise the production limits imposed on five countries, ending an earlier dispute sparked by the United Arab Emirates that roiled global energy prices
Rain continued to batter central China's Henan province Thursday, turning streets into rivers. In Xinxiang, flooding has caused overflows of seven midsize reservoirs, affecting over 470,000 residents as of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. In Zhengzhou, cars, roads and other infrastructure have been damaged. More heavy rain is expected in cities like Luoyang, Jiaozuo, Hebi, and Xinxiang of Henan, according to the Henan Meteorological Services

Jul 22, 2021 05:20 PM
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FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2020, file photo, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, attends a hearing of the Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Policy Committee in Gettysburg, Pa. Former President Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts. Mastriano, bolstered by support from top Republican candidates, has launched a push for a forensic investigation of the presidential election results, a review modeled on the widely-discredited process underway in Arizona. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
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Traffic moves along Highway 58 into Indian Beach Friday. Police in the Bogue Banks town report a 39% increase in speeding violations in recent months. (Mike Shutak photo)
An off-duty Hamilton County Sheriffs Office court officer was involved in a shooting incident near the 1900 block of Chestnut Street and sustained a gunshot during the incident on Saturday afternoon.

The off-duty Court Officer, Lauren McMillion, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and remains in stable condition at this time.

Chattanooga Police have charged Ms.

McMillion with aggravated assault and kidnapping along with one other individual in relation to the shooting.

Ms. McMillion has been placed on administrative leave as per HCSO policy pending the conclusion of both an internal investigation (HCSO) and criminal investigation.

The event is currently under investigation by the Chattanooga Police Department.

At approximately 3:40 p.m., Chattanooga Police responded to a person shot call. Upon arrival, police located an adult female with a gunshot wound inside the apartment building and an adult male, who was said to have shot her, outside the building.

The female was taken to a hospital by Hamilton County EMS with non-life threatening injuries.

The man who was believed to be the person who shot the female was detained along with two other adult males. He was not charged.

However, another individual at the scene, Stanley Asegbola, was also charged with aggravated assault and kidnapping

Investigators with the Violent Crimes Unit responded to conduct an investigation. During the course of the investigation, it was learned the male accused of the shooting did commit the act. It was also learned that the female accused that man of theft and she along with one of the other detained parties physically assaulted the man while both brandishing weapons.

It was learned that, during the assault, the court officer unholstered her loaded firearm and had it in her hand when the man who said he was in fear for his life disarmed then shot her with the weapon.

Asegbola was taken to Silverdale Detention Center. Warrants were obtained on the court officer.

Chattanooga Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call 423-698-2525 or submit a tip via the CPD Mobile App. You can remain anonymous.

John Wise, owner of The Henry, said the court officer was shot during a dispute with movers. He said she was moving into one of the lofts and the men were helping her move in.



He said the court officer accused the movers of taking her purse.

During an altercation, one of the movers shot the court officer in the rear end, Mr. Wise said.

He said she was taken to be checked at a hospital, but is alright.
In 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the NAACP met together to discuss ways to collaborate for the betterment of Gods children.

In June they announced three initiatives including the Churchs commitment to fund a $1 million scholarship per year for three years to be overseen by the United Negro College Fund, $250,000 for fellowship grants to Ghana to allow students from the USA to learn more about their heritage and $2 million per year for the next three years from the Church to help those in need in underprivileged areas of the United States, according to Church officials.

The announcement was made from the Church Administration Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah with the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints standing shoulder to shoulder with key leaders from the NAACP and UNCF. Attendees included NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson; Eris Sims, Chief of Staff; Wilbur Colom, Special Counsel; Yumeka Rushing, Chief Strategy Officer; and Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco and President of NAACP Branch in San Francisco.

UNCFs President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer Maurice E. Jenkins Jr., and Regional Development Director of San Francisco Monica Sudduth were also in attendance.

Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson said, We are honored to join with our dear friends from the NAACP and the UNCF to announce these goals and our shared vision. In 2019, President Nelson spoke at the NAACP 110thNational Convention in Detroit and, in 2020, he co-authored a national op-ed with NAACP leaders to address the intolerable sin of racism (see newsroomchurchofJesusChrist.org.

In Chattanooga, Stake President Jason Isaacson underscored the importance of these initiatives. Just before Juneteenth this year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the NAACP announced joint initiatives for academic and philanthropic purposes, President Isaacson said. This is huge, and it shows that church congregations and national organizations like the NAACP can work together to open doors to help many of Gods children. We are committed locally to work with sister organizations like the NAACP to bless those in our community who need help, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or religious affiliation.

Cooperation between the organizations is intended to be local, national and global in outreach.


A Stranger Things star is responsible for putting a modern-day fairytale into motion. Christian Bale wanted nothing to do with marriage, but then he met Winona Ryders assistant.

Bale is a megastar, probably best known for his role as Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy. Hes been acting since he was 13, and was most recently seen in Ford v Ferrari in 2019. With award nominations under his belt, the English actor is an A-list Hollywood star.

Ryder is, of course, one of the stars of Stranger Things, but she is also a household name. She is a Golden Globe winner who also has Academy Award nominations. While Edward Scissorhands wasnt her first acting role, it was arguably the one that launched her into stardom. Her role in Girl, Interrupted was critically acclaimed, and her role as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things has landed her award nominations.

Christian Bale and Winona Ryder became good friends on the set of Little Women

Christian Bale | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Ryder worked with Bale while filming Little Women. They became good friends during the filming of the movie, which was released in December 1994. While they each went on to careers that made them both household names, they have remained friends. Both are private people  as private as one can be as a Hollywood superstar  but Ryder once went on record calling Bale a best friend.

Ryder even introduced him to his future wife: her personal assistant.

Winona Ryders personal assistant became Christian Bales wife

Best Actor nominee for Vice Christian Bale and his wife Sibi Bale arrive for the 91st Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2019. | Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Sibi Blazic (now Bale) was working as Ryders personal assistant when she was introduced to Bale. She is far more than a personal assistant, though, as she has many and varied professional talents, including: model, actress, make-up artist, and, perhaps most interesting of all, a stunt woman. Bales wife is a talented stunt driver, who worked on many movies, including Ford v Ferrari, The Dark Knight Rises (she drove a police car chasing Bales Batman through the city), and George of the Jungle. In 2014, Bale told The Wall Street Journal, My wife terrifies me.

Sibi also has a degree in business from the University of Southern California and was a model featured in Face Forward, an inspirational book by makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin.

Christian Bale never wanted to get married until he met his wife

Bale and his wife have been married for just over 21 years now. They met only shortly before getting married in Las Vegas in January 2000, and are still going strong over two decades later. Interestingly, Bale never wanted to get married until he met Sibi. As the actor told The Sydney Morning Herald back in 2012:

Everyone was divorced in my family so I didnt have very healthy ideas about marriage. Then I met Sibi and suddenly it seemed a fantastic idea.

Bale called himself a softie while talking about his wife in 2017, telling Us Weekly at the time that shes probably the most strong woman Ive ever come across in my life. Like Bale, Sibi values her privacy, so he doesnt say much beyond lavishing praise upon her. The couple has two children: Emmaline was born in 2005 and Joseph was born in 2014. Bale has also gushed over his kids; he once said hed kill and die for them.

Ryder made it all possible by introducing Bale to her then-assistant. While both Bale and his wife are fiercely private, their relationship (at least from the outside) appears to be a modern-day fairytale.

RELATED: Christian Bale Starved Himself on Tuna and Apples for His Most Acclaimed Role
The Dexter reboot is coming this year. Fans have been clamoring for more information about how the revival will be different from the original, which characters are returning, and when the show will come back. For a while, Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter Morgan, was the only confirmed actor returning from the original series. Now, several cast members are returning.

Jennifer Carpenter | Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Dexter is bringing a lot of people back from the dead

Thrughout the shows seasons, there have been a lot of deaths. The main character is a serial killer, after all. The original finale ended with a few deaths, but the revival is nothing like the original.

We want this to not be Dexter Season 9, showrunner Clyde Phillips said on the TVs Top 5 podcast. Ten years, or however many years, have passed by the time this will air, and the show will reflect that time passage. So far as the ending of the show, this will have no resemblance to how the original finale was. Its a great opportunity to write a second finale.

This is an opportunity to make that right, Phillips said of the 2013 finale.

Who is Dexter bringing back from the dead?

In the original finale, fans were distraught when Dexter pulled the plug on his sister Debra Morgan. Unfortunately for Deb fans, her characters death wont be reversed in the reboot.

RELATED: Dexter: This Star Predicted Their Role in the Reboot 8 Years Ago

Were not undoing anything, Phillips said. Were not going to betray the audience and say, Whoops, that was all a dream. What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years.

But it was recently revealed that Jennifer Carpenter, who played Deb, will be coming back to the show in some capacity. She isnt the only character who will be coming back from the dead. The Trinity Killer was a vital character in season 4. He ended up killing Dexters wife Rita and was ultimately killed by Dexter. Actor John Lithgow, who played Trinity, recently revealed that he is coming back to the show.

As all Dexter fans know, we saw the end of the Trinity Killer, so that by definition means its a flashback, Lithgow told Deadline. It was just wonderful to rejoin that gangincluding Michael and Jennifer Carpenter and Clyde Phillips.

Has the show done this before?

This wont be the first time that Dexter has dealt with flashbacks. When viewers met Dexter in Season 1, his father, Harry, was already dead. However, throughout the show, viewers saw how Harry played a large role in helping Dexter navigate his serial killer impulses. Harry also appeared in the present tense of the show as Dexters conscious. Some fans believe that Deb may fill this role for her brother now that she is also dead.

Differences in the Dexter reboot

When viewers last left Dexter, he was living as a lumberjack in Oregon. But this new series picks up 10 years in the future and in a whole new location.

RELATED: Dexter: Could This Character Foreshadow Dexters Sons Gruesome Fate?

I learned that its completely different from [the original series]. Kind of like Perry Mason, its a reimagination, Lithgow told the outlet. They dont take it into a different era, but its in a different part of the world, a different part of the country, and a whole new cast of characters.

But there are all sorts of wonderful surprises and callbacks from the first few seasons, he shared.
The Duggar family has a number of courtship rules they abide by. One of these rules involves having a chaperone attend all premarital dates that take place between the two unmarried parties. Now, it looks like critics found evidence of Jana Duggar chaperoning for another famous family. Heres what they found.

(L-R) Jessa Duggar, Jinger Duggar, Jill Duggar, and Jana Duggar visit Extra at their New York studios | D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra

The Duggar familys courtship rules caused quite a stir when fans and critics originally caught wind of what goes on. The famous family views courting as dating with a purpose, with the end of the courtship hopefully resulting in marriage. And courting comes with stringent rules casually dating doesnt.

The main difference between courting and dating is setting boundaries for yourself so that you dont cross over those, Jill Duggar once explained.

The Duggar women have to ask their father, Jim Bob, for permission prior to entering a courtship with a man. Once Jim Bob approves, all dates are monitored by Jim Bob and Michelle. The couple cant hold hands, frontal hug, or kiss prior to marriage. Additionally, all conversations via text are monitored by the parents, and all dates require a chaperone to ensure nothing scandalous takes place. Typically, other younger family members chaperone the dates and then report back to Jim Bob and Michelle.

Jana Duggar says twin John-David would 'be great at finding' her a husband https://t.co/xiovTaOaK8 pic.twitter.com/4XMXSGzaJM  People (@people) March 30, 2016

Jana is 31 years old and still living with her parents. Now, it looks like Duggar family critics found evidence that Jana chaperoned Michael Bates courtship dates with Brandon Keilen. Michael and Brandon later married  so, its clear their courtship went well. Duggar family critics found photos of Jana next to Michael and Brandon on one of their first dates. The photos were originally posted to Brandons Instagram Stories.

Chaperoning grown-ups on their first date, a Reddit user observed. Oh, what a joy.

I never understood chaperoning, another critic noted. Theyre in public and well-known  its not like they could do anything without someone telling [their] parents.

Jana would be a fun chaperone, another noted. It could be way worse.

The Bates family is incredibly close with the Duggars, so it makes sense as to why Michael might choose Jana to attend one of her first dates. There were even courtship rumors suggesting Jana was courting Lawson Bates, though those rumors have since been put to rest.

Is Jana Duggar courting?

Jana Duggar Is Photographed in Public With Rumored Boyfriend Stephen Wissmann https://t.co/Mwe9xPZQP0  CafeMom (@cafemom) July 7, 2021

So, is Jana courting anyone now? While the Duggar family hasnt made any official announcements just yet, fans and critics alike claim theres evidence to suggest shes with a Nebraskan pilot by the name of Stephen Wissmann. The Wissmanns are also allegedly close with the Duggars.

Jana fueled courtship rumors as early as December 2020, as she was allegedly seen with the Wissmann family around Christmas. After that, fans allegedly spotted her with Stephen multiple times after. Even more recently, she was spotted at a Nebraskan truck stop.

Im from Nebraska and the Wissmanns live about 15-20 minutes away from me, another Reddit user posted. A few people that I sort of know commented on a post from Without a Crystal Ball that they saw Jana at a truck stop in Nebraska City.

Despite Counting Ons cancellation, were hopeful well get to hear more about if Janas dating or if she continues to chaperone dates for others.

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RELATED: Duggar Family Critics Think Jana Duggar Ditched Her Business, Arbor Acres
Characters on General Hospital get together for a variety of reasons that are not related to love. For Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) and Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), recent events got them believing it would be best to get engaged with one another.

However, Wright shared that romance could potentially develop between Carly and Jason, especially when they had been in love before.

Steve Burton and Laura Wright on General Hospital | ABC/Todd Wawrychuk

Why did Carly and Jason get engaged?

In December 2020, citizens of Port Charles believed Carlys husband, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), died after being on a collapsed bridge. However, Sonny later turned up in Nixon Falls, Pennsylvania, with memory loss. He currently goes by the name Mike and does not know about his history in Port Charles.

After Sonnys death, a rival gang made moves into Sonnys territory. As a result, Carly and Jason decided to get married in hopes of showing a united front. This hurt Jasons growing romance with Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud), but he is determined to do what is best for their families.

Laura Wright teases potential romance between Carly and Jason

Jason and Carly have a lot of explaining to do. Can they convince their family and friends to embrace their engagement?#GH is all-new and STARTS NOW on ABC! @1SteveBurton @lldubs pic.twitter.com/6snWX8bMxn  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) July 2, 2021

RELATED: General Hospital: Laura Wright Felt A Lot of Shame After Divorcing Her Ex-Husband

Some fans are no doubt wondering whether this will stay a marriage of necessity or develop into something more. Carly and Jason had a fling in the 1990s after Carly first moved to Port Charles. They remained friends afterward and continued to be extremely close, especially when Jason was working for Sonny.

According to Wright, there is a possibility for Carly and Jason to realize their long-hidden feelings for each other.

They dont go into it lightly, Wright said in a recent interview with TV Insider. What scares them both about this arrangement is the fear of their feelings that theyve always had for each other. That has turned into a friendship but was based on when they fell in love years ago, when Sarah Brown was playing Carly.

She also added that Carly and Jasons relationship is special because Carly has always been the one to accept Jason even when other people dont. Wright said, She just accepted and loved him for who he was, and I love that. I think thats so incredible.

Because Carly is still mourning Sonny and Jason is still in love with Britt, things could potentially become complicated for many people involved if Carly and Jason have romantic feelings for each other.

Sonny appears to be getting his memories back

Sonny found the wherewithal to get up and move, but he isn't out of the woods yet. #GH is all-new and starts RIGHT NOW on ABC! @MauriceBenard pic.twitter.com/9I0BojunFk  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) January 12, 2021

RELATED: General Hospital: Who Has the Higher Net Worth, Maurice Benard or Laura Wright?

Given the nature of soap operas, a lot of fans are aware that Sonny wont stay as Mike forever. Once he remembers his real identity, Sonny might try to reclaim his life in Port Charles.

Sonny has had a few moments in which his old memories seem to resurface. During recent episodes, this became quite clear when he heard Anna Devanes (Finola Hughes) voice and appeared to recognize it.

Perhaps it wont be long before he fully remembers who he is.
Legally Blonde is one of the quintessential comedy movies of the early 21st-century, and Reese Witherspoons funny, smart, and mesmerizing performance is a major reason why. The Oscar winner was a famous, not-quite-A-list celebrity when she put on Elle Woods designer shoes and gave a performance that still resonates today. To do so, she went to a city in California to see women like Elle out in the wild.

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde | Tracy Bennett/Getty Images

Legally Blonde shatters stereotypes

According to IMDb, Legally Blonde tells the story of a young woman named Elle Woods who decides to go to law school despite everyone around her telling her she is not cut out for it. Throughout the film, she is constantly treated as an object of lust and infatuation while her qualifications go to the wayside. This isnt meant to be one of the jokes, however. Underneath the ditzy, blonde exterior is a woman with ambitions.

In an old interview with ScreenSlam, Witherspoon explained how she got into character for the career-defining role. While the entire film may hinge on the fact that Elle Woods is a ditzy blonde, it actually tells the story of how that label only speaks about the way she walks and talks. When she isnt buying clothes and flaunting her own affluence, shes a smart, independent, and feisty presence that ultimately succeeds in showing her true value at Harvard Law.

What really attracted me to this part was that this character starts out being a kind of woman that you would kind of discount you wouldnt think, oh, shes so academic and intellectual  Here, she looks kind of silly dresses in silly clothes, and shes very blond, but she ultimately proved everybody wrong by winning the day and studying really hard and succeeding.

Getting into character

Anyone who has spent time around young women like Elle has likely seen those mannerisms. This is no mistake. Witherspoon did not want to play her as a caricature of dumb blondes. She wanted to use the same type of misdirection that Elle Woods does by acting like women who one may see out in the wild. As such, she went out and explored similar women in the wild. Witherspoon explained further:

I went to University of Southern California  I studied with the sorority girls I wouldnt and had dinner with them and went to their meetings and then I went to Loyola Law School and sat in on some Law School classes, and then I also did some research in Beverly Hills watching the women eating lunch and buying shoes and watching the way they walked and talked.

It worked. Legally Blonde was a massive hit, and Witherspoon became a household name. Now, two decades after Elle Woods went to Law School. Her adventures are set to continue with a second sequel due in 2022.

Whats next for Elle?

While Elle Woods already continued her journey in an ill-advised sequel not long after the 2001 originals release, nostalgia and Witherspoons lasting appeal have made the original as big as ever. As such, fans want to see what happens when Elle Woods is no longer the 21-year-old from the first film but a middle-aged career woman who had time to build her skills and further deconstruct the patriarchy.

According to IMDb, they will get their wish. Legally Blonde 3 is set to premiere in 2022 with Jamie Suk in the directors seat and The Offices Mindy Kaling penning the script with Dan Goor and Karen McCullah. While the quality remains to be seen, fans are looking forward to an update on the Elle Woods saga. Who knows? Maybe Witherspoon will do some more research out in the wild for it, too.

RELATED: Legally Blonde: The Ovester Joke Actually Happened Where the Real Elle Woods Went to Law School
A storm is taking over The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City as the drama between the housewives takes over social media. The Bravo reality series had already been getting a lot of attention as season 2 films due to Jen Shah being indicted for committing fraud. However, the new debacle involves Heather Gay and Mary Cosby after the latter posted an Instagram accusing the former of being a racist.

Heather Gay and Mary Cosby | Chad Kirkland/Bravo

Why did Mary Cosby block Heather Gay on Instagram?

The feud between Cosby and Gay seemingly started after fans noticed that the former had blocked the latter from Instagram. Getting questioned about their nascent disagreement prompted Cosby to post a statement regarding the status of her friendship with Gay. Cosby created a new post on her Instagram feed with a graphic explaining why she had blocked Gay on the digital platform.

If you want to know why I blocked Heather Gay is because heather Gay is a racist! the photo read. She admitted and owned it and she knows it! LETS SPEAK TRUTH!!

In the caption of the post, Cosby added, If you want my Truth ask me! I never did anything to #heather.. Shes a #karen. I dont tolerate haters.

Cosbys post was deleted but it was reposted by Queens of Bravo who also shared a video. The clip shows Gay in an interview being asked why Cosby had blocked her, to which she answered, Basically, I mean, I told her to f- off, and she blocked me.

Heather Gay and Mary Cosby | Gabe Ginsberg/Fred Hayes/Bravo

RELATED: Jen Shah: RHOSLC Season 2 Filming as Law Enforcement Swarmed Production to Arrest Star

Heather Gay supports Jen Shah in the middle of legal drama

Although Gay is seemingly not in a good place with Cosby, she has mended things with Shah. The latter and Gay fell out during the first season of the show due to them growing apart. However, in the middle of all the legal drama, Shah is facing, Gay says that shes supporting her friend. Many fans were concerned that the show would not tackle Shahs indictment but Gay confirmed Bravo cameras have been rolling.

It does feel like were 10 years into [the show], but were only [in the] second season, and everything plays out in real-time, Gay stated during an appearance on the So Bad Its Good with Ryan Bailey podcast. We are in it with her. We are going through it as friends, [and] as people who for the first time in [our] lives are public figures. And for the first time in [our] lives, we have to answer to not only [our] family and friends, but to a worldwide audience, and to also see [our] trials and struggles played out and subject to public opinion.

Jen Shah and Heather Gay | Chad Kirkland/Bravo

RELATED: RHOSLC Cast Shocked With Jen Shahs Fraud Charges as Star Feels Humiliated

The cable network has not confirmed when the second season of RHOSLC will air, but it should be sometime this year. Fans became enthralled with the freshman season of the series like never before. During the same interview, Gay teased that the second season has a little bit of everything.

It is all the five horsemen of drama. Youve got intrigue, and crime, and passion, and loyalty, and friendships all on the backdrop of Salt Lake City, Utah, Gay added.
The hit series The Last Kingdom has finished filming in Hungary for season 5, which will be the final season. Fans have recently been treated to photos of their favorite actors together and on the set.

Alexander Dreymon, who plays the main character, Uhtred, recently shared an image of himself with Arnas Fedaravicius, who plays Sihtric. Fans reacted to the post, and some have jokes.

Alexander Dreymon in The Last Kingdom | Joe Alblas/Netflix

Uhtred and Sihtric in The Last Kingdom

Uhtred is a Saxon who is supposed to be the Lord of Bebbanburg. He becomes a Dane after being adopted and raised as one, although he was originally taken as a slave. He finds himself caught between the worlds of the Saxons and the Danes, which gets more complicated as time goes on.

Sihtric is the son of Kjartan (Alexandre Willaume), born out of wedlock. Hes a warrior sworn to Uhtred, and alongside Finan (Mark Rowley), the three are as close as can be.

Alexander Dreymon (Uhtred) shared a photo with Arnas Fedaravicius (Sihtric)

Arnas Fedaravicius in The Last Kingdom | Adrienn Szabo/Netflix

RELATED: The Last Kingdom: The Major Questions That Need to Be Answered in Season 5

On June 16, both Dreymon and Fedaravicius shared a photo of the two of them. Arnas shared the image on Instagram first, and Alexander shared a cropped version on Instagram right after him on Instagram as well.

In the photo, Dreymon and Fedaravicius are dressed as Uhtred and Sihtric respectively in warrior attire. Dreymons head is facing to the side away from the camera, and Fedaravicius head is close to Dreymons face. It appears Fedaravicius has his tongue out right near Dreymons forehead, and its unclear exactly whats going on in the photo. They have dirt on their faces and hands, and Fedaravicius has what looks like blood on his face. They are also holding items in their hands as well. There is someone else in the shot off to the side too.

Dreymon tagged a number of accounts in the photo, as well as Fedaravicius and the official account for the series. He captioned the post on Instagram: We all have that one friend who just cant keep his tongue off your face.

Over 126,000 people liked Dreymons post, and over 1,900 people commented on it.

Fans react to the post

Fans have a lot of opinions about the post, and some have humorous jokes they added in the comments.

Looks like Sihtric cannot survive on stale bread and hard cheese, a fan added.

While another fan says hes just helping to clean Uhtreds wound.  Awww, just helping to clean your wound.  What a friend! they said.

How else is Uhtred supposed to clean his face? , a fan asked.

One fan joked that Sihtric could be delirious from the heat. Maybe hes delirious from the heat and thinks youre ice cream , they said.

Other fans had comments like, Sihtric licking your wounds? and Cant judge him .

Is the fake blood and dirt in your face so delicious??? , asked another fan in the comments.

While another fan says they cant blame him, adding an emoji, .

 lucky guy, said another fan.

Fans have a lot of opinions about the post, including jokes. Well have to see what else is shared before season 5 of The Last Kingdom finally premieres.
Ree Drummond is the host of The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network. The star is one of the most celebrated personalities on the cable network as shes been a mainstay since her show made its debut in 2011. Over 230 episodes later, Drummond continues to be a fan favorite. Comedian Remy Germinario has gone viral for doing a parody on Drummond and he recently met her at her ranch and fans couldnt get enough.

Ree Drummond | Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Hearst

Ree Drummond shares The Pioneer Woman parody

A television personality should learn how to laugh at oneself and Drummond is a highlight that she doesnt take herself too seriously. The Pioneer Woman star knows that over the years of hosting her cooking show she has made an impact with viewers. Fans pick up on the slightest things to poke fun of her  which she seemingly doesnt get upset about.

Germinario has been able to capitalize on his parodies of Drummond that she noticed him on social media. The entrepreneur invited Germinario to her ranch where they both made TikTok videos having fun impersonating the redhead. Drummond recently shared on Instagram bloopers from their filming day.

In case you need a chuckle today, here are some behind-the-scenes moments with [Remy Germinario] when he visited the ranch a couple of weeks ago, Drummond posted. We totally figured out our video on the fly, and we were all in, man.

The television personality said that the Oklahoma wind was a-blowin but was able to use it and make it work to their advantage.

Remys a gem, she continued. I think Ill call him Gemy! His collection of Food Network parodies will make ya laugh.

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummonds Nephew Caleb Arrested One Month After Accident

The Pioneer Woman fans react to the bloopers

Drummond and Germinario interacting while making the parody were hilarious and fans couldnt get enough. After fans watched the bloopers they posted comments making suggestions and giving feedback to the clip.

Remy better glue that wig down, a fan suggested.

Hes so good work him in on one of your shoots. That would be fun to watch! He could be your sou chef. (Did I spell that right?), a viewer said.

This is so funny! Thanks for sharing. You guys play off each other well. Loved the trying to get hair out of your faces, an Instagram user noted.

Its amazing hahaha thanks Ree for not being too cool, another fan added.

Silly, but cute. Ms. Ree, definitely looking quite sharp!! another viewer said.

Haha priceless! another Instagram user posted.

Germinario was also one of the fans that replied to Drummonds post reacting to his new Gemy nickname.

Aww, Im obsessed with GEMY, the comedian replied. Now I gotta come up with a cute nickname for you! you ARE a shooting star!

Ree Drummond | Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Hearst

RELATED: Ree Drummond and Ina Garten Both Revealed They Had No Idea How to Write Their First Cookbooks

Ree Drummond becomes a television star

Drummond is a household name now but back in 2006, she was a rising star. The Pioneer Woman started back in 2006 when Drummond started blogging on Typepad and naming her blog Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. Drummond got her start in television when she was made an appearance on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay back in 2010. The celebrity chef ended up beating Flay in a Thanksgiving face-off.

Food Network premiered The Pioneer Woman in August 2011 where Drummond makes home cook meals for her family and highlights her life living on the ranch. The Pioneer Woman airs Saturday mornings on the Food Network.
The format is familiar. Many coming-of-age shows follow the Wonder Years playbook. The basic structure is a show that follows a young member of an American family as they move through life, solving problems and learning how to navigate their changing world. There also may or may not be a narrator. The Wonder Years was one of the best examples of this format, and more than 30 years after it first aired, fans still remember it. According to TV Insider, there will be a reboot of the show premiering on ABC this fall.

The original The Wonder Years tackled tubulent times in everyday life

The cast of The Wonder Years reboot | Erika Doss/ABC via Getty Images

The new version of The Wonder Years is executive produced by Fred Savage, the star of the original show. Like the original, the reboot will feature a narrator, the esteemed Don Cheadle. In the original Wonder Years, a young Kevin Arnold (played by Savage) went through life in the 1960s and 70s, as an older Kevin Arnold narrated.

Most things about the Arnold family were excessively average. From the suburban backdrop to the middle-class status, the Arnold family was hardly unique. However, maybe that was the point. Kevin was just like every kid. His struggles were not unique, and that made him relatable. Meanwhile, the historical context of the show gave it depth. Although Kevin didnt seem to realize the importance of the events taking place around him, the tumultuousness of the decade was obvious to the viewer. The new Wonder Years will also have an important historical context.

The new Wonder Years takes place in 1960s Alabama

The new Wonder Years is setting itself up to be similar to the first in many ways. The format will be the same, as both shows follow a young American boy. The new version has Dean to the previous versions Kevin. However, this new The Wonder Years has a twist. In this version, the family will be Black. The patriarch will be played by Psych superstar Dule Hill, while Scandals Saycon Sengbloh has the role of matriarch.

By placing a Black family in the deep South, Savage seems to be setting up the show to tackle some deep issues. While the historical context of the original Wonder Years rarely touched Kevin personally, racism in the South would have inevitably affected Dean in the 1960s. After all, segregation was still gasping its death rattle at the time. Unfortunately, History claims that the official end of segregation didnt come until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Like Kevin, Dean is just an average kid, but the world will react to him differently if the show is historically accurate.

Fans hope the reboot wont pull punches

Black The Wonder Years with Dule Hill? Uh yes. Yes please. I will take two.  Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) July 7, 2021

Fan reactions to the announcement of the reboot were mixed, according to Alabama Life & Culture. There was excitement, sure. However, some fans are nervous that the show wont be able to capture the gravity of those years or that the suffering of the new Wonder Years family will be too traumatic to watch. As one Twitter user wrote, Black people are not trying to watch 1960s Alabama terrorize a black family.

Others are downright excited, especially because of the cast. Imani Gandy wrote Black The Wonder Years with Dule Hill? Uh yes. Yes, please. I will take two. And there is a lot to be excited about with this show.

It isnt groundbreaking. After all, it is a reboot. As one Twitter user noted, it isnt even really the first Black Wonder Years. Chris Rocks Everyone Hates Chris followed the format to a tee and aired in the early 2000s. But if Savage and his team get it right, this new version of The Wonder Years could be even better than the original.

RELATED: The Wonder Years: Another Actor Originally Voiced Adult Kevin Instead of Daniel Stern
World Relief urges Congress to act on immigration reform after judge blocks DACA, declaring it illegal

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A Christian humanitarian organization has denounced a recent ruling by a Texas federal judge that prohibits new applications from being filed for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that protects some people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children from being deported.

The ruling only applies to future DACA applicants and doesn't affect anyone who has already applied for the program.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued an order on Friday ordering the Biden administration to halt granting new applications for the DACA program.

World Relief, a Christian humanitarian group that has helped file over 4,300 DACA applications, released a statement on the same day calling the decision devastating to Dreamers.

This new decision is devastating for these resilient young people, and for their families, churches, communities and employers, stated World Relief President Scott Arbeiter.

Congress should not wait for further court decisions: they must act immediately to finally pass legislation that the significant majority of Americans. Including the majority of evangelical Christians, say they support, he added.

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order allowing those who were children at the time they were illegally brought into the country to apply for a temporary two-year status that authorizes them to work. The protection lasts for two years at a time and is renewable.

At the time it was enacted, Obama stressed: "this is not amnesty ... this is not a path to citizenship, it's not a permanent fix ..."

DACA was initially intended to apply to some 700,000 people who were children when they were brought to the U.S. illegally and had to be younger than age 31 by June 15, 2012.

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, released a statement on Saturday expressing his desire that Congress pass a law to rectify the issue.

"Americas endless string of broken promises to our Dreamers lays entirely at the feet of one branch of the United States government: Congress," Rodriguez stressed.

"It isnt for our presidents, judges or justices to make our laws. Congress must do that. Inaction in a Democrat-controlled Congress is equally reprehensible as inaction by a Republican-controlled Congress. Both lead to gross injustice."

World Relief Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy Jenny Yang called the decision heartbreaking, but hoped it would create the pressure to finally persuade Congress that they need to act.

The House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan bill that would resolve this situation once and for all, and I pray that the Senate will quickly debate and pass legislation in the coming days that can ultimately be sent to the presidents desk to be signed into law, stated Yang.

President Joe Biden, who served as vice president when the Obama administration created DACA in 2012, released a statement on Saturday calling the decision deeply disappointing.

While the courts order does not now affect current DACA recipients, this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of young immigrants to an uncertain future, said the president.

The Department of Justice intends to appeal this decision in order to preserve and fortify DACA. And, as the court recognized, the Department of Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule concerning DACA in the near future.

Echoing World Relief and Rodriguez, Biden called on Congress to ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve.

I have repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, and I now renew that call with the greatest urgency, he added.

In 2017, the Trump administration announced that it intended to end the DACA program. Then-President Donald Trump said at the time he planned to do away with the program to push Congress to come up with a legislative fix, but Congress did not act.

Then U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions argued that there were valid legal concerns about the DACA program.

This policy was implemented unilaterally to great controversy and legal concern after Congress rejected legislative proposals to extend similar benefits on numerous occasions to this same group of illegal aliens, said Sessions at a press briefing at the time.

Such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.

Multiple lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration over the attempted removal of DACA, with U.S. District Judge William Alsup blocking the effort in January 2018.

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration cannot end the temporary DACA program, as it had planned. The majority concluding that the administration failed to follow the proper procedural requirements when doing so.

Trumps plan to rescind DACA drew the ire of those on the political left and some evangelical Christian leaders. They argued that immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children, most of whom know no other home since they grew up in the U.S., should not be punished for the actions of their parents.

In 2018, the Trump administration released a proposal to provide a pathway for citizenship to up to 1.8 million young immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, including DACA recipients, in exchange for $25 million toward the border wall and other changes to the immigration system. That plan, however, was opposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Postcard from an old Russian colonial outpost

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Alaska offers more than the stereotypical experiences associated with the states Last Frontier moniker.

This includes one of the most fascinating chapters in American history: the period when the 49th state was part of Russian America. Not only is this history fascinating, but imperial Russias ambitions in the New World is one of the least-known chapters in the collective history of the United States.

Sure, most of us probably know about the 13 Colonies, though even this is increasingly whitewashed and outright canceled by the wokists. Some may even know about New France or the Spanish (and later Mexican) settlements across the Southwest. Far fewer know the czars had outposts in present-day Alaska, California and even Hawaii.

I learned just about everything I was never taught in school during a recent visit to Sitka, which is located along the Inside Passage in southeastern Alaska.

Under the Russians between 1799 and 1867, this town of 8,881 at the last census was called New Archangel and served as the colonial capital until the United States purchased Alaska in 1867. Originally ridiculed as Sewards Folly  William Seward, secretary of state under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, oversaw the acquisition  it ended up being one of the all-time greatest speculative real estate transactions. The cost? $7.2 million or about 2 cents per acre.

I set out on my own after getting a lay of the land from local guide Bob Purvis during a two-hour walking tour. My first stop was the Sitka History Museum within Harrigan Centennial Hall, a community center-cum-convention space overlooking the harbor.

The museums comprehensive collection punches well above its weight by covering everything from indigenous Tlingit Indians and Russian America through Alaskan statehood in 1959. Among the numerous objects displayed are period artifacts, including those associated with the Russian Orthodox church.

While Russia primarily treated Alaska as a commercial enterprise, the state church had a greater impact by propagating the faith once delivered to the Tlingits.

The best example of the churchs lasting witness is the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel (Orthodox Church in America), which towers over the quaint downtown. What stands today is an exact re-creation of the 1800s edifice that was destroyed by fire in 1966. The typically Orthodox ornate interior does, however, contain some of the original fabric, including the iconostasis screen separating the nave from the altar in the sanctuary and the bishops throne. These were saved from destruction through heroic actions of the faithful.

Directly across the street is the Sitka Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) with its hideous architecture reminiscent of a concrete parking garage. Founded in 1840 by Russias Swedo-Finnish governor for the Finnish and Swedish laborers employed by the Russian-American Company, this is Alaskas oldest Protestant church. Also destroyed by the 1966 fire, the modern churchs narthex contains several exhibits and artifacts. Sunday services also utilize the original organ and pulpit.

A short walk away on a small knoll is a reconstructed blockhouse typical of the Russian fortifications that once encircled Sitka. In the adjoining lot at what was the entrance to a chapel for the Tlingits is the grave of Jacob Netsvetov, the first indigenous Alaskan ordained to the Orthodox priesthood and, since 1994, a canonized saint in the Orthodox Church in America. Across the street at the Lutheran cemetery is the final resting place of a princess, the first wife of Prince Maksoutoff (or Maksutov), the czars last governor.

On the other side of town is the Russian Bishops House. Part of the Sitka National Historical Park, this is a rare example of a surviving Russian colonial building. Used by the Russian Orthodox Church until 1969, the former episcopal palace has been carefully restored by the National Park Service to how it would have looked around 1853.

Back downtown is Castle Hill. What looks like an ordinary park, albeit one with commanding views of the Sitka Channel, is the Baranof Castle State Historic Site. It was here where the American flag was first raised on Oct. 18, 1867. The transfer ceremony, which included a few hundred soldiers from the armies of both countries, occurred on a parade ground in front of Maksoutoffs official residence.

If you go

I highly recommend a private tour from Jeff Budd. He takes visitors to Russias 1799 settlement on the outskirts of Sitka at Starrigavan Bay. Also worth visiting is the Sheldon Jackson Museum, originally part of a Presbyterian residential school.

Stay at the Sitka Hotel on Lincoln Street (main street in all but name). Everything to do and see is within walking distance. Importantly, rooms are clean and well-appointed.

Eat at Ludvigs Bistro, Beak or Mangiare, the hotel restaurant.

Sitkas airport is primarily served by Alaska Airlines. Additional seasonal service to and from Seattle is provided by Delta Air Lines.

Follow @dennislennox on Instagram and Twitter.
This week in Christian history: Great Schism, Pentecostal leader exonerated

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Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people.

The following pages highlight events that happened this week in Christian history. They include a pioneering Pentecostal leader being cleared of a sodomy charge, the finalizing of the Great Schism, and a Medieval archbishop accuses pope of misconduct.
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While at the grocery store this week, a woman was ahead of me in the checkout line using the word, Mother F&*#@%. To the left of me, in another line, was a different woman on her cell phone. I could overhear her saying to someone, F&$# this, and F*#@ that. I felt that I was drowning in a cesspool of profanity.

Recently, my wife said she was in the checkout line at Walmart, and a man was using such language without any inhibitions. Not being the kind of person to hold back, Kim said to him, Sir, would you please not use that language? There are children present. To which the man defiantly replied, No! His companion then backhanded him on the arm and said to, Cut it out. That was the end of it.

Someone says, Well, its no big deal. The F-bomb is just a word. No, it isnt. Outside of using the Lords name in vain, its one of the foulest words in human discourse. It takes something sacred, the most intimate act of human bonding (sex between a married couple, man and wife), lowers it to a lewd act of fornication, and then inappropriately applies it to expressions of frustration, anger, confusion, disillusionment, malice, etc. Typically, whenever employed, its used senselessly. Its just a filthy, nasty, dirty word, which makes for a coarse existence.

Except for one point, I agree with Bob Greene of the Field Newspaper Syndicate, who once wrote about swearing in our society. He said:

Obscenity, the open use of which used to be a mark of lower social strata, has somehow become acceptableAnd yet, I am offended  not out of a sense of morality or prudishness  but because foul language use casually in public comes close to the idea of a violation of privacy. I know that there are some around who feel assaulted by itcertain language is an assault on the senses. Those who disagree are probably saying, after all, its only words. But words are vehicles; they convey messages. And to some people, the use of profanity is a message of ugliness and aggressiveness, and a disrespect for civil behavior. This practice is usually defended under the name of freedom. But whose freedom is it? If the language of ugliness becomes so much a part of our society that it is impossible to escape no matter where one turns, then who is really free and who isnt?

Where do I disagree with Greene? He said he wasnt offended out of a sense of morality. It is a matter of morality. Jesus indicated that filthy talk is indicative of the need for a heart cleansing. He said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45).

Do you need to ask Christ into your heart to clean up the filth coming out of your mouth? The heart can be like a septic tank spilling over or bubbling up into our speech.

A 1970 New York Profile reported that the late Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame used to be well known for his swearing. I used to cuss the prettiest youve ever heard, he once admitted. But various other sources say he overcame it after he accepted Christ into his heart.

To qualify whats been said here, it should be noted that Christians sometimes slip up and curse too. You can be sure whenever a Christian does this, he or she is not following the Lord closely at that moment.

One time I was in an office building, and a secretary had a sign on her desk that read, I love Jesus, but I cuss a bit. I guess she thought a little profanity now and then was kind of cute, but it isnt. The fact is, cursing is sinful!

The Bible admonishes, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers (Ephesians 4:29).

We should take the use of unseemly language seriously. The Scriptures instruct a sinning believer, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

Lets review. A filthy mouth is indicative of a foul heart. Using profanity, regardless of those who suggest otherwise or the excuses made for it, is no small thing. It makes for a vulgar, loutish, crass life and culture. Christ can deliver us from the power of such sins by regenerating our hearts. Profane words should especially never be in the mouth of a believer. But when it does happen, the follower of Christ should take it seriously, confess it as sin, and trust the Lord to forgive and take it away.

These days its almost impossible to escape the hearing of some potty-mouth. A verbal sewer and its pervasive stench permeate the air. Sadly, our society has been lowered to this. Nevertheless, it shouldnt ever come from you and me. To paraphrase Colossians 4:6, Our conversation always needs to be full of grace, tasty, and delightful to people who hear us.
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Both curious and caring pastors ask about members and staff. Both curious and caring pastors inquire about those who are not acting normally. An illness, family issue, or work-related problem should raise a leaders level of awareness about a particular individual.

Both the curious leader and the caring leader exhibit good management skills when inquiring about followers experiencing difficulties. All leaders should ask about followers. Ignorance derived from apathy is not only poor leadership, but its also how you become a lousy person. So what is the difference between a caring inquiry and a curious inquiry? And why is it better to be caring?

Leaders in large organizationsand leaders in churches over a couple hundred peoplecannot possibly care for each individual. The issue is not whether a leader personally invests care in each person but rather the default posture and tone of that leader.

Caring leaders desire to serve followers. Curious leaders desire information about a subordinate. The difference between care and curiosity is service. The caring pastor asks about a struggling staff person to understand how better to serve him. The curious pastor asks about a staff member to understand what work she might not finish. One cares about the individual. The other is concerned about organizational output.

There is a genuine and authentic burden that caring leaders feel for followers. Curious leaders are not necessarily inauthentic, but they simply want to know what is taking place. Its the difference between How can I help? and Give me information so I can make a decision.

Caring leaders track follower performance to help them improve. Curious leaders track follower performance to make operational decisions. I believe curiosity is a must-have leadership trait. And all leaders should maintain a high level of curiosity about their organizations. Pastorseven those with long-term tenuresmust continue to ask questions. Curiosity drives creativity and informed decisions. Leaders without curiosity rarely learn from failure. Curiosity is important. And most curious leaders do care. But a caring leader, at the core, has a heightened level of concern for each individual.

Good leaders care both for the organization and the individuals in that organization. Even if leaders cannot invest care in each individual, they can still have a default posture of serving. Such is the burden of a caring leader and a caring pastor.

Originally published at Church Answers
Children should be seen as a blessing not an environmental burden, Jim Daly says in response to Sussexes award

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Children should be seen as a blessing and not a burden on the environment, says Jim Daly of Focus on the Family in response to a group that awarded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, among others, for committing to have no more than two children or none at all.

On World Population Day, the London-based group Population Matters, which pushes for abortion rights and population control, awarded the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with the Change Champions award for "choosing and publicly declaring their intention to limit their family to two" and " ... for taking this enlightened decision, and for affirming that a smaller family is also a happy family."

The group also awarded five other individuals and three groups for "promoting reproductive rights, defending the environment and enlightening the public."

Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, a Chrisitan and socially conservative public policy organization, told The Christian Post in an emailed statement on Friday that parents shouldn't view their children from a secular lens that demeans humanity.

Family formation is a very personal decision between husbands and wives. We believe strongly that children are not a burden on the environment, but a blessing on so many levels, Daly said.

My wife and I also had only two children  should we get an award too? But my greatest regret is that we didnt have more  a truth which makes our two boys smile, he added.

Each of the nine winners of the Population Matters award was given a "uniquely designed" award and about $690 (500) to donate to a cause of their choice.

Two months after the Sussexes' first child was born, Harry interviewed primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall for Vogue magazine where they discussed the environment, responsibility and climate change.

It was during that interview when he publicly expressed his desire to have no more than two children in order to leave something better for the next generation.

... But Ive always wanted to try and ensure that, even before having a child and hoping to have children, the prince said.

Not too many! [Laughs], Goodall replied.

Two, maximum! But Ive always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation, Harry said in the interview.

Population Matters claims that when people in high-consuming countries like the U.K. have bigger families, there is a hugely disproportionate effect on the planet due to the amount of emissions consumed and produced.

While the group awarded the Sussexes for publicly drawing the connection between family size and the environment, and the hope that the attention they bring will contribute to "a long term discussion about family size, they criticized the couple's own impact on the environment.

Harry and Meghan have been frequently criticized for their extensive travel on private jets while advising the public to reduce their carbon footprint. In response to the criticism, Harry previously said he has unique circumstances," and private travel across the globe is essential to "ensure that my family are safe.

Population Matters reiterated that the award is a reflection of something very positive they have done, not an endorsement of some of their other choices.

When probably the most famous couple in the world say they choose to stop at two, they help to popularize and normalize that choice, Population Matters said in a statement. "We know in the U.K., for instance, that about a quarter of all people want to have more than two children. Everyone is entitled and has a right to the family size they choose, and that should never be limited by anyone else.

The award is not for having two children, it is for publicly stating that they are limiting their family to two children, and identifying the environment as one of the factors in that decision, the group added. In so doing, they have stimulated a much needed debate on this subject.

The couple, who married on May 19, 2018, have a son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on May 6, 2019, and a newborn daughter, Lilibet Lili Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on June 4.
Evangelical Leaders Launch Prayer Campaign for Dreamers; Urge Congress to Act as DACA Expires

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The Evangelical Immigration Table is calling on Christians to pray for those affected by the expiration of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

On Monday, the DACA program expired, six months after the Trump administration had announced that they were ending the program in the expectation that Congress enact legislation to help the children of illegal immigrants, known as Dreamers.

In a statement released the same day as the expiration date, evangelical leaders belonging to the Table called for prayer, and action from Congress, to pass DACA legislation.

"While court decisions have allowed many DACA beneficiaries to file for renewal of their work authorization and protection from deportation, thousands still could lose their protections because renewal applications take several weeks or even months to process," stated the EIT.

"The result: Law-abiding employers would be required to lay off employees, and Dreamers and their families would face a sudden disruption of income and the risk of deportation."

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and member of EIT, said in a statement that there is "absolutely zero excuse for failing to provide a solution for Dreamers."

"Every week that Congress does not act, men and women created in the image of God will lose legal protections and work authorization. Families will face the risk of being torn apart," stated Moore.

"Let's pray for and petition our elected leaders to find a way forward from this totally avoidable crisis and for our churches as they care for our neighbors in this new stage of uncertainty."

Other EIT leaders urging action include, Leith Anderson, president of National Association of Evangelicals, Scott Arbeiter, president of World Relief, and Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

The call to prayer and action comes as a federal judge in Maryland rejected a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's decision to let DACA expire.

Trump reacted to the decision on Twitter.

"Federal Judge in Maryland has just ruled that 'President Trump has the right to end DACA.' President Obama had 8 years to fix this problem, and didn't. I am waiting for the Dems, they are running for the hills," tweeted President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning.

President Trump also blamed Democrats in Congress in an earlier tweet posted Tuesday morning for the failure to have DACA legislation come to his desk.

Last September, the Trump administration announced that they were rescinding the Obama-era DACA program, which temporarily protected immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally when they were children.

In a statement read to the press, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA was being "rescinded" as it was viewed as an unlawful unilateral action on the part of the previous administration.

The full rescinding of DACA was given a six-month delay so that Congress could pass legislation on behalf of Dreamers who were threatened with deportation once the program was gone.

In January, President Trump proposed granting a path to citizenship for approximately 1.8 million undocumented youth in return to funding the border wall and other stricter security measures.

The proposal was met with fierce opposition from Congressional Democrats including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois.

"It would be far cheaper to erect a 50-foot concrete statue of a middle finger and point it towards Latin America," stated Rep. Gutierrez, as quoted by The Washington Post.

"... because both a wall and the statue would be equally offensive and equally ineffective, and both would express Trump's deeply held suspicion of Latinos."

Also in January, a federal judge in California issued a temporary block to the administration's ending of DACA, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security's "decision to rescind DACA was based on a flawed legal premise."

While this means that DACA recipients who did not renew their status by last year's deadline will have a chance to submit a renewal application, new applications cannot be submitted.

Last week, the United States Supreme Court declined to fast track an appeal to the California decision, deciding it has to go through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals first.

For their part, evangelical leaders held press conferences on Capitol Hill with members of Congress in January and February urging action and striking an optimistic tone on the passage of a DACA bill.

"The president wants to make this happen," stated the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and member of EIT, at the January press conference.

"He wants to make this happen. He's a grandfather and a father. He has expressed that to me personally in the White House: 'I don't want to harm these kids. I want to make this happen.'"
Supreme Court blocks Trump from rescinding DACA; DHS sec. calls ruling a 'double standard'

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot proceed with its plans to end a temporary program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

In a 5-4 ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal justices, the nations high court blocked the Trump administration from carrying out a plan it first announced in 2017 to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The DACA program was enacted in 2012 by the Obama administration to allow young immigrants brought to the country as children to apply for a temporary status that protects them from deportation and authorizes them to work in the country.

The program gave the Department of Homeland Security the ability to exercise prosecutorial discretion to defer deportation for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally while they were 18 or younger and have lived in the U.S. since 2007.

The program has allowed over 700,000 people to remain in the country but does not give them lawful status.

Rescinding the DACA program was a promise that Trump made during his 2016 presidential campaign. However, the court ruled that how the administration went about rescinding the program was arbitrary and capricious as well as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

In the majority opinion, Roberts wrote that the ruling does not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies. Rather, the decision is rooted in whether the DHS complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.

Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients, the opinion reads. That dual failure raises doubts about whether the agency appreciated the scope of its discretion or exercised that discretion in a reasonable manner. The appropriate recourse is therefore to remand to DHS so that it may consider the problem anew.

The administration argued that the DACA program went above and beyond the authority of the president because it enacted unilaterally.

Two memorandums were issued by successive DHS secretaries in 2017 and 2018. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the explanations offered were insufficient under the APAs arbitrary-and-capricious standard.

In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the DHS under the Obama administration was required to observe the procedures set out in the APA if it wanted to promulgate a legislative rule, and it is undisputed that the DHS did not do so.

It provided no opportunity for interested parties to submit comments regarding the effect that the programs dramatic and very significant change in immigration law would have on various aspects of society, Thomas wrote.

It provided no discussion of economic considerations or national security interests. Nor did it provide any substantial policy justifications for treating young people brought to this country differently from other classes of aliens who have lived in the country without incident for many years. And, it did not invoke any law authorizing DHS to create such a program beyond its inexplicable assertion that DACA was consistent with existing law. Because DHS failed to engage in the statutorily mandated process, DACA never gained status as a legally binding regulation that could impose duties or obligations on third parties.

In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito contends that the high court did not actually resolve the question of DACAs rescission.

Instead, it tells the Department of Homeland Security to go back and try again, Alito wrote. What this means is that the Federal Judiciary, without holding that DACA cannot be rescinded, has prevented that from occurring during an entire Presidential term. Our constitutional system is not supposed to work that way.

Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to voice his displeasure with the ruling. The ruling comes just days after the Supreme Court dealt the administration another blow by ruling that federal civil rights law protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination.

These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives, Trump wrote. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!

Acting Secretary of the Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli called the decision a double standard and outrageous.

Supreme Court says all any President needs is a pen and a phone? Cuccinelli wrote in a tweet. Does anyone think theyd let @realDonaldTrump just make up laws on sticky notes like @BarackObama???

Trumps plan to rescind DACA drew the ire of not only those on the political left but also some evangelical Christian leaders, including those within the National Association of Evangelicals and the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

They argue that immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, most of whom know no other home since they grew up in the U.S., should not be punished for the actions of their parents.

Todays Supreme Court decision gives a much-needed reprieve to the many DACA recipients in our churches and communities who have been stuck in legal limbo waiting for our nation to recognize that America is their rightful home, Rodriguez, who prayed at Trumps inauguration in 2017, said in a statement responding to the ruling.

I celebrate this victory with these young men and women and their families. They are a blessing, not a curse, to our nation.



As evangelical leaders have called for restitution-based immigration reform that provides a pathway for immigrants residing in the United States to be granted legal permanent residency, Rodriguez stressed that the country cant lose sight of whats really not working here.

[T]his was the job of Congress, not the executive or judicial branch, he said. Its time for Congress to do their job and to fix our broken immigration system. Congress must stop passing that responsibility to the other branches of government. Congress could have achieved this on at least three occasions over the last three years and on each occasion they opted for political expediency over justice.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, responded to the ruling in a statement explaining that "Dreamers are not an abstraction."

"They are people created in the image of God, who were brought here as children by their parents. Their entire lives are at stake right now," Moore stressed. "This Supreme Court decision might address an immediate question of administrative law, but it does not, ultimately, protect our vulnerable neighbors."

"There is no sending these people back  in many cases they have no memory at all of the land of their parents' origin," he added. "Those who have lived as good neighbors, contributed so greatly to our country, should be protected from the constant threat of having their lives upended."

Moore and other evangelical leaders affiliated with the Evangelical Immigration Table signed onto a letter sent to Congressional leaders Thursday following the ruling urging them to permanently resolve the situation for Dreamers.

On Twitter, former President Barack Obama praised the courts decision.

Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation, he wrote, before urging followers to vote for his vice president, Joe Biden, for president this November. Today, I'm happy for them, their families, and all of us.
Faith groups launch curriculum to help churches combat idolatrous Christian nationalism

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Faith-based advocacy organizations have launched a curriculum aimed at helping evangelical pastors combat Christian nationalism within their congregations.

Christians Against Christian Nationalism, Vote Common Good and Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty announced the creation of the three-lesson curriculum last week.

According to a statement, the curriculum defines Christian nationalism as a framework of thinking that seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and Americas constitutional democracy.

Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director Amanda Tyler told The Christian Post that the curriculum was created in response to a webinar in January that CACN hosted titled Democracy and Faith Under Siege: Responding to Christian Nationalism. CACN was launched in 2019 by the Baptist Joint Committee.

Christians Against Christian Nationalism received many requests from pastors and lay leaders for additional resources to use with their congregations to better understand and respond to Christian nationalism in their communities and churches, said Tyler.

We developed the curriculum this spring and released it this summer as churches are planning their fall activities, many returning to in-person programming.

Tyler believes Christian nationalism is at odds with the core tenet of Christianity  that is, that Jesus Chris is Lord and is pervasive throughout American society.

Christian nationalism demands ultimate loyalty to political power rather than God. And therefore can become idolatrous, she continued.

The curriculum relies on Biblical passages and core Christian theology to differentiate the Christian religion and tenets of Christianity from the ideology of Christian nationalism.

Tyler hopes that churches that use the curriculum will learn a basic understanding of what Christian nationalism is and how racism feeds into Christian nationalism and ways to respond to Christian nationalism that are grounded in Scripture and Christian understanding.

Content for the curriculum is free to download on the CACN website and includes discussion questions for video clips tied to the January webinar.

Panelists involved in the webinar included Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, head of The Episcopal Church; Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Andrew Whitehead, associate professor of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

According to the groups, dozens of evangelical pastors have already agreed to use the curriculum for their congregations, with Vote Common Good planning various means of expanding that number.

Vote Common Good is a progressive evangelical grassroots organization that held rallies during the 2020 presidential election encouraging Christians not to vote for former President Donald Trump.

Vote Common Good plans to get the curriculum in front of evangelical pastors through educational pamphlets, outreach to Christian schools and more, Vote Common Good Executive Director Doug Pagitt, a Minnesota pastor, said in a statement emailed to CP.

 we are also considering paid ads, and will tap into our growing network of Pastors and Christian leaders nationwide to push for its implementation.

One of the pastors planning to utilize the curriculum is the Rev. Michael Mills of Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. His congregation has been a longtime supporter of the Baptist Joint Committee, an education and advocacy organization supported by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and over a dozen other Baptist organizations.

Mills told CP that his church wanted a way to better talk about "the merging of a Christian and an American identity," believing that the curriculum "equips our people with the tools to identify it when we see it and to know how to talk about it with others."

"Because we are not a large congregation, we can gather as one to work through the curriculum and discuss it," he explained. "This enables us to have the same conversation, to hear from and learn from one another, and to share a common experience."



While many evangelical leaders have condemned Christian nationalism, others have expressed concern that the term is used to bash conservative Christians.

In a column by John Stonestreet and Timothy D. Padgett published by CP in January, the two authors argued that Christian nationalism is used as a scare label to dismiss any policy or person more conservative than whoever is using the term.

They pointed to a recent article by the United Kingdom-based publication The Guardian quoting experts saying proposed pro-life legislation was Christian nationalist in nature.

As seen in The Guardian, were all but guaranteed for the near future that anything vaguely traditional or moral, and any appeal to anything higher than the latest cultural fad, will be smeared with this label. Its silly. Even more, its dangerous, they wrote.

Even so, Christians must not abandon the public square just because people say mean things about us.

Professor and author Owen Strachen wrote a column published earlier this month in which he critiqued critics' concern that "a militantly racist body of extremist 'white' fundamentalists waits just beyond the city gates to take back America." He called the idea "downright silly."

"... supporting conservative politicians does not make you .... a 'white Christian nationalist.' Over and over, Christians who want their country to flourish have been labeled in such terms for voting for candidates of a Republican or conservative bent," wrote Strachen.

"The vast majority of Christians I know supported such candidates in past days because they are ardently pro-life, pro-religious liberty, anti-big government, anti-progressive agenda, and pro-free market. They do not have anything close to an evil vision of America that would ruin the lives of people of color. Nor do they wish to impose a ferocious theocracy on any who dare disagree with them. Instead, they want people of all kinds to be free, prosperous and able to worship God."

Regarding the criticism leveled by some, Pastor Mills of Agape Baptist told CP that "whenever the Church has become cozy with the state, things have not gone well for the Church."

"In our present context, those that seek to promote and benefit from Christian nationalism have targeted socially conservative Christians," said Mills.

"I believe there is a legitimate pathway to adhere to conservative values without the heavy hand of the state being involved. That pathway needs to be recovered, or socially conservative Christians will lose all credibility in the public sphere."

Mills added that "challenging Christian nationalism" is not "a smear campaign" against conservative Christians but rather "a call for us to be better."

"Because the undoing of Christian nationalism will result in more faithful Christians and more faithful Americans," he concluded.
Parents sue DC over 'reckless,' 'unconstitutional' law to vaccinate kids without parental consent

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Parents in Washington, D.C., have filed a lawsuit against the District over a new law that allows officials to vaccinate children in public schools without parental consent, even if they have a religious objection.

The municipal regulation, known as the "Minor Consent to Vaccinations Act of 2020," was passed by the council in a vote of 10-3 in November and went into effect on March 19. It enables children ages 11 and older to consent to a vaccine if they are deemed "capable of meeting the informed consent standard" and "... able to comprehend ... significant risks ordinarily inherent in the medical care."

Under the law, students can have vaccines administered to them without their parents' knowledge because insurance providers are required to "seek reimbursement, without parental consent ..."

Insurance companies are also prohibited from sending parents an "Explanation of Benefits" detailing the medical service their child received. Yet children will be given access to their immunization records "without parental consent."

Childrens Health Defense and the Parental Rights Foundation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District for the District of Columbia on behalf of four parents who have religious objections to their children getting COVID-19 vaccinations and say the mandate is unconstitutional.

The D.C. Act is reckless, unconstitutional, and needlessly endangers childrens lives by stripping away parental protection and the protection of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, said Mary Holland, president and general counsel of the Childrens Health Defense, in a statement.

The Minor Consent Act subverts the right and duty of parents to make informed decisions about whether their children should receive vaccinations, by both depriving them of the opportunity to make those decisions and by concealing from parents that their children have been asked to consent to vaccinations or may have indeed been vaccinated, the lawsuit claims.

Officials named in the lawsuit against the District include: Mayor Muriel Bowser; Laquandra Nesbitt, the director of the Department of Health; and Lewis Ferebee, chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools.

Though District of Columbia Public Schools is not requiring students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before classes start in the fall, DCPS would be able to administer the vaccine to eligible children under the Minor Consent Act.

The lawsuit also states that the Minor Consent Act creates two health records for students, such as for those whose parents have a religious exemption for the HPV vaccine. The immunization record available to parents is blank, while the childs actual medical history, including vaccinations, is kept private from parents but is accessible to their children.

On its face, the Minor Consent Act circumvents parents decisions to claim a religious exemption pursuant to D.C., the lawsuit states.

Ferebee, chancellor of the DCPS, sent an email to DCPS parents on May 14 saying it was their responsibility to get vaccinated if they want to see their children back in school.

While the COVID-19 vaccine is currently not required for students to attend school next year, we encourage all students age 12 and older and their parents and caregivers to get vaccinated, the email from the chancellor read.

If you want to see students back in school, then it is our responsibility as a community for everyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when its available to them. We are collaborating with local health officials to host vaccination clinics at our schools, the email continued.

In another email sent on June 1, Ferefee wrote: The science is clear: Vaccines are the single most effective tool we have to stop the spread of the coronavirus. To help meet our commitment to fully reopen schools for every student, every day in the fall, it is our responsibility as a community to get vaccinated, including our middle school and high school students.

Mary Cheh, a council member and sponsor of the Minor Consent Act, said before the District's Committee on Health that anti-science beliefs of parents are putting their unvaccinated children at risk.

Unfortunately, we see a rising number of individuals or families across the globe, really, who are choosing not to vaccinate their children based on the widely disproven belief that vaccines may cause autism or other harmful health effects, Cheh said.

These anti-science beliefs not only put the unvaccinated children at risk, but have led to the spread of diseases that have been all but eradicated in the past, she continued.

DCPS opened walk-in vaccination clinics in four schools to offer the vaccine to anyone 12 years old and older.

Bowser announced all schools in the District would be fully reopened for in-person learning, five days a week, for every student starting on Aug. 30.

Shanita Williams, one of the parents named in the lawsuit, said she fears she cannot send her two children back to school in the fall without subjecting her children to receive the vaccine, despite her religious objection to it.

Another parent, Shameka Williams, worries her children will be pressured to consent to the vaccine.

Reports are surfacing of adverse effects to the vaccine, especially in young adults and adolescents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now tracking cases of heart inflammation associated with the mRNA coronavirus vaccine.

Dr. Robert Malone, an mRNA pioneer, has said he believes the "benefits probably don't outweigh the risks for younger Americans contemplating whether to get vaccinated.

The CDC released an update on Tuesday called Reported Adverse Events that lists anaphylaxis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, myocarditis and pericarditis, and reports of death as adverse but rare side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, which are not FDA-approved but authorized for emergency use.
Pennsylvania church sues city after zoning application for drug, alcohol recovery home is denied

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A Pennsylvania church filed a federal lawsuit last week, claiming the Allentown Zoning Hearing Board violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and other anti-discrimination laws by denying the church permission to operate a sober-living group home located in West Park.

Since February 2019, 11 disabled residents recovering from drug or alcohol addiction have lived in a sober-living, 10-bedroom house in the 1400 block of Hamilton Street operated by Allentown Victory Church called the Recover Victory Home.

According to an online document outlining the codified ordinances of Allentown, the citys high-density residential zoning regulation prohibits drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities or halfway houses, except under certain circumstances, such as accommodating those with disabilities.

Allentown Victory Church applied for a special exception with the Allentown Zoning Hearing Board. The church imagined the board would make an exception to allow it to operate the sober-living home because every disabled resident living in the home qualifies for disability accommodations based on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Federal Fair Housing Act.

The Morning Call reported that the church had two hearings with the zoning board in June and August 2019. However, the plan faced opposition from neighborhood residents. The zoning hearing board reportedly voted 2-1 to deny the application.

In the lawsuit, Allentown Victory Church requested accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act to be treated as a group home instead of being considered a halfway house because all residents are disabled.

According to the daily newspaper, Pastor Matthew Catricola said during the August 2019 hearing that the individuals accepted into the sober-living home are asked to commit at least nine months to the recovery program but have the option to leave at any time.

However, the zoning board concluded that the use of the home was more in line with a halfway house because residents are required to attend either religious services or participate in a 12-step recovery program. The board ruled that such requirements are "province of halfway houses," according to The Morning Call.

The Zoning Hearing Board outlined in Article 1307 of the Zoning Hearing Board; Special Exception Procedures" that to grant an exception to the regulation prohibiting drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities or halfway houses, the parties must meet specific criteria. The criteria include that "only persons who the applicant proves have 'disabilities' as defined in and protected by such laws are served."

The lawsuit alleges that the disabilities of the recovery houses residents were not considered as required by the zoning code and that the citys actions have the effect of denying needed housing opportunities to recovering drug and alcohol abusers.

The case will be handled in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The attorney representing Allentown Victory Church is Steven G. Polin. Polin litigates sober house cases in federal and state courts.

His legal firm aims to protect the Fair Housing Act rights of sober-housing providers and represent those who have been victims of housing discrimination since 1993.

The Christian Post reached out to Polin for comment on the case. A response was not received by press time.

Polin argues that the zoning board misapplied the Fair Housing Act by concluding that the church can't request accommodation for its residents, The Morning Call notes.

Even though the case has been publicly logged online, Mike Moore, the communications manager for Allentowns Mayor Ray OConnell, told CP that The city has not yet been served with the suit and therefore has no comment.

Pastor Catricola and representatives from Allentowns Zoning Hearing Board did not respond to CPs emails and phone correspondence requesting comments.

The state has currently approved the home as a residence for people on parole or work release while the lawsuit continues.

The churchs Recovery Victory Home aims to help individuals develop meaningful relationships with God and develop the basic skills necessary for a genuine recovery experience.

We saw a gap, a problem. When men got out of jail or rehab, we saw too many of them get disconnected with God and the right people, and they ended up back where they started, back in jail or rehab, the churchs website explains. There were not enough good transitional places, especially that were Christ Centered. So God birthed in our Heart Recover Victory Home.
'A medical scandal': The Inside Story on the transgender debate, a new porn-blocking service and more

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Christian Post reporters Brandon Showalter and Leah Klett join host Billy Hallowell to take listeners into some of the biggest stories of the week.



Showalter discusses the transgender debate and Klett breaks down a new porn-blocking service for families, a new documentary releasing from the Kendrick Brothers and more.

Why do these issues matter and what's really going on behind the headlines? Get the inside story during this episode of "The Christian Post Podcast."

Subscribe to the podcast and listen:
Indian media 'categorically failed' a teenager who was brutally murdered by Hindu nationalists after a campaign of violence, according to Christian charity Open Doors.

Sukumar*, from a village in Southern Odisha, 'was hacked with a blunt object, and bludgeoned to death' on June 4, 2020.

The account of his killing, which features in the report 'Destructive Lies: Disinformation, speech that incites violence and discrimination against religious minorities in India', describes how local media spread misinformation, claiming that Sukumar was murdered for practicing witchcraft.

It adds that that press 'did nothing to investigate the back story of longstanding harassment and discrimination against Sukumar, his family and the other Christian families in the area'.

Dr David Landrum, Director of Advocacy for Open Doors UK & Ireland said: "Sukumar's murder was a horrific cumulation of violence which went unchecked by authorities.

"The media, which should act as a check and balance, categorically failed Sukumar by sharing false claims that he was killed for witchcraft rather than because he was a Christian.

"The international community can no longer ignore what is happening in India. They cannot turn a blind eye to these atrocities.

"We are calling for a full international investigation of the brutal and systematic persecution of religious minorities in India."

The report, commissioned by Open Doors, and compiled by researchers from the London School of Economics, reveals how Sukumar's family was one of about a dozen families who, in the lead up to his murder, were victims of consistent violence from fellow villagers because of their Christian beliefs. None of this was investigated by either police or media.

According to village pastor Jayant: "The media showed up only when the body was recovered, and all the local channels accused Sukumar of witchcraft."

The violence grows

In the months preceding the murder, many of the families were forcibly converted back to Hinduism. They were tied to trees, their bibles were burned, their heads were shaved, and they were beaten by people living nearby who threatened to eject them from the village if they continued practising Christianity.

Out of fear, all but two of the families converted back to Hinduism through the process of 'Ghar Wapsi', meaning 'home coming'. The remaining families were denied access to a water supply and ration shops.

The Hindu vigilantes then abducted two Christian boys from the families who had resisted the Ghar Wapsi. They tortured the teenagers, tying them up in sacks and positioning them by the edge of the river, threatening to throw them in and drown them.

No accountability

When the boys were released the next morning Pastor Jayant filed a report with police saying that the family were living under threat. But all the police did was to organise a 'peace committee meeting' between the groups involved.

Around the same time several locals died of a mystery illness. Public health authorities declared the 'mysterious' deaths were caused by contaminated water. These deaths, however, were then used as a pretext to launch false charges of witchcraft against Sukumar.

According to the report, on the night Sukumar was murdered 12 men found him at home and took him away. He was bludgeoned to death and chopped into pieces. The report says: 'His body parts lay scattered around, not found till much later.'

The police Inspector in Charge (IIC) had initially stated that Sukumar was killed because he was a Christian and that this was a communal incident. But the next day when the media got involved, the IIC released a statement saying that Sukumar was killed because the villagers believed he was practising witchcraft.

The LSE report says: 'This anti-Christian murder was falsely categorised as a case involving witchcraft by local authorities.

'It was also subsequently mis-reported by local and national media as a case involving witchcraft.'

As LSE researchers recorded their findings in between January and March 2021, four of the suspects had been arrested but two had already been released on bail.

According to Pastor Jayant: 'The fake news that spread across all media channels that Sukumar did witchcraft to the people who have been dying, ensured that the case was forgotten with anyone going deeper into the details.'

*Name changed for security reasons
We are being a sold a lie. And we love it.

The destination laid before us is familiar, the promise of significance, joy and meaning. The paths before us well worn, the pursuing of our authentic self, fighting the political cause, an allegiance to our own ideologies.

The results are in; rising political strife, polarisation and more are symptoms of the culture giving meaning to that which will never fulfill.

The world is building a kingdom without the king. We as Christians are just as guilty of this as anyone. But before us we have path set before us by one who was both human and divine that we are invited to follow.

Like Mark Sayers In the podcast that inspired this, What if the secular myth isnt that strong?

The answer to our world is not to look within for how we can change to shift the world around us. It is first looking at the grace weve been given, embracing the distinctives of the Christian faith and allowing that to bringing renewal wherever we go.

Quoting Sayers once more, corporate renewal begins with personal renewal.

How do we get there?



Psalm 1 is our guide:

1 Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither

whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm Chapter 1, Verses 1-6 (NIV)

1-2: Where is our trust? (Verses 1-2)

We are all walking the same road, as Christians its the way we travel it that is the difference maker.

Our not walking in step with the sinner is not avoidance of them. We are all walking the same journey in pursuit of meaning. But how are we travelling that same road?

Ask, where in my life am I living without the presence of God?

Are you holding that career so close to your chest that it burns you when the rejection comes in? Or conversely are you too quick to make things about yourself when you get the win?

Its can be a fine line to balance, but Christian, do not let these thoughts lead to self-condemnation. The grace we have is free, and that is will always be our greatest gift. When our delight is in the Lord, his presence gives peace and aligns our heart to where we are supposed to look.

3-4: Meaning Making

A firmly rooted tree versus chaff (wheat/grain husks).

The chaff is everything else we seek happiness from that is not God. Meaning is found when we are planted in our relationship with God.

Augustine says it clearly in Confessions

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

Where in my life am I living without the presence of God? When we accept his grace for us, it doesnt stop the battering life gives us, but with Christs love as our centre then it wont strike us down completely.

As we move toward holiness, the restrictions that are placed on us do not constrict but calls us into who we are meant to be. He asks us to put aside our feelings (Elijah in depression - 2 Kings Chapter 18), our past shame (Moses  Exodus Chapter 3 ) and even the sins of others against us (Hosea - Hosea) to pursue him. When we put ourselves before God were vulnerable but we are also fully seen and accepted.

What can be even more challenging, we are told to bring darkness to light and tell truth not only to God but, our community. The family of God is where we can first practice what we learn in private. We can be there to uplift and counsel each other, but also in conflict we have the opportunity to rise above the standards of the world and display reconciliation, forgiveness and love.

5-6: The Resurrection

The Lords way is final. He is ultimately good and the wicked things of this world will not overcome him.

The most ground breaking part of our faith is the one we can take for granted. When Christs love becomes our identity, we can launch ourselves into lifes journey with different fuel. It reorders our loves.

Resting in God, we can pursue career, relationship, success, everything, precisely because they no longer mean everything to us.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pressured lawmakers Thursday to reach agreement by next week on a pair of massive domestic spending measures, signaling Democrats desire to push ahead aggressively on President Joe Bidens multitrillion-dollar agenda.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was scheduling a procedural vote for next Wednesday to begin debate on a still-evolving bipartisan infrastructure bill. Senators from both parties, bargaining for weeks, have struggled to reach final agreement on a $1 trillion package of highway, water systems and other public works projects.

Schumer said he also wanted Democratic senators to reach agreement among themselves by then on specific details of a separate 10-year budget blueprint that envisions $3.5 trillion in spending for climate change, education, an expansion of Medicare and more.

The time has come to make progress. And we will. We must, Schumer said on the Senate floor.

The majority leader's plans were an attempt to push lawmakers to work out differences so Democrats can advance their plans to fortify the economy for the long term and help lower-earning and middle-class families while imposing higher taxes on wealthy people and large corporations.

There may be some last-minute discussion as to who, what mechanism is used to pay for each of these items, Biden said of the two measures during a White House press conference Thursday. But I believe we will get it done.

Lawmakers working on the smaller infrastructure package met Thursday to discuss the details, but chafed at Schumer's deadline. They indicated that substantial hurdles remain, including how to pay for the nearly $579 billion in new spending over five years that they agreed to with the White House. The rest of the money in the infrastructure proposal is a renewal of existing programs.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said senators differed over whether Schumer's timeline was helping the bipartisan effort. Warner said the White House is trying to work with senators on ways to pay for the new spending without raising corporate taxes or fees such as the federal gas tax.

We're still short on pay-fors," said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

It will take 60 votes to start debating the infrastructure measure because Republicans are expected to use a filibuster  procedural delays  to try killing it.

That means the chamber's 50 Democrats will need support from at least 10 Republicans. Democratic leaders hope a bipartisan deal on the widely popular projects on roads and other projects would attract enough Republicans to succeed. Yet bargainers have faced major hang-ups over which revenues they would raise to finance the infrastructure legislation.

One of the biggest revenue-raisers, bolstering IRS enforcement to bring in an estimated $100 billion over 10 years, has been a major discussion point in negotiations. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the group was looking at alternative measures.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, predicted lawmakers will be able to craft a final bill, although he was unsure they will meet anybody's arbitrary deadline."

I appreciate the fact that the majority leader wants to have a vote as soon as possible. I dont disagree with that, but soon as possible means when its ready," Portman said.

Meanwhile, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., want Congress to approve a $3.5 trillion budget resolution before lawmakers begin a summer recess next month. Approval of that measure is crucial for Democrats because it would protect a subsequent bill actually providing that money for specific programs, probably this fall, from more GOP filibusters, meaning Democrats could pass it on their own.

The Democrats accord this week on their overall $3.5 trillion figure was a major step for a party whose rival moderate and progressive factions have competing visions of how costly and bold the final package should be.

But it's merely an initial move that leaves the toughest decisions for later. They must translate their plan into legislation with specific spending and revenue figures, then line up the needed votes to enact it, a process likely to grind right through autumn.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.
SEOUL, South Korea  The number of infected sailors on a South Korean destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa has soared to 247, the largest cluster for the countrys military during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Defense Ministry said Monday two military aircraft have been sent to bring back all 301 sailors aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great.

Authorities suspect the outbreak may have started when the destroyer docked in the region to load goods in late June. None of the crew has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Health officials have said the crew are all in relatively good condition.

On Monday, South Korea reported 1,252 new coronavirus cases. It was the 13th straight day for South Korea to register more than 1,000 new cases.

___

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

 Vaccine inequity: Inside the cutthroat race to secure doses

 In U-turn, Boris Johnson to quarantine after COVID-19 contact

 Tunisia puts military on vaccination duty as cases soar

 Vietnam puts southern region in lockdown as surge grows

 Nightclubs elated, but doubts cloud Englands Freedom Day

___

 Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

___

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MADRID  The head of the Catalan regional health service says a new peak of COVID-19 infections at the end of this month could place hospitals under severe pressure, just as some staff go on their summer vacation.

Gemma Craywinckel told RAC1 radio in an interview Sunday that the northeastern Spanish region could within two weeks see as many as 500 people in intensive care, up from the current almost 300.

She said the Catalan public health system is already under a lot of strain due to a surge in infections blamed on the Delta variant.

Craywinckel said authorities had failed to convey to local people the danger that the Delta variant represented. She also criticized people who have confronted police officers enforcing a night-time curfew.

___

PARIS  The European Unions vaccination campaign is catching up with the United States.

European officials vaunted figures from Our World in Data showing that 55.6% of EU citizens have had at least one dose, compared to 55.4% in the U.S. It was the first time the EU figures outpaced those across the Atlantic.

Our World in Data says the U.S. still has a higher proportion of fully vaccinated people. The figures are 48% in the U.S. versus 42% in the EU. Britain and some other countries are moving faster than either.

The EU took a more cautious approach to vaccines initially and got off to a slower start than the U.S.

EU markets commissioner Thierry Breton noted that half of vaccines made in the bloc have been exported to more than 100 countries overall. But extreme global vaccine inequalities remain. Only a small fraction of vaccines reaching the poorest populations in Africa and elsewhere.

-

ROME  Daily new caseloads of confirmed COVID-19 infections are surging in Italy.

Health experts say its clear that nationwide celebrations by Italian fans after European Championship soccer matches are a significant factor.

Thousands of fans jammed Romes streets on July 12 to cheer an open-topped bus tour by Italys national team, which won Euro 2020 by beating England the night before.

The number of newly confirmed cases in the Lazio region that includes Rome more in the last three days. The region had the highest daily new caseload on Saturday.

A pediatric specialist who advises Italys government on anti-pandemic health measures told La Repubblica daily in an interview Sunday that the gatherings and the crowding favored the viral circulation.

Dr. Franco Locatelli said the average age of infected people in Italy is now 28.

___

LONDON  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case.

The announcement by his office on Sunday reverses an earlier statement that unlike most people, he would not face quarantine. Johnson met Friday with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who later tested positive for COVID-19. Contacts of positive cases usually have to self-isolate for 10 days.

Johnsons office initially said the prime minister would instead take a daily coronavirus test as part of a pilot project. And the same would apply to Treasury chief Rishi Sunak who also was contacted. But Johnsons office said later after an outcry that both men would self-isolate and will not be taking part in the testing pilot.

___

LONDON  Thousands of young people across England plan to dance the night away at Freedom Day parties as soon as it turns Monday.

The countrys nightclubs are reopening for the first time in 17 months as almost all coronavirus rules are set to be scrapped. Sparkling wine and full dance floors are anticipated. But not masks or proof of a COVID-19 vaccine, negative test or recent recovery from the disease.

Businesses and ravers are jubilant. But many others are deeply worried about the U.K. governments decision to go ahead with shelving social distancing at a time when virus cases are on another rapid upswing.

Many health experts fear the government is overly confident in its vaccine rollout.

___

BARGNY, Senegal  Health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in Senegal as millions in the West African nation prepare for the Tabaski holiday.

New confirmed cases have risen in just weeks from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday. And the health ministry says they then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday.

President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands.

Tabaski is celebrated on July 21 in Senegal and sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings to celebrate. Many health officials are worried. People throng marketplaces and gather at auctions to buy sheep in the runup to the holiday.

___

KESRA, Tunisia  Tunisian authorities have deployed military personnel to vaccinate remote populations as coronavirus infections mount and hospitals struggle to cope.

The North African country is facing its worst coronavirus virus of the pandemic. The infections forced some regions back into lockdown and prompted donations of vaccines or medical aid from China, France, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.

Tunisias government decided to deploy the armed forces to vaccinate people in the regions with the worst infection rates and in areas with particularly low vaccination rates.

Tunisia is currently recording one of the worlds highest daily per-capita infection rates and has reported Africas highest per-capita pandemic death toll.

___

PARIS  Global health experts say they expected vaccine distribution to be unequal between rich countries and poor countries.

But no one thought it would get to this point. Less than 1% of the worlds poorest citizens have received a dose.

And experts say it could be 2023 until vaccines are widely available everywhere. Thats fueling more infections and variants that could keep the pandemic around longer.

The African Unions envoy for vaccine acquisition compared the inequity of distribution to a famine in which the richest guys grab the baker.

___

HONOLULU  Advocates in Hawaii say the pandemic has underscored the importance of collecting and reporting racial data.

Honolulu City Councilwoman Esther Kiaaina says the pandemics toll on Pacific Islanders who are not Native Hawaiian inspired her to introduce a resolution urging Hawaii government agencies to collect more specific data about Pacific Islanders.

Kiaaina worked at the federal level to separate Native Hawaiian data from Asian data in the 1990s. That was prompted by concerns that Native Hawaiian students were considered overrepresented in colleges when counted as Asian.

But all other Pacific Islanders have remained in one category since then.

___

HANOI, Vietnam  The Vietnamese government has put the entire southern region in a two-week lockdown starting at midnight.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 3,000 for the third day in a row. The lockdown order includes the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City metropolis. There are more than 35 million people in the countrys financial and economic hub. That's nearly a third of Vietnams population.

Officials say they have to act as the number of infections reached nearly 50,000 since the outbreak reemerged at the end of April after several months of no cases being recorded. Ho Chi Minh City is the epicenter of the surge.
The United States is in an unprecedented juncture of the pandemic where just under half the population is fully vaccinated, health and safety restrictions are looser than they've been in 18 months, and cases of new coronavirus infections are once again on the rise after months of decline.

"The pandemic is not over, and delta changes the calculus," Joel Wertheim, an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego, told The Washington Post on Saturday.

MORE CORONAVIRUS: Senator questions airline bosses over $54 billion in pandemic aid

As the delta variant spreads, the messaging from public health experts and officials is unequivocal: Vaccines are the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization. More than 97 percent of new hospitalizations from the delta variant are from people who are unvaccinated, making what Rochelle Walensky, who directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls "a pandemic of the unvaccinated."

Health experts said even though the delta variant is more infectious than the original variant that first took hold in the United States last year, there are precautions that can help both vaccinated and unvaccinated people limit their risk.

On Saturday, Los Angeles County's mask rules went back into effect - regardless of a person's vaccination status - on account of rising coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Some other cities have begun urging even the vaccinated to wear masks inside again.

Here's what to know:

Morsa Images/Getty Images

- If I'm fully vaccinated, do I need to wear a mask indoors?

The CDC announced this spring that people who are fully vaccinated can go without masks in most indoor settings, except when required by certain federal, state and local guidelines. Several health experts who spoke to The Washington Post disagreed that the CDC mask guidance is sufficient.

Emily Landon, the chief infectious-disease epidemiologist at University of Chicago Medicine, said the CDC should have included parameters on the mask rules, such as establishing a threshold allowing unvaccinated people to go without masks only if a certain percent of the population is inoculated.

"I think the CDC in May made a mistake," Landon said. "They made a recommendation based on biological science, but not any social science. Unfortunately, the policy of letting people self-sort into vaccinated and unvaccinated resulted in a sort of behavioral science problem."

Several experts consulted by The Post said it is safe for fully vaccinated people to spend time indoors with others who are fully vaccinated. The shots have proved widely effective, even in crowded indoor settings. But they said it is nonetheless a smart practice to continue wearing masks in environments where there might be people who are still vulnerable to getting the virus.

That can help protect both against getting a mild version of covid-19 and protecting those who haven't yet gotten the vaccine.

"If you yourself have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks and if people you are spending time with have been fully vaccinated for a least two weeks, you can feel relatively safe about not having to mask indoors," said Betty Jean "BJ" Ezell, who serves as a vaccine hesitancy outreach coordinator for Citrus County, Fla.

- Is it safe to attend a big outdoor gathering such as a wedding or a concert?

On the spectrum of risk, an outdoor setting for fully vaccinated, masked and socially distanced people is the safest - but maybe not an ideal party situation.

Ezell said it's a good idea to mask up or socially distance if you're in a large gathering outdoors and don't know if the people around you are vaccinated as "the delta variant has shown that it's rampant and unforgiving in its ability to spread."

"When you talk about outdoor weddings and parks, I think physical distancing is still a good thing because an infected person may be asymptomatic," Ezell said.

"This is a respiratory disease," she added. "Talking, coughing, putting out expectorate of any kind - if anyone passes through an area an infected person has been and those molecules with the virus are still hanging in the air, someone can still become infected."

- I've only had my first dose of the vaccine. Do I have enough protection from the delta variant?

RELATED: Dozens treated after chemical leak at Houston-area water park

While partial vaccination is better than none at all, the best protection from severe illness from the delta variant is to be fully vaccinated, Wertheim said.

"We have this large swath of America that has only gotten one dose, and if we could only get them to get a second shot, I think that's a group where we could make a big difference," he said. "If you've been slow about getting a second dose, now is the time. There's no evidence to suggest that waiting longer [to get the second dose] is worse."

- My children aren't old enough to get a vaccine. How can I protect them?

Even though children tend to have milder cases of covid-19, Landon said infections in children are following the trendlines in delta variant hot spots: States with large outbreaks are showing more children with infections.

"I understand that it's really enticing to think of covid as just another cold, but it's not," Landon said of the typically milder infections in children. "It's always best to avoid getting sick at all."

For children who aren't old enough to get a vaccine, Landon said the adults and older siblings can reduce the risk to children by avoiding crowded indoor settings and wearing a mask inside.

Experts still also advise common-sense precautions to prevent all respiratory illnesses.

"We still pay attention to hand washing - sing that 'Happy Birthday' song twice - we still pay attention to masking and the fit of the mask," Ezell said.

However, the intensive surface cleaning people engaged in early in the pandemic is no longer considered necessary.

- How do I talk to loved ones who are still hesitant about the vaccine?

Ezell, the vaccine hesitancy outreach coordinator in Florida, said when it comes to meeting vaccine skeptics, she follows the advice of her pastor: You gain people's confidence not by "beating them over the head" but by planting a seed.

Give someone factual information to get them started, Ezell said, and the next person who comes along follows up by "watering," increasing the number of times trusted voices have shared sound information.

"I think it's especially important when you're having these conversations to present with what I call an active listening voice," Ezell said. "Ask people in particular what their objections are, and don't interrupt them; let them finish. Then give them the facts in a very calm manner."

- If cases continue to rise with the delta variant, will restrictions return?

No health expert can predict the future, but most who spoke to The Post were skeptical that there would be a return to widespread restrictions such as stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses like those from 2020.

Some restrictions such as the return to indoor mask rules seen in Los Angeles County this weekend could be revived, though experts such as Landon said they are likely to be hyperlocal and responsive to infection and hospitalization rates in a specific area.

Landon likened state-imposed measures such as masking rules to a wearing fight with small children.

THE MORE YOU KNOW: Boredom's link to mental illness, brain injuries and behavioral dysfunction

"It's like being exhausted and telling your kids, 'Fine, you can have ice cream for dinner,' " Landon said. "You don't have the will to say 'no' anymore.

"The bottom line, we should have mask mandates indoors. In public buildings, there's no reason we're not mandating masks. But will we go back to that? I doubt it. Now I think it will be really hard to go back to those restrictions."

Ezell, the outreach coordinator in Florida, agreed.

"The horse has left the barn on relaxing restrictions, so it's going to be really important that there are perhaps more public service announcements, group meetings, more getting trusted voices involved in communicating information from reliable sources," she said.
Photo courtesy of GHBA

The Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA), Benefit Homes Project has raised more than $12 million for local charities since its inception in 1980. Recently, with the sale of the Chesmar Benefit home in Lago Mar, $300,000 was raised that will go toward two local charities  HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home.

The Benefit Homes Project relies on the generosity of the GHBA membership as they donate their materials, services and labor to construct two homes a year for this GHBA charity fundraiser. The proceeds help build shelters for the homeless and others in crisis situations, and also help build new homes for wounded veterans returning from duty.
Alabama is asking federal officials whether COVID-19 recovery funds can be used to improve state prisons with better, enhanced, and/or extended infrastructure."

The Montgomery Advertise r reports that Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department asking the question. Dunn framed the request as enhancing health care and programming for inmates. Lawmakers have previously said they want to know if pandemic recovery funds can be used for prison construction and renovations. The question arose after Gov. Kay Iveys plan to lease prisons fell apart because of financing concerns.

The average age of ADOCs facilities is over 43 years old, and while many have expanded, most have exceeded, in the past, the original design capacity, the letter said. Because of this, medical and mental health care and programming space is limited in many of ADOCs facilities.

Dunn's letter said prison improvement would comply with guidance in federal rules that the money, along with financially helping households and businesses, can help with "systemic public health and economic challenges that may have contributed to more severe impacts of the pandemic among low-income communities and people of color.

Dunn wrote that almost all prisoners are considered indigent and more than half are people of color.

These disadvantages were further exacerbated by the communal living situation," he wrote.

The letter says the prison system could use the money to increase space in prisons for health care staffing and programming, and expand broadband to offer more remote learning.

The U.S. Department of Justice last year sued Alabama over conditions in the state prisons, saying the state is failing to protect male inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff.

The lawsuit alleges that conditions in the prison system are so poor that they violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment and that state officials are deliberately indifferent to the problems. The state is disputing the Justice Departments allegations.
HICKORY HILLS, Ill. (AP)  Authorities were investigating after four people died and two others were injured in a single-vehicle crash in suburban Chicago.

Police in Hickory Hills said officers responded Saturday to a traffic accident around 2:30 p.m.
BERLIN (AP)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a surreal, ghostly scene in a devastated village on Sunday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

Merkel toured Schuld, a village on a tight curve of the Ahr River in western Germany where many buildings were damaged or destroyed by rapidly rising floodwaters Wednesday night.

Although the mayor of Schuld said no one was killed or injured there, many other places weren't so lucky. The death toll in the Ahrweiler area, where Schuld is located, stood at 112. Authorities said people are still missing and they fear the toll may still rise.

In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germanys most populous, 46 people were killed, including four firefighters. Belgium confirmed 31 deaths.

Merkel said she came away from Schuld, still partly strewn with rubble and mud in bright sunshine, with a real picture of, I must say, the surreal, ghostly situation.

It is shocking  I would almost say that the German language barely has words for the devastation that has been wreaked, she said at a news conference in a nearby town.

Merkel said authorities will work to set the world right again in this beautiful region, step by step, and her Cabinet will approve an immediate and medium-term financial aid program on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros ($354 million) will be needed immediately. And he said officials must set up a longer-term rebuilding program which, from experience with previous flooding, will be in the billions of euros.

Thankfully, Germany is a country that can manage this financially, said Merkel, who is stepping down as chancellor following an election in September. Germany is a strong country and we will stand up to this force of nature in the short term  but also in the medium and long term, through policy that pays more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years. That will be necessary too.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to tackle climate change undeniable.

Scientists cant yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather disasters on display around the world.

We must get faster in the battle against climate change, Merkel said, pointing to policies already set in motion by Germany and the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions. And nevertheless, the second lesson is that we must pay great attention to adaptation to climate change.

Investing in fighting climate change is expensive, she said, but failing to do so is even more costly.

One flood isn't the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously  so we must make a great effort, Merkel said.

Residents in the devastated areas will be needing support and comfort for a long time yet.

This flood will leave scars on the people of Schuld  scars that you dont forget, that cant be overcome, because our lives changed from one day to the next, Mayor Helmut Lussi said, breaking into sobs as he spoke.

Although the rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted elsewhere in western and central Europe. There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, in Germanys southeastern corner, and over the border in Austria.

About 130 people were evacuated in Germanys Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed and the rail line to Berchtesgaden was closed.

The Berchtesgaden area also is the home of the sliding track in Koenigssee, the site of major international bobsled, skeleton and luge events for more than 50 years. Large segments of that track were destroyed, parts of the concrete chute turned into rubble by the rushing water.

A flash flood hit the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties. Farther west, flooding struck parts of the town of Kufstein. Heavy rain and storms caused serious damage in several parts of Austria.

Pope Francis prayed for the flood victims and in support of the efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage.

I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding, he said Sunday in his first public appearance to the faithful in St. Peters Square after major surgery. May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members.

In the eastern Belgian town of Pepinster, soldiers and firefighters on Sunday searched for any remaining survivors or bodies, according to public broadcaster RTBF. All the houses still standing have been searched, so the effort focused on those that collapsed and in a valley downstream for anyone possibly swept away by the raging torrent.

The ground in the town remains unstable and several more houses could collapse. We have to be careful with every step we take, fire officer Olivier Jiust was quoted as saying.

The flood-stricken Dutch town of Venlo allowed most residents back home Sunday, and trains began running again in the area, authorities said.

Meanwhile, a cow swept 100 kilometers (60 miles) along a flooded Dutch river will live out its days in a meadow, according to its owner. Farmer Har Smeets told local broadcaster 1Limburg that he lost 10 other cows to high water in the southern part of the Netherlands, but one was found by a cyclist outside the town of Escharen and rescued by firefighters.

The cow, originally from the town of Echt, was seen Saturday standing with only its nose poking out of the muddy water of the Maas River, unable to free itself. Fire brigades managed to pull the animal onto dry land, and authorities traced the owner via an ear tag. Smeets says the cow has eaten and is resting comfortably.

It is unbelievable that such an animal can swim or float for so long and then still have the strength to come ashore, he said.

-

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Frances D'Emilio in Rome contributed.

-

Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
Getty Images

Its no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the normal patterns of daily life in America. This disruption has taken its toll on the mental health of millions of Americans  especially for Americas youngest generations. Between social distancing, lockdowns and the shift to remote learning, Generation Z is coming out of the pandemic feeling isolated, lonely and worried.

But as we exit the pandemic, these younger Americans are eager to engage with their communities, including their houses of worship and faith communities. Theyre finding creative ways to stay in touch with the issues that matter most to them, and are hopeful that community leaders like church ministers will help them along.
Marius Becker/AP

BERLIN (AP)  The front-runner to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's September election has apologized for a scene in which he was seen laughing in the background as the country's president delivered a statement on the devastating floods in western Germany.

Armin Laschet, the candidate of Merkel's center-right Union bloc to be Germany's next leader, is also the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state  one of two badly hit by last week's floods. On Saturday, he visited the town of Erfstadt, which was the scene of a dramatic rescue effort after the ground gave way, with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
ALMA, Mich. (AP)  A proposal to turn a former nursing home into temporary housing for young migrants is getting a lot of attention in a central Michigan community.

About 400 people attended a public hearing Monday at Alma High School. Warwick Living Center would be leased to Bethany Christian Services to provide housing for boys for up to 40 days or until a sponsor can be found.
DITTMER, Mo. (AP)  A Missouri man died early Sunday after his car struck a tree about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis.

The Missouri State Patrol said the impact killed Randy McDowell, 68, of Dittmer. McDowell was driving west on Missouri Highway 30 when he veered off the left side of the road in Jefferson County and struck a tree around 3 a.m. Sunday.
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP)  The Navajo Nation has reported 30 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths.

Navajo Department of Health officials said 17 of the cases were from Saturday with the other 13 reported Sunday.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska schools are getting conflicting advice from state and federal health officials over whether students should quarantine after contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the state Department of Health and Human Services is telling schools that students who had contact with an infected person would not have to quarantine as long as they don't have any symptoms of COVID-19. If symptoms develop, then the state says a student should isolate themselves.
Manish Swarup/AP

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP)  Nepals new prime minister got the support of more than half the members of the House of Representatives, which would allow him to continue in power until general elections scheduled for next year.

Sher Bahadur Deuba got 165 votes in his favor while 83 members of parliament's lower house voted against him Sunday, Speaker Agni Sapkota announced.
The day the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was lifted from its pedestal in Charlottesville and driven away, Zyahna Bryant stood nearby, wearing pearls.

The adult adornment was telling. It showed she had grown up while waiting for that moment.

At 15, Zyahna was a girl when she created the petition to remove the statue in her hometown.

At 20, when that finally happened, she was a woman who had grown used to juggling homework with hate mail.

She was a first-generation college student who had publicly called on people to "protect Black women," even as she privately dealt with death threats. She was a seasoned organizer who had heard people argue that statues represent history and not hate, even as she received messages from statue-supporting strangers and neighbors that didn't reflect that. They expressed hate for what she said and who she was and how she looked.

Go jump off a bridge . . .

Go eat another cow . . .

Come to Haiti. And see what the descendants of African slaves have achieved without White people.

Those are just a few publishable lines from the mail and messages she has received. She deletes without reading the ones that contain the n-word, and some of the scarier threats have come over the phone.

Zyahna recalls sitting in one of her high school classes when her phone began buzzing so much she couldn't ignore it. When she finally looked at it, she found out that a conservative media outlet had written an article that identified her by her full name, despite the petition including only her first name. The article began: "The perpetually offended are at the gate once again, trying to dismantle culture, education, and the very fabric of history."

"That was my first time actually knowing white supremacists have no boundaries for kids," Zyahna said when we talked on a recent morning. "They didn't care that I was a 10th-grader or 11th-grader in high school."

People doxed her, letting her know that they knew where she lived, what school she attended and her phone number. Others called the workplaces of her mom and grandma, trying to get them fired.

And through it all, Zyahna kept organizing, kept saying the uncomfortable - "You cannot say protect Black women if dark-skin fat Black women are not included" - and kept waiting for that statue to come down.

On July 10, that finally happened. After legal battles, heated public discussions and protests, including a deadly one, the 1,100-pound bronze statue was carted away. People who watched from the crowd cheered and spoke of it being "about time." And afterward, people across the country shared photos through social medial of that moment, photos that no doubt will be included in any future telling of how a century-old statue was toppled in a Virginia community.

But focusing on a moment tells only part of what happened. This is what people should also know: In Charlottesville, the past five years saw not only the slow fall of a statue, but also the rapid rise of a young activist.

A crane may have taken that towering figure away, but Zyahna gave it the first shove and then, as other hands joined hers, kept pushing.

Zyahna worries that people will leave that part out of the narrative, that they will erase her. She has already seen that happen in some tellings, she says, and she knows too well how that has happened with other Black women in the past.

In a piece that ran in Teen Vogue on the same day that the statue came down, Zyahna wrote about that concern.

"I spend a lot of time questioning whether I should become a more palatable, marketable version of myself to put others at ease when telling my story or crediting me for my work," she wrote. "That feeling is in constant tension with continuing to stick to my own values and showing up as my unedited, authentic self. I feel that a lot of Black women like me have been conditioned to approach conversations with a level of humility that is not expected of others. But even when we are humble, we are still talked over, pushed to the side, and dismissed."

She references Claudette Colvin, the Black 15-year-old who refused to give up her seat to a White passenger on a Montgomery, Ala., bus nine months before Rosa Parks. Never heard of her? That's her point.

"My plea is this: Do not wait until we have passed or reached our breaking point to honor us or to give us our well-deserved flowers," Zyahna writes. "Honor us while we are well. Honor us as we are doing the work that others choose not to do. Honor us in the rooms where we are not present."

Advocating for herself and other Black women isn't about fame, she says. It's about making sure they get recognition for their work and sacrifices, and that Black girls see that. The University of Virginia student was 12 when she organized her first rally after Trayvon Martin's death.

Her younger twin sisters are now 15, and she knows they're watching.

On the day the statue came down, they stood with her. So, too, did her mother, and her grandmother who gifted her those pearls.

"We were looking at it come down together," Zyahna says. "No, it didn't end racism, it didn't change much, but seeing that happen was so powerful."

Zyahna recognizes there is more work to do and that it goes beyond statues. She has been organizing mutual aide, and has seen how the wealth gap has left many people unable to pay their rent, put food on the table or afford college tuition. She plans to keep connecting those who have resources to those who need them. She also hopes to speak more in classrooms and show young people they don't have to look or be "a certain type of way" to make change.

On her Instagram page, Zyahna shares some of her hate mail. She also shares notes that reinforce the need for her activism. A recent one was written by a history teacher who assigned her students to think about a living person who is a hero. The teacher tagged Zyahna in a post that shows the response of a 9-year-old girl.

"A hero in my community is Zyahna Bryant," it begins. "She lives in Virginia like me and started organizing student protests when she was a tween."
A. Fill the pool and build pickleball courts. That makes sense next to the tennis courts already there.

B. Refurbish the pool and deed it back to the Beverly Hills Civic Association.

C. Do away with the pool and build a fountain to bring people and families to the park.

D. Fill the pool and construct a pavilion to enhance the community.

Vote

View Results
Florida, FL (34429)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 77F. Winds light and variable.
Canada's current border restrictions expire on July 21. We will learn as soon as tomorrow the Canadian government's new policies on U.S. tourism, tourism from the rest of the world, and flights from India.

Canada set to announce new travel rules as soon as tomorrow

Canada set to announce new travel rules as soon as tomorrow Canada's current border restrictions expire on July 21. We will learn as soon as tomorrow the Canadian government's new policies on U.S. tourism, tourism from the rest of the world, and flights from India.

Canada set to announce new travel rules as soon as tomorrow Canada's current border restrictions expire on July 21. We will learn as soon as tomorrow the Canadian government's new policies on U.S. tourism, tourism from the rest of the world, and flights from India.

Canada set to announce new travel rules as soon as tomorrow Canada's current border restrictions expire on July 21. We will learn as soon as tomorrow the Canadian government's new policies on U.S. tourism, tourism from the rest of the world, and flights from India. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Canada could announce its new COVID-19 travel measures as soon as tomorrow.

Canada introduced travel restrictions in March 2020 and has been extending them on a monthly basis throughout 2021. The country has taken a gradual approach to lifting restrictions.

Generally speaking, those now allowed to travel into the country include Canadian citizens, permanent residents, new immigrants, temporary foreign workers, international students, and family members of Canadians.

Those who remain excluded include tourists from the U.S. and tourists from the rest of the world. Flights to Canada from India have been banned since April.

The border restrictions expire on July 21 however prime minister Justin Trudeaus office said Thursday night that the new rules would be announced early next week which suggests the measures will be public by Tuesday at the latest, a day before the current measures expire.

Thanks to the statement by Trudeaus office, we now have a strong sense of what the new rules will entail. The one uncertainty remains India, with the Canadian government remaining coy on when it plans to lift its India flight ban.

What we do know is the governments intentions on allowing tourists into the country.

Trudeaus office says its goal is to allow fully-vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents to enter the country as tourists by mid-August.

It is seeking to welcome fully-vaccinated tourists from the rest of the world by early September.

The caveat is that this depends on Canada maintaining its high rate of vaccinations and keeping its COVID-19 case count low.

Following a slow start Canada has emerged as a global leader in vaccination rates. Canadian government data show some 80 per cent of Canadas 12-years-and-older population has received at least one vaccine dose while over 40 per cent are fully vaccinated. July 15 data shows Canada recorded over 400 new COVID cases the prior day.

Canadas daily COVID case count was at its highest in April 2021 when it exceeded 9,000 new daily cases. However a stronger vaccine supply has resulted in lower cases and provinces across the country relaxing their social distancing guidelines.

Last month Canada announced that all Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) Holders (i.e., newly approved immigrants) were exempt effectively immediately from its travel restrictions. Earlier this month Canada implemented a new policy exempting fully-vaccinated travellers from needing to quarantine.

Discover if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Bryce Ethridge | The Valdosta Daily Times

Caitlin McDargh, a Wild Adventures Zookeeper, feeds Topanga, a lemur, some bananas shortly before the animals usual naptime. Topanga has her pup hanging from her belly which it usually does for its first four weeks of life.
The side effects impact people differently. Some experience none, some have slight flu-like symptoms that last for a day or two. Most people have a sore arm after both shots and often the side effects show up after the second dose. The side effects are usually minor and go away in a couple of days.
After being prompted by a letter, Penn State said it intends to remove the Fidel Castro quote from a wall in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, which is located inside the HUB-Robeson Center. The quote reads:

"The equal right of all citizens to health, education, work, food, security, culture, science and wellbeing  that is, the same rights we proclaimed when we began our struggle, in addition to those which emerge from our dreams of justice and equality for all inhabitants of our world  is what I wish for all."

The letter, which alleges the quote "misrepresents" the values of the university, was penned by representatives of the Penn State College Republicans, National Americans for Freedom and Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans on July 16.

"For many across campus, Castro is a figure of totalitarianism and oppression that many victims of communism and their families have experienced during their lives," the letter, which was shared via Twitter, said. "We believe this figure does not represent the values of Penn State and having his words on campus washes the reality of who he really was, a dictator."

Earlier this week I raised my concerns to @penn_state regarding a Fidel Castro quote on campus. A group of campus leaders and I joined to make a formal request to take out this quote. Today I can happily say that there would be no more Fidel Castro at Penn State. Letter below. pic.twitter.com/6vgFzscVHC  Erik Suarez | #CubaLibre (@ErikSuarez24) July 17, 2021

Penn State College Republicans shared the university's initial response to the letter's authors via Twitter.

Thank you to all the College Republicans who contributed to the removal of the Fidel Castro from the HUB Paul Robeson Center@ErikSuarez24 pic.twitter.com/1wyXG0ftv7  Penn State College Republicans (@PennStateGOP) July 17, 2021

The university confirmed it agrees with the sentiments expressed in the letter and will remove the quote.

"The presence of the quote has just come to the university's attention from a student who expressed concern," Penn State spokesperson Lisa Powers said in a statement. "We agree with the concerns, and the quote is being removed. We also have reached out directly to inform the student who raised the concern that this is the university's decision."

MORE CAMPUS COVERAGE

+2 Penn State initiates construction of new engineering buildings with groundbreaking ceremony Penn State's College of Engineering held a ceremony Friday in West Campus to initiate the co
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Even.vallerie@gmail.com scored 80 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 4/5.0 Stars by Social Team

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Roger was born in Van Couver Washington on April 25,1946. He passed away July 19, 2021at his residents at Country Meadows Nursing Home. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister and brother. Survived by sons Jason Schafer, Jeff Schafer and his wife Jennifer, Daughter Becky Chreene an
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From what we can tell, this scene was never intended to be in the film -- and there has been some confusion about that. In a 2018 interview, Jackson mentioned that he was supposed to fly to Hawaii and be on-set to shoot my death scene but wasnt able to because a hurricane destroyed all the sets. This led many to assume that Arnolds death, which is detailed in the novel, was supposed to happen onscreen. But that doesnt totally seem to be the case, judging from multiple drafts of the screenplay. In the shooting draft of the script, things play out very much like in the finished product, except that we see his body as well as his arm.

DavidKoepp.com

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So its possible that Jackson was supposed to make an appearance as a corpse -- but even that doesnt totally make sense, because while the exterior of the maintenance shed (in which Arnold bites it) was built in Hawaii, the interiors were filmed on a soundstage at the Universal Studios lot. Its certainly conceivable that Steven Spielberg whipped up a whole new plan for Arnold that wasnt in the script that somehow involved him being attacked outdoors -- but the way we see it play out in the movie seems like the best possible version of this scene. Witnessing Arnolds death would rob us of the suspense of not knowing what Dr. Sattler will discover after the engineer mysteriously disappears, not to mention the shock of seeing the raptor for the first time just as the power comes back on and things seem to be looking up for but a brief, fleeting moment -- which, in retrospect, might be the most relatable part of the entire movie.

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter! And check out the podcast Rewatchability.

Top Image: Universal Pictures
Jammu, July 17: Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a white-collar terrorists module, which was behind issuing threats to social activists, politicians, bureaucrats, government officers and journalists, on the directions of their mentors sitting in Pakistan.

Out of 5 arrested including Secretary of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation Akbar Sofi and his children Nazish Yasrab Rehman and Tabish Akbar Rehmani from their residence at Sanant Nagar.

IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said Kashmir fight.wordpress.com was being run by a white collar terrorist syndicate.

Police recovered huge number of digital devices and the analysis of the data therein, it is expected that the ultimate plans behind the murder of journalist Sujat Bukhari, advocate Babar Qadri, and businessman Satpal Nischal would come to the fore.

In one house alone, 32 mobile phones, one tablet, two laptops, four hard disk storage devices, seven memory cards and one dongle were seized.

IGP Kashmir has termed this as big avcheivment.

More arrest can follow.
The delta variant appears to be gaining a foothold in the state, even as COVID infections and hospitalizations remain low overall, according to the latest data.

Several nations around the world have tightened pandemic restrictions in response to the variant, which is thought to be more transmissible than the strain widely circulating in the U.S.

The delta strain comprised 13.6 percent of samples from positive test kits researchers at The Yale School of Public Health and Jackson Laboratory surveyed in the past week, up more than 11 percent from the previous week.

The overall number of cases detected in the state still remains small compared with other variants. As of Thursday, 48 cases of delta, a strain first detected in India, have been confirmed in Connecticut. In contrast, 3,302 cases of the alpha strain, first detected in the U.K., have been found in Connecticut. That alpha variant has remained the dominant strain in the U.S., and comprised half the cases tested by researchers in the past week through genomic sequencing.

Nathan Grubaugh, who heads the sequencing efforts at the Yale School of Public Health, offered a caveat that the estimates are noisy because of the low sample of sequenced cases. Thats because the state has fewer infections overall for researchers to examine, which is a good problem to have, he wrote in a tweet Thursday.

Infections overall remained low Friday, with 89 new cases reported statewide out of 15,013, a positivity rate of 0.59 percent. Hospitalizations rose by five, bringing the total to 42, while the death toll remained flat at 8,279.

The delta strain has pushed officials in Israel, Australia and others across Europe to tighten travel restrictions. In Californias Los Angeles County, officials this week recommended everyone wear a mask at indoor public settings  including those who are vaccinated. The announcement stopped short of a new mask mandate.

Gov. Ned Lamonts office and the state Department of Public Health did not immediately respond when asked whether the state would consider issuing a similar recommendation in Connecticut.

The state still has universal masking for vaccinated and un-vaccinated people in some settings, such as courthouses, taxis, public transit, hospitals, health care centers and congregate settings. People who are not yet fully vaccinated are still required to wear a mask indoors, though most businesses are using the honor system.

Experts believe the vaccines provide good protection against the delta variant. Researchers in the U.K., where delta has become the dominant strain in new cases, found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was still highly effective. U.K. researchers found the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been approved in the U.S., also provided good protection.

This week, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson said their vaccines protected against the variant.

Connecticut, and the rest of the northeast, is among the most heavily vaccinated areas in the nation, with more than 67 percent of residents having received at least one dose and nearly 61 percent fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions data tracker.

But pockets of low vaccination rates still exist in Connecticut, despite wide availability of vaccine. Lower uptake of vaccines is still seen in the far eastern part of the state and some of Connecticuts largest cities, according to state data. Vaccine demand overall has dropped off, with the state administering a fraction of the doses it did in early April when vaccinations peaked.

Thursdays report from Yale and Jackson Laboratory showed the iota strain comprised just over 18 percent of cases sequenced, with no change from the previous week. The strain, first detected in New York last fall, is considered a variant of interest, rather than a variant of concern like alpha and delta.
VATICAN CITY (AP)  Two weeks after surgery that removed a portion of his colon, Pope Francis on Sunday resumed his weekly appearances from a Vatican window to bless the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

Francis, 84, sounded cheerful but somewhat winded at one point while speaking for 14 minutes.

Exactly a week earlier, Francis had delivered the blessing from a hospital balcony and expressed deep gratitude to medical staff caring for him. The pontiff underwent bowel surgery on July 4 to remove a portion of his colon after intestinal narrowing.

While not mentioning his own ongoing convalescence, Francis in his remarks stressed the value of taking a break. He recommended rest, contemplation and compassion. Let's take advantage of summertime for this.

After giving his blessing, Francis cited some somber current events. He expressed closeness to those hit by catastrophic floods, which claimed at least 180 lives, in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. "May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members,'' the pope said.

He also lamented violence in South Africa, where more than 200 people died in chaos and violence sparked by the imprisonment of a former president. Francis noted South Africans have already been suffering economic and health difficulties caused by the pandemic. He said he was making a heartfelt appeal for efforts for peace and so that assistance reaches the needy.

"May the desire that has guided the people of South Africa to be reborn in harmony among all its children not be forgotten,'' Francis said.

Among the cheering public in St. Peter's Square were around 100 Cuban residents of Rome who displayed a banner urging support for protesters in their homeland.

I am near to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments, especially to the families who are suffering more,'' Francis said.

He added: I pray that the Lord help them to build an ever more just and fraternal society in peace, dialogue and solidarity."

A week earlier, protests began in Cuba against food and medicine shortages and power outages, with some calling for political change in the Caribbean country, which has been governed by the Communist Party for around six decades.

Toward the end of his remarks from a window of the Apostolic Palace, adlibbing at times and after interrupting himself once to cough, Francis sounded a bit winded. But he ended with a strong, cheery invitation to the crowd as he always does to pray for him and to "have a good lunch.

The crowd of several hundred clapped loudly. Some held national flags and at least one homemade banner, with a red heart and I Love You in Italian written on it.

After 10 days in the major Catholic hospital in Rome, Francis returned to his home in Vatican City on July 14.

Except for the Sunday noon appointment to offer his blessing to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff has no other public appearances scheduled for the rest of July. Even before his surgery was announced, the Vatican had said that his weekly general audiences on Wednesdays wouldn't take place during July. That's in keeping with past years of his papacy, which allow him a bit of a summer break.

Hours before heading to the hospital for surgery, Francis announced that he would visit Hungary and Slovakia in mid-September.
Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR)



MATTHEWFELDMAN

JULY 5, 2021



Religious extremism in not unfamiliar to other faiths but has yet to be named as such among mainstream Christian confessions.



I contend that my subject matter is something of an elephant in our global room, but I should warn that it is equally a thoroughly unhappy one: religiously-inspired, revolutionary political violence. For nearly 20 years now, scarcely a day has gone by without reportage on Islamism. This type of extremism remains present in our global room, and no one can claim it is unseen.



That is of course with good reason: On 9/11, nearly 3,000 people were brutally murdered by violent jihadi Islamists in the worst sub-state terrorist attack in history. But there is something that has long vexed me, in keeping with the New Testament injunction to take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brothers eye. I have referred to this phenomenon for more than a dozen years but have never had the opportunity to properly delineate what I think is again becoming an urgent subject matter, namely Christianism.



Perversion of Christianity

As I have written earlier, Whereas religious politics, in a banal sense at least, may be observed wherever clerics become directly involved in politics, the term Christianism is intended to denote a more radical, revolutionary approach to secular politics. Christianism may have Christian connotations and indeed draw upon Christian language but, like Islamism, it is essentially appropriative. It allows an entirely secular Anders Behring Breivik (now known as Fjotolf Hansen) who murdered 77 in Norway on July 22, 2011, to term himself a cultural Christian  not on account of any metaphysical belief, but because he believed it was a useful framework with which to attack Muslims and Europe and, using an anti-Semitic dog whistle, cultural Marxists.



Christianism, therefore, is a secular doctrine that is different from, alternatively, evangelicalism, political Christianity and fundamentalism. Joas Wagemakers makes a similar claim about the distinction of Islamism from types of religious fundamentalism such as Salafism. This is a political ideology appropriating religion, not the other way around. But I would go further than Wagemakers does in describing Islamism as a political application of Islam. Instead, I would suggest that both violent and non-violent forms of Islamism, in their very nature, reject pluralism and advance a doctrine of supremacy that is the hallmark of extremism  whether ethnic, national or religious.Make Sense of the WorldUnique insights from 2000+ contributors in 80+ countriesI agree to receive emails and other content from Fair Observer. I understand that I may repeal my consent at any time. You can review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for further information.



Moreover, it is precisely the political violence exemplified by the horrors unleashed by Breivik that Christianism is intended to denote. In short, this is a distinct, ideological perversion of Christianity that is, at the same time, distinct from older and more familiar forms of Christian nationalism and even from the theologically-based exclusion or persecution that has marred Christianity no less than other monotheistic faiths. One need not be a Christian to be a Christianist, nor is Christianism driven by the same impulse as the regrettably all too familiar instances of tribalism in Christian history.



It scarcely should need saying, but Islamism is an extremist perversion of one of our worlds leading faiths. As a revolutionary ideology born of the 20th century, it can be directly traced from the interwar Muslim Brotherhood under Hasan al-Banna, for example, and the doctrines of Sayyid Qutb in postwar Egypt to the quasi-state terrorism of the Islamist death cult, Daesh. For all of its supposed medievalism, then, Islamism is a product, and not merely a rejection, of modernity.



A similar perspective can be taken on Christianism. So, first, a banal point: Believers have politics, just as do non-believers. For this reason, I am wary of constructions like political Christianity or political Islam for the same reason Im only marginally less wary of constructions like apolitical Christianity or apolitical Islam, though I accept, of course, that different forms of hermeticism stretch across most faith traditions.



Thus, Christianism doesnt refer to a form of Christian nationalism that is evident in the contemporary US (although not only there). One might observe the heart-breaking scenes in early April of Protestant loyalists rioting in Belfast with the frightening implications for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, or indeed the conflict acting as the midwife for the long struggle over the six counties, the Great War. Throughout that conflict, scholars have clearly shown that both Protestant and Catholic confessions anointed or, better, armed their nations with justifications of a holy war. Christian churches injunctions to fight for God and nation is but one example of Christian nationalism, and there are countless others like it in the Christian tradition as there are in other faith traditions. It is far from new.



Sacrazlied Politics

This particular sense of Christian nationalism, likewise, has been extensively studied in the American context, with particular focus on white evangelicalism. In the compelling empirical account, Taking America Back for God, Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry conclude that those who embrace Christian nationalism insist that the Christian God formed, favors and sustains the United States over and above the other nations in the world. It is in this sense that Rogers Brubaker refers to adherents of Christianism in a 2017 article, whereby Christianity is increasingly seen as their civilizational matrix, and as the matrix of a whole series of more specific ideas, attitudes, and practices, including human rights, tolerance, gender equality, and support for gay rights.



Yet here too we may be seeing a case of old wine in new bottles, whereby reactionary and even tribal expressions of a faith  in this case Christianity  which seem to belong to a tradition that, in American terms, stretches from John Winthrops city on a hill to the televangelists of our day. Even cast in such civilizational terms, these forms of Christian tribalism are of a different stamp than the tradition Id like to indicate. It is first and foremost ideological and emerged between the two world wars to afflict all three principal confessions in Europe: Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy.



To take but one example of from each of these confessions, consider first the Romanian Orthodox ideologue, Ion Mota, a key leader of militant fascist mystics, the Legion of Archangel Michael. Just before he was killed by Republicans in what he understood as a holy war in Civil War Spain, Mota declared: No force, no love exists which is higher than that of the race (and can only be realized in the race), except for the force of Christ and love of him. We are defending Christianity in a foreign land, we are defending a force which wells up from the force of our people, and, spurred on by our love for the Cross, we are obeying here in Spain our love for the Romanian people.



Underscoring that his views were scarcely marginal, a mortuary train carried Motas body from the Spanish battlefield across Europe in winter 1937 into Bucharest, where he was received by hundreds of thousands of devotees, helping to nearly triple the mystical fascist party  the Romanian Iron Guard  membership to 272,000 by the end of that year. No doubt many of these supporters later took part in the earliest massacres during the wartime Holocaust, murdering more than 100,000 Jews in pogroms across Romania in 1940.



This form of sacralized politics was not limited either to the laity or to Orthodox fascists. In Nazi Germany, the regime initially supported the mistitled German Christians as an expression of what was termed Positive Christianity in the NSDAP program. Under Reichsbishop Heinrich Muller, the German Christians promoted the Fuhrerprinzip in the countrys Protestant churches, aiming for complete coordination between a totalitarian state and a totalitarian church.



A picture of what this looked like can be glimpsed from these selections of Mullers 1934 rendering of Christs Sermon on the Mount. Thus, Blessed are the meek becomes Benevolence to him who bears his suffering manfully, while Blessed are the peacemakers is mongered into Benevolence to those who maintain peace with the members of the Volk. Most sacrilegiously, the categorical turning the other cheek is turned to the following: I say to you: it is better, so to live with other members of your Volk that you get along with each other. Volk community is a high and sacred trust for which you must make sacrifice. Therefore come out to meet your opponent as far as you can before you completely fall out with him. If in his excitement your comrade hits you in the face, it is not always correct to hit him back.



So far did this heresy go that the German Christians even sought the liberation from the Old Testament with its cheap Jewish morality by attempting to simply expunge it from the Bible. The genocidal analogue of this attempted erasure was the Holocaust, which was powered by what Saul Friedlander has aptly called redemptive antisemitism.
Patrick Reevell

ABC NewsJuly 18, 2021Russias campaign against the Jehovahs WitnessesHundreds have been targeted in a crackdown that no one can fully explain.MOSCOW -- In a bright, spotless apartment in a Moscow suburb, a small circle of people sat around a table in December 2019. Bowls of candies and teapots were set out, along with salads.The group opened the meeting with a prayer and a hymn -- most of them shy and just murmuring along, raising their voices a little above some background music played on a television showing a preacher in a suit.The people present were Jehovah's Witnesses -- a Christian religious sect first founded in the United States in the 19th century but now has an estimated 8 million followers around the world.In many countries, such meetings would be nothing unusual. But in Russia, authorities now treat them as illegal, designating them as gatherings of "extremists."That means attendees meet in secret. Before arriving, they check the street for police. As they meet, they know there is a risk of officers knocking at the door or even breaking it down. If they are arrested, they could face years in prison.These are the fears Jehovah's Witnesses have lived with in Russia since the group was outlawed in the country in 2017. The Russian supreme court that year banned the religion as "extremist," and in doing so unleashed what is perhaps one of the worst but most mysterious persecution campaigns in Russia.The estimated 175,000 adherents in Russia are now equated with members of dangerous terrorist organizations. The community has been subjected to hundreds of raids and arrests by Russian security forces and, in some places, alleged torture. Across Russia, hundreds have been charged as "extremists," and dozens have been jailed in a campaign that human rights groups have struggled to explain.Banned under the Soviet Union and authorized in the liberal years following its collapse, the renewed persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is seen by some as the frightening return of Soviet oppression once thought gone as well as a reflection of how security services under President Vladimir Putin are turning the clock back on dissent."We are talking about a group of people who are practicing their religion peacefully, who are not carrying out any violent actions, who are not interfering with public order," said Tanya Lokshina, the Human Rights Watch associate director for Europe and Central Asia."And those people are treated as dangerous criminals. As, quote unquote, 'extremists.'"'Reminds me of the Inquisition'The Jehovah's Witnesses were banned under an anti-extremism law, nominally intended for dangerous, violent organizations. It means that the peaceful group, which has no history of violence and forbids involvement in politics, was placed alongside terrorist organizations such as ISIS or the Japanese Doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, which carried a nerve agent attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.People charged with participating in the Jehovah's Witnesses can be sentenced up to six years in a prison camp, and organizers can face up to 10 years. In many cases, just praying in a group has been enough for police to bring charges against a person.Since 2017, police have carried out hundreds of raids on Jehovah's Witnesses' homes and meeting places all across Russia, according to the religious group as well as human rights groups. Over 500 adherents have been charged under the extremism law, and dozens are already jailed on sentences up to eight years.Dozens of those charged are elderly -- some as old as 89. In the far eastern city of Vladivostok, an 86 year-old was charged with extremism and placed on a terrorism watchlist."It reminds me of the Inquisition," said Evgeny Kandaurov, a journalist and Jehovah's Witness whose home was raided earlier this year.The "extremist" designation also means that when police conduct raids on Jehovah's Witnesses, they act as though they are storming hideouts of armed terrorists.Dozens of videos released by law enforcement show officers in full body armor and helmets, often armed with guns and batons, entering the apartments of terrified people. In some cases, police rip down doors with power saws and crow bars.The show of force is directed against people usually sitting quietly in prayer or otherwise defenseless, asleep in their pajamas. Officers often appear aware there's no threat, sometimes just ringing the door bell and waiting while standing in their combat gear.Officers act "as if some very dangerous criminal activity were actually going on," Lokshina said. "While in fact what they're dealing with is people who are praying and talking and peacefully practicing their faith."'I thought I was going to suffocate to death'In its first years, the enforcement campaign mostly took place in regions far outside Moscow.One morning in February 2019, in the northern city of Surgut, about 1,800 miles from Moscow, law enforcement officers rounded up around 40 Jehovah's Witnesses, according to the church.The believers were brought for interrogation at the local branch of Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes. There, at least seven detained men said officers tortured them, including with electric shocks, beatings and suffocation."They tied my hands and legs with tape," one of the men, Sergey Volosnikov, 42, told ABC News in an interview last year."They put a bag over my head and put me on the floor. Then they started to close the bag so that air couldn't get in. I was already preparing myself that I'm going to  .to suffocate to death," he said.Volosnikov said police then tortured him with a stun gun before demanding he sign a confession.The other men described similar torture, telling ABC News they were taken into the room one by one after refusing to confess to extremism charges. Some of the men said the officers threatened to rape them, pulling down their underwear and using a stun gun on their buttocks. Others said police injected them with a liquid and told them it would cause their hearts to stop."I was lying on the floor, all tied up with the sack on my head. And they started to discuss some kind of object, right, which they would rape me with," said Artyom Kim, who said he was taken into the room three times, where he was also electrocuted and suffocated."I was afraid for my life. I was already saying goodbye to all my relatives," he said.The seven men have demanded Russian federal law enforcement investigate their allegations of torture, but their requests have been repeatedly rejected, they said."You can't take faith from someone. If he believes, it means he believes," Volosnikov said. "To beat the faith out of someone, that's already totalitarianism."The Kremlin has largely refused to comment on the campaign against the Jehovah's Witnesses. When previously asked by reporters about it, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the group is banned and that there is nothing more to discuss.In Surgut, nearly two dozen Jehovah's Witnesses remain under criminal investigation and will likely face a trial on the extremism charges.Timofey Zhukov, a local lawyer in Surgut and a Jehovah's Witness, has helped coordinate the defense of those charged. But police have put him under investigation as well.In February 2020, ABC News attended a court hearing that Zhukov and around 20 Jehovah's Witnesses were at to support another believer facing charges.Before it started, two plainclothes police officers entered and approached Zhukov, informing him they were there to take him to a psychiatric hospital located nearly 800 miles away.A court had earlier ordered Zhukov to undergo psychological evaluation at the hospital, something he said he believed was intended to pressure him for fighting the criminal charges.He refused to go with the two officers on the basis that the court order was under appeal. After a tense standoff, the two officers backed down and left."It's one of their methods of repression," Zhukov said. "If there hadn't been cameras and so many people here, the conversation would have ended differently."But as Zhukov exited the court building later, the officers jumped him, trying to drag him away from the crowd of other Jehovah's Witnesses.Zhukov managed to escape, but a day later was grabbed again by police. He said he spent three weeks in a psychiatric hospital, housed with other men in a room with barred windows. His detention echoes a practice from Soviet times when authorities incarcerated dissidents in mental institutions."All this is happening just because I read the Bible and am a person of faith," Zhukov said.'Nobody knows why'Besides its extravagant displays of force and harsh sentences, the campaign has another unusual feature: No one really knows why it is happening."Nobody knows," Lokshina said. "A lot of people have been trying to figure it out, but nobody really knows."Unlike efforts to outlaw political opponents of the Kremlin, there is no obvious motive for why Russian authorities have targeted Jehovah's Witnesses.Internationally, the group is best known for their proselytising on door steps. They share similar beliefs with many mainstream Christian churches, though they have a number of unique values as well. Some of the beliefs -- such as rejecting blood transfusions -- are controversial, but none are violent.Jehovah's Witnesses are also forbidden from getting involved in politics, making the campaign even more puzzling.In the early days of the campaign, some observers believed the campaign might have been launched without the Kremlin's direct involvement.When Putin was asked about the ban in 2018, he appeared surprised, saying it was "total nonsense" and adding it "should be looked into carefully."Such words from Putin are usually interpreted as a signal to pull back. But since his remarks, the campaign against the Jehovah's Witnesses has intensified. In the past year, it has spread to Moscow, which had previously been largely spared arrests and raids.As the campaign becomes broader, some experts have concluded it must be directed from the top of government and at least approved by Putin."I think the decisions must be made at the top level," said Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the SOVA Center, which studies extremism in Russia.'Extremely suspicious'While it's unclear why the group is being targeted, some experts see the church's links to the United States, as well as its size and active search for converts, as likely reasons.The Jehovah's Witnesses' distinctive belief of refusing to interact with governments is also likely key, Verkhovsky said. Although they are permitted to obey laws and pay taxes, believers are prohibited from joining the military or holding any government posts."For our authorities, that looks extremely suspicious," Verkhovsky said.Jehovah's Witnesses have frequently become victims of authoritarian regimes. They were persecuted under the Nazis and in the Soviet Union, where they were banned until its collapse in 1991. Under Joseph Stalin, tens of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses were deported en masse to Siberia in 1951.Russia's campaign against the Jehovah's Witnesses has occurred as the country has become far more authoritarian under Putin. The same anti-extremism law used against Jehovah's Witnesses was applied this year to outlaw the movement of the Kremlin's main political opponent, Alexey Navalny, who remains in a prison camp.Senior Russian officials have stoked an atmosphere of anti-Western paranoia, urging the security services to be alert for foreign groups seeking to undermine Russia. The broader turn back toward Soviet-style suspicion of dissent appears to have also brought the government's former attitude to the Jehovah's Witnesses along with it."My impression is that the anti-extremism law is used when somebody -- I don't know who, but somebody -- sees a religious movement as a political threat. How they see this threat, we do not know, because they do not talk about it in public," Verkhovsky said.In such an atmosphere, local security forces can also see extremism cases against Jehovah's Witnesses as easy ways to earn approval and promotion, he said.The United States has been increasingly vocal in condemning the campaign. In December, the State Department added Russia to its special watchlist for "severe violators" of religious freedom, which also includes Iran and Pakistan. The U.S. in 2019 also announced entry bans on two senior Russian law enforcement officers in Surgut over the alleged torture of the Jehovah's Witnesses there.But there is no indication the campaign is slowing down. In February, police and Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) launched raids across Moscow, saying it searched 16 addresses and made arrests.Among those swept up was Yury Temirbulatov, a teacher and Jehovah's Witness who had spoken to ABC News in the beginning of 2020.At the time, he and others had been concerned the campaign might reach Moscow but said they felt relatively safe.He said back then that he did not understand why they were being persecuted. He is now in a Moscow detention center and faces up to six years in prison if convicted."For the past 20 years, I teach people only to love, to be very polite, to be pay taxes, to work hard," he said. "I don't understand."
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Mr. Charles Henry Payne, age 72, of Chatsworth passed away July 18, 2021, at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga TN. Charles is preceded in death by his parents, Wade and Nola Payne: brother, Raymond Bryson Payne, sister. Delores Dianne Queen. He is survived by his wife, Judy Belinda Payne:
The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Diane Pineiro-Zucker has been a reporter at the Daily Freeman since April 2013. Pineiro-Zucker worked as a reporter in the Freemans Rhinebeck bureau in the early 1980s, left to become executive editor at Taconic Newspapers in Dutchess County.
SAUGERTIES, N.Y.  An effort by the town to have residents keep their properties neat is cre
Paul Kirby is a reporter for the Freeman, covering Kingston politics. He has been at the Freeman since August 1996.
The Kingston Library in Midtown Kingston, N.Y., housed in a former elementary school building dating to the late 19th century, is seen in a Freeman file photo from Sept. 16, 2020.
Robert Inglis/The Daily Item These banners with Shikellamy's logo on them can be seen in front of the high school and around their sports complex.
Williamsport resident Anne Hetzel points to a photograph of Deborah Dickey, the Montoursville High School French teacher who was chaperoning 16 students on a trip to Paris on July 17, 1996. The photographs are among the many artifacts and tributes to the victims of the doomed flight at the General John Burrows Historical Society.
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These Chester County entrepreneurs are really busy on Saturdays
Imagine living for years under constant surveillance. Healthcare decisions made for you. Your every movement monitored. Social media almost your only contact with the world at large.

This is the living nightmare pop megastar Britney Spears has suffered for 13 years, since she was placed under conservatorship  a court-ordered arrangement for people considered unable to care for themselves or handle their affairs  following a highly publicised nervous breakdown in 2008.

But perhaps you dont need to imagine that. And perhaps its no coincidence that 2020 was the year Britneys plight caught the public eye. Because 2020 was when the rest of us got a taste of what her suffocating life must be like, thanks to pandemic control measures that have reduced or abolished freedoms we all took for granted.

And just as its by no means clear that Britney will manage to free herself, its not a certainty that well manage to do so either  even after so-called Freedom Day tomorrow.

Imagine living for years under constant surveillance. Healthcare decisions made for you. Your every movement monitored. Social media almost your only contact with the world at large. This is the living nightmare pop megastar Britney Spears has suffered for 13 years

Britney achieved major-league fame in 1999 aged 16, when she dressed as a smouldering schoolgirl in the video to Hit Me Baby One More Time.

A string of albums and sell-out tours cemented her as a wildly successful brand. Behind the scenes, though, she struggled with the pressure.

Her wild partying made headlines and her battles with mental illness grew more visible, notoriously in 2007 when she shaved her own head in a Los Angeles salon. In 2008, following a harrowing stand-off with her ex-husband over access to her young children, Britney was taken to a psychiatric hospital  meaning the end of her independence.

Those around her pushed to make legal power over her welfare permanent. They succeeded, establishing the conservatorship that has controlled her life ever since.

The #FreeBritney campaign that was launched among those worried about her was shrugged off as a conspiracy theory concocted by obsessive fans. But in 2020, as the world closed in thanks to Covid, it began to spread.

Britney achieved major-league fame in 1999 aged 16, when she dressed as a smouldering schoolgirl in the video to Hit Me Baby One More Time. A string of albums and sell-out tours cemented her as a wildly successful brand.

Gossip columns reported on repeated court decisions to extend Britneys conservatorship. Meanwhile, locked-down pop fans followed her social-media feeds. Rumours swirled about coded messages hidden in her videos.

#FreeBritney really took off earlier this year, 12 months into the Covid fight. The TV documentary Framing Britney Spears lifted the lid on her battle to end the conservatorship  and especially to escape the domineering power of her father, Jamie Spears.

The reports came thick and fast. Forget the glamorous, free-wheeling life you might imagine a megastar to have. Sources claimed Mr Spears holds absolute control over not just her finances but her social world. It appeared he controlled everything, down to the colour of her kitchen cabinets, according to one source.

Others reported that he routinely fires anyone who gets too close to Britney and that her mobile phone is tapped.

In court last month, Britney spoke out, claiming she has been forced to work against her will, to take lithium  a powerful anti-psychotic drug  and to have a coil fitted that prevents her having another baby.

As details emerged, the sad story of this beautiful 39-year-old woman  supposedly pop royalty but with no control over her money, movements or social contacts  began to feel eerily familiar.

For the Coronavirus Act, rushed through with minimal scrutiny in March 2020, granted our Government enormously extensive powers. It gives our leaders the right to restrict or ban events, arrest or detain people deemed infectious, surveil private communications, retain DNA and fingerprint data for longer, and keep people detained for extended periods. Everything, that is, short of dictating the colour of our kitchen cabinets.

Even as people have cheered on Britneys battle to reclaim her freedom, weve tolerated the loss of our own, always trusting that our Government would restore them in due course. But will they?

So far, those who control Britneys life and finances are fighting to keep their grip on the source of so many salaries. Two days before Britney addressed court, Boris Johnson declared his commitment to ending all Covid restrictions on July 19.

But I suspect that just as Jamie Spears clings on grimly to the control he has over his daughters affairs, so, too, the emergency powers granted to our leaders to fight the pandemic will not be given up lightly.

#FreeBritney really took off earlier this year, 12 months into the Covid fight. The TV documentary Framing Britney Spears lifted the lid on her battle to end the conservatorship  and especially to escape the domineering power of her father, Jamie Spears

No doubt the motivations will be well-meaning. But we can expect a battle in the coming months over ending not just lockdown restrictions but the Coronavirus Act itself.

On one side, well find those who want the country the way it was pre-coronavirus: that is, a Britain where you can do what you like, unless its explicitly forbidden.

On the other, well see those whove quite enjoyed seeing government in Jamie Spears mode: with the pesky scrutiny of Parliament limited, control over finances extended, beefed-up powers of surveillance, and control over all our comings and goings. All in the name of safety, and public health.

In a statement after Britney first launched proceedings, her father said he loved her very much and that his desire was simply to safeguard, protect and continue to love Britney unconditionally.

But he was criticised for spending more than $2 million (1.5 million) of Britneys own money on resisting her efforts to escape his control. I likewise doubt all those appointed to taxpayer-funded posts in this countrys new coronavirus bureaucracy will be keen to see that tap run dry.

Weve weathered a terrible crisis. Lets hope the great vaccination push has done the job, and were reaching the end. But were already hearing heels being dragged.

The ever-fretful Sage committee has sounded a note of warning over rising hospitalisations, while the Financial Times claimed the world is looking at us with disbelief as Britain reopens.

Tomorrow all restrictions supposedly end  albeit amid a thicket of warnings.

But the truth is that Freedom Day is a sideshow. The battleground wont be over pub table service, or how many people you can have at a wedding. It will be over the Coronavirus Act itself, which grants the Government the right to dictate such provisions in the first place. While this is still in force, those restrictions can be reinstated at any moment.

If Jamie Spears allowed his daughter to go out more, while still holding on to her conservatorship, would she be free? No more than we will be, until the Coronavirus Act is gone.

Like Britney Spearss conservatorship, the Act is up for review in September. If the number of hospitalisations stays low, and vaccinations seem to be working, we must ensure the Government keeps its promise to let us go.

Mary Harrington is a columnist for UnHerd.
Having trouble getting your groceries delivery from Ocado? You may be one of the casualties of a falling-out between robots.

Which is more novel than the familiar problem when engaging with non-humans if you are old-fashioned enough to visit an actual supermarket: Unexplained item in the bagging area.

It was reported at the weekend that a collision between three robots at an Ocado warehouse in South-East London caused a conflagration that took around 100 firefighters 14 hours to put out.

It is the second time a fire has swept through one of the companys warehouses as a result of a robot malfunction  although on the earlier occasion, in 2019, it was caused by an electrical fault in a solitary bot, rather than a pile-up.

These Ocado robots are not your speaking sort, so the argument they had with each other at the weekend was purely physical.

That is what one might expect, since these machines  automated fridges on wheels, which move at around 10mph picking up and transporting chosen groceries  are not, in any sense of the word, intelligent.

Still, this debacle is another setback to so many businesses that are trying to replace supposedly irrational humans and their fallible decisions with machines and algorithms which require no feeding or watering (or, indeed, paying).

Friendly

Last November, Walmart, the worlds biggest supermarket chain, abandoned its programme of using roving robots in store aisles to monitor stock levels on the shelves (a job hitherto done by humans).

It severed its contract with Bossa Nova Robotics, whose 6ft inventory scanners across 500 Walmart stores had been intended to spread out among many more of the companys outlets.

To make these 6ft robots more friendly-seeming to customers  and indeed to employees working alongside the things  Walmart had compared them with genial R2-D2 from the Star Wars movies.

This did not convince people. It was reported that Walmarts chief executive, John Furner, had concerns about how shoppers react to seeing a robot working in a store.

Having trouble getting your groceries delivery from Ocado? You may be one of the casualties of a falling-out between robots (stock photo)

That, I can believe. We shoppers find it immensely helpful to be able to ask one of those human employees checking the supermarket shelves where we can find certain items.

And these robotic inventory checkers were certainly not so advanced that they would be able to tell you where to find the Bolognese sauce for your pasta. Or, indeed, even register that they were aware of your existence. Or what pasta is.

Not so much Computer says no as Robot says nothing.

This debacle might be especially concerning to the supermarket supremos, as we seem to be in a period of labour shortages (doubtless aggravated by the effect of the furlough system), so businesses are having to bid up wages to get the staff they need in an employment sellers market.

However, as Milan Racic, who himself is the co-founder of a robotics firm, observed a few months ago: While the current crop of mobile robots can reduce some labour, some time, and some costs, right now, the benefits have not been enough to justify the purchases of tens of thousands of such robots for some large corporations.

It was reported at the weekend that a collision between three robots at an Ocado warehouse in South-East London caused a conflagration that took around 100 firefighters 14 hours to put out

In Walmarts case, the benefits provided were not enough to justify the purchase of 1,000 robots, even though they were already ordered and announced.

But perhaps the most significant setback, at least in the much more hyped area of so-called intelligent, speaking robots, has been with the humanoid known as Pepper.

It is the brainchild (actually it looks a bit child-like, though it has no real brain) of the Japanese multi-billionaire technology industrialist Masayoshi Son.

His firm, SoftBank, had promoted Pepper as the first robot with a heart, and it was designed, above all, to replace humans in the care sector.

It is natural that such a project would originate in Japan, not just because it is a nation obsessed with innovatory technology (a good thing) but also because it has the worlds oldest average age, combined with a rapidly shrinking working-age population.

And, as the Shinto faith asserts that even inanimate objects can have a spirit within them, the Japanese people may be more ready to relate personally with what is actually, still, a machine.

Loneliness

In fact, these robots are rather cute  or kawaii, to use the Japanese word.

As I found out nearly a decade ago, when at Hondas Fundamental Technology Research centre in Tokyo, I encountered the humanoid known as Asimo.

I wrote at the time that it moves in such a human fashion that I soon forget that I am engaging with a machine.

Like Asimo, Pepper is no more than 4ft tall, and thus very unthreatening.

In 2019 it began trials at a Bedfordshire care home, furnishing evidence for the largest British investigation into the potential of speech recognition robots to reduce loneliness among the elderly (launched before the Covid crisis made that all the more relevant).

Last November, Walmart, the worlds biggest supermarket chain, abandoned its programme of using roving robots in store aisles to monitor stock levels on the shelves (a job hitherto done by humans)

The BBC News at Ten was given access to that Bedfordshire care home, and last September its home affairs editor, Mark Easton, presented a touching report which showed Pepper asking one of the elderly residents, Peter: Tell me, what where the most difficult things you and your family had to go through during the Second World War?

Fortunately Peter was not old enough to have been personally involved in the war with Japan, or things might have got a bit awkward.

Easton was so impressed that he hyperbolically concluded his report with the words: It seems that some robots are more caring than some humans. But no robot is capable of caring, in any emotional sense, since they have no feelings, nor could they (outside science fiction).

It was reported that Walmarts chief executive, John Furner (pictured), had concerns about how shoppers react to seeing a robot working in a store

And last month it became clear that the entire project had hit the buffers of human resistance to humanoids.

In June, SoftBank announced that production of Pepper, which started in 2014, had ceased (or rather, to use the companys euphemism, paused for a while).

Even the Japanese, it seems, had tired of Peppers shortcomings  at least as compared with its advertised capabilities as hotel receptionist, carer, and all-round helpful assistant.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an account of this, under the headline Humanoid Robot Keeps Getting Fired From His Jobs.

Disaster

So, for example, a Japanese firm in the funerals business had programmed Pepper to chant at religious interments (safer than by a human, during a Covid pandemic, was the idea).

But the robot kept breaking down during practice runs (What if it refused to operate in the middle of a ceremony? It would be a disaster, said the funeral business manager interviewed).

The company terminated the lease of the robot  the hire rate starts at $550 a month  and sent it back.

In June, SoftBank announced that production of Pepper, which started in 2014, had ceased (or rather, to use the companys euphemism, paused for a while)

A Tokyo care home operator, Ittokai, had taken on three Peppers, at a cost of $900 a month each, to lead singing and exercises for their residents.

But Ittokai said that their residents, having been excited to have it early on because of its novelty, lost interest sooner than expected.

And a Japanese technology journalist called Tsutsumu Ishikawa, who said he had fallen in love at first sight after seeing SoftBanks boss present a glorious future of living with personable Pepper, found that when he got it into his own home, Pepper couldnt recognise the faces of family members or carry on a proper conversation.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman and Chief executive officer of SoftBank Corp, had promoted Pepper as the first robot with a heart, and it was designed, above all, to replace humans in the care sector

Ishikawa sent the humanoid back to SoftBank, having spent more than $9,000 on subscription services: It was such a waste of money. I still regret it.

Still, it has been reported that Pepper will make some appearances in the stadium for the Olympic Games, which open in Tokyo this week.

That may in part be because, with the capital in a state of emergency following a resurgence of the coronavirus, no spectators will be present.

But in this case, too, humanoids are no substitute: in the absence of human fans, these things cheering at the events will hardly inspire the athletes.

Robots: know your place.
At the age of 26, Emily Harrison was enjoying her carefree lifestyle travelling overseas for eight months, but on December 2, 2020 after returning home her world as she knew it was turned upside down due to an unanticipated breast cancer diagnosis.

The Melbourne florist maintained a healthy routine and only experienced one common fatal symptom, a small lump in her breast.

'My initial thought after the prognosis was 'am I going to die?',' Emily told FEMAIL.

'I had incredibly heightened emotions for a long time and wasn't really sure of how to process them.'

While she has family history of breast cancer, Emily was unaware she would need to battle against the disease at such a young age.

Emily Harrison (pictured) was travelling around South East Asia, Korea, Europe, Morocco and Japan for eight months prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26 in December 2020

While she has family history of breast cancer, Emily was unaware she would need to battle against the disease at such a young age

Emily told FEMAIL she never imagined cancer to be an isolating experience and wasn't aware of how the diagnosis would permanently impact her life

The young florist first noticed the lump in the shower but only deemed it to be a breast cyst.

After three weeks of no change, her parents and partner urged her to visit a GP who referred to get an ultrasound.

'It was at this appointment I realised the lump may be more sinister than I had anticipated,' she said.

'I remember the ultrasound technician going and getting his supervisor, she then had a look at the scans and told me she would recommend I skip a mammogram and go straight for a biopsy,' she said.

In less than 24 hours Emily was called back to discuss the results and further tests required, which included a sentinel node biopsy and a breast core biopsy.

The results from the procedures detected and determined the lump was cancerous, leaving Emily feeling vulnerable and concerned.

The young florist first noticed the lump in the shower but only deemed it to be a breast cyst

The results from the procedures detected and determined the lump was cancerous, leaving Emily feeling vulnerable and concerned

How to self-examine your breasts: Step 1: Begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips. Here's what you should look for: Breasts that are their usual size, shape, and color

Breasts that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling If you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor's attention: Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin

A nipple that has changed position or an inverted nipple (pushed inward instead of sticking out)

Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling Step 2: Now raise your arms and look for the same changes Step 3: While you're at the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both nipples (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood) Step 4: Next, feel your breasts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left breast and then your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together Step 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting Many women find that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower Cover your entire breast, using the same hand movements described in step 4 Source: breastcancer.org Advertisement

Since the diagnosis, Emily learnt she has a BRCA-1 gene mutation likely due to her family history of the cancer.

'This gave me a little bit of comfort in being diagnosed at such a young age, as it allowed me to realise this diagnosis was nothing of my own doing and I already had a higher risk of developing breast cancer than most other women my age,' she said.

'I wish I knew all of the different treatment plans and options for breast cancer; I was under the impression I would have a few rounds of chemotherapy followed by a singular surgery and that would be it, but there is so much more involved.'

Emily has needed to make difficult choices about biological children, surgeries, reconstructions and treatment plans.

'I did IVF and had my eggs frozen, I've gone into early menopause, I get run down so much easier than I used to, I have a monthly injection to try to protect my ovaries and I have regular heart scans to make sure the chemotherapy hasn't damaged my heart,' she said.

Emily has needed to make difficult choices about biological children, surgeries, reconstructions and treatment plans

'I wish I knew all of the different treatment plans and options for breast cancer; I was under the impression I would have a few rounds of chemotherapy followed by a singular surgery and that would be it, but there is so much more involved,' she said

After completing the IVF egg collection process and bodily scans to confirm the cancer had not spread elsewhere, Emily had a 'port-a-cath' put into her chest to receive chemotherapy infusion without causing significant damage to her veins.

She then began six months of chemotherapy and has a small scar on the right side of her chest from the catheter.

Unfortunately due to the harsh nature of chemotherapy, Emily gradually lost her hair follicles but isn't afraid to post images of herself on social media.

'I go through a variety of emotions, a lot of the time I am still just trying to process what I have gone through in the last eight months,' she said.

'During my months of chemotherapy, I felt a lot of resentment and anger. As much as I would never wish anybody else to go through what I am going through, I find myself wondering often why it is happening to me.'

Emily said she never imagined cancer to be an isolating experience and wasn't aware of how the diagnosis would permanently impact her life.

On July 7, 2021 Emily had surgery to remove further tissue of concern and to determine whether she needs radiotherapy

Emily's main piece of advice to other women is to 'not be afraid' to visit your GP if you notice any changes with your body

On July 7, 2021 Emily had surgery to remove further tissue of concern and to determine whether she needs radiotherapy.

'I will be having ten years of hormone therapy and for the rest of my life will have to partake in physical therapy to prevent the development of a condition known as Lymphedema,' she said.

'I will also undergo physiotherapy sessions to help prevent lymphedema developing in my left arm where I will have all of my lymph nodes removed.'

Emily's main piece of advice to other women is to 'not be afraid' to visit your GP if you notice any changes with your body.

She considers herself extremely lucky doctors took her case seriously and understood the severity of the situation.

'Without this, I may be in a completely different position than I am in now,' she said.
Stars including BBC journalist Emily Maitlis and film director Richard Curtis have turned their hands to literary criticism and reviewed the books in the running for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

The VIP reviewers were each given one of the six novels shortlisted for the award. The winner will be announced on September 8.

Titles include Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller, which Curtis hailed as a 'beautifully written story', and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, which presenter Gabby Logan described as a 'wonderful book'.

The other books up for consideration are No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones and Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.

Here, ahead of the winner being announced, the celebrity reviewers share their verdicts...

Film director Richard Curtis: Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

The titles shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction include Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller, which Richard Curtis (pictured) hailed as a 'beautifully written story'

'Unsettled Ground is unsettling. It's got a truly great first chapter and all the rest of the chapters are wonderful too.

'It's the beautifully written story of a brother and sister who have lived their entire lives in a small cottage with their mother on the land of a man who may or may not have murdered their father.

'It plunges you into their strange world  it's full of sorrow and mystery  it's merciless in its observation of casual cruelty and merciful in its observation of casual kindness and family love.

'It's a cracking tale, but also a very deep character study of people on the very edge of society, who fall between the cracks of life in a small town. I hope I'll read the other books on the Shortlist, but obviously now I hope this one was  so you can share the unsettling, beautiful tale of Julius and Jeanie.'

Presenter Gabby Logan: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Gabby Logan said The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a 'wonderful book'

'This is a wonderful book about identity, seen through the lives of black twin girls who were born in the segregated era of the deep south. They suffer a terrible tragedy in seeing their father come to a violent death as young girls, a death that was directly related to their race.

'One of the twin sisters is paler skinned than the other and in an attempt to escape her life and inevitable future, what she sees as her fate she passes herself off as white after the twins had run away to New Orleans. This means she has to learn how to be white, assuming whole cultural upbringing she simply has not had.

'As a result from the age of sixteen everything about these identical twins begins to change, their communities, possibilities and opportunities. Stella is the paler twin and we learn about the value placed on lighter skin in black communities because of the obvious proximity to wealth and power that such skin is seen in the 1950's and 1960's.

'The hope always seeming to be that the next generation will be a little bit paler than the one before. The way Desiree and Stella's lives develop over time, living very different experiences is profound and of course Stella cannot escape her past totally and her attempts to do that involve some murky and distressing episodes. What really sets the story alight is Brit Bennett's language and powers of description and one is very easily transported into the era and locations defined.'

Journalist Emily Maitlis: No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

'This unique work has two characters - through the first hundred pages there is a poetic, tweetetic lyricism to the writing - a protagonist who won't make the mistake of taking herself too seriously. She plays with words, fears images, lets us inside the portal of social media that ear -worms her day and her thoughts and ultimately her career and her life. But suddenly, there is a sharp change.

'The character of both writing and protagonist changes as she becomes the aunt to a severely disformed baby - who she adores and who's existence seems to stop everything else in its tracks.

'I couldn't decide if we needed the bilious froth of the social media world at the beginning to make us see how little relevance it had to the actual physical world of pain and birth and death. Or whether perhaps it was a recognition of how we simultaneously inhabit both these worlds. The one that we can dominate but that doesn't matter. Or the one we can't control that does.

'Either way, the book gets better as you travel through it. By the end elegiac and raw and full of the kind of laughter that doesn't feel twitter-forced or brutal. That finds a sort of naive calmer world. Thoughtful, lyrical and quietly profound.'

Journalist and presenter Fi Glover: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Journalist and presenter Fi Glover said Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a 'thing of wonder'

'Piranesi is a thing of wonder, it's a book that takes you far away from yourself whilst staying so close to the basics of human experience.

'You can lose yourself in the halls and the tides of the labyrinth Susanna Clarke has created, and she has accomplished a tricky thing - to create a world recognisable to us as readers whilst also making it almost impossible to grasp.

'It is a compelling book - and a timely one too, it makes you consider what it is to be lost, and then to be found, and how curiosity can be both a comforting and a sinister thing.'

Activist, lawyer and commentator Shola Mos-Shogbamimu: How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

Activist, lawyer and commentator Shola Mos-Shogbamimu said How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones was 'a thoroughly enjoyable read'

'It's not everyday you come across a story which compels you with intrigue and powerful descriptive play on words that place you side by side with the characters.

'You can't read this book without resonating with it - a delicate balance of empathy, defiance and truth.

'A thoroughly enjoyable read by an author whose storytelling can only be described as a work of art.'

Presenter and actor Tom Read Wilson: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

'Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom is a harpoon-like look at transcending polarised existences to forge one's own.

'As Gifty's brother, Nana, is consumed by addiction and her mother navigates depression, she attempts to charter her own course. Is she merely a composite of the elements of her upbringing she's resisted or embraced? Or is there something in her that transcends? Something singular?

'Challenging contradictions and asking whether they ought to be contradictions, we hop-sometimes plummet- from Gifty's present world of neuroscience to childhood Sunday services. From Alabama to Ghana.

'Even the insouciant chronology transcends Gifty's obsession with order and cleanliness. The 'anhedonia', that Nana seeks through Oxycontin and Gifty's mother seeks through sleep, is a transcendent kingdom of sorts: One of numbness.

'But does such a kingdom exist where one can actually feel? Live? These heartbreakingly difficult questions underpin this book's exquisite beauty and ultimate hope.'
A professional cleaner has revealed how she completely transformed a shower screen using a $30 product from Kmart.

The cleaner, who posts on TikTok under cleanswithbeth, showed off her new shower vacuum which she bought from the store.

She had previously seen similar products in Bunnings but said she couldn't justify the $200 price tag.

Scroll down for video

A professional cleaner has revealed how she completely transformed a shower screen using a $30 product from Kmart

The cleaner was impressed with the result and said while the machine wasn't five star it did an amazing job for the price

The impressive gadget cleaned the shower screen so well it was almost impossible to see the glass in the video.

'Don't lie, there is no door there,' one woman wrote on the viral video.

'This is so amazing, well done and thanks for sharing,' another said.

While others revealed they would be heading to Kmart as soon as possible to buy one of the tools for their own homes.

'I saw this at Kmart and wondered what it was like. I'll buy one now,' one woman said.

'I am in quarantine but I am definitely going to be sending my husband to Kmart to grab one of these,' another woman said.

'Aggressively adds Kmart window vacuum to cart,' another woman wrote in the comments.

The original video got more than 700k views on the social media platform in a matter of days.

The cleaner has since clarified her method, to help others achieve the same results.

She showed off her newly cleaned shower screen - some people joked she was telling a lie and there was no screen in the picture

She started by wiping the glass over with Bar Keeper's Friend before wiping it with a Scrub Daddy cloth and finally tackling the glass with the vacuum.

'It also has an awesome vacuum function  this is what I bought it for. I really just wanted a window vac but I did not want to spend $200 plus on one from Bunnings.'

The cleaner said the appliance is by no-means five star and although it comes with a spray function she finds wiping the window herself is more effective.

'But for $30 it does a pretty awesome job. I (use it) nice and slow and it turns out really damn amazing for $30.'

The cleaner said she used Bar Keeper's friend and a Scrub Daddy instead of the gadget's spray option because she thought the result would be better and only bought the tool for the vacuum function

The Bar Keeper's Friend the cleaner used has recently become a 'must have' product for home makers.

One Australian mum praised the $8 supermarket 'polish' that left her shower screen sparkling clean in a matter of minutes.

Tamika, from Brisbane, previously tried everything including toothpaste and dishwashing liquid to banish soap scum, but nothing seemed to work until she discovered Bar Keepers Friend Cleaning Polish.

Posting to a popular cleaning Facebook group, Tamika said she 'nearly cried' after the popular cleaning polish left the glass screens streak-free and clean without heavy scrubbing.

The product can be bought from both Woolworths and Coles supermarkets across Australia.

An Australian mum previously tried everything from toothpaste to dishwashing liquid to clean her shower screen, but nothing seemed to work until she used Bar Keepers Friend

'Over the last three years I have tried gumption, methylated spirits, Windex, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, magic erasers, boiling water, mould remover, bleach [and] major elbow grease with minimal result,' she wrote.

'Late last night was scrolling and [saw] someone post about Bar Keepers Friend.'

Tamika said whenever she tried to wash the glass it would appear to be clean until it dried, but after using the product the screen became 'spotless'.

To clean the shower screen, Tamika sprinkled the powder directly onto a wet scourer pad and applied to it the glass in a circular motion.

To clean the shower screen, Tamika sprinkled the powder directly onto a wet scourer pad and applied to the glass

She left the product on for a couple minutes before wiping it off using a sponge and water followed by a hand towel.

Tamika said she completed this application twice to ensure she didn't miss any areas.

Since publishing the post on Facebook, other mums were delighted and said they would give it a go too.

'I think I'm excited to go and clean,' one woman said.

'It's a brilliant product, would recommend Bar Keepers Friend. Great on stainless steel,' another added.

A third said: 'Bar Keepers Friend is really spectacular! I use it everywhere in the house.'

'I've tried it before and it didn't work but you've inspired me to have another go,' another added.

Previously the same product has also been used to transform other areas around the house, including bathroom drains, sinks and stovetops.
A student doctor has revealed three more tell-tale signs you or someone you love has anxiety - this time explaining reasons behind the behaviours.

Mental health activist Zachery Dereniowski explains people with anxiety are more likely to apologies a lot, not text their friends first and might cry often.

In a recent video the Canadian-born, Sydney-based student doctor pleads for people to be patient with their friends who have anxiety.

Scroll down for video

Mental health activist Zachery Dereniowski explains people with anxiety are more likely to apologies a lot, not text their friends and cry often

'We say sorry a lot because we are genuinely afraid we have insulted you,' he said.

'We don't text you a lot because if you don't reply we think we have done something wrong,' the 27-year-old said.

Adding: 'We cry because sometimes people are too much, not because we are looking for attention.'

The video quickly went viral and was seen more than 27k times in just three hours.

'Drop a like if you relate,' Zachery wrote on the post which more than 3000 people liked in that time.

Dozens of others commented hearts on the post.



One person took time to encourage anyone who felt they could relate to the video.

In a recent video the Canadian-born, Sydney-based student doctor pleads for people to be patient with their friends who have anxiety

'A reminder to the person reading this that you are more than enough. No matter what your negative thoughts tell you, you are a strong and amazing human being capable of achieving anything you set your mind to,' they wrote.

'No matter how stuck you feel. No matter how bad things are right now. It will always get better, keep going,' they said.

Zachery recently revealed four other signs you or someone you love might have high functioning anxiety and 'don't even know it'.

He revealed people may be living with the mental health condition if they constantly have very high expectations of themselves.

'Mediocre is never enough,' the 27-year-old University of Sydney student explained in a recent video.

A student doctor has revealed the four signs you have high functioning anxiety and 'don't even know it'

Zachery Dereniowski dedicates his time to explaining signs and symptoms of different mental health conditions

He said appearing successful and calm on the outside in another red flag - especially if you feel like other people 'don't get it'.

'You have difficulty saying no and asking for help because you fear looking weak,' he said.

'Overthinking is your best friend because you need to make the right decision.'

The Canadian focuses on mental health and shares informative videos online, helping others identify and cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

He has a combined audience of 1.9million people who love watching his videos, this recent video has been viewed 3M times in four days.

What are the four signs Zachery shared? 1 - You appear successful and calm to others on the outside, but they don't get it 2 - You have very high expectations of yourself. Mediocre is never enough. 3 - You have difficulty saying no and asking for help because you fear looking weak 4 - Overthinking is your best friend because you need to make the right decision These are not the only signs and people don't have to have all of them, he clarified Advertisement

One person commented on the post to clarify that the signs Zachery pointed out 'are not the only ones' and that you don't have to have all of them.

'Correct,' he responded with a heart.

'To whoever reads this, your life matters. No one can replace you. I'm thankful you were born. I love you so much. Read it again,' he added on the post.

Others saw themselves reflected in the warning signs.

'I always overthink. Especially at night, it never fails,' one woman said.

He said overthinking because you have to make the right decision and having difficulty saying no are also signs

The Canadian focuses on mental health and shares informative videos online, helping others identify and cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety

'Are you stalking me,' added another. 'Don't forget to use joking as a coping mechanism for the lack of success in your life,' they added.

'This made me cry a little because it is true, all of it is. I am always terrified to say no or ask for help, I overthink and much more, I am scared,' said another.

Others said the video was 'crazy accurate' while some just thanked Zachery for posting.

'I really appreciate all of your videos, thankyou,' one woman said.

'Your videos helped me and my boyfriend get through hard times,' another person said.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with anxiety or depression call Beyond Blue's support line on 1300 22 4636 for confidential support any time of the day or night.

You can also access the company's confidential online chat service here from 1pm to 12am every day.
The Queen was spotted driving around Wood Farm and the Commodore Yard Stables this weekend during an unannounced visit to Sandringham.

The monarch, 95, who has spent lockdown in Windsor and has remained there since the death of her husband Prince Philip in April, aged 99.

Her Majesty flew into her Norfolk home by helicopter on Friday evening and is expected to remain there until Monday.

Dressed in a white top adorned with pink roses beneath a green gilet, the casual Queen was seen in the driving seat of her Range Rover with two male companions in suits - one of whom appeared to be John Warren, her bloodstock and racing adviser.

The Queen was spotted driving around Wood Farm and the Commodore Yard Stables this weekend during an unannounced visit to Sandringham

Dressed in a white top adorned with pink roses beneath a green gilet, the casual Queen was seen in the driving seat of her Range Rover with two male companions

Mr Warren took over the role from his father-in-law Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, on his death in 2001.

He had held the post since 1969. Horses were seen being led around Commodore yard this weekend, which is where the process of breaking in yearlings takes place.

The Queen takes a particular interest in bloodstock breeding and has been rewarded with considerable success on the racecourse.

The Queen has owned hundreds of race horses through the years and has claimed more than 1600 race wins  a figure that's still growing. Her Majesty may well be in Sandringham on horse business.

As well as thoroughbreds, Elizabeth also breeds Shetland ponies at Balmoral in Scotland and Fell ponies at Hampton Court. In 2007 she opened a full-time Highland pony stud at Balmoral to enhance and preserve the breed.

Her Majesty flew into her Norfolk home by helicopter on Friday evening and is expected to remain there until Monday

The Queen was seen driving a green Range Rover around her Norfolk countryside home. Sat beside the Queen is John Warren, her bloodstock and racing adviser

Horses were seen being led around Commodore yard, which is where the process of breaking in yearlings takes place

The Queen takes a particular interest in bloodstock breeding and has been rewarded with considerable success on the racecourse

The Queen has owned hundreds of race horses through the years and has claimed more than 1600 race wins  a figure that's still growing. Her Majesty may well be in Sandringham on horse business

Earlier this month the Queen attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which is now in its 77th year and attracts well-heeled visitors from all over the world.

Her Mahjesty returned from a Royal Week in Scotland to attend the horse show, which is thought to be one of her favourite equestrian events of the year, after joining her daughter Princess Anne, 70, at the University of Edinburgh.

Wood Farm, located on a secluded part of the Sandringham estate that looks out over the sea, is where the Queen went with Prince Philip and their children to relax for more than 50 years.

The Duke of Edinburgh spent much of his time at Wood Farm after retiring from public duties in August 2017.

The Queen wore a pair of sunglasses to shield her eyes from the glare on one of the warmest weekends of the year

Wood Farm, located on a secluded part of the Sandringham estate that looks out over the sea, is where the Queen went with Prince Philip and their children to relax for more than 50 years (pictured: the Queen today)
A 'beautiful and funny' single mother-of-six has tragically lost her battle with cervical cancer less than a year after getting the all clear.

Victoria Ayres, 37, from Lancashire, was first diagnosed with cancer in late 2019 after becoming poorly 'out of the blue' and had to undergo treatment at Preston Royal Hospital last year.

Despite being given a 30 to 50 per cent chance of survival, Victoria was declared cancer free in April last year - only to be told 11 months later that her cancer had spread and was terminal.

Tragically she passed away on Monday after the disease spread from her cervix to her kidney, pelvis and stomach - and left her body paralysed and needing two kidney bags.

Mother-of-six Victoria Ayres, 37, from Lancashire, tragically lost her battle with cervical cancer less than a year after getting the 'all clear'. She is pictured in bed at Preston Royal Hospital with her daughter Amelia

The full-time mum had shown no symptoms of the illness before she suddenly became poorly 'out of the blue' in early December 2019 (pictured before her diagnosis)

The full-time mum had shown no symptoms of the illness before she suddenly became poorly 'out of the blue' in early December 2019, according to her cousin Chris Murray.

The 33-year-old recalled how much weight she'd lost when they spent time together in the days leading up the Christmas.

But the pair were left devastated when she was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer and was told she needed to undergo treatment immediately in a bid to save her life.

Against all odds, Victoria rang the end of treatment bell at Preston Royal Hospital on April 9, 2020.

Despite being given a 30 to 50 percent chance of survival, Victoria was declared cancer free in April last year and rang the bell at Preston Royal Hospital

Chris said it was 'incredibly emotional' and decided to take Victoria and her family on a charity walk to Wales, so they could raise funds and so that she could form 'unforgettable memories' with her six children.

Victoria moved from her home in Blackburn down to Wales and got to enjoy pate and toast - which was one of the things on her bucket list.

But by March 2021, her condition had deteriorated rapidly and the cancer spread to other vital organs.

Chris, who was only able to see her sparingly due to Covid, said Victoria was the 'life of the party' and that no one would 'ever forget her'.

Tragically, she passed away on Monday after the disease had spread from her cervix to her kidney, pelvis and stomach and left her body paralysed and needing two kidney bags

In a touching tribute, he said: 'We are all just completely heartbroken by what happened. Victoria was too young, and too good.

'Vickie was a fun-loving mum, she was the life and soul of the party. She was very happy all of the time. Her kids were her life, she would do anything for them.

'We'll always remember her, no one will ever forget her. I will remember her as being a happy, beautiful and good mum.'

He said they were completely devastated when she relapsed and Victoria's family were unable to be by her side.

Chris, from Preston, added: 'When she rang the bell, we thought she was getting better, we wanted her to make all of these memories with her kids.

Victoria, pictured with her family at a hospice in Wales before her death, was able to celebrate her 37th birthday with her children just a week before she passed away

'We never expected Vickie to die from this, never. We just wanted to focus on the walk and make sure they had the best time together.

'But she became so poorly she was barely conscious and people couldn't visit her.'

The brave mum was able to celebrate her 37th birthday with her children just a week before she passed away.

Her six children Davina, Michael, Matthew, Megan, Amelia and C-J, will live with Vikkie's mum Theresa and stepfather Gary.

Victoria's funeral took place yesterday in llysfaen at Conwy County.
She is best known for playing the devious schemer Sable Colby in Dynasty and The Colbys, but actress Stephanie Beacham, 74, is telling me how honest  and polite  she is in real life.

And why that makes her, and all similarly courteous baby boomers, such a target for the terrifying Covid-era phone scammers.

Sixty per cent of Brits say there have been more cold calls than before the pandemic, she marvels.

Fraudsters have certainly been emboldened by it. Earlier this year health minister Lord Bethell warned of a massive sudden increase in phishing calls and texts.

Actress Stephanie Beacham, 74, is heading a campaign urging Brits to tell scammers to 'Push Off, Politely', in the hopes of giving people some protection. Pictured: Stephanie Beacham in Dynasty with Joan Collins

According to new research commissioned by Santander, Brits receive 150 million suspicious calls every week, while one in ten people are targeted at least once a day.

Lots of people are alone at home, and, therefore, more likely to talk, adds Stephanie. If someone picks up the phone, not having seen anybody all day, they get utterly pulled in.

Part of the problem, she says, is that we value good manners over our own safety, with 47 per cent of us saying we dont hang up on suspicious callers and one in five feeling it would be rude to do so.

Whether its because of this amazing English politeness, or a fear of authority, people think: Oh no, its the police, its the bank, its HMRC, she grimaces. Ive been having a lot of calls from the HMRC.

But now Stephanie is fighting back. By heading a campaign urging Brits to tell scammers to Push Off, Politely, she hopes to give people some protection.

She has a personal reason for getting involved, too.

A very close family member of mine was done for over 35,000 very recently and shes no fool, she explains. She was told by someone claiming to be from her bank to transfer her money into a new account because of suspected fraud. And she went: Oh my goodness, OK, yes.

Stephanie said a close family member was done for over 35,000, after someone claiming to be from her bank told her to transfer her money into a new account because of suspected fraud. Pictured: The Chelsea pensioners back Push Off Politely

And yet the woman who had fabulous on-screen cat fights with Joan Collinss Alexis in Dynasty, all big hair and 1980s shoulder pads, doesnt strike you as a victim.

In her 2011 memoir, Many Lives, Stephanie describes how she lived in a commune as part of a radical social experiment. She got a scholarship to RADA when only one in 200 girls was accepted each term. Later, while she acted at the RSC and the National, she brought up two daughters as a single mother after her marriage to actor John McEnery ended in 1979.

But like many women of her generation, Stephanie grew up fearing the powerful figures in society. I was brought up in the 1950s and never mind what we all became when we were in our 20s, we were brought up to think a policeman is a policeman, a doctor is a doctor, and we respected that. Any authority figure, Im terrified of.

How to spot a suspicious call The call is out of the blue

A caller puts pressure on you to act now by telling you that you could miss out on a reward or that your money is at risk

You are asked to share security or PIN codes that are used to access your bank account or which you use for making your payments

Callers encourage you to download software or an app onto your phone, tablet, laptop or computer

It is suggested that you should lie to your bank about why you are making a payment Advertisement

As a child in Barnet, North London, she and her two sisters were sent to convent school by their parents who wanted them to learn French and deportment. She jokes she almost became a nun.

I think youre got very young. Thats when the nuns got me. Its not a bad place to be except its very guilt-ridden. But it has a much deeper influence on you than what happens to you later.

Although we were such a free generation, we were still 1950s girls, which means today we still have that politeness in our DNA. I would never not pay my taxes. Im incredibly honest out of fear. God would know, and so would the Inland Revenue, she smiles.

For all her success, Stephanie has a natural affinity with the underdog and has been active in raising awareness for the deaf community. She has been deaf in her right ear since birth and has 80 per cent hearing in her left.

Shes been open about having skin cancer, too, and talked about sexual harassment in Hollywood, where she says she was blacklisted for refusing to pose nude.

Now shes bravely taking on the phone scammers.

So what are her top tips to see off the fraudsters? Always be overly cautious if someone calls, she advises. If you hear a voice you dont know, saying they are from so-and-so, tell them to push off, she says in forthright tones.

During Covid, criminals targeted us with phishing emails and phoney websites too. There are texts from fake parcel companies and fake test and trace agencies.

Stephanie (pictured) was recently scammed after reading about fold-up canoes on Facebook and spending 120 on an order from China

Stephanie howls with laughter as she explains how she was scammed recently.

On Facebook I read about these wonderful fold-up canoes made from plasticised cardboard.

She bought two for 55 each plus postage. Then a parcel arrived from China with two folded-up paper masks  for which I paid 120, she laughs, abashed.

Slim and glamorous in a denim shirt, she is talking to me from her Spanish holiday home, at the base of the Pyrenees. Shes spent most of lockdown there.

My partner [anthropologist Dr Bernie Greenwood] is even older than I am at 82. Until we could both get jabbed, we didnt want to be around people.

Her next film is Renegades, which also stars Patsy Kensit, but she would love to film another series with Joan Collins.

I still think its a shame when they remade Dynasty [in 2017], they didnt bring us in as two older dowagers. Because hells bells, were still pounding away!

They certainly are. But heaven help fraudsters trying to target the newly money-savvy Sable and Alexis. You sense theyd get very short shrift.

STEPHANIE BEACHAM is supporting Santanders Push Off, Politely campaign to empower Brits to hang up on scammers; santander.co.uk/security
So this is it, restrictions are being lifted and life can start to get back to normal. Something to celebrate, no?

Well not everyone has been looking forward to today. Sixteen months of working from home has been comfortable for some and now they dont really want to return to the daily commute. Others have actually become fearful of returning to the office.

This isnt only about the slower pace of WFH, the way you can eat cereal in your joggers while watching This Morning and replying to emails. This is about being genuinely anxious and scared.

Psychologists have already started noticing this and dubbed it FORO  Fear Of Returning to the Office.

Dr Max Pemberton shared his advice for overcoming the fear of returning to work after 16 months of working from home (file image)

According to one survey last week, it has prompted a spike in workers requesting sick notes, citing stress, depression and anxiety as reasons why they have to continue working remotely.

The mental health charity Mind has said remote working, combined with nerves over restrictions easing, could be contributing to the rise in sick notes. I even heard that one investment bank is employing dedicated counsellors to help staff return to life in the City.

This fear of returning to the office is something I have noticed in my patients, too. Several have already asked me to write letters exempting them from the office.

While ostensibly this is over fear of the virus, I actually think it is more than that.

I have been surprised by quite how many people are genuinely scared of the office  particularly young people, who are incredibly unlikely to become seriously unwell with the virus, even if they do catch it.

Reminding them of this doesnt seem to reassure them. I think thats because their fear is less about the virus and more about social anxiety. It has shown me how many people struggle with stress, particularly in social settings.

While we are social animals, it does come at a cost. Human interactions are complex and tiring, and the shifting politics of office life can be exhausting if you are naturally introverted.

Enforced isolation for the past year and a half has left many people fearful of even talking to others again, let alone engaging in the complex social skills required for office life.

Some were always slightly anxious in social settings, and now feel they have got out of the habit and are dreading going back. Yet hiding away isnt the answer.

So what should you do if you have FORO? If you are suffering from depression, then do talk to your GP. But if its just nerves, accept that it is normal to be worried, then ask yourself what specifically you are worried about.

Dr Max (pictured) suggests easing yourself back into work slowly, if you feel your fear of returning is social anxiety

How much is fear of the virus and how much is social anxiety?

If its the virus, remind yourself that the chances of you becoming seriously ill are very small; that there are things you can do to minimise the risk of infection. Ensure you have had both vaccine jabs, keep your distance from co-workers and try to keep your office well-ventilated.

If you feel its social anxiety, remind yourself that while working from an office feels different, it is only returning to something you used to do  it feels new, but its not.

Accept a graded return if you can, to ease yourself back slowly, and on your first day, arrange to meet one person for a coffee. There will be lots of chat about the pandemic, so think of other things to talk about.

It will take a while to get used to, so prepare yourself for being more tired when you get home. Avoid making too many plans for the evening in the first couple of weeks, so you can get plenty of rest and recuperate.

Be mindful that some people love a bit of drama. Actively avoid those colleagues who love to complain or engage in fearmongering. Its not helpful and will ratchet up your stress levels.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare has said women should always be offered pain relief when having a coil fitted, after TVs Naga Munchetty called it one of the most traumatic physical experiences I have had. Of course they should! The reluctance to use painkillers smacks of misogyny to me.

Remember to smile and be positive. This kind of attitude is catching and others will appreciate you taking the lead in seeing the bright side of things, and join in.

I think some of the anxiety underpinning FORO is uncertainty of what it will be like back at work, especially if you have been working 100 per cent from home. If this is the case, talk to your boss about what the first day will look like, or speak to colleagues about what it has been like in the office.

Remember that change always triggers emotional discomfort. There is no way of knowing for sure what working life will be like in the coming months. The only thing we can be certain about is that it will be different and potentially a bit strange.

Focus not on unknowns but on what you want now you are back. We cant control everything but we can control how we approach difficulties.

Remember, too, that the human mind is very adaptable. I bet if I went back two years and told those now so apprehensive about returning to work, of the changes they would have to make to their lives because of the pandemic, they would have been horrified. Yet they managed.

The new normal of the pandemic took a relatively short time to get used to.

Putting on a mask to enter a shop is now second nature. Washing our hands and keeping our distance happens automatically. So it will be the same with the office  it will feel strange and unsettling at first, but before you know it, youll be back in the swing of things.

Bravo Bill for taking the blame

Dr Max said too often people are happy to accept the lie that both parties must hold some responsibility when a relationship breaks down. Pictured: Bill and Melinda Gates

Bill Gates has said he is to blame for the breakdown of his 27-year relationship with Melinda Gates  and in doing so has shot up in my estimation.

Too often, people are happy to accept the lie that both parties must hold some responsibility when a relationship breaks down. I have never believed this, although many couples counsellors do. They say that when a relationship breaks down, it is because of a failure of each person to meet the emotional needs of the other.

Even in the case of an affair, they argue that shifts in the relationship led to one of them straying.

What rubbish! True, sometimes one person doesnt fulfil the others emotional needs, or things just dont work out. But I think that sometimes, one partner gives up. They have an affair, lose interest, start being unbearable to live with. They start the rot and dont change. I wish more people would be like Bill: admit that they made a mistake and its their fault things fell apart.

A study published last week estimated that alcohol caused 740,000 cancer cases globally last year. There is good evidence that it can cause a number of cancers, including those of the breast, liver, colon, rectum, oropharynx, larynx and oesophagus. Researchers argued that even a small amount increases the risk.

So, should we give up our daily glass of wine? Its true we dont appreciate the damage alcohol can do, but we must be realistic: a glass a day isnt the riskiest thing we do. The real issue is the middleclass, middle-aged drinkers who dont realise they have a problem, often high-functioning alcoholics who seem able to juggle a career and parenthood but down a bottle or two of wine each night. Its this group we should be focusing on.

Dr Max recommends turmeric because of its anti-inflammatory properties

Dr Max prescribes...

Turmeric honey

I am a big fan of turmeric. It has anti-inflammatory properties, so helps joint pain. I read recently that it can be a useful tool against depression, too, even against major depressive disorder, as it boosts a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) linked to mood. Ive begun eating this Greek honey with turmeric, by Symbeeosis (symbeeosis.com)  its delicious on toast.
From lip balm to body oil and, of course, lots of SPF, four beauty experts pick the products they wouldnt jet off without

EDWINA INGS-CHAMBERS - YOUs beauty director unveils her top travel companions

Extra holiday glow to go: Rose Gold Brightening Facial Treatment Mask, 85 for five, 111skin.co.uk

For a practical cleanse: Eve Lom Cleansing Oil Travel Pack, 20, spacenk.com

Easy eye, cheek and lip colour: Collection Gorgeous Glow Blush Stick, 4.99, boots.com

Gives skin a summer sheen: 79 Lux Golden Oil, 70, cultbeauty.co.uk

A cruelty-free silk hair accessory: Large Ultimate Scrunchie, 43.95, rokndol.com

Portable skin hydration: Elizabeth Arden Hyaluronic Acid Ceramide Capsules, 45 for 30, boots.com

Warm sun and wide-open vistas in a bottle: Open Sky eau de parfum, 178, byredo.com

Conditions and glosses: Wonder Gloss Collagen Lip Oil in Shimmereen, 26 (members pay 6.84), beautypie.com

A super lightweight sunscreen: Shiseido Expert Sun Protector Face & Body Lotion SPF50+, 34, lookfantastic.com

Dries wet hair fast: AQUIS x Alice + Olivia Double Layer Hair Wrap, 50, spacenk.com

Bathing beauty par excellence: Chance Eau Tendre Scented Bath Tablets, 53 for ten individually wrapped tablets, chanel.com

ALESHA DIXON - The Britains Got Talent judge gives these buys her vote

Easy to use and a beautiful shade that matches my skintone: Traceless Foundation Stick in Warm Honey, 66, tomford.co.uk

Great to keep hair hydrated: Tresemme Deep Smoothing Mask, 6.09, superdrug.com

My daytime scent: Gucci Bloom eau de parfum, from 77, selfridges.com

Simply gorgeous: Phyto-Levres Perfect Lip Pencil in Chocolat, 42, sisley-paris.com

My make-up artist uses this one: Air Matte Blush in Rush, 26, narscosmetics.co.uk

I love this! Double Wear Radiant Concealer in 4N Medium Deep, 25, esteelauder.co.uk

These give me a boost when travelling: Energy capsules, 35 for 30, nobleblu.com

I use this after Ive been in the sun or for dry skin: Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream, 29, boots.com

My facialist taught me an SPF is a must  even in the UK. Sheer Hydration Broad Spectrum SPF 40, 37.50, alumiermd.co.uk (consultation required prior to purchase)

I put this over lipstick to make it pop: Eight Hour Cream, 28, elizabetharden.co.uk

I add this oil to my moisturiser at night: Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil, 85, cultbeauty.co.uk

Face creams are my biggest indulgence, but I use this one every day: Black Rose Skin Infusion Cream, 150, sisley-paris.com

This gives skin the most gorgeous glow  a photo shoot essential. Soleil Blanc Shimmering Body Oil, from 34, tomford.co.uk

VOGUE WILLIAMS - The model and radio DJ reveals her getaway go-to

I dont sunbathe  this is where I get my tan: Self Tan Foam in Dark, 19.50, barebyvogue.co.uk

I wear this SPF every day  even in winter: Daily Ultimate Protection Moisturizer SPF 50, 53, imageskincare.co.uk

Happy nails make me happy: Essie Ruffle Your Petals nail polish, 7.99, lookfantastic.com

This is great for helping to remove self-tan while away, and a good exfoliator too: Luxury Exfoliating Mitt, 7.50, barebyvogue.co.uk

I live for a lip balm  I have at least two on me at all times: Born Lippy Pot Lip Balm in Raspberry, 2.50, thebodyshop.com

The smell of summer: Neroli Portofino eau de parfum, from 174, tomford.co.uk

Adds a glow to cheeks: Les Beiges Bronzing Cream in Soleil Tan Bronze, 43, chanel.com

I love this body lotion: Almond Milk Concentrate, from 25, uk.loccitane.com

A good brow is key in summer with less make-up: Brow Colour Boost in Medium Brown, 25, eyebrowqueenpro.com

Always factor 50  face and body! Garnier Ambre Solaire Over Makeup Super UV Protection Mist SPF 50, 10, boots.com

Fab to wash hair with after a day at the beach: Good Life Shampoo, 39, larryking.co.uk

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN - The legendary editor shares her sunshine picks

It works: Lancaster Golden Tan Maximizer After Sun Lotion, from 15, spacenk.com

Makes flying more of a treat: Altitude Oil, 30, demamiel.com

Instant youth: Face Mask, 90, drsturm.com

Dials the shimmer way up or down for summer nights: Lid Lustre Eyeshadow in Mink, 30, victoriabeckhambeauty.com

Ive worn this every summer: Miss Dior eau de toilette, from 65, dior.com

Gives a beautiful thin line and doesnt smudge: Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil in Noir, 22, chanel.com

This summers new scent: M+ Molecule 01 + Mandarin EDT, 95, cultbeauty.co.uk

I dont clean my face at night so this does a great job in the morning: Restorative Cleansing Balm, from 45, demamiel.com

Smells of roses: By Terry Baume de Rose Lip Care, 40, spacenk.com

Soothes post-sun skin without feeling too creamy: Super Soin After-Sun Care Tan Extender, 119, sisley-paris.com

Red is for holidays: Lip Power Vivid Colour Long Wear Lipstick in Friendly, 32.50, armanibeauty.co.uk

For a hint of colour: Lip Glow in Pink, 29.50, dior.com

For dry spots: Ainsworths Ahh Cream, 8.70, ainsworths.com

Love the scents in this Aussie brand and the texture of this: Lip Oil Balm, 25, ipsumskinuk.com

This comes everywhere with me: Jungle Formula Bite & Sting Relief Roll-on, 5.99, boots.com

Expensive but the best: Super Soin Solaire SPF 30 for Face, 164,sisley-paris.com
About seven years ago I took up yoga. Dont worry, this isnt going to be a smug yoga column, where I make anyone who hasnt ever done a downward dog feel a failure in terms of both flexibility and spiritual enlightenment. Bear with me.

Styling: Holly Elgeti. Make-up: Nicky Weir using Hourglass Beauty. Hair: Alex Szabo at Carol Hayes using T3 Haircare. Dress, Temperley London. Earrings, Motley x Scott Wilson. Rings, Daisy Jewellery, Pilgrim

The reason I started yoga was because I was going through IVF and it was one of the things that people recommended as a means of relaxation. Any time youre in the unremittingly stressful situation of trying for a baby, you will be told to avoid stress. For me, that seemed impossible, so I decided to outsource my relaxation to other people.

I found a private yoga instructor. Not because I had notions, but because I hated the thought of being a total beginner and embarrassing myself in a class full of lithe, bendy women. After a few sessions, I started to feel I could brave a group setting. So began one of the most committed, reliable, reciprocal relationships of my life.

Yoga has never failed me. It has seen me through multiple house moves, romantic break-ups and job changes. I can now easily touch my toes and no longer feel as though sitting cross-legged for more than 30 seconds is an assault on my skeleton.

Along the way, I have learnt that yoga is meant to be an exercise in self-acceptance. It is not a competitive sport.

My problem is that Im innately competitive. Blame it on being the younger sister and the years of failing to win at any card game we played. Blame it on my schooldays and the ceaseless quest to be good at exams. Hell, blame it on the boogie if you must. I dont know why Im so competitive but I am.

When my husband and I invested in a Peloton exercise bike, I slipped into a slough of despond because he was getting bigger output numbers than I was after each on-demand class. He had to sit me down and draw me graphs explaining why, given his higher muscle mass, it was almost guaranteed that this would be the case.

Its not a competition, he said. I nodded, while silently thinking, Everything is a competition, mate. Everything.

I have the same mindset when it comes to yoga. I shouldnt, but I do.

Over the past couple of Sundays, Ive taken a new class at my local studio. The instructor looks as though she is playing the part of a yoga instructor in a Hollywood movie. Her arm muscles are a thing of wonder.

The first time I went, I sweated so much the floor around me became a slip hazard. Still, I managed to do most things she asked of us.

The second class seemed harder. I failed to execute several poses while the man in front of me flowed into improbable shapes with the grace of a ballerina. At one point, he did a flawless forearm stand and the other class members spontaneously applauded him.

Its not a competition, my husband told me. Yes It is, mate!

Whatever, I thought, as I slumped inelegantly to the mat. But my insides felt corroded by envy. I wanted to be better than him. My competitive self felt humiliated. I limped to the end of the 75 minutes, at which point the instructor introduced the man as her friend, who was himself a yoga teacher.

My mood transformed. He was a professional! He was in a different league altogether, I told myself as I rolled up my mat, I couldnt compete with that! My dignity had been salvaged. I left feeling full of optimism, reassured that I had done my best and that my best was good enough.

Admittedly, its not a huge leap towards spiritual enlightenment. But if yoga is a journey of self-acceptance, then perhaps I have to accept my competitiveness, too? That, and the fact Ill probably never do such a beautiful forearm stand.

This week I'm...
If you have a problem, email Caroline at c.west-meads@mailonsunday.co.uk. Caroline reads all your letters but regrets she cannot answer each one personally

Was I wrong to leave my nursing career?

Q I had to give up my job as a nurse after contracting Covid at the beginning of the pandemic. I had been working in operating theatres and had already arranged to reduce my hours (Ill be 60 in October and had used a small inheritance from my late parents to pay off my debts). But when I returned to work I was told I would be working 12-hour shifts in the intensive therapy unit (ITU). I have a heart condition and had been advised by my doctor not to work more than part time. However, after a short time off sick, I was put back on these very long shifts. I couldnt cope with it physically and mentally, so I handed in my notice. My boss waived the three-month notice period, and I left work straight away. I did feel guilty knowing that my colleagues have had to work extremely hard over the past year, but having only managed four hours in ITU in full PPE I realised I just couldnt do it. I was also sent to work in the area of ITU where my daughter had been admitted a few years earlier after she had fractured her skull and nearly died. My problem is that I had one colleague and very close friend who has since cut off all contact with me. I didnt get the chance to speak to her before I left so couldnt explain my reasons for going. If we hadnt had a pandemic I would still be working. Should I try to contact my friend and explain all this to her?

A You say you feel guilty about giving up your job during the pandemic while former colleagues remain under such pressure, but I doubt that there is a single reader who would blame you  I certainly hope not. Nursing, as well as being a noble career, is tough even in normal times  and you have already given many years of service. The fact is you are now not well enough to do the job. Your own doctor advised you not to work too many hours, and your boss was clearly worried enough about you to waive your notice period. Plus, it was affecting your mental health (you could be suffering some level of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of seeing your daughter so ill). So tell yourself that you were right to retire. And, yes, do write to your friend. Keep it short and simple  say that you have been wanting to get in touch, that you miss her and wish you could still be working by her side but that you have a heart condition and your doctor advised you to stop. I hope she will understand. The difficulty will be if she doesnt. Losing a close friend can sometimes feel as bad as breaking up with a partner. If she doesnt get in touch, be aware that it will almost certainly be because of some issues in her own life. It is not your fault. You may have to accept that she wont see you, which will be painful but will get easier in time. Forgive yourself, and surround yourself with other friends and family who are more sympathetic.

We havent had sex for 30 years

Q I am a 70-year-old woman, my husband is a couple of years older, and we have been married for 52 years. Sadly we have a nonexistent sex life as my husband has erectile dysfunction. It has not been easy to live with this. When we first married our relationship (and sex life) was wonderful, but for the past 30 or so years it has been totally sexless. My husband has been extremely reluctant to talk to doctors about the problem. I know you would probably advise sex therapy or counselling, but he has told me that he would never even consider it, so it has become a subject not to be approached. How do I go on suppressing my feelings?

A This is so sad for you because you must feel very rejected  as well as missing the intimacy that is part of sex in good relationships. You have put up with this situation for so long. But you shouldnt have to keep suppressing your feelings  in fact, doing so often leads to depression. You need to set a soft ultimatum. Not as dramatic as saying, If you dont come to counselling, Im leaving you; it should be more, I love you, but I feel unhappy and unfulfilled in our marriage and I want things to be better. So I am going to counselling to decide what to do. I want you to come with me, and if you dont it will show me that you dont feel fully invested in this marriage. It can take courage to do this because counselling precipitates change, which is always scary. So go to Relate (relate.org.uk), first on your own to help you find the strength to ask more from life and your husband.




Fund manager Chris Ford admits that there may come a day when the fund he set up and runs is redundant  though not for at least 20 or 30 years.

When Ford and co-manager Tim Day launched Sanlam Artificial Intelligence in 2017 it was the only fund focusing solely on AI.

At that time, most of us were just starting to see the impact in our lives of AI, which uses machine learning to simulate human intelligence.

Fast forward to today and the growing presence of AI in our everyday lives is apparent everywhere from healthcare to online shopping.

'Anyone who watches Netflix or buys a holiday online will have interacted with it,' says Ford.

Fast forward again another 25 years and Ford expects AI to have entered every corner of our lives.

'At that point, the fund may look like any other global equities fund, because AI will have been adopted by all companies around the world,' he says.

'However, the question is how that process will play out and which companies will have the competitive advantage.'

In his search for these winners, Ford looks for companies pushing the use of AI to its limit  what he calls his quest for 'the pointy end of the spear'.

To this end, he invests in a portfolio of 35 to 40 companies based all around the globe. Some are household names such as Microsoft, and Google's parent company, Alphabet.

Others are less familiar, such as Japanese robotics company Fanuc and US data storage firm Western Digital.

So far the strategy has paid off. In the four years since its launch, Sanlam Artificial Intelligence has seen yearly growth of 34, 13, 38 and 31 per cent respectively. Ford says he is more proud of the consistency he has offered investors than of the levels of returns the fund has generated.

He believes some of the most exciting uses of AI are in healthcare. 'One of the most extraordinary developments last year came from the AI system AlphaFold, which was developed by Alphabet's DeepMind,' he says. 'AlphaFold is attempting to understand how proteins fold in the body. This will help us to make sense of how diseases come about and form in the body, which will in turn enlighten us about how to treat or prevent them.'

Were this done by people in labs with pipettes, it would take years, Ford explains. But by using AI and machine learning, thousands of proteins can be analysed at once, speeding up the process.

The fund looks not just at the firms developing AI tools, but also those that show willingness and innovation in the way they adopt existing ones.

Ford believes that good use of AI is a strong marker of a company that is likely to succeed. 'For a company to use AI well, it tends to require an open-minded management team, a willingness to innovate and vision.'

UnitedHealth, based in Minnesota, is a good example. Ford says the healthcare firm is using careful curation of its data to slash bureaucracy, refine underwriting, and improve health outcomes for customers.

As a result, it is already worth $400billion and growing its market share. US loan company Upstart, which uses algorithms to measure creditworthiness, is another.

Unsurprisingly, Ford and Day use AI themselves to manage the fund. They employ an AI programme to identify all of the companies in a particular sector and to pick out the ones most likely to succeed.

For example, when they decided to invest in quantum computing, they used AI to search for information about every company in this area, all around the globe and in any language.

They then pinpoint the companies with strong balance sheets. Sanlam Artificial Intelligence Fund has annual charges of 0.52 per cent, and its stock market ID code is BYPF331.
According to Government statistics, more than 60 per cent of adults in this country are overweight or obese and rising numbers of children are carrying too many pounds as well.

The economic cost of this is estimated at almost 30billion, the psychological impact can be intense and even the environment is suffering from consumers' enthusiasm for junk food.

Small wonder then that last week's National Food Strategy, a Government-commissioned review, pulled no punches, recommending the introduction of salt and sugar taxes and arguing that meat consumption should be cut by a third.

Tasty: With a 150-year heritage in sugar and syrup, Tate & Lyle may not seem the obvious candidate to benefit from growing fears about expanding waistlines

For many in the food industry, these proposals will strike alarm bells. For Tate & Lyle, however, the report will almost certainly prove welcome.

With a 150-year heritage in sugar and syrup, Tate & Lyle and its shares may not seem the obvious candidate to benefit from growing fears about expanding waistlines.

But the group sold off those legacy businesses in 2010, leaving two main divisions, one focused on turning corn into sweeteners and starches, the other on creating healthy ingredients for the food and drinks industry.

Last week, chief executive Nick Hampton went one stage further, announcing the sale of 50 per cent of the corn processing subsidiary for 1.2billion so he can scale up the fast-growing ingredients business.

American private equity firm KPS is buying the corn division and will run it as a standalone business but Tate & Lyle will benefit as and when the company grows and there is the prospect of particularly attractive returns if KPS sells the new firm outright.

In the short term, Tate & Lyle shareholders will be handed a 500 million special dividend, equivalent to around 1 a share, and Hampton will dedicate himself to developing more and more ingredients that replace sugar, fat and salt with healthier alternatives.

Splenda is probably the best-known of these, but the group works with some of the largest food and drink firms in the world so its products go into everything from iced tea to yogurt to tomato ketchup.

The business has already benefited from increasing concerns worldwide about obesity. Over the next few years, those worries are expected to deepen so Tate & Lyle's prospects in its new guise seem bright.

Midas verdict: Midas recommended Tate & Lyle in 2015, when the shares were 6.08. Today, the shares are 7.29, having fallen more than 10 per cent since Hampton first hinted at his break-up plans two months ago.

The decline seems unfair. Large investors have been complaining about the corn business for years. Now Hampton has offloaded it in a clever deal which allows Tate to retain an ongoing interest, while driving growth within the trendy ingredients division. Existing shareholders should retain their stock. New investors could even pick up some shares at current levels.

Traded on: Main market Ticker: TATE Contact: tateandlyle.com or Equiniti on 0371 384 2063

> Read this week's Midas column on HydrogenOne
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond is lobbying for an end to 'ring-fencing' rules set up in the wake of the financial crisis to prevent high street banks from making risky investments.

The controversial banker, who was at the forefront of banking giant Barclays' response to the crash, is pushing for a change to measures created to stop banks ploughing ordinary savers' cash into risky financial securities.

The Mail on Sunday understands that he hopes to unlock growth in the banking sector and open up lucrative deals for his investment firm Atlas Merchant Capital.

Controversial: Bob Diamond is pushing for a change to measures created to stop banks ploughing ordinary savers' cash into risky financial securities

Atlas has called for the changes as part of a major review spearheaded by City veteran Keith Skeoch.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that Diamond's company is among a string of major lenders  including Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Nationwide  that have also been calling for changes to the so-called ring-fencing scheme.

Diamond's firm has told Skeoch that ring-fencing restrictions have killed off competition by forcing the largest banks to plough billions into safer investments  in particular mortgages  rather than using the money for investment banking.

This has triggered a mortgage price war that has forced a string of smaller competitors  including Tesco Bank and Sainsbury's Bank  out of the market. Meanwhile, the stringent rules have stifled the growth of new entrants.

But Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake said: 'You never take down a fence until you know why you put it up.

'There were good reasons for ring-fencing. It was seen at the time that banks were gambling with funds from depositors  with unfair effects on consumers.

'We need to be very careful before we scrap these things that were put in for good reason. We should not accept the banks' position as a fait accompli and we need to balance that with the concerns of regulators and the reason for creating it in the first place.'

American-born Diamond was a key figure in efforts to shore up Barclays in the financial crisis in order to avoid a taxpayer bailout. He also negotiated the takeover of the Lehman Brothers' investment bank after its collapse.

Diamond was later branded the 'unacceptable face of banking' by then Business Secretary Lord Mandelson over claims that he was in line for a pay package worth 60million. The banker was ousted as Barclays' chief executive when the bank was fined 290million for trying to rig inter-bank lending rates.

Atlas has also warned that high street lenders are now overexposed to UK corporate failures because complexities in the rules mean they have pulled back on lending to foreign clients.

The firm said taxpayers were not protected by the scheme because the largest lenders are still 'too big to fail' and would need a government bail-out if they went under.

Industry body UK Finance has also called for a 'dismantling' of the ring-fencing rules. It has said banks are well protected by a host of other safety measures such as strict capital buffers.

Banks must now undergo regular 'stress tests' to ensure they could survive a major financial crisis. Executives also face jail time if they run their bank irresponsibly.

In a submission sent to Skeoch, UK Finance said: 'The Covid pandemic led to unprecedented shifts in economic activity. Reforms made after the global financial crisis meant that the financial system was able to support households and businesses through these changes, rather than amplifying the disruption. This provides evidence for the effectiveness of the various reforms overall.'

UK Finance has also claimed that the rules have forced domestic banks to focus on a more narrow range of products, making their business models less diverse. It said this trend 'potentially increases the risk of failure of banking institutions'.
The founders of internet giants Boohoo and The Hut Group have backed rapidly growing cosmetics company Revolution Beauty, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Mahmud Kamani and Matt Moulding are both understood to have invested millions of pounds in the online beauty retailer which is due to float on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow, sources said.

Major investor: Boohoo founder Mahmud Kamani with his wife Aisha

The tycoons have both built sprawling retail empires and their support is a significant endorsement for the firm which has been valued at almost 500million.

Revolution will float on AIM, placing 69million new shares and 118million existing shares at 1.60. The placing includes a 90million cornerstone investment from funds group Jupiter Asset Management.

A City source said: 'The float has been oversubscribed and backed by both blue chip investors and wealthy individuals, which is impressive.'

Moulding founded THG in 2004 and last year floated his collection of ecommerce sites at 4.5billion. Kamani has grown Boohoo into a fashion group which also owns Karen Millen, Coast and Debenhams.
The US private equity owners of Cobham have received a bumper payout from the aerospace specialist, sparking renewed anger over last year's 4billion takeover.

Advent International bought the defence firm in January 2020 after an 18-month tussle with the founding family. It then began a dismantling of the group.

Now the latest accounts show Cobham Limited will pay a 42.2million dividend for 2020, rocketing from 9.5million the year before.

Taking off: The latest accounts show Cobham will pay a 42.2million dividend for 2020, rocketing from 9.5million the year before

Revenues halved to 22.6million in 2020 but it posted an 84.4million profit after a loss in 2019.

It is understood the dramatic reversals reflect controversial sell-offs and improved sales at the remaining parts of the business.

Advent faced bitter opposition from Lady Cobham, widow of former boss Sir Michael Cobham, over fears the company would be broken up. Lady Cobham told The Mail on Sunday the latest accounts 'make all too predictable reading', adding: 'The break-up of the company has enriched a few individuals.

'I do not know how many people have lost or will lose their jobs nor whether profits have yet accrued to those companies that have acquired bits of Cobham.

'But my fears that private equity has only short-term interests appear justified. This is surely something the Government needs to think more seriously about.'

The takeover was approved by then Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom after an inquiry into the national security implications. A set of conditions was put in place. But former Cobham chief Gordon Page said: 'Nothing that they've done lines up with the promises they have given to the UK Government.'

Documents show the firm's coffers were boosted by the 48.2million sale of its stake in AirTanker, which services the RAF, in a deal revealed by the MoS. It has sold Cobham's Aero Connectivity business for $965million to America rival TransDigm and is selling Cobham's air-to-air refuelling business Mission Systems for $2.83billion.

Cobham last month said it is discussing a potential takeover of 1.7billion defence tech firm Ultra Electronics. It admitted Advent may alternatively sell Cobham to Ultra  returning Cobham back on to the public markets.

An Advent spokesman said: 'Cobham has performed strongly under Advent, despite the pandemic. More than $350million has been spent on research and development and strategic investments.

'The business is now more focused on high-tech electronics and has won significant contracts in commercial satellites, government space programs and next generation defence electronics.'
A damning report into company audits will reveal significant failings after corporate scandals that have wiped out thousands of shareholders and left taxpayers footing the bill.

The bleak review  which the accounting watchdog could publish as soon as this week  comes after the spectacular downfall of Greensill Capital, which counted David Cameron as an adviser until it filed for administration in March.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the Financial Reporting Council's report will show nearly a third of the company audits it has examined have failed its quality test or have fallen woefully short.

Dark days: The Financial Reporting Council's report will show nearly a third of the company audits it has examined have failed its quality test or have fallen woefully short

The failings will deepen concerns auditors are not grilling company directors or poring over their accounts, leaving firms more vulnerable to collapse or fraud.

The report comes as Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng pushes for a major overhaul of corporate governance to protect jobs and shareholders.

A string of corporate scandals have blighted the UK economy over the past decade, including the downfall of BHS, which cost thousands of jobs and left a black hole in the company's pension fund. Its auditor, PwC, came under fire for failing to spot the warning signs.

But senior politicians are concerned that the problem is still rife. The collapse of Greensill Capital has led to an investigation into its auditor, Saffery Champness.

The FRC is also pushing for a joint-record penalty of 15million against KPM++++G over alleged misconduct over the sale of beds firm Silentnight to private equity. The sale left Silentnight's retirement pot in the Pension Protection Fund, the Government-backed lifeboat.

The FRC is still investigating the collapse of Carillion, which went into liquidation in January 2018.

And the demise of bakery chain Patisserie Valerie in 2019 after the discovery of a 40million suspected accounting fraud put the spotlight on its auditor, Grant Thornton.

The FRC has scoured a widespread sample of audits from the UK's biggest accounting firms  PwC, EY, KPMG, and Deloitte  as well as smaller firms BDO, Grant Thornton and RSM.

It is expected to show a slight improvement on last year in some areas, but it is understood the watchdog will still deem the failings as 'unacceptable.' ++++

Last year, firms were slammed for failing to challenge corporate management on their figures and their ability to continue operating as viable companies.

The report will boost Kwarteng's call for corporate reforms which he outlined earlier this year, following reviews of the audit industry by city grandees including Sir John Kingman and Sir Donald Brydon.

Kwarteng outlined proposals to break up the dominance of the big four audit firms.

He also plans to create a new regulator, giving it stronger powers to split up audit firms to stamp out conflicts of interest.

Directors of large companies could also face fines or suspensions in the event of fraud or major accounting errors.

Kwarteng told the MoS: 'These proposals are really important for small shareholders, and even our pension pots, so that people can get an accurate picture of the health of the company they're investing in.'

He added: 'The collapse of household names like Thomas Cook, Arcadia and Carillion, and the fact that a third of inspected audits of FTSE350 companies last year were not up to scratch all lay bare the stark reality that the current system isn't working.'
You may not yet have heard of Revolution Beauty and even less so its co-founder and creative heart Adam Minto. But, if he has his way, that will soon change.

Tomorrow, he launches the business he started eight years ago on the London Stock Exchange with a value billed at close to 500million. And that is only the latest stage of his plan, he says.

'I genuinely think we are doing something very different. I think we can build a global beauty business to challenge the big guys  companies that have always been there and that normally acquire businesses like us.'

Versatile: Revolution's Adam Minto is already selling in 100 countries

Selling in more than 100 countries already, Minto  who is also chief executive  says he's shrugged off approaches from L'Oreal, Revlon, Unilever and Coty in an effort to stay independent.

'Every brand eventually sells out to those multinationals. What Revolution is trying to do for the consumer, for the business, for our team, is to provide a positive view of the beauty industry and do what most companies don't get the chance to do.

'I've been making, designing, developing products for the big beauty brands all my life. But I felt the industry had become elitist. That is not meant to be controversial. But the industry had a bad image  only used models, retouched even beautiful people and forced this version of beauty on to the consumer.

'It was about perfection. I felt the industry had got out of date and needed to change. We use real people. We've been cruelty free from the start when, incredibly, the industry wasn't. All those things that are quite natural for us: body positivity and reality.'

Minto, 51, set up his first business in 1989 with his dad, Peter.

He had been determined not to join his father's business in the beauty packaging industry. So they set up a separate company together  'not very imaginatively' called Minto & Family, he says.

He soon found himself supplying the likes of Revlon and Rimmel as well as pharmacy Boots which was bringing high street prices to the industry. 'It just blew up  I was at the right place at the right time. By 1999, when we sold the business, I was making over 100 million lipsticks a year.

Several incarnations later and a prior venture which 'just didn't work out,' Minto met his current business partner Tom Allsworth, now chairman, and launched Revolution.

'I met someone who was really the best opposite to me with Tom. I'm from a creative and brand background and he's from an operational background. He's the Ant to my Dec, as we say.

'I knew the industry inside out, I knew how to manufacture, to scale production. I believed digital was going to be the future  which seems crazy to say looking back as it's very obvious now, particularly after the pandemic.

'But it wasn't obvious then. Even now over 90 per cent of the mass [market] beauty industry is still sold through stores, I don't think that will be the case in another seven years.'

Not content with growing the UK business first, the pair have already mapped out global ambitions. 'I created a lot of brands for other companies and I realised they had made mistakes, concentrating on the UK and not going global until much later. Of course, by then, a competitor comes along or else the market moves on by the time you're ready. It's the same with US brands. There are very few global brands.'

The pair have since gathered a team of industry veterans to help them grow and set about creating a global infrastructure following financial support in 2017 from a specialist beauty investment boutique, TSG Consumer. Revolution now sells in 45 countries in stores and through ecommerce in more than 100 countries. The UK accounts for a third but America will be the biggest this year. Tomorrow, Allsworth and Minto will sell 15.6million of shares each and both retain a 78 million stake  just over 30 per cent of the business. Sales were 157.6million in the 14 months to the end of February.

They have built warehouse and logistics 'hubs' in the UK, US and Australia and on-the-ground teams to manage opportunities within a handful of specific countries.

'I wanted to build a digital first, global brand. I guess we wanted to build a mini-L'Oreal or a mini-Estee Lauder. As a deliberate part of our strategy we went around the world to some very different locations  Poland and the Czech Republic, for example. Totally different to Italy or to Turkey.

'We did it mainly to build this global brand to make sure the product offering was also right for different tastes, different skin tones and in some places price points and build an operational infrastructure to support that growth. Choice for the consumer was the starkest issue: the difficulty getting a concealer and foundation that matches skin tone, the price and quality disparity  that you had to pay a premium price to get an amazing quality product.'

Minto says the business is now capable of becoming 'one of the Top 20 beauty companies in the world'.

All smiles: Adam Minto says the business is now capable of becoming 'one of the Top 20 beauty companies in the world'

He says Revlon  which he's already outselling in individual retail stores  is the 20th largest beauty company with a revenue of $2.4 billion (1.7 billion). But, despite early success, he points out that his exposure to those markets is still small. 'Remember, we only have a narrow distribution at the moment. Only one retailer in each country. But we believe we can grow a similar sized business [to Revlon] over the next seven years.' To annual sales of billions? 'Yes, that's what I believe is possible in that time.'

He cites Asos and Boohoo as companies that flew on the stock market, adding: 'I believe the beauty market is going to go through the same type of change as the fashion market  balanced between digital and bricks and mortar.'

On the eve of his stock market debut he reflects on the journey he 'started on 32 years ago with my dad,' who passed away 19 years ago almost to the day. 'He would be very proud,' he says.

'People might think this is an overnight success  eight years may not seem that long  but I've been in the industry for 32 years. So its been a very long time to get here.

'I imagine the stock market as a form of independence. I'm certainly not criticising anyone, because they are amazing people, but Jo Malone, Bobbi Brown, Mac Cosmetics, amazing brands, they had to sell out.

'I have that privilege now. We owe it to the team and the industry to not sell out. Not that they did anything wrong. But I think we can provide a different point of view by staying independent.'
Monday is a huge day for England. After over a year of living under rules we'd have once considered unthinkable, the lifting of social contact restrictions takes us all into uncharted territory in this pandemic: when COVID-19 safety measures go from being set by government to personal choice. It's prompted lots of heated debate  will you keep wearing one? I don't think anyone enjoys wearing a mask and we'd all love for life to go back to normal.

We know that our decision to encourage our customers to continue wearing face coverings in our stores, if they can  won't please everyone. But we firmly believe it's the right thing to do. Our colleagues have gone to extraordinary lengths to continue feeding the nation during the toughest days of the pandemic. They are our heroes. We owe it to them to make sure they feel safe at work.

Since the government announced it would drop the requirement to wear face coverings, we've spent a lot of time talking and listening to our colleagues about what would make them feel safest; not only from the virus, but also from the minority of customers who sadly believe that abuse and violence are an acceptable way to respond to pandemic safety measures. We don't want any doubt about our position. That's why we're keeping the safety measures that our colleagues care most about: not only asking our customers to continue wearing face coverings, if they can, but also keeping screens between customers and colleagues at checkouts, deep cleaning our stores each night and sanitising trolleys and baskets between use.

It's not just our colleagues. We've been listening to our customers too. Most of them want the same thing: to keep measures in place so they can feel as safe as possible in our stores. Many are worried about the easing of restrictions and the majority would like us to continue encouraging everyone to wear face coverings, if they can. Throughout the pandemic, lots of our customers  especially older and vulnerable people  felt safest shopping online. They are only just returning to stores and are understandably nervous. We want to help them feel comfortable when they're out and about.

We recognise that encouraging people to wear a face covering if they can won't be welcomed by some. As a country, we are making our way out of a period of severely restricted freedoms  the kind of freedoms we normally take for granted. I don't particularly like wearing a face mask, but I will continue to wear one whenever I'm in a store or other busy places. I'll do this in support of all the retail workers who have done so much for us throughout this pandemic. And I'll do it for our customers, many of whom are still getting to grips with how to stay safe in the outside world. It's reassuring to see lots of other retailers coming out to support the continued wearing of face coverings in stores and other enclosed spaces - it means that there will be more and more places where people feel safe to work and shop.

Wearing face coverings is a personal decision, but we hope that our customers can get behind the idea of continuing to shop safely for the benefit of everyone in our stores. Yes, masks might be a bit annoying, but we think they are a small price to pay for keeping our communities safe as we all navigate what will hopefully be the final stages of this pandemic.
Typhoo Tea is the latest British business to be bought by a private equity firm amid a wave of dealmaking by City buy-out companies.

Industry sources said London-based Zetland Capital, led by dealmaker Ahmed Hamdani, has secretly snapped up a majority shareholding in Typhoo Tea.

Zetland is taking control of Typhoo Tea from the Indian conglomerate Apeejay Surrendra Group and its lenders following a financial restructuring.

Bagged: Typhoo Tea was founded by John Sumner Junior in the early 1900s in Birmingham to sell in his pharmacy and grocery shops

Typhoo Tea was founded by John Sumner Junior in the early 1900s in Birmingham to sell in his pharmacy and grocery shops.

The tea grew in popularity to become one of Britain's best known brands and the first to sell ready-packaged tea. Typhoo Tea was also one of the first tea makers to introduce green tea blends to the UK.

As a result, Typhoo Tea has been bought and sold by some of the country's largest consumer companies, such as Schweppes and Premier Foods.

Premier Foods, which is currently listed on the London stock market, sold Typhoo Tea to Apeejay Surrendra Group in 2005 for 80million.

Under Apeejay Surrendra's ownership Typhoo Tea has had a tough time. Company accounts show that in 2019 Typhoo Tea generated a pre-tax loss of 29.9 million from just over 60.8million of sales.

Sources said Abercross Holdings, which already owns part of Typhoo Tea, had increased its shareholding in the company as part of the deal with Zetland.
Leading economists have warned that Britain's recovery could be delayed until next year despite the end of lockdown restrictions tomorrow.

City veterans said the soaring number of Covid cases has hit consumer confidence, and 'confused' guidance on returning to work could stall economic growth.

Delay: City veterans said the soaring number of Covid cases has hit consumer confidence, and 'confused' guidance on returning to work could stall economic growth

Andrew Sentance, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I don't think we'll experience such an uplift to the economy as people are expecting. Actually, there's going to be cautious consumer behaviour, cautious business behaviour and therefore it will be a much more muted recovery than the Government might be expecting.'

He added: 'I don't think the economy will feel as though it was back to where it was before the pandemic until certainly the early months of next year, or even later.'

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, warned that monthly economic growth will not return to the level seen in February 2020 until early next year, after originally forecasting October.

He said: 'We are becoming a bit more concerned that the increase in the number of virus cases in recent weeks will hold back the economy as people are either sick or self-isolating.'
John* is an experienced ABC journalist who is well regarded by his peers.

He felt he achieved his position by being good at his job.

But at the ABC, this Asian man is part of an ethnicity target, with the national broadcaster aiming to have 15 per cent of its journalism and production staff hail from a 'culturally and linguistically diverse' background by August 2022.

John said the national broadcaster's Diversity and Inclusion Plan is a 'joke'. He said there was a culture of hiring to meet benchmarks instead of the most talented staff which made those from a non-Anglo Saxon background feel they were given the position based on their ethnicity.

He also believes staff hired as part of the targets had less pressure than other workers to fulfil their job requirements.

'I've earnt my place here as a journalist,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're more concerned with ticking off the diversity boxes.'

John* is an experienced ABC journalist who is well regarded by his peers. He felt he achieved his position on merit by being good at his job. But at the ABC, the Asian man believes he is just an ethnicity target (Pictured: Ultimo headquarters in Sydney)

The ABC's justification for ethnicity targets The ABC Diversity and Inclusion Plan meets the requirements of the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987. The Act requires the ABC to promote equal opportunity in employment for women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from a non- English speaking background and people with disabilities. Australia has one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world and the ABC is committed to reflecting and representing that fact in our content and workforce, including people from different genders, ages, sexual orientations, social backgrounds, people with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are not alone in this: diversity and inclusion are strategic priorities for all media organisations, in order to be relevant to their audiences. Our Diversity & Inclusion Plan encourages people from a broad range of backgrounds to work for the ABC, while also supporting current employees to develop their careers and achieve their best. Advertisement

He said the ABC had a 'one-eyed focus on filling their diversity numbers rather than hiring staff based on merit.

The ABC employs more than 4,000 staff and receives $1billion a year from the taxpayers.

Maurice Newman, who was ABC chairman from 2007 to 2012, said the idea of hiring anyone based on their ethnicity is 'totally condescending'.

'It's polarising, it's divisive, it tends to treat people not according to their ability or their character but according to their race,' he told Daily Mail Australia

'It's in pursuit of an ideology, which puts these things as a priority, in other words this is identarian.'

The ABC's Australia Talks online survey of 60,000 people found 76 per cent of respondents regarded Australia as still being home to 'a lot of racism'.

An ABC spokesman said the national broadcaster aimed to reflect Australia's diversity with its hiring policies.

'Australia has one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world and the ABC is committed to reflecting and representing that fact in our content and workforce, including people from different genders, ages, sexual orientations, social backgrounds, people with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,' he said.

Mr Newman said in his experience, those pushing affirmative action hiring policies based on race lived in inner-city Sydney, near the ABC's Ultimo headquarters.

'Of course there is groupthink,' he said.

'It is endemic, it's pervasive, it's essentially what drives them and if you happen to express views which don't conform to groupthink, then you will be ostracised and probably will leave and that's a circular arrangement where they simply employ people who meet those sorts of criteria.'

But ABC Radio National contributor Dr Tanveer Ahmed supported the need to recruit more ethnically diverse journalists, arguing the Australian media was still very white.

The national broadcaster aiming to have 15 per cent of its journalists and production staff hail from a 'culturally and linguistically diverse' background by August 2022

'I think there is a problem in the Australian media regarding diversity,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'SBS is basically ethnic media done by white people.'

However the practising psychiatrist, who grew up in a Muslim Bangladeshi family, said the ABC tended to prefer hiring minorities with left-wing views and overlooked conservatives.

'If you're Labor or Greens they don't make a big thing whereas if you're remotely conservative, they make a much bigger thing,' the Liberal Party member said.

'While the ABC would like to have people of different racial backgrounds, if you have certain political views that still cancels you out in getting involved with the ABC.'

Dr Ahmed said the ABC needed to be opened minded about hiring socially conservative minorities to make itself more relevant in the outer suburbs where elections are decided.

'I'm supportive of the ABC trying to be more ethnically diverse but the problem is, there still seems to be a sticking point if that ethnic diversity includes political views that are deemed unpalatable at the ABC,' he said.

'Ethnic groups are increasingly more socially conservative and they are increasingly the ones voting for the Liberal Party and conservative parties.'

But ABC Radio National contributor Dr Tanveer Ahmed supported the need to recruit more ethnically diverse journalists, arguing the Australian media was still very white. But said the ABC needed to recruit minorities with politically conservative views from outside the media

Dr Ahmed said hiring journalists from outside the media who have had another career was a better way for the ABC to recruit staff from a variety of ethnic backgrounds to better represent modern Australia.

The ABC is also planning to collect data on the sexuality of its employees with a view to hiring more same-sex attracted people.

'We will start capturing diversity data on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time and will decide in our mid-term review on whether to set a new target for LGBTQI+ representation in our workforce,' its Diversity and Inclusion Plan said.

Dr Ahmed said ethnic minorities who openly opposed gay marriage would be unlikely to have a job at the ABC.

Mr Newman is also opposed to the ABC's policy of women comprising 50 per cent of executive roles by August 2022, along with its plan for 3.4 per cent of content makers from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.

'It's demeaning that you actually got the job because you're female, not because you're any good,' he said.

The ABC's Australia Talks online survey of 60,000 people found 76 per cent of respondents regarded Australia as still being home to 'a lot of racism'. Pictured are co-hosts Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain

As ABC chairman, appointed in early 2007 when John Howard was still prime minister, Mr Newman said he had little power to overturn policies like diversity hiring.

'With the board's backing, you can try and enforce editorial policies but you find there's a lot of obfuscation,' he said.

Mr Newman said Coalition governments, despite being conservative, were reluctant to intervene with ABC policies.

'It doesn't matter whether it's Coalition or whether it's Labor, those policies tend to conform to a greater or lesser extent to what the Left want to see implemented,' he said.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher declined to comment on the ABC's minority hiring policies.

Maurice Newman, who was ABC chairman from 2007 to 2012, said the idea of hiring anyone based on their ethnicity as 'totally condescending'.

The ABC is also planning to collect data on the sexuality of its employees with a view to hiring more same-sex attracted people

'The ABC has editorial and operational independencestaffing is a matter for Board and management,' his spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Newman, a former chancellor of Macquarie University which offers a media studies degree, said the ABC overwhelmingly hired communications graduates with left-wing views.

'They employ people from journalist schools who come out as extreme because they've been indoctrinated in their particular university or journalistic school,' he said.

While affirmative action policies have existed in the Australian public service since the 1970s, Mr Newman said hiring people based on race divided society and undermined democracy.

'You end up in some form of authoritarian dictatorship. Democracy disappears,' he said.

Shemara Wikramanayake, the chief executive of Macquarie Group, is a woman of Sri Lankan ethnicity who climbed to the top through hard work and merit in 2018 after 31 years with the company

Australia's highest-paid CEO is a woman of Sri Lankan ethnicity who rose to the top after three decades with the company.

Shemara Wikramanayake, the chief executive of Macquarie Group, is a woman of Sri Lankan ethnicity who climbed to the top through hard work and merit in 2018 after 31 years with the company.

In 2019, she was Australia's highest paid corporate leader with an $18million remuneration package.

Australia's highest paid professionals, surgeons, are also chosen on merit, being required to spend seven years completing a Bachelor of Medicine before spending at least five years studying their area of specialty.

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons doesn't have ethnic diversity quotas for hiring, but it has scholarships to encourage indigenous people to study medicine.

Dr Ahmed said medicine had more ethnic diversity because more Asian people of academic ability more often preferred that field to the lower rate of pay in media.

'In certain industries, there are lots of different ethnic groups, medicine is a classic: if anything, you need a policy to try and get white people,' he said.

* Not his real name
Are you a registered organ and tissue donor?

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How much does a donation mean to a recipient? Here's Amanda's story Amanda Cullen is a donor recipient. Amanda says: 'Three years ago I received 'the call' at 2.15am in the morning from Westmead that they had a kidney for me. I was a big ball of different emotions. By around lunch time this day three years ago I was in surgery. I am so grateful and thankful for my angel donor and his family. I am so grateful for 'Thor'. Here's to many more years together 

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To find out more about The Great Registration Race for DonateLife Week click here. To register to become an organ and tissue donor right now, click here.
A woman whose family went on an Iowa amusement ride shortly before an accident that killed an 11-year-old boy and critically injured his brother said Friday her boat also had problems floating properly and felt unsafe.

Despite her concerns, Amber Estrada said she did not file any kind of complaint after the boat carrying her and her husband, their three children and nephew repeatedly struck and dragged along the bottom of the manmade river on the Raging River ride at Adventureland Park in Altoona on July 3.

The 31-year-old said the boat made a grinding sound that she could feel under her feet. Estrada, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, said her husband told her that he felt scared and wanted to get off the ride.

The couple made the decision to lean forward in their seats with their children because they were worried it would tip over, she said. They were able to reach the end of the ride safely, but 'unfortunately that did happen to another family, she said.

A boat carrying six members of the Jaramillo family of Marion, Iowa capsized minutes later, trapping 11-year-old Michael Jaramillo and his now 16-year-old brother David in their seatbelts underneath the water for several minutes. Michael died of his injuries the next day.

A funeral service for the boy, who was going into sixth grade, was held in Des Moines on Saturday. His family remembered him in an obituary as a 'fun, loving child,' who loved playing with his older brothers, cousins and friends and liked to play the violin and read the bible.

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Pictured: Michael Jaramillo, of Marion, Iowa, died in a freak accident on an Iowa amusement park ride on July 3, the same day Amber Estrada and her family rode the same ride

The Jaramillos' boat 'immediately began taking on water as the ride began' and touched the bottom of the trough multiple times, with Estrada's boat having similar flotation issues

Inspectors said they saw scrape marks on the trough's concrete bottom and gouges in wooden poles along the ride from boat contact

David remains in critical condition at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines, unable to talk, family attorney Ryan Best said. Their father, also David Jaramillo, underwent a four-hour surgery Tuesday to repair broken bones in his shoulder, he said.

Iowa inspectors are looking into what caused the boat to flip, and the ride has been shut down until the investigation is complete and hazards are corrected.

A state report dated July 4 said that the Jaramillos' boat 'immediately began taking on water as the ride began' and touched the bottom of the trough multiple times. Inspectors said they saw scrape marks on the troughs concrete bottom and gouges in wooden poles along the ride from boat contact.

The boat eventually overturned during the ride's final curve, according to the report, first reported by The Des Moines Register.

Estrada said she saw the Jaramillos in line a few places behind her and witnessed emergency responders rushing to the scene after her family got off. She said she did not report her familys negative experience to Adventureland staff because her autistic son was upset about a stolen toy, and they left.

Estrada said she has been on the ride many times and never experienced such problems. She said she later reached out to the Jaramillo family through their pastor, and shared her experience with their lawyer Thursday.

Michael, who was going into sixth grade, died of his injuries the day after the accident. Pictured are pamphlets and candles from the boy's funeral service on Saturday in Des Moines

Prophetess Chasity Shields (pictured) sings as family and friends of Michael Jaramillo gather for his funeral at Corinthian Baptist Church Saturday

Brothers David, from left, Gus and Michael Jaramillo of Marion, Iowa are shown in this family photo released by the family's attorney

'My heart breaks for them,' she said.

'I think something needs to be done about this ride.'

Best said Estrada's account was consistent with what happened to the Jaramillos and suggests 'the boats were not properly floating on the day of the incident.'

'There was a broader problem,' he said.

Adventureland attorney Guy Cook said Friday that the park was unaware of Estrada's claims and that the investigation to date has 'found no such narrative.'

'The senior operators have no reports of any difficulties with the boats from guests prior to the tragic accident,' he said.

'Nevertheless, all information and reports will be considered as the investigation continues.'

The state report notes that the park's maintenance staff took the Jaramillos' boat and others out of service earlier that day 'due to rafts on boats deflating.' Workers replaced the deflated bladders in the rafts before putting the boats back into service.

Visitors arrive at the Adventureland Park amusement park Tuesday in Altoona, Iowa, where 11-year-old Michael Jaramillo died following an accident on the popular boat ride at the park

Cook said each boat's raft has eight bladders, and they are monitored and routinely taken out so they can be refilled with air or replaced if they get deflated.

'There's nothing unusual about that,' he said.

He noted that the Jaramillos' boat was found after the accident with only one of its bladders deflated and an 'exterior indentation in the outer rubber tube.'

He said the boats, which weigh 1,700 pounds and have a heavy metal plate on the bottom for ballast, would not flip due to a single deflated bladder and it's not clear when its deflation occurred.

'If you stay in your seat and the weight is evenly distributed regardless of whether a bladder is fully inflated, it's very difficult to see how a 1,700-pound boat flips over,' he said.

'That's why it would appear there was some other factor at work on this day.'
There are more than 20 new cases of the 'Havana Syndrome' among US diplomats in Vienna, Austria that are being looked at by medical teams at the State Department, Pentagon and CIA.

It's part of a recent rash of mysterious health incidents that have similar symptoms to those first reported by US diplomats and spies in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 and 2017 for which no definitive cause has yet been determined.

Symptoms include headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions and some have required months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.

'In coordination with our partners across the US government, we are vigorously investigating reports of possible unexplained health incidents among the US Embassy Vienna community,' the State Department said.

'Any employees who reported a possible UHI received immediate and appropriate attention and care.'

Pictured is the US Embassy in Vienna, Austria, where two dozen US diplomats have reported symptoms of 'Havana Syndrome'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with meeting with Chile's Foreign Minister Andres Allamand, Friday

Symptoms include headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions and some have required months of medical treatment

Some believe the unexplained injuries, which include brain damage, are the result of attacks with microwave or radio wave weapons.

James Giordano, a senior fellow in biotechnology at the US Naval War College, said American adversaries have developed these weapons in an interview with The Guardian earlier this month, amid a Pentagon probe to determine what has caused the government workers to become ill.

Giordano claims one US company made a prototype of a small portable weapon capable of causing such effects back in the early 2000s before research was abandoned.

He says he has discovered that other countries have developed a similar device that 'uses microwave frequencies able to disrupt brain function without any burning sensation.'

What is 'Havana Syndrome'? The mysterious illness believed to have sickened at least 130 US officials since 2016 The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. At least 130 cases across the government are now under investigation, up from several dozen last year, according to a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to discuss details publicly. The National Security Council is leading the investigation. People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms. Investigators believe there are at least four cases involving Trump White House officials. Advocates for those affected accuse the U.S. government of long failing to take the problem seriously or provide the necessary medical care and benefits. US senators said last month that the government is investigating an apparent increase in the mysterious directed-energy attacks. Advertisement

'This was important  and rather frightening  because it represented a state of advancement and sophistication of these types of instruments that heretofore had not been thought to be accomplished,' he told the publication.

However, despite years of study, there is no consensus as to what or who might be behind the incidents or whether they are, in fact, attacks.

The Vienna-based employees have reported suffering from mysterious symptoms since President Joe Biden was inaugurated, according to the officials.

The Vienna cases were first reported Friday by The New Yorker magazine.

For centuries, Vienna has been a center for espionage and diplomacy and was a hub for clandestine spy-versus-spy activity during the Cold War.

The city is currently the site of indirect talks between Iran and the United States over salvaging the nuclear deal that was negotiated there in 2015.

Those talks are now in hiatus and it was not immediately clear if any members of the US negotiating team were among those suffering from injuries.

The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the US Embassy in Cuba.

In May, officials said at least 130 cases across the government were under investigation, up from several dozen last year.

People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment.

Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.

Particularly alarming are revelations of at least two possible incidents in the Washington area, including one case near the White House in November in which an official reported dizziness.

Although some are convinced the injuries are the result of directed energy attacks, others believe the growing number of cases could actually be linked to 'mass psychogenic illness,' in which people learning of others with symptoms begin to feel sick themselves.
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The US is at risk of slipping backwards in its fight against COVID-19 as the Indian Delta variant has become the dominant strain and appears to be on track to make up every new case in New York City by next month.

The spread of the highly contagious strain, which originated in India, has already pushed new infections up to 26,306 nationwide, an increase of 69.3 percent on a seven-day moving average compared to one week earlier.

Nearly every state witnessed a rise in infections in the last week and CDC data shows the Delta variant is responsible for about 60 percent of these cases.

CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky warned that the current outbreak is becoming 'a pandemic of the unvaccinated' as most cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among people yet to take the shot while the nation's vaccination rollout has stalled.

Fears are now mounting that the worst is yet to come as America looks to the United Kingdom, which is several weeks ahead in its battle against the Delta variant and is grappling with daily infections doubling within the space of a week.

Based on the rate with which the strain became dominant in the UK, then made up 100 percent of cases and set off a dramatic spike in cases and deaths, the US may well be just weeks away from reaching a similar crisis point.

New York City, which last year was the virus epicenter of the world, could see cases accelerate six-fold and deaths multiply by seven between now and the end of August if the spread of the variant mirrors that on the other side of the pond.

As the Indian Delta variant has taken over the U.K., its COVID cases have spiked. In New York, the Delta variant now has taken over, too. If the city follows the same path as the U.K., this chart shows the projected growth in the number of cases as of Aug. 14, when the strain looks set to comprise 100 percent of COVID cases in the city

Delta spread quickly throughout the UK and had become the dominant strain by May 21, when 60.6 percent of all new cases in the two weeks preceding it were identified as the B1.617.2 variant.

Just six weeks later, on the week ending July 2, 100 percent of all UK cases were the Delta variant.

New York City has a lag on the UK when it comes to the prevalence of the strain.

It became dominant by the week ending July 3, accounting for 69 percent of all new cases just as people jetted in and out of the city for the July 4 weekend.

This means if New York City follows the same pattern as the UK, the Big Apple is on track for the Delta strain to make up 100 percent of all new cases by August 14.

And this threatens to set off a new wave of the virus, just one month after New York state lifted all remaining coronavirus restrictions in June.

The spread of the Delta variant sent cases and deaths surging once again in the UK and plunged the country into yet another lockdown.

In the six weeks between May 21 - when it became the dominant strain - and July 2 - when it accounted for 100 percent of new cases, COVID-19 infections surged a staggering 1,124 percent from 2,290 to 25,750.

As the number of U.K. cases shoots higher with the Indian Delta COVID variant taking hold, New York City cases also are beginning to move higher - and they threaten to spike just as the U.K.'s numbers have as the Delta variant becomes an increasing share of the city's infections

Still, with vaccine rates high in both the U.K., deaths have not spiked higher even as COVID cases have; New Yorkers and Americans can hold onto some hope that deaths won't spike, either, though in areas of the country with low vaccination rates, there is some worry

Deaths also almost quadrupled from 7 to 27 within the same timeframe, with the nation's vaccine rollout credited with limiting the fatality rate.

Cases and deaths have continued to climb in the two weeks since, with daily infections more than doubling to 54,674 and another 41 people dying Saturday.

Hospitalizations also spiked 30.4 per cent to 740 on July 13  the latest date data is available for and the highest number of daily admissions seen since March 2, when 834 patients were recorded.

In the last week alone, cases jumped by more than two thirds with the UK on track to pass 100,000 new daily infections in two weeks' time and experts warning a new lockdown could be needed by September.

Based on the trends seen in the UK, New York City could be on track for a similar surge in cases and deaths over the coming weeks and months.

New York City, where there's been a big vaccination drive, could see cases accelerate six-fold and deaths multiply by seven between now and the end of August if the spread of the variant mirrors that on the other side of the pond

If infections surge at the same rate between Delta becoming dominant and 100 percent saturating the city, the number of cases in the Big Apple could climb from 192 recorded on July 3 to around 2,158 on August 14 when the strain makes up all new cases.

By the end of August, cases could have reached around 4,338 - more than six times the 640 recorded on July 14, when the last data is available for.

Deaths are also likely to spike from 5 on July 3 to around 19 on August 14 and 34 by the end of August, as the rate of fatalities accelerates.

New York may, however, have a head start in its fight against the more contagious strain as it reached US soil later than the UK - meaning more Americans may be fully vaccinated before it reaches saturation point.

With cases doubling every two weeks, this means the U.S. could see 50,000 cases per day by the end of July and 100,000 per day at the end of the month

The UK has been racing to beat the spread of the strain by vaccinating as many people aged 18 and over as possible while the US has approved the vaccine for anyone aged 12 and over.

Currently, the UK and New York City are roughly on a par when it comes to the vaccine rollout, with 53 percent and 49 percent of the populations fully vaccinated, respectively.

The next six weeks will then be crucial to ramping up the vaccination rates in the Big Apple to protect New Yorkers from the dominant strain as it takes hold.

But, the vaccine rollout in the US has stalled nationwide and the states with the lowest rates of inoculation are among those seeing the biggest resurgence of the virus.

The White House said Friday that Florida accounted for one in five new cases of COVID-19 this week.

There is also some uncertainty around how effective the vaccines are against the more contagious Delta variant.

A new report from Israel on Friday found the Pfizer two-dose vaccine is 'weaker' against the strain than hoped, providing 64 percent protection against infection from the variant as of June 6.

Israel once led the entire world in the vaccine race, vaccinating 61 percent of its population with Pfizer but now the country is dealing with a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant.

Nearly every state and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week

Missouri continues to be one of the nation's COVID-19 epicenters with average cases rising by 83 percent from 1,029 per day to 1,892 per day in the last two weeks.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the state's vaccination rate is behind the national average with 46 percent of residents having received received at least one dose, and 40 percent fully vaccinated.

Comparatively, 55.8 percent of the U.S. has received at least one dose and 48.3 percent are fully vaccinated.

Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently admitted that the federal health agency is more concerned about Missouri than any other state

'When I look at the map Missouri actually jumps out as the place that I'm most worried about because there's a lot of cases now happening very rapidly,' he told McClatchy.

'The chances of getting infected in Missouri are getting really high and that means potentially serious illness or even death.'

The outbreak is being driven by the Delta variant, which makes up more than 97 percent of cases in the state, especially spreading like wildfire in the southwest.

Missouri continues to be one of the nation's COVID-19 epicenters with average cases risen by 83% from 1,029 per day to 1,892 per day in the last two weeks

In nearby Arkansas, cases have risen from an average of 515 per day two weeks ago to 1,444 per day on Thursday, a 185% increase

In Louisiana, COVID-19 cases have risen by 466% from 299 per to 1,695 per day over the last 14 days

In Springfield, the two hospitals, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield, are currently treating more COVID-19 patients now than at any time during the pandemic.

CoxHealth says 16 patients have died in the last week alone. .

'We went from virtually zero patients to about 100-plus in about seven months in the first couple waves, and in this wave we went from, at least at Cox, about 14 patients seven weeks ago to about 130 today,' CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards said at a news conference on Wednesday.

'So the ramp up time has been accelerated, almost triple.'

In nearby Arkansas, cases have risen from an average of 515 per day two weeks ago to 1,444 per day on Thursday, a 185 percent increase, the DailyMail.com analysis found.

Only 35.1 percent of the population is fully vaccinated as infection double every 10 day according to Dr Cam Patterson, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson (R) has been pleading with residents to get vaccinated and has attended community events across the state in an attempt to boost vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas said he believes mask mandate should be reinstated due to the surge of cases.

'Yeah it was a bad idea,' Michael John Gray told KATV in reference to a March law that restricts the return of mask mandates.

'I don't like it, I don't like things shut down, I don't like capacity, but if that's what we have to do to make sure we're all year this time next year.'

In nearby Louisiana, cases have risen by 466 percent from 299 per to 1,695 per day over the last 14 days.

Dr Frank Courmier, the medical director for pulmonary and critical services at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, told CNN that the COVID-19 patients admitted to his hospital are in their 30s and 40s, much younger than in previous waves.

'We're getting people in their third and fourth decades, otherwise healthy with no real preexisting conditions coming in, unvaccinated and very sick, very fast,' he said. 'We see almost no vaccinated patients.'

Louisiana has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates of the country with about 36 percent fully vaccinated, CDC data show.

The low rate shows. In a release on Tuesday, the Louisiana Department of Health revealed that 94 percent of the state's 19,200 cases in May were among people who did not complete their vaccine series.

The data are very clear,' said Dr Joseph Kanter, Louisiana's State Health Officer, in the release.

'COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people in Louisiana are surging. COVID-19 hospitalizations, percent positivity and COVID-19 outbreaks are all on the rise.

'All people in Louisiana, especially those who are not yet vaccinated, should know they are now at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to the more transmissible Delta variant, and they should consider their personal risk and their family's risk.'

Meanwhile, the White House said on Friday that Florida has accounted for one in five new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. over the last week.

According to data from the CDC, there were 7,011 new cases reported on July 14 with the seven-day rolling average currently sitting at 5,621.

Despite the growing number of cases, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis vowed not to enact any mandates or orders.

'No mandates for anything, these are individual choices,' DeSantis said at a press conference on Tuesday.

'I made comments at the end of April or beginning of May, I said "Look, this is a seasonal pattern" We knew it was going to be low in May and it was low, and we knew when we got to the end of June, July, it was going to go up, and it was because that's what it did last year and it's not unique just to Florida.'

Israel once led the entire world in the vaccine race, vaccinating 61% of its population with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but now the country is dealing with a surge in cases

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 'weaker' against the Indian 'Delta' variant than health officials had hoped, a new report from Israel says.

On Friday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held a discussion about the coronavirus with his Cabinet at the Kirya in Tel Aviv.

Israel once led the entire world in the vaccine race, vaccinating 61 percent of its population with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but now the country is dealing with a surge in cases.

As of June 6, the vaccine provides 64 percent protection against infection from the variant, according to the Israeli government

At the moment, there is an idea that is spreading to the effect that the protective ability of the existing vaccines against the Delta mutation is weaker than what we had hoped,' Bennett said.

'We do not know exactly to what degree the vaccine helps, but it is significantly less. We are all hoping to see a slowdown but the facts at the moment are that there is no slowdown, not here and not in the world.'
A man was caught on camera being tasered by police after officers responded to a stabbing.

The video clip, shot by a passer-by in Dartford, Kent, appears to show a man lashing out while being detained by approximately eight police officers.

Emergency services had been responding to a reported stabbing in the residential area of Lowfield Street at 6pm on Sunday, July 17.

Amid screams, shouts and a brief melee, the man can be seen being Tasered by an officer as his body stiffens and he collapses against a wall in Lowfield Street, Kent

The video clip, shot by a passer-by in Dartford, Kent, appears to show a man lashing out while being detained by approximately eight police officers

In the minute-long footage, a man wearing a white t-shirt can be seen being held by a group of officers. He appears to have blood on his shirt and arms.

Another man approaches the group and begins arguing with a PC, pushing them repeatedly.

As officers try to restrain him, the chaotic situation escalates further as another man wearing a black hoodie and the man in the white t-shirt start grappling with the constables.

As the clip draws to a conclusion, two officers can be seen restraining the Tasered man while on top of him

Kent Police sealed off a number of streets in Dartford following a reported stabbing in the area

Amid screams, shouts and a brief melee, the man wearing the white t-shirt can be seen being Tasered by an officer as his body stiffens and he collapses against a wall.

As the clip draws to a conclusion, two officers can be seen restraining the Tasered man while on top of him.

Three men are currently in police custody after being arrested in connection with the incident.

Three men are currently in police custody after being arrested in connection with the incident. Pictured: Officers stand by as a police cordon is set up in Dartford High Street

A spokesperson for Kent Police said: 'Kent Police was called to Lowfield Street, Dartford at 6.01pm on Saturday, 17 July 2021 following a report of a disturbance.

'A man sustained an injury consistent with a stab wound and was taken to a London hospital for treatment.

'Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident and enquiries are ongoing.'
AstraZeneca says it's working to get more production sites approved by the EMA

AstraZeneca yet to register its CSL facility in Melbourne with EMA regulator

Some EU countries could remain off limits when Australia's borders reopen

Some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations could remain off-limits to vaccinated Australians when international borders finally reopen.

Australians who roll up their sleeves for the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab may be banned from visiting countries such as Italy, Croatia, France, and Malta, thanks to a red tape in the European Union's vaccine approval process.

European Medicines Agency confirmed AstraZeneca is yet to register CSL's Melbourne facility with the drugs regulator, despite the lab producing millions of doses that are also approved for WHO emergency use.

The pharmaceutical giant is also yet to register its lab in India, throwing the travel plans of at least five million Britons and millions more worldwide vaccinated with the Indian-made doses of the vaccine into chaos.

The European Unions Covid-19 certificate allowing residents from the 27-nation bloc to freely travel only recognises AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe, which could be hurdle for Australians who received the jab produced locally.

Australians who get the AstraZeneca jab may not be able to travel to some EU countries such as Italy once our borders finally reopen. Pictured is Venice

The EMA said AstraZeneca needs to apply for a 'variation' to the vaccine's marketing authorisation to register its Australia site.

'A variation application includes information on the new site supported by various test results confirming the quality of the vaccine manufactured at the new site and comparing it to the currently authorised vaccine,' it told 9 News.

AstraZeneca said it was working hard to get more production sites approved by the EMA but wouldn't say whether registering the Australian lab was part of those plans.

'It should be noted that all AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses meet the same rigorous quality standards no matter where they are made as each batch passes over 60 quality tests as part of our robust quality assurance process,' it said.

European Medicines Agency confirmed AstraZeneca is yet to register CSL's Melbourne facility with the drugs regulator, despite the lab producing millions of doses that are also approved for WHO emergency use

Croatia (pictured) is among the EU countries who only allow travellers vaccinated with jabs approved by the EMA

The EU's Covid-19 certificate, which came into effect this month, allows residents to move freely around the 27-nation bloc.

Travellers must show they have been vaccinated with one of the four jabs approved by the EMA, have a recent negative test, or provide proof they have recovered from the virus.

Some EU countries accept AstraZeneca's Indian version notably used in the UK and around Africa, but others such Croatia and Italy don't, which caused headaches across the continent during the summer.

France has since allowed international travellers who have had AstraZenecas Indian-manufactured coronavirus vaccine to enter.

From Sunday, unvaccinated travellers to enter France from Britain, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, or Cyprus must present a negative test from the past 24 hours.

Australia has administrated 9,970,746 doses as of Friday.
A father who lost his wife and two family members during the 2016 Dreamworld disaster has disappeared and is feared to have drowned.

Police searched for David Turner after his car was found abandoned at Uriarra Crossing, 30km west of Canberra, on Thursday.

SES volunteers combed through bushland while police divers joined the search over fears he may have deliberately dived into a river to take his own life.

A friend claimed Mr Turner was still struggling to cope with the loss of his family five years on from the disaster at the Gold Coast theme park in 2016.

Police have continued their search for David Turner after his car was found abandoned at Uriarra Crossing, 30 kilometres west of Canberra, on Thursday (pictured, David Turner with his partner Kate and their daughter Ebony)

A friend claimed Mr Turner was still struggling to cope with the loss of his family five years on from the Dreamworld disaster, on the Gold Coast, in 2016

His wife Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, and Mr Dorsett's partner Roozi Araghi were three of the four people killed on the Thunder River Rapids ride when one of the rafts capsized on the conveyor belt.

Mr Turner's 12-year-old daughter Ebony was also on the ride but miraculously survived.

The doting father opted out of the ride to mind his baby daughter Evie in the pram.

An inquest investigated the disaster and Mr Turner was eventually awarded a seven-figure payout.

The inquest heard the distraught father rushed to the ride, jumped into the murky water to try and save his wife before he was pulled back by Dreamworld staff.

'Why didn't you stop the ride?' Mr Turner yelled at them.

The family released a statement at the the time saying they held the theme park completely accountable for their loss.

'We hold Dreamworld totally responsible for this tragic event that could have so easily been avoided,' the family said.

'It has throttled our family.'

His wife Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi were three of the four people killed on the Thunder River Rapids ride when one of the rafts capsized on the conveyor belt

David Turner carries his partner Kate's coffin out of St Christopher's Cathedral in Canberra in 2016

Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure pleaded guilty to breaching workplace health and safety laws.

The company was fined $3.6million in September 2020.

Friends claim that Mr Turner was still tormented by the loss of his family and wife before he disappeared outside of Canberra on Thursday.

'Kate was his soulmate, she was everything to him,' a friend told Courier Mail.

'She kept him centred and without that he was just lost.

'And it's impossible to know how you would react going through what he went through that day.'

An ACT police spokeswoman said the family had requested privacy while the search continued.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on: 13 11 14
A chemical leak at Six Flags' Splashtown waterpark in Spring, Texas near Houston left 26 people transported to the hospital and dozens more injured on Saturday, local officials said.

HazMat crews and fire crews quickly responded to the scene and began treating and decontaminating patients who were suffering from respiratory distress before shuttering the park, officials said.

The park will remain closed while an investigation is conducted and and safety protocols are reviewed.

Officials said 26 people were transported by an ambulance bus to a local hospital, including a woman who was in labor, while 39 people refused hospital treatment.

The most serious case was a female child who was taken to Texas Children's Hospital, officials said.

'Several hours ago we were dispatched to the Splashtown park and a normal Saturday turned out a lot differently,' Spring Fire Chief Scott Seifert said during a press conference on Saturday evening.

'With the patients that were brought to us, we decontaminated well over 60 people with our ladder truck. We went ahead and had them all walk through there and then they were analyzed by Cypress Creek EMS.'

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said officials are not saying exactly what chemical it was 'because it's not clear right now but something obviously went wrong'

The park will remain closed while an investigation is conducted and and safety protocols are reviewed

Officials said 26 people were transported by an ambulance bus to a local hospital, including a woman who was in labor, while 39 people refused hospital treatment

Seifert said the patients suffered respiratory distress like difficulty breathing but they didn't see any patients with chemical burns

Chief Seifert explained that the fire department's ladder truck raised a nozzle and sprayed water down on an area about 15 feet people in order to decontaminate the park's patrons.

'They walk through there and they basically massage their eyes and things like that to get any chemicals out of their eyes if they are affected. No soap or nothing like that,' he said.

Seifert said the patients suffered respiratory distress like difficulty breathing but they didn't see any patients with chemical burns.

However, he acknowledged 'it is possible' for patients to have experienced burning sensations in their skin 'depending on the amount of chemical' when asked by another outlet to respond to claims from one woman who said she suffered burns.

'Just recently we learned that the chemical combination was about 35 percent sulfuric acid and 10 to 13 percent bleach,' Seifert said.

Captain Richard Lawhorn with the Harris County Hazardous Materials Team said the agency's goal in responding was 'to make sure that the chemical was still not active' and 'to make sure that the conditions were not getting any worse.'

Lawhorn explained that the HazMat team then assisted Six Flags crews in securing the chemicals 'in, for the most part, a controlled system.'

The HazMat official explained that the park's pools operate on a pH balance system where a pH balance of 7 is what they consider safe. Different chemicals are injected separately into the water which circulates through the park's system.

'They have a system that balances different chemicals that allows them to keep it at 7. So we're looking at that system,' Lawhorn said.

The chemical leak happened at the Hurricane Harbor Splashtown park, which is owned by Six Flags

Chief Seifert explained that the fire department's ladder truck raised a nozzle and sprayed water down on an area about 15 feet people in order to decontaminate people

Officials said that the park has been cooperative after the chemical leak

Lawhorn said both fire marshals and Six Flags crews checked the pH balance of the water and said that they were 'good readings.' He added that the park's maintenance team's policy is to pull people from the water if the pH balance hits either 6 or 8.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the samples taken by Six Flags and fire marshals came out at pH 7.

'That tells us, by the time the sample was taken, the situation at least form what could be measured wasn't showing anything off,' Judge Hidalgo said.

'So that's why we don't know exactly what happened prior that would make people getting sick.'

She added: 'That's why they're not saying exactly what chemical it was because it's not clear right now but something obviously went wrong.'

'They should, it would stand to reason, have systems in place where the minute there is something wrong the system would record that. So we need to see if under the regulatory framework that's in place before they open again.'

The Spring Fire Department posted about the chemical leak on Twitter, warning people to avoid the area

News of the leak came while patrons of the park posted about their experience to social media sites like Reddit

Harris County Fire Marshall Laurie Christensen said her office will determine if the Splashtown is safe to reopen in a few days.

'They have been cooperative. They are working with our investigators and our inspections team,' she said.

Christensen said the Harris County Fire Marshall's Office conducts inspections of the facility and its Life Safety Plans. The last inspection of the facility conducted by her office was June 29.

'It was just inspected for its life safety plan and those sorts of things,' she said.

Scott Jeansonne, the compliance and environmental programs manager for Harris County Public Health, said his agency conducts health and safety inspections for the actual pool facilities and permits them.

'The facility was last inspected at the end of April this year,' he said.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Six Flags for more information and additional comment.

People posted to Facebook after the incident recounting the chemical leak

A Splashtown visitor had posted to Reddit earlier in the day warning others to stay away from the park because of a 'horrible chemical smell' coming from the park's baby and toddler section.

'I urge anyone considering going to Splashtown to not go there,' Reddit user BaramundiPuffin wrote.

'My family were just there and suddenly there was a burning sensation and horrible smell of chemical in the baby/toddler area of the park.'

The Reddit user added: 'It was very concentrated and burned our nose, throats and eyes. We evacuated along with others; however, the sensation of a chemical irritant exposure is still there. Eyes, nose, and throat are still burning almost an hour later.'

The Reddit user speculated that they had been exposed the chlorine gas, a poisonous gas once used as a chemical weapon in World War I.

One woman interviewed leaving the park told KPRC: 'Even as I was holding items, I just felt burning everywhere  my hands and legs.'

People claiming to have been at the park also posted about their experiences to Facebook.

'We were there earlier when this happened. We were packing up to leave when all of the emergency vehicles started showing up. The park staff responded very quickly and made sure to keep a mass panic from happening,' Jess Siegel wrote.

Facebook user Maria Carmen wrote: 'We were there and thankfully me and my family are okay!'

Some Facebook users recounted children 'vomiting' after the chemical leak while others reported itchy skin and burning eyes.
Retail employees and political staff are among the list of workers who have been granted an exemption to leave Covid-19 hotspots in Greater Sydney.

The NSW Government has posted a list of 35 different professions that allows residents to leave Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local government areas for work.

It comes after state premier Gladys Berejiklian cracked down on stay-at-home orders and barred residents from leaving the three local government areas.

Exemptions were initially granted to emergency service and healthcare workers before the list was updated on Saturday night.

Retail and healthcare employees are among the list of workers who have been granted an exemption to leave Covid-19 hotspots in Greater Sydney

Exemptions were initially granted to emergency service and healthcare workers before the list was updated on Saturday night

Political staff, data storage technicians and transport workers are now among the employees allowed to travel outside of their local government areas.

Workers in administration, including police and fire departments, have also been added to the list.

Education workers in early childcare and schools will also be allowed to travel.

The list of exemptions was released after the state government tightened lockdown rules on Saturday.

Only 'critical retail' such as supermarkets and pharmacies have been allowed to remain open since 11.59pm Saturday. Others have been forced to do click and collect or takeaway.

Construction, large or small, will also be put on pause from Monday.

The impending shutdown prompted tradespeople to scramble to construction sites over the weekend to secure the premises.

There were no new rules for regional areas outside Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Shellharbour, and the Central Coast.

Here is what the new rules are and which ones apply to you.

Education workers in early childcare and schools will also be allowed to travel

The impending shutdown prompted tradespeople to scramble to construction sites over the weekend to secure the premises

Most shops have shut

The only shops that have been allowed to stay open from 11.59pm on Saturday across Sydney are:

Supermarkets and grocery stores (including butchers, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stores, liquor stores and fishmongers)

Stores that predominantly sell health, medical, maternity and infant supplies

Pharmacies and chemists

Petrol stations, car hire

Banks and financial institutions

Hardware, nurseries and building supplies, agricultural and rural supplies

Pet supplies;

Post offices and newsagents, office supplies.

Everything else can offer click and collect services for goods ordered online or over the phone which customers can pick up or have delivered.

Ms Berejiklian previously insisted that it was not up to the government to determine was was 'essential', but has now backflipped.

Supermarkets and grocery stores (including butchers, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stores, liquor stores and fishmongers) have been allowed to continue trading

Southwest Sydney ringfenced

The vast majority of the cases in the outbreak, more than 80 of Saturday's numbers, are in southwest Sydney.

Ms Berejiklian now wants to quarantine them, and their 810,000 residents from the rest of Sydney, even if they are essential workers.

Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local council cannot leave their LGA for work except for emergency services and healthcare workers, including aged and disability workers.

Where those workers do need to leave for work, they are required to be tested every three days, even if they do not have symptoms.

Construction and maintenance halted

With everyone mostly locked inside their homes, the government wants to prevent outsiders coming into them, even for essential reasons.

From 12.01am on Monday, all construction to be paused and non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on homes to be paused.

'Where there are urgent requirements for electricity or water or other repairs, of course that will occur,' Ms Berejiklian said.

From 12.01am on Monday, all construction to be paused and non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on homes to be paused

'Where there are urgent requirements for electricity or water or other repairs, of course that will occur,' Ms Berejiklian said on construction exemptions

More mask restrictions

Anyone who leaves the home must have a mask with them at all times. They must be worn when you are working outdoors, in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food.

'No matter where you live in metropolitan Sydney, Greater Sydney, you must have a mask with you,' Ms Berejiklian said.

'Even if you are exercising with your household, you might change your mind, be in an outdoor market, get a coffee, you must have a mask.

'If you are coming into contact with other people, you must have a mask.'

All carpooling to be stopped unless among members of the same household.
Tens of thousands of Ocado grocery deliveries were cancelled following a blaze caused by robots colliding at a major distribution depot.

More than 100 firefighters spent hours battling the blaze in Erith, South-East London, after staff were evacuated.

The building, on a 36-acre site, is serviced by around 3,500 robots programmed to pack deliveries. Sparks from the collision are believed to have set alight the grid on which the robots operate.

More than 100 firefighters spent hours battling the blaze in Erith, South-East London, after staff were evacuated

Bosses at Ocado yesterday said damage in the blaze on Friday afternoon was limited but there would be disruption to operations for several days

Around 30,000 orders from across the South East are normally processed at the plant each day.

It is the third blaze at an Ocado warehouse in the past two years, including one in Andover, Hampshire  also blamed on robots  which destroyed the building.

Bosses at Ocado yesterday said damage in the blaze on Friday afternoon was limited but there would be disruption to operations for several days.

Unhappy customers took to social media. One tweeted: The Ocado fire means I have to go to the shops. Like actually, physically, literally go.

Cole Moreton, a writer and broadcaster, said: I dont know, maybe they should get some robots that dont cause fires.
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Los Angeles police confirmed on Sunday that 40 people have been arrested following a transgender rights protest outside a spa in Koreatown on Saturday.

Officers fired non-lethal projectiles to disperse the unruly mob, which became violent when Proud Boys and Antifa members joined the trans rights demonstration and clashed outside the spa.

Thirty nine of the arrests were for failure to disperse, LAPD told DailyMail.com

One person was arrested for carrying a prohibited item at a protest.

The spa, Wi Spa, was also the site of protest on July 3, and some suspect that the video which sparked the anti-transgender protest was a fake, Slate reported.

LAPD said in a statement on Twitter on Saturday night that smoke bombs and other projectiles were thrown at officers trying to break up the crowd, and stun guns, knives and pepper spray were confiscated.

Officers fired rubber bullets to disperse the unruly crowd. A video shows one person being hit in the stomach

Videos emerged on social media showing police in full riot gear pushing protesters back with batons. Another video shows an officer firing a rubber bullet at someone from close range.

Other video shows buildings covered in graffiti, and a Guardian reporter covering the protest said that she was shoved to the ground and attacked by a right-wing extremist who she was trying to interview.

'Just got thrown to the ground by right-wing anti-pedophile protesters as a crowd converged on me and chased me,' Guardian reporter Lois Beckett said on Twitter with a video of the assault.

'They threw water at me and screamed about Jesus and said to grab my phone. Police would not let me through the police line but after I got thrown on the ground they did.'

A protester hit in the stomach with a rubber bullet crumbles to the ground

Police are seen attacking protesters, who threw things like smoke bombs at officers, according to the LAPD

Police were seen in videos hitting protesters with batons

LAPD released this statement on Twitter along with pictures of what was confiscated

The free-for-all scene that played out in downtown LA stemmed from a video that was posted on Instagram earlier this month of an irate customer complaining to Wi Spa staff that a transgender woman was in the women's section of the spa.

The Instagram user - 'cubanaangel' - ranted to staff for over three minutes.

'Wi Spa allows a man into women's wet spa section where all the women are naked, mothers with their young daughters and teens,' 'cubanaangel' wrote.

'The Wi Spa allowed the man access just because he calls himself a woman. This man was naked exposing his testicles and penis slinging left to right in front of young girls, teens and grown women. What is our world coming to.'

The video sparked controversy after the spa defended its policy of allowing transgender customers in its facilities.

VIDEO WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

'Cubanaangel' wrote this post to go with the Instagram video that was posted earlier this month. It's gained traction in recent weeks and sparked outrage and the protest on Saturday

Suspicion about the authenticity of the video was raised after people noted that the video cuts out as the woman marches downstairs to confront this person shes allegedly seen, but never shows the trans woman.

Police grew to suspect a hoax after failing to find witnesses who saw a trans woman at the spa, and Wi Spa claims none of their trans clients had scheduled appointments that day.

On Saturday, police declared an unlawful assembly in front of the spa in Koreatown around 11am, when demonstrators against transgender access to the spa's facilities clashed with counter protesters.

Detective Meghan Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the LAPD, said no officer was injured and no protester was transported to hospitals.
The top U.S. scientist on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, blasted commentators who sound an anti-vaccination theme on Saturday, saying America might still be battling smallpox and polio if today's kind of 'false information' existed back then.

The comments from the country's leading infectious disease expert reflected mounting frustration over the sharp slowdown in the Covid-19 vaccination rate in the United States, even as the disease has been surging in states with low rates.

It also came days after President Joe Biden expressed his own visible frustration, saying social media that carry widely heard misinformation about vaccines are 'killing people.'

Dr. Anthony Fauci said successful campaigns to eradicate smallpox and polio wouldnt have succeeded if the vaccines were subject to misinformation

Top US disease expert Anthony Fauci has said that polio might not have been eliminated if it faced the media resistance that Covid vaccines face

Dr. Anthony Fauci to @Acosta: "We probably would still have smallpox and we probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now." pic.twitter.com/MVUxEPX5yf  Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 17, 2021

Fauci was responding to a CNN interviewer who asked if he thought 'we could have defeated the measles or eradicated polio if you had Fox News, night after night, warning people about these vaccine issues that are just bunk.

'If we had had the pushback for vaccines the way we're seeing on certain media, I don't think it would've been possible at all to not only eradicate smallpox, we probably would still have smallpox, and we probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now,' Fauci said.

Initial vaccine skepticism in many areas has increasingly evolved into outright hostility, a message magnified by baseless conspiracy theories regularly aired on Fox and other conservative networks.

New Yorkers queue up for their free smallpox vaccinations in April 1947

A child struck down by smallpox at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Madras, India (file photo)

'Maybe it doesn't work and they're simply not telling you that,' Tucker Carlson, one of Fox's most popular commentators, said recently.

The vaccines have instead proved extraordinarily effective. Officials in Maryland, for example, said that not one of the people who died of the disease last month in the state had been vaccinated.

To suggestions of sending vaccine educators door-to-door to encourage people to get the jab, Fox commentator Charlie Hurt said, 'They've become like the Taliban.'

Conservative politicians have increasingly echoed former president Donald Trump's mockery of Covid precautions.

Door-to-door educators, suggested Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, might instead come and take people's guns - or their Bibles.

After an initial burst of vaccinations around the country, the pace has slowed sharply.

A patient with smallpox. The scabs eventually fall off leaving marks on the skin that will become pitted scars. The patient is contagious to others until all of the scabs have fallen off. The image is from 1972

Little girls, wheelchair polio patients, are rolled out of their quarters in Hickory, North Carolina, by smiling nurses to start their 60-mile trip to new homes in Charlotte. Pictured in 1945

Biden's announced goal of having 70 percent of adults vaccinated by July 4 fell short by about three points, and the vaccination rate has slowed further since then, even as the disease's Delta variant has spread rapidly.

A few Republicans have sought to place blame for the disease's ravages and economic dislocations on the widely respected Fauci himself.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced the so-called Fire Fauci Act, calling for his salary to be reduced to zero and requiring the Senate to confirm a replacement. The bill is not expected to go anywhere.

Fauci was asked on CNN about T-shirts being sold by a political action group linked to Florida governor Ron DeSantis that say 'Don't Fauci My Florida.'

He appeared genuinely perplexed.

'Taking an individual who stands for public health, for truth... and to use my name in a derogatory way to prevent people from doing things that's for the benefit of their own health, go figure that one out.

'That doesn't make any sense at all,' he said, shaking his head.
British children will not be offered a Covid jab as part of a mass roll-out and only those who are listed as clinically vulnerable can expect to receive a jab, it has been revealed.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is reported to have advised ministers against providing a mass vaccine programme for children that had previously been mooted, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Experts are suggesting more data is needed on the impact of using vaccines on children before progressing with any firm recommendation.

Instead, JCVI guidance will suggest those aged between 12 and 15 with serious health conditions and those who are just three months away from celebrating their 18th birthdays can be offered a Covid-19 shot.

The UK regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had previously approved the Pfizer jab for use in 12 to 15-year-olds.

British children will not be offered a Covid jab as part of a mass roll-out and only those who are listed as clinically vulnerable can expect to receive a jab, it has been revealed Above: A 13-year-old receives his first Pfizer jab in New York.

A Whitehall source told the Sunday Telegraph that potential mass vaccinations for children will 'remain under review', as ministers plan to announce a decision on Freedom Day.

Previously, some UK scientists had claimed herd immunity could be reached if teenagers across the country were vaccinated.

Others had argued that the data had to be 'incredibly robust' before children were vaccinated owing to their low health risks from catching Covid.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) insisted no decisions had been made after it was reported that ministers were set to come out against mass vaccinations for teenagers.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that guidance due to be issued on Monday was expected to recommend the vaccine is offered to vulnerable 12 to 15-year-olds and to 17-year-olds who are within three months of turning 18.

The paper said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is believed to have advised against the rollout of vaccines to all children until there is further evidence on the risks involved.

A DHSC spokesman said: 'The Government will continue to be guided by the advice of the JCVI and no decisions have been made by ministers on whether people aged 12 to 17 should be routinely offered Covid-19 vaccines.'

Those aged 16 and considered clinically vulnerable to the virus can already receive their vaccine in the UK - as part of group six (at-risk group adults) of the roll-out.

Over-12s in the US, Israel and France are already able to get coronavirus vaccines.

But officials in the US have raised concerns that Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines could be linked with heart inflammation.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which polices the safety of drugs in the UK, has already approved the Pfizer jab for 12 to 15-year-olds.

US health chiefs earlier this month identified 226 plausible cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in under-30s in the US that had received Pfizer or Moderna jabs.

They said most of the cases were identified in boys and young men, but has urged everyone to get the vaccine as it is not clear whether the conditions are caused by the jabs.

The MHRA, which regulates medicines in the UK, is 'closely monitoring' reports of the link.
The widow of Haiti's slain president Jovenel Moise returned home Saturday after being treated in Florida for wounds she suffered in the attack, an official said.

Martine Moise, 47, with her right arm in a sling and wearing a bullet proof vest, was received at Port-au-Prince airport by interim prime minister Claude Joseph, secretary of state for communications Frantz Exantus wrote on Twitter.

Under gray skies and buffeted by strong winds, the first lady gingerly descended the steps of the plane, before firmly shaking hands with those assembled to welcome her, as seen on a video posted on social media.

'The first lady... has just arrived in Haiti to take part in preparations for the state funeral' of her late husband, Exantus wrote, posting pictures of Martine Moise disembarking from a private plane accompanied by multiple security agents.

She had spent 10 days in hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had been air lifted after her husband was gunned down in their home in the early hours of July 7.

The state funeral services are set to take place on July 23 in Cap-Haitien, a historic city in the north of Haiti, which has slid dangerously toward chaos since Moise was killed.

The day before Moise's widow's return, Joseph had pledged justice would be served for the president's assassination.

Haiti's first lady Martine Moise, wearing a bullet proof vest and her right arm in a sling, arrives at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday

Haiti's interim PM Claude Joseph walks with the first lady. She had spent 10 days in hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had been air lifted after her husband was gunned down in their home in the early hours of July 7.

The first lady is greeted by the interim prime minister after flying back from Miami

President Jovenel Moise was murdered in his home in the hills above Port au Prince ten days ago

Police chief Leon Charles told a press conference Friday that Haitian authorities were 'working with international agencies specialized in judicial investigations, such as the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigations), Interpol and other bodies that are on the ground to analyze all the evidence... to trace the masterminds of the assassination.'

Moise, 53, was assassinated by a hit squad made up mostly of Colombian mercenaries, but many of the details surrounding the brazen attack remain a mystery.

Colombia's police chief Jorge Vargas has said that a former Haitian justice ministry official, Joseph Felix Badio, gave two of the Colombian mercenaries the order to kill the president. But it is not clear if Badio in turn was following orders from someone else.

Badio, a former official in an anti-corruption unit within the justice ministry, is one of several people wanted by Haitian police, alongside former opposition senator Joel John Joseph.

Both are described on their wanted posters as 'armed and dangerous.'

More than 20 people have been arrested in connection with the killing.

Haitian police have accused a 63-year-old Haitian doctor with strong ties to Florida, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, of being a mastermind of the plot and having 'political objectives.'

Martine Moise, first lady of Haiti, arrives at Jackson Health System's Ryder Trauma Center, in Miami, for treatment on July 7 after being shot multiple times at her home earlier in the day in Port-au-Prince

Trinity Air Ambulance touches down at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida, carrying the gravely injured Martine Moise last week

The critically-injured Martine Moise was flown to Miami and then taken by air ambulance to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for treatment

Joseph said 24 police officers attached to Moise's security detail were ordered to report for questioning.

The day before Martine Moise returned to Haiti, around 40 people had gathered in Miami outside the hospital where she was being treated for a gunshot wound to her arm to show their support.

Most were women and most wore blue, one of the colors of their country's flag. They carried signs with slogans such as 'Healing for Haiti.'

'We're going to pray on the behalf of our First Lady and the people of Haiti,' said one of the demonstrators, Regina Martin Archat.

On Thursday, along with the first images of Martine Moise since the attack - in hospital with a heavily bandaged arm - the first lady thanked 'the team of guardian angels who helped me through this terrible time.

'With your gentle touch, kindness and care, I was able to hold on. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!'
Planning a trip to Rochdale? Then keep a beady eye on your fellow motorists.

According to official statistics, the Greater Manchester town boasts the nation's worst learner drivers, with just 31 per cent managing to pass their driving test compared with the national average of 46 per cent.

Data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which operates 380 UK driving test centres, shows novice motorists in Erith, South-East London, had the second-worst pass rate (32 per cent) followed by South Yardley in Birmingham (33 per cent).

Other locations in the table include Leeds, Wolverhampton and Wanstead in East London.

Planning a trip to Rochdale? Then keep a beady eye on your fellow motorists. According to official statistics, the Greater Manchester town boasts the nation's worst learner drivers (file image)

By contrast, Kendal in Cumbria and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire boast Britain's highest pass rate at 63 per cent, followed by Wellingborough in Northamptonshire (61 per cent) and Yeovil in Somerset (60 per cent). High pass rates were also recorded in Dorchester, Melton Mowbray and Ipswich.

The figures, analysed by researchers from insurance company Tempcover, also show the best time to take a test is between 2pm and 3pm on Sundays, when the pass rate is 56 per cent.

People should avoid Tuesdays and Fridays between 4pm and 5pm, when an average of 53 per cent passed.

Tempcover spokesman Alan Inskip said: 'Choosing the right day and time can improve your chances of passing, wherever you take your test.'
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The boss of Marks and Spencer has warned that store hours may have to be cut amid Covid 'pingdemic' chaos in the wake of 'Freedom Day' next week.

Steve Rowe said the number of test and trace app 'pings' is growing exponentially - at about three times the rate of Coivd cases - and that by mid-August as many as one in five supermarket workers could be in home isolation.

'If there's shortages we'll have to manage it by changing hours of stores [and] reducing hours,' he said.

His warning comes amid fears of food shortages when supply chain workers such as lorry drivers inevitably caught in the track and trace net, meaning supplies rot before they can be sold.

Tesco told ministers last month that 48 tons of food was being binned every week due to a driver shortage, a situation that is bound to be made worse when almost all Covid restrictions are lifted on Monday.

The NHS test and trace app has been in use since last year, sending alerts to 'close contacts' of Covid cases and telling them to self-isolate to reduce the risk of asymptomatic infection.

But, until the development of vaccines, high case numbers meant lockdowns - reducing the number of contacts each person had and therefore the chances of them getting 'pinged'.

Now, with vaccines keeping hospital admissions down, the government is content to let cases rise significantly while allowing people to resume near-normal daily activities with lots of social contact - a combination that will massively increase the number of 'pings' the app sends out.

Chief executive of Marks & Spencer Steve Rowe said the swathes of staff being forced to self-isolate meant shops will have to reduce opening hours

Up to 1million people were asked to self-isolate last week, data suggests. But that figure could hit 5.6million by the end of the month, if cases spiral by 75 per cent every week (right), according to MailOnline analysis. Separate projections based on a growth rate of 40 per cent - similar to what Test and Trace reported last week - still says the number of people self-isolating could hit 3million a week. But the true figure will be much lower because many people who are told to self-isolate end up testing positive, and some people will be flagged down by both NHS Test and Trace and the app

Around 1.8million people were asked to self-isolate last week in England, data suggests. That includes 194,000 people who tested positive, 520,000 who were 'pinged' by the app, almost 340,000 who were contacted directly by Test and Trace, and 750,000 schoolchildren

The number of alerts sent out in relation to venues also more than doubled in seven days

Why it's NOT illegal to ignore being 'pinged' MailOnline has looked into the legal guidance behind whether someone has to self-isolate if they are Covid positive, or told to by the app or Test and Trace. Do I have to self-isolate if I get 'pinged' by the app? App users who are 'pinged' after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive are not obliged to stay at home. They are kept anonymous through the app, meaning authorities are unable to track them down if they have been told to quarantine. Professor Lilian Edwards, a top lawyer who advised the Government on the app, said today people do not have to follow notifications from the software. 'I think what's getting lost in the traffic here is that you are not breaking the law if you do not self-isolate having been pinged by the app,' she told the BBC's World at One. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 says people alerted by the app do not have to self-isolate (bolded in red) 'You are only breaking the law if you are rung up by a manual contact tracer. 'Therefore, there is room there for discretion both from managers in the workplace and from workers as to whether they think they are a risk.' However, the instruction becomes legally enforceable as soon as someone who is pinged attempts to apply for the Government's isolation support payments. Do I have to self-isolate if test and trace contacts me? People contacted by NHS Test and Trace workers do have to self-isolate under regulations brought in last autumn to tackle coronavirus or face hefty fines. That rule won't be dropped for fully vaccinated adults until August 16. Britons who are contacted by test and trace must self-isolate at home for ten days. They must isolate for ten days regardless of whether they have symptoms or get a negative test. People they live with will also be required to self-isolate for ten days. Do I have to self-isolate if I test positive? People who have received a positive test must isolate for ten days after displaying symptoms or their test date if they do not have symptoms, while members of their household must isolate for 14 days Britons found breaking these rules could face a fine of 1,000 for the first offence. This rises to 10,000 for people who repeatedly refuse to self-isolate after testing positive. Advertisement

Staff shortages at ports and in the meat industry mean supermarket shelves could be left empty, with supply chains badly affected

And Jeremy Hunt, the former Health Secretary, today claimed the app needs to be changed, adding that a quarter of junior doctors are currently in isolation.

Ministers have said the lifting of restrictions on Monday is likely to push daily infections to more than 100,000, which could force around half a million a day to self-isolate.

Analysis by MailOnline suggests that in a worst-case scenario around six million adults could be in isolation by the end of the month.

Britain's daily infection toll breached 50,000 yesterday for the first time since January. Anyone who tests positive is told to self-isolate and has their contacts traced.

But because the Bluetooth phone app 'pings' all those who have been in close contact with positive cases, the number of people self-isolating at home at any one time is far higher.

Unlike those people contacted by phone, it is not a legal requirement to self-isolate after being pinged by the app. But Downing Street today made it clear it expects people to do so.

It raises the prospect of the economy grinding to a halt due to a chronic lack of available workers, even after the lockdown is supposed to have ended .

Business leaders and trade unionists from across all sector of the economy lined up to warn the Government that a major rethink is needed, because the current situation is not sustainable.

A fifth of all private sector workers are currently having to self-isolate, according to industrial analysis.

Chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group Tim Morris said the 'pingdemic' is the most 'significant threat to ports' resilience we have seen yet'.

He suggested people being forced to stay at home could lead to food supply chains being at risk.

Mr Morris told the Daily Telegraph: 'If the current trajectory of absences continues without the Government taking any action, there has to be a risk of disruption to important supply chains, including food.'

Meanwhile, meat workers are in talks with the government about emergency exemptions for their workers who are pinged by the app  but as of this afternoon no deal had been announced.

They say one in 10 of their workforce are being told to self-isolate by the app, in a development that could require firms 'to start shutting down production lines altogether'.

Meat industry leaders who met officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) yesterday said they were told pinged staff can return to work if they take a test.

No 10 did not rule out extending the exemption to other industries amid warnings that rising infections could lead to shortages of some supermarket products.

The claimed exemption for the meat industry is likely to throw the system into chaos as other struggling sectors, such as car manufacturers, hospitality firms and retailers, demand the same rule change.

Nick Allen, of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), said: 'The app very clearly says you should self-isolate but the advice we've now been given is when our staff get pinged, the first thing to do is get them tested. Officials pointed out to us that the pinging by the app is advisory.'

Responding to the BMPA's comments, a Government spokesman said: 'This is not accurate. We are in close contact with businesses, including the food industry, on this matter.

'Isolation is a crucial tool in helping to reduce the spread of the virus and it is vital that people continue to self-isolate when contacted by NHS Test and Trace.'

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said: 'We are continuing to look at self-isolation requirements for NHS workers. I'm not going to get into hypotheticals industry by industry.

'We keep looking at the scientific evidence and data and it continues to be the case that if you are asked to self-isolate, you should do so.'

And Mr Hunt, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee today said the app is 'beginning to lose social consent' and needs to be 'reformed very quickly'.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Some hospitals are now saying that a quarter of their junior doctors are now having to self-isolate after being 'pinged'.

'So I certainly think we should remove the requirement for clinical staff in the NHS to isolate if they have had a negative PCR test.

'The risk with that app is that it is beginning to lose social consent and so we should either make it less sensitive or move to a system where you have to get a test when you're pinged.

'The risk is if people are deleting the app, then you can't even ping them to ask them to have a test because you can't contact them at all, so I do think that system needs to be reformed very quickly.

Last night, the president of the Confederation of British Industry Lord Bilimoria said the UK was on course to have five million people self-isolating if the current surge in cases remains on course.

He said isolation rules should be scrapped and planned changes enabling anyone who is fully vaccinated to return to work after a 'ping' following a negative PCR test brought forward from August 16.

Lord Bilmoria told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: 'Otherwise  if you do the sums  the cases have already crossed 50,000 a day.

'If you cross 100,000, instead of 500,000 people isolating we will go up to 4.5million to 5million.'

In a more positive sign, SAGE today estimated England's R rate is between 1.2 and 1.4, down from last week's figure of between 1.2 and 1.5

Four fifths of NHS hospitals in England are now seeing a spike in Covid patients being admitted, official data has shown as the third wave of the pandemic continues to take its toll ahead of 'Freedom Day' on Monday

Governments pandemic response `did not click in fast enough The Government 'did not react fast enough' in the early stages of the pandemic, a leading health expert has said. Sage adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar lamented the pace of the Government's initial response in an interview with The Times. His comments come in advance of his new book, Spike: The Virus v The People, which details his account of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sir Jeremy, who is director of the Wellcome Trust, told the paper it was clear in the early stages of the outbreak that the Government response needed to be military-like. He said: 'Certainly in my lifetime, and even in the past 100 years if you exclude war, I can't think there's been such a disruptive event in the world. 'It was very clear in the first quarter of 2020 that this was going to affect every single aspect of society, from the economy to jobs to education, everywhere. 'You have to be personality-independent and it has to be able to click into gear. I don't like military analogies, but when a moment of crisis strikes, the military would not say, 'We'll be organised in a year. Give us a shout then'. 'The military has to be able to respond within days, minutes and hours. An exponentially increasing pandemic is the same. 'The British state machinery did not get a grip. The machinery of government did not click in fast enough.' Advertisement

Nissan was among businesses that have flagged serious issues, after around 900 workers at its flagship plant in Sunderland were forced to isolate after they were pinged by the app.

Meanwhile, as many as 5,200 military personnel were absent from duties because they were self-isolating under coronavirus rules, while a quarter of staff are yet to receive a vaccine, official figures show.

Ministers are planning to exempt the fully-vaccinated from quarantining over close contacts but will not introduce the change until August 16, around a month after most restrictions end.

Ministry of Defence figures show 5,200 regular and reservist armed forces personnel were reported absent from work due to self-isolation over infection or as close contacts on July 1.

That is nearly 3 per cent of the 198,000 personnel available to the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The figures also showed that there was no record of around a quarter of personnel  54,742  having received a coronavirus vaccine as of July 5.

Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons Defence Committee, warned that national security could be endangered if the figure continues to rise to 10 per cent.

'When the scale of mass isolation caused by Covid- app starts hitting the operational effectiveness of our armed forces it's time to urgently review the protocols,' he said.

'Even with rising infections it's clear the app's sensitivity could trigger a national security risk if a disproportionate scale of manpower is forced to isolate.'

Layla Moran, the Lib Dem MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, urged the Government to take 'urgent action' to prevent a further hike in isolation numbers.

'The Government's failure to keep Covid cases under control is now threatening the readiness of our armed forces,' she said.

'Ministers must explain what they are doing to address the risks posed by their road map to our national security.'

Labour's shadow defence minister Stephen Morgan added: 'These concerning figures demonstrate that ministers are falling short of their solemn duty to protect our serving personnel, who continue to perform vital work at home and abroad.

'The Government must immediately set out a clear and credible plan to step up vaccinations for our service personnel, and particularly those who are on deployment.'

The figures were released by defence minister Baroness Goldie as a written answer to a question from Crossbench peer Baroness Masham.
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Hundreds of people left Florida on buses Friday night headed to Washington D.C. to protest outside the White House after a week of unprecedented protests on the Communist-led island this past week.

The protests in the nation's capital came as Raul Castro joined thousands at a government-organized rally in Havana on Saturday to denounce the U.S. trade embargo and reaffirm their support for Cuba's 'revolution.'

The Havana rally came after thousands of Cubans have protested shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties, and the government's handling of a surge in COVID-19 infections in the past week.

Meanwhile, demonstrators in Washington on Saturday carried signs reading 'Freedom for Cuba' while calling on President Joe Biden to help the suffering Caribbean nation.

WASHINGTON D.C.: Hundreds of people left Florida on buses Friday night headed to Washington D.C. to protest on the steps of the White House and Cuban embassy

WASHINGTON D.C.: Demonstrators are seen on their knees outside of the White House while protesting on Saturday

WASHINGTON D.C.: A man is pictured draped with the Cuban flag outside of the White House on Saturday

WASHINGTON D.C.: Demonstrators shout their solidarity with the Cuban people against the communist government during a rally outside the White House on Saturday. 'Patria y vida' as seen on the flag, means 'homeland and life' in Spanish

WASHINGTON D.C.: Demonstrators shout their solidarity with the Cuban people against the communist government during a rally outside the White House on Saturday. 'Patria y vida' as seen on the flag, means 'homeland and life' in Spanish

WASHINGTON D.C.: A protester holds a sign that reads 'COMMUNISM IS NOT AN OPTION' at a demonstration outside of the White House on Saturday

WASHINGTON D.C.: A woman holds a sign that reads 'FREE CUBA NOW!' while calling on President Joe Biden to do more to help the people of Cuba

WASHINGTON D.C.: A man holds a sign that reads 'THE REGIME IS KILLING HUMANS FOR SPEAKING' at an protest outside the White House on Saturday

WASHINGTON D.C.: A woman holds a sign with the Cuban flag calling for 'FREEDOM FOR CUBA'

WASHINGTON D.C.: Protesters carry balloons that read S.O.S. calling on aide for Cubans protesting their government

WASHINGTON D.C.: Protesters hold signs comparing the treatment of Cubans in their home country as the 'Cuban Holocaust'

WASHINGTON D.C.: A woman holds a sign calling for Biden to intervene with the military in Cuba

Amanda Velazquez, a protester from Miami, told WPLG that Cubans are 'suffering through a system that completely failed them and oppressed them for 60 years.'

'With this many people get together and chant someone has to listen,' Velazquez said. 'We are trying to tell Biden we are here in your front door on our knees to help us to help our people.'

Lillian Fonseca, a protester from Hialeah, told the outlet: 'If military won't be able to intervene because I understand that's not a possibility, at least if we can give them free WIFI.'

In the wake of the protests, the Cuban government had cut off internet access on Sunday. Internet connectivity was restored on Wednesday though access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter remained blocked on cellular networks.

On Friday, some of the protesters who boarded the six tour buses for the 15-hour drive to Washington carried signs with the faces of people missing amid the protests in Cuba.

Gabriela Lastra, 21, cried as she told the Miami Herald on Friday before boarding for Washington: 'No one else is going to help us, unless we make them help us.'

'My mother's been crying for a week every time she watches the news, but she couldn't be here because I have a little sister,' Lastra said.

'If I can make even one person aware, I would be satisfied.'

HAVANA: The President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel waves a Cuban flag during an event in support for the revolution on Saturday

HAVANA: The President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel, left, participates in an act of support for the revolution, in Havana, Cuba, on Saturday. He was joined by former President Raul Castro, right, as they waved Cuban flags

HAVANA: The President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel, left, and Raul Castro, center, stand together as thousands of people gather in Havana in an act of support for the revolution organized by the Cuban government

HAVANA: Raul Castro, right, greets Cuba's President Miguel Diaz Canel, during a cultural-political event on the seaside Malecon Avenue

HAVANA: A woman holds a portrait of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel during an act of revolutionary reaffirmation in Havana on Saturday

HAVANA: People carry images of Cuba's former President and First Secretary of the Communist Party Raul Castro during a rally in Havana, Cuba on Saturday

HAVANA: Cubans participate in a rally to support the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana on Saturday

HAVANA: A woman holds a portrait of former President Raul Castro during an act of revolutionary reaffirmation in Havana on Saturday

HAVANA: A man is arrested during an event in support for the revolution in Havana on Saturday

HAVANA: A man is arrested during an event in support for the Cuban government in Havana on Saturday

HAVANA: A man is arrested during an event in support for the Cuban government in Havana

HAVANA: People were seen choking the man who was arrested during the event in Havana

Cuban political prisoners including Jorge Luis Garcia Perez spoke to the crowds as they prepared to travel to Washington, according to the Miami Herald.

Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, known as Antunez, told the crowd in Spanish: 'We're not going to allow the Biden administration to laugh at the sacrifice, pain, and tears of the Cuban people.'

Carlos Garcia, one of the organizers for the trip, told the Miami Herald that it was organized primarily using social media.

On Friday, demonstrators had painted 'Cuba Libre' in giant block letters on the street directly in front of the Cuban embassy in Washington.

The phrase - which literally means 'free Cuba' - has long been associated with both Cuban independence from Spain and later its 1959 revolution.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the giant lettering, whose format echoed the yellow 'Black Lives Matter' mural that was painted on a street near the White House in 2020 during U.S. protests against racism and police brutality.

MIAMI: Cuban-Americans participate in a demonstration to show support for protesters in Cuba, in front of the Freedom Tower in Miami

MIAMI: A protester in Florida holds a sign that reads 'CUBANS ARE DYING FOR FREEDOM NOT VACCINE' in a message to President Joe Biden

MIAMI: Cuban-Americans carry the Lady of Charity, Cuba's Patroness, while they participate in a demonstration to show support for protesters in Cuba, in front of the Freedom Tower in Miami on Saturday

MIAMI: Cuban-Americans participate in a demonstration to show support for protesters in Cuba, in front of the Freedom Tower in Miami

MIAMI: Protesters carry a banner as they rally outside Freedom Tower in Miami, seen as a sign of hope to Cuban immigrants

MIAMI: An aerial view shows the large gathering of Cuban American protesters gathered outside the Freedom Tower

MIAMI: Cuban-American protesters hold a crucifix outside of Freedom Tower in Miami in solidarity with protesters in Cuba

MIAMI: Cuban-American protesters hold a crucifix outside of Freedom Tower in Miami in solidarity with protesters in Cuba

ORLANDO: Cuban protestors also held a rally in Orlando while criticizing Cuban president Diaz-Canel

Erica Cunningham, a spokesperson for Washington's Department of Public Works, told the Washington Post that crews were working to remove 'unauthorized painting' on Friday afternoon.

Supporters of the Cuban government gathered on Havana's seafront boulevard before dawn to wave Cuban flags and photos of late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother Raul in a reaction to the protests gripping the country.

Raul Castro, who retired as Communist Party leader in April but had promised to continue fighting for the revolution as a 'foot soldier,' appeared at the rally.

Just before the rally, cops arrested a man who shouted 'Patria y Vida' - the title of a rap song that has become an anthem for Cuban protesters, Agence France-Presse reported.

The Cuban government admitted some shortcomings this week but mostly blamed the protests on U.S.-financed 'counter-revolutionaries' exploiting economic hardship caused by U.S. sanctions.

MEXICO CITY: Supporters of the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel demonstrate in front of the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday

MEXICO CITY: A boy is seen hitting some sort of effigy in a demonstration in support of the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel's government outside the Cuban Embassy, in Mexico City on Saturday

MEXICO CITY: Supporters of the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel, demonstrate in front of the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday

President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, told the crowd on Saturday that Cuba's 'enemy has once again thrown itself into destroying citizen's sacred unity and tranquility.'

He said it was no small matter to call a rally as the country saw increasing numbers of COVID cases: 'We convened you to denounce once more the blockade, the aggression and terror.'

The Cuban president also claimed that 'what the world is seeing of Cuba is a lie' and denounced what he called 'false images' spread on social media that 'encourage and glorify the outrage and destruction of property,' Al-Jazeera reported.

He also reportedly accused the United States of proving the protests claiming that recent events are 'the cold calculation of an unconventional-war manual.'

Margaritza Arteaga, a state social worker who attended the Havana rally after a state bus had picked her up at 4 a.m., said: 'This revolution will continue for a long time.'

The number of those detained during or after protests has grown as new reports trickle in amid irregular outages in internet and messaging applications on the island where the state has a monopoly on telecommunications.

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA: Cuban citizens shouted 'freedom' while the Panamanian left expressed its solidarity with the Cuban 'revolution' during demonstrations near the Cuban Embassy in Panama City that passed without incident

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA: Protesters are seen waving the Cuban flag during a demonstration against the Cuban government on Saturday

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA: Cuban citizens residing in Panama protest in front of the Cuban embassy, in Panama City on Saturday

The latest tally from exiled rights group Cubalex put those detained at 450, although some have since been released. Activists have accused authorities of repression as some videos have emerged on social media of police beating protesters.

The government has not yet given official figures for those detained although it has said it has arrested those it suspects of instigating unpatriotic unrest or of carrying out vandalism. State television has broadcast images of people looting Cuba's controversial dollar stores and overturning empty police cars.

There are also a number of protests happening in South Florida this weekend in and around the Miami area which is home to the largest U.S. population of Cuban Americans who have fled their home country.

According to WTVJ, a large land and sea rally including several artists and musicians was planned for Saturday at the Freedom Tower - viewed as a symbol of hope and freedom Cuban immigrants - leading to street closures.

Massive protests were also pictured in Panama City, Panama and in Mexico City - which both have large populations for former Cuban citizens.
Henry Dimbleby's Government-commissioned National Food Strategy has recommended that all food businesses with more than 250 employees be legally required to publish food waste figures

Boris Johnson's food tsar has called on companies to declare the amount of waste they produce  in a victory for The Mail on Sunday's War on Food Waste campaign.

Henry Dimbleby's Government-commissioned National Food Strategy has recommended that all food businesses with more than 250 employees be legally required to publish food waste figures  a key demand of our campaign.

The founder of the Leon restaurant chain said that businesses should produce an annual report on food waste to enable scrutiny and 'maintain public pressure on companies to do the right thing'.

Mr Dimbleby, whose report will influence a White Paper being developed by the Government, said: 'Slashing the food waste this country produces at all levels is vital, so I am delighted to support The Mail on Sunday's War on Food Waste campaign.

'If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the US, which is why reducing the 9.5 million tons of food waste Britain produces overall each year is at the heart of my strategy.'

Under Mr Dimbleby's proposal, food businesses would report waste and the sales of different types of food via an online portal developed by the Food Standards Agency to ensure standardised reporting. 'It is hugely important that there is a statutory duty for all food companies to report the levels of waste they produce,' said Mr Dimbleby.

'Publishing these numbers means investors, politicians and the public will be able to hold businesses to account and ensure they are doing all they can to reduce the amount of food they waste.'

Some of the UK's biggest retailers and manufacturers, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Iceland Foods, Greggs and Co-Op, have indicated they would be willing to sign up to such a scheme.

Under Mr Dimbleby's proposal, food businesses would report waste and the sales of different types of food via an online portal developed by the Food Standards Agency to ensure standardised reporting (stock image)

Carina Millstone, executive director of campaign group Feedback, said: 'Fifteen years of business-led voluntary agreements have led to only 60 of the UK's top 500 businesses reporting publicly on their food waste figures.

'Industry has had its chance and squandered it. We now urgently need the Government to step in, and require not only transparency on food waste from businesses but also reduction targets and action.'

Mr Dimbleby has also backed another plank of our campaign  an end to portion pack size rip-offs that mean it is cheaper to buy more food than people need.

His support comes as the MoS today reveals how households are wasting 200,000 tons of food as a result of supermarket price incentives that make large packs better value for money.

Mr Dimbleby said: 'It is very difficult for parents to buy ingredients in one-portion quantities which leads to food waste. I firmly believe that supermarkets should stop incentivising shoppers to buy more food than they may need.'
Australians whose loved ones perished when MH17 was shot down will relive their devastating heartbreak at an upcoming trial.

This weekend marked seven years since the Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down by a BUK missile fired by from territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The plane on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur exploded and crashed, killing all 298 on board, including 38 Australian residents.

Three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen, all suspected of having key roles in the separatist forces, are facing trial, which resumes in the Netherlands in September.

All four have denied any involvement.

Australia's Foreign Affairs Department provided assistance to victims' families who want to attend or participate in the trial being heard in the District Court of The Hague.

Perth youngsters Evie (left) Mo and Otis Maslin (pictured) were on were on their way home with their grandfather Nick Norris, 68, when the MH17 was shot down

It's been seven years since Perth aerospace engineer Fatima Dyczynski's life was cut short

Frankie Davison and her husband, Liam were also caught in the tragedy

The federal government is yet to confirm how many Australian relatives will address the trial, The West Australian reported.

But victims' families who relive their heartbreak won't get to face the four men being tried in absentia due to Russia's refusal to extradite them.

The hearings will also consider claims for damages by 299 relatives of the victims.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne released a joint statement with her counterparts from Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine to remember the MH17 victims on Sunday.

'We... whose countries comprise the Joint Investigation Team, today mark the seventh anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, resulting in the tragic deaths of 298 passengers and crew members,' the statement read.

'Our thoughts remain with those who perished on board, their families and loved ones.'

Shaliza Dewal (left), 45, and her Dutch husband Hans Van Den Hende (centre) were travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with their three children, Piers, 15, (top right) and Marnix, 12, (top back) and daughter Margaux, 8, (top centre)

Melbourne couple Albert and Marie Rizk (pictured) were among the 38 Australian residents killed

Malaysian Airlines plane MH 17 was shot down by a BUK missile fired by Russian-backed separatists over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Pictured is the smouldering debris

'While nothing can bring back those who lost their lives, or diminish the anguish and grief suffered by the family members, it is imperative that we remain steadfast in our commitment to pursuing truth, justice and accountability.

'We acknowledge the cooperation of our respective investigative agencies and reiterate our full support for their efforts to establish the truth of what happened.

'We also have full confidence in the independent, open and impartial criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators.

'We reiterate our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the downing of Flight MH17.'

The trial previously heard that distinctively-shaped steel fragments from BUK missiles matched missiles recovered from the cockpit of the plane.

Phone conversations allegedly carried out between the accused four men were also played in court.

'Experts have stated that the impact on the hull [of the plane] is compatible with a Buk missile system and a Buk warhead,' Judge Hendrik Steenhuis told the court in June.

'No damage was found that would not be compatible with that scenario, or that would indicate another scenario.'

MH17 passenger Edel Mahady (left) was returning to Perth for the start of the school term. Queenslanders Howard Horder and his wife Susan, both 63 (pictured right) were also on board flight MH17 when it was shot down

Sydneysider Jack O'Brien (left) was returning from the overseas adventure of a lifetime while Liliane Derden (right) was a public servant from Canberra

Teacher Emma Bell (left) was returning from a trip to Europe to start the new school term in Arnhem Land while Dutch language teacher Dafne Nieveen (right) was killed while flying home to Perth.

The trial follows a five-year international criminal investigation by a Joint Investigation Team, comprising of officials from Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Malaysia.

After years of collecting evidence, a team of international investigators concluded in May 2018 that the missile launcher used to shoot down the aircraft belonged to Russia's 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.

A report released three years earlier revealed Russian BUK missiles struck just inches from the cockpit and, disturbingly, said passengers may have been conscious for up to a minute after the strike.

Russia denied any involvement.

Perth aerospace engineer Fatima Dyczynski was returning to Australia on MH17 after starting up her own high-tech company in the Netherlands.

Her parents Jerzy and Angela dedicated the months after her death to do their own investigation on whether the crash could have been prevented.

'We ask ourselves every day: What our daughter [Fatima] would consider and what she would investigate to find true answers for this nonlinear criminal chaos of the targeted attack on MH 17, a civilian aircraft?' her family previously told Daily Mail Australia.

Nick Norris (left) was on his way back to Perth travelling with his three grandchildren while Helena Sidelik (right) was travelling home from a friend's wedding in Europe, back to the Gold Coast where she lived

Melbourne couple Emiel Mahler and girlfriend Elaine Teoh (right), both 27, were on their way to a wedding in Malaysia

Retired Wollongong couple Michael and Carol Clancy (pictured) were on a three-week European holiday at the time

Jack O'Brien, 25, from Old Toongabbie in western Sydney, was heading home from a 'fantastic' seven week trip backpacking around Europe when his life was curt short

'It's been on our minds: what were the moments of Jack's life like? What did he know, especially, about what was happening?' his mother Meryn previously told Daily Mail Australia.

''And from in some ways that is still a bit unanswered. But yeah, there's still a level of uncertainty about that we'll live with for the rest of our lives.'

'We can't go back to who we were before.'

Queenslanders Wayne and Theresa Baker (pictured) were recently retired when their lives were cut short

Dutchman Itamar Avnon (left ) was on a trip to Israel for a wedding and stopped over in Amsterdam to visit friends before boarding MH17 Flight while Melbourne-based IT security consultant Marco Grippeling (right) is one of 10 Victorian residents killed in the MH17 flight disaster

Perth youngsters Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin, who were on were on their way home with their grandfather Nick Norris, 68, when their lives were cut short.

Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris deliberated whether to jump off an Amsterdam rooftop separately or together hours after finding out.

'Where we were was hell,' Ms Norris told ABC's Australian Story in 2019.

Thankfully, they decided to not inflict the heartbreaking pain they were feeling onto other loved ones and welcomed another child, Violet, in 2016.

'Violet was born three days after Mo's 14th birthday and four days before Evie's 12th birthday,' Ms Norris told the program.

'I will never forget holding her in my arms and feeling just a tiny little moment of peace that I hadn't felt for so long. 'It was like, "wow, a little bit of peace has come back into my life".
A truck driver travelled from Sydney to regional NSW to deliver pet food while infected with coronavirus, sparking a major panic for regional NSW.

NSW recorded 105 new cases on Sunday as Sydney and surrounding regions entered their fourth week of lockdown.

Among the latest cases was a truck driver who delivered pet food on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to depots in Parkes and Blayney in the state's central-west.

Parkes is a four-and-a-half hour 358km drive from Sydney and Blayney is 239km.

Regional NSW has been hit with another Covid-19 scare after an infected truck driver travelled from Sydney to Parkes and Blayney three days last week to deliver pet food

'It reminds businesses that when you are going about your actions, make sure you are doing deliveries in a contactless way,' NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said.

'We need to make sure that the way this is done reduces any risk of transmission.'

This is not the first scare for regional NSW in the outbreak so far, as residents hope to keep their freedoms denied those in locked down Sydney and surrounds.

Three removalists allegedly knew they were infected before they left Covid-ravaged south-west Sydney for a job in central-west NSW last week.

Police allege the men aged 20, 27 and 27 travelled from West Hoxton to Figtree in Wollongong, before stopping at several towns on their way to Molong, in the state's central west.

Police caught up with the trio in Molong on Friday after being notified the men had travelled from a Covid hotspot.

They have been charged and will face Orange Local Court next month, where they face being fined $11,000 each and up to six months behind bars.

The infected truck driver travelled to the state's central-west on three consecutive days, which included at least one trip to Parkes (pictured)

The infected truck driver also visited Blayney (pictured), which is 239km west of Sydney

The trio were publicly slammed by NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys over their disturbing actions.

'Despite the best health advice, they continued on their journey. They left their home in Sydney and put significant risk on the people in regional NSW,' he said.

The latest cases exposing regional NSW to virus sparked concern from deputy premier John Barilaro about the 'significant freight movement' into central-west NSW in the last week.

The National Party leader pleaded with regional NSW to 'stay vigilant in the community' as he warned Sydneysider to stay away.

'My advice to regional NSW is to keep doing what we're doing,' he said on Sunday.

Three removalists have travelled across Sydney and regional NSW after being informed they had tested positive, they visited Figtree in Wollongong before travelling to Molong in Central west NSW (map above picturing the locations visited by the positive men)

'We have a level of freedom in regional NSW we don't have in Sydney... and we want to keep that.

'Wear a mask, follow the rules and make sure the message to Sydney is clear: do not come to the regions at this time.'

Only 27 of the 105 cases were out in the community for their entire infectious period, but this number needs to drop to near zero for lockdown to end.

Sydney's latest outbreak has surpassed the amount of cases recorded during the first wave between March and May 2020.
Daniel Andrews has taken another swipe at the New South Wales premier over the Covid outbreak that has spread from Sydney and infected dozens of Victorians.

The state premier made the subtle dig at Gladys Berejiklian as he defended plunging his state into a snap five-day lockdown - compared to long shutdown in Sydney.

'It is an easy thing and a small task for this virus to get from one end of Victoria to the other,' he said during a press conference on Sunday.

'It got from Sydney to Melbourne pretty quickly.'

Daniel Andrews has taken another swipe at the New South Wales premier over the Sydney outbreak that has spread and wreaked havoc in Victoria

Regional Victorians had been hoping to come out of lockdown sooner with most of the cases from the outbreak linked to Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs.

Their hopes were dashed on Sunday after the state reported 17 new cases including a man in his 30s from Mildura, 540km north-west of Melbourne.

Mr Andrews said the next 48 hours would be critical in determining if restrictions were lifted on time as his state grappled with the 'problems of Sydney'.

'A problem anywhere is potentially a problem everywhere,' he said. 'And that's the reality we're living.

'Problems of Sydney have become challenges here, and if there's a problem in Melbourne, then there's every reason to believe that we have to be very conservative in our approach to parts of regional Victoria.

'I know it is incredibly frustrating for people who are a long way from Melbourne but that virus can reach you, as we can see with this Mildura case.

'With the cooperation of the Victorian community, painful and challenging, but five days of a shortcut lockdown is better than a longer one.'

The state premier made the subtle dig at Gladys Berejiklian as he defended plunging his state into a snap five-day lockdown on Friday

It is not the first time the Victoria premier has unleashed on his NSW counterpart during the daily Covid-19 press conference.

On Friday, he referred to the outbreak as the 'Sydney incursion' and blamed it on forcing his state into its fifth lockdown since the pandemic began in 2020.

'I know and understand that this is not easy,' he said. 'No-one wants to be locked down.

'But we had no choice and these additional cases overnight and particularly some of the context of these cases I think confirm for all Victorians that we had to make that tough call.'

Mr Andrews claimed it was better to suffer through a short lockdown than a prolonged one - such as the one in NSW which was extended until at least the end of July.

Mr Andrews said the next 48 hours would be critical in determining if restrictions were lifted on time as his state grappled with the 'problems of Sydney'

On Friday, Mr Andrews referred to the outbreak as the 'Sydney incursion' and blamed it on forcing his state into its fifth lockdown since the pandemic began in 2020

'We have done it before and we have done before with the Delta variants,' he said. 'We can do it again and we will do it again.'

'We are all working as hard as we possibly can to make this as short a lockdown as possible, five days.

'That is certainly better than five weeks or five months.'

On June 26, Ms Berejiklian introduced a two week lockdown in Sydney and surrounds after more than 80 cases were linked to an outbreak of the Delta variant.

The lockdown has since been extended with the virus running rampant in south-west Sydney and the state recording a staggeringly high number of cases each day - peaking at 112 on Monday.
The moment a Jewish man on his way to synagogue in New York City on Friday was viciously attacked by two men was caught on alarming video footage.

The unidentified man, 41, was walking to a nearby synagogue in the East Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn around 5:45 a.m. on Friday when two men began savagely kicking and punching him.

The muggers wearing hoods and masks seemingly grab his bag as the man puts his hands up before running for his safety.

The thieves then run off camera while pools of blood were seen spattered on the sidewalk after the attack. No arrests have been made.

The alarming footage was posted to Twitter by the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol, a civilian volunteer patrol group founded 28 years ago to serve members of the Orthodox Jewish community.

The two strangers then began to savagely kick and punch the man

The thieves then run off camera while pools of blood were seen spattered on the sidewalk after the attack

Cops said no arrests have yet been made but that the Hate Crimes Task Force has been notified

Another video posted to Twitter by the Flatbush Shomrim shows the faces of the two suspected attackers

The Flatbush Shomrim said that its volunteers later recovered the man's Tefillin - which are small leather boxes containing scrolls with verses from the Torah. It was not clear what else may have been taken or what injuries the man suffered.

'This pair viciously assaulted and robbed a local resident on his way to Shul this morning. His Tefillin were ultimately recovered by our volunteers,' the Flatbush Shomrim tweeted.

Patrol volunteers also obtained video showing the suspects' faces, branding the footage 'FACE OF EVIL.'

The patrol group said it was offering a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests of the man's attackers.

The brazen early morning attack happened just three blocks from a nearby NYPD precinct. The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force said it was investigating the robbery.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted that he ordered the New York State Police's Hate Crimes Task Force to help investigate

Mayor Bill de Blasio also posted to Twitter condemning the attack

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the robbery 'yet another sickening anti-Semitic attack' while ordering New York State Police's Hate Crimes Task Force to help investigate.

'It's outrageous. To our Jewish community - I know this is exhausting. No one should have to worry about being attacked for their religious beliefs, ever,' Cuomo tweeted. 'We will continue to fight against hate in all its forms.'

Mayor Bill de Blasio also addressed the attack Twitter, saying: 'NOBODY should walk in fear in our city. We wont back down in the face of hatred. Not today, not ever.'

'This perpetrator will be brought to justice. If you have any information on this outrageous attack, please contact @NYPDHateCrimes immediately,' de Blasio tweeted.

The attack came just over one week after another Jewish man was injured when his attacker threw pieces of broken furniture at him in Brooklyn, the New York Daily News reported.

In that video, the attacker allegedly screamed: 'F**king Jew! Why are you coming into my neighborhood?'

The attack came just over one week after another Jewish man was injured when his attacker threw pieces of broken furniture at him in Brooklyn

In that video, the attacker allegedly screamed: 'F**king Jew! Why are you coming into my neighborhood?'

The Jewish man, 25, was walking near Marcy Ave. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn around 11:30 a.m. on July 5 when the suspect picked up a piece of a dresser drawer left on the curb and threw it at him.

The victim was then hit in the back when he turned to run from his assailant and suffered a minor injury, cops told the Daily News.

In yet another recent anti-Semitic incident, two women and a man were caught on video placing stickers of a swastika-covered flag of Israel on buildings in Manhattan on June 24.

Anti-Asian hate crimes have also recently spiked in the Big Apple amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the NYPD and the FBI released a joint public service announcement (PSA) to encourage the reporting of anti-Asian hate crimes.

'NYPD detectives work around the clock to prevent anti-Asian hate crimes from occurring, and vigorously investigate them if they do,' said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.

'We need all New Yorkers to help to stop these hateful acts. We must continue to work together, with our federal partners and community members, to ensure safe communities for everyone'
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pictured arriving to a village left devastated by this week's biblical floods - which have now claimed at least 188 lives across Germany and Belgium and are expected to leave billions of euros worth of damages.

Ms Merkel's visit to Schuld, situated on a curve of the river Ahr in the Ahrweiler district, west Germany, comes after President Frank-Walter Steinmeier went to the area on Saturday and made clear that it will need long-term support.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he will propose a package of immediate aid at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros (257m) will be needed.

But he added that officials must start setting up a rebuilding programme, which would likely cost billions of euros.

Ms Merkel said following her visit: 'We are by your side,' describing the situation as 'terrifying'.

She added: 'It is shocking - I can almost say that the German language doesn't have words for the destruction that's been wreaked.

'What I could see, however, is also incredibly comforting - how people are sticking together, how they are helping each other, the solidarity that is there.'

The death toll from flooding in Western Europe climbed to 188 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

In the Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, the number of recorded deaths has now surpassed 110 and police fear that figure may still rise.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, 46 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters, while Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

It comes as an extraordinary video shows the dramatic moment a German firefighter was plucked to safety from a flood-swollen street in a dangerous rescue bid that almost certainly saved his life.

The heart-stopping clip shows how rescuers didn't hesitate to form a human chain and pull the fireman out after they were alerted by his desperate cries for help. The exact location of the dramatic moment is unknown.

Meanwhile Pope Francis offered a prayer for the flood victims today and support to the 'efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage.'

In his first public appearance in St. Peter's Square after major surgery, he said: 'I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding.

'May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members.'

Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting the village of Schuld, situated along the Ahr river, which has been left devastated by extreme flooding this weekend

Ms Merkel gestures as she and the Governer of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (front right), talk with a resident in flood-ravaged Schuld

Ms Merkel (third from left) and Ms Dreyer (second from right) listen attentively to a local in Schuld as they inspect the damage left by flash flooding

Chancellor Merkel and Rhineland-Palatinate leader Dreyer arrived to flood-ravaged Schuld in west Germany on Sunday, where they met with local residents and officials

Chancellor Merkel and other officials arrived to Schuld in a convoy of Audi and BMW cars, escorted by police in cars and on motorbikes

Chancellor Merkel and Rhineland-Palatinate leader Dreyer get an overview of the damage in Schuld, based in the Ahrweiler district

Chancellor Merkel and regional president Dreyer are walked around Schuld, situated on a curve of the river Ahr in the Ahrweiler district, west Germany, following floods which have been described as 'catastrophic'

Dramatic moment firefighter in Germany is seen being washed down street during flash flooding before (right) locals risk their lives to pull him to safety

A group of residents in Germany notice a man in a high-vis jacket hurtling towards them in the street, which had been turned into a rapid following flash flooding. In a dramatic video shared online, they can be seen forming a human chain before pulling him to safety

Still of concern is a reservoir dam in western Germany which is in danger of collapsing after burst rivers and flash floods collapsed houses and ripped up roads and power lines.

Authorities in the Rhine-Sieg county south of Cologne said the Steinbachtal dam is at serious risk of breaching after around 4,500 people were evacuated from homes downstream. The nearby stretch of Autobahn 61 is also completely closed.

Other dams in the area have also overflowed, and draining is also taking place at the Rurtalsperre dam, Wupper dam and the Bever dam near Radevormwald. The residents along the Wupper River were asked to leave the area immediately, local media report.

The Steinbachtal dam, which was built in the 1930s, has undergone renovation twice - in the 1940s, after two cracks appeared in the reservoir's crown and erosion was detected in its clay core; and between August 1988 and June 1990 amid fears of further erosion.

Ms Merkel arrived to Schuld in Rhineland Palatinate on Sunday. More than 180 people have been killed in the flooding, including about 98 in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, according to police.

Hundreds of people were still missing or unreachable as several areas were inaccessible due to high water levels while communication in some places was still down. Residents and business owners struggled to pick up the pieces in battered towns.

'Everything is completely destroyed. You don't recognise the scenery,' said Michael Lang, owner of a wine shop in the town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Ahrweiler, fighting back tears.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Erftstadt in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the disaster killed at least 45 people. He added it would take weeks before the full damage, expected to require several billions of euros, could be assessed.

'We mourn with those that have lost friends, acquaintances, family members,' he said. 'Their fate is ripping our hearts apart. It's too early to give the all-clear but we are cautiously optimistic.'

Around 700 residents were evacuated late on Friday after a dam broke in the town of Wassenberg near Cologne, authorities said. But Wassenberg mayor Marcel Maurer said water levels had been stabilising since the night.

Armin Laschet, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia and the ruling CDU party's candidate in September's general election, said he would speak to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in the coming days about financial support.

A helper makes his way as works through a flood-ravaged street in the centre of Bad Muenstereifel on Sunday

A resident trudges through the disaster left by flash flooding in the German zone of Bad Muenstereifel on Sunday morning

Homes and businesses have been left destroyed following catastrophic flooding in Germany this week

There are fears the crisis could worsen the a dam at the Steinbach reservoir (insert) on the verge of collapse due to the pressure of water behind it, as 4,500 people living in three villages below (top right) told to evacuate their homes

Wrecked cars and trucks are flooded on the B265 federal highway in Erftstadt, Germany

A drone photo shows an aerial view of vehicles piled up on a flooded road in Erfstadt, Germany

Clearing tanks of German Army, the Technical Relief Organization (THW) and rescue workers clear wrecked cars and trucks from the B265 federal highway in Erftstadt, Germany

Firemen pump out water from an underground parking garage following heavy floods in Euskirchen, western Germany, on July 18, 2021

A resident passes a pile of debris in a street following heavy floods in Euskirchen, western Germany, on July 18, 2021

A wrecked classic car is seen amid debris washed away by heavy flooding in western Europe which has killed 150

Workers clear a destroyed street after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler

A view of destroyed houses in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, which were destroyed after the ground beneath them collapsed into a nearby gravel pit

Three firefighters look at severely damaged ancient houses after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany

Gravestones are barely visible above floodwaters in the Erftstadt region of Germany, after the river Erft burst its banks

Cow is found alive 60 MILES from its pasture after being washed away in Dutch floods Stunned rescuers in the Netherlands have found a cow alive 60 miles from its pasture after it was washed away in devastating flood that hit the south of the country. The cow went missing from a farm in Echt in Limburg, near the river Meuse which broke its banks amid flooding overnight Wednesday, before being found on Saturday in the town of Maas. Passersby noticed the animal submerged in water with only its snout visible before calling emergency crews, who pulled the beast out. A vet was then summoned to examine the animal who then discovered where it had come from. The farmer has been contacted, and is on the way to retrieve it. 'It is very surprising,' one rescuer told local station Omroep Brabant. 'We don't know whether the animal travelled the whole way in the water, or whether there were also parts in which the cow walked.' Advertisement

The death toll from flooding in Germany and Belgium climbed above 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Police put the toll from the hard-hit Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state at 110 and said they feared the number may still rise.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany's most populous, 45 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

There was also flooding on Saturday in the German-Czech border area, across the country from where last week's floods hit, and in Germany's south-eastern corner and over the border in Austria.

Some 65 people were evacuated from their homes in Germany's Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed. A flash flood swept through the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.

As the waters began to recede in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North-Rhine Westphalia, concern shifted south to Germany's Upper Bavaria region, where heavy rains inundated basements and swelled rivers and creeks late Saturday.

One person died in Berchtesgadener Land, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian district told AFP.

Ms Merkel has called the floods a 'tragedy' and pledged support from the federal government for Germany's stricken municipalities.

Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, the German Chancellor said her 'heart goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones'.

The disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads to the polls on September 26 for a general election that will mark the end of Ms Merkel's 16 years in power.

With experts saying climate change is making extreme weather events like these more likely, candidates vying to succeed the veteran leader have called for more climate action.

Armin Laschet, the premier of hard-hit North-Rhine Westphalia state and frontrunner in the race for the chancellery, said efforts to tackle global warming should be 'speeded up'.

But Mr Laschet, who heads Ms Merkel's CDU party currently leading in opinion polls, scored an own goal Saturday when he was filmed laughing in the devastated town of Erftstadt in NRW, where a landslide was triggered by the floods.

In the footage, Mr Laschet could be seen chatting and joking in the background as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a statement expressing his sympathies to grieving families. He later apologised on Twitter for the 'inappropriate' moment.

The scale of the flood impact was gradually becoming clear in Germany, with damaged buildings being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts under way to restore gas, electricity and telephone services.

A family were among the missing on Saturday morning. Pictures of Hans Neufeld, 71 (left), wife Ella, 59 (centre), and their son Frank, 22 (right) were submitted by the couple's son Harry

Julia Dillenburger, 39, (left) from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, was unaccounted for on Saturday morning. Karl-Heinz Zimmermann (right), a 93-year-old grandfather from Bad Neuenahr was another missing

A second family - Nicole Berg (left), Patrick Berg, and their son Dennis (left) - were among the missing. Husband and wife Aida Maria, 74, and Klaus Wolfgang Huber, 76, (right) are unaccounted for and were last heard from on Wednesday evening

Diana Janko, 60, (left) was last seen a few days ago on Facebook video call. While Gerhard Hubner, 60, (right) was also among the missing. He was last seen on Wednesday evening

Search and rescue efforts continued on Saturday morning with hundreds still missing following severe rain and flash floods in Germany

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the disaster zone in Belgium on Saturday with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and vice Prime Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne

German soldiers helped the rescue efforts on Saturday, recovering cars that had been swept away in flash flooding

Frontrunner in race to succeed Angela Merkel as German Chancellor sparks fury after he was caught laughing during visit to flood-ravaged town The frontrunner in the race to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor sparked fury after he was caught laughing during a visit to a town devastated by flooding. Armin Laschet was filmed joking with colleagues behind President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as he expressed sympathies with flood victims in hard-hit Erftstadt. At one point, the 60-year-old leader of Merkel's CDU party can be seen breaking into laughter for several seconds. 'Laschet laughs while the country cries,' the best-selling Bild daily said on its website. Commentators and politicians were quick to condemn Laschet on social media. 'I'm speechless,' tweeted Lars Klingbeil, secretary general of the centre-left Social Democrats, who govern together with the CDU/CSU bloc. 'This is all apparently a big joke to (Laschet),' wrote Maximilian Reimers from the far-left Die Linke opposition party. 'How could he be a chancellor?' Laschet later apologised on Twitter for the 'inappropriate' moment. Advertisement

In some areas, soldiers used armoured vehicles to clear the debris clogging streets. In NRW, divers were sent in to search submerged homes and vehicles.

Local authorities in NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate said dozens of people remain unaccounted for across both states. They have stressed, however, that disruption to communication networks made a precise assessment difficult, and the real number of missing could be lower.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said more than 670 people were injured.

'I've lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I've never seen anything like it,' said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near Schuld.

Across the border in Belgium, the death toll jumped to 27 with many people still missing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.

'Europe is with you,' Ms von der Leyen tweeted afterwards. 'We are with you in mourning and we will be with you in rebuilding.'

Belgium has declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.

It comes as police in Germany and Belgium have told 'disaster tourists' coming to take pictures of devastating floods because they are hampering rescue efforts.

Cops in the hard-hit region of Euskirchen, western Germany, warned people flying photography drones over badly flooded areas that they are interfering with emergency service drones searching for hundreds of people that remain missing.

Meanwhile the mayor of Olne, a small Belgian town between the cities of Liege and Verviers which were submerged when the Meuse and Vestre rivers broke their banks, slammed 'reprehensible' visitors clogging up the roads with cars and preventing emergency vehicles from getting through.

'We need solidarity, not voyeurism,' Cedric Halin told state broadcaster RTBF.

And in the Netherlands, local volunteers complained that out-of-towners have been stealing their bikes after they cycled to help with the cleanup, while shop-owners cleaning out their ruined businesses said items had been stolen when they turned their backs.

Authorities in Roermond, in the badly-hit Limburg region, even went so far as to threaten gawpers with fines as they continued to arrive Friday. 'Give all emergency services space to do their work,' a statement said.

Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents.

Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, German authorities listed large numbers of people as missing - something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.

By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures.

In Belgium, 103 people were listed as missing Saturday, but the crisis center said lost or uncharged cellphones and people taken to hospitals without identification who hadn't had an opportunity to contact relatives were believed to be factors in the tally.

Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.

'A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up - their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads,' German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.

He added that people in the affected areas need continuing support.

In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.

The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged.

Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.

In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.

Around 700 people were evacuated from part of the German town of Wassenberg, on the Dutch border, after the breach of a dike on the Rur river.

Search and rescue workers check submerged cars for hundreds of people still missing following days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (second left) and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet (second right) visited Erftstadt fire department to get an overview of flooding in the region

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (centre) visited flooded parts of the city of Venlo in the Netherlands on Friday following days of severe rain and flooding

Search and rescue services look amid the debris for survivors after days of heavy rainfall and severe flooding in Pepinster, Belgium

Search and rescue services resumed looking for flood survivors in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday with hundreds still missing and at least 153 confirmed dead

Residents survey the damage caused by days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday

Residents start a lengthy clean-up in Pepinster, Belgium, after flash floods caused widespread damage in large areas of the country

Search and rescue teams looked through rubble in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday, hoping to find flood survivors

Residents start to clear up broken trees and debris strewn across streets in Pepinster, Belgium, after the town was devastated by flash floods

Residents in Ahrweiler, western Germany, start the clean up after heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the region

Volunteers prepare food for flood affected residents in Rochefort, south east of Brussels, after the region was hit by severe flooding

The German fire brigade pump water out of the Steinbach dam after engineers warned the dam was dangerously close to collapse after three months' worth of rain fell on the region in just one week

Submerged trucks and vehicles started to re-emerge on Saturday following days of extreme flooding, Germany's worst floods in more than 200 years

Residents fill sandbags as they prepare for further flooding after days of heavy rainfall in Erftstadt Dirmerzheim, Germany

Visiting Erftstadt with Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet promised to organize aid for those immediately affected 'in the coming days.'

He said regional and federal authorities would discuss in the coming days how to help rebuilding efforts. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

'We will do everything so that what needs to be rebuilt can be rebuilt,' Laschet said.

In eastern Belgium, train lines and roads remained blocked in many areas.

A cafe owner in the devastated town of Pepinster broke down in tears when King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visited Friday to offer comfort to residents.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visited flood-damaged towns Saturday.

A resident of the Belgian town of Herk-de-Stad said she put off sleeping to try to empty her house of water.

'We have been pumping all night long trying to get the water out of the house,' Elke Lenaerts told broadcaster VTM on Saturday.

Parts of the southern Netherlands also experienced heavy flooding, though thousands of residents were allowed to return home Saturday morning after being evacuated on Thursday and Friday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who visited the region on Friday, said that 'first, there was corona, now these floods, and soon people will have to work on cleanup and recovery.'

'It is disaster after disaster after disaster. But we will not abandon Limburg,' the southern province hit by the floods, he added.

His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

Among other efforts to help the flood victims, the Hertog Jan brewery, which is based in the affected area, handed out 3,000 beer crates so locals could raise their belongings off the ground to protect them from the flooding.

An emergency dike in the town of Horn didn't hold and some houses were inundated. Authorities issued a warning to stay off the Maas River because of debris, and rescuers worked to save a cow stuck neck deep in muddy waters.

German Bundeswehr soldiers help search for flood victims in submerged vehicles on the highway in Erftstadt-Blessem

A soldier tries to open the window of a car as members of the German armed forces help the search for flood victims

Germany's Bundeswehr forces used heavily armoured vehicles to recover vehicles stuck on roads in Erftstadt-Blessem after days of heavy flooding

Members of the Bundeswehr forces were deployed to aid the recovery of vehicles following heavy rainfall and flooding in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany

A pile of broke trees and rubbish in a flooded area of Kreuzberg, Germany, following days of flash flooding that has killed at least 153 people

Debris piled up in Kreuzberg, Germany, on July 17, in central Europe's latest flooding disaster that has killed at least 133 in Germany alone

Debris and broken trees lined up alongside a railway in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, following days of extreme weather

A woman walks between donations in kind that are lying in a hall on the grounds of the Nuerburgring race track in Nuerburg, western Germany
A teenager impaled on a tree branch during a backyard accident on the NSW south coast has been flown to Sydney by specialist medical chopper.

An ambulance service spokesman says a medical team was dispatched around lunchtime on Sunday after reports the youth had become impaled on the branch at a home at Albion Park, in Wollongong.

Four crews, including a critical care doctor and paramedic and a special operations officer assessed and treated the boy for a chest injury.

A teenage boy was impaled through the chest on a tree branch while helping his mother in the backyard of their home in Samuel Circuit in Wollongong on Sunday (pictured)

He was flown to The Children's Hospital at Randwick in a stable condition.

'The boy's mother did a fantastic job in helping her son before emergency services arrived,' NSW Ambulance Chief Inspector Terry Morrow said.

'She made sure he was safe and comfortable and calmed him down while she called triple zero for help.

'Our special operations paramedic was able to gently cut the branch away from the tree and the boy was flown to The Children's Hospital in Randwick where surgeons will remove it.'

Inspector Morrow said the teenager had been helping his mum in the yard at the time of the accident.

'Accidents happen and paramedics worked hand in hand with police and firefighters to make sure he was given the best treatment possible.'
The girlfriend of a lovesick Romeo who was jailed for breaching Covid restrictions when he crossed the Irish Sea on a jet ski to see her has been jailed for eight months for attacking a woman.

Jessica Radcliffe, 31, was jailed after she and her friend Leanna Louise Bradley, 33, forced their way into the woman's home and punched and kicked her while her children were upstairs at around 9.45am on March 31.

Radcliffe, from Anagh Coar, the Isle of Man, then grabbed and hit a police officer while the pair were being arrested at the scene.

The 31-year-old was sentenced to eight months after admitting offences of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH), assaulting a police officer and property damage.

Jessica Radcliffe, 31, from Anagh Coar, the Isle of Man, was sentenced to eight months after admitting offences of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH), assaulting a police officer and property damage

It comes after Radcliffe's boyfriend Dale McLaughlan, 28, made the 25-mile journey from Scotland to the Isle of Man to visit his girlfriend in December last year

Bradley, from Braddan, Isle of Man, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH), resisting arrest, and two counts of property damage and was also sentenced to eight months.

Magistrates chair Michael Murley told Radcliffe and Bradley: 'This was premeditated. The sole purpose of your journey was to carry out the attack. You forcibly entered a house where children were present.

'The injuries caused were serious but it is fortunate they were not more serious.'

Jessica Radcliffe (pictured) hit a police officer while the pair were being arrested

Earlier this year, prosecutor Chrissie Hunt told the court the pair kicked and punched the woman as she screamed to her housemate to protect her children who were upstairs in their bedroom.

The woman, who said she did not know Bradley but had previously had a dispute with Radcliffe, was then dragged up the stairs by the pair, which left her with burns on her forehead, the court heard.

She was also allegedly left with bruising and injuries to her head, arms and back.

During the attack, Bradley also damaged the victim's phone - which was said to amount to 350.

Radcliffe and Bradley were bailed for 500 before they entered their pleas this year.

When questioned by police, Radcliffe answered 'no comment' while Bradley told officers she had taken cocaine and been drinking.

Bradley denied assault but admitted damaging the victim's phone and said Radcliffe had kicked the door to the property and punched the woman twice in the face.

The attack comes after Radcliffe's boyfriend Dale McLaughlan, 28, made the 25-mile journey from Scotland to the Isle of Man to visit his girlfriend in December last year - spending four and a half hours at sea.

The self-employed roofer, of Irvine, Scotland, had met his girlfriend in the 1886 bar in Douglas in September when he was in the island, lawfully, for work purposes.

After travelling back to Scotland he had twice applied for an exemption to travel to the island to see her again, but when he was turned down on both occasions, he took matters into his own hands.

McLaughlan (left) was jailed for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules to see Jessica Radcliffe (right), but was freed three days before Christmas after serving 10 days of his sentence

McLaughlan saved up to buy himself a jet ski, which he did so the day before his trip to the Isle of Man, and then towed it 70 miles from his home to a beach in the Isle of Whithorn.

He then embarked on a treacherous 25-mile jet ski journey across the Irish Sea on December 11 to see his girlfriend.

He had expected the 25-mile trip to take 40 minutes but due to bad weather it took him four-and-a-half-hours.

After eventually making landfall, he then had to trek another 15 miles on foot before finally arriving at his lover's home in Douglas, the island's largest town.

However the authorities caught up with him two days later when he was arrested at his partner's home and he was jailed the next day on December 13 for breaking local coronavirus rules.

His partner was unaware of what he had done and believed that he was on the island for work purposes.

When he was arrested McLaughlan told police that he had taken a Covid test four days before he had travelled and it had come back negative.

He also said he was prepared to take a second test.

It is understood that the tests came back negative.

Last December McLaughlan pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to comply with the emergency powers regulations by entering the island without an exemption notice or entry permit.
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Muslim pilgrims began arriving in Mecca on Saturday for the second downsized hajj taking part under Covid-19 restrictions, with just 60,000 fully-vaccinated residents of Saudi Arabia able to take part.

Photos showed masked pilgrims circling Islam's holiest site on socially distanced paths as the kingdom hoped to replicate last year's hajj which saw no virus outbreak.

The participants were chosen through a lottery system from more than 558,000 applicants aged between 18 and 65. Applicants had to be fully vaccinated and not suffer from any chronic illness, the hajj ministry said.

While this year's hajj is larger than the pared-down version staged in 2020, it is drastically smaller than in normal times, stoking resentment among some abroad - who typically save for years before attending - who were barred once again.

After boarding buses to Mecca's Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the 'tawaf', the circumambulation of the Kaaba - a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Many attending carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat.

Muslim pilgrims began arriving in Mecca on Saturday for the second downsized hajj taking part under Covid-19 restrictions, with just 60,000 fully-vaccinated residents of Saudi Arabia able to take part

Photos showed masked pilgrims circling Islam's holiest site on socially distanced paths as the kingdom hoped to replicate last year's hajj which saw no virus outbreak

While this year's hajj is larger than the pared-down version staged in 2020, it is drastically smaller than in normal times, stoking resentment among some abroad - who typically save for years before attending - who were barred once again

'Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the tawaf of arrival,' hajj ministry spokesman Hisham al-Saeed told AFP news agency.

'After each group leaves, a sterilisation process is carried out at the sanctuary.'

The hajj, usually one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings with some 2.5million people taking part in 2019, is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means to do so at least once in their lives.

It consists of a series of religious rites, formally starting on Sunday, which are completed over five days in Islam's holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Officials carry the new covering cloth of the holy Kaaba during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Sunday

The covering, known as the kiswa, is a silk cloth placed over the Kaaba at the centre of the Great Mosque in Mecca

The kiswa is replaced each year as part of the hajj pilgrimage. The colours of the kiswa have changed through the ages, at various times being white, red and yellow. But today it is black with gold and silver threads embroidered in it

The kiswa is split into five pieces to cover four sides of the Kaaba and a curtain for the door to the holy site. Up to 50ft in length, it weighs almost 1,500lbs in high-quality silk

The covering costs $6million to make and is traditionally paid for by Saudi Arabia. Pictured: Officials replace the kiswa on Sunday

On Sunday, officials were seen replacing the silk cloth which covers the Kaaba, known as the kiswa. This is done every year during hajj.

The covering's origins come from when the Prophet Muhammed covered the Kaaba with Yemeni clothes following the conquest of Makkah in the ninth Hijri year, as he performed his farewell pilgrimage.

The colours of the kiswa have changed through the ages, at various times being white, red and yellow. But today it is black with gold and silver threads embroidered in it.

It is split into five pieces to cover four sides of the Kaaba and a curtain for the door to the holy site. Up to 50ft in length, it weighs almost 1,500lbs in high-quality silk.

It costs $6million to make and is traditionally paid for by Saudi Arabia.

Pilgrims pray at Mount Arafat, where it is believed that the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon

Pictured: Pilgrims pray on Monday in front of Mount Arafat, a rocky hill also known as the Mountain of Mercy during the annual hajj pilgrimage

Pilgrims are being divided into groups of 20 'to restrict any exposure to only those 20, limiting the spread of infection,' ministry undersecretary Mohammad al-Bijawi told official media

Among those selected to attend this year was Ameen, a 58-year-old Indian oil contractor based in the eastern city of Dammam, who was picked along with his wife and three adult children.

'We are overjoyed,' Ameen said. 'So many of our friends and relatives were rejected.'

As in other Gulf states, Saudi Arabia is home to significant expatriate populations from South Asia, the Asia Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East.

'I feel like I won a lottery,' Egyptian pharmacist Mohammed El Eter said after being selected.

'This is a special, unforgettable moment in one's life. I thank God for granting me this chance, to be accepted among a lot of people who applied,' the 31-year-old said.

After boarding buses to Mecca's Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the 'tawaf', the circumambulation of the Kaaba (pictured) - a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray

The participants were chosen through a lottery system from more than 558,000 applicants aged between 18 and 65. Applicants had to be fully vaccinated and not suffer from any chronic illness, the hajj ministry said

The experience for some women attending has been boosted by no longer being required to be under male supervision - a stipulation dropped over 18 months ago

On Sunday, the pilgrims will move on to Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, ahead of the main rite at Mount Arafat, where it is believed that the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon.

The experience for some women attending has been boosted by no longer being required to be under male supervision - a stipulation dropped over 18 months ago.

'So many women are also going with me, so I am very proud that we are now independent [and] we don't need any mahram (male guardian,' Bushra Ali Shah, a Pakistani resident of Jeddah said.

The hajj ministry has said it is working on the 'highest levels of health precautions' in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new variants.

After boarding buses to Mecca's Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the 'tawaf', the circumambulation of the Kaaba - a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray

Pictured: A Saudi soldier stands guard outside a tent camp in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca on Sunday. Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims are housed at the site

Saudi pilgrim Irak al Dofairy, 65, (right) sits in his assigned booth at the tent camp in Mina where the pilgrims are housed

Muslim pilgrims rest in the tent camp in Mina, which sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains near the holy city of Mecca

Pilgrims are being divided into groups of 20 'to restrict any exposure to only those 20, limiting the spread of infection,' ministry undersecretary Mohammad al-Bijawi told official media.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including some 8,000 deaths.

Around 20million vaccine doses have been administered in the country of more than 34 million people.

The hajj went ahead last year on the smallest scale in modern history. Authorities initially said only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed to attend, although local media reported that up to 10,000 eventually took part.

Pilgrims are being divided into groups of 20 'to restrict any exposure to only those 20, limiting the spread of infection,' ministry undersecretary Mohammad al-Bijawi told official media

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including some 8,000 deaths. Around 20million vaccine doses have been administered in the country of more than 34 million people

But barring overseas pilgrims has caused deep disappointment among Muslims worldwide, many of whom will have saved for years in order to take part

No infections were reported as authorities set up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater for the pilgrims, who were taken to the religious sites in small batches.

In normal years, the pilgrimage packs large crowds into congested religious sites, but even this year's downscaled events are seen as a potential mechanism for contagion.

Worshippers were last year given amenity kits including sterilised pebbles for the 'stoning of the devil' ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and the ihram - a traditional seamless white hajj garment - made from bacteria-resistant material.

Hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, for whom the custodianship of Islam's holiest sites is their most powerful source of political legitimacy.

But barring overseas pilgrims has caused deep disappointment among Muslims worldwide, many of whom will have saved for years in order to take part.

The hajj ministry received anguished queries on Twitter from rejected applicants about the tightly-controlled government lottery.

Pictured: A staff member delivers food portions to the pilgrims at their camp in Mina

Pictured: Pilgrims, selected to participate by a state lottery, walk in an alley at the tent city in Mina
Disgraced NRL star Jarryd Hayne is continuing to cash in on his impressive investment real estate portfolio, as he scrounges up cash ahead of his rape case appeal.

The former Eels fullback, 33, who was jailed for five years over the 2018 sexual assault of a woman in Newcastle, has listed one of his off-the-plan apartments purchased back in 2013 at the Koi building in Sydney's Parramatta.

Hayne snapped up two units at the development costing $600,000 and $605,000.

The flat going on the market is a 17th floor two-bedroom apartment complete with two bathrooms and 90 sqm of internal space.

Real estate agency Laing + Simmons have started with an asking price of $670,000 for the Merfad Capital-built property which was completed in 2015.

Disgraced NRL star Jarryd Hayne (pictured wife Amelia) is continuing to cash in on his impressive investment real estate portfolio, as he scrounges up cash ahead of his rape case appeal

Hayne snapped up two units at the Koi building in Sydney's Parramatta (pictured) costing $600,000 and $605,000

The flat going on the market is a 17th floor two-bedroom apartment (pictured) complete with two bathrooms and 90 sqm of internal space at an asking prices of $670,000

Hayne's property portfolio was once worth more than $5million including terraces and cottages in Sydney's trendiest suburbs.

He was at one stage earning north of $1million a year, both with the Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans, making him the highest paid player in the NRL.

Hayne invested that salary into properties in Sydney's eastern suburbs and elsewhere, but as his career crumbled and his legal bills started to add up, he has now offloaded almost all of them.

The NSW Blues representative now only has the two Koi flats and a modest family home on the Central Coast.

His former Darlinghurst home, which he attempted to rent out four different times, is described by real estate agents as a 'chic inner city haven' tucked away in a quiet, leafy enclave.

He offloaded the three-bedroom, two-bathroom 1890s terrace in late 2019 for $2.2 million after buying it for $1.58 million in 2013.

Rapist Jarryd Hayne is pictured reporting for bail at Woy Woy police station ahead of being jailed for a minimum three years and eight months

This prison cell at Parklea Correctional centre is a far cry from the luxury homes Hayne was once used to

Hayne had also purchased his former Paddington home famous for its pink door and finishings for $1.31 million in 2013, before selling it for $2.97million just five years later.

Both lavish properties are a far cry from his home on the NSW Central Coast, where his wife Amelia and daughter Beliviah live.

The pair tied the knot in a secret ceremony at Pullman Magenta Shores resort not far from their Central Coast home in January.

Hayne acquired the humble but spacious property in 2010 which has six bedrooms and a granny flat, but lacks the luxury finishings of his other Sydney homes.

Hayne's property portfolio was once worth more than $5million including terraces and cottages in Sydney's trendiest suburbs. Pictured: Hayne and wife Amelia are pictured with friends

His Darlinghurst home is described by real estate agents as a 'chic inner city haven' which is tucked away in a quiet, leafy enclave

'This one is just right for a young family. The property consists of a rendered brick & tile house set on a private, level 696sqm block,' a 2010 real estate advert read.

'There's plenty of living area, with a large lounge room at the front and a spacious family room at the rear.'

In May, Hayne was jailed for five years and nine months with a non-parole period of three years and eight months after being convicted of sexual assault.

The ex-rugby league superstar was found guilty of attacking a woman in her NSW Hunter bedroom on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final and forcibly performing oral and digital sexual intercourse on her.

Hayne's purchased his former Paddington home famous for its pink door and finishings, for $1.31 million in 2013, before selling it for $2.97 million just five years later

District Court Judge Helen Syme said Hayne had to be jailed because non-consensual sexual intercourse was an extreme form of violence.

But Hayne is set to appeal the rape case which will once again go before the court in November.

He is currently being held in the Cooma Correctional Centre after being moved from Parklea prison over concerns for his safety.
A nursing union has urged the Western Australian government to ban crowds at a major AFL match, despite not a single local Covid case in the state.

The Australian Nursing Federation called on Premier Mark McGowan to slash spectators at the upcoming clash between St Kilda and the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium.

It warned such events could become a super-spreader event if a secret case was lurking in the community, despite state borders being closed.

Federation secretary Mark Olsen said the union watched the Covid outbreaks unfold in New South Wales and Victoria with 'great concern'.

Pictured: Griffin Logue of the Dockers contests for a mark during the round 18 AFL match between the Fremantle Dockers and Geelong Cats at Optus Stadium on July 15 in Perth. Australian Nursing Federation has urged the government to slash the crowds

Pictured: Crowds were not permitted to attend the 2021 AFL Round 15 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium on June 27

Sydneysiders are entering their fourth week of lockdown with 105 new cases announced on Sunday, while contact tracers in Melbourne are grappling with 17 new cases after infected removalists entered the state last week.

'I'm calling upon the government to take the cautious approach, the sensible approach, and cancel crowds altogether,' Mr Olsen said, according to The West Australian.

'Or at the very least, reduce them substantially.'

While Western Australia has not recorded any Covid cases in weeks and has closed borders with three infected states, Mr Olsen argued an outbreak of the Indian Delta strain in the state would cripple the health care system.

Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) rejected the union's plea and said there are no plans to reduce capacity limits at Optus stadium

He also expressed his surprise that there were no spectator caps announced for Optus Stadium, given the country's recent outbreaks.

'I'm saying to the Government be very cautious, do not allow 60,000 people to gather at the Optus Stadium next week or the week after. Quite frankly, I wouldn't have any crowds there at all,' he said.

'I just think it's inconsistent with a cautious approach of how we manage the current Delta outbreak around the country.'

Mr Olsen said Covid could be 'lurking' within the community.

Pictured: A healthcare worker takes a swab from a patient at a drive-through testing station in Perth on June 29. Mr McGowan said the state is back to functioning at fill capacity

But the premier rejected the union's plea and said there are no plans to reduce capacity limits at Optus stadium.

'We are one of the freest societies in Australia, we have all our businesses back, we have all our functions, events, hospitality, tourism - all those industries are back to functioning as normal, and we're allowing for crowds at major events in the stadium,' he said.

'I don't think we need to be frightened at this point in time. We have a hard border with New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.'

Mr McGowan also explained that authorities would review the rules if Covid cases emerge.
Australians who refuse to get the Covid vaccine should be excluded from public life and even banned from leaving their homes, according to one South Australian politician.

Frank Pangallo, who represents the SA-Best party in the South Australian upper house, has called for coronavirus vaccinations to be made compulsory with proof of the jab carried in a 'vaxport'.

Mr Pangallo said the document would make it an easy task for authorities to immediately and efficiently determine if a resident had received the jab.

He proposed it be made compulsory for a person to be vaccinated to travel, go to work and enter public or hospitality venues including pubs and restaurants.

A politician in South Australia has called for the introduction of 'vaxxports' to allow people to go to pubs, shops and restaurants only if they've got a Covid vaccine (pictured, locked down Fairfield in Sydney's south-west on Sunday)

SA-Best Upper House politician Frank Pangallo (pictured) has called for coronavirus vaccinations to be made compulsory with proof of the jab carried in a 'vaxport'

The politician said that while people still had a choice whether or not to get jabbed, what they can do in the community needs to be controlled (pictured, a woman walks along Bourke street in Melbourne on Friday)

'While people might still have a choice whether or not to get vaccinated, what they can do in the community will need to be controlled and restricted,' Mr Pangallo said.

'They would need to be a requirement incorporated with QR code information that if you want to travel on public transport, airlines, enter venues, shopping malls, restaurants and cafes, you will need to show you have been vaccinated.

'It might also have to apply for workplaces.'

Mr Pangallo said that while he understood that some residents would perceive the measures as drastic and draconian, the nature of the virus could not be predicted, Adelaide Now reported.

The politician also recommended Australians get the choice of which vaccine they receive, instead of be forced to take one they don't want.

He said Australia was on the cusp of a health and economic catastrophe that called for strong and decisive leadership to prevent a gridlock of constant lockdowns.

'While people might still have a choice whether or not to get vaccinated, what they can do in the community will need to be controlled and restricted,' Mr Pangallo said in reference to his recommended measures (pictured, the Crafty Squires sports bar in Melbourne on Sunday)

Mr Pangallo said that while he understood that some residents would perceive the measures as drastic and draconian, the nature of the virus could not be predicted (pictured, testing in Fairfield on Sunday)

Data from SA Health reveals more than 37 per cent of 510,500 residents have been double-jabbed and are among the highest per capita data of doses

Data from SA Health reveals more than 37 per cent of 510,500 residents have been double-jabbed and are among the highest per capita data of doses with 43.3 per cent per 100 people.

Of the population, 37 per cent of people aged over 16 have received their first dose of the vaccine, however less than 14 per cent have had their second.

SA Health wants 80 per cent of the adult population vaccinated by October, with 9,970,746 doses administrated across the country as of Friday.

Authorities hope to ramp up the glacial roll-out scheme with expansions of the vaccine hub in Port Lincoln and the addition of a new mass hub in Grawler.

SA Health currently have more than 108,000 vaccines stockpiled, with 57,000 of those Pfizer doses.

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said that while authorities were seeking compulsory jabs for those in high-risk professions, it wasn't in the pipeline for the wider population.

'This is a modern way of dealing with a pandemic and I'm pretty confident we will get very high rates of vaccine coverage in our state,' she said.

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier (pictured) said that while authorities were seeking compulsory jabs for those in high-risk professions, it wasn't in the pipeline for the wider population

SA Health wants 80 per cent of the adult population vaccinated by October, with 9,970,746 doses administrated across the country as of Friday

Health Minister Stephen Wade who also did not support the pursuit of compulsory vaccinations echoed the health officer's sentiments.

Mr Wade said with the arrival of another 25,000 Pfizer doses in SA this week, public response to getting the jab had been 'good so far'.

The health minister said he wanted to avoid pressuring the general population into mandatory vaccinations and said he felt confident in the wider community.

'I certainly agree with Professor Spurrier that we should continue to maintain our commitment to the Australian people that the vaccine will be free and voluntary,' he said.

'I'm very confident with the South Australian community as supplies become more available  we'll have an effective vaccination rate to help us move out of this pandemic.'
Social media has exploded as people have expressed their frustration over Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak using a pilot testing scheme to avoid self-isolation before a hasty U-turn.

The pair were both pinged by the Test and Trace app telling them to self-isolate after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for coronavirus.

They were to use a little-known pilot scheme which allows people out of self-isolation every day they pass a lateral flow test.

However after just two-and-a-half hours of severe backlash from across the country, the pair have now performed a hasty U-turn and announced they will be isolating.

And social media users have vented their anger because the scheme isn't available to the majority of the British public.

The Health Secretary triggered fears of a disruptive 'pingdemic' striking at the heart of Government after reveling yesterday he has tested positive.

One insider warned that 'half the Cabinet' could be in isolation by the end of the week.

Social media has exploded as people have expressed their frustration over Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak not having to self-isolate because of a convenient pilot testing scheme

But this morning No10 said Mr Johnson would take advantage of the scheme not widely available to the public, leading to accusations they were using a 'VIP lane' while ordinary families struggled.

'The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid', a spokesman said.

'They will be participating in the daily contact testing pilot to allow them to continue to work from Downing Street. They will be conducting only essential government business during this period.'

One social media user wrote: 'So, will Boris Johnson self-isolating following his meeting with the Health Secretary 24 hours before he tested positive? One rule for them with another madeupicus pilot scheme won't go down well.

'Fallout will be bigger than Barnard Castle eye test.'

How does the pilot scheme work? The daily contact testing study is being run by Public Health England to determine the effect of allowing people to avoid self-isolating. It was launched in April and has already been used by Michael Gove, who was alerted after travelling to Portugal for the Champions League final. It contains two groups. One is a test group who get one PCR test and have to isolate as normal even if it is negative. But a second group is given a daily lateral flow test and members are allowed to leave isolation each day afterward if it is negative. Only participants in the daily testing group who continue to test negative and do not have symptoms are excused from the legal duty to self-isolate each day,' the Government said as it was announced. 'Participants in the daily testing group will have a legal duty to tell their employer that they're taking part in the study, and if they stop taking part for any reason.' Advertisement

And another wrote, 'I've just heard on Sky that Down Street itself is one of the ''organisations'' that has been selected to take part in this pilot scheme to see whether the need to self-isolate might be replaced by daily testing!' above the words, 'Oooh, how convenient'.

The move triggered a furious backlash as rules forcing close associates of Covid cases to self-isolate for 10 days threaten to bring Britain to its knees.

The NHS has warned of staff shortages, unions say factories could start closing with in days and there are fears over some food supplies.

Yesterday parts of the London Underground were forced to cease running due to a lack of staff.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the situation would infuriate workers and hard-pressed parents.

'For many of them, waking up this morning to hear that there is a special rule, an exclusive rule, for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, they will be saying that this looks like one rule for them and something else for the rest of us,' he told Sky's Trevor Phillips on Sunday.

Mr Ashworth continued: 'Nobody understands how you can get access to this special treatment or VIP lane where you don't have to isolate yourself.

'If it is a pilot, why can't employers apply for their workforce to be part of this pilot, why can't schools apply to be part of this pilot test?

'I do think a lot of people are going to be looking at this and thinking 'what on earth is going on?''

Mr Ashworth added: 'This is at a time when we need to maintain confidence in the isolation policies, because isolation, taking yourself away from society if you've been in contact with someone who's got the virus, is one of the key ways we break transmission and, of course, we know infections are rising.'

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said members of the public who are pinged should still self-isolate.

He said the test-and-release pilot being used by Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak was being trialled by about 20 public sector organisations including Border Force and Transport for London.

He said the two minsters would be tested at a special testing centre which has been set up in Downing Street.

'It is correct that the Cabinet Office and Downing Street are part of the pilot. I am not aware that other (government) departments are,' Mr Jenrick told Sky News.
Boris Johnson was accused today of trying to use a 'VIP lane' to skip quarantine after Sajid Javid caught Covid, amid fury at his plan to join a new pilot testing scheme.

Downing Street today revealed that the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be using a public sector programme that allows them to leave isolation if they pass a daily lateral flow test.

Jut they were forced into a swift U-turn and had backed out of the programme in less than three hours.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted today that the scheme was 'well-known' and was being used by 20 public organisations including Border Force and Transport for London.

But opposition politicians and the public vented their fury at the step, which comes amid spiralling Covid rates and hundreds of thousands of people having to self-isolate after being pinged by the Covid app.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said many people across the UK would be dismayed by the 'special, exclusive rule'.

'There will be parents across the country who have struggled this year when their children have been sent home because they were in a bubble and had to self-isolate,' he told Sky News.

'There will be workers across the country that have to isolate because they've been pinged, including in public services, including the NHS.

'For many of them, waking up this morning to hear that there is a special rule, an exclusive rule, for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, they will be saying that this looks like one rule for them and something else for the rest of us.

Downing Street today revealed that the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be using a public sector programme that allows them to leave isolation if they pass a daily lateral flow test. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insiste

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said many people across the UK would be dismayed by the 'special, exclusive rule' after it was announced that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor would not have to self-isolate.

The two most senior politicians in the Government proposed to use a little-known pilot scheme which allows people out of self-isolation every day of they pass a lateral flow test to continue working.

The Health Secretary triggered fears of a disruptive 'pingdemic' striking at the heart of Government after reveling yesterday he has tested positive.

Mr Javid had visited the Commons and Downing Street in previous days  and is understood to have held a lengthy face-to-face meeting with Boris Johnson just before his symptoms developed  sparking concerns that senior figures across Whitehall would have to be confined to home.

One insider warned that 'half the Cabinet' could be in isolation by the end of the week.

Richard Walker, the boss of frozen food chain Iceland was among those who blasted the PM today. He tweeted: 'Shame the hundreds of Iceland staff who've been pinged can't avoid self-isolation. We can all do a daily lateral flow test.'

Dr Ellie Cannon, an NHS GP and Mail on Sunday columnist, has criticised the Government after it was announced that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak do not have to isolate after coming into contact with Sajid Javid, after he tested positive for Covid-19.

She wrote on Twitter: 'There have been low points in this pandemic. And then there have been lower points.

'Perhaps the lowest point for me was watching the funeral prayers of an acquaintance who died in particularly difficult circumstances...

'Their own child, mourning their parent's sudden death, was not allowed in the place of worship with family because they were contact isolating from school.

The Health Secretary was also in the Commons on Monday to announce Freedom Day plans to the nation, meeting with senior ministers the same day

'No-one found special pilot schemes for them.'

However, Damian Green, the Conservative MP for Ashford and former first secretary of state, supported the Prime Minister's decision.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Green said: 'It's not clear who has got access to it but I think in practical terms allowing the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer to work as normally as possible is actually quite sensible.

'I hope one of the effects of this is to accelerate the pilot scheme, and indeed the analysis of the pilot scheme, because this might be a way out of the current problems of people not being able to go to work.'

But Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: 'The Prime Minister is making a mockery of the sacrifices millions of people have made. His decision to duck self isolation is callous and irresponsible.

'With Covid cases going through the roof and hospitalisations growing, the Prime Minister's 'Freedom Day' gamble is looking more and more reckless.

'Through refusing to self isolate the Prime Minister is effectively destroying the whole test and trace system.

'This is Barnard Castle on steroids. Johnson mustn't do a Cummings.'
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Whitehall descended into chaos this morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak dramatically backed out of a daily testing pilot which would have allowed them to skip house-arrest after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for Covid.

Shortly after 8am, No10 said that Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were contacted by the NHS Covid app after Mr Javid was ordered to self-isolate, but that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are eligible for the contact tracing pilot to allow them to continue working from Downing Street.

Less than an hour later, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News that Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were allowed to use the test-and-release pilot set up in Downing Street while the rest of the population should still self-isolate when they are 'pinged' by Test and Trace.

But amid a furious public backlash, Downing Street said at around 10.40am that both ministers will now be self-isolating for 10 days. Mr Johnson will be quarantining at Chequers, while a Treasury spokesman told MailOnline that Mr Sunak will be self-isolating at his Downing Street flat.

No10 said Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak are both eligible for the pilot, which allows people across 20 organisations to take daily tests and avoid self-isolation, because they work in Downing Street. This explains how senior Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove was able to sidestep quarantine over his trip to the Champions League final in Portugal despite being alerted by the NHS Covid app.

It also means that COP26 President Alok Sharma, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, Brexit Minister Lord Frost, Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and a number of other elected and unelected Downing Street officials are eligible to join the scheme.

Downing Street told MailOnline that just five of the organisations involved in the pilot are public bodies - the Cabinet Office, Border Force, TfL, Network Rail and Heathrow. The remaining 15 are from the private sector, but a spokesman refused to name the organisations when pressed by MailOnline.

It is understood that each person's eligibility within one of the 20 organisations is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Giving an example, a Downing Street spokesman said that Mr Sunak would not have been eligible for the pilot if another member of his household tested positive - but refused to give other examples and referred MailOnline to the Department of Health.

As plans to scrap most remaining legal restrictions on social contact in England tomorrow fall into disarray amid surging virus cases, it emerged:

Mr Johnson cancelled plans for a Churchillian 'Freedom Day' event at an historic venue associated with the wartime leader after No 10 became alarmed by the surge in the number of infections;

'Professor Lockdown' warned Britain might have to shut down again in the winter before Christmas;

The UK moved closer to the previous peak of 68,000 daily cases, recorded in January, with infections reaching 54,674;

Figures also showed 740 patients had been admitted to hospital in the previous 24 hours and 41 deaths were reported;

A total of 67,956 people had their first vaccine and 188,976 their second, bringing the number of fully vaccinated people to 35,732,297 - or 67.8 per cent of all adults.

Mr Javid became embroiled in a row with Mr Sunak over plans for a 10 billion-a-year 'health tax' to clear the backlog of operations and fund care for the elderly, with sources telling the Mail on Sunday that Mr Johnson had asked Mr Javid to pressure the Chancellor to impose the levy;

Prince Charles has told aides that he will wear a mask only when Government advice dictates that he should do so;

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Government may have to reimpose lockdown if Covid cases continue to rise, adding: 'The warning light on the NHS dashboard is not flashing amber, it is flashing red';

The Olympic athletes' village in Tokyo recorded its first Covid case, prompting fears for the Games.

Whitehall descended into chaos this morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak dramatically backed out of a controversial daily testing pilot which would have allowed them to skip house-arrest after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for Covid

Shortly after 8am this morning, No10 said that Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were contacted by the NHS Covid app after Mr Javid was ordered to self-isolate, but that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor would be participating in the daily contact tracing pilot to allow them to continue working from Downing Street

Mr Sunak tweeted: 'Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren't the same for everyone is wrong. To that end I'll be self-isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot'

The Health Secretary was also in the Commons on Monday to announce Freedom Day plans to the nation, meeting with senior ministers the same day

Tomorrow morning, most Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted across England, although governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are re-opening at a slower pace

An official No10 statement said: 'The Prime Minister has been contacted by NHS Test and Trace to say he is a contact of someone with Covid. He was at Chequers when contacted by Test and Trace and will remain there to isolate.

'He will not be taking part in the testing pilot. He will continue to conduct meetings with ministers remotely. The Chancellor has also been contacted and will also isolate as required and will not be taking part in the pilot.'

Mr Sunak tweeted: 'Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren't the same for everyone is wrong. To that end I'll be self-isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot.'

Opposition politicians and the public vented their fury at the step, which comes amid spiralling Covid rates and hundreds of thousands of people having to self-isolate after being pinged by the Covid app.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Government was in 'chaos' at a time when in needed to maintain public confidence. 'Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been busted yet again for thinking the rules that we are all following don't apply to them,' he said.

'The way the Prime Minister conducts himself creates chaos, makes for bad government and has deadly consequences for the British public. Yet again the Conservatives fixed the rules to benefit themselves and only backtracked when they were found out.

'They robbed the bank, got caught and have now offered to give the money back.'

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth had said many people across the UK would be dismayed by the 'special, exclusive rule' after it was announced that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor would not have to self-isolate

The UK moved closer to the previous peak of 68,000 daily cases, recorded in January, with infections reaching 54,674

Figures also showed 740 patients had been admitted to hospital in the previous 24 hours and 41 deaths were reported

Hospitalisations with the disease also spiked 30.4 per cent to 740 on July 13 - the latest date data is available for

SAGE estimated England's R rate is between 1.2 and 1.4, down from last week's figure of between 1.2 and 1.5

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth had said many people across the UK would be dismayed by the 'special, exclusive rule' after it was announced that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor would not have to self-isolate.

'There will be parents across the country who have struggled this year when their children have been sent home because they were in a bubble and had to self-isolate,' he told Sky News.

'There will be workers across the country that have to isolate because they've been pinged, including in public services, including the NHS. For many of them, waking up this morning to hear that there is a special rule, an exclusive rule, for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, they will be saying that this looks like one rule for them and something else for the rest of us.'

The Health Secretary triggered fears of a disruptive 'pingdemic' striking at the heart of Government after reveling yesterday he has tested positive.

Mr Javid had visited the Commons and Downing Street in previous days - and is understood to have held a lengthy face-to-face meeting with Mr Johnson just before his symptoms developed - sparking concerns that senior figures across Whitehall would have to be confined to home.

One insider warned that 'half the Cabinet' could be in isolation by the end of the week.

Richard Walker, the boss of frozen food chain Iceland was among those who blasted the PM today. He tweeted: 'Shame the hundreds of Iceland staff who've been pinged can't avoid self-isolation. We can all do a daily lateral flow test.'

Dr Ellie Cannon, an NHS GP and Mail on Sunday columnist, has criticised the Government after it was announced that Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak do not have to isolate after coming into contact with Mr Javid.

She wrote on Twitter: 'There have been low points in this pandemic. And then there have been lower points.

'Perhaps the lowest point for me was watching the funeral prayers of an acquaintance who died in particularly difficult circumstances...

'Their own child, mourning their parent's sudden death, was not allowed in the place of worship with family because they were contact isolating from school. No-one found special pilot schemes for them.'

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: 'The Prime Minister is making a mockery of the sacrifices millions of people have made. His decision to duck self isolation is callous and irresponsible.

'With Covid cases going through the roof and hospitalisations growing, the Prime Minister's 'Freedom Day' gamble is looking more and more reckless. Through refusing to self isolate the Prime Minister is effectively destroying the whole test and trace system.

'This is Barnard Castle on steroids. Johnson mustn't do a Cummings.'
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Anti-lockdown protesters have clashed with cops in Sydney's south-west in a march against crippling Covid-19 restrictions, with four men arrested.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian tightened lockdown rules in the councils of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury on Saturday due to disproportionately high case numbers of the highly infectious Indian Delta variant in those areas.

On Sunday, 79 of the 105 new cases came from the three locked-down local government areas - but the figures didn't stop about 40 furious residents from taking to the streets claiming the south-west was 'unfairly targeted' by the strengthened rules.

Protesters directed their anger at Ms Berejiklian chanting 'Freedom, Freedom', 'No to the vaccine', and 'f**k off Gladys' as they marched through Paul Keating Park at about 5pm on Sunday.

Fiery photos show men, women and teenagers marching with a mega phone, and mostly without face masks, coming up against police who tried continually to quell the demonstration.

Pictured: Police trying to reason with a protester in Bankstown at an anti-lockdown protest on Sunday afternoon

Pictured: A group of demonstrators in Bankstown, in Sydney's west, marching against lockdown on Sunday afternoon

Pictured: Demonstrators marching in Bankstown against restrictive lockdown rules in Sydney's west on Sunday afternoon

In one image, cops could be seen confronting group members as others crowded around filming the altercation with their phones.

Another showed a small parade of people marching through the park behind chanting men.

Police told Daily Mail Australia that four men were arrested during the demonstration.

'About 40 people gathered at a park when officers attached to South West Metropolitan Operations Support Group who were already at the location attempted to disperse the group,' a spokeswoman said.

'Four men, aged 20, 23, 27, and 32, were arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station where they are expected to be charged.'

Pictured: Police in face masks watching an anti-lockdown protest in Sydney's west on Sunday. Demonstrators took to the streets in Bankstown

Pictured: Men and women marching in Bankstown on Sunday afternoon, claiming the lockdow in Sydney's west is 'unfairly targeted'

Pictured: A police clash with anti-lockdown protesters at a demonstration in Sydney's west on Sunday afternoon

The 810,000 people living in those regions were told they cannot leave their suburbs even for work unless they're employed in healthcare, aged care or emergency services until at least July 30.

Any essential employees who are permitted to leave their suburbs for work are subject to the same restrictions previously in place, including taking a Covid test every three days.

Local leaders have already slammed the police blitz in her area to enforce Covid lockdown restrictions, instead advocating for more health workers.

'We need the health response rather than the police response,' Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller told the Today show.

The Mayor said people in her council were mostly complying with Covid restrictions and deploying the army in addition to higher police visibility would be 'overkill'.

'[People] are very concerned that we're being singled out,' Ms Waller said. 'We know from previous lockdowns [that people complied].

'If we got an extra hundred health workers in our local area giving out the vaccines, rather than this, I think we'd get a better outcome.'

An extra 100 police officers patrolled the Liverpool, Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown councils on Friday in a crackdown on people breaching lockdown restrictions.

Officers have urged people to follow stay-at-home directives, and warned that they will fine anyone who breaches the rules up to $1000.

In total, 240 PINs were issued on Saturday, with 53 of those $200 infringements for failing to wear a fitted face covering.

A further 23 people were charged with failing to comply with Public Health Orders.

On Sunday, Ms Berejiklian revealed that announcing the harsh restrictions on the three councils was 'the most difficult day' she's had in her role as premier.

'Yesterday was a very, very difficult day for everybody, for everybody. And I am not embarrassed to say that in public life, yesterday was probably the most difficult day I've had,' she said.

One Bankstown local told Daily Mail Australia the new restrictions would result in him being out of work for at least two and struggling to cover the rent on his truck

A female protester is handcuffed by police at the rally in Paul Keating Park in Bankstown (pictured) on Sunday

But she felt it was the only way to keep people safe and reduce the risk of transmission after the data proved they're 'still not managing to get the curve of transmission to come down'.

'I can't remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent,' Ms Berejiklian said.

'Not a single one of these decisions was taken lightly.'

One Bankstown local said the protesters were furious that already severe lockdown restrictions in the south-west were going to be toughened.

'People have lost their jobs and lost their freedom. I'm a truck driver how am I going to rent my truck? Or feed my family,' the 38-year-old, who asked to go by his initial M, told Daily Mail Australia.

A no-nonsense cop has been praised for the way he handled lockdown protests in Bankstown, empthasing with residents and telling them that he, too, is struggling with government directives

He said those in Sydney's southwest felt they were being unfairly targeted by the government.

'When Bondi got the virus why didn't they close those areas off?' he said.

'We're not allowed to go there but they can come here. If the government is really so concerned why don't they lock everyone down the same?'

Footage also emerged showing a police officer saying he was also 'sick of lockdown' but pleaded with attendees to abide by the rules.

One Bankstown local said the protesters were furious that already severe lockdown restrictions in the southwest were going to be toughened. Pictured: People during the protest

'We are sick of this lockdown rubbish. But this rubbish here [the protests] doesn't help,' the cop said.

He warned that the likely outcome of protesting would be increased public scrutiny and a deployment of even more police officers to contain crowds and civil unrest in the coming days.

'The government has put in rules that we have to enforce... we're as over it as you are,' he continued.

'I understand your frustrations, I've got family that are struggling as well. It's rubbish.'
This is the moment a performing brown bear attacked a female trainer in front of horrified children and their families at a circus in Russia.

Footage recorded by a spectator shows the wild animal - dressed in a hat and pink glittering scarf - suddenly clawing at the blonde woman during a performance in Berezovsky, in the Kemerovo region.

The bear can be seen swiping at the trainer and holding onto her foot and ankle before it is grabbed by the neck and pulled away by two male performers.

The shocking incident at the Harlequin Travelling Circus on Saturday took place just metres away from children and their parents - who had no barriers or fencing protecting them from the beast.

The video clip then shows how despite the female trainer appearing to have fallen over in pain, the bear is made to continue performing tricks with her.

The animal then makes another attack before it is pulled away yet again.

According to reports there was even a third attack, however the video shared online does not continue long enough to show it.

The woman is not believed to have sought medical treatment following the incident.

The circus is known for dressing bears in human clothes - with some wearing tutus - and 'prides itself on humane training of the animals'.

Moment performing bear attacks a circus trainer in Russia in front of terrified children and their families

The female trainer at the Harlequin Travelling Circus is filmed struggling to release her leg from the grip of the bear during the attack on Saturday

The Russian Investigative Committee is studying Saturday's incident to check whether there were safety breaches during the performance - particularly as there appears to be no fence or barrier protecting spectators.

The Harlequin Travelling Circus later denied there had been an attack, despite the video evidence.

A spokesman told Mash Siberia: 'There was no incident whatsoever.

'Simply speaking, bears are now in mating season.'

The circus promises 'an unforgettable large-scale performance with a wide variety of animals' to 'surprise every city in Russia'.

Its website reads: 'The artists present a symbiosis of training, clownery and high-class stunts in the circus ring.'

The bear was dressed in a white hat and pink glittery scarf as it was made to perform tricks before turning on its trainer

The bear was filmed attacking the trainer for a second time after being made to continue performing tricks

Two male circus performers grabbed the bear by the back of its neck to pull it away from the trainer as spectators filmed the terrifying moment

Tickets to the show were priced at 500 roubles - or 4.90.

Irina Novozhilova, of animal rights group VITA, has called for the prohibition of all circuses with live animals, which remain popular across Russia.

'No circus conditions will be humane for one simple reason,' she said.

'Training goes hand in hand with cruelty circuses are always cruel beyond limits.

'And circuses with animals should be banned.'
Spain could be the next big holiday destination to be put on the so-called 'Amber Plus' list, travel experts fear.

The popular summer holiday destination, which attracted around 18 million UK visitors each year before Covid, may follow France on to the list.

It means Britons will still have to self-isolate when they return to the UK from Spain and France even if they have been double-jabbed.

The Government is set to lift the 10-day home quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated Britons returning from Amber List countries from tomorrow.

But in an unexpected twist, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on Friday night that the rule will not apply to France.

France, which has a significantly lower case rate than the UK, retaliated last night by tightening its Covid restrictions for those entering from Britain.

Now experts fear that Spain, as well as Greece, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, could also join France on the list - unofficially dubbed 'Amber Plus'.

It comes as Britons have today been seen making a dash for the airports on the Balearic Islands, which are set to move from Green to Amber at 4am on Monday.

Speaking about possible changes, Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told i: 'It is now known as an amber plus list, whether they like it or not.

'France is one of the big three countries we visit each year and I think the concern is the Government will be looking at Spain and Greece and potentially add those to the amber plus category.

Spain could be the next big holiday destination to be put on the so-called 'Amber Plus' list, travel experts fear. Pictured: Passengers return to Manchester Airport today from Ibiza ahead of the 4am change from Green to Amber

The Government is set to lift the 10-day home quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated Britons returning from Amber List countries from tomorrow. Pictured: British holiday makers queue at the airport in Ibiza ahead of the travel list changes

It comes as Britons have today been seen making a dash for the airports on the Balearic Islands, which are set to move from Green to Amber at 4am tomorrow morning. Pictured: British tourists arrive from Ibiza to Manchester Airport today

The summer holiday plans of thousands lie in ruins this morning, with people cancelling their planned trips to the Balearic Islands after they were axed from the green list while the cost of flights back from Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca soared nine-fold after last night's announcement

Families set to cross the Channel fear their holidays will be cancelled at the last minute - as 500,000 Britons already there face hotel quarantine Ministers are considering placing France on the 'red list' of countries  a move that would bring chaos and misery for 500,000 Britons estimated to be holidaying in the country this weekend. The plan is being pushed by influential No 10 advisers  led by Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England  who fear the South African, or Beta, variant that is spreading in the country could evolve to evade vaccines. The move would theoretically force returning travellers to pay 1,750 for ten days of quarantine in a hotel on their return. The threat comes as thousands of devastated families cancelled their holiday plans yesterday after Ministers announced that double-jabbed Britons will still have to quarantine on their return from France after 'Freedom Day' tomorrow. There was fury after it emerged late on Friday that France would be excluded from plans to lift quarantine rules for countries on the amber travel list. But The Mail on Sunday has learned senior scientific and medical advisers want Ministers to go further and move France to red. The suggestion was first raised at a top-level meeting at No 10 on Tuesday and was still being considered last night. Ministers were presented with data that the South African variant is spreading rapidly in France and accounted for one in ten of all new infections. There were also alarming warnings from some scientists that the AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective in protecting against the South African variant than other strains of the virus. Despite the threat of the variant, thousands of anti-vaccine protesters mobbed Paris yesterday. Only 1,073 Beta cases have been confirmed in the UK so far, compared with 216,249 cases of the Indian  or Delta  variant which took hold earlier this year. A Government source last night said: 'If the Beta variant continues to spread it [France] will have to go red. We can't have it taking hold over here.' Advertisement

'I think we may see further changes as countries see higher infection rates.'

Meanwhile, Tim White, a data analyst, warned that the Benelux countries, and Germany, could also be at risk.

He said Luxemborg in particular had a 'very high incidence of the Brazilian (Gamma) variant.

He wrote: 'Belgium, Netherlands and Germany must be at risk too, low incidence of variants in previous data, but could change.

'The obvious worry is for high infection regions like Spain and Greece  I've already had so many questions about this. The problem is (as usual) transparency. We have no idea if this category is only for variants of concern (VOCs) or high-incidence only.'

The comments come as Britons were today seen making a mad dash to Ibiza airport ahead of the change in quarantine rules for the Balearic Islands.

The archipelago, which also includes Mallorca and Menorca, is going from the Green List to the Amber List from 4am on Monday morning.

The move comes after a spike in Covid cases, meaning the islands have a higher case rates than some red list countries.

The case rate has rocketed to 519 per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, which is lower than Red List Turkey's 82 per 100,000 case rate.

Meanwhile, it was today revealed that ministers are considering placing France on the 'red list' of countries  a move that would bring chaos and misery for 500,000 Britons estimated to be holidaying in the country this weekend.

The plan is being pushed by influential No 10 advisers  led by Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England  who fear the South African, or Beta, variant that is spreading in the country could evolve to evade vaccines.

The move would theoretically force returning travellers to pay 1,750 for ten days of quarantine in a hotel on their return.

The threat comes as thousands of devastated families cancelled their holiday plans yesterday after Ministers announced that double-jabbed Britons will still have to quarantine on their return from France after 'Freedom Day' tomorrow.

There was fury after it emerged late on Friday that France would be excluded from plans to lift quarantine rules for countries on the amber travel list.

But The Mail on Sunday has learned senior scientific and medical advisers want Ministers to go further and move France to red.

The suggestion was first raised at a top-level meeting at No 10 on Tuesday and was still being considered last night.

Ministers were presented with data that the South African variant is spreading rapidly in France and accounted for one in ten of all new infections.

There were also alarming warnings from some scientists that the AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective in protecting against the South African variant than other strains of the virus.

Despite the threat of the variant, thousands of anti-vaccine protesters mobbed Paris yesterday.

Only 1,073 Beta cases have been confirmed in the UK so far, compared with 216,249 cases of the Indian  or Delta  variant which took hold earlier this year.

A Government source last night said: 'If the Beta variant continues to spread it [France] will have to go red. We can't have it taking hold over here.'

Earlier, Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told the BBC: 'There is some good evidence from South Africa that it [the Beta variant] can evade the immune response generated by the AstraZeneca vaccine more efficiently.'

But many, such as French MEP Veronique Trillet-Lenoir, say the UK's mandatory quarantine policy is based on a misinterpretation of health data.

She told Radio 4's Today programme that the Beta variant is 'not present at all' in mainland France  experts say its incidence is estimated to be at just 3.5 per cent and falling  with the country's cases mainly being found in overseas territories such as the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

Also, the European Centre for Disease Control says the variant is more common in Spain and Greece.

Moving France to the red list would effectively destroy the summer holiday plans for millions of Britons and inflict further pain on the beleaguered tour operators.

The cost for one adult in a quarantine hotel is 1,750, with any subsequent adult or child over the age of 12 charged another 650.

The cost for children aged five to 11 is 325. There would also be a lack of accommodation as there are understood to be only about 20,000 hotel rooms available.

France is the UK's second most popular holiday destination with more than nine million visitors in 2019.

It is also the most popular country for British second homeowners. There would also be logistical and diplomatic issues if France was added to the red list.

'We're furious to be forced to return early. We waited so long for this trip' By Andrew Chamberlain and Peter Henn Holidaymakers last night voiced their frustration as they returned to Britain after being forced to cut short their trips to the Balearic islands to avoid new quarantine rules. Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca and Formentera will move from the green to the amber list of destinations at 4am tomorrow, meaning those who have not been double vaccinated will have to self-isolate for up to ten days. Web designer Ella Sharples and her boyfriend Ryan Grogan had to cut short their two-week break in Ibiza. Arriving at Manchester Airport yesterday, Ms Sharples, 23, from Newcastle, said: 'I'm angry because we have waited so long for this holiday and we have had to come back four days early. I've not been doubled-jabbed and I was told by work I wouldn't be able to isolate, so we had no option. 'It has cost nearly 300 to change the flights. We didn't book to go until Ibiza was on the green list and now it's going back to amber. It's the uncertainty that is the worst aspect of it.' Another passenger arriving at Stansted Airport said he had intended to spend three months in Ibiza, but the decision to move the island on to the amber list had reduced that to a month. 'We were going to stay for 90 days but then they brought in the new restrictions, so we thought we had better come home,' he said. The Balearics, visited annually by 3.8 million Britons, were only put on the green list three weeks ago, but demoted again on Wednesday after cases doubled. However, despite the imposition of the new restrictions, many appeared to have decided to stay on the islands and endure self-isolation when they return. Returning from Majorca on schedule, Linda Holgate, 62, from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, yesterday said: 'It's a real shame for the hospitality trade over there because they are taking every possible step to ensure we were as safe as possible.' Advertisement

The UK is reliant on France for food and medical supplies and the sheer number of entry points via air, road and sea would create challenges.

Travel expert Gemma Antrobus, of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, said: 'The ability to put in hotel quarantines at those points or arrange logistics around them is possibly the reason why it didn't hit red straight away.'

Holidaymakers and tour operators reacted with fury to the 11th hour change of travel rules to France  while eyebrows were raised across the Channel given the contrast in case numbers. In the seven days to July 14, there were 244,691 Covid-19 cases in the UK, compared with 27,713 in France.

The French government announced yesterday that it will require people arriving from the UK who are not double vaccinated to show a negative Covid-19 test taken within the previous 24 hours.

Previously, UK arrivals had been allowed to show a negative test taken within the last 48 hours.

An estimated 500,000 Britons are either in France or due to travel to, or through, the country within the next few days.

John Keefe, from Eurotunnel, which runs the Shuttle operation for cars between Folkestone and Calais, said: 'This will ruin summer for many people. It is disappointing that the Government has cancelled the option of quarantine-free travel for double-vaccinated parents and their families so close to the school holidays and so soon after they had confirmed that travel to France was safe.'

Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, said: 'The Government is making life impossible for people who are desperate to see friends and family.

'They promised freedom on the back of a successful vaccine programme and now pull the rug out from people at the 11th hour.'

From tomorrow, motorists passing through France in transit to the UK from Belgium, Germany or elsewhere will be regarded as arriving from France  and subject to quarantine when they reach Britain.

Eurostar rail passengers from Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam to London St Pancras will be unaffected because the train passes through France without stopping.

Stephen Gee, who runs a chalet business in the French Alps, had extended his holiday because he thought he would escape having to quarantine if he came back tomorrow.

Instead he found himself having to rush back yesterday.

He said: 'To change the rules on a Friday evening when no one has a chance to change anything very quickly for something happening on Monday is unbelievable.'

While travel firms can legally say they are still able to offer the holiday as booked and the fact that travellers must self-isolate is not their problem, in reality most airlines, ferry firms and tour operators are likely to offer flexibility with the chance to postpone the trip. Few will offer full refunds.

The Foreign Office does not warn against travel to France, meaning standard travel insurance policies will still be valid but it is unlikely that insurers will pay out for the additional costs such as extra tests and lost wages.
Double child killer Colin Pitchfork will be kept off the sex offenders register when he is released from prison, causing outrage among his victims' families.

The 61-year-old, who raped and killed 15-year-old schoolgirls Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in the 1980s, also 'plans to change his name' after serving 33 years behind bars.

He could be freed from HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire at any moment after a Government-backed appeal against the Parole Board's decision to release him was rejected this week.

And the killer, who now calls himself David Thorpe, will be well within his rights to change his name - yet again - by deed poll, for just 33.

Dawn's mother Barbara, 75, told the Daily Mirror: 'Words fail me. A psychopath like him shouldn't be allowed to change his name.

Colin Pitchfork, 61, (pictured on day release), will be kept off the sex offenders register due to a legal loophole

'He'll be able to walk in the pub as a new man, with a new identity.

'It's absolutely shocking that he can do it legally. People need to know who he is and what he has done.

'He is a very dangerous man  he shouldn't be on the streets at all. He shouldn't be able to hide who he is.'

Pitchfork can dodge the sex offenders list because of a legal loophole which dictates that it cannot include anyone convicted of sex crimes before 1997.

Its measures would have required him to keep police informed of any change in address or personal circumstances, including a name change.

However the Government said Pitchfork will still have to abide by tough conditions -including being required to wear a tag on his release, live at a specific address and take a lie detector test.

Victims: Furious relatives of the two schoolgirls murdered by a notorious paedophile have condemned a decision to let him go free. Left: Lynda Mann, right: Dawn Ashworth

An artist's file impression of Pitchford appealing the length of his sentence at the Court of Appeal in London. Following a hearing, the Parole Board said he was 'suitable for release'

But former Labour Home Secretary Lord David Blunkett said: 'I was deeply disappointed that the Parole Board did not reverse their earlier decision to release Pitchfork, given the heinous nature of the crimes he committed.

'The least that can now be expected to secure the confidence of the public and place their safety as the key priority on his release, is to place him on the register with all the consequent checks and restrictions which this brings.'

Barbara, who lives in Liskeard, Cornwall, added: 'It's shocking that he is not on the register. I assumed he would have been.

'I'm convinced he will do all he can to be around children.

'He has been refused that opportunity while he's been locked up.

'But that will change when he walks the streets again He's so arrogant  a psychopath who thinks he is above it all.

'The public must be protected from him and every safeguard must be put in place.'

Pitchfork became the first man convicted of murder on the basis of DNA evidence in 1988 after admitting two murders, two rapes, two indecent assaults and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Lynda's sister Sue Gatrick, 55, exclusively told MailOnline this week: 'He could kill again. He could rape again. And he could put someone else through it. It is just not right.

'There should be pictures of how he looks now  because he has changed so much  plastered everywhere. He should have it tattooed on his head that he is a nonce, that he is a danger. Then he should be castrated.

'He cannot change his sexuality. He is not going to change his personality or who he is.

Double child killer Colin Pitchfork (pictured in 1988) is set to be freed from prison after the Parole Board rejected the Ministry of Justice's challenge against its ruling to release him

' I just hope another family does not have to go through what we have been through because they decided to release him and if - God forbid  he does it again.

'We thought with all these MPs backing us we thought we were getting somewhere.

'It is so wrong. They would not let Huntley out. They would not let Sutcliffe out. So why do they think he is so different - because he isn't.

'It is just not right. I was 17 when it happened and wanted to put it all behind me but now I can't.

'I suppose it was inevitable he would eventually get out but it should not be.

'The only hope is that he dare not put a foot wrong now because of DNA and everything else. I hope he meets someone one day, someone who also does not want to see him free. Then we might get justice even if it is rough justice.'

Following a hearing in March, the Parole Board ruled he was 'suitable for release', despite this being denied in 2016 and 2018.

But last month Justice Secretary Robert Buckland asked the board, which is independent of the Government, to re-examine the decision under the so-called reconsideration mechanism.

But the Parole Board announced the application had been 'refused'.

Pictured: Volunteers take tests to help the investigating police officers find the murderer of Leicestershire schoolgirls Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth on January 5 in 1987 (file photo)

A police van containing Richard John Buckland, a learning disabled man who pleaded guilty to murdering Dawn but was later exonerated after DNA evidence proved it was Colin Pitchfork

Conservative peer Lord Porter called on the Ministry of Justice to consider closing the loophole in the House of Lords this month.

He told the Sunday People: 'You cannot have too many safeguards with criminals like Colin Pitchfork.

'The only reason he is not on the register is because of a quirk of timing.

'His offences are more than sufficient to warrant him being on the list and the public have the right to know who is on it.

'Everything that could be done, should be done. It's belts, braces and a bit of baling twine.'

Ex-Tory leader Michael Howard, who created the sex offender register, said it would be very difficult in law to add Pitchfork retrospectively.

But he said: 'I have every sympathy with the families of the victims. I agree with the Justice Secretary that he should never have been given parole.'
A group of British fishermen has caught a record number of a rarely-seen species of shark that pre-date dinosaurs.

The men reeled in 14 monster sixgill sharks in one day in what is though to be a record haul in Europe.

The sharks, which weigh up to 450lbs (32st) each, were caught in a secret area of the north Atlantic dubbed Jurassic Park because it is inhabited by the pre-historic fish.

Because of their weight, each shark took an average of 40 minutes to reel in to the Welsh-registered fishing boat.

The sixgill shark - Hexanchus griseus in Latin - spends much of its time in deep water miles off-shore and as a result has little interaction with humans, with only one reported attack in 500 years.

The men reeled in 14 monster sixgill sharks in one day in what is though to be a record haul in Europe

The sharks, which weigh up to 450lbs (32st) each, were caught in a secret area of the north Atlantic dubbed Jurassic Park because it is inhabited by the pre-historic fish

The sharks resemble fossil sharks from the Triassic period. They are found in deep water miles off-shore and as a result has little interaction with humans

Because of their weight, each shark took an average of 40 minutes to reel in to the Welsh-registered fishing boat

What are sixgill sharks? The sixgill shark, sometimes known as the cow shark, is a common species of deep water shark. They have razor-sharp teeth and resemble fossil sharks from the Triassic period. Called Hexanchus griseus in Latin, they are also one of the largest sharks that feed on prey other than plankton. They eat on other fish including sharks, skates and rays, bony fish, squid and crabs. They have also been known to scavenge on dead animals such as seals. The sharks live in deep water miles off-shore and as a result this species has little interaction with humans. There has only been one reported attack on humans in 500 years. Advertisement

They feed on other fish including sharks, skates and rays, bony fish, squid and crabs. They have also been known to scavenge on dead animals such as seals.

They have razor-sharp teeth and resemble fossil sharks from the Triassic period.

Kevin Mckie, skipper of charter boat Size Matters, based in Pwllheli, North Wales, spent 10 days taking a party of four fishermen out to a secret location.

They travelled to a spot close to the continental shelf where the water depth is up to 3,000ft.

The 14 sixgill sharks is believed to be the largest number ever recorded in one trip in the whole of Europe.

He said: 'Catching a sixgill shark is very difficult because they live in deep water way offshore.

'People don't really fish for them as it takes such a long time to reel them in because they are in such deep water.

'But they are there and there are thousands of them and they are always big. To catch 14 of them in a day is a great achievement but everyone was left feeling really tired afterwards.

'Sixgill sharks are one of the oldest sharks on the planet and they do look pre-historic.

'They are scavengers and all they do is roam around the seabed feeding on whatever is dead on the bottom.

Kevin Mckie, skipper of charter boat Size Matters, based in Pwllheli, North Wales, spent 10 days taking a party of four fishermen out to a secret location

He said: 'People don't really fish for them as it takes such a long time to reel them in because they are in such deep water'

All of the sharks the party caught were returned to the sea safe and well afterwards

'Very rarely do they come into shallow water. You wouldn't want to be in the water with one - they attack seals and twist their body like a crocodile would.'

Kevin has a special sling on his boat to help lift the sharks out of the water in a stress-free way.

All of the sharks the party caught were returned to the sea safe and well afterwards.

Sixgill sharks can grown to 15ft in length and weigh 1,000lbs.
The billionaire co-founder of Ethereum has announced he is quitting the world of cryptocurrency because of personal safety concerns.

Anthony Di Iorio, 48 - who has had his own security team since 2017 with guards following him wherever he goes - will sell blockchain firm Decentral Inc, sever ties with other start-ups he's involved with and focus on philanthropy instead.

The Canadian entrepreneur did not say whether he had been the target of specific security threats but explained he believed he would be 'safer' away from crypto.

Anthony Di Iorio, 48 - who has had his own security team since 2017 with guards following him wherever he goes - will sell blockchain firm Decentral Inc and sever ties with several start-ups

'It's got a risk profile that I am not too enthused about,' he told Bloomberg.

'I don't feel necessarily safe in this space. If I was focused on larger problems, I think I'd be safer.'

Di Iorio founded Ethereum in 2013 and its token, Ether, now has a market value of $225billion.

The tycoon him the headlines headlines in 2018 when he bought one of Canada's largest and most expensive condos to house Decentral's offices, after partly paying in digital money.

The $28million apartment in downtown Toronto's St. Regis Residences (formerly the Trump International Hotel and Tower) has 16,000 square feet of floorspace over the top three storeys and a wrap-around balcony.

Forbes put Di Iorio's net worth as high as $1billion, but he declined to comment on this or reveal the extent of his crypto holdings.

He plans to sell Toronto-based Decentral for 'hundreds of millions' and said he has already talked to potential investors.

Di Iorio founded Ethereum in 2013 and its token, Ether, now has a market value of $225billion

Di Iorio - who has previously served as chief digital officer at the Toronto Stock Exchange - now wants to focus on other projects.

This includes, Project Arrow, an initiative to build a zero-emission vehicle run by a high school friend.

'I want to diversify to not being a crypto guy, but being a guy tackling complex problems,' Di Iorio said.

'I will incorporate crypto when needed, but a lot of times, it's not. It's really a small percentage of what the world needs.'

Crypto has been linked to a series of security issues, with a boom in kidnappings of wealthy individuals followed by the criminals demanding payment of the ransom in digital money.

The tycoon him the headlines headlines in 2018 when he bought one of Canada's largest and most expensive condos, (where he is pictured before a refurbishment) partly paying in digital money

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the largest ransomware attack on record breached the systems of US software firm Kaseya, in turn infecting the computers of 1million companies on virtually every continent.

Swedish grocery stores, schools in New Zealand, and two major Dutch IT firms were among the victims of hacking group REvil which launched its attack on July 2.

Kaseya says just a few dozen of its customers were directly affected by the attack, but knock-on effects have brought down firms in 17 countries including US and the UK - with one expert saying the attack is 'unprecedented' in its scale and sophistication.

The $28million apartment in downtown Toronto's St. Regis Residences (formerly the Trump International Hotel and Tower) has 16,000 square feet of floorspace over the top three storeys

REvil, which was behind the Memorial Day hack of meat processor JBS which saw an $11million ransom paid, has been demanding ransoms of up to $5million from individual firms - but now says for $70million it will unlock all affected networks.

Joe Biden, who last month warned President Putin to take action against hacking groups targeting the US from Russia, said the FBI is investigating the latest hack and he will take action if Moscow is deemed to be responsible.

Analysts said it is no coincidence that the latest attack coincided with the July 4 weekend, when companies would be under-staffed and less able to respond.
The term 'white privilege' has been described as 'divisive' and 'unhelpful' by the head of the UK's equality watchdog.

Equality and Human Rights Commission chairwoman Baroness Falkner of Margravine has said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph that young people are better off learning about civic rights than worrying about the 'innate advantages' of other groups of their peers.

Kishwer Falkner, 66, told the paper she regards expressions such as white privilege an 'unhelpful way of looking at society'.

She said: 'If we taught rights in the curriculum, human rights, civic rights, that would be the more relevant thing to teach our young people, rather than fretting about one group versus another group, and whether one group has had innate advantages that other groups don't have.

'I prefer a unifying discourse to a divisive discourse. And I find those expressions to be divisive.'

Equality and Human Rights Commission chairwoman Baroness Falkner of Margravine (pictured) said she regards expressions such as white privilege an 'unhelpful way of looking at society'

Her comments come after a report from the Commons Education Select Committee last month claimed terminology such as 'white privilege' may have contributed towards a 'systemic neglect' of white working-class pupils.

The Conservative-dominated committee said white working-class pupils have been 'let down' for decades by England's education system - and 'divisive' language can make the situation worse.

The report concluded that disadvantaged white pupils have been badly let down by 'muddled' policy thinking and the Department for Education has failed to acknowledge the extent of the problem.

The Government has been criticised for its policies to support families on lower incomes throughout the coronavirus pandemic and Tory MPs have been accused of stoking a 'culture war' with the report.

Her comments come after a report from the Commons Education Select Committee last month claimed terminology such as 'white privilege' may have contributed towards a 'systemic neglect' of white working-class pupils

Critics say it is the Conservative Government, rather than terms such as 'white privilege', which have failed poorer children.

A Department for Education spokesman said: 'This Government is focused on levelling up opportunity so that no young person is left behind.

'That's why we are providing the biggest uplift to school funding in a decade - 14 billion over three years - investing in early years education and targeting our ambitious recovery funding, worth 3 billion to date, to support disadvantaged pupils aged two to 19 with their attainment.'
A quick-thinking New York City police officer used an empty bag of potato chips and duct tape to treat a stab wound suffered by a 29-year-old man in the Harlem section of Manhattan earlier this month, saving his life.

The New York Police Department on Friday released body cam footage of the July 7 incident.

NYPD Officer Ronald Kennedy responded to a report of a stabbing near 290 Lenox Avenue.

Body cam footage shows Kennedy arriving on the scene at 10:22 on the night of July 7, as indicated on the time stamp of the video.

The image above shows a New York City police officer using an empty bag of potato chips to treat a stab wound on July 7

NYPD Officer Ronald Kennedy responded to a report of a stabbing near 290 Lenox Avenue in the Harlem section of Manhattan on the night of July 7

The quick-thinking cop emptied a bag of potato chips and used duct tape to seal the wound

Kennedy is seen in the video getting out of the squad car asking a bystander to go get me a bag of potato chips right now.

He then approaches the victim, who tells Kennedy that he caught me in my lung.

I know, I know, just relax, the officer replies.

The video shows the young mans torso bleeding profusely through a white tank top shirt.

A bystander is then seen handing Kennedy a bag of potato chips. The officer empties the bag of potato chips and then instructs the same bystander to run back inside a local store and get duct tape.

Kennedy's body cam footage shows him approaching the stab victim, a 29-year-old male, in Harlem on the night of July 7

Kennedy then asks two other bystanders to help him treat the victim.

Help me lay him down, the officer tells the two bystanders.

We got you, we got you, Kennedy is heard telling the victim as he tapes the empty bag of potato chips to his chest.

The officer is then heard telling the victim not to touch his torso.

As it appears that the victim begins to lose consciousness, Kennedy tells him: Stay with me. Stay with me.

Another bystander is heard telling the victim: Stay awake, alright?

The video then shows other officers and first responders arriving to the scene to help Kennedy.

Its the best I could do with what I had, Kennedy is heard telling his colleagues.

Another officer is then seen removing the bag of potato chips and applying another adhesive to the victims chest.

Kennedy then asks others for help in getting the victim onto a stretcher so that he could be loaded into an ambulance.

Keep breathing, keep breathing, boss, the officer tells the victim.

First responders arrived afterward and placed the victim into an ambulance

The attending physician at Harlem Hospital told the NYPD that Kennedy's actions likely saved the man's life

The NYPD says that the attending physician at Harlem Hospital credited Kennedy with saving the mans life.

This is just one example of the heroic work that your NYPD officers do every day, NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison tweeted on Friday.

The city has experienced a resurgence in crime in recent months.

According to the NYPDs CompStat 2.0 portal which tracks crime figures, 225 New Yorkers have been murdered so far in 2021 - a nearly 5 percent increase from the same period last year.

Of those 225 murders in New York City this year, 69 of them were in the Bronx  making up a whopping 31 percent of all murders in the Big Apple.

There were 49 murders in the borough last year, making up only 22 percent of all murders across the city by July 11, 2020.

The number of shooting victims in the Bronx specifically has jumped 64.8 percent year-over-year, from 193 shooting incidents in 2020 to 318 in 2021.

That means about 42 percent of all shooting victims in New York City came from the Bronx this year.

There has also been an uptick in the number of rapes and felony assaults in New York City so far this year, the latest CompStat 2.0 figures show.

The NYPD also says there has been a 22.2 percent increase in the number of shooting victims as well as a 29 percent increase in the number of shooting incidents across the five boroughs this year.

The city has experienced a resurgence in crime in recent months. According to the NYPDs CompStat 2.0 portal which tracks crime figures, 225 New Yorkers have been murdered so far in 2021 - a nearly 5 percent increase from the same period last year

Grand larceny auto is up by more than 24 percent, according to the NYPD.

Earlier this week, the NYPD announced some good news. The number of murders and shooting incidents in the city declined in the month of June compared to the same period last year.

There were 33 murders in June - a 23.3 percent drop from the 43 murders during June of 2020, according to the police.

Last month, there were a total of 165 shooting incidents - a 19.5 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, which saw 205 shooting incidents.

The NYPD said it made 361 gun-related arrests in June - a 99.4 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago.

The department said that the overall crime index in the city rose 3.1 percent compared to June 2020.

The increase is fueled by a 32.3 percent rise in grand larceny, a 31.2 percent increase in grand larceny auto, and a 16 percent increase in robberies.

The department said there has been a 49.6 percent decrease in burglaries in June compared to the previous year.
LA County's reinstated indoor mask wearing mandate went into effect today as the Indian Delta variant threatens to halt progress against the coronavirus across the country.

The spread of the highly contagious strain, which originated in India, has already pushed new infections up to 26,306 nationwide, an increase of 69.3 percent on a seven-day moving average compared to one week earlier.

Nearly every state witnessed a rise in infections in the last week and CDC data shows the Delta variant is responsible for about 60 percent of these cases.

The reinstatement of indoor mask wearing in LA came after the county saw a 700% increase in its positivity rate over the past month, according to health officials, with the unvaccinated accounting for all hospitalizations.

The mandate is a departure from CDC guidelines that now say the vaccinated can remain without a mask indoors.

On Saturday, former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served nearly four years under the Trump Administration said the CDC's changing of its mask guidelines may have been premature and called on the agency to reverse its stance.

'Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it,' Adams tweeted on Saturday. 'Im worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of [the] delta variant.'

LA county reinstated its indoor mask mandate today as the Indian delta variant has sent positivity rates surging. Pictured are partygoers in LA early Sunday morning, just as its mask mandate came into effect

LA's indoor mask mandate went into effect at midnight as the county has seen a 700% spike in infections

The Bay Area mask recommendation came as infections have spiked nationwide, driven primarily by the spread of the highly contagious Indian delta variant

Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams called on the CDC to reinstate its mask recommendations for the vaccinated in areas with rising infection rates, saying that differing local and federal guidelines were sowing confusion

At the outset of the pandemic, he said, the CDC sought to preserve the nation's supplies of masks for medical workers, but the guidelines were misinterpreted and lagged behind the evolving science and conditions on the ground.

Similarly, with cases rising the the spread of the contagious delta variant, Adams said it's important for the CDC to call for masks in areas with high positivity rates or risk sowing confusion with differing local and federal guidelines.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday stood by federal guidance that those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer needed to wear masks telling CNN's State of the Union that allowing vaccinated individuals to forgo masks also gives communities the flexibility to revert to mask mandates based on new infections and vaccination rates, such as in as Los Angeles.

With the differing guidance, however, the return to mask wearing has been met with some resistance in LA.

On Friday, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that his department would not be enforcing the new mandate, saying that his department lacked resources and that forcing the vaccinated and those who had already contracted Covid-19 to wear masks was not backed by science and contradicted CDC guidelines.

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said Sunday that the reinstated mask mandates were intended to protect the county's unvaccinated population

'The underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance,' Villanueva said in a statement.

In an interview on Sunday LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said that with the delta variant and 48% of the county population still unvaccinated, the reinstated mandate was, 'not punishment, it's prevention.

'We still have 4 million people out of 10 million that haven't been vaccinated. And many of them are young people,' Solis, a former Obama administration labor secretary told ABCs This Week.

'And we're seeing that this transmission is so highly contagious that it will cost more in the long run if we have to see our hospitals being impacted, our ICU units, as well as our health care workers.'

Former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden Administration's flagging vaccination effort amid the surge in cases

'The sooner CDC says we were wrong, & hits the reset button, the better,' he wrote. 'Trust me- I know more than anyone.'

With the delta variant affecting primarily the unvaccinated, former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden Administration's flagging vaccination effort, with 520,000 vaccines now being administered a day, compared to an April peak of 3.38million.

'He's way behind schedule, and people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don't trust his Administration, they don't trust the Election results, and they certainly don't trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth,' Trump said in a statement.

LA's reinstated mask mandate came into effect as health officials in the bay area recommended both the vaccinated and unvaccinated wear masks indoors. Despite some of the highest vaccination rates in the country, the area around San Francisco is still seeing a spike in infections

Health officials in the Bay Area say the new infections have been spreading primarily among its unvaccinated population

In California, cases of the delta variant made up 48.8% of all new cases recorded in the state in June, compared to just 6% in May.

The imposition of LA's indoor mask mandate came as health officials from eight Bay Area counties also recommended that vaccinated and unvaccinated residents wear masks indoors.

They said their recommendation was made 'out of an abundance of caution' as an 'added layer of protection for unvaccinated residents.'

Unvaccinated people are of particular risk to contracting the delta variant, health experts say, as CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned that the current outbreak is becoming 'a pandemic of the unvaccinated' as most cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among people yet to take the shot while the nation's vaccination rollout has stalled.

'The Delta variant is spreading quickly, and everyone should take action to protect themselves and others against this potentially deadly virus,' Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said.

Both deaths and infections have spiked across the country as fears mount that the new variant could halt progress against the virus

The recommendations come just one month after California dropped its coronavirus restrictions. Patrons in San Francisco can be seen indoor mask less on June 15

'The highly infectious Delta variant is now the predominant strain in Contra Costa County,' Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano said. 'While vaccines remain our best tool against COVID-19, masking in indoor and crowded outdoor settings will help us curb the spread of this latest wave of infection.'

Perhaps most concerning is the spread of cases despite high vaccination rates in the Bay Area.

In San Francisco, for instance, 83% of its residents over 12 have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 76% of its population over 12 fully vaccinated.

Still, cases are on the rise, with a seven-day rolling average of 58 new cases recorded a day last week compared to a low of 10 in mid June.

The new cases come as the country's vaccination effort has stalled

'Unfortunately, even though we have very high rates of vaccination and the excellent protection that affords, we are still seeing our case rates rise,' Santa Clara County Assistant Health Officer Dr. Sarah Rudman told CBS SF Bay Area.

She said the variant had become a particular problem among the county's unvaccinated population, and that recommending everyone wear masks was to ensure the unvaccinated continue wearing masks.

Similar concerns have risen elsewhere in the country, with the delta variant projected to make up every new case in New York City by next month, and as America looks to the United Kingdom, which is several weeks ahead in its battle against the Delta variant and is grappling with daily infections doubling within the space of a week.

Based on the rate with which the strain became dominant in the UK, then made up 100 percent of cases and set off a dramatic spike in cases and deaths, the US may well be just weeks away from reaching a similar crisis point.

New York City, which last year was the virus epicenter of the world, could see cases accelerate six-fold and deaths multiply by seven between now and the end of August if the spread of the variant mirrors that on the other side of the pond.

Delta spread quickly throughout the UK and had become the dominant strain by May 21, when 60.6 percent of all new cases in the two weeks preceding it were identified as the B1.617.2 variant.

Just six weeks later, on the week ending July 2, 100 percent of all UK cases were the Delta variant.

New York City has a lag on the UK when it comes to the prevalence of the strain.

It became dominant by the week ending July 3, accounting for 69 percent of all new cases just as people jetted in and out of the city for the July 4 weekend.

This means if New York City follows the same pattern as the UK, the Big Apple is on track for the Delta strain to make up 100 percent of all new cases by August 14.

And this threatens to set off a new wave of the virus, just one month after New York state lifted all remaining coronavirus restrictions in June.

The spread of the Delta variant sent cases and deaths surging once again in the UK and plunged the country into yet another lockdown.

As the number of U.K. cases shoots higher with the Indian Delta COVID variant taking hold, New York City cases also are beginning to move higher - and they threaten to spike just as the U.K.'s numbers have as the Delta variant becomes an increasing share of the city's infections

Still, with vaccine rates high in both the U.K., deaths have not spiked higher even as COVID cases have; New Yorkers and Americans can hold onto some hope that deaths won't spike, either, though in areas of the country with low vaccination rates, there is some worry

In the six weeks between May 21 - when it became the dominant strain - and July 2 - when it accounted for 100 percent of new cases, COVID-19 infections surged a staggering 1,124 percent from 2,290 to 25,750.

Deaths also almost quadrupled from 7 to 27 within the same timeframe, with the nation's vaccine rollout credited with limiting the fatality rate.

Cases and deaths have continued to climb in the two weeks since, with daily infections more than doubling to 54,674 and another 41 people dying Saturday.

Hospitalizations also spiked 30.4 per cent to 740 on July 13  the latest date data is available for and the highest number of daily admissions seen since March 2, when 834 patients were recorded.

In the last week alone, cases jumped by more than two thirds with the UK on track to pass 100,000 new daily infections in two weeks' time and experts warning a new lockdown could be needed by September.

Based on the trends seen in the UK, New York City could be on track for a similar surge in cases and deaths over the coming weeks and months.

If infections surge at the same rate between Delta becoming dominant and 100 percent saturating the city, the number of cases in the Big Apple could climb from 192 recorded on July 3 to around 2,158 on August 14 when the strain makes up all new cases.

By the end of August, cases could have reached around 4,338 - more than six times the 640 recorded on July 14, when the last data is available for.

Deaths are also likely to spike from 5 on July 3 to around 19 on August 14 and 34 by the end of August, as the rate of fatalities accelerates.

New York may, however, have a head start in its fight against the more contagious strain as it reached US soil later than the UK - meaning more Americans may be fully vaccinated before it reaches saturation point.

The UK has been racing to beat the spread of the strain by vaccinating as many people aged 18 and over as possible while the US has approved the vaccine for anyone aged 12 and over.

Currently, the UK and New York City are roughly on a par when it comes to the vaccine rollout, with 53 percent and 49 percent of the populations fully vaccinated, respectively.

Nearly every state and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week

The next six weeks will then be crucial to ramping up the vaccination rates in the Big Apple to protect New Yorkers from the dominant strain as it takes hold.

But, the vaccine rollout in the US has stalled nationwide and the states with the lowest rates of inoculation are among those seeing the biggest resurgence of the virus.

The White House said Friday that Florida accounted for one in five new cases of COVID-19 this week.

There is also some uncertainty around how effective the vaccines are against the more contagious Delta variant.

A new report from Israel on Friday found the Pfizer two-dose vaccine is 'weaker' against the strain than hoped, providing 64 percent protection against infection from the variant as of June 6.

Israel once led the entire world in the vaccine race, vaccinating 61 percent of its population with Pfizer but now the country is dealing with a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant.
A team of removalists from Sydney's Covid hotspot who drove to regional New South Wales for a job while infected have denied knowing they had the virus.

Roni and Ramsin Shawka, 27, Maryo Shanki, 21, and a fourth man, 49, were already in Orange when NSW Health called to inform Roni that he had tested positive to the highly contagious Indian Delta strain.

Police allege the crew kept driving to Molong, further west, to finish off their delivery before being escorted home by cops after two more of the men tested positive.

The twins and Shanki have now been charged with breaching public health orders and are set to face Orange Local Court on August 30.

But Roni, who moved to Australia from Iraq, says they are not to blame and he had not known he was Covid-positive.

Roni Shawka, 27, (pictured with partner) says he did not know he had Covid when he and a team of removalists drove to regional NSW

Ramsin Shawka, 27, (pictured with partner) was also part of the removalist team and has since tested positive

'Of course I feel very bad, I feel very bad for what I have done, but it's not my fault. I was driving and he called me from the health department, he told me to stop working and go home, I was already in Orange,' Roni Shawka told the Daily Telegraph.

'I gave them the number of my boss, I told them my language is not very good. I did not kill someone I was doing my work, I swear to god I didn't know I was positive.'

The men face $11,000 fines each and up to six months in jail.

The removalists, who work as third-party contractors for a large western Sydney firm, drove to Figtree near Wollongong on Thursday for a job.

Their employer Aram Yousif then told them they must get tested for Covid-19 under new restrictions brought in by the NSW government.

The new measures require 'essential workers' from Fairfield, Liverpool and the Canterbury-Bankstown areas to undergo regular tests if they are to leave their Local Government Areas - now the epicente of Sydney's outbreak which has climbed to 1,242 infections.

After getting tests under these rules, workers only need to isolate if they have symptoms, something all of the men say they didn't experience.

Having got their tests, the removalists left Sydney again at 4am the following day, driving down the M4 from West Hoxton to Molong, stopping at South Bowenfels and Orange.

The map shows were the men travelled to while they were infected with coronavirus

The removalist were escorted back to Sydney and have been told to isolate for 14 days, and have been issued Court Attendance Notices for their alleged breach of public health orders (stock)

At 9.36am Roni Shawka's phone rang, but with the language barrier proving challenging, he told the NSW Health worker to contact his boss Mr Yousif.

Mr Yousif received the call which instructed him to tell Roni he needed to isolate in the cabin of their removal truck.

He claims there was no mention about what should happen to the other men, who were not showing any symptoms.

'These guys have not broken any rules. We just followed the instructions, we have not done anything wrong by the public  but whatever a court decides we will accept,' he said.

Shortly after they left the job in regional NSW, Ramsin Shawka and Maryo Shanki also returned returned positive tests.

Roni Shawka and Ramsin Shawka (pictured with family) moved to Australia from Iraq and live in Sydney's west

At this point, NSW Health ordered a police escort to usher the group back to western Sydney.

In the last 24 hours police have attended just over 1,325 Covid-related jobs, with about 860 of those were reports from members of the community to Crime Stoppers.

In total, 240 fines were handed out with 53 of those $200 infringements for failing to wear a fitted face covering.

A further 23 people were charged with failing to comply with Public Health Orders.

Huge car queues are seen at a Covid testing clinic in Sydney's Fairfield West on Sunday as cases in the south-west continue to surge

A medical worker tests a driver at a 24-hour Covid-19 testing clinic in Fairfield West on Sunday, with the city's south-west having become the outbreak's epicentre

'This highlights that police are responding to the widespread concerns being raised by the community about breaches of the health orders,' Metropolitan Field Operations Deputy Commissioner Malcolm said.

'Clearly, no one wants to be living with these restrictions, but the best chance we have of getting out of this situation is if we all pull together to do our bit to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community.'

The fourth man has returned a negative result and has not been charged.
A father and daughter whose yacht capsized after being hit by a freak wave have revealed how they survived for hours in freezing temperatures and wild swells.

Glenn Anderson, 41, and his 11-year-old daughter Ruby were enjoying the holiday of a lifetime after setting sail on a 1,200km journey on the Western Australian coast in May.

The pair - along with three other crew members - had planned to sail north along the coastline from Rottnest Island to Sandy Cape but got into trouble near Jurien Bay.

A freak wave in 40 knot winds suddenly overpowered the 11.4m yacht, throwing the vessel sideways and forcing the entire crew to abandon the sinking ship.

After surviving for four hours in the ocean alone having become separated from their crewmates, the father and daughter were only saved after a rescuer become ill and had to go back to the shore - running into the pair on the way.

If they rescuer hadn't got sick in the intense swells, lifesavers are convinced they would never have found the pair in that stretch of water.

Glenn Anderson and his 11-year-old daughter Ruby (pictured) have revealed how they survived for hours in freezing temperatures and wild swell after their yacht was hit by a freak wave

The pair - along with three other crew members - had set sail on a 1,200km trip along the coast from Rottnest Island to Sandy Cape but got into trouble just north of Jurien Bay, WA

Speaking of the moment he knew he'd lost control of the boat, Mr Anderson recalls seeing huge waves break out at sea - coming directly towards them.

'It picked us up and we were facing down this wave, there was too much speed and power and it threw the boat sideways again', he told 60 Minutes.

'I knew I wasn't in control of the situation at that point and next thing we're in the water.'

Mr Anderson sustained a deep gash to his forehead during the fall while Ruby broke her left leg in two places after being thrown from the cockpit into the rough swell.

Luckily, the crew were able to secure life jackets and their emergency radio beacon during their tumble into the rough swell.

It took less than five minutes for the yacht to sink, with Ruby's nine-month-old puppy Banjo tragically taken down with the vessel.

The group decided to separate after activating the IPERB, a decision Mr Anderson later came to regret after four agonising hours of treading in freezing water.

Mr Anderson sustained a deep gash to his forehead during the fall while Ruby broke her left leg in two places after being thrown from the cockpit into the rough swell

It took less than five minutes for the yacht to sink, with Ruby's nine-month-old puppy Banjo (pictured) tragically taken down with the vessel

The brave father towed his daughter for 5km while desperately trying to keep her head above the water.

'I did what any parent would do in that situation and tried to keep my child alive', he said, adding that encouraging his daughter had helped him remain strong.

Meanwhile, Ruby was becoming hypothermic in the freezing temperatures, with her dad quickly noticing her purpled fingernails and progressively slurred speech.

'He kept saying to me "you're ok, we're going to make it",' Ruby said.

The experienced sailor held his daughter tightly throughout the ordeal and instructed her on when she needed to hold her breath under the breaking waves.

Mr Anderson's crew members - a 32-year-old man and two women aged 32 and 35 - were rescued first just before 2pm, two-and-a-half hours after the wave hit the boat.

It was another hour before Mr Anderson and his daughter were rescued by a fisheries vessel who picked them up just 200 metres from the shore.

Mr Anderson towed his daughter (pictured) for 5km while instructing her when to duck under the unrelenting breaking waves

Wayne (pictured), one of the rescuers onboard the fisheries vessel that saved Mr Anderson and his daughter's life said their survival had been 'a miracle'

Wayne, one of the rescuers onboard, revealed it had been a sheer stroke of luck that his crew had even spotted the pair, who had just been 'two tiny dots' on the horizon.

His boat had been forced to abandon the search after a crew member was severely seasick, locating the exhausted father and daughter on their way to shore - going in a direction they shouldn't have been heading in.

'We wouldn't have found them,' Wayne said.

'We were heading in because one of my boys was very sick. It's amazing.

'It was a miracle I reckon. For him to hold that little girl up for so long and swim so far is quite incredible.'

Mr Anderson described his immense relief at seeing the boat and realising his injured daughter would soon receive the treatment she needed.

He said Ruby was barely able to speak to her rescuers, with paramedics struggling to get a temperature reading from her finger due to a complete lack of circulation.

'They said I looked like a corpse when they pulled me out of the water,' Ruby said, who was quickly transported to the Perth Children's Hospital.

Jurien Bay police, an Australian Maritime Safety Authority jet and the RAC Rescue helicopter (pictured) were involved in the rescue efforts

Maritime authorities said the crew's use of life-jackets and the emergency beacon had been crucial in their miraculous return to shore

Jurien Bay police, an Australian Maritime Safety Authority jet and the RAC Rescue helicopter were involved in the rescue efforts.

Maritime authorities said the crew's use of life-jackets and the emergency beacon had been crucial in their safe return to shore.

Glenn has passed on his thanks to the first responders who saved his and his daughter's lives and was recently reunited with Wayne and his crew.

'It was the relief when I could say to Ruby, this is our boat, we're getting on to this one', he gratefully told his rescuers.

'That's when I knew we were definitely going to be okay.'
France has announced that visitors from the UK must have proof of a negative Covid test in the past 24 hours if they haven't been vaccinated.

Along with UK visitors, tourists from Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and the Netherlands, will have to take a Covid test the day before travelling to France.

Prime Minister Jean Castex made the announcement, which is a crackdown on the country's previous rule on UK visitors needing a negative test within the past 48 hours, yesterday.

But the rule only applies to those who haven't been double-jabbed with a vaccine recognised by the European Medicins Agency - Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson.

Meanwhile, the UK Government is set to lift the 10-day home quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated Britons returning from Amber List countries from tomorrow.

But in an unexpected twist, the Department for Transport announced on Friday night that the rule will not apply to France.

France, which has a significantly lower case rate than the UK, retaliated last night by tightening its Covid restrictions for those entering from Britain.

And although the country has a lower case rate than the UK, there has been an increase from 1,874 on June 26 to 5,811 on Friday.

President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that vaccine passports would be needed for entry to most public places and that all healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated or they could face consequences.

Prime Minister Jean Castex (pictured) made the announcement, which is a crackdown on the country's previous rule on UK visitors needing a negative test within the past 48 hours, yesterday

President Emmanuel Macron (right) recently announced that vaccine passports would be needed for entry to most public places and that all healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated or they could face consequences

Roughly half of France's population, 35.5million people, has received at least one vaccine.

Speaking about possible changes to the UK's amber lists, Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told i: 'It is now known as an amber plus list, whether they like it or not.

'France is one of the big three countries we visit each year and I think the concern is the Government will be looking at Spain and Greece and potentially add those to the amber plus category.

'I think we may see further changes as countries see higher infection rates.'
Five Woolworths supermarkets, a Coles and a ritzy apartment building have been declared Covid exposure sites, as Sydney's long list of flagged venues continues to spiral.

There were 28 venues and three busy public transport routes added by New South Wales Health late on Sunday night, with most alerts issued for Covid-ravaged suburbs in south-west Sydney.

It comes as NSW braces for another day of triple digit daily cases after 105 new locally acquired infections were reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of transmissions to 1,242 since the outbreak began on June 16.

In just the past month, Sydney has recorded more cases than it did during the entire first wave of coronavirus last year.

Both the hotel and residential section of the Parramatta Skye Suites Apartments (pictured) were declared exposure sites

In just the past month, Sydney has recorded more cases than it did during the entire first wave of coronavirus last year (pictured, locals in the city's Centennial Park on Sunday)

The public health alert for the Skye apartment building was issued for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Latest NSW Covid exposure sites Anyone who attended the following venues on the times listed is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. Fairfield: Rugs 4 Style Fairfield Forum Shopping Centre, Shop 14B, 8-36 Station St. Tuesday 13 July 11.15am  11.25am Fairfield: Coles Fairfield Forum Shopping Centre, 8-36 Station St. Tuesday 13 July 11.20am  11.45am Fairfield: Fairfield Forum Pharmacy Fairfield Forum Shopping Centre, Shop 14B, 8-36 Station St. Tuesday 13 July 11.45am  11.50am Fairfield: Sinbad Market 4/35 Spencer St. Tuesday 13 July 12pm  2.30pm South Bowenfels: Shell Coles Express Lithgow Lot 1 Great Western Highway (Corner Rydal Rd). Friday 16 July 6.20am  6.40am Pendle Hill: Pendle Hill Medical Centre 113A Pendle Way. Friday 16 July 9am  9.30am Lakemba: Afghan Sufra Lakemba 122 Haldon St. Saturday 17 July 2.50pm  3.15pm Anyone who travelled on the following bus routes at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. Campbelltown to Campbelltown 888-2 Bus From Market Fair to Campbelltown Station Monday 12 July Departed 5.23pm  arrived 5.27pm Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. Fairfield: Fairfield Forum Bakery 8/36 Station St. Friday 9 July 4pm  4.40pm Fairfield: Fairfield Lucky Bakery 4 Station St. Friday 9 July 4pm  4.40pm Green Valley: Woolworths 187 Wilson Rd. Saturday 10 July 10am  10.35am Fairfield Heights: Woolworths 186 The Boulevarde. Saturday 10 July 5.20pm  6pm. Tuesday 13 July 11.40am  12pm Carnes Hill: Woolworths 245 Cowpasture Rd. Monday 12 July 9.40am  10.10am Fairfield: Woolworths Neeta City Shopping Centre, 1/29 Court Road. Monday 12 July 1.45pm  2.15pm. Wednesday 14 July 1.10pm  1.40pm. Friday 16 July 2pm  2.30pm Fairfield Heights: Boulevarde Pharmacy 176 The Boulevarde. Monday 12 July 6.45pm  7.30pm Liverpool: Aldi 82 Hoxton Park Rd. Tuesday 13 July 12pm  2.30pm Fairfield Heights: Masters Fruitmania at Fairfield Forum 8-36 Station St. Wednesday 14 July 12.10pm  1.15pm Parramatta: Skye Suites Apartments (Hotel Section) 30 Hunter St. Wednesday 14 July 5pm  12am. Thursday 15 July All day. Friday 16 July all day. Saturday 17 July 12am to 8.30pm Fairfield: Chemist Warehouse 8 Kenyon St. Thursday 15 July 1.30pm  2.30pm Wetherill Park: Chemistworks Shop MM05 561-583 Polding St. Thursday 15 July 3pm  3.30pm Fairfield: EB Games Shop G24 Neeta City, 1 Court Rd. Friday 16 July 3.30pm  4.30pm Homebush West: Paddy's Market Flemington Building D/250-318 Parramatta Road. Friday 16 July All day NSW Health wishes to advise of additional dates and/or times for previously announced venues of concern. Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. Fairfield: Kmart Fairfield Forum 8/36 Station St. Friday 9 July 3.45pm  3.55pm Fairfield: Fairfield Forum Pharmacy 8/36 Station Street. Friday 9 July 3.55pm  4.10pm Fairfield: Fruitmania at Fairfield Forum 8/36 Station Street. Friday 9 July 4pm  4.40pm Anyone who travelled on the following train routes at the listed times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received. T8 Line From Glenfield Station (Platform 4) To Macarthur Station (Platform 1) Monday 12 July Departed 8.19am Arrived 8.44am T8 Line From Campbelltown Station (Platform 2) To Glenfield Station (Platform 1) Monday 12 July Departed 5.27pm Arrived 5.50pm Anyone who attended the following venues at the listed days/times should monitor for symptoms, and if they appear, immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received. Crows Nest: Woolworths 10 Falcon St. Saturday 10 July 11.15am  12.30pm. Tuesday 13 July 10.15am  11.30am Parramatta: Skye Suites Apartments (Residential Section) 30 Hunter St. Wednesday 14 July 5pm  12am. Thursday 15 July All day. Friday 16 July All day. Saturday 17 July 12am to 8.30pm Little Bay: The Green Olive Cafe Shop 3/1-9 Pine Ave. Thursday 15 July 8am  8.10am Homebush: Sydney Markets 250-318 Parramatta Road. Friday 16 July 5am  7.30am Advertisement

Both the hotel and residential section of the Parramatta Skye Suites Apartments were included in the late-night alerts, sending hundreds of residents into isolation.

Anyone who attended the hotel side of the apartment block on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday is considered a close contact and is urged to get tested and self isolate until they received a negative result.

Those on the residential side are on the same days are told to monitor their health and immediately get tested and isolate, if even the mildest symptoms appear.

Fairfield Coles at the Forum Shopping Centre has also been put on alert for anyone who visited on Tuesday July 13, between 11.20am to 11.45am.

USE DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA'S TRACKER TO FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU

Shoppers that attended during this time are considered close contacts and must immediately get tested and self isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

There were over a dozen public health alerts issued for the Fairfield area with Rugs 4 Style, Fairfield Forum Pharmacy and Sinbad Market all added to the growing list.

Meanwhile a staggering five Woolworth supermarkets were also declared exposure sites, including one on Sydney's Lower North Shore.

Anyone who attended Crows Nest Woolworths on Saturday July 10 between 11.15am and 12.30pm, and again on Tuesday July 13 from 10.15am to 11.30am, is considered a casual contact.

The other Woolworths stores flagged include supermarkets at Green Valley, Fairfield Heights, Carnes Hill Woolworths and Fairfield.

Fairfield Coles (pictured) was added to the growing list of Sydney's Covid exposure sites

Woolworths in Fairfield heights (pictured) was among five Woolworths supermarkets flagged by NSW Health

Of the new cases reported on Sunday, 66 are linked to a known case or cluster with 55 household contacts and 11 close contacts.

There are 39 further cases that still remain under investigation.

'Sixty-nine cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and seven cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period,' NSW Health said.

'Twenty-seven cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of two cases remains under investigation.'

Sunday's figures also included the death of a woman in her 90s from southeast Sydney who sadly succumbed to the virus on Saturday.

'There are currently 76 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 18 people in intensive care, seven of whom require ventilation,' NSW Health said.

A graph of all the new cases over the last week and the updated daily averages illustrates that infections are still on the rise

There were 1,233 cases in Sydney's first Covid outbreak between March and May, including the passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship. Cases in this outbreak has now surpassed that (pictured, testing in Fairfield West on Sunday)

Sydney is now suffering through its biggest Covid outbreak of the entire pandemic with more cases in a month than the entire first wave.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly warned the Indian Delta variant of the virus posed the greatest threat the state has faced thus far.

She again warned 'this strain is unlike anything we've ever seen' just 24 hours after admitting she 'can't remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent'.

NSW spent six weeks in lockdown from mid-March 2020 along with the rest of the nation as the federal government drew up a plan to stop the virus nation wide.

The state faced several Covid crises, from the Ruby Princess outbreak to cases spreading from the Crossroads Hotel in Casula and most recently a cluster in the Northern Beaches, which forced all residents north of the Spit Bridge into lockdown.

In total, NSW has recorded 6,833 Covid cases across the entire 18 months the virus has been a threat, including those acquired overseas.

But 1,242 of those cases were recorded in just four short weeks since the current cluster was first reported on June 16.

In contrast, there were 1,233 cases in Sydney's first Covid outbreak between February and May, including the passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

The first wave ended on May 25 when NSW's run of zero transmission days began, and ended on June 5 when a truck driver started an outbreak visiting the Crossroads Hotel in Casula on a run from virus-plagued Melbourne.

Between June and November 2020, 625 NSW residents caught the virus locally as that outbreak bubbled away but was contained without harsh restrictions.

While the virus initially spread from Bondi and Sydney's east, the southwest is now considered the epicenter of the virus (pictured, preparing for a sunrise swim in Manly on Sunday)

Most concerning for authorities is the difficulty they're having in dragging the curve down as they beg Sydneysiders to comply with regulations (pictured, Sydneysiders over the weekend)

During the Northern Beaches cluster of late 2020 to early 2021, 151 cases were officially linked to the initial source of infection, but over that period of time, 226 people across the state were infected.

Those numbers are well below the 1,242 already identified in the last four weeks - and the outbreak is still on the rise.

The virus initially spread from Bondi and Sydney's east, but the southwest is now considered the epicentre of the virus.

Of the 105 cases reported on Sunday, 79 were diagnosed in the local government areas of Fairfield, Liverpool or Canterbury.

Most concerning for authorities is the difficulty they're having in dragging the curve down.

A graph of all the new cases over the past seven days and the updated daily averages illustrates that infections are still gradually increasing - albeit slower than two weeks ago.

The number of new daily cases appeared to peak on July 12 at 112 when infections hovered between 65 and 97 in the four days to follow.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly warned the Delta variant of the virus poses the greatest threat we've faced thus far

But hopes were dashed on Saturday when the state recorded 111 cases - followed by a second consecutive day of triple figures with 105 new diagnoses on Sunday.

Ms Berejiklian repeatedly said numbers would continue to 'bounce around' as contact tracers work to stay on top of the virus' spread.

With the daily average increasing by about 10 each day over the last week alone, it's clear authorities are struggling to keep up.

Less than a week ago on July 10, the daily average was 32.5 new cases.

But in just six days, that number has more than doubled to 83.8 new cases by Friday. Average cases appear to be trending up by about 10 each day.

As of Sunday, the daily average case number is 96.5.
The invasive Asian carp species will be renamed due to the term's 'horrible, xenophobic connotations' in the wake of a surge of anti-Asian hate crimes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now joined state agencies in Minnesota in referring to the species as 'invasive carp', despite critics ridiculing the move as misplaced political correctness.

Officials claimed that calling the fish 'Asian' and advocating their culling had xenophobic connotations - but the move sparked mockery on Twitter where users pointed out that the term referred to where the fish were originally imported from.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now joined state agencies in Minnesota in referring to Asian carp (pictured) as 'invasive carp'

The move sparked mockery on Twitter where users pointed out that the term referred to where the fish were originally imported from

'This could be referring to Asian people as being an invasive species, which is just a horrible connotation,' said Charlie Wooley, director of its Great Lakes regional office.

'We wanted to move away from any terms that cast Asian culture and people in a negative light.'

Twitter users ridiculed the move on Sunday.

'So we can't say #AsianCarp anymore because it's xenophobic & people might get the wrong idea, think Asians are aggressively invasive & need their population controlled, like the #fish?' one tweeted.

'They're refered to as that because that's where we imported em from, not because we're racist.'

Another wrote: 'One of THE dumbest things I've ever heard. Asian carp are called "Asian Carp" because they originated IN ASIA.

'This is not a racist thing. Burmese pythons? Native to Burma. Florida alligators? Native to Florida.

'Instead of changing the names of animal species STOP THE HATE.'

Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj was never a fan of the 'Asian carp' label commonly applied to four imported fish species that are wreaking havoc in the U.S. heartland, infesting numerous rivers and bearing down on the Great Lakes.

But the last straw came when an Asian business delegation arriving at the Minneapolis airport encountered a sign reading 'Kill Asian Carp.'

How Asian carp got their name The four species described collectively as Asian carp - bighead, silver, grass and black carp - were brought from China a half-century ago to rid Southern sewage and aquaculture ponds of algae, weeds and parasites. They escaped into the wild and have migrated up the Mississippi and other major rivers. The Great Lakes and their $7 billion sport fishery are vulnerable. Voracious and aggressive, silver and bighead gobble plankton that other fish need. Grass carp munch ecologically valuable wetland plants, and black carp feast on mussels and snails. Silvers can also hurtle from the water like missiles, causing nasty collisions with boaters. Advertisement

Hawj and fellow Sen. John Hoffman in 2014 won approval of a measure requiring that Minnesota agencies refer to the fish as 'invasive carp,' despite backlash from the late radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, who ridiculed it as political correctness.

'I had more hate mail than you could shake a stick at,' Hoffman said.

Now some other government agencies are taking the same step in the wake of anti-Asian hate crimes that surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service quietly changed its designation to 'invasive carp' in April.

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, representing agencies in the U.S. and Canada that are trying to contain the carp, will do likewise Aug. 2, he said.

The moves come as other wildlife organizations consider revising names that some consider offensive, including the Entomological Society of America, which this month dropped 'gypsy moth' and 'gypsy ant' from its insect list.

Yet the switch to 'invasive carp' might not be the final say.

As experts and policymakers have learned in their long struggle against the prolific and wily fish, almost nothing about them is simple.

Scientists, technical journals, government agencies, language style guides, restaurants and grocery stores may have ideas about what to call them, based on differing motives - including getting more people to eat the critters.

That's a priority for researchers who have spent years developing technologies to stem the incursion - from underwater noisemakers and electric currents to netting operations.

But the dish hasn't caught on with U.S. consumers, despite its popularity in much of the world.

'This could be referring to Asian people as being an invasive species, which is just a horrible connotation,' said Charlie Wooley, director of its Great Lakes regional office (pic)

For many Americans, 'carp' calls to mind the common carp, a bottom-feeder with a reputation for a 'muddy' flavor and bony flesh.

'It's a four-letter word in this country,' said Kevin Irons, assistant fisheries chief with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The four species described collectively as Asian carp - bighead, silver, grass and black carp - were brought from China a half-century ago to rid Southern sewage and aquaculture ponds of algae, weeds and parasites.

They escaped into the wild and have migrated up the Mississippi and other major rivers. The Great Lakes and their $7 billion sport fishery are vulnerable.

Voracious and aggressive, silver and bighead gobble plankton that other fish need. Grass carp munch ecologically valuable wetland plants, and black carp feast on mussels and snails.

Silvers can also hurtle from the water like missiles, causing nasty collisions with boaters.

So far they've been netted mostly for bait, pet food and a few other uses. Philippe Parola, a Louisiana chef, trademarked the label 'silverfin' for Asian carp fishcakes he developed around 2009.

The state of Illinois and partner organizations hope a splashy media campaign in the works will get bigger results. Dubbed 'The Perfect Catch,' it will describe Asian carp as 'sustainably wild, surprisingly delicious' - high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, low in mercury and other contaminants.

Officials claimed that calling the fish 'Asian' and advocating their culling had xenophobic connotations

And it will give the fish a market-tested new name, which will remain secret until the makeover rollout, Irons said. A date hasn't been announced.

'We hope it will be new and refreshing and better represent these fish for consumers,' he said.

The goal is to spur interest all along the chain - from commercial netters to processors, grocery stores and restaurants.

The tactic has worked before. After the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service rechristened 'slimehead' as 'orange roughy' in the late 1970s, demand for the deep-sea dweller rose so sharply that some stocks were depleted.

Chilean sea bass, another cold-water favorite, once was known less appealingly as 'Patagonian toothfish.'

But what new label for Asian carp will be considered official - 'invasive carp,' which has been criticized as imprecise, or whatever the marketing blitz comes up with?

It could be either. Or neither.

The rebranding campaign will seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to use the new moniker for interstate commerce. But even if the FDA goes along and consumers buy in, scientists are another matter.

The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the American Fisheries Society have a committee that lists fish titles, including scientific names in Latin and common ones thought up by people 'who originally described the species or included them in a field guide or other reference,' said panel chairman Larry Page, curator of fishes at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Fishermen are encouraged to net Asian carp in a bid to reduce their numbers and safeguard waterways

For example, there's 'Micropterus salmoides,' which became known as largemouth bass, and 'Oncorhynchus mykiss,' or rainbow trout.

The committee has never adopted 'Asian carp' as a term for the four invasive species, Page said.

So where did it come from? According to a paper in the journal Fisheries, the label began showing up in scientific literature in the mid-1990s and took hold in the early 2000s as worries about the fish grew.

It was never a good idea, said Patrick Kocovsky, a fish ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and one of the paper's authors, because the species affect the environment in different ways.

Song Qian, a University of Toledo environmental sciences professor who teamed with Kocovsky on the article, said carp is a valued protein source in many Asian nations. It's a good-luck symbol in his native China.

'If you say it's invasive, bad and needs to be eradicated, even though it's because of miscommunication, that's why there's talk about cultural insensitivity,' Qian said.

It's most accurate to refer to the fish species individually, he said, acknowledging a collective name is sometimes convenient. The challenge now is finding the right one.

Regardless of which one eventually sticks, said Hawj, the Minnesota legislator, who immigrated to the U.S. from Laos as a child refugee after the Vietnam War, he's glad 'Asian carp' is on its way out.

He recalled the warm applause he received at an Asian-American conference after announcing his state had made the change.

'It's a nuisance, a small thing, but it can resonate greatly,' he said.
Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held an impromptu protest in Southern California on Saturday after a third venue canceled their 'America First' rally just hours before they were set to take stage.

As an alternative to the rally, the duo convened a 'Free Speech Peaceful Protest' with about 100 supporters outside the Riverside City Hall.

Gaetz, who represents Florida's 1st congressional district, warned conservatives are getting ready to fight in the streets for their First Amendment rights.

Later Saturday night, Greene posted a video of her and Gaetz walking barefoot on the beach where they were also surrounded by an entourage of supporters holding signs, cheering and yelling 'Freedom' and 'We love you!'

'[Matt Gaetz] and I are proud to fight for America in the halls of Congress,' Greene tweeted just after 11 p.m. pacific time on Saturday. 'Thank you, Southern California for showing up even though the communists tried to cancel us!!'

The protest in Riverside, a city about 55 miles east of Los Angeles, came after a third California venue canceled Greene and Gaetz's rally.

Conservative Representatives Matt Gaetz (right) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) held an impromptu protest outside Riverside City Hall on Saturday after a third Southern California venue canceled their 'America First' rally

'They may try to cancel us online, they may try to pursue us in real life, they may try to shut down our venues, but we will take this fight to them in the courts, in the halls of Congress and, if necessary, in the streets,' Gaetz yelled to a crowd of about 100 supporters

The city of Anaheim announced Saturday morning that the venue, Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center, had to cancel the events only 10 hours before it's start time.

The cancelation, the city said, was due to concerns over safety, especially amid rising cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant, but more importantly it was nixed due to the 'divisiveness' of the two far-right lawmakers.

The venue's general manager Javad Mirtavoosi told the Orange County Register on Friday that when the event was first booked the center just expected it to be a 'gathering.'

'As soon as we found out who the speakers were we immediately canceled it,' Mirtavoosi said.

'We just thought it would be best for our facility to cancel,' he added. 'We just want to stay clear of that.'

Greene has been bashed for backing Q-Anon conspiracy theories before and during her time in Congress and was stripped of her committee assignments in February after endorsing these theories. Gaetz is embattled himself as he faces an investigation into whether he sexually trafficked a minor by allegedly paying a 17-year-old for sex.

The two lawmakers from Florida and Georgia are also staunch supporters and allies of former President Donald Trump. They frequently tout his claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen and rigged due to widespread voter fraud made possible by the circumstances surrounding the election in the midst of the pandemic  including expanded mail-in voting.

Greene, of Georgia, also posted a video of her and Gaetz, of Florida, walking barefoot on a Southern California beach on Saturday evening

Supporters gathered on the beach as Greene and Gaetz walked on the sand, they were holding signs and yelling 'Freedom!' and 'We love you!' to the lawmakers

After the third venue canceled the rally, which is part of Gaetz and Greene's cross-country 'America First' tour, the two blamed cancel culture and attempts to suppress conserative voices.

'They may try to cancel us online, they may try to pursue us in real life, they may try to shut down our venues, but we will take this fight to them in the courts, in the halls of Congress and, if necessary, in the streets,' Gaetz screamed into a microphone during the demonstration outside Riverside City Hall.

He also likened leftist progressive thought in America to the violent clashes between protestors in Cuba with their socialist unitarian government.

'I know many of us are concerned about what is happening in Cuba, but I am far more concerned that the United States is becoming Cuba,' Gaetz said as Greene stood by his side.

'Do you know why they're so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene?' he questioned the crowd. 'Because we fight for you, not them.'

Green assured during the protest: 'We won't back down.'

'And here's what we're going to do, America,' the Georgia congresswoman continued. 'You've got two members of Congress right here, and we refuse to be canceled because we won't let you be canceled.'
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Russia flexed its naval muscles Sunday in its second rehearsal of the huge Main Naval Parade, set to take place in St Petersburg next week.

The annual event is a national holiday celebrated on the last Sunday of July and sees the superpower show off its latest state-of-the-art warships, weaponry and aircraft.

Typically, a two-hour procession sees the battleships sail along the Neva River in St.Petersburg and the Port of Kronstadt.

Submarines, missile ships and minesweepers - along with fighter jets - were all seen taking part in rehearsals in the Gulf of Finland today.

Navy Day, which will be held on July 25 this year, was previously cancelled by the Soviet Union in 1980 before being brought back by President Vladimir Putin in 2017.

Warships and marine air force units will join the procession from the Baltic, Black Sea, Northern and Pacific Fleets as well as the Caspian Flotilla, while naval bases across the country will put on similar displays.

The Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship takes part in a rehearsal for Russia's Navy Day military parade in St.Petersburg

A small missile ship named Zelyony Dol is one of dozens which took part in the Navy Day rehearsal on Sunday

The Zelyony Dol missile ship (left) and the Alexander Obukhov minesweeper sail down the Neva River in St. Petersburg in a practice run for next week's big event

A military band in green uniforms and filled with trumpets performs during a rehearsal for Russia's Navy Day in the Gulf of Finland

Six warships are pictured as they take part in the Russian Navy Day military parade rehearsal on Sunday, a week before the real event

An armada of warships have been spotted in the Gulf of Finland as military leaders test their speed and agility ahead of next week's parade

A band member blows his saxophone during rehearsal for Russia's Navy Day while four fighter pilots fly overhead

A band member reads his sheet music while blasting his trumpet in St Petersburg on Sunday, in a practice run for a huge military parade on July 25

The Marshal Ustinov cruiser was pictured rehearsing for Navy Day in the Gulf of Finland as dozens of sailors stood proud around its perimeter

Drummers, trombone players and musicians formed part of the band rehearsal on Sunday as a Volkhov submarine cruised past in the Gulf of Finland

The band practiced the set it will be playing in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the military parade next Sunday

Putin will also hold a separate ceremony on Senate Square, involving Russian military bands and honour guards.

They will raise the Russian flag before Putin addresses the nation, followed by the firing of a 21-gun salute.

The large-scale event has at least two practice days in the weeks prior.

Last Wednesday, Russian warships lined up in the Gulf of Finland for their first rehearsal.

Russia's Defence Ministry said: 'The first rehearsal of the parade formation of the ships that will participate in the Main Naval Parade in the Neva River took place in the Gulf of Finland.

A submarine slowly emerges from the waters of the Gulf of Finland, while another four linger in the background

A military band member blows on his trumpet during rehearsals for Russia's Navy Day, set to take place on July 25

The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky submarine emerges from the depths of the Gulf of Finland in a practice run for Navy Day in St Petersburg

The Marshal Ustinov cruiser shows off its serious fire power as dozens of sailors stand to attention on its decks

The anti-submarine corvette Urengoy passes through the Gulf of Finland as its sailors stand tall next to its lethal weaponry

The Marshal Ustinov cruiser is followed by another boat and two smaller submarines during Sunday's test run

Fighter pilots hover above a military band member during rehearsals for next Sunday's military parade

Navy men salute as the Krasnodar Varshavyanka diesel-electric submarine takes part in Navy Day rehearsals

The small missile ship Geyzer, equipped with sophisticated missile launchers, was also pictured in the Gulf of Finland practice run Sunday

This anti-submarine corvette Urengoy will be one of dozens of warships paraded through St. Petersburg next week, under the watchful eye of Putin

As the band practice their notes for next week's big day, the Pyotr Morgunov landing ship can be seen sailing by in the distance

Military band performs during a rehearsal as a convoy of warships cruise past them in Kronshtadt, St. Petersburg

Marshal Ustinov cruiser is lined with sailors during a rehearsal for Navy Day in Kronshtadt, St. Petersburg on Sunday

The Marshal Ustinov cruiser seen after the Russian Navy Day military parade rehearsals in Gulf of Finland

'Ships and boats of various classes assigned for the Neva component of the Main Naval Parade practiced moving at the designated speed as part of the parade formation's tactical groups and organising communications while on the move.'

The rehearsal involved mine countermeasure ships Aleksandr Obukhov and Pavel Khrenov, the missile corvettes Odintsovo and Zelyony Dol, Raptor patrol boats, and a Grachyonok-class anti-saboteur craft.

The Main Naval Parade on July 25 will mark the Fleet's 325th anniversary.

Similar parades will also take place in Severomorsk, Baltiysk, Sevastopol, Kaspiysk, Vladivostok, and Tartus (Syria).
Mary Albrecht, 78, was killed Friday afternoon after she was run over and dragged 100 feet in a hospital parking structure

A North Carolina woman was killed Friday afternoon after she was dragged 100 feet underneath a car in a hospital parking structure.

Raleigh police said that at 3.15pm, Mary Albrecht, 78, of Angiers was walking to her car parked in a handicapped spot on the first floor of the Duke Raleigh Hospital parking structure.

She was about 50 feet away from her car, police said, when she tripped and fell on a speed bump and fell onto her back.

As she lay on the ground, authorities said a car, driving at a speed of around 10 miles per hour, was coming down the ramp from the second floor of the parking structure, and was turning to head down the first-floor ramp, when he ran over the speed bump and Albrecht simultaneously.

Police said Albrecht had fallen down after tripping over a speed bump in the Duke Raleigh Hospital parking structure (pictured). Just as she fell, a car turned to head down the first-floor ramp and hit her as she lay on the ground

Police would not say whether the driver would face charges, but said they did not suspect drugs or alcohol were involved

Albrecht was dragged 100 feet before finally coming to a stop, the North Carolina News & Observer reported.

Police said the unnamed driver was a man from Knightdale, and was likely unable to see Albrecht on the ground past his car and past visual obstructions in the parking structure.

Authorities said they didn't suspect drugs or alcohol to be a factor in the fatal accident, but would not say whether the driver would be charged as the investigation into Albrecht's death was ongoing.
Up to 100 migrants were brought ashore by Border Force officers today after they took advantage of the calmer waters to cross the English Channel.

Emergency teams intercepted around seven boats earlier this morning before the group of migrants, many of whom were men, were brought into the port of Dover in Kent.

The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many made the 21-mile crossing today but more than 7,400 migrants have made the dangerous Channel dash to reach the UK by small boat so far this year, according to official figures.

The scenes come as the UK saw temperatures reach as high as 91F today on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.

A group of migrants are brought ashore by Border Force officers today as temperatures rise in the UK

Up to 100 migrants are estimated to have made the crossing across the Channel before arriving to the port of Dover in Kent

Migrants in life jackets are brought ashore by Border Force officers as they arrive to Dover this morning

This week figures showed the total number of migrants to have been detained by Border Force so far this year reached 7,478, less than 1,000 short of the 8,410 who arrived last year.

But the number is expected to rise with more warm weather forecast in the days and weeks ahead which will make crossings easier.

Last Sunday, 346 people were detained by Border Force Officers in 15 inflatables - the largest number to arrive in a single day so far this year. And on Monday a further 254 migrants were picked up in nine separate incidents.

Among those making the treacherous crossing was a young girl wearing a pink rain jacket over her life jacket and a woman, believed to be her mother.

It came after a dramatic rescue was launched last Sunday after two people fell off a rigid hulled inflatable boat and into the freezing cold sea.

An RNLI inshore lifeboat had to be launched to save them and fortunately they were both wearing lifejackets.

The voluntary crew of the Ramsgate lifeboat towed the drifting rib, packed with around 20 migrants, into Ramsgate harbour in Kent where Border Force officers were waiting for them.

Following the incident, an RNLI spokesman said: 'The Ramsgate inshore lifeboat launched at 10.10am this morning following reports that there were two people in the water.

'Two people, who were wearing lifejackets, were rescued from the water and the rib, from which the casualties had fallen, was towed into Ramsgate and the relevant authorities informed.'

In another incident, pictures posted on social media showed around 15-20 migrants apparently coming ashore near Folkestone, Kent after arriving on an inflatable last week.

A group of migrants arrive to the Kent coast after crossing the world's busiest shipping route today

Migrants arrive to Dover in Kent today after making the treacherous journey across the English Channel

Border Force officials escort migrants as they arrive to Dover in Kent this morning

The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many made the 21-mile crossing today

Groups of people in life jackers are brought ashore my rescue teams after making the perilous crossing today

A group of migrants are brought into the port at Dover this morning as the nation sees temperatures rise

Border Force officers escort migrants as they arrive to Dover in Kent this morning

A further 131 were intercepted by French authorities before they could reach British waters last Saturday.

It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel announced plans to make it a criminal offence for migrants to attempt to enter the UK without valid entry clearance this month.

The Borders Bill will attempt to deter illegal entry and crackdown on people smuggling gangs. It was introduced this month after June saw more migrants cross the Channel by small boat than in any month ever before.

The Government is also proposing to increase the tariff for people smugglers, with those found guilty facing life behind bars  up from the current maximum of 14 years.

Ms Patel said: 'The Nationality and Borders Bill contains vital measures to fix the UK's broken asylum system. Our new plan for immigration is fair but firm.

'We will welcome people through safe and legal routes whilst preventing abuse of the system, cracking down on illegal entry and the criminality associated with it.'

Border Force detained 2,179 people last month making the dangerous trip across the world's busiest shipping route in the world in 92 boats.

It surpassed the previously monthly record set last September when 1,954 arrived on UK shores.

A person arrives to the port in Dover, Kent, after crossing the English Channel earlier this morning

Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to announce plans to make it a criminal offence for migrants to attempt to enter the UK without valid entry clearance

Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O'Mahoney said: 'Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: 'We are seeing an unacceptable rise in dangerous and unnecessary small boat crossings.

'That's why we continue to target the criminal gangs who are responsible for these illegal crossings at every level. We have doubled the number of police officers on the ground in France, leading to more interception and arrests of those behind this cruel trade.

'But there is more to do, that's why our new plan for immigration will break the business model of these criminal gangs whilst welcoming people through safe and legal routes.'

MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for comment.
Four people are dead and two others are seriously injured after a horrendous car accident in Illinois split a car in half.

All six people were traveling in the same car when it lost control at 89th Street and 85th Court and hit a tree around 2:30pm on Saturday in the town of Hickory Hills, according to ABC News Chicago affiliate WLS.

'I have never seen anything like it,' witness Joanna Proszek told WLS of what she saw after the crash, which caused authorities to block off the area for most of the day on Saturday.

'I saw two bodies  one was behind the vehicle that was ripped apart, one was in between, and then the passenger was OK.'

Proszek told the outlet that one of the victims was a 14-year-old girl.

Four people are dead and two others seriously injured after a horrendous car accident in Illinois left one vehicle completely split in half

All six people were traveling in the same car when it lost control and hit a tree around 2:30pm on Saturday in the town of Hickory Hills

Proszek, a nearby resident, had heard the sounds of the horrifying crash and ran outside to help.

'It was bad, tragic. I think they just, like, started flying because there is a hill. So I am thinking they just revved up the engine and they just flew into the tree.'

As of Sunday, none of the victims have been publicly identified, however WLS reports that two people were pronounced dead at the scene and another two died after being taken to the hospital.

'I have never seen anything like it,' said a nearby resident who heard the crash and ran outside to help, before adding 'they just revved up the engine and they just flew into the tree'

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and another two died after being taken to the hospital

Police are investigating whether speeding played a possible roll in the deadly car wreck

Meanwhile, authorities say they are investigating whether speeding played a possible role in the fatal crash, which left the vehicle torn apart and split in half.

Photos taken by the news outlet shows the back half of a blueish-gray Mercedes SUV, with the rest of the extremely damaged vehicle nearby, airbags deployed and all.

The condition of the two occupants who survived the crash has yet to be disclosed as of Sunday.
An elderly nursing home resident is to appear before a juvenile court in Germany for her alleged role in the systematic murder of more than 11,400 inmates at a German concentration camp.

Irmgard Furchner, 96, was 18 when she worked as a secretary for the commander of Stutthof concentration camp between June 1943 and April 1945.

She is currently a resident at a nursing home in Quickborn, near the northern port city of Hamburg.

Furchner is due to stand trial at the Itzehoe Regional Court later this year. As has happened in the trials of some other former Nazi camp staff, Furchner will appear before a juvenile court because she was under 21 at the time of her alleged crimes so counted as a minor.

The Nazis murdered around 65,000 people in Stutthof and its subcamps, which were operational from September 2, 1939 until May, 9, 1945.

The use of gas chambers began in July 1944, while lethal injections were also used to kill inmates. The appalling conditions of the camp meant that many also died from starvation, exhaustion and disease.

Furchner is accused of aiding and abetting murder and attempted murder in 11,430 cases involving Jewish prisoners, Polish partisans and Soviet prisoners of war.

An elderly nursing home resident is to appear before a juvenile court in Germany for her alleged role in the systematic murder of more than 11,400 inmates at a German concentration camp. Irmgard Furchner, 96, was 18 when she worked as a secretary for the commander of Stutthof concentration camp (pictured in 2016) between June 1943 and April 1945, during which time some 11,430 inmates were killed

'In her function as a stenotypist and typist in the camp commandant's office of the former concentration camp Stutthof, she is alleged to have assisted those in charge of the camp in the systematic killing of those imprisoned there between June 1943 and April 1945,' the indictment from the Itzehoe public prosecutor's office reads.

Furchner has claimed she did not know people were being gassed at the camp, the BBC reported earlier this year.

Historian Janina Grabowska-Chalka, long-time director of the Stutthof Museum, described everyday life in the camp as brutal.

'In the Stutthof concentration camp, all prisoners, men, women and children, were obliged to work. Hard work that exceeded human strength determined the rhythm of life and death in the camp.

'Stutthof belonged to the camps where very hard living conditions prevailed,' she said.

Furchner, whose maiden name was Dirksen, was assigned to work as camp commandant Paul-Werner Hoppe's secretary at Stutthof from 1 June 1943 to April 1945 - shortly before the camp was liberated by the Red Army.

It was at the camp that Furchner met her future husband, the SS man Heinz Furchner.

Furchner has claimed she did not know people were being gassed at the camp, the BBC reported earlier this year. Pictured: A gas chamber at Stutthof

On 22 July 1944 SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Paul Maurer ordered that an unspecified number of prisoners be deported from Stutthof to Auschwitz for extermination.

Four days later, a list of prisoners to be transferred was written in the commandant's office at Stutthof.

At 6.05 p.m. on the same day, Hoppe gave confirmation by radio that the transport was on its way. The prosecution claims that this confirmation must have been typed by Furchner.

Prosecutors began investigating Furchner's SS record in 2019 and have interviewed Stutthof survivors now living in Israel, ARD reported.

In April this year, the International Auschwitz Committee, an association of Auschwitz survivors and their organisations, accused the German justice system of decades of failure with regard to Nazi criminals.

'The fact that this is only happening now is a failure and an oversight of the German justice system that has spanned decades' said the committee's vice-president Christoph Heubner.

'Knowing that the perpetrators from the camps could have lived their lives mostly unmolested and unthreatened, without having to account for their misdeeds before a German court, has burdened the survivors their whole lives.

'For the survivors, it seems almost bizarre that these trials are taking place at a time when neo-Nazis are now already calling for hatred again and glorifying what happened in the camps.'

The Nazis murdered around 65,000 people in Stutthof (pictured in 1946) and its subcamps, which were operational from September 2, 1939 until May, 9, 1945

The main hearing will begin on 30 September 2021.

In March, a German court declared a 96-year-old former Stutthof guard named as Harry S was unfit to stand trial on similar charges despite a 'high degree of probability' that he was guilty.

His physical condition meant that he was 'no longer able to reasonably represent his interests in and outside of the trial,' the district court in Wuppertal said.

Last year, a 93-year-old former Stutthof guard, Bruno Dey, was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for his complicity in mass murder.

Hoppe, the camp's former commandant, was sentenced to nine years in jail in 1957. He was released after serving his sentence and died in Germany 1974, aged 64.
An elderly couple who died in last months Surfside condo collapse were targeted by hackers who stole their identity and used it to open fraudulent credit card and bank accounts and withdraw cash on the day of their funeral.

Antonio Lozano, 83, and his wife Gladys, 79, were in bed just before 1:30am on June 24 inside Unit 903 of Champlain Towers South when the building collapsed.

The couple was just a month shy of celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary. They had been together for 68 years.

Their bodies were identified on June 26 through DNA matching after a sample was provided by their son, Sergio, who lives just across the street from the collapsed condo.

According to Sergio, hackers used his parents names to fill out a change of address form. They then opened up fraudulent credit card and bank accounts.

Antonio Lozano, 83, and his wife Gladys, 79, were in bed just before 1:30am on June 24 inside Unit 903 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida when the building collapsed

Sergio Lozano, the couple's son, said that hackers stole his late parents' identities and used the information to open credit card and bank accounts and steal cash

According to Sergio, hackers used his parents names to fill out a change of address form. They then opened up fraudulent credit card and bank accounts

The thieves then used the Zelle digital payment app to withdraw money from the accounts. To add insult to injury, the withdrawals were made on July 7 - the day of the Lozanos funerals.

'I have an apartment on Champlain East where I could see my mom cooking and my dad watching TV from my apartment, from my terrace,' Sergio told WSVN-TV.

'That Wednesday, the 23rd, was his last day at work, which he was here.

'We had a final dinner together, and they left the apartment at 9:45, and at 1:20 in the morning, it was the collapse.'

Sergio was awakened by what sounded like a loud explosion.

He looked across the street in horror and saw his parents building collapsed into a pile of debris with smoke billowing from the ruins.

Moments later, Sergio sprinted toward the wreckage.

I grabbed a pair of sneakers and ran down, and I got there with fire rescue and Surfside Police, he said.

The thieves then used the Zelle digital payment app to withdraw money from the accounts. To add insult to injury, the withdrawals were made on July 7 - the day of the Lozanos funerals

The couple was just a month shy of celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary. They had been together for 68 years

The Lozanos are seen above with their grandson, Sergio Jr (far left), and their granddaughter-in-law Vanessa Lozano (far right)

Mom and Dad are dead. The buildings gone.

Sergio initially bought an apartment upstairs from his parents so that he can keep an eye on them in case of a medical emergency.

He then sold that unit and bought an apartment across the street.

Their bodies were recovered on June 26 two days after the collapse.

The couple was laid to rest on July 7.

In the period leading up to that day, however, hackers were using their information to steal their money, according to Sergio.

'The day of their funeral, they began to process [the account], and after theyre dead and buried, theyre stealing from them?' Sergio told WSVN-TV.

'Its just wrong, just wrong.'

Sergio added: 'I find it totally devastating, after losing my parents, that I have to deal with all the estate issues, and now Im having to deal with somebody stealing from my parents.'

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told WPLG-TV that the Lozanos arent the only victims of identity theft.

The mayor said that at least one other family has been victimized, though he did not identify them.

Its the revictimization of the victims that were sort of starting to experience right now with these hackers, Burkett said.

Theyve seen the names in the paper, theyre going right to that and weve had to have discussions with the families and listen to them telling us the stories about all of a sudden credit cards appearing in their names and things being purchased in their name, so weve told em, youve got to immediately shut down your credit.

Their bodies were identified on June 26 through DNA matching after a sample was provided by their son, Sergio, who lives just across the street from the collapsed condo. The collapsed condo is seen above on June 25

The Miami-Dade Police Department has launched an investigation. As of Sunday, no arrests have been made.

At least 97 people have died in the collapse of the 12-story condominium. All but two have been identified.

The recovery effort at the condo site is slowly winding down, with perhaps one more body still buried in the rubble.

Work is now shifting toward determining what caused the oceanfront condo to come down.

While Burkett declined to specify how the hackers managed to pull off the theft, it is likely they used a technique commonly referred to as ghosting.

Ghosting is a form of identity theft in which scammers who scan news stories and newspaper obituaries about the recently deceased use their names to take over their bank accounts and apply for new credit cards.
The hundreds of visitors who are returning to Walt Disney World in the aftermath of the global pandemic get to see not one, but two adorable new additions.

Walt Disney World officials announced on Thursday that the Nile hippopotamus calf and a baby western lowland gorilla were born just one day apart and have already made their Disney parks debut.

The Nile hippopotamus calf was born to parents Tuma and Henry on July 12 in the Safi River on Kilimanjaro Safaris, Disney World officials announced, and joined other family members in the safari. The resort now has a total of 10 hippos, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

A western lowland gorilla was born backstage on July 13 to mom Azizi and dad Gino

A Nile hippopotamus calf was born on July 12 in the Safi River on Kilimanjaro Safaris

The calf was born to Tuma and Henry, and has already started nuzzling against his mother

Disney World now has a total of 10 hippopotamuses at its Animal Kingdom

He has already started 'nuzzling with mom and moving through the water like a pro,' Scott Terrell, director of animal and science operations for Disney parks and resorts, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

The baby gorilla, meanwhile, was born on July 13 to parents Azizi and Gino backstage, and was presented to the larger family shortly thereafter.

He made his Disney World debut onstage at the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, presented by OFF! Repellant, Disney officials said, and is the biological sibling to another ape, Cory, born in 2014.

The baby gorilla can now be seen at the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail

Disney World officials are providing the mothers with 'ample time to nurse and bond with their newborns'

Both sets of parents were paired through the Species Survives Plan, which is overseen by the Association of Zoo and Aquariums to ensure the 'responsible breeding of vulnerable or critically endangered species - including Nile hippos and western lowland gorillas - to help create healthy, genetically diverse populations for years to come.'

The babies will be displayed in their natural habitats, as Disney officials give 'both mothers ample time to nurse and bond with their newborns.'

More information about the babies' sex and weight will be forthcoming, Terrell said.
Joe Biden's top public health official continued on Sunday to criticize social media giants for not doing enough to combat coronavirus misinformation, as he claimed Facebook policies around vaccine information are costing American lives.

'We know that health misinformation harms people's health. It costs them their lives,' Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN on Sunday morning. 'I have seen that as a doctor over the years, as patients have struggled with health misinformation.'

'And here's the key thing to remember,' he added when speaking with State of the Union host Dana Bash, 'health misinformation takes away our freedom and our power to make decisions for us and for our families. And that's a problem.'

'The platforms have to recognize that they have played a major role in the increase in speed and scale with which misinformation is spreading.'

Murthy's comments come after Facebook officials defended the platform on Saturday when President Biden accused social media misinformation of 'killing people.'

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy doubled-down on the administration scapegoating the plateauing vaccination rate by saying social media isn't doing enough to combat misinformation. 'We know that health misinformation harms people's health. It costs them their lives,' Murthy said on Sunday

Vaccination rates in the U.S. have sharply declined since the jab was opened to all adults earlier this year. Minority and poor communities, as well as southern states and more Republican areas, are experiencing heightened hesitancy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine

On Thursday, Murthy also issued an advisory calling health misinformation an 'urgent threat.' He provided a 22-page 'confronting health information' pamphlet.

The deflection in blame also follows the administration missing Biden's July 4 deadline to administer at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70 per cent of American adults  and have 160 million fully vaccinated by the mid-summer holiday.

Murthy also defended the administration lifting mask requirements for vaccinated people after receiving criticism for acting too quickly now that case loads are rising in areas where rates are low and other ares where variants are running rampant.

'What's driving the rise of infections actually is the Delta variant,' Murthy asserted.

'But, with that said, I think the CDC guidance around masks was intended actually to give flexibility to individuals and to localities, recognizing that,' he explained.

The surgeon general said it's now in the hands of local governments and private entities to decide how they want to handle certain aspects of dealing with the pandemic moving forward, including if they want to require masks  even for immunized individuals.

'When you see places like L.A. County and other parts of the country, where you see counties making decisions about masks that may be different from other counties, that's okay,' Murthy said. 'They're doing that based on what's happening in their communities, based on vaccination rates and case counts.'

Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the vaccine matter on Sunday, claiming Biden is 'not doing well at all' in vaccination mobilization and gaining the trust of Americans.

'He's way behind schedule, and people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don't trust his Administration, they don't trust the Election results, and they certainly don't trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth,' he wrote in a statement.

The vaccination rate has plateaued around the 68 per cent mark in adults. Children under the age of 12 have still not been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration to get the vaccine, which is still under emergency use authorization rather than gotten full approval from the federal agency.

Vivek said while he has praised social media privately for their efforts, he has a message for them: 'It's not enough.'

'We're still seeing a proliferation of misinformation online,' he told CNN.

A Facebook vice president defended the platform and lashed out at the administration after Biden used social media as a scapegoat for the decline in vaccination rates.

'The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19,' Guy Rosen posted in a lengthy corporate blog post on Saturday.

'President Biden's goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed.'

'At a time when COVID-19 cases are rising in America, the Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies. While social media plays an important role in society, it is clear that we need a whole of society approach to end this pandemic. And facts  not allegations  should help inform that effort.

'The fact is that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the US has increased. These and other facts tell a very different story to the one promoted by the administration in recent days,' Facebook wrote in a defensive posting.

Still, a source from the Biden administration said Saturday that Biden publicly lambasted the platform after the White House has been asking for 'months' for help fighting what it called disinformation, according to Fox News.

President Biden last week accused Facebook of 'killing people' by allowing misinformation to circulate on its platform. The social media giant, headed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg (left), hit back on Saturday

The platform defended itself against Biden in a lengthy corporate blog post from Guy Rosen, vice president of integrity at Facebook

Despite its puffed-up statements, Facebook hasn't done enough to stamp out untruths, the administration official said, according to Fox.

'They've been withholding information on what the rules are, what they have put in place to prevent dangerous misinformation from spreading [and] how they measure whether it's working,' the officials said.

The disagreement has bubbled over after the Indian Delta variant has ripped across the world - and now is showing up in U.S. data, as cases rise in many places, even as polls show, many of the unvaccinated believe the negative information that's circulating about the shots - information the White House says is false.

'For people in the US on Facebook, vaccine hesitancy has declined by 50%; and they are becoming more accepting of vaccines every day.

'Since January, vaccine acceptance on the part of Facebook users in the US has increased by 10-15 percentage points (70%  80-85%) and racial and ethnic disparities in acceptance have shrunk considerably.

'Increased vaccine acceptance has been seen on and off Facebook, with many leaders throughout the US working to make that happen,' the posting continued. 'We employed similar tactics in the UK and Canada, which have similar rates of Facebook usage to the US, and those countries have achieved more than 70% vaccination of eligible populations. This all suggests there's more than Facebook to the outcome in the US.

'Since the beginning of the pandemic we have removed over 18 million instances of COVID-19 misinformation,' Facebook explained.

'We have also labeled and reduced the visibility of more than 167 million pieces of COVID-19 content debunked by our network of fact-checking partners so fewer people see it and  when they do  they have the full context.'

Tension between the social media platform at the Administration had been brewing.

On Friday, a Facebook official said similar to NBC: 'In private exchanges the Surgeon General [Vivek Murthy] has praised our work, including our efforts to inform people about COVID-19... The White House is looking for scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals.'

The Biden Administration hoped to have 70 percent of American adults partially vaccinated against COVID by Independence Day - a goal they missed by three percent.

The Commander-in-Chief has voiced his frustration about vaccine misinformation proliferating on social media, saying it is stopping millions of Americans from getting the jab.

Earlier this week, the White House confirmed it had stepped up COVID-19 misinformation tracking as it tried to tackle slowing rates of vaccination.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki explicitly singled out Facebook saying that influential anti-vaxxers 'remain active' on the site 'despite some even being banned on other platforms'.

'You shouldn't be banned from one platform and not others for providing misinformation,' she stated on Thursday.

The following day, President Biden was asked if he had a message for Facebook, to which he responded: 'They're killing people. I mean it really. Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they're killing people.'

Facebook's statement in full: 'Moving Past the Finger Pointing' Guy Rosen  Facebook's Vice-President of Integrity By Guy Rosen, VP of Integrity At a time when COVID-19 cases are rising in America, the Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies. While social media plays an important role in society, it is clear that we need a whole of society approach to end this pandemic. And facts  not allegations  should help inform that effort. The fact is that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the US has increased. These and other facts tell a very different story to the one promoted by the administration in recent days. Since April 2020, we've been collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University and University of Maryland on a global survey to gather insights about COVID-19 symptoms, testing, vaccination rates and more. This is the largest survey of its kind, with over 70 million total responses, and more than 170,000 responses daily across more than 200 countries and territories. For people in the US on Facebook, vaccine hesitancy has declined by 50%; and they are becoming more accepting of vaccines every day. Since January, vaccine acceptance on the part of Facebook users in the US has increased by 10-15 percentage points (70%  80-85%) and racial and ethnic disparities in acceptance have shrunk considerably (some of the populations that had the lowest acceptance in January had the highest increases since). The results of this survey are public and we've shared them  alongside other data requested by the administration  with the White House, the CDC and other key partners in the federal government. The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19. President Biden's goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed. Graph showing rise in COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the US In fact, increased vaccine acceptance has been seen on and off Facebook, with many leaders throughout the US working to make that happen. We employed similar tactics in the UK and Canada, which have similar rates of Facebook usage to the US, and those countries have achieved more than 70% vaccination of eligible populations. This all suggests there's more than Facebook to the outcome in the US. Now vaccination efforts are rightly turning to increasing access and availability for harder-to-reach people. That's why we recently expanded our pop-up vaccine clinics in low-income and underserved communities. To help promote reliable vaccine information to communities with lower access to vaccines, we are using the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index. This is a publicly available dataset that crisis and health responders often use to identify communities most likely to need support, as higher vulnerability areas have had lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage. We have been doing our part in other areas, too: Since the pandemic began, more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook. This includes more than 3.3 million Americans using our vaccine finder tool to find out where to get a COVID-19 vaccine and make an appointment to do so.

More than 50% of people in the US on Facebook have already seen someone use the COVID-19 vaccine profile frames, which we developed in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC. From what we have seen, when people see a friend share they have been vaccinated, it increases their perceptions that vaccines are safe.

We're continuing to encourage everyone to use these tools to show their friends they've been vaccinated. For those who are hesitant, hearing from a friend who's been vaccinated is undoubtedly more impactful than hearing from a large corporation or the federal government. And when we see misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, we take action against it. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have removed over 18 million instances of COVID-19 misinformation.

We have also labeled and reduced the visibility of more than 167 million pieces of COVID-19 content debunked by our network of fact-checking partners so fewer people see it and  when they do  they have the full context. In fact, we've already taken action on all eight of the Surgeon General's recommendations on what tech companies can do to help. And we are continuing to work with health experts to update the list of false claims we remove from our platform. We publish these rules for everyone to read and scrutinize, and we update them regularly as we see new trends emerge. The Biden Administration is calling for a whole of society approach to this challenge. We agree. As a company, we have devoted unprecedented resources to the fight against the pandemic, pointing people to reliable information and helping them find and schedule vaccinations. And we will continue to do so. Advertisement

Facebook is blasting back against President Biden after he accused the company of 'killing people' by allowing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine to circulate on its platform

But Facebook is not letting Biden control the narrative, pushing back in a series of statements shared with NBC.

'We will not be distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts,' a spokesperson declared.

'The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet. More than 3.3 million Americans have also used our vaccine finder tool to find out where and how to get a vaccine. The facts show that Facebook is helping save lives. Period.'

A Facebook official then added the scathing claim that Biden was simply looking for scapegoats to explain why he failed to meet his goal to have 70 percent of the country vaccinated.

President Biden claimed the company was 'killing people' because it was not properly monitoring or removing misleading posts about the COVID-19 shots

The war of words marks a new development in the relationship between Facebook and the Biden Administration.

The social media company was last year accused of siding with Biden in the run-up to the presidential election after it 'reduced the distribution' of a damning New York Post article about Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

The bombshell story featured emails uncovered on Hunter's laptop which pertained to his dealings with the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. The New York Post accused Facebook of censoring the article, but the social media giant claimed it may have been dubiously sourced and needed further fact-checking before it could be widely shared.

For conservatives, the action amplified their belief that Facebook and other Big Tech companies had a strong liberal bias.

But, some liberals have conversely accused Facebook of failing to adequately fact-check conservatives and of allowing Russian disinformation to circulate unabated on the platform.

Back in 2019, Facebook CEO dined with Mark Zuckerberg, however the relationship between the pair subsequently soured.

Trump was been suspended from Facebook following the January 6 riots, and his ban still remains in effect.

Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, was asked repeatedly about how the White House could justify flagging social media posts about COVID-19 to Facebook

Fox News' Peter Doocy accused the administration of spying on people's Facebook profiles, one of series of tough questions in a noisy briefing room on Friday

Earlier this week, Jen Psaki said Facebook should currently be doing more to combat misinformation about the vaccine.

A surge in cases, caused by the Indian 'Delta' strain of COVID-19, are concentrated among people who have not been vaccinated, triggering a fresh push to ensure that accurate information is available.

'Our point is that there is information that is leading to people not taking the vaccine and people are dying as a result. We have a responsibility as a public health matter to raise that issue,' said Psaki on Thursday.

It followed the announcement a day earlier that the Biden administration had been flagging problematic posts - a move some said was a violation of both privacy and freedom of speech rights.

'We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team  given as [Surgeon General Vivek] Murthy conveyed this is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic,' Psaki said on Thursday.

Under fire: Zuckerberg has not personally commented on the harsh criticism the Biden Administration has directed at Facebook, however a company spokesperson has blasted back

The admission triggered Republican condemnation.

Sen. Josh Hawley accused the White House of imposing a COVID speech code.

'I think it's really scary to have the federal government of the United States, the White House, compiling lists of people, organizations, whatever, and then going to a private company that, by the way, is a monopoly, Facebook, and saying, 'You need to censor. You need to do something about this.'' he told Fox News.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote a long Twitter thread condemning the practice.

'If you don't find it deeply disturbing that the White House is 'flagging' internet content that they deem 'problematic' to their Facebook allies for removal, then you are definitionally [sic] an authoritarian.'

Dan Gainor, of Media Research Center, also ripped into Psaki and the White House by tweeting 'being anti-vaccine is part of free speech. @PressSec is against freedom.'

John Cooper tweeted an emoji of two red light sirens and said, 'Jen Psaki says the Biden administration is actively flagging what they deem 'disinformation' about the pandemic to Facebook for censoring. What could go wrong??'

Many people have pointed out that the Wuhan lab leak was once considered a laughable, looney conspiracy theory until the last couple months when more evidence came to light that supported this COVID-19 origin theory.

However Psaki has insisted that the Administration is not forcing Facebook to take any posts down.

'We don't take anything down,' she said. 'We don't block anything.

'Facebook, and any private sector company, makes decisions about what information should be on their platform.'

'Obviously there are steps they have taken. They're a private sector company,' she said.

'There are additional steps they can take. It's clear that there are more that can be taken.'

However, Psaki's pointed comments about the social media giant gave the American public insight into reported tensions between Facebook and the White House.

A source familiar with the conversations between the Biden administration and Facebook representatives told CNN that White House officials believe Facebook isn't 'taking this very seriously, or they are hiding something.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Politico reported that Biden-allied groups - including the Democratic National Committee - planned to fact-check more aggressively.

Part of the plan is working with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines sent in text messages or social media messages.

'When we see deliberate efforts to spread misinformation, we view that as an impediment to the country's public health and will not shy away from calling that out,' White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Politico.

The impact of unvaccinated populations were spelled during the White House COVID-19 briefing on Friday, which revealed the surge in cases.

'We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination rates because unvaccinated people are at risk,' said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who called it a 'pandemic of the unvaccinated.'

The result, she added, was likely to be deaths that could have been prevented.

'The good news is that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected against COVID hospitalization and death and are even protected against the known variants, including the Delta variant circulating in this country,' she said.

'If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk.'
A man has been arrested after a 16-year-old boy was killed in a 'hit-and-run' incident while riding an e-scooter.

Officers were called to Southborough Lane, Bromley, around 1.20am on Sunday following reports of a collision involving a car and an e-scooter.

The Metropolitan Police attended with members of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) and found the teenager, who had been riding the scooter, with serious injuries.

He was taken to a central London hospital where he later died.

The Met said the boy's next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Officers were called to Southborough Lane (pictured, general view), Bromley, around 1.20am on Sunday following reports of a collision involving a car and an e-scooter. A 16-year-old boy, who was riding the e-scooter, was found with serious injuries and later died in hospital

The car, a red Fiat Punto, did not stop at the scene but the vehicle was discovered later on Sunday morning in nearby Southwood Close.

The driver, a 20-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene of a collision, causing death by dangerous driving and providing a positive alcohol breath test.

He was taken into custody, where he remains.

Officers are also investigating the disappearance of the e-scooter that was being ridden at the time of the crash, which is believed to have been stolen from the scene.

The Met said they are keen to speak with the occupants of a dark-coloured people-carrier type car with a sliding door, which was seen in the area.

Local residents are urged to check doorbell video cameras and drivers who were in the area are asked to look back on dash-cam footage, to see if they have captured anything related to the collision or the vehicles involved.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, the removal of the e-scooter, or who saw a red Fiat Punto being driven in the area at around 1.20am, has been urged to call police on 0208 285 1574, providing the reference 775/18JUL.

Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111.
The widow of the late antivirus pioneer John McAfee has denied a report that her husband was suicidal after squandering his $100million fortune through bad real estate investments, including several mansions whose values tanked.

Janice McAfee took to Twitter on Saturday, insisting that her husband never felt more free despite going broke after amassing a real estate portfolio whose value crashed as a result of the Great Recession.

She said John McAfee was quite open about his financial troubles.

He revealed the extent to which he blew through his fortune in interviews with Mark Eglinton, an author who wrote a book about the eccentric millionaire's attempt to flee arrest by the feds.

'John spoke about being broke numerous times in interviews as well as tweeting about it,' Janice McAfee tweeted on Saturday.

John McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer, was not suicidal after blowing through his $100million fortune, according to his widow. McAfee is seen above in Malta in November 2018

Janice McAfee (left), John's widow, took to Twitter to refute claims her husband was suicidal over his financial state

'John spoke about being broke numerous times in interviews as well as tweeting about it,' Janice McAfee tweeted on Saturday

'This was not John's first time being without money & he was not suicidal because of it.

'Actually it was quite the opposite. He never felt more free.'

According to Eglinton's new book, John McAfee blew his $100 million fortune on 'bizarre' mansions and really was broke when he died in a Spanish prison.

Soon before his death on June 23, McAfee claimed in a tweet that he had no hidden cash and was worth 'nothing' - though he had ample reason to conceal his wealth, with the US government seeking to seize his assets on charges of tax evasion.

In addition to the feds, the question of McAfee's estate is also of interest to his family, including Janice, who insists that his death may not have been a suicide, as Spanish authorities found.

Eglinton, who collaborated with McAfee on a book for six months while he was on the run from authorities, told DailyMail.com that he believes McAfee was indeed penniless, citing his personal experience with the outlaw and extensive interviews with him.

Eglinton, whose upcoming book No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes documents his extensive interviews with the outlaw, said that McAfee was unable to pay what he requested for the planned collaboration, which will now be authored by Eglinton solely.

'I don't doubt that if he could have helped he would have,' Eglinton said of the modest advance fee he requested. 'He said, "I can't do it, my financial situation is worse than yours."'

McAfee, once worth $100 million, really was broke when he died in a Spanish prison, according to an author who collaborated with him

McAfee is seen with his wife and staunch supporter Janice. The US government was seeking to seize any of his assets, and questions have swirled around his finances after his death

McAfee's massive $25 million compound in Colorado (above) sold at auction for a mere $5.72 million to a Chicago commodities trader in 2007, as real estate crashed in the recession

Janice McAfee did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com about her late husband's estate, and his legal plans for the estate have not been made public.

Eglinton said he interviewed McAfee for countless hours over Skype starting in August of 2019, when McAfee was on the run, fearing a pending US indictment on charges of tax evasion, which was unsealed upon his arrest last October.

McAfee's peak net worth is estimated at about $100 million, with the bulk coming from the sale of his stake in the antivirus company he founded. McAfee sold off his final stake in the company in 1994.

Eglinton strongly refuted prior reports claiming that McAfee lost his fortune on bad stock picks during the Great Recession. 'We got a lot into where he spent his money over the years,' he said.

Eglinton is the author of an upcoming book about McAfee, titled No Domain

'He had his money in very safe investments, but he built houses, absolutely bizarre properties,' the Scottish author said. 'Some of them, he never slept a night in the property.'

McAfee owned, at various points, large mansions and compounds in Belize, Texas, Colorado, Hawaii and Tennessee, among other locations.

He sold some of those properties at a tremendous loss as property values contracted in the Great Recession, perhaps due to liquidity issues.

McAfee's compound in Woodland Park, Colorado, for example, included a 10,000-square-foot main house that was fully furnished with antiques from around the world. It was valued at more than $25 million but sold at auction for a mere $5.72 million to a Chicago commodities trader in 2007.

Eglinton said McAfee told him: 'The $100 million I got out of McAfee [Antivirus], that goes very quickly.'

Initially, Eglinton, an experienced biographer and co-author who has previously worked with members of the bands Metallica and Pantera, had proposed to ghost-write McAfee's autobiography.

But as the work proceeded, he says McAfee was unable to pay what he requested in advance money to cover his costs prior to sealing a book deal. Eglinton declined to say how much he requested, but said it was not a large amount.

The collaboration fell through when McAfee insisted that the publisher pay him in cryptocurrency, and refused to provide an address for them to mail a contract, according to Eglinton.

Eglinton is now the sole author of the book, slated for publication in December. 'What will surprise people about this book is the deep philosophy of John McAfee, he said.

McAfee, facing investigation for the tax evasion charges that ultimately resulted in his arrest, had long been cagey about his finances.

McAfee insisted in one of his final tweets that he did not have any hidden assets

McAfee in 2014 sold his 5,800 square foot beachfront estate on 5.3 acres of Hawaiis secluded Molokai Island, a home that took him seven years to build and one that he never moved into

In 2008, McAfee retreated to this $500,000 compound in Belize. It burned down in 2013, after he fled the country when sought for questioning in the murder of his neighbor Greg Faull

McAfee's property in Belize has since been rebuilt as a popular bar called John's Escape

In recent years, McAfee had reinvented himself as something of a cryptocurrency guru, speaking at conferences and touting different services.

Federal prosecutors say his crypto boosterism was also part of a fraudulent scheme to pump and dump coins that he held, charges that he denied.

But as the walls closed in on McAfee, Eglinton says that speaking opportunities dried up, and friends and allies deserted him, leaving his financial situation extremely precarious.

In one of his final tweets, McAfee wrote: 'The US believes I have hidden crypto. I wish I did but it has dissolved through the many hands of Team McAfee (your belief is not required), and my remaining assets are all seized. My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing.'

Eglinton says that he believes that, if anything, McAfee would have faked wealth rather than falsely claiming penury.

'Rather than pretend he didn't have it, I think he was pretending he did,' Eglinton said.

US prosecutors accused McAfee of failing to file tax returns from 2014 to 2018 even as he earned millions from 'promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary,' according to an indictment.

McAfee's final US stronghold was this $399,000 home in Lexington, Tennessee. He is seen above with wife Janice and their dog in 2016

Court documents allege that McAfee owed the IRS more than $4.2 million in back taxes. He is seen above on the run in the Caribbean, at port in Havana in 2019

Court documents allege that he owed the IRS more than $4.2 million in back taxes.

Separately, a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint claimed that McAfee promoted 'initial coin offerings' of cryptocurrency without disclosing that he was paid more than $23 million to do so.

The indictment alleged that McAfee hid his assets through complex schemes, including maintaining cryptocurrency accounts under other people's names, and also hiding real estate and yachts under the names of others.

Now that McAfee is dead, the criminal case against him will be dropped, but the government can continue to chase after assets by suing his estate.

However, for the lengthy and surely complex civil forfeiture action to proceed, Spanish authorities will need to provide a death certificate, which so far has not been publicly produced.

'We have not received the death certificate, the official autopsy report or the official report from the prison,' McAfee's widow Janice wrote in a statement on July 7.

'I understand that things take time but the lack of cooperation from the Spanish authorities only confirms our suspicions that they have something to hide,' she added.
Activists, journalists and politicians around the world have been spied on using cellphone malware developed by a private Israeli firm, it emerged Sunday, igniting fears of widespread privacy and rights abuses.

The use of the software, called Pegasus and developed by Israel's NSO group, was exposed in a data leak containing 50,000 phone numbers that belong to people targeted by NSO's clients since 2016.

Among those clients are some of the world's most-repressive government regimes, including Hungary, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.

One of those targeted was Hanan Elatr, the wife of Saudi-born Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered by a Saudi hit squad in 2018.

Her phone - as well as that of a second female associate - was allegedly targeted before his death. The leak appeared to confirm Saudi involvement in the murder.

Another key figure on the list was Roula Khalaf, who became the Financial Times' first female editor last year, and according to The Guardian was selected as a potential target throughout 2018.

Analysis of the data suggests Khalaf's phone was selected as a possible target by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while she was deputy editor at the Financial Times.

One of those targeted was Hanan Elatr, the wife of Saudi-born Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi (pictured together before Khashoggi was assassinated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018)

Roula Khalaf (pictured), who became the Financial Times' first female editor last year, was selected as a potential target throughout 2018. Analysis of the data suggests Khalaf's phone was selected as a possible target by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while she was deputy editor at the Financial Times

Pegasus: How powerful spyware used to hack journalists works Pegasus is a powerful piece of 'malware' - malicious computer software - developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group. This particular form of malware is known as 'spyware', meaning it is designed to gather data from an infected device without the owner's knowledge and forward it on to a third party. While most spyware is limited in scope - harvesting data only from specific parts of an infected system - Pegasus appears much more powerful, allowing its controller near-unlimited access to and control over an infected device. This includes accessing contact lists, emails, and text messages, along with stored photos, videos and audio files. Pegasus can also be used to take control of the phone's camera or microphone to record video and audio, and can access GPS data to check where the phone's owner has been. And it can also be used to record any new incoming or outgoing phone calls. Early versions of the virus infected phones using crude 'phishing' attacks in which users are conned into downloading the virus on to their own phones by clicking on a malicious link sent via text or email. But researchers say the software has become much more sophisticated, exploiting vulnerabilities in common phone apps to launch so-called 'zero-click' attacks which can infect devices without the user doing anything. For example, in 2019 WhatsApp revealed that 1,400 people had been infected by NSO Group software using a so-called 'zero day' fault - a previously unknown error - in the call function of the app. Users were infected when a call was placed via WhatsApp to their phones, whether they answered the call or not. More recently NSO has begun exploiting vulnerabilities in Apple's iMessage software, giving it backdoor access to hundreds of millions of iPhones. Apple says it is continually updating its software to prevent such attacks, though human rights group Amnesty says it has uncovered successful attacks on even the most up-to-date iOS systems - carried out this month. NSO Group says that Pegasus can also be installed on devices using wireless transceivers located near the target, or can be booted directly on to the device if it is stolen first. Advertisement

The data was initially leaked to human rights group Amnesty and not-for-profit group Forbidden Stories, which helps promote the work of persecuted reporters.

It was then shared with a consortium of other newspapers, including the likes of the Washington Post whose journalists were targeted.

If a number appears on the leaked list, then it means that phone was targeted for hacking - though it cannot be conclusively proved whether the hack was successful.

However, Amnesty did confirm that at least 15 people on the list were successfully hacked after they handed over their phones to the group to be examined.

Among those confirmed cases were Siddharth Varadarajan and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, of Indian news site Wire, who have worked on stories about the Indian government spreading disinformation online.

Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist who has published repeated exposes of government corruption, was also among those successfully hacked.

The data also shows that the phone of Mexican freelance journalist Cecilio Pineda Birto was also selected a month before he was murdered by gun-wielding attackers at a car wash. His phone was never found and it was not clear if it had been hacked.

Another was award-winning Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was confirmed to have been hacked in 2019.

For years, she has reported on a network of corruption surrounding president Ilham Aliyev who has ruled since 2003.

As a result of her work, she has long been the target of a harassment and intimidation which has included a hidden camera being installed in her home and a 2014 arrest on alleged tax evasion and 'illegal business' offences.

'I feel guilty for the sources who sent me [information], thinking that some encrypted messaging ways are secure. They did it and they didn't know my phone was infected,' Ismayilova told The Guardian.

'My family members are also victimised, people I've been working with. People who told me their private secrets are victimised. It's not just me.'

Devices that are successfully hacked by Pegasus are effectively turned into 24-hour monitoring devices, allowing whoever sent the virus to keep constant tabs on them.

Hackers are given full access to all the phone's data, including previous text messages and contact lists, along with stored audio, video and photo files.

They are able to take over the phone's camera to record video, turn on the microphone to record audio, and can record any new calls made or received.

Hackers can even access the phone's location data to see where the owner has been and potentially who they met with.

The revelations also appeared to confirm Saudi Arabia's involvement in the murder of Khashoggi, who until his killing in 2018 was a Saudi Arabian journalist, author, columnist for The Washington Post and critic of the Saudi regime, an NSO client.

Based on leaked data and forensic analysis of phones, media outlets have found new evidence that the shows the company's spyware was use in an attempt to monitor people close to the journalist before and after his death.

In one instance, a person close to Khashoggi was hacked four hays after his murder, according to forensic analysis of her device confirmed by multiple organisations.

The investigation suggests Saudi Arabia and its close ally the UAE attempted to use NSO's technology to after Khashoggi's death to monitor both his known associates and the Turkish investigation into his murder.

The phone of Istanbul's chief prosecutor was even selected for possible surveillance.

Intelligence agencies in the US have already confirmed that Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for ordering the murder of Khashoggi.

Among the numbers on the list are journalists for media organisations around the world including Agence France-Presse, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, France 24, Radio Free Europe, Mediapart, El Pais, the Associated Press, Le Monde, Bloomberg, the Economist, Reuters and Voice of America.

The use of the software to hack the phones of Al-Jazeera reporters and a Moroccan journalist has been reported previously by Citizen Lab, a research centre at the University of Toronto, and Amnesty International.

The Washington Post said numbers on the list also belonged to heads of state and prime ministers, members of Arab royal families, diplomats and politicians, as well as activists and business executives.

The list did not identify which clients had entered the numbers on it. But the reports said many were clustered in 10 countries - Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Guardian wrote that the investigation suggests 'widespread and continuing abuse' of Pegasus, which NSO says is intended for use against criminals and terrorists.

A successful Pegasus hack would given NSO customers full access to all data stored on the targeted device.

By hacking a journalist's phone, for example, the customer could view their confidential sources, their address book, listen to their calls, track their movements precisely and even record their conversation by remotely activating the microphone.

Varadarajan, who was hacked in 2018 while he was investigating how the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi was using Facebook to spread disinformation among Indian citizens, told The Guardian he felt 'violated'.

The phone number of Indian Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, pictured in 2020, was among those on the Pegasus list. Varadarajan and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, of Indian news site Wire, have worked on stories about the Indian government spreading disinformation online

Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was confirmed to have been hacked in 2019. She has reported on a network of corruption surrounding president Ilham Aliyev who has ruled since 2003

Mexican freelance journalist Cecilio Pineda Birto (pictured) was also selected a month before he was murdered by gun-wielding attackers at a car wash in 2017. His phone was never found and it was not clear if it had been hacked

'This is an incredible intrusion and journalists should not have to deal with this,' he said. 'Nobody should have to deal with this, but in particular journalists and those who are in some way working for the public interest.'

Also included on the leaked records was a UK-based phone number belonging to American investigative journalist Bradley Hope, who at the time of his number being selected was working for the Wall Street Journal.

In 2018, Hope and his colleague Tim Wright contacted parties that would be named in their book about the 1MDB corruption scandal involving theft of $4.5bn from the state of Malaysia.

The released Pegasus records show that around the same time, one of NSO's government clients began selecting Hope's phone as a potential surveillance target, with his number being included on the list until the spring of 2019.

'I think probably the number one thing that anyone targeting my phone would want to know is: who are my sources?' Hope said to The Guardian. 'They would want to know who it is that is providing this insight.'

Since then, Hope said that he regularly changes his mobile device, updates the operating system, and does not take his phone into high-risk countries such as the UAE, believed to be the government that selected him as a target.

Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based media non-profit organisation, initially had access to the leak, which they then shared with media organisations.

NSO, a leader in the growing and largely unregulated private spyware industry, has previously pledged to police for abuses of its software.

It called the allegations exaggerated and baseless, according to The Washington Post, and would not confirm its clients' identities.

Citizen Lab reported in December that dozens of journalists at Qatar's Al-Jazeera network had their mobile communications intercepted by sophisticated electronic surveillance.

Amnesty International reported in June of last year that Moroccan authorities used NSO's Pegasus software to insert spyware onto the cellphone of Omar Radi, a journalist convicted over a social media post.
A Navy crew supporting local officials in a search-and-rescue operation spent Friday night more than 11,000-feet above sea level after their helicopter crashed down in the California mountains.

The four-member crew - comprising a pilot, co-pilot and two crew members - were deployed to California's White Mountains to support Mono County search and rescue efforts for a missing hiker, when their helicopter came crashing down near Mount Hogue at around 5 p.m. Friday night.

They did not suffer from any injuries, the Navy announced in a press release, but had to wait for rescue after communicating their location back to the Naval Air Station Fallon, about 120 miles to the north.

A four-member Navy crew was rescued near Mt. Hogue, California on Saturday at around 5pm

A mission deployed later that evening failed to retrieve the crew members, but was able to drop them some supplies for the night.

The next day, the Navy tried once again to rescue the team, but its efforts were thwarted by the high-altitude, at which point the Navy sent another helicopter designed to withstand those heights, which dropped off a ground crew to find the survivors while it returned to base to refuel.

Finally, the Navy's third attempt, at around 2 p.m. Saturday, succeeded in recovering all four survivors and the ground crew.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, and the helicopter, an MH-60 Knighthawk, will remain on the scene of the crash until the investigation is completed.

The helicopter crashed near Mount Hogue, about 120 miles south of Naval Air Station Fallon, where the crew was based

The mountain range extends through the California-Nevada border

Meanwhile, the lost hiker the crew members were searching for was also found on Saturday, Inyo National Forest officials announced on Facebook.

Ronald Bolen, of Norman, Oklahoma, had gone missing on July 14 on a trip to climb Boundary Peak, a few miles north of Mount Hogue.

He had sent his family a photo from the summit on Tuesday, but had not been heard from since, and he was officially reported missing the next day.

'At this point, his phone is dead, and we have not had contact with him in three and a half days,' his daughter, Meredith Bolen, told KOCO on Friday.

Ronald Bolen, a University of Oklahoma professor, was found safe on Saturday, after disappearing on July 14. He reportedly spent four days waiting for rescue teams, and was taken to a local hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery

Bolen, a University of Oklahoma professor, was found safe one day later.

He had reportedly gotten lost on his hike and spent four days awaiting a rescue by a creek. He was brought to a local hospital, FOX 25 reports, and is expected to make a full recovery.

It is unclear what caused Bolen to go missing, considering Meredith said he spent months training for the hike, but she told FOX 25 she expects her father will go hiking again, once he recovers.

'In terms of solo climbing, I hope he won't ever do it again,' she said.
Retired General David Petraeus on Sunday slammed President Biden's accelerated troop pullout from Afghanistan

The United States militarys former top commander in Afghanistan said President Joe Bidens accelerated withdrawal of American forces has left the Central Asian country on the verge of a brutal civil war.

'The situation on the ground has become increasingly dire with each passing week,' Retired General David Petraeus told CNN on Sunday.

Biden recently announced that all US troops will leave Afghanistan by August 31. Earlier this year, the president initially marked September 11 as the deadline by which American troops would be home.

The sooner-than-expected drawdown of US forces, which will end the longest-ever war in American history, comes as the Taliban continues to make significant gains against the US-backed government in Kabul.

When asked on Sunday if he thought the American withdrawal was a mistake, Petraeus said that he did.

I fear we will look back and regret the decision to withdraw, said the former Army general who went on to become CIA director.

This May 2, 2021 handout photo from the Afghan Ministry of Defense shows US soldiers lowering the American flag during a handover ceremony to the Afghan National Army in Helmand Province

Petraeus (seen above in 2010) was commander of US forces in Afghanistan. He said the 'hasty' American exit has put Afghanistan on the brink of a 'brutal civil war'

Is the US making a mistake by leaving Afghanistan?



Fmr. Pres. Bush says yes; today, I asked Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded US & NATO troops there: pic.twitter.com/8swX0iobIB  Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) July 18, 2021

Sadly, we may regret that sooner than I had originally thought when I said that right after the decision was announced.

He added: Beyond that, I think we will also look back and regret the hasty way in which we seem to be doing this.

The US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan and occupied the country in the weeks and months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.

The country, which was run by the Taliban at the time, served as the base of operations for Osama bin Laden, whose Al-Qaeda network carried out the 9/11 attacks that left nearly 3,000 people dead.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, center, greets General Austin Scott Miller, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, with the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, at left, upon Miller's return, at Andrews Air Force Base, U.S. July 14, 2021. Austin returned to the country as the Taliban continue to rack up territorial gains

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (C), greets Gen. Scott Miller, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, with a handshake and an embrace as Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, left, looks on

After the American invasion, bin Laden fled to neighboring Pakistan, where he was given refuge. In 2011, a team of American commando forces found him in his hideout and assassinated him.

While the Taliban government was dislodged from Kabul, it was never fully vanquished.

Since 2001, more than 2,300 American military personnel have died and more than 20,000 have been wounded in Afghanistan.

The number of Afghan civilians who have died ranges from 35,000 to 40,000, according to estimates.

The financial cost of maintaining the war effort is also steep for the American taxpayer, as the Pentagon is estimated to have spent more than $824billion in Afghanistan.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have chalked up dozens of wins and now hold key border crossings with Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.

A militiaman loads his rifle as Afghan Special Forces visit a district centre during a combat mission against the Taliban in Kandahar province

The insurgents say they are not seeking an outright military victory over the Afghan government, but peace efforts have long been stalled and without a deal, the country risks an all-out civil war for power among all its many armed factions.

Petraeus disagreed with the suggestion that the US-backed Afghan forces were content to let the Americans do the heavy lifting against the Taliban during the course of the 20-year war.

The Afghan National Security Forces had been fighting and dying in very large numbers. And they still are, he said.

The problem now is they're not sure if someone is coming to the rescue, and that injects a very considerable amount of uncertainty into the battlefield.

Petraeus acknowledged that the US had reason to be frustrated with the war effort since American forces were unable to target Taliban bases in neighboring Pakistan.

Still, a complete withdrawal wont solve the problem, according to the former commander.

The Taliban now claims to be in control of 80 per cent of Afghan territory, with a major offensive to retake towns and cities expected over the summer (pictured, a Taliban spokesmen holding a news conference last week in Russia)

No one wants to see endless wars ended more than those who have actually served in them, but we are not ending this war, we are ending US involvement in it, he said.

Petraeus added: What I see now, sadly, is the onset of what is going to be quite a brutal civil war.

Earlier this week, the last commander of US forces in Afghanistan landed at Joint Base Andrews after resigning his post.

Gen. Austin 'Scott' Miller returned to the US on Wednesday after resigning his command. He was greeted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

George W. Bush says it is a 'mistake' to pull out US troops Former U.S. president George W. Bush has criticised the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and said civilians were being left to be 'slaughtered' by the Taliban. 'Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. This is a mistake... They're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart,' Bush told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The former Republican president, who sent troops to Afghanistan in autumn 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, said he believed German Chancellor Angela Merkel 'feels the same way'. Bush said Merkel, who is set to retire from politics later this year after 16 years in power, had brought 'class and dignity to a very important position and made very hard decisions'. US and NATO forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan in early May and are due to completely pull out by Sept. 11, some 20 years after they arrived in the war-torn country. Most of the 2,500 US and 7,500 NATO troops who were in Afghanistan when U.S. President Joe Biden detailed the final withdrawal in April have now gone, leaving Afghan troops to fight an emboldened Taliban seemingly bent on a military victory. The country is facing a crisis as the insurgents snap up territory across the countryside, stretching government forces and leading to a fresh wave of internally displaced families, complicated by a renewed outbreak of Covid-19. The United Nations said on Sunday the rising conflict is causing 'more suffering' across the violence-wracked country as it called for continuous financial aid. Biden has insisted, however, that it is time for U.S. involvement in the war to end and for Afghans to chart their own future. Advertisement

Both men embraced Miller and greeted him as he arrived at Join Base Andrews near Washington, D.C. They each also patted him on the back.

'Welcome home, General. Well done,' Austin told him.

Miller led US and NATO forces in the country for the past three years.

He has passed command to another four-star general, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, and will operate from his headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

He handed over command at a departure ceremony in Kabul on Monday.

'The people of Afghanistan will be in my heart and on my mind for the rest of my life.'

His departure came at a time of sweeping Taliban gains, while once again imposing its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

In a rare public rebuke, former President George W. Bush, who launched the US and allied Afghan war in 2001, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, 'This is a mistake.'

He said of the impact on the Afghan people: 'Theyre just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart."

He stressed the fates of women, children, and innocents.

'I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm,' he said.

The Taliban is enforcing its harsh interpretation of Islamic rule and reverting to its fundamental roots as it makes huge advances across Afghanistan.

Insurgents are issuing new orders to captured territories, banning smoking and beard-shaving and ordering villagers to marry off their daughters to foot soldiers and stopping women from heading out alone.

The Islamist group warned that anyone who breaks the rules 'will be seriously dealt with'.

The Taliban, which was overthrown by the US-led invasion in December 2001, three months after 9/11, is making a resurgence as it capitalizes on the withdrawal of foreign troops.

On Wednesday, militants claimed to have seized the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak along the frontier with Pakistan.

The interior ministry insisted the attack had been repelled and government forces had control, but a Pakistan security source said the Taliban's white flag was flying over the town.

It comes a day after video emerged of Taliban fighters massacring 22 Afghan commandos who had surrendered in Dawlat Abad, in northern Faryab province.

Afghan government forces have taken over defence of the country following the retreat of US and NATO forces, but are struggling to retain control (file image)

The Islamists are trying to persuade government troops to abandon their posts on the promise of safe passage back to their homes as they take advantage of the US withdrawal.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 based on a fundamental interpretation of the Koran that has hardly changed in centuries.

Women were ordered to stay indoors unless accompanied by a male relative, girls were banned from school, and those found guilty of crimes such as adultery were stoned to death.

Men had relatively more freedom but were ordered not to shave, would be beaten if they didn't attend prayers, and were told to only wear traditional clothing.

Afghanistan is deeply conservative and some rural pockets of the country adhere to similar rules even without Taliban oversight - but the insurgents have tried to impose these edicts even in more modern centers.

A statement purporting to come from the Taliban circulated on social media this week ordered villagers to marry off their daughters and widows to the movement's foot soldiers.

Disturbing footage has emerged purporting to show the moment 22 Afghan commandos were massacred in the town of Dawlat Abad on June 16 while surrendering to the Taliban

Footage shows unarmed soldiers with their arms raised being marched into the street before men with rifles open fire while shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

'All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters,' said the letter, issued in the name of the Taliban's cultural commission.

Similar edicts were issued by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice during the Taliban's first stint in power.

The group has now denied making any such statement and dismissed it as propaganda as it attempts to project a softer image.

'These are baseless claims,' said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group.

'They are rumors spread using fabricated papers.'

The Taliban insist they will protect human rights - particularly those of women - but only according to 'Islamic values', which are interpreted differently across the Muslim world.
Amy Klobuchar is urging liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to decide 'sooner rather than later' if he's going to retire so President Joe Biden can appoint a replacement.

'I'm not going to speculate on his retirement,' Klobuchar, who represents Minnesota in the U.S. Senate, told CNN Sunday morning when asked about a report on Breyer's retirement.

'When you look at the court, he has to be concerned about the makeup and you have to be concerned about how you get a justice on the court with all the manipulation that Mitch McConnell has engaged in,' she continued.

'He makes his own decision about if he is going to retire,' Klobuchar said in an interview with State of the Union, 'but if he is going to retire, it should be sooner rather than later if you are concerned about the court.'

Democrats are specifically concerned after Donald Trump was able to appoint three Supreme Court justices during his four years in office  most importantly taking a liberal spot left vacant when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020, just two months before the election.

Senator Amy Klobuchar told CNN on Sunday that liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, needs to decided 'sooner rather than later' if he's retiring so a Republican president doesn't end up appointing his replacement

Breyer said last week he has not decided when to step down, after being publicly pressured to announce his retirement at the end of the court's term to allow President Biden to pick a new justice

Klobuchar, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, referenced on Sunday morning the Republican-controlled Senate blocking then President Barack Obama from filling the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia's seat when it was left vacant in February 2016, nine months before Trump was elected.

The left has accused Republicans of double standards by not allowing Obama to fill the seat with Merrick Garland, and instead leaving it open for months so eventual President Donald Trump could fill it with conservative Neil Gorsuch.

In 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, a fellow conservative.

After Ginsburg was replaced by Amy Coney Barrett in October 2020, the court settled at a 6-3 conservative majority.

Democrats are looking to realign that  with some even proposing stacking the court by adding the number of justices so they can make it more balanced with a few liberal appointees.

They are also concerned that Trump, or any Republican for that matter, could win in 2024.

If Breyer, 82, decided to retire after 2024, and a Republican were in the White House, liberals could lose yet another seat on the court to a conservative.

Breyer was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Breyer is reveling in his current status as the senior liberal all the court and resisting pressure to retire.

He told CNN, when asked last week, that 'no', he has not decided when he will step down.

The 82-year-old is currently spending his summer in New Hampshire.

Breyer says he enjoys his seniority on the court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority

When he named the factors that would guide his decision, he did not mention anything having to do with the ideological makeup of the court, with a series of decisions falling along rigid lines with a 6-3 conservative majority.

'Primarily, of course, health,' Breyer said, when asked about what would inform his decision to step down. 'Second, the court,' he said.

He said he has been enjoying the prerogatives as a senior justice. The 27-year vet gets to speak first after Chief Justice John Roberts when the justices meet privately in conference. It 'has made a difference to me,' he said.

Some liberal commentators were pushing Breyer to step down when the court issued its final opinions in June, fearful of a replay of what happened with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg resisted similar pleas, then died at 87 last September. Trump quickly nominated a replacement, and then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell got the Senate to confirm Coney Barrett weeks before Biden was elected and Trump left office.

Justice Barrett is 49.

McConnell had already infuriated liberals by failing to hold a hearing on Garland after the death of Scalia.

This year the liberal group Demand Justice organized a billboard truck to circled the Supreme Court with the sign 'Breyer, retire,' and some lawmakers called for him to do so. Biden has pledged to nominate a black woman for the Supreme Court should a vacancy occur.

Control of the 50-50 Senate is up for grabs in 2022, and liberals fear if Republicans gain control Biden will be unable to get a justice confirmed in the second half of his term. Control could also flip should a death or vacancy in the Senate occur before then.
A viral video shows two men hurling anti-Asian slurs at employees at a Florida ramen shop after they asked their group to leave.

Ramen Lab Eatery in Delray owner Louis Grayson described the incident as 'heartbreaking' in the video he posted on his shop's page, which shows a bald, bespectacled man calling him a 'Taiwanese ch**k, motherf****r' and telling him to, 'take your f***ing China flu and shove it up your a**!'

The shop was closing, and Grayson said the incident occurred when he along, along with two other men, wandered over with pizza from a neighboring business, pulled out chairs stacked outside the shop and sat down.

When a waitress asked them to leave, the slurs started to fly.

'I asked you nicely to leave, that's about it,' Grayson can be heard telling the men.

A group of men were caught on video hurling anti-Asian slurs toward employees at a Ramen shop in Florida

In a profanity-laced rant the pictured man calls the shop owner a 'Taiwanese ch**k, motherf****r' after he asks them to leave

A second man can also be seen and begins shouting at the owner

He hurls insults such as 'woke sissy motherf****r,' and 'communist.'

'Take your f***ing China flu & shove it up your a**! A**hole, you f***ing Taiwanese ch*nk, motherf****r,' one replies.

'Well done, sir, thank you,' Grayson replies.

'Oh yeah, I'm over here,' the man continues, appearing to try and goad the owner into a conflict. 'whattaya gonna do?'

'Keep saying what you need to say sir,' Grayson replies, as a female employee can be heard calling the police and describing the three men, and reporting that they appeared to be drunk and acting aggressive.

Louis Grayson, owner of Ramen Lab Eatery said his shop stands against all forms of racism

The second man, holding a slice of pizza, also begins shouting at Grayson, calling him 'A woke sissy motherf****r,' and a 'communist.'

The man in the glasses then takes his phone out and also begins recording the encounter as the third man starts telling him they might be better off leaving.

As he walks away he shouts: 'Bye coronavirus go f*** yourself corona. I hope you f***ing die of corona.

Grayson, 30, said he had walked out after hearing the commotion outside, and was met with questions of his country of origin.

'He asked where Im from and I said, "Im from here." They said, "No, youre from China. Youre a ch**k." My familys from Thailand,' he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

That was when the 30-year-old business owner started filming.

The incident came as incidents of anti-Asian hate have skyrocketed in the United States over the past year, with the country's largest counties and cities reported that anti-Asian hate crimes were up 164%, according to a May study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino.

Grayson posted on his shop's Instagram that the incident was 'heart breaking'

The incident was sparked when the men tried to sit down outside the shop (pictured) at closing time and employees asked them to leave

'We have zero tolerance for violence. We are a honest hard working business. We stand against any type of racism, harassments and discrimination. We pride ourselves in having a multicultural environment,' Grayson posted to his shop's Instagram.

'Unfortunately, this situation was very heart breaking and will not break our spirits. We will not accept this type of behavior and attack on anyone and especially to our staff. We do not tolerate any kind of hate. However this was after we politely ask 3 grown men to eat there pizza else where while we try to close and put away our tables.

'If any one know or recognize these men please be careful and report them. We respect and love everyone however this is hard to grasp. We will not stand for it EVER and we hope justice will be.'

The video spread widely on Twitter, with users condemning the hate on display.

Video of the incident also spread on Twitter, where users were quick to condemn the behavior

Jake Lobin tweeted that the men's behavior was 'unconscionable.'

'I wish we could ID the hate gene and develop a vaccine for that,' posted another.

'When is this hate going to stop????' another user wrote.

Another user Rae Dubow, called on users to identify the men in question, writing, 'Twitter do your job!'
A shirtless man who climbed to the top of a 325-foot amusement park ride is now being evaluated for mental health issues as he remains in police custody.

The man, who has not been named, was seen climbing up the Supreme Scream ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California late Saturday night, sending the amusement park into a frenzy as officials tried to get him down from the top of the tall structure.

Videos posted to Twitter of the incident showed him scaling the structure, ultimately reaching the top, where he sat down calmly and spread his arms.

He reportedly screamed as he reached the top, Newsweek reports, while the area surrounding the ride was evacuated.

Videos posted to Twitter showed the moment a shirtless man scaled to the top of the Supreme Scream ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California Saturday night

The man, whose name has not been publicly released, climbed all the way to the top of the 325-foot tower and appeared to sit down

Local news stations caught him calmly sitting on top of the tower and spreading his arms

Police Sergeant Mario Escamilla told the Orange County Register that park visitors first flagged down officers to make them aware that somebody was climbing the top of the tower at around 7:22 p.m.

Buena Park police arrived to the scene with the Orange County Fire Authority shortly thereafter, he said, while La Palma Avenue was temporarily closed between Beach Boulevard and Western Avenue.

The police issued an appeal to the public on social media to 'please stay out of the area while we work to bring this person down, safely.'

Meanwhile, the park remained open, but the area around the ride was roped off, with firefighters preparing to climb the structure themselves to rescue the man, who ultimately climbed down a ladder from the top on his own accord around 9 p.m.

The Supreme Scream ride is the tallest in the amusement park, which had to evacuate people in the nearby area Saturday night

Buena Park Police kept the public updated on Twitter, telling people to avoid the area

Officials from the Orange County Fire Authority later tweeted that once he was secure, 'our firefighter paramedic assessed and transported him to a local hospital,' where Escamilla said he will be undergoing a mental health evaluation.

It remains unclear whether the man will face any criminal charges.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the police department for further information.

Park-goers on the scene, though, said the situation was scary, with one woman telling CBS Los Angeles that park officials announced over the loudspeakers that 'someone was trying to commit suicide,' and the park was turning off all of its electricity as a result.

In a statement released after the incident, Knott's Berry Farm officials said: 'At approximately 7:23 pm, Knott's Berry Farm became aware of a male who had accessed an unauthorized area and climbed the Supreme Scream tower. Park personnel alerted local law enforcement and emergency responders who are now on site.'

'The guest descended the tower at 8:55 pm and is now currently safely on the ground in police custody.'

'The safety of our guests is always our top priority,' the statement concluded.
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Shocking aerial pictures have revealed the scale of the devastation caused by the flooding in Germany as the billion-euro clean up operation gets underway.

Communities in Germany have rallied to begin the clean up after the devastating floods which are estimated to have left more than 180 people dead.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was pictured arriving to a village left in ruins by this week's biblical floods - which have now claimed at least 188 lives across Germany and Belgium.

Ms Merkel's visit to Schuld, situated on a curve of the river Ahr in the Ahrweiler district, west Germany, comes after President Frank-Walter Steinmeier went to the area on Saturday and made clear that it will need long-term support.

Satellite images when compared to the same images from three years ago show how severe flooding has wiped out homes and other buildings as well as leaving a trail of mud and debris behind.

Pictures from towns and villages that were affected show huge piles of rubble, cars on their side and subsiding flood waters as locals band together to begin the clean-up.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he will propose a package of immediate aid at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros (257m) will be needed.

 Slide me  Pictured: A satellite view shows the city of Antweiler which was seriously affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls

 Slide me  The widespread flooding is estimated to have caused billions of euros worth of damage across Germany. Pictured: A satellite view shows the city of Schuld which was severely affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls earlier this week

A satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows a destroyed bridge and mud-covered streets in Liers, Germany, 18 July 2021

But he added that officials must start setting up a rebuilding programme, which would likely cost billions of euros.

Ms Merkel said following her visit: 'We are by your side,' describing the situation as 'terrifying'.

She added: 'It is shocking - I can almost say that the German language doesn't have words for the destruction that's been wreaked.

'What I could see, however, is also incredibly comforting - how people are sticking together, how they are helping each other, the solidarity that is there.'

The death toll from flooding in Western Europe climbed to 188 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Devastation: Communities in Germany have started the clean up operation after the devastating floods which are estimated to have caused billions of euros worth of damage and left more than 180 people dead. Pictured: Bad Muenstereifel, Germany

Police officers and volunteers clean rubble in an area affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls in Bad Muenstereifel

Police officers walk by a damaged car in an area affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls in Bad Muenstereifel

Police officers and volunteers clean rubble in an area affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls in Bad Muenstereifel

People work in an area affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls in the center of Bad Muenstereifel, Germany

Police officers and volunteers clean rubble in an area affected by floods caused by heavy rainfalls in Bad Muenstereifel

Locals come together to begin the clean up operation in western Germany after devastating floods devastated the area

The most affected region is reported to be Ahrweiler of Rhineland-Palatinate. Pictured: locals begin the clean-up

In the Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, the number of recorded deaths has now surpassed 110 and police fear that figure may still rise.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, 46 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters, while Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

It comes as an extraordinary video shows the dramatic moment a German firefighter was plucked to safety from a flood-swollen street in a dangerous rescue bid that almost certainly saved his life.

The heart-stopping clip shows how rescuers didn't hesitate to form a human chain and pull the fireman out after they were alerted by his desperate cries for help. The exact location of the dramatic moment is unknown.

Meanwhile Pope Francis offered a prayer for the flood victims today and support to the 'efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage.'

In his first public appearance in St. Peter's Square after major surgery, he said: 'I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding.

'May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members.'

Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting Schuld, situated along the Ahr river, which has been left devastated by extreme flooding

Ms Merkel and the Governer of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (front right), talk with a resident in Schuld

Ms Merkel (third from left) and Ms Dreyer (second from right) listen attentively to a local in Schuld as they inspect the damage

Chancellor Merkel and Rhineland-Palatinate leader Dreyer arrived to flood-ravaged Schuld in west Germany on Sunday

Chancellor Merkel and other officials arrived to Schuld in a convoy of cars, escorted by police in cars and on motorbikes

Chancellor Merkel and Rhineland-Palatinate leader Dreyer review the damage in Schuld, based in the Ahrweiler district

Chancellor Merkel and regional president Dreyer are walked around Schuld, situated on a curve of the river Ahr in the Ahrweiler district, west Germany, following floods which have been described as 'catastrophic'

Dramatic moment firefighter in Germany is seen being washed down street during flash flooding before (right) locals risk their lives to pull him to safety

A group of residents in Germany notice a man in a high-vis jacket hurtling towards them in the street, which had been turned into a rapid following flash flooding. In a dramatic video shared online, they can be seen forming a human chain before pulling him to safety

Still of concern is a reservoir dam in western Germany which is in danger of collapsing after burst rivers and flash floods collapsed houses and ripped up roads and power lines.

Authorities in the Rhine-Sieg county south of Cologne said the Steinbachtal dam is at serious risk of breaching after around 4,500 people were evacuated from homes downstream. The nearby stretch of Autobahn 61 is also completely closed.

Other dams in the area have also overflowed, and draining is also taking place at the Rurtalsperre dam, Wupper dam and the Bever dam near Radevormwald. The residents along the Wupper River were asked to leave the area immediately, local media report.

The Steinbachtal dam, which was built in the 1930s, has undergone renovation twice - in the 1940s, after two cracks appeared in the reservoir's crown and erosion was detected in its clay core; and between August 1988 and June 1990 amid fears of further erosion.

Ms Merkel arrived to Schuld in Rhineland Palatinate on Sunday. More than 180 people have been killed in the flooding, including about 98 in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, according to police.

Hundreds of people were still missing or unreachable as several areas were inaccessible due to high water levels while communication in some places was still down. Residents and business owners struggled to pick up the pieces in battered towns.

'Everything is completely destroyed. You don't recognise the scenery,' said Michael Lang, owner of a wine shop in the town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Ahrweiler, fighting back tears.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Erftstadt in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the disaster killed at least 45 people. He added it would take weeks before the full damage, expected to require several billions of euros, could be assessed.

'We mourn with those that have lost friends, acquaintances, family members,' he said. 'Their fate is ripping our hearts apart. It's too early to give the all-clear but we are cautiously optimistic.'

Around 700 residents were evacuated late on Friday after a dam broke in the town of Wassenberg near Cologne, authorities said. But Wassenberg mayor Marcel Maurer said water levels had been stabilising since the night.

Armin Laschet, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia and the ruling CDU party's candidate in September's general election, said he would speak to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in the coming days about financial support.

A helper makes his way as works through a flood-ravaged street in the centre of Bad Muenstereifel on Sunday

A resident trudges through the disaster left by flash flooding in the German zone of Bad Muenstereifel on Sunday morning

Homes and businesses have been left destroyed following catastrophic flooding in Germany this week

There are fears the crisis could worsen the a dam at the Steinbach reservoir (insert) on the verge of collapse due to the pressure of water behind it, as 4,500 people living in three villages below (top right) told to evacuate their homes

Wrecked cars and trucks are flooded on the B265 federal highway in Erftstadt, Germany

A drone photo shows an aerial view of vehicles piled up on a flooded road in Erfstadt, Germany

Clearing tanks of German Army, the Technical Relief Organization (THW) and rescue workers clear wrecked cars and trucks from the B265 federal highway in Erftstadt, Germany

Firemen pump out water from an underground parking garage following heavy floods in Euskirchen, western Germany, on July 18, 2021

A resident passes a pile of debris in a street following heavy floods in Euskirchen, western Germany, on July 18, 2021

A wrecked classic car is seen amid debris washed away by heavy flooding in western Europe which has killed 150

Workers clear a destroyed street after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler

A view of destroyed houses in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, which were destroyed after the ground beneath them collapsed into a nearby gravel pit

Three firefighters look at severely damaged ancient houses after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany

Gravestones are barely visible above floodwaters in the Erftstadt region of Germany, after the river Erft burst its banks

Cow is found alive 60 MILES from its pasture after being washed away in Dutch floods Stunned rescuers in the Netherlands have found a cow alive 60 miles from its pasture after it was washed away in devastating flood that hit the south of the country. The cow went missing from a farm in Echt in Limburg, near the river Meuse which broke its banks amid flooding overnight Wednesday, before being found on Saturday in the town of Maas. Passersby noticed the animal submerged in water with only its snout visible before calling emergency crews, who pulled the beast out. A vet was then summoned to examine the animal who then discovered where it had come from. The farmer has been contacted, and is on the way to retrieve it. 'It is very surprising,' one rescuer told local station Omroep Brabant. 'We don't know whether the animal travelled the whole way in the water, or whether there were also parts in which the cow walked.' Advertisement

The death toll from flooding in Germany and Belgium climbed above 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Police put the toll from the hard-hit Ahrweiler area of western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state at 110 and said they feared the number may still rise.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany's most populous, 45 people were confirmed dead, including four firefighters. Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

There was also flooding on Saturday in the German-Czech border area, across the country from where last week's floods hit, and in Germany's south-eastern corner and over the border in Austria.

Some 65 people were evacuated from their homes in Germany's Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed. A flash flood swept through the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.

As the waters began to recede in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North-Rhine Westphalia, concern shifted south to Germany's Upper Bavaria region, where heavy rains inundated basements and swelled rivers and creeks late Saturday.

One person died in Berchtesgadener Land, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian district told AFP.

Ms Merkel has called the floods a 'tragedy' and pledged support from the federal government for Germany's stricken municipalities.

Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, the German Chancellor said her 'heart goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones'.

The disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads to the polls on September 26 for a general election that will mark the end of Ms Merkel's 16 years in power.

With experts saying climate change is making extreme weather events like these more likely, candidates vying to succeed the veteran leader have called for more climate action.

Armin Laschet, the premier of hard-hit North-Rhine Westphalia state and frontrunner in the race for the chancellery, said efforts to tackle global warming should be 'speeded up'.

But Mr Laschet, who heads Ms Merkel's CDU party currently leading in opinion polls, scored an own goal Saturday when he was filmed laughing in the devastated town of Erftstadt in NRW, where a landslide was triggered by the floods.

In the footage, Mr Laschet could be seen chatting and joking in the background as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a statement expressing his sympathies to grieving families. He later apologised on Twitter for the 'inappropriate' moment.

The scale of the flood impact was gradually becoming clear in Germany, with damaged buildings being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts under way to restore gas, electricity and telephone services.

A family were among the missing on Saturday morning. Pictures of Hans Neufeld, 71 (left), wife Ella, 59 (centre), and their son Frank, 22 (right) were submitted by the couple's son Harry

Julia Dillenburger, 39, (left) from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, was unaccounted for on Saturday morning. Karl-Heinz Zimmermann (right), a 93-year-old grandfather from Bad Neuenahr was another missing

A second family - Nicole Berg (left), Patrick Berg, and their son Dennis (left) - were among the missing. Husband and wife Aida Maria, 74, and Klaus Wolfgang Huber, 76, (right) are unaccounted for and were last heard from on Wednesday evening

Diana Janko, 60, (left) was last seen a few days ago on Facebook video call. While Gerhard Hubner, 60, (right) was also among the missing. He was last seen on Wednesday evening

Search and rescue efforts continued on Saturday morning with hundreds still missing following severe rain and flash floods in Germany

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the disaster zone in Belgium on Saturday with Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and vice Prime Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne

German soldiers helped the rescue efforts on Saturday, recovering cars that had been swept away in flash flooding

Frontrunner in race to succeed Angela Merkel as German Chancellor sparks fury after he was caught laughing during visit to flood-ravaged town The frontrunner in the race to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor sparked fury after he was caught laughing during a visit to a town devastated by flooding. Armin Laschet was filmed joking with colleagues behind President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as he expressed sympathies with flood victims in hard-hit Erftstadt. At one point, the 60-year-old leader of Merkel's CDU party can be seen breaking into laughter for several seconds. 'Laschet laughs while the country cries,' the best-selling Bild daily said on its website. Commentators and politicians were quick to condemn Laschet on social media. 'I'm speechless,' tweeted Lars Klingbeil, secretary general of the centre-left Social Democrats, who govern together with the CDU/CSU bloc. 'This is all apparently a big joke to (Laschet),' wrote Maximilian Reimers from the far-left Die Linke opposition party. 'How could he be a chancellor?' Laschet later apologised on Twitter for the 'inappropriate' moment. Advertisement

In some areas, soldiers used armoured vehicles to clear the debris clogging streets. In NRW, divers were sent in to search submerged homes and vehicles.

Local authorities in NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate said dozens of people remain unaccounted for across both states. They have stressed, however, that disruption to communication networks made a precise assessment difficult, and the real number of missing could be lower.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said more than 670 people were injured.

'I've lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I've never seen anything like it,' said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near Schuld.

Across the border in Belgium, the death toll jumped to 27 with many people still missing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.

'Europe is with you,' Ms von der Leyen tweeted afterwards. 'We are with you in mourning and we will be with you in rebuilding.'

Belgium has declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.

It comes as police in Germany and Belgium have told 'disaster tourists' coming to take pictures of devastating floods because they are hampering rescue efforts.

Cops in the hard-hit region of Euskirchen, western Germany, warned people flying photography drones over badly flooded areas that they are interfering with emergency service drones searching for hundreds of people that remain missing.

Meanwhile the mayor of Olne, a small Belgian town between the cities of Liege and Verviers which were submerged when the Meuse and Vestre rivers broke their banks, slammed 'reprehensible' visitors clogging up the roads with cars and preventing emergency vehicles from getting through.

'We need solidarity, not voyeurism,' Cedric Halin told state broadcaster RTBF.

And in the Netherlands, local volunteers complained that out-of-towners have been stealing their bikes after they cycled to help with the cleanup, while shop-owners cleaning out their ruined businesses said items had been stolen when they turned their backs.

Authorities in Roermond, in the badly-hit Limburg region, even went so far as to threaten gawpers with fines as they continued to arrive Friday. 'Give all emergency services space to do their work,' a statement said.

Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents.

Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, German authorities listed large numbers of people as missing - something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.

By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures.

In Belgium, 103 people were listed as missing Saturday, but the crisis center said lost or uncharged cellphones and people taken to hospitals without identification who hadn't had an opportunity to contact relatives were believed to be factors in the tally.

Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.

'A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up - their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads,' German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.

He added that people in the affected areas need continuing support.

In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.

The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged.

Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.

In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.

Around 700 people were evacuated from part of the German town of Wassenberg, on the Dutch border, after the breach of a dike on the Rur river.

Search and rescue workers check submerged cars for hundreds of people still missing following days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (second left) and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet (second right) visited Erftstadt fire department to get an overview of flooding in the region

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (centre) visited flooded parts of the city of Venlo in the Netherlands on Friday following days of severe rain and flooding

Search and rescue services look amid the debris for survivors after days of heavy rainfall and severe flooding in Pepinster, Belgium

Search and rescue services resumed looking for flood survivors in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday with hundreds still missing and at least 153 confirmed dead

Residents survey the damage caused by days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday

Residents start a lengthy clean-up in Pepinster, Belgium, after flash floods caused widespread damage in large areas of the country

Search and rescue teams looked through rubble in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday, hoping to find flood survivors

Residents start to clear up broken trees and debris strewn across streets in Pepinster, Belgium, after the town was devastated by flash floods

Residents in Ahrweiler, western Germany, start the clean up after heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the region

Volunteers prepare food for flood affected residents in Rochefort, south east of Brussels, after the region was hit by severe flooding

The German fire brigade pump water out of the Steinbach dam after engineers warned the dam was dangerously close to collapse after three months' worth of rain fell on the region in just one week

Submerged trucks and vehicles started to re-emerge on Saturday following days of extreme flooding, Germany's worst floods in more than 200 years

Residents fill sandbags as they prepare for further flooding after days of heavy rainfall in Erftstadt Dirmerzheim, Germany

Visiting Erftstadt with Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet promised to organize aid for those immediately affected 'in the coming days.'

He said regional and federal authorities would discuss in the coming days how to help rebuilding efforts. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

'We will do everything so that what needs to be rebuilt can be rebuilt,' Laschet said.

In eastern Belgium, train lines and roads remained blocked in many areas.

A cafe owner in the devastated town of Pepinster broke down in tears when King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visited Friday to offer comfort to residents.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visited flood-damaged towns Saturday.

A resident of the Belgian town of Herk-de-Stad said she put off sleeping to try to empty her house of water.

'We have been pumping all night long trying to get the water out of the house,' Elke Lenaerts told broadcaster VTM on Saturday.

Parts of the southern Netherlands also experienced heavy flooding, though thousands of residents were allowed to return home Saturday morning after being evacuated on Thursday and Friday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who visited the region on Friday, said that 'first, there was corona, now these floods, and soon people will have to work on cleanup and recovery.'

'It is disaster after disaster after disaster. But we will not abandon Limburg,' the southern province hit by the floods, he added.

His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

Among other efforts to help the flood victims, the Hertog Jan brewery, which is based in the affected area, handed out 3,000 beer crates so locals could raise their belongings off the ground to protect them from the flooding.

An emergency dike in the town of Horn didn't hold and some houses were inundated. Authorities issued a warning to stay off the Maas River because of debris, and rescuers worked to save a cow stuck neck deep in muddy waters.

German Bundeswehr soldiers help search for flood victims in submerged vehicles on the highway in Erftstadt-Blessem

A soldier tries to open the window of a car as members of the German armed forces help the search for flood victims

Germany's Bundeswehr forces used heavily armoured vehicles to recover vehicles stuck on roads in Erftstadt-Blessem after days of heavy flooding

Members of the Bundeswehr forces were deployed to aid the recovery of vehicles following heavy rainfall and flooding in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany

A pile of broke trees and rubbish in a flooded area of Kreuzberg, Germany, following days of flash flooding that has killed at least 153 people

Debris piled up in Kreuzberg, Germany, on July 17, in central Europe's latest flooding disaster that has killed at least 133 in Germany alone

Debris and broken trees lined up alongside a railway in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, following days of extreme weather

A woman walks between donations in kind that are lying in a hall on the grounds of the Nuerburgring race track in Nuerburg, western Germany
Spread across a huge table in Sothebys auction house in London are stacks of immaculately preserved 19th- century first editions and manuscripts, a slew of letters in Jane Austens rigorously disciplined script and a small collection of Charlotte Brontes hand-sewn books, barely 3in high and filled with writing so teeny it had to be written with a single hair dipped in ink and can only be deciphered under a microscope.

Beside me is a chap called Richard Ovenden, Senior Executive of Oxfords Bodleian Library, who has barely slept he is so excited and, arms outstretched, looks about to combust with joy at this literary haul.

Bars of gold would be nothing in comparison. This is it. This is the moment weve been waiting for. he cries. This is our culture, our language and literature. These books are one of our greatest contributions to world culture and global civilisation. We have to save them for the nation.

Because, of course, these are not just any old books and letters.

They are the highlights, or greatest hits, of the Honresfield Library  a famous private literary collection amassed by northern industrialists William and Alfred Law in the 19th century and obsessively shielded from public and academic inspection.

Jane Fryer reads the Walter Scott manuscripts worth 1m which were collected at Honresfield Library, a famous private literary collection amassed by northern industrialists William and Alfred Law in the 19th century and obsessively shielded from public and academic inspection

Over the past 80 years, so little was heard of the library it was feared broken up and sold, or destroyed, and the longer academics yearned to pore over the contents, the more mythical its status became.

No wonder Ovendens hands are shaking and, alongside, Bronte expert Professor Kathryn Sutherland of St Annes College, Oxford, is fizzing with excitement.Because today is the first chance for generations for anyone to get a proper look at it. And its all here.

Among the collection is the complete original manuscript of Sir Walter Scotts 1817 novel Rob Roy, with a sale estimate of 1 million.

Theres Robert Burns first Commonplace Book, compiled between 1783 and 1785 when he was a relatively unknown poet, which shows off his 24-year-old thoughts on love.

This is his apprentice book, says Ovenden. Three years later, he was the toast of Edinburgh. Today there are Burns societies all over the world!

There are also some breathtakingly personal letters from Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, covering her love life and reaction to her published books.

Meanwhile, the first editions  some annotated by their authors  include everything from Jane Austens Emma, Persuasion and Pride And Prejudice to Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights.

But what has really got Ovendens heart racing is a set of manuscripts of the Bronte siblings.

The collection includes seven of Charlotte Brontes famous little books or magazines written at the kitchen table in the Bronte parsonage  alone worth an estimated 5 million  a manuscript collection of poems by sister Anne and a small autographed diary note by Emily and Anne.

The real treasure, however, is a small, slim, red-bound exercise book of Emily Brontes poems, annotated by her sister Charlotte and valued at between 800,000 and 1.2 million.

This is the Holy Grail, says Professor Sutherland. There is another in the British Library and thats it. This one was for many years considered lost or destroyed. Almost nothing of Emily survived. We cant believe its here.

Such is the librarys significance that, when it suddenly popped up, largely intact, for sale by Sothebys earlier this year, it was hailed as the Tutankhamuns Tomb of literature.

Bodley's librarian Richard Ovenden holds a small booklet, which is the second series of young mens magazines by Charlotte Bronte, worth approximately 600,000

Academics went into a frenzy of action to stop it from disappearing forever into wealthy libraries and private collections.

Overnight, the prestigious Friends Of The National Libraries charity formed a consortium of eight institutions including The Bodleian, The British Library, and The National Library of Scotland, which immediately sprang into action.

Weve never done anything like this before as a group of big research libraries, says Ovenden. But it was an emergency knee jerk. We just had to.

Within weeks, they had persuaded both the sellers and Sothebys to postpone the sale until November to give them a window to raise the 15 million required to save it for the nation.

Indeed, the collection is seen as so significant that the culture secretary Oliver Dowden has been briefed on the fundraising campaign and is said to be determined that it stays in Britain.

We have to succeed. There is nothing to touch it, says Ovenden. A single collection, built more than a century ago, that has stayed more or less intact but been seen by no one!

It all began in the late 19th century when William and Alfred Law, the owner of Durns Mill, near Rochdale, began buying books for their plain two-storey red-brick Honresfield home.

There was an explosion of brilliant British literature at the time, and plenty available for a discerning buyer with money.

They hoovered up works by Scott and Burns as well as Tennyson, Shakespeare, Homer, the Grimm Brothers and Elizabeth Gaskell. The Brontes, of course, who lived just 30 miles away and were local celebrities, were already on their radar.

William  the librarys driving force  bought and bought.

He collected because he deeply loved literature, says Ovenden. He loved to read  he read them all  and kept them in wonderful condition.

Sadly, neither brother married or had children and so, when they died, the library passed to their nephew, Sir Alfred Law MP, and then down the family line.

A few items, including a Shakespeare First Folio, were sold and a tranche of Walter Scott letters were given to the National Library Of Scotland.

Over the years, it moved with the Law family from Honresfield House to Buckinghamshire and, in 1939, was inherited by a gentleman farmer in Jersey, David Law Dixon, and vanished from view.

Only two scholars in the later 20th century were given access, says Professor Sutherland.

One chap apparently telephoned the family every August and asked to see the manuscripts. On the eleventh year, they let him in. As the story goes, Law disliked academics and didnt like the way he was asked, but perhaps it was more about privacy and security.

It is for sale now because the current owners  who have asked not to be identified  have decided that, given the responsibility of maintenance, it was the right time to sell.

There is little doubt that, had the charity not sprung into action, most of it would already have vanished forever as British institutions are routinely outbid by richer foreign buyers.

When ten years ago, the manuscript of Jane Austens novel The Watsons popped up for auction, the Bodleian bought it, but only after a private Chinese bidder had pushed the price close to 1 million.

Of course, sometimes the government is persuaded to place an export ban on specific items  as happened in 2019 with a copy of Lady Chatterleys Lover  but only after the item is sold.

Even then, there is no obligation for the owner to care for it properly (for books and manuscripts, this means keeping them cool, dry, dust free and out of direct light), far less make it accessible to others.

What good is it if its locked in a bank safe in London? says Ovenden. It might as well be Qatar or Shanghai. No one will ever see it again.

What has really got Ovendens heart racing is a set of manuscripts of the Bronte siblings (pictured)

The Friends Of The National Libraries also includes Abbotsford  the home of Walter Scott  the Bronte Parsonage museum, Jane Austens House, the Brotherton Library, and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, operated by the National Trust for Scotland. The plan is to raise the money  through a combination of grants, government funding, philanthropy and crowdfunding, which will enable private donors and literary fans to flock to the cause. The consortium plans to ensure that these treasures are spread around and enjoyed by all.

So the Burns collection would go up to Alloway, The Bronte treasures would go to Yorkshire and so on. The first example of a cultural levelling up, you might say.

Each bit is so significant it is likely to become the jewel in those collections, says Professor Sutherland.

For me, the notes and doodles between the Bronte siblings and Charlottes magazines are the most moving.

Even so, who on earth would pay hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of pounds for a teeny 3in book? Surely therein lies madness.

But then, with a specialist bone folder and very clean and steady hands, we open the cover and inside discover a thing of great wonder.

A beautifully presented title page and then pages and pages of reviews, poems and stories, all in unfeasibly tiny writing, penned by a 14-year-old genius who, alongside her two sisters, went on to write some of our nations greatest novels, and died horribly young.

Suddenly, we are transported back to the kitchen table in the Bronte parsonage with the lamp flickering and Charlotte hunched over the table, working away, siblings around her, and it is clear it is worth every penny, and more.

If you would like to help save the Honresfield Library for the nation, go to fnl.org.uk and click on the Honresfield Appeal button.
The wife of murdered dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was targeted using phone hacking software which was sold to repressive governments, it was claimed yesterday.

Hanan Elatrs phone number was found on a leaked list of over 50,000 alleged to have been identified as potential targets for governments using the military-grade spyware.

Presidents, prime ministers, human rights activists, business leaders and journalists, including the editor of the Financial Times, were said to have been included on the list.

The Guardian reported the data leak suggests widespread and continuing abuse of spyware. Mr Khashoggi, 59, who was highly critical of Saudi Arabias royal family, was killed after he walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. It was claimed he was murdered by a hit squad and dismembered inside the building.

His Egyptian wife, 52, was reportedly among those whose phones were targeted. A United Nations investigation concluded Saudi Arabia was responsible for his death and there was credible evidence to warrant an investigation into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his top officials.

Hanan Elatrs, murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's wife, phone number was found on a leaked list of over 50,000 alleged to have been identified as potential targets for governments using the military-grade spyware

The Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group, whose advisers include ex-PM Tony Blairs lawyer wife Cherie, has repeatedly denied that its Pegasus software was used by Saudi officials to target Mr Khashoggi. The spyware is intended for states to use against criminals and terrorists but phone numbers belonging to political, business and religious leaders and over 180 journalists were reported to be on the list.

They included the Beirut-born editor of the Financial Times, Roula Khalaf.

The Pegasus spyware can infect phones if a target clicks on a malicious link, which can be disguised in a text message from a contact. If the phone is infected, all the information it contains can be accessed, including messages, emails, photos and chats on apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.

The phones microphone and camera can also be switched on to spy on the targets. Forensics analysis of a small number of phones whose numbers appeared on the leaked list showed more than half allegedly had traces of the Pegasus spyware. Indian news website The Wire reported analysis of a phone belonging to Mr Khashoggis wife found malicious links were sent to it in 2017 and early 2018, disguised in text messages supposedly from her sister. Researchers were unable to determine if her phone was successfully infected.

The Pegasus spyware can infect phones if a target clicks on a malicious link, which can be disguised in a text message from a contact (file photo)

Amnesty International and Paris-based media organisation Forbidden Stories gained access to the leaked list of phone numbers and shared access with media partners, including The Guardian and The Wire. The outlets are expected to name other possible victims of the software in the next week. The Guardian said analysis suggested at least ten governments had entered names on to the list.

It reported that Mexico, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates had entered the most numbers. Hungary was also named along with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, and India. NSO sells its software to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies in 40 countries.

Morocco, Hungary, Rwanda and India denied they had used Pegasus to hack phones. Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Kazakhstan did not comment. Amnestys Agnes Callamard said: NSOs spyware is a weapon of choice for repressive governments seeking to silence journalists, attack activists and crush dissent, placing countless lives in peril.

NSO reported last month that Mrs Blair is an outside adviser, but it did not reveal how much she or her law firm Omnia Strategy were paid.
A Good Samaritan has been killed after she stopped to help another motorist seriously injured in a car crash on a major freeway.

Emergency services rushed to the Monash Freeway in Endeavour Hills in Melbourne's south-east about 3.15am on Monday.

Police understand a 4WD was travelling east along the Heatherton Road overpass before it went down a steep embankment and landed in an inbound lane of the Monash Freeway.

A passing motorist stopped her car and was helping the male driver when she was hit by a car travelling along the freeway.

The woman 63, from Langwarrin died at the scene.

The woman had been assisting the injured driver of this 4WD (pictured) when she was struck and killed by another vehicle on the Monash Freeway

The 35-year-old male driver of the 4WD involved in the initial crash was also seriously injured and rushed to hospital.

The driver of the other car that struck the woman is assisting police with their inquiries.

The crash is being investigated by the major collision investigation unit.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Christopher Hayes said police are 'still piecing together the exact circumstances' of the tragic incident.

The fatal collision in Melbourne's south-east caused traffic chaos several hours later. Pictured are emergency services at the scene

The Monash Freeway remains still closed inbound between Heatherton Road and Stud Road seven hours later at 10am, sparking delays for the morning commute with traffic backed up to the South Gippsland Freeway.

'Heatherton Road is also closed eastbound between Stud Road and the freeway. Use the Princes Highway instead,' a Vic Traffic alert read.

Investigators would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision or who has dash cam footage to come forward.
A former interpreter for UK Special Forces has begged Britain to rescue his family after Taliban gunmen knocked on his front door in Kabul.

The Afghan translator, Habib, said his family was saved only by the quick thinking of his 11-year-old daughter, who refused to let in the militants despite them posing as his friends.

After learning of last weeks ordeal, a former British commander in Afghanistan branded the treatment of some ex-military interpreters a disgrace.

British soldier with former Afghan interpreter Habib, who is waiting to hear if he will be granted sanctuary in the UK. He worked on a Task Force of UK and Afghan Special Forces and is now facing death threats. Habib has twice escaped ambushes

In scathing criticism of the Ministry of Defence, Major General Charlie Herbert said more had to be given sanctuary  and quickly  as those who risked their lives beside UK troops are on borrowed time and face death threats.

Commenting on the UKs decision to pull out of the country after 20 years, along with the US, he said: Leaving Afghanistan without a political settlement is ill-judged, but leaving without our former interpreters and locally employed staff is immoral.

He said the Ministry of Defence must not leave behind the remarkable Afghan locals who served us so brilliantly, and often with such sacrifice.

Outspoken criticism from a former senior officer with considerable experience of Afghanistan is rare.

Mr Herbert has personally been trying to help Habib, who worked for UK forces for 16 months. The ex-translator, who has another daughter aged 14, said: I feared they would break down the door and kill us. It was the Taliban, two men armed with AK47s...

If the British do not act quickly and rescue us, the Taliban will carry out their threats to send me and my daughters to hell.

They only hunt me because of my work for the British.

The 39-year-old, who worked with the Triple Four elite task force at Camp Juno in Helmand, is among a dozen translators for the unit waiting to hear if they will be allowed sanctuary in Britain.

They were previously told they did not qualify because, unlike most Afghan interpreters, they were not employed by the British government but directly by UK Special Forces. Two weeks ago, Bashir, 33, one of Habibs ex-colleagues, survived an assassination attempt after finding a bomb under his vehicle. At least five ex-translators have been murdered by insurgents this year, and more than a dozen have survived attacks.

The Daily Mails award-winning Betrayal of the Brave campaign has highlighted the stories of several translators from Camp Juno, who fear they will be left behind despite being involved in some of the most dangerous operations of the time.

The cases are being examined again under changes introduced by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, but Habib and his colleagues fear time is running out, with the Taliban making sweeping gains.

In scathing criticism of the Ministry of Defence, Major General Charlie Herbert, pictured, said more had to be given sanctuary  and quickly  as those who risked their lives beside UK troops are on borrowed time and face death threats

Praising the Mails campaign, Mr Herbert, a former Nato adviser in Afghanistan, said: Failure to relocate Habib and his colleagues will almost certainly result in their tragic and needless deaths.

A spokesman for the Government, which is expected to give sanctuary to 3,500 Afghans, said: We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Afghan locally employed staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces...

We have so far relocated over 1,500 locally employed Afghan staff and their families to the UK, with thousands more to follow in the coming months. Each application is considered on a case by case basis and handled sympathetically.
Four children were shot in Chicago as part of a drive-by shooting on Saturday night.

The shootings were part of another weekend of violence in the Windy City in which five people were killed and 47 people were wounded across the city.

The youngsters who were hurt were among six people hit during who were shot and wounded as they were standing outside of a house party in the city.

The shooting happened about 11:40pm in the Austin neighborhood on the city's West Side.

Five people were killed and 47 people were wounded across Chicago

In one incident, four children were struck by bullets and outside a house party

The youngest girl who was hit was a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the hand. She was taken to Stroger Hospital to be treated.

A 15-year-old girl suffered a graze to the head as a bullet flew while while two other teenage girls, aged 14 and 13, received bullet wounds to their buttocks.

A 19-year-old woman was shot in the back and listed in fair condition at Stroger Hospital.

A 25-year-old man also received treatment at Mount Sinai Hospital in the city with gunshot wounds to his buttocks. So far, no arrests have been made reports ABC7.

Girls, aged 12, 13, 14 and 15 were hit in the hand, head and buttocks outside of a house party

'The victims were standing with a group on the sidewalk and were attending a party when occupants in a dark-colored SUV fired shots,' police said in a statement.

One of the city's fatal shootings this weekend also occurred in the Austin neighborhood where at 29-year-old-man lost his life. Three other men were wounded in the incident.

Similar to the other incident in the neighborhood, the men were standing outside a home when three gunmen walked up and opened fire.

A 30-year-old man was shot to death early Sunday on Chicago's South Side.

Three other men lost their lives in various incidents across the Windy City

The man was walking on the street just after midnight when someone in a car opened fire. He was hit in the chest and taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A 31-year-old man was killed after being shot in the head while having an argument at 2am in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the city's West Side.

In another shooting, an eight-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after he was shot in the leg.

The shooting happened around 1am in the Gresham neighborhood.

Shootings in Chicago are up 11% in 2021 compared to this time last year

The child was inside an SUV together with a 28-year-old man who was shot in the back.

No arrests have been made in any of the weekend's homicides.

Shootings in Chicago are up 11% in 2021 compared to this time last year data from the city's police department has revealed.

So far this year there have been 1688 shootings in the city, compared to 1515 in the same period in 2020, according to official statistics.
Hamilton Moreno, 36,allegedly crashed a stolen car through a security gate at a Pinellas County airport

A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly crashing a stolen car through an airport security gate and then running into the cockpit of a Coast Guard plane.

Hamilton Moreno, 36, could face federal charges after allegedly crashing through a fence surrounding the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Pinellas County around 5am on Saturday before driving down the runway, according to the Pinellas County Sherriffs Department.

Moreno was using a vehicle that had been reportedly stolen earlier that evening in Tampa, police said.

Airport deputies started following Moreno, but he sped away and crashed into a security gate.

He stopped the car in a large hangar and ran into the cockpit of a parked C-130 aircraft, where police found him and took him into custody.

There were no injuries or property damage reported at the scene.

Moreno was sent to Pinellas County Jail and is facing multiple charges, including fleeing and eluding, trespassing, grand theft auto, burglary, two counts of criminal mischief and habitual traffic offenses.

Moreno could also face federal charges, which are pending. His bond was set at $24,150.
A predatory call handler at NHS Test and Trace abused his position to send messages on social media to a female student.

He legitimately phoned the Oxford undergraduate to check she was quarantining after she returned from Italy.

But he contacted the 22-year-old on Instagram just one hour later, saying: Gonna sound weird, but spoke to you thru NHS.... He said she seemed cool and pretty, and asked where she was from.

The language student, who asked not to be named, said the incident in June left her feeling shaken as he knew her address.

A call handler at NHS Test and Trace legitimately phoned the Oxford undergraduate to check she was quarantining after she returned from Italy before messaging the 22-year-old on Instagram just one hour later (file photo)

She said: This man acted in a predatory manner and has gone out of his way to track me down and send me creepy messages though my private Instagram page.

Someone like that should not be working for NHS Test and Trace, where they can access such sensitive personal data... there was the possibility that his online stalking could progress to physical stalking.

The Department of Health last night promised to investigate and said it suspends staff when appropriate.

A spokesman said: NHS Test and Trace is committed to protecting the personal data and safety of people they contact.
A mother who fled abroad with her toddler son during a bitter custody fight has won a battle for him to live with her.

Ellie Yarrow-Sanders vanished with Olly in 2018, triggering a hunt by police and court officials.

At one point, a High Court judge lifted reporting restrictions on the case in the family courts and used Twitter to appeal to her to come home.

Now it has emerged that the 28-year-old from Basildon, Essex, has returned to Britain and is living with her six-year-old in a secret location.

After a 16-month fight at the family court in Chelmsford  which cannot be detailed because of reporting restrictions  a judge has ruled that Olly can live with his mother and spend time with his father Patrick Sheridan.

In her first interview after spending eight months in hiding, Miss Yarrow-Sanders told Channel 4's Dispatches why she left the country.

'It was just desperation really,' she said. 'A lawyer that I had representing me said, ''If we cannot come to an agreement and co-parent, it will lead to care proceedings and you will lose him.''

'At the time I genuinely believed he was going to be taken  and that was the end, I would say, of my rational thinking.' She now believes that there should be more 'transparency' in family courts.

Ellie Yarrow-Sanders vanished with Olly in 2018, triggering a hunt by police and court officials

'I have no objections to any of my evidence being shown to the world,' she said. 'Kids Google themselves, don't they? Kids Google people that they know.

'You Google my name and I'm a child abductor. Why should I not be allowed to set the record straight? The overwhelming obstruction is the lack of transparency  it's a system that is designed for secrecy, I suppose.'

It is now three years since Miss Yarrow-Sanders, who once ran a cafe with her mother Donna, went on the run with her son just weeks before a 'critical' hearing at the family court with her former partner, a 48-year-old civil engineer.

Dad: Patrick Sheridan and Olly

In the run-up to Christmas 2018, when she had reportedly failed to use her mobile phone or bank account for five months, Mr Justice Williams  who was overseeing the case in the family courts  made Olly a ward of court and voiced his 'grave concern' for his welfare. He issued a direct plea to Miss Yarrow-Sanders on the Judicial Office Twitter account using the hashtag #comehomeolly. In a statement released by his legal team at the time, Mr Sheridan said: 'I'm so desperately worried about my son and just want him home.

'My message to Ellie is simple, 'Please come back so that we can see Olly's all right.' That's all I want.

'We are trying everything to find Olly, but it is clear that major steps have been taken to conceal where he is. He's been gone for months now and I miss him every single day.

'It's just been a living nightmare no parent should have to go through and I am sick with worry. The run-up to Christmas has been unbearable for us this year, knowing we might not get to see him, but I live in hope every day that we will find him.'

Afterwards Miss Yarrow-Sanders sent a letter to her mother Donna and sister Maddie saying: 'This is the only thing I could do for Olly to have any semblance of a childhood with his mum.

'I'm really sorry to leave you all but we have no other choice and I promise we will be OK. I will never let any harm come to Olly. I love my son endlessly.'

n Dispatches: Torn Apart: Family Courts Uncovered is on Channel 4 at 10pm tomorrow.
At least 4,000 racehorses have been dispatched to the slaughterhouse in Britain and Ireland since 2019, an investigation has found.

Some of the sports most successful horses were among those being put down at one of the UKs biggest abattoirs, where undercover filming revealed that rules protecting animals from unnecessary suffering were being ignored.

Three of them, including High Expectations, had been trained by shamed trainer Gordon Elliott, the suspended three-time Grand National winner, at his stables in Ireland.

Pictured, race horse High Expectations, who had been trained by shamed trainer Gordon Elliott, the suspended three-time Grand National winner, at his stables in Ireland

Elliott was banned from racing in Britain in March after he was photographed sitting on a dead horse, holding a mobile phone to his ear and making a victory sign.

Dene Stansall, horse racing consultant at Animal Aid  the campaign group which set up hidden cameras at the Drury and Sons abattoir in England for the BBCs Panorama investigation  said: We wanted to see what was actually happening there. When we looked at the footage, we were absolutely astounded at the sheer volume of young thoroughbreds.

The covert cameras were filming at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020 and captured dozens of former racehorses, mostly from Ireland, being slaughtered.

Elliott told Panorama the three horses had retired from racing due to injury and were not under his care or ownership when they were killed.

None of those animals were sent by me to the abattoir, he said.

The investigation found rules meant to protect horses from a cruel death appeared to be ignored at the abattoir. Regulations state every effort should be made to ensure a rapid death and horses should not be killed in sight of each other.

But the footage revealed that on 91 occasions, horses were shot from yards away, and animals were shot together 26 times over four days of filming. After watching the footage, equine expert Professor Daniel Mills said: It doesnt look like the horse is even stunned. You can see its turning its head. It seems to have got some control actually over its head and neck.

Taking a shot from a distance at a horse, to me, thats completely out of order. If youre going to euthanise a horse, youve got to get a bullet in the right place.

If thats representative of how theyre being killed, then weve got a really serious problem.

He added: The regulations are that an animal should not be slaughtered in sight of another.

A gunshot going off is going to be startling, seeing another horse suddenly drop, these are all going to be very distressing for a horse in this situation.

Many of the horses had travelled more than 350 miles by road and sea and were suffering career-ending injuries.

Veterinary expert Dr Hannah Donovan, who also reviewed the footage, told Panorama: The 350 miles potentially carrying an injury is not a humane process. This is unnecessary suffering.

Elliott was banned from racing in Britain in March after he was photographed sitting on a dead horse, holding a mobile phone to his ear and making a victory sign

The bottom line is these horses, if they are to be euthanised, could and should be euthanised at home.

Drury and Sons said: We take great care to maintain high welfare conditions and do not accept any form of animal abuse. All horses are humanely destroyed and on occasions where issues do occur, we take swift action to review and rectify.

Horse Racing Ireland said it placed great importance on the welfare of horses in the industry. It did not respond to questions regarding the number of racehorses being slaughtered.

The British Horseracing Authority said it had demonstrated a clear commitment to improving already high standards of care for racehorses... before, during and after racing.

It added that it would consider carefully any issues raised.

nPanorama: The Dark Side of Horse Racing, is on BBC One at 8.30pm tonight.
Manchester United have been offered the opportunity to sign Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr.

The Spanish giants have made Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe their top target, though they need to raise funds via player sales.

United and Madrid are already in talks over the potential signing of defender Raphael Varane this summer.

Manchester United are said to have been offered the opportunity to sign winger Vinicius

Florentino Perez is trying to make up funds to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe

The Mirror have now reported that United have also been offered the Brazilian winger, with a loan move that turns into a permanent deal seen as the 'most likely option'.

One stumbling clock for United though is that Real Madrid want a minimum of 68.5m for the 21-year-old.

United are already expected to announce the signing of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho at any time, with a 73m deal agreed.

Vinicius is said to be disappointed that the LaLiga side are looking to move him on, given the fact that new manager Carlo Ancelotti hopes to keep him.

But Madrid are looking to raise around 150m (128m) to sign Mbappe this summer despite his contract at PSG expiring next year.

Vinicius joined Madrid in the summer of 2018, a year after the club agreed a 36m deal to sign him from Brazilian side Flamengo.

Madrid are determined to land Mbappe this summer though his contract expires next year

Since his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, he has scored 15 goals in 118 appearances.

United meanwhile are expected to place a formal offer for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane this week.

United are wary of reports saying talks over personal terms and a fee are advanced as they make steady progress in discussions for the France international.

The 28-year-old has indicated he wants to join United, though nothing is yet agreed, with a price of 50million for a player who has one year left on contract is still considered too high.
Jack Fincham has been pictured speaking to four police officers in a car park at 5AM, days after his split from Frankie Sims.

According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, the former Love Island star, 29, spoke with officers after they had gotten a call claiming he was acting suspiciously.

In the image, Jack can be seen speaking with four men in uniform in a car park in south east London, five miles from his family home in Bexleyheath.

Questioned: Jack Fincham has been pictured speaking to four police officers in a car park at 5AM, days after his split from Frankie Sims

The reality star was seen wearing a blue jacket and matching tracksuit bottoms as he spoke with the officers in the early hours of the morning.

Jack was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops.

A local said: 'I have no idea why he was there. I only realised who it was after Googling. I'm sure if Jack wishes to take to social media and explain he will.'

MailOnline has contacted Jack's representatives for further comment.

Incident: According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, the former Love Island star, 29, spoke with officers after they had gotten a call claiming he was acting suspiciously

It was revealed on Friday that Jack and Frankie, who started dating in April, were said to have parted ways after fighting.

Insiders told OK!: 'Jack and Frankie have split. They've had a couple of rows and have unfollowed each other on Instagram.'

News of the break-up comes a day after Jack's ex and fellow Love Island victor Dani Dyer was left heartbroken when she split from her partner Sammy Kimmence after he was sentenced to three years in prison for a 34k fraud on Wednesday.

In May, Jack and Frankie confirmed their romance, sharing romantic snaps after being spotted passionately embracing after a night out.

They later shared a photograph from their first ever date, on April 11 at Jin Bo Law Skybar in London.

Meeting: In the image, Jack can be seen speaking with four men in uniform in a car park in south east London (pictured with Frankie)

Aftermath: Jack (pictured with Frankie) was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops

When their romance went public, there were concerns Frankie's feud with her love rival Chloe Brockett, 20, would reignite as it was rumoured at the time that Chloe had been dating Jack in recent months.

However TOWIE's Chloe insisted that she's completely fine with her nemesis Frankie and ex beau Jack striking up a romance, when she took to Instagram to reassure fans there are 'no bad feelings' and to wish the new couple 'all the best'.

Chloe and Jack had been rumoured to be dating over recent months, while the brunette beauty had previously fallen out with her co-star Frankie over Harry Lee.

MailOnline contacted Jack and Frankie's representatives for comment at the time.

Sad: It was revealed on Friday that Jack and Frankie, who started dating in April, were said to have parted ways after fighting

Sighting: Jack was seen for the first time since news of the police drama emerged - as he enjoyed an afternoon at Chelsea's Bluebird Cafe on Sunday

Outing: The star sipped on a drink as he chatted with friends during the afternoon

Chat: He was seen speaking with his friends during the sunny afternoon

Away from Jack's romantic woes, his ex Dani has been left heartbroken.

Jack and Dani won Love Island in 2018 and split the 50k prize, however their relationship ended in 2019 after nine months together.

The former pen salesman went on to have a daughter called Blossom with his long-term good friend and ex Casey Ranger, in January 2020, while Dani reunited with her pre-villa ex Sammy and they welcomed their son Santiago in January.

It was revealed on Thursday that Dani broke up with Sammy after he lied to her about his crimes before being sentenced to three years in jail.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a source revealed that the heartbroken star, 26, is working on life as a single parent with their son Santiago, seven months, after her boyfriend was jailed for a 34k scam.

Split: The break-up comes after Jack's ex Dani Dyer split from Sammy Kimmence after he was sentenced to three years in prison for 34k fraud on Wednesday (pictured in March)

They said: 'She is absolutely floored by what's happened with Sammy. She knows she has to make massive changes in her life and she's so distraught.

'All she knows is that her baby boy Santiago is the only thing that matters now and she is trying to work out how best to look after him as a single parent.'

Sammy, 25, duped Peter Martin, 91, and Peter Haynes, 81, by persuading the vulnerable pensioners to let him to invest their money for them and then splashed out on expensive restaurants, hotels and clothes.

Former flame: In May, Jack and Frankie confirmed their romance, sharing romantic snaps after being spotted passionately embracing after a night out

The source went on: 'She needs time to think it through. Sammy completely downplayed the court case every step of the way'.

It has been revealed that she was misled over the severity of the crimes which saw Sammy groom pensioners to fund his lavish lifestyle.

The source said: 'He led her to believe he hadn't done anything too serious and that he would get a suspended sentence now she knows the full horror of the crime...

Sweet: Jack and Dani won Love Island in 2018, walking away and splitting the 50k prize however their relationship ended in 2019 after nine months together (pictured on the show)

'She is broken. She feels desperately sorry for the two men he scammed and whose lives he ruined.'

Speaking about how she is feeling now, they said: 'She feels utterly stupid for ever believing him and she is totally overwhelmed.

'The little dream family she thought she had has been smashed apart and she is now trying to work out how best to pick up the pieces.'
The man who portrayed Port Arthur mass murderer Martin Bryant has won the Best Actor award at the annual Cannes Film Festival.

The film Nitram, about the events of Australia's worst massacre that killed 35 people, was accused early of possibly glorifying the killer.

But critics were stunned by the intimate family drama about mental illness that exploded into the headlines in 1996.

American actor Caleb Landry Jones has won best actor at Cannes for 'Nitram', where he portrayed Port Arthur killer Martin Bryant

The film ends in the seconds before Bryant starts shooting at the former convict colony.

With the memory of the massacre still raw, actor Caleb Landry Jones, 31, said 'it was very evident that people were going to be angry'.

'Some people probably pegged the film to be a certain kind of movie,' he said.

'But it is a very sensitive piece and very respectfully made.'

Sensitive topic: With the memory of the massacre still raw, Caleb, 31, said 'it was very evident that people were going to be angry'

Being Texan helped with his role: 'The film is in many ways about the Australian male. I found a lot of similarities with Texas. So I knew what that was.'

He spent three months trying to get under Bryant's skin.

'I really worked on the dialect for two months in Texas. But I arrived a month before we began shooting and if it wasn't for that I think I would have failed miserably,' he said.

As he accepted his award, Jones said: 'I can't do this, I am going to throw up.'

'Thank you to the jury ... f**k. Thank you Justin ... f**k. I can not do this. I am so sad that I can not do this. Thank you so much. Thank you so much!'

Killer: The film Nitram is centred on the life of Port Arthur mass murderer Martin Bryant (pictured), with the title being Martin's named spelt backwards.

Due to the sensitive subject nature of the movie, producers chose to film in Victoria instead of Tasmania where the tragedy occurred, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time of production in November.

The film will not depict the killings, but will instead focus on Bryant's life before his murderous rampage in an attempt to understand how the atrocity occurred.

The publication also reported that the film will not name Byrant, and will also assign fictional names to other key characters.

Australian stars Judy Davis, 66, and Anthony LaPaglia, 62, took on the role of Bryant's parents.

Actress Essie Davis, 51, portrayed Tattersalls lottery heiress Helen Harvey, who was a companion of Martin's.

Australia's darkest day: His trail of destruction took the lives of 35 adults and children, injuring another 23, and prompted historic gun control legislation under the John Howard government

His trail of destruction took the lives of 35 adults and children, injuring another 23, and prompted historic gun control legislation under the John Howard government.

Bryant pleaded guilty to 72 charges including murder, attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm and arson.

On November 22, 1996, more than seven months after the massacre, Tasmanian Supreme Court Chief Justice William Cox ordered Bryant serve 35 life sentences without parole.

Bryant has never offered an explanation for his actions. Still, there is speculation, including from investigators, that his murders were sparked out of retribution for grievances and others were collateral damage. He will die at Hobart's Risdon Prison.
His daughter Chloe gave birth just days ago.

And Dean Gaffney has vowed to be a handsome grandpa to the new member of the family, baby Mimi before joking he'll be looking to Danny Dyer for tips.

The EastEnders star, 43, joked to The Sun: 'I'll be one of the best-looking grandpas in town.'

GILF? Dean Gaffney has vowed to be a handsome grandpa to the new member of the family, baby Mimi before joking he'll be looking to Danny Dyer for tips

The silver fox added: 'The only person I know who's in the same boat as me is Danny Dyer, who has a grandchild at 43. I'll be calling him for tips.

Danny is grandfather to his daughter Dani's baby boy, Santiago, who she welcomed in January.

'We could do grandaddy day care together,' Dean cheekily added of his former EastEnders co-star.

The actor admitted that while he's excited to become a grandad aged 43, he won't be helping with changing baby Mimi's nappies.

'I'll be one of the best-looking grandpas in town,' the soap star joked in a candid interview, after welcoming baby Mimi into the family

'I'll be calling him for tips': Dean has become a grandad at the same age as his EastEnders co-star Danny Dyer and joked he wants to form a 'grandaddy day care' group with him

He said he'd struggle to stomach the nasty chore because he has the 'worst gag reflex,' and would need a 'peg on his nose.

Dean took part in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2006 and struggled with the gruelling eating challenges.

When Baby Mimi arrived, Dean took to Instagram to share his joy at the new arrival to his family.

Memories: Dean said he'd be leaving the nappy changing to his daughter after gruelling eating challenges on I'm A Celeb revealed his sensitive gag reflex (pictured on the show with his partner Sarah Burge in 2006)

Happy families: Chloe, 24, (pictured) is one of Dean's twin daughters - and now Mimi's mother

He wrote sweetly: 'Welcome to this crazy world, my beautiful granddaughter Mimi. I am very happy to announce I am a GRANDAD  '

'I can't believe my baby is now a mother, proud is an understatement. Chloe and Declan you're going to be amazing parents. X Baby Mimi, born: 07.07.2021.. 7 pound 14oz.'

He joked with his 88k followers: 'Just to thank everyone in advance, I know I don't look old enough to be a father let alone a grandfather!

The actor shares twins, Chloe and Charlotte, with ex partner Sarah Burge.

The pair met when they were just 15-years-old and dated for 22 years before they announced their split in June 2015, after he admitted to cheating on her with a string of women.
She's kept a low profile after being fined in the Caribbean earlier this year.

But Zara Holland was in high spirits as she enjoyed dinner at Peter Street Kitchen Restaurant in Manchester on Saturday.

The Love Island star, 25, opted for a flirty cream mini dress and gold strapped heels as she stepped out for the evening.

Standing out: Zara Holland, 25, was in high spirits as she enjoyed dinner at Peter Street Kitchen Restaurant in Manchester on Saturday

Zara showed off her toned figure in the flirty dress that boasted several frilled layers, which she teamed with the muted accessories.

She opted for a matching taupe handbag as she posed outside the swanky eatery.

It comes after Zara showcased her incredible physique as she shared a stunning bikini snap ahead of the premiere of series seven of Love Island last month.

The reality star who appeared on the second series of the ITV2 show, looked sensational in an orange and red striped two-piece.

Ethereal: The Love Island star opted for a flirty cream mini dress and gold strapped heels as she stepped out for the evening

Stunning: Zara showed off her toned figure in the flirty dress that boasted several frilled layers, which she teamed with the muted accessories

Wow: Zara Holland showcased her incredible physique as she shared a stunning bikini snap ahead of the premiere of series seven of Love Island on Monday

The garment also featured a white palm print with Zara displaying her toned physique as she relaxed on a boat.

The former Miss Great Britain let her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders in the snap while she also sported a pair of gold earrings.

Showcasing her natural beauty in the post, Zara looked incredible as she posed in front of a sunset.

Zara and her partner Elliot Love, 30, were intercepted at Barbados airport and faced a jail sentence of up to a year, before both being let off with fines.

Drama: Zara has been keeping a low profile after she paid a 4,500 fine in the Caribbean earlier this year for trying to flee Barbados despite her boyfriend testing positive for Covid

In early January, Zara was believed to have returned home without her partner, when she was seen sat alone before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Manchester at the Grantley Adams International Airport.

Meanwhile, her boyfriend Love was forced to stay in the island's mosquito-ridden Paragon Isolation Centre until he was clear of the virus and had to pay a heavy fine to the country.

Following the offence Love managed to escape jail and received a reduced fine after his lawyer argued he was a 'simple guy', who owned a small demolition company and worked for 450-a week.

Love was fined 1,400 less than his famous girlfriend - despite him being prepared to get on a packed holiday jet while infected with the virus.

Zara was ordered to pay a heftier fine before fleeing the country due to her compliance in the offence, despite not testing positive herself.

Scandal: Zara and her partner Elliot Love, 30, were intercepted at the island's airport and faced a jail sentence of up to a year, before both being let off with fines

The former Miss England jetted back to Britain just hours after she was ordered to pay her fine or go to jail for nine months for breaching the island's tough Covid rules.

One fellow traveller said: 'She was sitting well away from everyone else and trying to keep a very low profile. To say she looked sheepish is an understatement.

'We were shocked to see her because we know her boyfriend is still being detained while he battles Covid. I'm amazed she's left him behind.'

Love had to test negative twice for the virus over the space of five days before he was allowed out of the military base which has been turned into a coronavirus quarantine centre.

Zara, of North Ferriby, East Yorks, could have been jailed for up to a year but the magistrate instead imposed the fine, which many on social media condemned as a let off. The fine was paid immediately by her lawyer meaning she was free to leave.

Homeward bound: At court, the shaken TV star had blamed her actions on a 'foolish error' and breathed a sigh of relief when she escaped with a fine of GBP 4,417 [B$12,000]

A guest who had been staying at the luxury Hilton hotel, where Holland holed up after being intercepted, spotted the former beauty queen scurrying out of the 350-a-night hotel several hours after she left court.

Andrew Pilgrim QC, Zara's lawyer, told MailOnline at the time: 'Zara left Barbados last night. The fine has been paid and she was free to go.'

A family friend added: 'Zara has gone home. She left last night by plane.'

At court, the shaken TV star had blamed her actions on a 'foolish error' and breathed a sigh of relief when she escaped with a fine of GBP 4,417 [B$12,000].

She had pleaded guilty to leaving the Sugar Bay hotel on December 29 while she was under quarantine.

Chief magistrate Ian Weekes admonished her for breaking the nation's tough rules that have prevented the holiday island being overrun by the virus.

Fame: Zara soared to fame on the 2016 series of Love Island (pictured in show still)

'We cannot tolerate that you breached the quarantine protocol, he said. 'You had been told to stay at your hotel and you should have done that.'

Mr Pilgrim blamed her 'lapse' on a 'foolish error,' telling the court she had two negative tests and became extremely nervous about her and Love's status in Barbados, which is why she decided to try and leave the island.

Love had already tested positive for Covid when the pair bought return flights to the UK.

Mr Pilgrim told the court Zara was involved in a lot of charity work in the UK, including helping children with cancer, and also helped with transportation for people in need.

He said she had the utmost respect for the people of Barbados and had been holidaying on the island twice a year for the last six years.

Zara remained silent when she left court but stood beside Mr Pilgrim as he spoke on her behalf.

He said: 'We accepted the decision of the court. Miss Holland wants to express her sincere apologies to the entire nation of Barbados.'

Love tested positive for Covid after arriving on the island. The couple were given red wristbands and told to remain in their room at the 300-a-night Sugar Bay until they were taken to a quarantine centre on the north of the island.

Instead, they booked would have been a British Airways flight back to the UK packed with fellow British holiday makers, cut off their wristbands and took a taxi to the airport where, according to a local source, their names raised some red flags with airport officials because of their short turnaround time in the country.

They were intercepted as they made their way to departures after surveillance cameras captured the pair entering public bathrooms and exiting wearing different clothing.

Prior to this, Jamaican tourist Dean George Scott, 49, admitted in court to leaving quarantine to 'buy Fanta' and other snacks after arriving on the holiday island at the beginning of December. He was jailed for six months.
Hannah Waddingham has claimed she was groped three times in a week while shooting comedy series Benidorm.

The actress, 46, rose to fame in the UK playing the role of Tonya Dyke in the hit ITV series but she explained not everything about being the character was a success.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said: 'I'd never been groped in my life, but I was groped three times in one week in Benidorm.

Shocking: Hannah Waddingham has claimed she was groped three times in a week while shooting comedy series Benidorm

'To get on set, I had to walk through the hotel dressed as Tonya in some non-existent bikini and high heels with blokes gawping at me or rather groping me.

'I had to stop myself doing what I'd instinctively do  knock their blocks off  because I was working.

While she had her struggles while on set, her performance saw her jump from one success to another - including landing a role in Game of Thrones.

In the hit series she played Septa Unella, a devout follower of the High Sparrow, and featured in the infamous scene which sees Cersei perform the walk of atonement.

Unacceptable: The actress rose to fame in the UK playing the role of Tonya Dyke in the hit ITV series, and has since gone onto become a huge Hollywood star

She also featured in Netflix's hit series Sex Education, playing the role of Sofia Marchetti, one of Jackson's mothers.

Hannah has also enjoyed recent success in the US as the second series of AppleTV+'s Ted Lasso gained a number of Emmy Award nominations.

Hannah plays Rebecca Walden, Ted Lasso's (played by Jason Sudekis) boss.

The stunning actress originally started out in musical theatre landing parts in shows including Kiss Me Kate and Spamalot.

Success: Hannah has also enjoyed recent success in the US as the second series of AppleTV+'s Ted Lasso gained a number of Emmy Award nominations (pictured)

Woman of many talents: The stunning actress originally started out in musical theatre landing parts in shows including Kiss Me Kate and Spamalot. Pictured in Lady of the Lake

Her background certainly came in useful when she performed memorable rendition of Let It Go at the AFC Richmond karaoke party.

Ahead of her Ted Lasso role, Hannah appeared in several hit West End productions and remained close to London so that she can always be close to her six-year-old daughter, whose name she has not publicly revealed.

In the first series of Ted Lasso, Hannah's Rebecca- who gets club AFC Richmond in a divorce deal- is humiliated on a regular basis by her verbally abusive former husband Rupert, who enjoys parading his youthful girlfriend, also called Rebecca, in front of her and the tabloids.
Samantha Armytage has come out swinging as the world continues to battle low vaccination numbers and a deluge of Covid-19 misinformation.

Writing in her regular column for Stellar this weekend, the former Sunrise host, 44, likened the Covid crisis to a Hollywood movie, before urging 'intelligent' Australians to get vaccinated.

'This story has everything Tinseltown thrives on: deception, grief, conflict, a new reality and, of course, a few hopeless politicians along the way,' Samantha lamented.

Australians are far smarter than Hollywood': Sam Armytage, 44, (pictured) has slammed 'hopeless' politicians and encouraged 'intelligent' Aussies to get the Covid jab

Sam then reminded her fellow Australians that 'the sooner we're all vaccinated, the sooner we can resume normal transmission'.

'We can rest assured that we have a reliable TGA and that most Australians are far smarter than Hollywood, and certainly more intelligent than many who run for politics,' she said.

Both of Australia's vaccines currently in use - Pfizer and AstraZeneca - were approved by the country's regulator, the Theraputic Goods Administration, early this year after completing phase three trials.

Get it done, Australia! And, while the vaccine debate rages on in America, Samantha reminded her fellow Australians that 'the sooner we're all vaccinated, the sooner we can resume normal transmission'

On Friday Scott Morrison outlined a four-phase transition towards living with Covid and finally ending the cycle of lockdowns and border closures.

The Prime Minister hailed a 'new deal for Australians' as he explained the stages titled vaccinate, prepare and pilot; post vaccination phase; consolidation phase; and final phase.

The pace of the plan - which will eventually let the country manage Covid like flu - depends on the vaccine rollout, with lockdowns eliminated once a certain percentage of Aussies have been fully jabbed with two doses.

'I have made it very clear today what is on the other side': On Friday Scott Morrison (pictured) outlined a four-phase transition towards living with Covid and finally ending the cycle of lockdowns and border closures

'I have made it very clear today what is on the other side. If we all get vaccinated then this all changes,' Mr Morrison said.

'The pathway we have agreed today gives all Australians encouragement and much needed hope in what has been a very difficult time.'

The plan was announced after 12 million Australians were locked down due to several outbreaks across the nation.

'Much needed hope': The Prime Minister hailed a 'new deal for Australians' as he explained the stages titled vaccinate, prepare and pilot; post vaccination phase; consolidation phase; and final phase. Pictured with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (right)
They love to catch some waves in their free time.

But Leighton Meester and her husband Adam Brody looked like they were having a more low-key day at the beach when they were spotted together in Malibu on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Gossip Girl star enjoyed some quality time curled up on a blanket with her two children, while her 41-year-old husband put on a wet suit to go surfing.

On the beach: Leighton Meester, 35, curled up on the sand in Malibu on Saturday with her daughter, born in September, while husband Adam Brody, 41, went out to surf

Leighton looked vibrant in a beige patterned sundress showcasing her fit arms and legs.

She blocked out the sun with a large floppy straw hat and stylish round-frame sunglasses.

The actress was cooling down under and umbrella while chatting with a friend.

She was joined by her young son, who was born in September and whose name hasn't yet been publicly revealed.

Leighton and Adam also share their five-year-old daughter Arlo.

Summer attire: Leighton glowed in a pale patterned sundress with a floppy straw hat and round-frame sunglasses, while Adam wore a wet suit top and pale red swim trunks

While she took it easy on the sand, Adam looked like he was itching to take a ride on some waves.

He had on a black wetsuit top that he regularly wears for surfing in the chilly Pacific water, though he swapped out the bottoms for pale red swim trunks.

The OC star also had on a bucket hat with a string to keep it tight on his head.

In December, Adam opened up to WSJ Magazine about how the couple have taken up surfing over the past year.

'A big part of our quarantine life is that my wife and I have been surfing our brains out,' he shared.

New sport: Adam joked in December to WSJ Magazine that they two had become 'beach bums' over the past year. 'A big part of our quarantine life is that my wife and I have been surfing our brains out,' he shared; seen together in 2019 in Culver City, Calif.

'My wife will come down with our son half an hour, 45 minutes after Im up and join the party and we will check the surf on our phones. Ive been off and on a lifetime surfer. My wifes relatively new to it but is very dedicated. She is going surfing right now.

'Other new hobbies? Honestly, were just beach bums,' he joked.

Leighton revealed to Shape last year that Adam had introduced her to surfing, which soon became her favorite way to stay in shape.

'My husband also taught me how to surf, and in the last year, I got really into it,' she shared in her cover story.

'I have found that when I don't have a physical result in mind when I'm exercising  it's not just about getting sore or getting abs or burning fat  I feel much more confident. I'm working on a skill, and that is so fulfilling to me.'

She added: 'Plus, being in the ocean is such a spiritual experience that you forget you're getting a real workout.'

Coming soon: Last month, Variety reported that Leighton had landed her next big film role in the Netflix thriller The Weekend Away; seen in 2019 in LA

The couple, who have been married since 2014, were first introduced in 2010 while starring together in the film The Oranges, and since then Adam went on to appear in several episodes of Single Parents with her.

Last year, he appeared in the critically acclaimed film The Kid Detective as well as the Oscar-winning black comedy thriller Promising Young Woman.

Meester, who most recently starred on the ABC sitcom Single Parents opposite SNL's Taran Killam, found her next big project last month with the announcement that she would star in the Netflix thriller The Weekend Away, according to Variety.

She'll lead the movie as a woman who jets off to Croatia for a weekend getaway with her best friend.

What should have been an idyllic vacation for the two turns into a nightmare after her friend turns up dead, leaving her as the prime suspect.

But even as she tries to clear her name, she dredges up painful secrets hidden between the two.
Big Brother winner Reggie Sorensen has slammed Katie Hopkins after the British columnist revealed her plans to deliberately flout restriction rules while in hotel quarantine.

Hopkins, 46 - who is rumoured to have flown to Australia as a 'VIP' for a celebrity appearance on Big Brother - infamously 'called out' lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday during an Instagram live video.

During the video, Hopkins openly mocked the 14-day hotel quarantine rules before revealing her plans to deliberately break them by opening her door completely naked and mask-free to workers who deliver her food.

After viewing the footage, a visibly angry Reggie tweeted: 'As a former Big Brother Housemate who won the hearts of Australians I am lost for words to see that #katiehopkins is going on VIP Big Brother.

'I don't know how she was let into the country': Former Big Brother winner Reggie Sorensen (pictured) has slammed Katie Hopkins for 'deliberately flouting rules in hotel quarantine'

'I don't know how she was let into the country or to be even going on the show! It's disgraceful #BigBrotherAU.'

Following the video, outraged Australians called for Hopkins to be deported with more than 20,000 people signing a petition to send the commentator back to the UK.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce also blasted the British personality on Sunday.

'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws,' he said on ABC's Insiders.

'If you want to do that, pack your bongo and get out of the country.'

Controversial: Hopkins (pictured) 'called out' lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne during an Instagram live video on Saturday

Meanwhile, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said at a press conference on Sunday: 'Some of these people just want us to talk about them, so I'm not going to feed that. If you want to know who gets in why and how, you need to speak to the immigration minister.'

Federal Labor Member for Macnamara in Victoria Josh Burns, also wrote on social media: 'Why on earth have you let Katie Hopkins into Australia @ScottMorrisonMP @karenandrewsmp?'

Shadow Minister for Cities and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles also expressed his outrage, adding: 'Deeply concerning to hear reports that far-right activist Katie Hopkins, who's been banned from Twitter for 'hateful conduct' has somehow come to Australia from the UK.'

'How has she been permitted to travel here to spread hate  when thousands of Australians remain stranded?'

Meanwhile, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said: 'We urge you @karenandrewsmp Home Affairs Minister to cancel the visa of Katie Hopkins & deport her.'

'I am lost for words': Reggie slammed Katie, who is rumoured to have flown to Australia as a 'VIP' for a celebrity appearance on Big Brother

Hopkins had taken to Instagram and 'called out' Australia's tough lockdowns at 5am on Saturday.

'The police officer who checked me in told me, when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door,' she said, while breaking out into hysterics.

'I can open the door but I can only do it in a face mask.'

The media personality openly revealed she wants to flout the rules by frightening workers and answering the door without waiting - while completely naked and maskless- in the hopes of provoking police.

'As someone knocks on the door, I'm trying to get to the door, spring it open and frighten the sh*t out of them and do it naked with no face mask,' she said.

'I want the sergeant in the foyer to come up and tell me off so I can stand there naked while he tells me off so that's one game that I'm playing.'

Hopkins is now being investigated by the Australian Border Force and the Australian Federal Police.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told The Daily Telegraph: 'It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk.

'I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa.'
Steve Irwin's 'hot niece' Rebecca Lobie has broken her silence on the highly-publicised Irwin family feud that has hit headlines over the past few months.

On Sunday, the 33-year-old told Daily Mail Australia she 'doesn't believe in airing out our family business' as she concentrates on launching her highly-anticipated new subscription website later this week.

'There is enough hurt and emotion for everyone involved with it all that it doesnt need to be rehashed,' the mother-of-two said.

Speaking out: Steve Irwin's 'hot niece' Rebecca Lobie has broken her silence on the highly-publicised Irwin family feud that has hit headlines over the past few months

Rebecca went on to discuss her new site, which will be similar to subscription site OnlyFans but will use her own branding so she has 'more control'.

'Having another platform to be able to share my content is something I have wanted to do for a while now and has always been a big request from people,' she said.

'I love creating content and engaging with my fans and this is another way I can.'

Speaking about her decision to shun OnlyFans, Rebecca added: 'It has the same features if not more. I will be posting exclusive content, chatting with fans and going live.'

Feud: On Sunday, the 33-year-old mother-of-two told Daily Mail Australia she 'doesn't believe in airing out our family business' as she concentrates on launching her new website on Monday. Pictured: Robert, Terri and Bindi Irwin alongside her husband Chandler

Coming soon: Rebecca went on to discuss her upcoming website, which will be similar to subscription site OnlyFans but will use her own branding so she has 'more control'

She added that the price of her monthly subscription fee had not yet been confirmed, but it is set to launch on Monday.

While Rebecca is a fan of sharing saucy images on social media, the website itself could simply be an extension of this and it's not suggested she will perform anything X-rated.

Rebecca - the estranged cousin of Bindi Irwin - often shares bikini-clad photos on Instagram and has raked up over 115,000 followers since its launch.

Rift: The Irwin family feud was blasted wide open last month, after Bindi she spoke about her strained relationship with her grandfather Bob, 82, (pictured) in a scathing Facebook post

The model is the daughter of Steve Irwin's sister Joy and her husband, Frank Muscillo.

She was previously the managing director of the Irwin family's Australia Zoo, but left in December 2015.

The Irwin family feud was blasted wide open last month, after Bindi spoke about her strained relationship with her grandfather Bob, 82, in a scathing Facebook post.

She sensationally claimed Bob - who is Steve's father - has shown 'no interest in spending time with me or my family'.

'I really wish that my entire family could spend time with Grace. Unfortunately, my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family,' the new mum, 22, said.

Bindi went on to claim that Bob had 'returned gifts I've sent after he opened them' and ignored any letters sent from her.

'From the time I was a little girl he has ignored me, preferring to spend time doing anything else rather than being with me,' she continued.

Claims: When one fan asked why she hadn't included her grandfather Bob, Bindi gave an uncharacteristically raw account of their relationship (pictured)

'He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart.'

She went on to say that her mother Terri Irwin still writes to him and sends birthday cards and Christmas gifts, but claims they have received no reply.

'We have also been his financial support since 1992 when he returned from Australia Zoo, sending him funds every week,' she added.

'We built him a house on a beautiful property and will always do our best to ensure his wellbeing.

'I hope everyone remembers to be kind to one another but most of all care for your own mental health. I have struggled with this relationship my entire life and it brings me enormous pain,' Bindi concluded.

Since the post, Bindi took a brief break from social media but swiftly returned weeks later.
She credited her wife Miranda Pearman-Maday with giving her the motivation to lose a substantial amount of weight.

And Raven-Symone put her stunning figure on display on Saturday when she and her wife walked the red carpet at the 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for Children's Programming and Animation.

The 35-year-old actress looked chic in a black satin coat that complemented Miranda's black dress as she prepared to host the award ceremony, which was divided into two days.

New look: Raven-Symone looked fantastic after losing 30 pounds as she and her wife Miranda Pearman-Maday arrived at the Daytime Emmy Children's Awards. The actress was co-hosting the ceremony

Raven-Symone (full name: Raven-Symone Pearman-Maday) looked straight out of The Matrix with her duster, which nearly reached to the ground and had eye-catching alligator-print black leather lapels.

She had it cinched around her waist with a leather belt to emphasize her hourglass figure, while she wore a black bra underneath to highlight her cleavage.

The longtime Disney star rocked a cool pair of shiny black combat boots and had her raven tresses styled up and swept to the side like a wave.

Joining the star to co-host was Odd Squad star Millie Davis.

Her series Raven's Home received several nominations at the ceremony, with Issac Ryan Brown, Sky Katz and Navia Robinson earning nominations for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Children's Program, while the series was also nominated for Outstanding Casting for a Live-Action Children's Program.

Back in black: Raven-Symone (full name: Raven-Symone Pearman-Maday) looked straight out of The Matrix with her duster, which nearly reached to the ground and had eye-catching alligator-print black leather lapels

Looking cool: The longtime Disney star rocked a cool pair of shiny black combat boots and had her raven tresses styled up and swept to the side like a wave

Elegant: Miranda matched her love with a slim black sleeveless O-ring dress with cutouts over her midriff

Miranda matched her love with a slim black sleeveless O-ring dress with cutouts over her midriff.

The dress featured a high slit to showcase her legs, and she stood tall in black open-toe heels that strapped around her ankles.

The social media manager wore her long blond tresses in thick waves that cascaded down her shoulders.

She and Raven-Symone first met back in 2015 when they both attended a karaoke night at a West Hollywood bar.

The lovebirds dated secretly for years afterward, before the Cosby Show actress announced in June of 2020 that they had gotten married.

Making it offiial: The lovebirds met doing Karaoke at a West Hollywood bar in 2015, and they got married last June after secretly dating for months

Making progress: Back in May, Raven-Symone gave her fans an update after she had 'lost a s***-ton of weight'

Back in May, Raven-Symone gave her fans an update after she had 'lost a s***-ton of weight.'

Among her favorite changes she focused on in the video  which was filmed in the car with Miranda driving  was her slimmed-down face.

'Pounds down, pounds down. Check out the chin  you see that chin?' the Atlanta native said. 'If you all watch Raven's Home literally right now, and then come on this live and see this joint, I got a whole different face going on. It's a whole pounds down journey.'

She got nothing but praise from her wife, who added, 'You're incredible, honey. You're doing so good.'

The latest: So far, the Disney star has lost 30 pounds since her wife encouraged her to lost weight

Earlier this month, the That's So Raven star shared that her most recent weight-loss journey was inspired by her wife.

She confessed to E! News that she made major lifestyle changes 'because we want to have a life together.'

She clarified that Miranda wanted to be able to spend as much time with her as possible.

'She doesn't want to take me to an early grave and I want to make sure I am there for her in the best health possible,' she said.

The TV star also shared some of her weight-loss routine, which included only minimal exercise and was instead focused on a '14-hour fast between dinner and...breakfast,' though she added that the changes had worked for her and weren't necessarily a blueprint for others looking to loose weight.

Raven-Symone also admitted that she wasn't ready to toss her larger clothing so that she would still have comfortable options in case she had any setbacks.

Solid reasoning: The performer specifically noted that her wife 'doesn't want to take me to an early grave' in an interview with E! News earlier this month
Married At First Sight star Rhyce Power has announced his engagement to girlfriend Taylor Peters.

Rhyce, 29, broke the exciting news via Instagram Stories on Saturday night, uploading a video of Taylor's hand as she showed off her new ring.

Fans of the reality star were understandably shocked by the revelation, given that Rhyce had never introduced Taylor as his girlfriend on Instagram before.

Surprise! Married At First Sight star Rhyce Power, 29, (right) has announced his engagement to his 'secret girlfriend' Taylor Peters (left)

Responding to the news, Rhyce's sister, MAFS bride Jessika, told Daily Mail Australia that she's overjoyed to welcome Taylor into the Power brood.

'I'm very happy for my brother and Taylor - I've known his intentions for some time and I'm so overjoyed to see her say yes,' the reality star enthused.

'I'm very pleased to welcome Taylor into the family and I hope they both have a happy and healthy future together.'

Ring-a-ding-ding! Rhyce broke the exciting news via Instagram Stories on Saturday night, uploading a video of Taylor's hand as she showed off her new ring

Taylor, a Queensland-based false eyelash technician, went 'Instagram official' with Rhyce back in May, uploading a photo of the tattooed couple kissing at a restaurant.

'It will always be you [love-heart emoji],' the besotted brunette wrote in the caption.

Meanwhile, OnlyFans star Rhyce has left a number of amorous comments on his future bride's Instagram photos recently.

Keeping it under wraps: Fans of the reality star were understandably shocked by the revelation, given that Rhyce (left) had never introduced Taylor (right) as his girlfriend on Instagram before

'I've known his intentions for some time and I'm so overjoyed to see her say yes': Responding to the news, Rhyce's sister, MAFS bride Jessika (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia that she's overjoyed to welcome Taylor into the Power brood

Hint: Rhyce gave fans a brief glimpse of Taylor in a recent Instagram Story, uploading a photo of the pair posing in matching face-masks at Darwin Airport

'Are you joking me.. HOW DO YOU GET BETTER LOOKING IN EVERY SINGLE PHOTO!!' he gushed beneath a photo of the Instagram model posing for a selfie last week.

'Holy Jesus your [sic] sexy,' he added beneath another recent selfie.

Meanwhile, Rhyce gave fans a brief glimpse of Taylor in a recent Instagram Story, uploading a photo of the pair posing in matching face-masks at Darwin Airport.

Glamazon: Taylor is a Queensland-based false eyelash technician

'Holy Jesus your [sic] sexy': Rhyce has left a number of amorous comments on his future bride's Instagram photos recently

Rhyce's happily ever after comes less than two years after he was spectacularly dumped on Instagram by his ex-girlfriend Cheyenne O'Leary.

At the time, Cheyenne accused the reality star of 'cheating' on her by having a threesome with two other women on her birthday.

In Cheyenne's Instagram post, she said: 'I feel like I am always the polite, quiet one, and never let anything spill, but I'm sorry, I'm not going to be quiet anymore.

Ex file: Rhyce's happily ever after comes less than two years after he was spectacularly dumped on Instagram by his ex-girlfriend Cheyenne O'Leary (left)

'You were all right, everything you think about that person is exactly who he is. Absolute scumbag. You have an hour to get all your s**t out of my house.'

When approached for comment at the time, a remorseful Rhyce told Daily Mail Australia he had 'messed up' and 'will have to live with [his] actions' - but did not confirm or deny the alleged threesome had occurred.

In a brief statement addressing the break-up, Rhyce said: 'I think I'll stay single for a while and not rush into relationships.'

'The whole world of Instagram makes it so much harder, you think you've fallen in love from someone's photos and talking online for months, and then [you] start a relationship and realise it's not at all how you thought it would be.

'Chey's a beautiful, amazing girl and an absolutely wonderful mother. I messed up and went about it the wrong way but it is what it is and I have to live with my actions.'

Allegations: At the time, Cheyenne accused the reality star of 'cheating' on her by having a threesome with two other women on her birthday
Katie Hopkins has been dumped from Channel Seven's coming season of Big Brother VIP after the British media personality joked about flouting Australia's strict hotel quarantine rules.

Hopkins, 46, broadcast a live video from what she claimed was a Sydney hotel room on Saturday morning during a mandatory 14-day quarantine, during which she described Covid-19 lockdowns as 'the greatest hoax in human history' and joked about breaching restrictions.

On Saturday, Australia's Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews ordered an urgent review of whether Hopkins has breached her visa conditions by publicly flouting quarantine rules.

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP.

'Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.'

Axed: Katie Hopkins, 46, (pictured) has been dumped from Channel Seven's coming season of Big Brother VIP, after the British media personality shared her plans to flout Australia's strict quarantine rules

Hopkins, who recently flew to Sydney ahead of her appearance on Seven's all-star season of Big Brother, caused public backlash over the weekend after claiming she was planning to deliberately flout restrictions while staying in hotel quarantine.

At 5am on Saturday, Hopkins took to Instagram live to post a speech where she 'called out' the lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.

During the video, Hopkins openly mocked the 14-day hotel quarantine rules revealing she planned to deliberately break them by opening her door completely naked and mask-free to workers who deliver her food.

'The police officer who checked me in told me, when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door,' she says while breaking out into hysterics. 'I can open the door but I can only do it in a face mask.'

Australia's response to Covid-19 has been praised by scientists including top US medic Dr Anthony Fauci, who called the country a world leader on 'containment and management of emerging variants'.

Cut: In a statement on Sunday, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP'

WHO IS KATIE HOPKINS? Katie Hopkins is a well-known media personality and commentator in the UK. The 46-year-old mum-of-two rose to fame on The Apprentice in 2007 and soon became an outspoken household name, writing in several newspapers. She came runner-up in the UK's Celebrity Big Brother, becoming popular among some for her no-nonsense attitude, and loathed by others for her controversial comments. Hopkins is known for her contentious views on race, sex, class, obesity and migration. She once had a popular radio show on UK station LBC, but stepped away after writing on Twitter that a 'final solution' was needed to deal with terrorists. Many thought this was a reference to the Holocaust. She was permanently banned from Twitter in June 2020. Advertisement

The country, which is geographically isolated from the European and American epidemics and enjoys a low population density like New Zealand, has imposed tougher border measures than most, including the UK - and imposed snap lockdowns to reduce community transmission.

While Hopkins laughed off Australia's Covid lockdown restrictions and quarantine rules, the mother-of-three claimed in 2017 that she isn't 'anti-vaccine', saying all her children were up to date with their flu-jabs.

Despite her amusement at her own antics, which she described as 'a game', other travellers stuck in hotel quarantine were outraged by her behaviour.

Posting to the closed Facebook group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' one user wrote: 'This is abhorrent...some people are racing against time with the quarantine trying to get to family members. This is really cruel and sick.'

'Anyone else who has just returned home like me, too ashamed to admit how ashamed I am of my own country right now?' wrote another traveller.

'What has happened to Aussie spirit, our heart, mates looking after mates, the Govt caring about its own people. Has it been lost over the last few years?

'...It makes my blood boil that so many fellow Aussies are stranded and cannot get home yet we can waste seats and hotel rooms on actors etc.'

Another person said: 'We'll not get in to why it was deemed necessary for her to enter the country, when an Australian citizen could have had her quarantine space.'

However, a Home Affairs spokeswoman told news.com.au that Ms Hopkins did not take the place of Australians desperate to return to their home country.

'These travel exemptions were approved based on support by the NSW Government as they met the critical skills category for inwards travel,' she said.

'These travellers did not take the place of returning Australians as their travel was above the hotel quarantine caps.'

Sparking backlash: At 5am Saturday Hopkins posted an Instagram story describing 'a game' where she answers her hotel quarantine room door naked and without a mask

Hopkins was supposed to be taking part in Big Brother VIP, after initially starring in the UK's Celebrity Big Brother in 2015

Members of the closed group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' vent their outrage

Questioned: Many travellers in quarantine questioned why Hopkins was allowed to fly into the country while Australians are stranded overseas

Raising eyebrows: Hopkins often makes posts mocking mask mandates and lockdowns on Instagram since being banned from Twitter in June last year for 'hateful conduct'

Hopkins' entry to Australia had even drawn the attention and criticism of MP's.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws.

'If you want to do that, pack your bongo and get out of the country.'

Acting Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Giles openly criticised the Prime Minister's decision to provide her with a visa into the country.

'Now that Ms Hopkins is in Australia, she has begun broadcasting from what described as 'VIP Quarantine', and has explained how she is opening up her hotel door naked and without a face mask in a deliberate attempt to breach hotel quarantine rules.' Mr Giles said.

'This is grossly disrespectful to frontline workers who are only trying to keep us safe.'

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws'

Suspended: Hopkins' Twitter account was suspended in June last year after violating the platform's policy on 'hateful conduct'

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews also earlier said on Sunday that she had personally asked Australian Border Force to investigate whether or not Hopkins had breached any hotel quarantine rules.

'It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,' Ms Andrews said.

'I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa.'

Controversial: In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described the lockdown as 'the greatest hoax in history'

Hopkins often takes to Instagram to publish a myriad of posts mocking lockdowns and mask mandates.

In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described lockdowns as 'the greatest hoax in history'.

'You are living through the greatest hoax in human history, they are trying to take everything from you, and one of the very best and most powerful weapons we have is a sense of humour, and someone like me is probably a massive thorn in their sides,' she said.

While Hopkins is yet to speak out about being axed from Celebrity Big Brother Australia, she shared a bizarre video on Instagram mocking the COVID-19 crisis.

'This is important - we've just heard that there's been a new variant, Delta plus, and you have to be very, very afraid of it,' she said, adding that 'VIPs' didn't need to worry but 'if you're a pleb like me, you must be very afraid'.

She then lifted up a sanitary towel in the air, she offensively added: 'all politicians are about as useful as a tampon on a tranny.'
He recently returned to the US after his trip to Australia was cut short by Sydney's Covid outbreak.

And on Friday, Hugh Jackman showed off his competitive side with wife Deborra-Lee Furness at their New York home, in a short video shared to his Instagram.

The Sydney-born actor, 52, hid behind a pole in their West Village penthouse after winning a game of Backgammon against a disappointed Deborra-Lee, 65.

Competitive: Hugh Jackman, 52, got competitive with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 65, at their New York home in an Instagram video shared on Friday. Pictured together on another occasion

In the clip, a casually dressed Hugh couldn't wipe the smile off his face as Deborra-Lee rolled the dice and realised she had lost.

'Babe, I just got lucky. I don't know how I won that one,' the Greatest Showman star said, before hilariously standing up and hiding behind a pole in their luxury abode.

Hugh captioned the Instagram post, 'Competitive much?!' alongside the hashtag 'I love you Deb'.

Winners are grinners: In the clip, a casually dressed Hugh (pictured) couldn't wipe the smile off his face as Deborra-Lee rolled the dice and realised she had lost in their game of Backgammon

The post comes nearly two weeks after Hugh returned to the United States after a short stint in his home country.

Hugh enjoyed just a week and a half of freedom in Sydney following the mandatory two weeks of hotel quarantine.

He is believed to have cut short his visit to his home city after an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta strain of Covid led to another lockdown.

In good fun: 'Babe, I just got lucky. I don't know how I won that one,' the Greatest Showman star said, before hilariously standing up and hiding behind a pole in their West Village abode

Games with an incredible view: Hugh captioned the Instagram post, 'Competitive much?!' alongside the hashtag 'I love you Deb'

Hugh moved to New York with Deborra-Lee and their children in 2008, and they reside in the trendy West Village.

Last year, Hugh revealed he was homesick for Australia after a lengthy lockdown in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Deborra-Lee and the couple's children had initially been in Melbourne when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2019.

But they returned to the U.S. just four days later in order to keep the family together.

Back in New York: The post comes nearly two weeks after Sydney-born Hugh returned to the United States after a short stint in his home country. Hugh enjoyed just a week and a half of freedom in Sydney following the mandatory two weeks of hotel quarantine
Ex-Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley reportedly claimed 50,000 on the government's furlough scheme to keep her business afloat amid the pandemic.

According to the Daily Star, Catherine, 37, used the funds to help her production firm - Dreambig - from December 2020 through April 2021.

Despite working amid the pandemic - on drama Viewpoint and as a contestant on Cooking With The Stars - Companies House states that in the year until July 2019, the firm had cash deposits of 23,000.

Helping hand: Ex-Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley reportedly claimed 50,000 on the government's furlough scheme to keep her business afloat amid the pandemic [pictured January 2020]

The company then claimed 50,000 in furlough cash. Catherine - as well as her husband Tom Pitfield - injected around 10,000-a-month into the business themselves - something that is allowed under the scheme.

MailOnline has contacted Catherine's rep for comment.

This comes after fellow celeb Giovanna Fletcher issued a statement with her husband Tom in the wake of the news they claimed money from the government's furlough scheme, despite being worth 8 million.

Despite keeping quiet on the matter previously, the best-selling author, 36, shared a joint note from her and McFly musician Tom, 35, to Instagram in June, with Tom sharing the same message to his account.

Dipping in: According to the Daily Star, Catherine, 37, used the funds to help her production firm - Dreambig - from December 2020 through April 2021, despite working amid the pandemic - on drama Viewpoint and as a contestant on Cooking With The Stars [pictured]

Breaking their silence: This comes after fellow celeb Giovanna Fletcher issued a statement with her husband Tom in the wake of the news they claimed money from the government's furlough scheme, despite being worth 8 million

It read: 'Hi everyone, we have always had a very honest and open relationship with you all on here so we thought it was important to address questions that some of you have rightly asked us in the last 24 hours.

'It's true that we did follow financial advice to furlough someone we employ. This was for a member of our team who couldn't carry out their role due to the pandemic, and the scheme was suggested to us as the most effective way to give them job stability and security.

'Although it was a time of great uncertainty, we clearly should have thought more about the situation and funded it ourselves.

'It was a huge error of judgement and a mistake we wholeheartedly take responsibility for and we have paid the full amount back. Gi and Tom x'

The statement also disputed the sum - which was said to be 30,000 when The Sun reported the news originally.

Statement: Despite keeping quiet on the matter until now, the best-selling author, 36, shared a joint note from her and McFly musician Tom, 35, to Instagram last month, with Tom sharing the same message to his account

Explanation: 'It's true that we did follow financial advice to furlough someone we employ. This was for a member of our team who couldn't carry out their role due to the pandemic,' the statement read

The comments were disabled under the post on both Tom and Giovanna's Instagram pages.

The money was said to have been claimed just weeks after Giovanna was crowned the champion of last year's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! after winning the hearts of viewers.

According to government documents obtained by The Sun, Giovanna and Tom received the financial support weeks after she won the show.

Since being crowned Queen Of The Castle in December, Giovanna's career has gone from strength to strength.
Laura Byrne doesn't shy away from talking about her sex life with her fiance Matty Johnson.

And on Saturday, the 35-year-old shared how their life has changed since they welcomed two adorable daughters - Marlie Mae, two, and five-month-old Lola - into the world.

Uploading a video to her Instagram account, Laura is seen smirking while she puts on lipstick before raising her eyebrows at the camera.

It's the thought that counts! Matty Johnson's fiancee Laura Byrne [pictured] shared the reality of getting 'lucky' at home as a busy mother of two on Saturday

'When you tell your partner he's getting lucky "later,"' she captioned the clip.

Appearing to be excited at the thought of what's to come, Laura is then seen picking up baby blue coloured lingerie.

Laura then begins mouthing the lyrics to Eamon's 2004 hit track F**k It (I Don't Want You Back), while holding baby Lola Ellis.

The Bondi A-lister then shares the reality of motherhood.

Plans: Uploading a video to Instagram, Laura is seen smirking while she puts on lipstick before raising her eyebrows at the camera. She then picks up a baby blue coloured lingerie

The Bondi A-lister then shares the reality of motherhood: Appearing disheveled with messy hair, Laura has her hands full carrying her little girl in one arm while holding a pair of nappies

Appearing disheveled with messy hair, Laura then has her hands full carrying her little girl in one arm while holding a pair of nappies in the other.

Laura cheekily captioned the clip writing: 'It's the thought that counts right?' before tagging Matty.

On Friday, the former Bachelor star admitted on her Life Uncut podcast that she only has sex with her fiance on Saturdays, when their daughters are asleep.

Busy: The former Bachelor star recently admitted on her Life Uncut podcast that she only has sex with Matty (left) on Saturdays, when their daughters Marlie-Mae and Lola are asleep

Laura and her co-host Brittany Hockley were discussing how a listener's ex-boyfriend would only have sex on weekdays.

This prompted her to confess: 'To be fair, I think I only have sex on Saturday nights when the kids are in bed.'

Brittany replied: 'But I don't think that's because it's a rule; it's because you are exhausted and that's the day of the week you get to do it.'
The hosts of The Sunday Project have slammed Channel Seven for their decision to hire British commentator Katie Hopkins for Celebrity Big Brother Australia.

The controversial media personality was dumped from the network's coming season of the reality show on Sunday after she shared her plans to flout Australia's strict quarantine rules.

Comedian and The Project panelist Jan Fran says that Channel Seven was courting controversy - and it has spectacularly backfired.

Anger: The hosts of The Sunday Project have slammed Channel Seven for their decision to hire British commentator Katie Hopkins (pictured) for Celebrity Big Brother Australia. The controversial media personality was dumped from the network's coming season of the reality show on Sunday after she shared her plans to flout Australia's strict quarantine rules

'What was someone expecting when they did hire Katie Hopkins to do this? She's a troll. She courts controversy. They knew that is what she would bring to the Big Brother house,' she said.

'It's telling she changed her mind because she's flouted COVID restrictions, not because of the heinous things that she's been saying for years and years.'

Fran went on to express disgust over Hopkins' use of the term 'Final Solution', which is used to refer to the mass murder of Europe's Jews during the Holocaust.

Courted? Jan Fran (pictured) said Channel Seven was courting controversy - and it has spectacularly backfired. 'She used the term 'Final Solution' after the Manchester bombing in 2017. That is a phrase that needs to be relegated to the bin of history. She is using it in 2017 and Channel Seven is inviting this in inviting her out here,' she said

Comments: 'Don't you think this is what Channel Seven wanted? It cost them, how much is an economy ticket from the UK, $150,000?' Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) chimed in, joking. 'That's all it's cost them which is cheaper than a marketing budget'

'She used the term 'Final Solution' after the Manchester bombing in 2017. That is a phrase that needs to be relegated to the bin of history. She is using it in 2017 and Channel Seven is inviting this in inviting her out here,' she said.

Her co-host Peter van Onselen agreed: 'They want controversy but maybe didn't think it would lead as far as this.

'She will go back to the UK and complain about us and build her brand locally off what we've done even though what we've done is the right thing.'

Cut off: Tommy Little (pictured) abruptly cut off the conversation, putting his hand to his ear piece and stating: 'I've been told we have mentioned another network too much and we have to move on'

'Don't you think this is what Channel Seven wanted? It cost them, how much is an economy ticket from the UK, $150,000?' Lisa Wilkinson chimed in, joking.

'That's all it's cost them which is cheaper than a marketing budget'.

Tommy Little abruptly cut off the conversation, putting his hand to his ear piece and stating: 'I've been told we have mentioned another network too much and we have to move on.'

It comes after Katie Hopkins, 46, was dumped from Big Brother VIP over her comments regarding quarantine rules.

Gone: It comes after Katie Hopkins, 46, was dumped from Big Brother VIP over her comments regarding quarantine rules. In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP'

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP.

'Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.'

Hopkins, who recently flew to Sydney ahead of her appearance on Seven's all-star season of Big Brother, caused public backlash over the weekend after claiming she was planning to deliberately flout restriction rules while staying in hotel quarantine.

WHO IS KATIE HOPKINS? Katie Hopkins is a well-known media personality and commentator in the UK. The 46-year-old mum-of-two rose to fame on The Apprentice in 2007 and soon became an outspoken household name, writing in several newspapers. She came runner-up in the UK's Celebrity Big Brother, becoming popular among some for her no-nonsense attitude, and loathed by others for her controversial comments. Hopkins is known for her contentious views on race, sex, class, obesity and migration. She once had a popular radio show on UK station LBC, but stepped away after writing on Twitter that a 'final solution' was needed to deal with terrorists. Many thought this was a reference to the Holocaust. She was permanently banned from Twitter in June 2020. Advertisement

At 5am on Saturday, Hopkins took to Instagram live to post a speech where she 'called out' the lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.

During the video, Hopkins openly mocked the 14-day hotel quarantine rules revealing she planned to deliberately break them by opening her door completely naked and mask-free to workers who deliver her food.

'The police officer who checked me in told me, when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door,' she says while breaking out into hysterics.

'I can open the door but I can only do it in a face mask.'

Sparking backlash: At 5am Saturday Hopkins posted an Instagram story describing 'a game' where she answers her hotel quarantine room door naked and without a mask

While the controversial figure laughed off Australia's Covid lockdown restrictions and quarantine rules, the mother-of-three claimed in 2017 that she isn't 'anti-vaccine', saying all her children were up to date with their flu-jabs.

Despite her amusement at her own antics, which she described as 'a game', other travellers stuck in hotel quarantine were outraged by her behaviour.

Posting to the closed Facebook group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' one user wrote: 'This is abhorrent...some people are racing against time with the quarantine trying to get to family members. This is really cruel and sick.'

Out: Hopkins was supposed to be taking part in Big Brother VIP, after initially starring in the UK's Celebrity Big Brother in 2015

Members of the closed group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' vented their outrage

Questioned: Many travellers in quarantine questioned why Hopkins was allowed to fly into the country while Australians are stranded overseas

'Anyone else who has just returned home like me, too ashamed to admit how ashamed I am of my own country right now?' wrote another traveller.

'What has happened to Aussie spirit, our heart, mates looking after mates, the Govt caring about its own people. Has it been lost over the last few years?

'...It makes my blood boil that so many fellow Aussies are stranded and cannot get home yet we can waste seats and hotel rooms on actors etc.'

Another person said: 'We'll not get in to why it was deemed necessary for her to enter the country, when an Australian citizen could have had her quarantine space.'

However, a Home Affairs spokeswoman told news.com.au that Ms Hopkins did not take the place of Australians desperate to return to their home country.

'These travel exemptions were approved based on support by the NSW Government as they met the critical skills category for inwards travel,' she said.

Raising eyebrows: Hopkins often makes posts mocking mask mandates and lockdowns on Instagram since being banned from Twitter in June last year for 'hateful conduct'

'These travellers did not take the place of returning Australians as their travel was above the hotel quarantine caps.'

Hopkins' entry to Australia had even drawn the attention and criticism of MP's.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws.

'If you want to do that, pack your bongo and get out of the country.'

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws'

Acting Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Giles openly criticised the Prime Minister's decision to provide her with a visa into the country.

'Now that Ms Hopkins is in Australia, she has begun broadcasting from what described as 'VIP Quarantine', and has explained how she is opening up her hotel door naked and without a face mask in a deliberate attempt to breach hotel quarantine rules.' Mr Giles said.

'This is grossly disrespectful to frontline workers who are only trying to keep us safe.'

Suspended: Hopkins' Twitter account was suspended in June last year after violating the platform's policy on 'hateful conduct'

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews also earlier said on Sunday that she had personally asked Australian Border Force to investigate whether or not Hopkins had breached any hotel quarantine rules.

'It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,' Ms Andrews said.

'I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa.'

Controversial: In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described the lockdown as 'the greatest hoax in history'

Hopkins often takes to Instagram to publish a myriad of posts mocking lockdowns and mask mandates.

In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described lockdowns as 'the greatest hoax in history'.

'You are living through the greatest hoax in human history, they are trying to take everything from you, and one of the very best and most powerful weapons we have is a sense of humour, and someone like me is probably a massive thorn in their sides,' she said.

While Hopkins is yet to speak out about being axed from Celebrity Big Brother Australia, she shared a bizarre video on Instagram mocking the COVID-19 crisis.

'This is important - we've just heard that there's been a new variant, Delta plus, and you have to be very, very afraid of it,' she said, adding that 'VIPs' didn't need to worry but 'if you're a pleb like me, you must be very afraid'.

She then lifted up a sanitary towel in the air, she offensively added: 'all politicians are about as useful as a tampon on a tranny.'
Carrie Bickmore treated herself to a DIY face mask from Zoe Foster Blake's Go-To skincare brand on Sunday, while in lockdown in Melbourne amid a Covid outbreak.

And The Project host, 40, shared her two-year-old daughter Adelaide's reaction to her face covered in brown paste, in a hilarious clip posted to her Instagram Stories.

The adorable tot was seen asking her mother why she had 'dirt' on her face.

'Why do you have dirt on your face?' Carrie Bickmore's adorable two-year-old daughter Adelaide hilariously reacted to her latest beauty treatment (pictured) in an Instagram Stories clip on Sunday

Carrie also captioned the sweet clip of Adelaide running towards her inside their home, 'Addie not so sure, "Mum, why you got dirt on your face?"'

Earlier on Sunday, a casually dressed Carrie shared a close-up photo to Instagram Stories of her face coated with a brown paste.

The TV personality looked to have just taken a shower, showing off semi-wet blonde tresses.

At home in Melbourne: The adorable tot (pictured) was seen asking her mother why she had 'dirt' on her face. Earlier on Sunday, Carrie treated herself to a DIY face mask from Zoe Foster Blake's Go-To skincare brand while in lockdown in Melbourne amid a surge in Covid cases

'I decided to take matters into my own hands with a Go-To mask,' Carrie captioned the candid photo.

'I assume when I take it off I look like you?!!' she playfully continued, tagging Zoe.

It comes as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews warned the next 48 hours are 'critical' in determining if Victoria will end its five-day lockdown on time as the state recorded 17 new cases and its list of exposure sites skyrocketed to 217 venues.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, the Premier revealed it was too early to determine if restrictions would be rolled back at 11.59pm on Tuesday.

Juggling act: The TV personality balances motherhood with her thriving career

'I can't make announcements of what will be relevant and what will be done safely and what will be possible from midnight on Tuesday,' he said.

Carrie shares Adelaide and eldest daughter Evie, six, with partner Chris Walker.

She also has a son Oliver, 13, from her marriage to Greg Lange, who died after a lengthy battle with brain cancer in December 2010.
Katie Hopkins has denied she broke quarantine rules in Sydney, after the British commentator was dumped from Celebrity Big Brother Australia.

Hopkins, 46, who is currently undergoing mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine in Sydney, lost her spot on the program after saying she was 'lying in wait' to open her door to hotel workers naked, and without wearing a mask.

The comments were made during an Instagram Live post made on Saturday, which Hopkins shared again to her Instagram grid on Sunday, along with a caption denying that she had broken the rules.

Joking? Katie Hopkins (pictured) has denied she broke quarantine rules in Sydney, after the British commentator was dumped from Celebrity Big Brother Australia . Hopkins, 46, who is currently undergoing mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine in Sydney, lost her spot on the program after saying she was 'lying in wait' to open her door to hotel workers naked

'WARNING: EXTREME HUMOUR. I have never broken quarantine,' Hopkins wrote in her Instagram caption.

'My whole heart goes out to Australians and this brilliant country known for sense of humour. Families MUST be reunited.

'Auzzies [sic] need the dignity of work and lockdown is the Greatest Hoax in Human History. Do not give up my darlings. Bring Australians home,' she added.

Sparking backlash: The comments were made during an Instagram Live video made on Saturday, which Hopkins shared again to her Instagram grid on Sunday, along with a caption denying that she had broken the rules

Claims: 'WARNING: EXTREME HUMOUR. I have never broken quarantine,' Hopkins wrote in her Instagram caption. 'My whole heart goes out to Australians and this brilliant country known for sense of humour. Families MUST be reunited. Auzzies [sic] need the dignity of work and lockdown is the Greatest Hoax in Human History. Do not give up my darlings,' she wrote

Hopkins was dumped from Big Brother VIP over her comments on Sunday, and will now have to leave the country.

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP.

'Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.'

Hopkins, who recently flew to Sydney ahead of her appearance on Seven's all-star season of Big Brother, caused public backlash over the weekend after claiming she was planning to deliberately flout restriction rules while staying in hotel quarantine.

Gone: It comes after Katie Hopkins, 46, was dumped from Big Brother VIP over her comments regarding quarantine rules. In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, a network spokesperson confirmed: 'Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP'

At 5am on Saturday, Hopkins took to Instagram live to post a speech where she 'called out' the lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.

During the video, Hopkins openly mocked the 14-day hotel quarantine rules revealing she planned to deliberately break them by opening her door completely naked and mask-free to workers who deliver her food.

'The police officer who checked me in told me, when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds until I can open the door,' she says while breaking out into hysterics.

'I can open the door but I can only do it in a face mask.'

While the controversial figure laughed off Australia's Covid lockdown restrictions and quarantine rules, the mother-of-three claimed in 2017 that she isn't 'anti-vaccine', saying all her children were up to date with their flu-jabs.

Despite her amusement at her own antics, which she described as 'a game', other travellers stuck in hotel quarantine were outraged by her behaviour.

Posting to the closed Facebook group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' one user wrote: 'This is abhorrent...some people are racing against time with the quarantine trying to get to family members. This is really cruel and sick.'

Out: Hopkins was supposed to be taking part in Big Brother VIP, after initially starring in the UK's Celebrity Big Brother in 2015. She will now have to leave Australia

Members of the closed group 'Australians in quarantine facilities' vented their outrage

Questioned: Many travellers in quarantine questioned why Hopkins was allowed to fly into the country while Australians are stranded overseas

'Anyone else who has just returned home like me, too ashamed to admit how ashamed I am of my own country right now?' wrote another traveller.

'What has happened to Aussie spirit, our heart, mates looking after mates, the Govt caring about its own people. Has it been lost over the last few years?

'...It makes my blood boil that so many fellow Aussies are stranded and cannot get home yet we can waste seats and hotel rooms on actors etc.'

Another person said: 'We'll not get in to why it was deemed necessary for her to enter the country, when an Australian citizen could have had her quarantine space.'

Raising eyebrows: Hopkins often makes posts mocking mask mandates and lockdowns on Instagram since being banned from Twitter in June last year for 'hateful conduct'

However, a Home Affairs spokeswoman told news.com.au that Ms Hopkins did not take the place of Australians desperate to return to their home country.

'These travel exemptions were approved based on support by the NSW Government as they met the critical skills category for inwards travel,' she said.

'These travellers did not take the place of returning Australians as their travel was above the hotel quarantine caps.'

Hopkins' entry to Australia had even drawn the attention and criticism of MP's.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws'

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on ABC's Insiders: 'I'm the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp's dogs home so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws.

'If you want to do that, pack your bongo and get out of the country.'

Acting Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Giles openly criticised the Prime Minister's decision to provide her with a visa into the country.

'Now that Ms Hopkins is in Australia, she has begun broadcasting from what described as 'VIP Quarantine', and has explained how she is opening up her hotel door naked and without a face mask in a deliberate attempt to breach hotel quarantine rules.' Mr Giles said.

Suspended: Hopkins' Twitter account was suspended in June last year after violating the platform's policy on 'hateful conduct'

'This is grossly disrespectful to frontline workers who are only trying to keep us safe.'

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews also earlier said on Sunday that she had personally asked Australian Border Force to investigate whether or not Hopkins had breached any hotel quarantine rules.

'It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,' Ms Andrews said.

'I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa.'

Controversial: In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described the lockdown as 'the greatest hoax in history'

The hosts of The Sunday Project have also slammed Channel Seven for their decision to hire Hopkins for Celebrity Big Brother Australia.

Comedian and The Project panelist Jan Fran says that Channel Seven was courting controversy - and it has spectacularly backfired.

'What was someone expecting when they did hire Katie Hopkins to do this? She's a troll. She courts controversy. They knew that is what she would bring to the Big Brother house,' she said.

Courted? The Project's Jan Fran (pictured) said Channel Seven was courting controversy - and it has spectacularly backfired. 'She used the term 'Final Solution' after the Manchester bombing in 2017. That is a phrase that needs to be relegated to the bin of history. She is using it in 2017 and Channel Seven is inviting this in inviting her out here,' she said

'It's telling she changed her mind because she's flouted COVID restrictions, not because of the heinous things that she's been saying for years and years.'

Fran went on to express disgust over Hopkins' use of the term 'Final Solution', which is used to refer to the mass murder of Europe's Jews during the Holocaust.

'Don't you think this is what Channel Seven wanted? It cost them, how much is an economy ticket from the UK, $150,000?' Lisa Wilkinson chimed in, joking.

'That's all it's cost them which is cheaper than a marketing budget'.

Comments: 'Don't you think this is what Channel Seven wanted? It cost them, how much is an economy ticket from the UK, $150,000?' Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) chimed in, joking. 'That's all it's cost them which is cheaper than a marketing budget'

'She used the term 'Final Solution' after the Manchester bombing in 2017. That is a phrase that needs to be relegated to the bin of history. She is using it in 2017 and Channel Seven is inviting this in inviting her out here,' she said.

Her co-host Peter van Onselen agreed: 'They want controversy but maybe didn't think it would lead as far as this.

'She will go back to the UK and complain about us and build her brand locally off what we've done even though what we've done is the right thing.'

Tommy Little abruptly cut off the conversation, putting his hand to his ear piece and stating: 'I've been told we have mentioned another network too much and we have to move on'.

Cut off: Tommy Little (pictured) abruptly cut off the conversation, putting his hand to his ear piece and stating: 'I've been told we have mentioned another network too much and we have to move on'

Hopkins often takes to Instagram to publish a myriad of posts mocking lockdowns and mask mandates.

In a video uploaded to the social media platform on Friday, filmed from her hotel quarantine, Ms Hopkins described lockdowns as 'the greatest hoax in history'.

'You are living through the greatest hoax in human history, they are trying to take everything from you, and one of the very best and most powerful weapons we have is a sense of humour, and someone like me is probably a massive thorn in their sides,' she said.

Outspoken: 'In terms of hypocrisy I see that- with politicians locking people down - but I've never been an advocate for that,' she said in the video

While Hopkins is yet to speak out about being axed from Celebrity Big Brother Australia, she shared a bizarre video on Instagram mocking the COVID-19 crisis.

'This is important - we've just heard that there's been a new variant, Delta plus, and you have to be very, very afraid of it,' she said, adding that 'VIPs' didn't need to worry but 'if you're a pleb like me, you must be very afraid'.

She then lifted up a sanitary towel in the air, she offensively added: 'all politicians are about as useful as a tampon on a tranny.'
He recently described breaking his back as the 'worst thing' that has happened to him.

But Simon Cowell, 61, put bad days behind him on Sunday as he and girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 43, left their London mansion for a summer getaway to their favoured holiday hotspot of Barbados.

The music mogul sported a casual pink tee with white shorts, whilst Lauren looked holiday-ready in a plunge-neck white t-shirt and blue roll-up jeans.

Jetting off: Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman looked holiday-ready in West London on Sunday as they prepared to trade the UK heatwave for a lavish Barbados getaway

Lauren looked in good spirits, wearing a stunning pair of black sunglasses to team nicely with her black belt.

She cut a casual figure in a pair of white trainers and carried with her a large bag. Her tousled brown hair sat just below her shoulders as she stepped out to embark on their trip.

The pair, who share son Eric, seven, were also spotted embracing an unknown lady in their doorway.

Good spirits: Lauren wore a stunning pair of black sunglasses to team nicely with her black belt

Casual: The pair both cut casual figures, Lauren opting for a pair of white trainers and Simon keeping cool in a tee and white shorts

Woo! Simon is known for his love of the Caribbean as a holiday destination and is often seen zipping around the islands on a jet ski (Simon pictured in December)

Simon is known for his love of the Caribbean as a holiday destination and is often seen zipping around the islands on a jet ski.

Their jet-setting comes as the record executive has been determined to do everything he can to ensure he makes a full recovery following breaking his back, including walking for several hours a day and holding business meetings at 9AM so that he no longer lives like a 'vampire'.

Of his new fitness regime, a source told MailOnline: 'Simon said how he hasn't worn trainers as much as this in 20 years.

Bon Voyage!: The pair, who share son Eric, seven, were also spotted embracing an unknown lady in their doorway.

'He feels fitter than ever before and is keeping to a normal routine rather than being on the phone until into the early hours of the morning.'

And Simon has been making the most of his better health and the easing of lockdown restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, stepping out with the likes of Amanda Holden, 50, David Walliams, 49, and Alan Carr, 45, earlier this month.

The record company boss enjoyed a fun dinner with his pals and Lauren with snaps of their night shared to Instagram by Amanda.

She penned the post: 'Fabulous to catch up with these two #outdoor supper'.
She dramatically quit the show on Wednesday's episode after he kissed another woman during a date at a watering hole.

And Farmer Wants a Wife 'frontrunner' Tara shocked viewers when she begged farmer Matt Trewin on Sunday's episode to let her back on the show.

The 25-year-old blonde beauty admitted that she made a 'really big mistake' and 'lost sight of the bigger picture'.

Regrets: Farmer Wants a Wife's Tara (pictured), 25, admitted she made a 'big mistake' by leaving - as she asked farmer Matt Trewin to let her BACK on the show on Sunday's episode

Dressed in a plunging red frock, an emotional Tara pulled Matt, 26, aside to confess.

'I lost sight of the bigger picture of what could come out of this,' she began.

'I do obviously get scared of showing my emotions and my feelings, and I have to be vulnerable in this now, and I've always been scared of being vulnerable because that's when you get hurt.'

While he understood, Matt said that the farmers and the contestants 'come into this knowing what we're here for' and confessed to having put his 'heart on the line'.

Confessional: 'I lost sight of the bigger picture of what could come out of this,' she told Matt (right), 26. 'I do obviously get scared of showing my emotions and my feelings,' Tara continued

Still in the running to capture his heart: While he understood, Matt said that the farmers and the contestants 'come into this knowing what we're here for' and confessed to having put his 'heart on the line'. Despite his remarks, he chose to allow Tara back on the show

Despite his remarks, he chose to allow Tara back on the show, leaving the other ladies less than impressed.

In a piece to camera, Tara said that she knew she was 'making a really big mistake by leaving'.

'I didn't allow myself to probably fully feel all of the emotions that I should have been feeling, because I was kind of hiding them. I was so worried about stepping on other people's toes,' she continued.

Tara dramatically walked away from the farm on Wednesday's episode after Matt kissed Tara's competitor Alex during a steamy watering hole date.

Gone: Tara (right) dramatically walked away from Matt's farm on Wednesday night's episode

Catalyst: The split occurred after Matt kissed another woman (pictured) during a steamy date at a watering hole

After learning of the passionate clinch, Tara told Matt, 'I think I need to go home.'

Following her exit, Matt admitted to being a 'bit speechless to be honest'.

'What really hurt the most was watching her drive away. That's when I realised you don't know what you've got until it's gone,' he said.

So close: The shock departure came after Matt opened up about his personal heartbreak on a date with Tara on an episode the previous week

The shock departure came after Matt opened up about his personal heartbreak on a date with Tara on an episode the previous week.

Matt spoke about his late father's battle with cancer during a heart-to-heart with the blonde.

He said he was a proud fourth-generation farmer, and wanted to ask Tara if she'd be happy moving to his farm in Orbost, regional Victoria.

'It tears you apart': Matt admitted he was still 'torn apart' as he spoke to Tara about his late father's heartbreaking cancer battle

'You know, I'm the fourth generation now on the farm, on the family farm... and I reckon I couldn't give that up,' he told her.

Tara said she understood Matt would want someone to move to his farm, and reassured him moving wasn't an obstacle.

Matt went on to speak about his father's death, saying 'life will never be the same'.

'So recently dad has passed away with cancer. Life's never going to be the same,' he began.

'It tears you apart, losing your best friend, let alone your father. Yeah, it's heartbreaking, but I know he'd be super proud watching over me.'

Heart-to-heart: Matt said he was a proud fourth-generation farmer, and wanted to ask Tara if she'd be happy moving to his farm in Orbost, regional Victoria

Matt said he was 'very attracted' to Tara but wanted her to 'open up a bit more'.

He revealed that when he's with Tara, he gets a 'warm fuzzy feeling' inside - which is what his parents used to tell him he'd feel when falling in love.

'There's feelings there and that fuzzy warm feeling there... I'm getting that fuzzy warm feeling dad used to talk about,' Matt confessed.

'Dad said, "When I met your mother I was blown away and had this fuzzy feeling".

'He said, "You'll know one day when you get it"... I think I'm in the same boat here.'

Farmer Wants a Wife continues Monday at 7pm on Channel Seven
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Filming for Indiana Jones 5 continued in Glasgow on Sunday as Harrison Ford's stunt double charged through a crowded parade celebrating Apollo 11's landing in 1969 on horseback.

Bolting down a city centre street in a grey suit, the action-packed scene saw a lookalike for 79-year-old Ford rip through a banner as cheerleaders performed in the street and crowds waving American flags looked on in surprise.

Ford himself has been forced to take a break from filming for three months as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained on set, and appeared in high spirits while stepping out at Silverstone on Sunday ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Filming: Filming for Indiana Jones 5 continued in Glasgow on Sunday as Harrison Ford's stunt double charged through a crowded parade on horseback

At the races: Ford, 79, has been forced to take a break from filming as he recovers from a shoulder injury and appeared in high spirits at Silverstone on Sunday

The actor beamed from ear to ear while posing for photographs trackside, and looked typically dapper in a blue shirt teamed with sunglasses.

Chatting away to Canadian racing driver Nicholas Latifi, Ford appeared in his element while enjoying the beating British sunshine.

Back in Scotland, his stunt double was chased down a street in an action-packed scene, with one of Glasgow's roads having been transformed to look like a street in Manhattan, New York, for the latest scenes.

Harrison's body double was seen wearing Indiana Jones's signature grey suit and burgundy tie while galloping down the street, with a stand-in for Boyd Holbrook hot on his heels.

In his element: Chatting away to Canadian racing driver Nicholas Latifi, Ford appeared in his element while enjoying the beating British sunshine

Dapper: Ford looked typically dapper on Sunday when he stepped out wearing a blue shirt teamed with sunglasses

Happy: The actor beamed from ear to ear while posing for photographs trackside

Crew members were seen rearranging props in between takes, with two carrying an enormous clapper board across the street.

Filming for the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie in the series was thought to have been pushed back by three months due to Harrison's injuries, after being originally due for release in 2022.

It's been a fresh blow for the movie - which sees James Mangold taking on directing duties from long-time helmer Steven Spielberg - after shooting was previously pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Throwback: The Glasgow street had been transformed into a Manhattan parade scene celebrating Apollo 11's landing in 1969

Wow: Harrison's body double was seen riding a horse through the street wearing Indiana Jones's signature grey suit and burgundy tie

Action-packed: The scene saw a lookalike for Ford rip through a banner as cheerleaders performed in the street and crowds waving American flags looked on in surprise

Impressive: As the stuntman charged down the street, cameras could be seen capturing every movement

Banner: Ford's stuntman rode his black horse straight through one of the parade's banners

Still going: Unfazed by the banner, the striking animal kept going at full pace

I can't see! The banner - held on each end by one of the parade's cheerleaders - temporarily obscured the stuntman's vision

Hurray! Cheerleaders could be seen throwing their hands in the air as the stuntman and his well-trained horse sped by

Masked up: Many of the cheerleaders were also sporting facemasks in keeping with pandemic restrictions

An insider told The Sun's Bizarre column: 'It is Harrison's last outing as Indiana and everyone thought it would be plain sailing.

'After the initial delays everyone was raring to go. But now Harrison is injured and it is worse than first thought.

'The film's bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it's chaos. The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.

'It was not what anyone was expecting so to have to change everything is a huge blow. Everyone was concerned for Harrison and they are glad he is on the mend.'

Throwback: Director James looked animated as he instructed cast members dressed as sailors during the parade

Showtime: The director looked in his element as he waved his hands about before the scene began

Time machine: The cast and crew members mingled before production continued on the set

What's happened? A cast member apparently fell to the ground during the scene

Hot on his heels: A stand-in for actor Boyd Holbrook was hot on the heels of Ford's lookalike

Easy does it: Holbrook's stunt double weaved through the crowded parade on an old-fashioned motorbike

Impressive scenes: One of Glasgow's city centre streets had been completely transformed

Mirror image: The enormous set was the mirror image of a Manhattan street

Cheerleaders: A procession of cheerleaders with pom poms and majorettes in bright red outfits lined the street

Police: Actors in police suits lined the barricades separating spectators from the parade

Enormous! Two crew members were seen carrying an enormous clapper board through the street

High spirits: The cheerleaders did an excellent job of remaining in high spirits throughout the shoot

Off he goes! Ford's stunt double galloped through crowds of people tightly packed together

Spectators: The street was lined with spectators and dozens of extras took part in the action-packed scene
Hotel heiress-turned-reality TV icon Paris Hilton flaunted significant cleavage during a date with her fiance - M13 co-founder Carter Reum - at Nobu Malibu on Saturday night.

The bride and groom-to-be - both 40 - beamed as they walked hand-in-hand to retrieve their car from the valet.

Paris wore a blue dotted mini-dress with an ankle-length sheer overlay as well as a matching bag and white Valentino Garavani studded heels.

Push-up bra! Hotel heiress-turned-reality TV icon Paris Hilton flaunted significant cleavage during a date with her fiance - M13 co-founder Carter Reum - at Nobu Malibu on Saturday night

Hilton is 'so excited to' fly to Germany to speak at The One Young World Summit, which takes place July 22-25 in Munich.

'Since my documentary [This Is Paris], I've been using my voice to support @breakingcodesilence to create change in the industry,' the iHeartRadio podcaster - who boasts 42.9M social media followers - wrote via Instastory.

'I can't wait to discuss more with my friend and founder of @risenow.us @amandangocnguyen.'

Then July 29 will mark Hilton and Reum's 20-month anniversary as a couple, and they've already undergone the egg extraction procedure for IVF.

'We are watching this new [NBC] show that we just found called Manifest, which we love': The bride and groom-to-be - both 40 - beamed as they walked hand-in-hand to retrieve their car from the valet

Dreamy dress: Paris wore a blue dotted mini-dress with an ankle-length sheer overlay as well as a matching bag and white Valentino Garavani studded heels

'I've been using my voice to support @breakingcodesilence': Hilton is 'so excited to' fly to Germany to speak at The One Young World Summit, which takes place July 22-25 in Munich

'We are watching this new [NBC] show that we just found called Manifest, which we love,' the I Blame You songstress told Glamour last Wednesday.

'I also watch The Simple Life. It's so funny. Carter thinks it's hilarious. He doesn't really watch reality TV; he runs a venture capital fund and is a very serious businessperson, so it's funny to watch him watching it.'

The Columbia University grad proposed to Paris with an emerald-cut engagement ring by Jean Dousset while vacationing on a private island on February 17.

Hilton has been hard at work filming a 13-episode docuseries Paris In Love about her wedding journey for Peacock, but it's unclear if 'camera-shy' Carter will appear in it.

'I've had to really try to convince him to do this': The iHeartRadio podcaster has been hard at work filming a 13-episode docuseries Paris In Love about her wedding journey for Peacock, but it's unclear if 'camera-shy' Carter will appear in it (pictured May 12)

Parenthood plans: July 29 will mark Paris and Reum's 20-month anniversary as a couple, and they've already undergone the egg extraction procedure for IVF (pictured July 4)

'I've had to really try to convince him to do this,' the Savage X Fenty model told E! News in May.

'I said, "You're marrying Paris Hilton, there's obviously going to be cameras around sometimes," so he understands and he knows it's important to me.'

But first, audiences can watch Paris demonstrate 'simple recipes' in her new six-episode series Cooking With Paris, which premieres August 4 on Netflix.

Hilton is also said to be penning her first cookbook.
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's ex-girlfriend and baby mama Jenn Harley has checked herself into a Las Vegas rehab for alcohol dependency.

The Jersey Shore vet's former flame has reportedly entered a 28-day program of her own volition in an effort to be a better parent to their 3-year-old daughter Ariana, per a statement issued by her rep to TMZ.

The decision comes less than one month after Harley was charged with domestic battery and assault with a deadly weapon following an altercation with her new boyfriend Joseph Ambrosole, whom she allegedly pointed a gun at while threatening 'I'll shoot you n****' and 'I'll kill you right f****** now.'

Seeking help: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's ex and baby mama Jenn Harley has checked herself into a Las Vegas rehab for alcohol dependency 'because she wants to be the best parent she can be for her children' per her rep Gina Rodriguez

Harley's rep Gina Rodriguez issued a statement to TMZ upon her rehab check-in on Saturday July 17.

'Jenn Harley has decided to check into a Las Vegas rehab facility to seek treatment for her alcohol dependency. She made the decision to get help because she wants to be the best parent she can be for her children.'

She and the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star share a three-year-old together, and endured a tumultuous on-off three-year relationship that ended in 2019, but they kept things relatively civil through 2020.

Harley's decision to enter rehab is fresh on the heels of an arrest for domestic battery and assault with a deadly weapon against her now-boyfriend Joseph on June 19. The incident allegedly saw her hurl racial slurs at her boyfriend and point a gun at him.

Ariana: The Jersey Shore vet and Harley share a three-year-old daughter Ariana

Law enforcement detailed the evening in question and the drama that allegedly went down between the pair at Crazy Horse 3 in Las Vegas, as the duo argued over her alcohol consumption as well as the location of where they would park their vehicle, according to TMZ.

The couple took their row into the establishment, where they were asked to leave by club security, authorities said.

The fight continued throughout the course of the drive home where Harley's anger allegedly intensified to the point where she got a bit physical and even tossed his phone out the window.

Mug shot: Harley was arrested on June 19 and faces charges of domestic battery and assault with a deadly weapon after she pointed a gun at him and threatened 'I'll shoot you n****'

After pulling over to look for the phone, Harley reportedly got into the driver's seat and left him stranded, forcing him to find his own way back home  at which point things turned more violent.

Police said that Ambrosole said that when he arrived to their residence, they continued to exchange words, at which point Harley threatened him with the firearm, before leaving the home.

Despite the incident the pair are seemingly still together with a recent Instagram posted of the pair on July 5 on a boat with Ariana.

After her arrest the two were also seen handing out food to the homeless in Los Angeles on June 27.

Still together: After Harley waved a gun at Ambrosole's face and was arrested the two were seen handing out food to the homeless on June 27

Still together: After Harley waved a gun at Ambrosole's face and was arrested the two were seen handing out food to the homeless on June 27

The same weekend Jenn was arrested, Ronnie proposed to his now fiancee Saffire Matos.

Jenn and Ron's relationship was rife with issues including numerous physical altercations, cheating allegations and domestic violence arrests on both sides.

In 2018 she showed up to a Vegas hotel unannounced where filming for Season 2 of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation was taking place, at which point she 'lunged, spit and shoved Ronnie,' prompting hotel security to get involved and the police to be called, according to Us Weekly.

Just weeks later she was arrested for domestic battery after she was said to have hit him in the face and dragged him with a car which caused him to sustain injuries.

She did not face charges however due to insufficient evidence and denied the situation, flipping it on him, but she was arrested another time for domestic battery in 2019.
Frankie Sims put on a busty display in a skimpy blue bikini as she enjoyed her 'hot girl summer' with her sister Demi and friends in Ibiza.

The TOWIE star, 26, shared a series of clips from her boozy weekend in the Balearic Islands on Instagram on Saturday and Sunday.

Her partying comes just days after it was revealed she had split from Love Island's Jack Fincham, 29, after four months of dating.

Sizzling: Frankie Sims put on a busty display in a skimpy blue bikini as she enjoyed her 'hot girl summer' with her sister Demi and friends in Ibiza at the weekend

Taking to social media, Frankie posted a series of sizzling snaps of herself wearing the blue swimwear which left little to the imagination as her breasts poked out the bottom.

She wore a pair of blue bikini bottoms and a matching beach cover up which was tied around her waist.

Frankie set pulses racing with the racy pictures, captioning the snaps: 'Hot girl summer - IBIZA - let's hav ya.'

The reality star also took to her Stories to update her followers with her antics while enjoying the sunshine.

'Hot girl summer': The TOWIE star, 26, shared a series of clips from her boozy weekend in the Balearic Islands on Instagram on Saturday and Sunday

Racy: Frankie posted a series of sizzling snaps of herself wearing the blue swimwear which left little to the imagination as her breasts poked out the bottom

Arriving at her hotel, where she is staying in a room with sister Demi, 25, she filmed inside her lavish room to show her followers and gave a glimpse of their fridge filled to the brim with alcohol.

Talking to the camera, she explained that they didn't know how long they would be staying in Ibiza for but told her followers to 'stay tuned'.

She later revealed that she had mistaken a complimentary condom which had been supplied by the hotel as a shower cap.

Her sister Demi also shared the hilarious incident on her story but explained 'I definitely won't be needing that' before Demi chimed in exclaiming: 'I WILL!'

Sexy: She wore a pair of blue bikini bottoms and a matching beach cover up which was tied around her waist. Pictured: Frankie with sister Demi in Ibiza this weekend

Gorgeous: Frankie set pulses racing with the racy pictures, captioning the snaps: 'Hot girl summer - IBIZA - let's hav ya'

Demi and Frankie, also joined by some other friends, then took to Ocean Beach - owned by Wayne Lineker.

The group were seen popping champagne bottles, cheering and dancing to the music together.

Frankie's trip to Ibiza comes after the news she had split with Jack Fincham and he was spotted being surrounded by four police officers in a car park at 5AM.

According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, the former Love Island star spoke with officers after they had gotten a call claiming he was acting suspiciously.

Living it up: Demi and Frankie, also joined by some other friends, then took to Ocean Beach - owned by Wayne Lineker

Party time: The group were seen popping champagne bottles, cheering and dancing to the music together

He was seen speaking with four men in uniform in a car park in south east London, five miles from his family home in Bexleyheath.

Jack was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops.

A local said: 'I have no idea why he was there. I only realised who it was after Googling. I'm sure if Jack wishes to take to social media and explain he will.'

MailOnline has contacted Jack's representatives for further comment.

Incident: According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, the former Love Island star, 29, spoke with officers after they had gotten a call claiming he was acting suspiciously

It was revealed on Friday that Jack and Frankie, who started dating in April, were said to have parted ways after fighting.

Insiders told OK!: 'Jack and Frankie have split. They've had a couple of rows and have unfollowed each other on Instagram.'

In May, Jack and Frankie confirmed their romance, sharing romantic snaps after being spotted passionately embracing after a night out.

They later shared a photograph from their first ever date, on April 11 at Jin Bo Law Skybar in London.

Meeting: In the image, Jack can be seen speaking with four men in uniform in a car park in south east London (pictured with Frankie)

Aftermath: Jack (pictured with Frankie) was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops

When their romance went public, there were concerns Frankie's feud with her love rival Chloe Brockett, 20, would reignite as it was rumoured at the time that Chloe had been dating Jack in recent months.

However TOWIE's Chloe insisted that she's completely fine with her nemesis Frankie and ex beau Jack striking up a romance, when she took to Instagram to reassure fans there are 'no bad feelings' and to wish the new couple 'all the best'.

Chloe and Jack had been rumoured to be dating over recent months, while the brunette beauty had previously fallen out with her co-star Frankie over Harry Lee.

MailOnline contacted Jack and Frankie's representatives for comment at the time.
Jack Fincham has been seen for the first time since he was pictured speaking with four police officers in a car park.

The former Love Island star, 29, opted for a laid back look as he hung out with a group of friends at the Bluebird Cafe in Chelsea on Sunday.

Jack sported a mustard polo shirt and a pair of dark shorts as he soaked up the sun during England's heatwave.

Outing: Jack Fincham has been seen for the first time since he was pictured speaking with four police officers in a car park

The reality star sported a gold bracelet and a pair of sunglasses as he caught up with his pals.

Jack looked in good spirits at the swanky venue where he was seen hugging some friends who came to join him.

The TV personality also took to Instagram and shared a snap with two friends as he wished one a happy birthday.

He wrote: 'Can always count on you two, love you boys and happy birthday @teeyard'.

Questioned: The outing comes after Jack was pictured speaking to four police officers in a car park at 5AM over the weekend

Out and about: The former Love Island star opted for a laid back look as he hung out with a group of friends at the Bluebird Cafe in Chelsea on Sunday

The outing comes after Jack was pictured speaking to four police officers in a car park at 5AM.

According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, Jack spoke with officers after they got a call claiming he was acting suspiciously.

In the image, Jack can be seen speaking with four men in uniform in a car park in south east London, five miles from his family home in Bexleyheath.

The reality star was seen wearing a blue jacket and matching tracksuit bottoms as he spoke with the officers in the early hours of the morning.

Casual: Jack sported a mustard polo shirt and a pair of dark shorts as he soaked up the sun during England's heatwave

Reunion: Jack looked in good spirits at the swanky venue where he was seen hugging some pals who came to join him

Jack was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops.

A local said: 'I have no idea why he was there. I only realised who it was after Googling. I'm sure if Jack wishes to take to social media and explain he will.'

MailOnline has contacted Jack's representatives for further comment.

It was revealed on Friday that Jack and Frankie, who started dating in April, were said to have parted ways after fighting.

Party: The TV personality also took to Instagram and shared a snap with two friends as he wished one a happy birthday

He wrote: 'Can always count on you two, love you boys and happy birthday @teeyard'

Insiders told OK!: 'Jack and Frankie have split. They've had a couple of rows and have unfollowed each other on Instagram.'

News of the break-up comes a day after Jack's ex and fellow Love Island victor Dani Dyer was left heartbroken when she split from her partner Sammy Kimmence after he was sentenced to three years in prison for a 34k fraud on Wednesday.

In May, Jack and Frankie confirmed their romance, sharing romantic snaps after being spotted passionately embracing after a night out.

They later shared a photograph from their first ever date, on April 11 at Jin Bo Law Skybar in London.

Incident: According to reports from The Mirror on Saturday, the former Love Island star, 29, spoke with officers after they had gotten a call claiming he was acting suspiciously

Aftermath: Jack (pictured with Frankie) was not charged by the police, and it was said his family came to take him home shortly after his conversation with the cops

When their romance went public, there were concerns Frankie's feud with her love rival Chloe Brockett, 20, would reignite as it was rumoured at the time that Chloe had been dating Jack in recent months.

However TOWIE's Chloe insisted that she's completely fine with her nemesis Frankie and ex beau Jack striking up a romance, when she took to Instagram to reassure fans there are 'no bad feelings' and to wish the new couple 'all the best'.

Chloe and Jack had been rumoured to be dating over recent months, while the brunette beauty had previously fallen out with her co-star Frankie over Harry Lee.

MailOnline contacted Jack and Frankie's representatives for comment at the time.

Sad: It was revealed on Friday that Jack and Frankie, who started dating in April, were said to have parted ways after fighting

Away from Jack's romantic woes, his ex Dani has been left heartbroken.

Jack and Dani won Love Island in 2018 and split the 50k prize, however their relationship ended in 2019 after nine months together.

The former pen salesman went on to have a daughter called Blossom with his long-term good friend and ex Casey Ranger, in January 2020, while Dani reunited with her pre-villa ex Sammy and they welcomed their son Santiago in January.

It was revealed on Thursday that Dani broke up with Sammy after he lied to her about his crimes before being sentenced to three years in jail.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a source revealed that the heartbroken star, 26, is working on life as a single parent with their son Santiago, seven months, after her boyfriend was jailed for a 34k scam.

Split: The break-up comes after Jack's ex Dani Dyer split from Sammy Kimmence after he was sentenced to three years in prison for 34k fraud on Wednesday (pictured in March)

They said: 'She is absolutely floored by what's happened with Sammy. She knows she has to make massive changes in her life and she's so distraught.

'All she knows is that her baby boy Santiago is the only thing that matters now and she is trying to work out how best to look after him as a single parent.'

Sammy, 25, duped Peter Martin, 91, and Peter Haynes, 81, by persuading the vulnerable pensioners to let him to invest their money for them and then splashed out on expensive restaurants, hotels and clothes.

Former flame: In May, Jack and Frankie confirmed their romance, sharing romantic snaps after being spotted passionately embracing after a night out

The source went on: 'She needs time to think it through. Sammy completely downplayed the court case every step of the way'.

It has been revealed that she was misled over the severity of the crimes which saw Sammy groom pensioners to fund his lavish lifestyle.

The source said: 'He led her to believe he hadn't done anything too serious and that he would get a suspended sentence now she knows the full horror of the crime...

Sweet: Jack and Dani won Love Island in 2018, walking away and splitting the 50k prize however their relationship ended in 2019 after nine months together (pictured on the show)

'She is broken. She feels desperately sorry for the two men he scammed and whose lives he ruined.'

Speaking about how she is feeling now, they said: 'She feels utterly stupid for ever believing him and she is totally overwhelmed.

'The little dream family she thought she had has been smashed apart and she is now trying to work out how best to pick up the pieces.'
Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel and her on/off fiance Paul Bernon went to lunch with her daughter Bryn Casey Hoppy in the Hamptons on Saturday.

The 50-year-old Skinnygirl CEO donned floral maxi-dresses with her 11-year-old princess from her three-year marriage to pharmaceutical sales executive Jason Hoppy, which finally ended in January after a nine-year legal separation.

The 43-year-old Peabody Award-winning producer has two children - son Tucker and daughter Skylar - from his 14-year marriage to marketing director Ashley, which ended in 2017.

Trio: Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel and her on/off fiance Paul Bernon went to lunch with her daughter Bryn Casey Hoppy in the Hamptons on Saturday

Laura Ashley alert! The 50-year-old Skinnygirl CEO donned floral maxi-dresses with her 11-year-old princess from her three-year marriage to Jason Hoppy, which finally ended in January

Bethenny - who's currently penning a book titled Business is Personal - owns a five-bedroom home on in Bridgehampton, according to the New York Post.

That same night, Frankel and Bernon enjoyed foggy fireworks with her glow stick-loving child she calls 'Peanut.'

The Just B podcaster and Paul just returned from a lavish, romantic Italian Riviera getaway where they stayed at the Splendido Hotel in Portofino.

Bethenny got re-engaged to the Massachusetts-born businessman in February after a four-month split.

Divorced father-of-two: The 43-year-old Peabody Award-winning producer (L) has two children - son Tucker and daughter Skylar - from his 14-year marriage to marketing director Ashley, which ended in 2017

Ready for her close-up! Bethenny - who's currently penning a book titled Business is Personal - owns a five-bedroom home in Bridgehampton

Cloudy weather: That same night, Frankel and Bernon enjoyed foggy fireworks with her glow stick-loving child she calls 'Peanut'

'With this man, a kiss is not just a kiss': The Just B podcaster and Paul just returned from a lavish, romantic Italian Riviera getaway where they stayed at the Splendido Hotel in Portofino

The NYU grads originally met through a dating app in the fall of 2018.

On Saturday, Frankel shared a drab-to-fab TikTok of herself lip-synching to Nicki Minaj: 'I took a couple, you know, I took some time off to rest and now it's game time b****es! You have no idea.'

The Big Shot star - who boasts 5M social media followers - is then seen pre-taping an interview for an upcoming episode of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan in the Hamptons.

Meanwhile, Bernon last produced Kimmy Gatewood's dismally-reviewed rom-com Good On Paper, which started streaming June 23 on Netflix.

On Saturday, Bethenny shared a drab-to-fab TikTok of herself lip-synching to Nicki Minaj: 'I took a couple, you know, I took some time off to rest and now it's game time b****es!'

'When it's go time': Frankel - who boasts 5M social media followers - is then seen pre-taping an interview for an upcoming episode of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan in the Hamptons
Christine Quinn put on an enticing display on Saturday afternoon as she cooled down with an ice cream bar.

The 32-year-old Selling Sunset star was seen flashing leg in a colorful crochet mini dress while picking up a frozen delight from the Pink Dot in West Hollywood.

After some final errands, the blonde beauty headed home to pack for a luxury Italian vacation on the Amalfi coast where she was joined by her husband Christian Richard and their two-month old son Christian.

Sweet sight: Christine Quinn, 32, cools things down with an ice cream bar while out and about in West Hollywood

The luxury realtor turned reality star showcased her incredible post baby body in a Hope Macaulay crochet dress in bright summery colors.

She coordinated the knitted frock to both her pink ice cream and her accessories as she strutted her stuff in blush colored satin platforms.

Christine toted along a key lime Chanel bag and continued to lean into color by way of her yellow framed sunglasses and a playful beaded necklace.

Though she left her platinum tresses down in mermaid style waves, she affixed a pink colored scrunchie to her wrist to combat the hot LA day.

Snack time: The reality TV star was seen nibbling on a strawberry shortcake flavored ice cream bar from the Pink Dot convenience store

Easy to spot: The Selling Sunset beauty showcased her incredible post baby body in a Hope Macaulay crochet dress in bright summery colors

Christine made her way through the parking lot before she hopped into her Lamborghini and headed home.

And she continued to take her luxury lifestyle overseas on Sunday as she shared snaps from a picturesque Amalfi vacation  her first one as a mom.

She and her tech entrepreneur husband welcomed their first child together on May 15, and in a two-month tribute post she got candid about the labor while joking: 'You made an extremely dramatic entrance, just like your mommy.'

Quinn cradled the newborn while wearing silky Louis Vuitton pajamas, and revealed that she and the baby were 'lucky to be alive' after undergoing an emergency C-section.

'Baby C umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Baby C was seconds away from not making it,' she said in excerpt after sharing that both she and the newborn's heart rates plummeted.

Always bold: Christine turned heads as she sauntered through the parking lot with her statuesque legs on display

'The surgeons didn't even have time to count their tools before stitching me up as I was flatlining,' she shared in the post, adding that doctors had to run her through an X-ray machine to make sure there was no foreign matter left insider of her.

The brazen beauty continued to say that she had to 'relive the trauma' while filming season four of the hit Netflix show which is currently in production.

Though she had previously said she was considering giving birth on camera while citing the likes of Khloe Kardashian in her caption (she did not end up doing so), she called it 'difficult' to allow the 'very raw, personal moments of [her] life' to be 'captured on camera.'

But despite her candid post her on-screen rival Chrishell Stause recently shared that motherhood did not really change 'much' about Christine, who has quite the reputation for drama on the show.

'I don't think that changed much,' Chrishell told People, revealing they had believed things would chill out once she gave birth. 'I think that a lot of us thought that, but no, that's not the case,' she added.
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An actor in the upcoming Indiana Jones film took a tumble while performing a chase scene in Glasgow on Sunday - causing filming to be temporarily halted.

The performer, whose name is not known, was seen surrounded by an ambulance crew after he fell while on set during a chase scene.

Filming of the untitled fifth film in the franchise has been going on for several weeks with parts of the Scottish city transformed into 1960s Manhattan.

Ouch: An actor in the upcoming Indiana Jones film took a tumble while performing a chase scene in Glasgow on Sunday

The actor was seen running through a band of sailors during the parade scene before falling to the ground.

The fall was likely unintentional as the actor required medical attention after. The actor was seen surrounded by medics in the aftermath of the fall with filming halted.

According to the Evening Standard, the performer gave the crowd a wave to signal he was not seriously hurt.

Prior to the scene, director James Mangold could be seen giving the actor instructions as he aggressively ran through the band.

All OK: According to the Evening Standard , the performer gave the crowd a wave to signal he was not seriously hurt (pictured surrounded by medical staff

At the races: Harrison Ford, 79, has been forced to take a break from filming as he recovers from a shoulder injury and appeared in high spirits at Silverstone on Sunday

Action: Prior to the scene, director James Mangold could be seen giving the actor instructions as he aggressively ran through the band

MailOnline has contacted a representative for production company Lucasfilms for comment.

Elsewhere during filming, Harrison Ford's stunt double charged through a crowded parade celebrating Apollo 11's landing in 1969 on horseback.

Bolting down a city centre street in a grey suit, the action-packed scene saw a lookalike for 79-year-old Harrison rip through a banner as cheerleaders performed in the street and crowds waving American flags looked on in surprise.

Harrison himself has been forced to take a break from filming for three months as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained on set, and appeared in high spirits while stepping out at Silverstone on Sunday ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Fall: The performer, whose name is not known, reportedly had to be seen by an ambulance crew after he fell while on set

Run: The actor appeared to be involved in a chase scene through a street parade where he could be seen running through a band of sailors

Accident: The fall was likely unintentional as the actor required medical attention after

The actor beamed from ear to ear while posing for photographs trackside, and looked typically dapper in a blue shirt teamed with sunglasses.

Chatting away to Canadian racing driver Nicholas Latifi, the actor appeared in his element while enjoying the beating British sunshine.

Back in Scotland, his stunt double was chased down a street in an action-packed scene.

Harrison's body double was seen wearing Indiana Jones's signature grey suit and burgundy tie while galloping down the street, with a stand-in for Boyd Holbrook hot on his heels.

Filming: Harrison's stunt double charged through a crowded parade on horseback as filming

In his element: Chatting away to Canadian racing driver Nicholas Latifi, Harrison appeared in his element while enjoying the beating British sunshine

Dapper: Harrison looked typically dapper on Sunday when he stepped out wearing a blue shirt teamed with sunglasses

Happy: The actor beamed from ear to ear while posing for photographs trackside

Crew members were seen rearranging props in between takes, with two carrying an enormous clapper board across the street.

Filming for the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie in the series was thought to have been pushed back by three months due to Harrison's injuries, after being originally due for release in 2022.

It's been a fresh blow for the movie - which sees James taking on directing duties from long-time helmer Steven Spielberg - after shooting was previously pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Throwback: The Glasgow street had been transformed into a Manhattan parade scene celebrating Apollo 11's landing in 1969

Wow: Harrison's body double was seen riding a horse through the street wearing Indiana Jones's signature grey suit and burgundy tie

Action-packed: The scene saw a lookalike for Harrison rip through a banner as cheerleaders performed in the street and crowds waving American flags looked on in surprise

Impressive: As the stuntman charged down the street, cameras could be seen capturing every movement

Banner: Harrison's stuntman rode his black horse straight through one of the parade's banners

Still going: Unfazed by the banner, the striking animal kept going at full pace

I can't see! The banner - held on each end by one of the parade's cheerleaders - temporarily obscured the stuntman's vision

Hurray! Cheerleaders could be seen throwing their hands in the air as the stuntman and his well-trained horse sped by

Masked up: Many of the cheerleaders were also sporting facemasks in keeping with pandemic restrictions

An insider told The Sun's Bizarre column: 'It is Harrison's last outing as Indiana and everyone thought it would be plain sailing.

'After the initial delays everyone was raring to go. But now Harrison is injured and it is worse than first thought.

'The film's bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it's chaos. The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.

'It was not what anyone was expecting so to have to change everything is a huge blow. Everyone was concerned for Harrison and they are glad he is on the mend.'

Throwback: Director James looked animated as he instructed cast members dressed as sailors during the parade

Showtime: The director looked in his element as he waved his hands about before the scene began

Hot on his heels: A stand-in for actor Boyd Holbrook was hot on the heels of Ford's lookalike

Easy does it: Holbrook's stunt double weaved through the crowded parade on an old-fashioned motorbike

Impressive scenes: One of Glasgow's city centre streets had been completely transformed

Mirror image: The enormous set was the mirror image of a Manhattan street

Cheerleaders: A procession of cheerleaders with pom poms and majorettes in bright red outfits lined the street

Police: Actors in police suits lined the barricades separating spectators from the parade

Enormous! Two crew members were seen carrying an enormous clapper board through the street

High spirits: The cheerleaders did an excellent job of remaining in high spirits throughout the shoot

Off he goes! Harrison's stunt double galloped through crowds of people tightly packed together

Spectators: The street was lined with spectators and dozens of extras took part in the action-packed scene
She was recently hit criticism as to why she has only entered the Love Island villa once since the show began, despite being the host.

And Laura Whitmore looked incredible in a black jumpsuit ahead of presenting the spin-off show, Aftersun, from London on Sunday.

The presenter, 36, wowed in an effortlessly chic ensemble which she paired with black platform heels.

Gorgeous: Laura Whitmore looked incredible in a black jumpsuit ahead of presenting the spin-off show Aftersun from London on Sunday

The star oozed confidence as she posed for a slew of snaps on set ahead of tonights show.

Her stunning outfit was embellished with silver buttons on the waistline and she accessorised gold rings.

She chatted to a slew of famous faces in the Aftersun studio including the gorgeous Mollie King.

The Saturday's star looked incredible in a lemon shirt dress which she paired with her beige heels.

Wow! She chatted to a slew of famous faces in the Aftersun studio including the gorgeous Mollie King

Beautiful: The Saturday's star looked incredible in a lemon shirt dress which she paired with her beige heels

Style: The stunning AJ Odudu also showed off her toned pins in a short off-the-shoulder floral dress

Pose: She accessorised with a bright pink lip and gold hoop earrings, she also embellished with a coin chain and rings

Catch up: The star wowed as she chatted to Laura on the Aftersun couch

The stunning AJ Odudu also showed off her toned pins in a short off-the-shoulder floral dress.

She accessorised with a bright pink lip and gold hoop earrings, she also embellished with a coin chain and rings.

Singer Hrvy also made an appearance looking casual in a graphic T-shirt and jeans.

He completed his look with blue trainers with black stars on them and stud silver earrings.

The villa: Laura recently hit back at fan speculation as to why she has not been present in the villa for re-couplings

Cool: The singer looked in his comfort zone as she joined the couch to discuss the villa

Casual: Singer Hrvy also made an appearance looking casual in a graphic T-shirt and jeans

Comfortable: He completed his look with blue trainers with black stars on them and stud silver earrings

Impressionist Luke Kempner wore a stylish olive green shirt floral shirt and black jeans.

Laura recently hit back at fan speculation as to why she has not been present in the villa for re-couplings.

The presenter was also not present when Brad McClelland left the show to save his partner Lucinda Strafford getting axed during Wednesday's episode.

Although Laura didn't specify when she would next be in the villa, she pointed out that she has been hosting Aftersun weekly.

Looking well: Mollie King had a great time as she laughed with the presenter

Gorgeous: She looked effortlessly chic in her lemon ensemble

Looking good! Impressionist Luke Kempner wore a stylish olive green shirt floral shirt and black jeans

Stunning: The presenter, 36, wowed in an effortlessly chic ensemble which she paired with black platform heels

Must watch: Last week Laura cheekily responded to a fan: 'Hosting live show from London weekly, think you'd enjoy it if you watched!

A Love Island viewer on Twitter asked: 'When is @thewhitmore going back into the villa? She's literally been in once.'

Laura cheekily responded: 'Hosting live show from London weekly, think you'd enjoy it if you watched!

She jokingly added: 'I've got great roaming package for the aul Spanish texts at the mo'.

Laura, who welcomed her daughter with husband Iain Stirling in March, previously said she will 'fly back and forth' between the UK and Spain with the tot.

Wow! The star oozed confidence as she posed for a slew of snaps on set ahead of tonights show

Beautiful: Her stunning outfit was embellished with silver buttons on the waistline and she accessorised gold rings

Criticism: She recently hit back at fan speculation as to why she has not been present in the villa for re-couplings

Staying out of it: The presenter was not present when Brad McClelland left the show to save his partner Lucinda Strafford getting axed during Wednesday's episode (pictured on the launch show)

Keeping busy: Although Laura didn't specify when she would next be in the villa, she pointed out that she has been hosting spin-off show Aftersun weekly from London

Speaking to Grazia, she said: 'Every time I fly over, she'll go with me because I'm breastfeeding.'

Love Island fans were left baffled when Laura failed to enter the villa yet again during Wednesday night's episode.

The presenter - who is reportedly being paid 600,000 to host - has not been present for any of the four dumpings that have happened thus far and has only featured for 12 minutes of the programme over the last three weeks.

Laura was forced to miss part of the first Aftersun show due to quarantining upon her return from Spain where the show is filmed.

Elusive: Laura - who is reportedly being paid 600,000 to host - has not been present for any of the four dumpings and has only featured for 12 minutes of the programme

The presenter's absence did not go unnoticed by fans, with one joking that she must have been 'furloughed', while another penned they 'totally forgot' she was the host.

Taking to Twitter, viewers noted: 'Laura Whitmore gets 600k to present love island and I genuinely cant remember the last time I saw her in the villa'; 'We havent seen Laura Whitmore since the first episode I just realised ??? #LoveIsland';

'Ive not seen Laura whitmore enter the villa once this series ?? #LoveIsland'; 'I feel like we haven't had an appearance from Laura Whitmore in a while and I want her back tbh'

'Totally forgot that laura whitmore presents this show where is she lmao??'; 'Is Laura Whitmore on furlough this series orrr? #LoveIsland'; 'me trying to work out where laura whitmore is #loveisland';

'But wait  when was the last time we saw Laura Whitmore? Thinking face #LoveIsland'; 'is laura whitmore in this series? like at all? they just keep sending texts #loveisland'; ' Not Laura Whitmore getting presenter credits while never showing up #LoveIsland [sic]'

No show: Laura featured on episode one for the initial coupling ceremony but has not returned to the villa since (Brad McClelland and Lucinda Stafford pictured)

Laura took one the role of Love Island host for the first winter series of the show, which began in January 2020, weeks after former host Caroline Flack was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton at her London home.

Former MTV host Laura, whose husband Iain narrates Love Island, admitted she was reluctant to take the job, telling Cosmopolitan UK: 'I love doing live TV.

'I'd worked with most of the crew doing I'm A Celebrity... and MTV, so it just felt very comfortable. The show was the easiest thing.

Where is she? The presenter's absence did not go unnoticed by fans, with one joking that she must have been 'furloughed', while another penned they 'totally forgot' she was the host

'It was everything around it that I couldn't cope with. When I got the call I was like, "I need to talk to Iain, I need to talk to Caroline..". It's a weird one because you think you should just jump at it.

'Obviously you're delighted that ITV trust you to do such a big show, but a friend of yours is also going through hell... Caroline had messaged me first to say, "I hope you get it", which was really nice.

'You're like, "Oh yay, I get to do this but, no, this isn't how I want to get to do it. It was a really weird way to get a job.'

In February 2020 Caroline died by suicide and Laura stayed on as permanent host of the ITV2 series.

Tragic loss: Love Island was hosted by Caroline Flack but she stepped down after being charged with assaulting her boyfriend in January 2020. She took her life the following month

Which Love Island couples are still together?

Full list of Love Island 2021 Contestants: Series 7 cast members

Where are the Love Island winners now - and what are they worth?
On Sunday, SKIMS CEO Kim Kardashian unearthed several selfies from behind the scenes of her shapewear brand's Outdoor Basics campaign shot in the desert by Nadia Lee Cohen back on April 29.

The 40-year-old mother-of-four - who boasts 340.7M social media followers - looked unrecognizable in her Instastories thanks to the bleached brows and blonde wig.

Hairstylist Jesus Guerrero coiffed Kim's dark-rooted hairpiece while make-up artist Ariel Tejada fully-contoured her complexion.

'I found these videos': On Sunday, SKIMS CEO Kim Kardashian unearthed several selfies from behind the scenes of her shapewear brand's Outdoor Basics campaign shot in the desert by Nadia Lee Cohen back on April 29

In one shot, Kardashian flaunted her posterior while modeling the $62 Outdoor Basic legging and matching $46 T-shirt.

SKIMS Outdoor Basics - which dropped on June 29 - came in five styles, five colors, and sizes XXS-4X.

The KUWTK alum's post came after news SKIMS designed the undergarments, pajamas, and loungewear for Team USA's female athletes for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Kim was partially inspired by her stepfather - California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner - who scored Olympic gold medals for decathlons in 1975 and 1976.

Who's that girl? The 40-year-old mother-of-four - who boasts 340.7M social media followers - looked unrecognizable in her Instastories thanks to the bleached brows and blonde wig

On set: Hairstylist Jesus Guerrero coiffed Kim's dark-rooted hairpiece while make-up artist Ariel Tejada fully-contoured her complexion

Back it up: In one shot, Kardashian flaunted her posterior while modeling the $62 Outdoor Basic legging and matching $46 T-shirt

Online now! SKIMS Outdoor Basics - which dropped on June 29 - came in five styles, five colors, and sizes XXS-4X

Inspired by her stepfather Caitlyn Jenner! The KUWTK alum's post came after news SKIMS designed the undergarments, pajamas, and loungewear for Team USA's female athletes for the Tokyo Olympic Games

'Ever since I was 10 years old, I've heard every single detail about the Olympics from my stepdad,' Kardashian wrote on Instagram.

'As I would watch the athletes compete, I would grow to understand the dedication and honor being a part of the Olympics embodied. I traveled [with] my stepdad and family to all different cities for the Olympic trials, the Olympics and track meets of @caitlynjenner's and at every stop I would buy an Olympic T-shirt as a souvenir.

'When I received the call inviting Skims to be a part of @TeamUSA, every moment I've spent admiring the strength and energy of the Olympians from the sidelines came full circle.'

The aspiring attorney next voices Delores the Poodle in Cal Brunker's animated feature PAW Patrol: The Movie, which hits UK theaters August 13 and US theaters/Paramount+ August 20.

Catch more drama from Kim and her famous family when their new show, stemming from their multi-year global content deal with Hulu/Star, starts streaming in late 2021.

'I'm so excited for you guys to hear me!' Kim next voices Delores the Poodle in Cal Brunker's animated feature PAW Patrol: The Movie, which hits UK theaters August 13 and US theaters/Paramount+ August 20
On Sunday, Russian bombshell Irina Shayk Instastoried a snap of herself arching her back while taking a dip at a beach in Tulum.

The 35-year-old former VS/SI Swimsuit stunner showcased her phenomenal 5ft10in figure in a white $80 Tropic of C X Revolve 'Rio' bikini and matching $80 bottom.

Since last month, Shayk (born Shaykhlislamova) has been in Mexico modeling for Candice Swanepoel's three-year-old swimwear company.

Paradise: On Sunday, Russian bombshell Irina Shayk Instastoried a snap of herself arching her back while taking a dip at a beach in Tulum

Irina - who boasts 23.6M social media followers - also shared an appreciation slideshow in honor of her Lions Model manager, Ali Kavoussi.

On Saturday, the dimpled brunette's rumored flame - 22-time Grammy winner Kanye West - watched a Big3 game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas alongside rap legend Ice Cube.

'They are very much still dating,' a source told People on Friday.

'They will date long distance. Kanye will continue to be L.A.-based. He has no plans to move to NYC.'

Representing: The 35-year-old former VS/SI Swimsuit stunner showcased her phenomenal 5ft10in figure in a white $80 Tropic of C X Revolve 'Rio' bikini and matching $80 bottom

Evening stroll on the shoreline: Since last month, Shayk (born Shaykhlislamova) has been in Mexico modeling for Candice Swanepoel's three-year-old swimwear company

'Da daaaaa... That's all!' Irina - who boasts 23.6M social media followers - also shared an appreciation slideshow in honor of her Lions Model manager, Ali Kavoussi (L)

The 44-year-old rapper-designer's estranged wife Kim Kardashian filed for divorce on February 19 after nearly seven years of marriage.

According to TMZ - West 'pursued' Shayk as far back as 'early as March' after she played an angel in his Power music video way back in 2010.

Irina and Kanye were first pictured canoodling on June 8 celebrating his birthday while staying at luxurious French hotel, Villa La Coste.

Ballers: On Saturday, the dimpled brunette's rumored flame - 22-time Grammy winner Kanye West (R) - watched a Big3 game in Las Vegas alongside rap legend Ice Cube (2-L)

'They are very much still dating': The 44-year-old rapper-designer's estranged wife Kim Kardashian filed for divorce on February 19 after nearly seven years of marriage

They go way back: West 'pursued' Shayk (M) as far back as 'early as March' after she played an angel in his Power music video way back in 2010

Meanwhile, the Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 catwalker shares 50/50 joint legal and physical custody of four-year-old daughter Lea De Seine with her ex-fiancee Bradley Cooper.

Shayk amicably split with the 46-year-old Oscar nominee in June 2019 after a four-year relationship.

On April 21, Irina's privileged princess made her Instagram debut in a picture with her famous mother, which was taken by Bradley.

Babydaddy: Irina shares 50/50 joint legal and physical custody of four-year-old daughter Lea De Seine with her ex-fiancee Bradley Cooper (pictured June 18), whom she split from in 2019
They are no strangers to nights on the tiles in racy outfits.

And Love Island stars Jess and Eve Gale out on a sizzling display as they headed out in London on Sunday.

The 2020 reality stars, 22 put their bronzed legs, ample cleavage and trim midriffs on display in cut-out outfits.

Wow: Love Island stars Jess and Eve Gale out on a sizzling display as they headed out in London on Sunday

Finalist Jess slipped into a clinging nude bodysuit which featured a sizable cut-out across her waist as she posed up a storm.

She wore her tresses in soft waves and sported a rich palette of make-up.

While Eve showcased her underwear and taut waist in a green, orange and cream sheer co-ord for the night out.

Both sisters opted for perspex heels for their evening out.

Bronzed: Finalist Jess slipped into a clinging nude bodysuit which featured a sizable cut-out across her waist as she posed up a storm

Work it: While Eve showcased her underwear and taut waist in a green, orange and cream sheer co-ord for the night out

Peachy: The stars showcased their derrieres as they posed up in the street

Strut: The blonde beauties wowed as they showed off their endless legs

Eve and Jess were just two of many celebrities who jetted to Dubai throughout the pandemic, as they visited the sun-soaked city in December.

They joined many other Love Islanders including Joanna Chimonides, Hayley Hughes and Francesca Allen.

After Dubai joined UK's travel ban list, celebrities then began flocking to Mexico's bars and beaches as it established itself as the next COVID getaway destination.

Many stars insisted their trips were for 'work purposes' after criticism from Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Several influencers were forced to hit back at fans after they were criticised for jetting off on holiday during the global pandemic.

Jess and Eve rose to fame on the first ever series of winter Love Island back in 2020.

While Eve was booted off after less than a week, Jess made it to the final with Ched Uzor - with the pair going their separate ways shortly afterwards.
HONOLULU (AP)  A few months into the pandemic, data showed Pacific Islanders suffered the highest infection rates in Hawaii.

But what early numbers didnt publicly show was which Pacific Islanders in the diverse identification category  which includes people with ethnic roots in Samoa, Micronesia and other islands but excludes Native Hawaiians  were affected the most.

In August 2020, when Hawaii recorded its greatest number of cases, people who identify as Pacific Islander represented 24% of all COVID-19 cases but accounted for just 4% of the state's population, according to a report by the state Department of Health with academic and community groups.

The health equity report, published in March of this year, showed that the two single largest groups represented among Pacific Islander COVID-19 cases were Samoan at 29% and Chuukese at 24%.

Before the detailed data was readily and widely available, Dr. Kapono Chong-Hanssen on Kauai printed lists of people who checked the Pacific Islander box and looked at last names in an attempt to figure out specific racial backgrounds.

The feat was possible on a small island, he recalled, but it would have been quicker and easier to target communities with educational outreach in the languages they speak with more specific state data, which provides information about Native Hawaiians but lumps together other all other Pacific Islanders.

In the 1990s, prompted by concerns that Native Hawaiian students were considered overrepresented in colleges when counted as Asian, Esther Kiaaina worked at the federal level to separate Native Hawaiian data from Asian data. Since then, however, all other Pacific Islanders have remained in one category.

Now a member of the Honolulu City Council, Kiaaina introduced a resolution adopted last month urging Hawaii government agencies to go beyond minimum federal standards and get more specific when collecting racial data in one of the most racially diverse states in the nation.

Of Hawaiis 1.5 million residents, 38% are Asian  mostly Japanese and Filipino  26% are white, 2% are Black, and many people are multiple ethnicities, according to U.S. census figures. Native Hawaiians account for about 20% of the population.

Were geographically unique and we are culturally, racially, ethnically very unique in comparison to the rest of the United States, said Chong-Hanssen, medical director of the Kauai Community Health Center and a board member of the Association of Native Hawaiian Physicians. So the federal standards dont really serve our public health ... and other services.

Disaggregated data  data that is broken down into smaller groupings  is also helpful now in the effort to urge people to get vaccinated, he said.

The resolution provides separate categories for Samoan, Micronesian, Tongan, Chamorro and other Pacific Islander. Categories also include white, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other Asian.

Even though the resolution isn't binding, Kiaaina said that the agencies she contacted so far are supportive. She said she plans to send the resolution to city and state agencies, asking them to comply voluntarily.

Were doing this not only to get the data to determine funding priorities, its also to promulgate policies to address the underlying disparities for whatever reason, she said, "whether it be housing, whether it be education, whether it be health.

On the Big Island, Dr. Wilfred Alik, who is from the Republic of the Marshall Islands and speaks Marshallese, said he made it a point to collect specific ethnicity data on his own when talking with a Pacific Islander patient who tested positive.

While groups organized collectively as Asian and Pacific Islander can bring strength in numbers to smaller communities, getting specific data is helpful for contact tracing especially with language skills and cultural sensitivity, said Alik, who works for Kaiser Permanente.

Early in the pandemic, We Are Oceania, a group that advocates for Hawaii's Micronesian communities, asked state health officials to provide specific data for Pacific Islanders, said the group's CEO, Josie Howard.

While they believed that data would be key to understanding how people were affected by the virus, they also worried that the data would further stigmatize Micronesian people, who are often the targets of racism in Hawaii, Howard said.

Stigmatization and privacy were also concerns for state health officials, who already collect detailed, disaggregated data beyond what's recommended by the City Council resolution, said Joshua Quint, an epidemiologist with the Department of Health. There are limits on how to responsibly release data, including privacy issues, especially when it comes to small populations, he said.

That's among the reasons they don't break Pacific Islanders down in what's available on the department's COVID-19 website, he said.

It's also difficult to detect disparities when there aren't good population estimates for smaller groups, such as Chuukese people, Quint said.

In Hawaii, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Micronesians, who began migrating here in bigger numbers in the 1990s in search of economic and educational opportunities, according to We are Oceania. Numbers for people who are from Chuuk, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia, are harder to pinpoint.

When virus cases were first diagnosed in Hawaii, health officials asked questions of those who tested positive that focused on their travel histories, Quint said. But when community spread of the virus was established, social disparities among racial and ethnic groups began to emerge.

Advocates say expanding the options in the ethnicity category is an issue that goes beyond the pandemic.

When we are lumped together ... when it comes to services, we're like in the back burner, said Elisapeta Alaimaleata, executive director of the Le Fetuao Samoan Language Center.

Without specific data, it becomes harder to advocate for Samoan language education services in Hawaii public schools, she said as an example.

The ability to mark a box that's not simply other, can have benefits for personal identity, said Chong-Hanssen, who is half white, a quarter Chinese and a quarter Native Hawaiian, and grew up in Iowa.

It helps the larger population, at least in Hawaii, if not in the larger United States, understand that we exist, he said. These different types of Pacific Islanders are real people.
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After having worked in several Bhojpuri and Marathi films, Pakkhi Hegde is set to debut in Telugu. The actress will play the female lead in the film Mani Shankar, which is being directed by Venkat Krishnan.

The actress is naturally elated to share details about the action-adventure. The films racy screenplay will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. I am lucky to debut in Telugu with such a film, says the actress who has already begun shooting for my film in Hyderabad.

While Pakkhi shot for several of her earlier films in the city, she says that shooting for a Telugu film is a different experience. I play a strong and rough girl and theres love, hatred and emotion in my characters relationship with the protagonist, which is played by Siva Kantamaneni, she explains.

One of the requirements for her debut Tollywood role was that Pakkhi needed to learn bike riding. Driving the Enfield bullet was very tough; it was heavy and balancing it was quite a task. And then to do it all in just two days was even more challenging, reveals Pakkhi, who adds that she also had to learn how to drive a car rashly for another of her action sequences.

The actress whos picked up several languages, including Bhojpuri, Marathi and Punjabi, when doing films in those respective regions, has been working on her Telugu.
There is no official update on the expected timeline of the travel ban being eased. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: Indian students who had rushed back home from Italy to be with their family members or take part in last rites of the loved ones at the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 are now stranded here as air travel remains banned to the European country.

As the students witnessed a flashback similar to the brutal first wave of COVID-19 in Italy last year, many of them had rushed back home earlier in the year. While some managed to come home in time, few were late to meet the last minute rush when Italy closed their international borders to India.

Those who returned to India before April 28, when air travel to and from the country was suspended, are now stuck here even though their peers back in Italy have gone back to their normal lives in universities.

Zeeshan Ahmed, a cyber security student at Sapienza University of Rome, arrived in India when he got news of his sister being ill due to COVID-19. Ultimately his entire family got infected with the virus, including him.

"It was mayhem. In fact, it was a repeat of what I saw in Italy last year that made me scramble even more when I got to know about my sister first. Then, everybody around was infected and news of losing loved ones and family became an everyday thing," Ahmad told PTI.

"The second wave may have subsided but the nightmare for me is far from over. Italy has gone back to normal but I am stuck here while universities function completely. I also had a part-time job there which I am continuing from here but that will not be an option in few weeks because ultimately work is getting affected due to my absence," he added.

Aligarh's Owais R Khan, who is studying MSc Computer Science at the same university in Rome, says he came back to India in February when the situation in both the countries was better.

"Suddenly, all hell broke lose here and a week before my scheduled return, Italy imposed a travel ban which has still not been lifted. The exams are going on at my university both in offline and online mode. We have been reaching out to the Embassy, sending emails to the Ministry to raise the issue with their counterparts in Italy but nothing has worked," Khan said.

"It feels like a vicious cycle. Last year, we were stuck in Italy when the families back here were on tenterhooks. An year later, the same series of incidents has happened in India and we are in the same situation again. Its hard to struggle through these issues while dealing with loss of family members and memories of last rites afresh in mind," he added.

For Nihal Vikram Singh, an MBBS student at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, the trouble is not just limited to delayed travel plans but residence permit and Indian vaccines not being permitted there.

"As per our residence permit, we cannot stay out of Italy for more than six months. To go through the same processes all over again and secure a permit is going to be troublesome. Also, I am a medical student. Though I am attending my theory classes online, that is far from enough for my course," he said.

Italy had on June 26 permitted Italian residents or Italian citizens with Registry of Resident Italians Abroad, to travel to the country from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

While there is no official update on the expected timeline of the travel ban being eased, the Indian Ambassador to Italy had on July 9 had a meeting with community representatives where she briefed them about the efforts on seeking relaxations.

"Ambassador Dr Neena Malhotra virtually interacted with community representatives and briefed about Mission's efforts in seeking relaxation for stranded Indians and resumption of flights. Several other community issues were discussed," the Indian embassy in Italy had tweeted.

India logged 41,157 new coronavirus cases, which took the infection tally to 3.11 crore while the death toll climbed to over 4.13 lakh with 518 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
Most students learn by repeating what teacher teaches in the class, as most students coming from very underprivileged backgrounds do not have the right atmosphere at home to learn. Representational Image (PTI)

Hyderabad: Online classes for students, at least those taken by government schools, are more a self-congratulatory exercise for the state education department that it is doing something for students during the pandemic. Detailed inquiries with teachers and heads of government schools have revealed that nearly 50 per cent of their students have learnt next to nothing.

Major questions have arisen in the process. How much learning is going through WhatsApp classes mostly on five to seven-inch screens of smartphones? Is there sequential continuity in subjects and classes, like in physical schools? Sending home and class work to teachers on phone is more a hit-and-miss affair. Then there is the problem of a different teacher each day teaching the same subject, says Telangana State Gazetted Headmasters Association president P. Raja Bhanu Chandra Prakash.

Students are really missing their teachers who come to class day after day. There is familiarity and understanding of what the teacher says over a period of time. How much the students have understood online will only be known when syllabus for classes they have been promoted to begins on August 16, Chandra Prakash observed.

Worst-hit are students enrolled in government schools of rural areas. Most of them come from marginal sections of society, with a sizeable number of them not having smartphones. If by chance they have it, they cannot afford to pay for 1-2 GB data needed every day for children to watch classes. There are also distractions that come with a smartphone being in hands of students, observed Mohammad Kareemuddin, head master of Ahmedipur Zilla Parishad High School in Gajwel mandal of Siddipet district.

He said data whether a student has access to a smartphone or TV with cable connection is being recorded at the time of admission. This to some extent helps in encouraging students to share their mobiles with fellow students, or watch lessons on TV in small groups. We have 186 students with 12 teachers in both English and Telugu medium. As per our survey, 163 are attending classes via television while rest study via smartphones, which they share. Data usage becomes a problem as parents are reluctant to use it all up by sharing their phones outside of the family. This means submission of worksheets by those not having smartphones becomes a serious issue, Kareemuddin pointed out.

While teachers and school heads say they are doing everything they can, the reality is not every teacher or head of school is taking great interest in what students are learning through online classes, sources in education department said.

According to Maddela Pranay Kumar, a social studies teacher at Wadiyarim ZPHS in Chegunta mandal of Medak district, his school has around 256 students. Each teacher sends a time table for classes through WhatsApp groups. Then comes the checking if they actually watched a class and how much have they understood, he said.

Headmasters association president Chandra Prakash reiterates that best learning can happen only in person. Most students learn by repeating what teacher teaches in the class, as most students coming from very underprivileged backgrounds do not have the right atmosphere at home to learn. In online learning, there is no repetition or asking of questions. Our fears are that most students have not been able to keep up and are losing out seriously on learning, says Chandra Prakash.

Following are numbers of students whose future is at stake*

7,62,300 students of 4,187 zilla parishad high schools

1,28,300 students of 479 government high schools

2,30,000 students of 3,075 mandal parishad upper primary schools

9,100 students of 90 government upper primary schools

7,50,000 students of 17,048 mandal parishad primary schools

1,05,500 students of 1,181 government primary schools

*Student numbers have been rounded off to nearest hundred
Rescuers look for survivors after a wall collapsed on several slum houses heavy monsoon rains in the Mahul area of Mumbai, India, Sunday, July 18, 2021. (Photo:AP)

Mumbai: Torrential rains and thunderstorms caused havoc in Mumbai on Sunday as 31 people were killed in rain-related incidents like wall collapses and landslides in different parts of the city. The water supply to the city was also severely affected due to flooding at the citys key water purification complex. The weather department has predicted further heavy rainfall in the city for the next 24 hours.

Incessant rains lashed Mumbai city and its suburbs for several hours late Saturday night and Sunday morning, resulting in severe waterlogging at several places. Suburban train services were suspended, whereas several routes of BEST (city transport) buses were diverted. However, a majority of Mumbaikars were spared from inconvenience as it was a Sunday.

At Bharatnagar in the Mahul area, 19 people died as a compound wall came crashing down on four to five houses located on a hillock at 1 am. Ten slumdwellers died as six shanties collapsed after a landslide in Vikhroli at 2.30 am. A 16-year-old boy died after a forest department compound wall collapsed in Bhandup, while at Andheri, a 26-year-old man died due to electrocution in his shop.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the suburban parts of Mumbai received 235 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, while the city received 197 mm rainfall. A red alert was issued for Mumbai on Sunday with the forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations. Images from a doppler radar showed that the thunderstorm had a cloud top height of nearly 18 km (around 60,000 feet), the IMD said.

To put in other words, the height/vertical extent of this monster thunderstorm is approximately twice that of Mount Everest! tweeted meteorologist Akshay Deoras. Such thunderstorms are definitely uncommon for Mumbai or the west coast during an active phase of the monsoon and in a month like July. The cloud top height of this monster thunderstorm is definitely comparable to the one that produced rains on 26 July 2005, he further said.

The rains also affected water supply in most parts of the city as the water purification complex at Bhandup saw heavy flooding. The electrical gear that controls the pumping and filtration processes at the complex was inundated with water, leading to technical problems. As a precautionary measure, the power supply of the complex was also discontinued. The Brihanumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed citizens to boil water before drinking.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed grief over the loss of lives in incidents at Chembur and Vikhroli due to torrential rains and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakhs for the kin of each of the victims. The injured would be provided free treatment, he said.

Mumbai Suburban guardian minister Aditya Thackeray said the state government has decided to shift those people who are living in the dangerous zone. A decision is taken to shift the people, who are residing in the dangerous area, he said.

Relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar said 350 mm rainfall was recorded from Saturday night to Sunday morning. People were taken to safer places in the city after a red alert was announced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed anguish at the loss of lives caused by wall collapse incidents in Mumbai. His office announced Rs 2 lakhs each for the next of kin of the deceased from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund. A sum of Rs 50,000 would be given to the injured.

Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that those who are injured have a speedy recovery, Mr Modi said.
Though the top health department official on Saturday specifically mentioned Bonalu celebration venues as possible hotspots, many people could be seen crowding. (Twitter)

Hyderabad: Giving a damn to the stern warnings of Director of Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao that the Covid-19 situation was not completely under control, people continued to move about in full violation of the Covid safety protocol.

Though the top health department official on Saturday specifically mentioned Bonalu celebration venues as possible hotspots, many people could be seen crowding at the temple in Golconda Fort that was visited by Mayor G. Vijayalakshmi on Sunday.

Meanwhile, despite the weekly dip in Covid testing, eight districts, and the GHMC limits, reported an increase in cases compared to Saturday. The GHMC area recorded 75 cases on Sunday, four more than on Saturday. Since July 12 when GHMC reported 68 cases, the city has been reporting cases in the seventies every day.

The number of Covid-19 determination tests in the state fell to 90,966 from 1,15,515 on Saturday resulting in a corresponding fall in total cases to 578 from 729 on Saturday.

New cases: 578

Deaths: 3

Tests done: 90,966

Active cases: 9,824

Total cases: 6,36,627

Total deaths: 3,759

Most new cases

1. GHMC: 75

2. Karimnagar: 53

3. Khammam: 43

4. Suryapet: 38

5. Warangal Urban, Mancherial: 36

Fewest new cases:

1. Kamareddy, KB-Asifabad: 0

2. Narayanpet: 1

3. Nirmal: 2

4. Vikarabad, J-Gadwal: 3

5. Medak, Adilabad: 5
Chief Minister KCR with officials at Pragathi Bhavan on the implementation of the Dalita Bandhu scheme. (Photo: Twitter@TelanganaCMO)

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday named the government's recently announced Dalit Empowerment Scheme as Telangana Dalita Bandhu, on the lines of Rythu Bandhu for farmers, and selected the Huzurabad Assembly constituency, that is set to go for a bypoll, to launch it on a pilot basis. About 21,000 families will benefit from the scheme in the Huzurabad constituency.

Under the scheme, the government will credit Rs 10 lakh directly in the bank accounts of each Dalit beneficiaries. Each Dalit family will be taken as a unit to extend the benefit.

The decision was taken at a meeting that the Chief Minister held with officials at Pragathi Bhavan on the implementation of the Dalita Bandhu scheme.

Explaining the reasons for launching the scheme in Huzurabad, the CM said that Karimnagar district held great sentimental value for him as he had addressed the first public meeting, Simhagarjana in Karimnagar soon after the launch of the TRS in 2001 to demand statehood for Telangana.

He also launched the Rythu Bima' farmers insurance scheme, which is close to his heart, from the same district, Chandrashekar Rao recalled.

The revolutionary Rythu Bandhu scheme was launched from Huzurabad in 2018 and he wanted to continue the trend by launching Dalita Bandhu from Huzurabad, he said.

The CM stated that he will soon announce the launch date of Dalita Bandhu in Huzurabad.

It was decided to select 20,929 Dalit families in Huzurabad constituency for this scheme. Of this, 5,323 will be from Huzurabad mandal, 4,346 from Kamalapur mandal, 3,678 from Veenavanka mandal, 4,996 from Jammikunta mandal and 2,586 from Illanthakuntal mandal.

The CM said that the scheme will be implemented with an outlay of Rs 1,200 crore across the state as announced earlier. Since the Huzurabad constituency is being covered on a pilot basis, the CM decided to santion an additional Rs 2,000 crore for this scheme.

The CM stated that the guidelines for the implementation of the scheme and how beneficiaries should utilise the Rs 10 lakh will be released soon.

Chandrashekar Rao said this pilot project will help government to assess the implementation of Dalita Bandhu at the ground-level, which will be helpful in extending the scheme to the state later.

A workshop will be held for collectors and officials on the implementation of the scheme.

"Besides extending Rs 10 lakh financial assistance to each Dalit family, a special safety fund will be set up with the partnership of government and the beneficiary. If the beneficiary faces any financial or other problems later, the government will extend additional financial assistance from this safety, the CM said.

"The aim of this scheme is to take Dalit families to higher levels socially and financially. If any Dalit family encounters any trouble later after utilising this scheme and suffers financial losses for any reason, this safety fund will come to their rescue," the CM stated.

The CM hoped that like Rythu Bandhu, which transformed the lives of farmers and agriculture, the Dalita Bandhu scheme would turn out to be big success and transform the lives of Dalit families.
By Vrishti Beniwal and Rajesh Kumar Singh,

India cant prioritise eliminating greenhouse gas emissions without sufficient financing from richer nations to help offset the high cost of transitioning to clean energy, according to a senior government official.

In laying out its position ahead of key global climate talks later this year, the top bureaucrat in Indias environment ministry also said the country doesnt plan to tighten its emissions goals unless more money is promised from developed economies under the United Nations-sponsored climate change agreement.



Credit: Bloomberg



Every policy decision has a cost to the economy. Going net-zero or using less carbon also has a cost, Environment Secretary Rameshwar Prasad Gupta said in an interview at his New Delhi office. We are not anti-net-zero. But without adequate climate finance being definitively available, we cant commit on that part.

Read | Renewable energy sector got $70 billion in 7 yrs: Singh

The stance by India, the worlds third-biggest emitter, highlights a top challenge global leaders will face when they meet at the UN Climate Change Conference, which starts in late October in Glasgow. While cutting net global carbon emissions to zero by 2050 is key to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, aimed at avoiding catastrophic damage from climate change, figuring out how to pay for the transition toward clean energy has been a sticking point.

Gupta also said the current $100 billion-a-year pledge (Rs 7.4 lakh crore) by richer nations to help developing nations -- a target they havent even met yet -- is insufficient to make the shift.

We have our own developmental imperatives, Gupta said. If you want that I dont emit carbon, then provide finance. It will be much more than $100 billion per year for developing nations.

As well, until negotiations are finalised around funding help, India likely wont upgrade the emissions targets it committed to in 2015, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution, which under the Paris Agreement were expected to be revised by 2020.

This is not the final decision, but most probably we wont file a revised NDC, he said. Let there be a decision on climate finance first.

Read | Solar, wind power only partly help fight climate change: Scientists

While the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed setting a 2050 net-zero emissions goal earlier this year, policy makers have resisted, citing the outsized role fossil fuels play in powering its growing population out of poverty, and the progress its made on earlier climate commitments.

But India risks looking like an outlier among other developing economies. While still seeking more funds from richer states, more than 100 countries including large emerging economies like Mexico, as well as neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have publicly committed to zero carbon by mid-century. Even China, previously one of the strongest voices calling on developed nations to do more, has changed its tune, aiming to decarbonise the worlds top polluter by 2060.

Meanwhile, Brazil has also made its commitment contingent on richer nations, saying net-zero is only possible if it can guarantee $10 billion-per-year (Rs 74,000 crore) in contributions from other countries.

As India recovers from the pandemic-induced economic contraction, it sees international finance as key to industry overhaul needed to lower emissions. This includes banishing coal, a dirty but cheap source of energy, currently being used for about 70% of its power generation. Solutions also include replacing coal with more-expensive and untested alternatives, such as green hydrogen, in heavy industries like steel and oil refining.

Economic Impact

While the green transition does present infrastructure-driven economic growth opportunities, there would be trade-offs in the form of higher electricity prices and rail fares, job losses in the coal sector and fiscal challenges for states, according to an analysis by Vaibhav Chaturvedi, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

However, there are also longer-term costs for inaction. Indias loss in per-capita gross domestic product by 2050 could range from 0.41%, under a low-global warming scenario if the Paris Agreement is met, to 5.08% in case of higher warming, the International Monetary Fund estimated in 2019.

The global climate talks in Scotland later this year, known as COP26, are seen as the last chance to set a plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The British government is hoping the summit will deliver an agreement by all countries to abandon coal power, with the G-7 leading the way.

While India may not set new goals before the meeting, Gupta said its on track to exceed 2030 targets it set in 2015, including that the countrys share of non-fossil fuel power generation capacity rises to 40%. Its also on course to cut its emissions intensity by a third from 2005 levels by 2023, seven years ahead of schedule, he said.
The first attempt by a Rajapaksa to return to power in Sri Lanka was brief.

In 2018, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as prime minister, even though the man he was supposedly replacing said he still held the job. Rajapaksa eventually backed down, though not before chairs were smashed and chilli powder and fists were thrown in Parliament.

But a year later, his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president. Since then, the Rajapaksas have stamped their name so thoroughly on Sri Lankas government that it feels like a family enterprise  albeit a struggling one, with the economy in tatters and discontent rising.

On Thursday, another brother, Basil Rajapaksa, was sworn in as finance minister  a move that one analyst, Bhavani Fonseka, said consolidated the Rajapaksa family rule.

We now have four brothers and several other members of the family holding key positions in government, said Fonseka, a senior researcher with the Center for Policy Alternatives, a research institute based in Colombo, the capital. In the face of a weak opposition and no real checks and balances on the executive, prospects for Sri Lankas constitutional democracy are deeply troubling.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 72, gave himself the additional post of defense minister shortly after becoming president. He soon made Mahinda Rajapaksa, 75, the prime minister, also putting him in charge of the Ministries of Religious Affairs and Urban Development. (He was the finance minister, too, before Basil Rajapaksa got the job.) The eldest brother, Chamal Rajapaksa, 78, was named the minister of irrigation as well as the state minister of home affairs and of national security and disaster management.

Then came the second generation. Namal Rajapaksa, 35, Mahinda Rajapaksas son and a former captain of the national rugby team, was named minister of youth and sports. He is also the state minister of digital technology and enterprise development. Chamal Rajapaksas son Shasheendra Rajapaksa got a portfolio too long to fit on a business card: He is the minister of state for paddy and cereals, organic food, vegetables, fruits, chilies, onions and potatoes, seed production and high-tech agriculture.

The family has been in power for much of the past two decades. During his 10 years as president, Mahinda Rajapaksa ended Sri Lankas decadeslong civil war in 2009, crushing the rebels known as the Tamil Tigers. His brothers held key posts then, too: Gotabaya Rajapaksa led the Defense Ministry, where he was accused of human rights abuses in the final stretch of the war, while Chamal Rajapaksa was the speaker of Parliament, and Basil Rajapaksa was a minister in the Cabinet.

But in the 2015 election, Mahinda Rajapaksa was denied a third term as president, after having pushed through a constitutional amendment to allow himself to pursue one.

The coalition government that replaced him brought hopes of reform and a promise to put the war-ravaged country on a path to reconciliation, in which war crimes would be investigated and the grievances of minorities, which the rebels had made their rallying cry, would be addressed.

But the new government was so bogged down by bickering and dysfunction that many voters apparently yearned for the order the Rajapaksas had imposed. The bombings on Easter in 2019  in which, despite repeated warnings from Indias intelligence service, militants launched simultaneous attacks that killed more than 250 people  helped Gotabya Rajapaksa to handily win the presidential election months later, campaigning as a strongman.

Since then, the coronavirus pandemic and the governments response to it, which has included putting strict restrictions on movement and essentially closing the border to tourists, has added to the economic woes in Sri Lanka, which had already been caught in a cycle of debt.

Basil Rajapaksa, the new finance minister, played important roles in both of his brothers presidential campaigns and is seen as a pragmatic strategist within the family. Some analysts and opposition politicians saw his appointment as an acknowledgement by his brothers that urgent action was needed to address the economy and the discontent.

But others wondered why a non-Rajapaksa could not be found to do the job.

Also read: Another Rajapaksa sibling joins Sri Lankan government

I dont think we have faced such a serious crisis in our balance of payment in the last several decades. This means professional, technical input to solve this situation and get this country out of it, said Harsha De Silva, an opposition lawmaker and an economist. The Rajapaksas believe that expertise lies only among their family  that if one brother cant do, the next brother will try, and if that fails, a third brother will do.

You need discussions; you need ideas thrown around in a crisis, De Silva added. This family  they all think alike, and we have seen that because they have been in office since 2005, except for a few years.

In recent months, Sri Lanka has seen repeated demonstrations by thousands of people with a variety of demands, including justice for those who disappeared during the war and better compensation for health care workers. The government has cracked down on the protests on the grounds that they flouted Covid restrictions; some called that a pretext, noting that the guidelines allowed spas, restaurants and stores to open.

Human rights activists have expressed concern about Gotabaya Rajapaksas centralisation of power and his distribution of key posts to family members. They also say he has reversed the progress Sri Lanka had made toward some degree of accountability for crimes committed during the war.

Rights groups say Rajapaksa has used the police and judiciary to harass dissidents and has obstructed investigations into war crimes, which he characterised as political victimisation of security officers. He has also pardoned military officers who were accused of grave abuses.

Last year, Rajapaksa pushed through constitutional amendments that strengthened the powers of his office. Sri Lankas Bar Association has warned that the amendments allow the president to act with legal impunity and have removed much-needed checks and balances from the countrys system of government.

The amendments also eliminated a clause that prohibited dual citizens from holding key government positions. That made it possible for Basil Rajapaksa, who holds US citizenship, to become finance minister.

A final hurdle was that Basil Rajapaksa was not a member of Parliament, where Cabinet ministers come from. That obstacle was surmounted when a lawmaker from the governing party resigned and Basil Rajapaksa was presented as his replacement through a party list.

They dont see this as anything to apologise for  and their constituencies dont either, so long as they deliver tangible and symbolic benefits for them, said Alan Keenan, the senior consultant for Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group. But that is the problem: They arent delivering. By increasingly shutting down avenues for political critique and protest, they risk serious conflict.
A photo of allegedly Pakistan Paramilitary personnel guarding at the Spin Boldak border has appeared on reports on Sunday, a day after Afghanistan accused Islamabad of supporting the Taliban.

Afghanistan Vice President, Amrullah Saleh took to Twitter to announce that Afghan Army has received an official warning from Pakistans air force and also mentioned that Taliban is receiving close air support from the Pakistan air force.

Breaking: Pakistan air force has issued official warning to the Afghan Army and Air Force that any move to dislodge the Taliban from Spin Boldak area will be faced and repelled by the Pakistan Air Force. Pak air force is now providing close air support to Taliban in certain areas  Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) July 15, 2021

If anyone doubts my tweet on Pak Air Force & Pak Army warning to d Afg side not to retake Spin Boldak I am ready to share evidence through DM. Afghan aircrafts as far as 10 kilometers frm Spin Boldak R warned 2 back off or face air to air missiles. Afg is too big to be swallowed  Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) July 15, 2021

Saleh further offered to share evidence through message and tweeted, If anyone doubts my tweet on Pak Air Force & Pak Army warning to d Afg side not to retake Spin Boldak I am ready to share evidence through DM. Afghan aircrafts as far as 10 kilometers frm Spin Boldak R warned 2 back off or face air to air missiles. Afg is too big to be swallowed (sic).

According to a News18 report, a photo of Pakisthan personnel at the Spin Boldak border has been found a day after Saleh's tweet.

Afghanistan made these allegations two days after the Taliban announced on Wednesday that it had taken over the control of Spin Boldak crossing area between Afghanistan and Pakistan territory. Responding to it, Pakistan issued a statement saying that 40 Afghanistan soldiers crossed the border to Pakistan when the Taliban took control of the crossing.

Soon after the Taliban took control over the Spin Boldak crossing near Kandahar, it raised its flag there. Videos of the same were reportedly shared on social media.
Opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha have sought discussions in the Upper House on a variety of subjects including Covid-19 management, farmers agitation, the situation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops as well as more scrutiny of Bills by Parliamentary committees.

The demands were put during a meeting of Rajya Sabha floor leaders called by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday evening ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

"Over 40 leaders from 33 parties attended the all-party meeting and suggested subjects to be discussed. PM Modi said that all suggestions including those from the Opposition are very valuable. At the all-party meeting, PM Modi said that healthy and fruitful debates should take place in Parliament. He added that the govt is ready to hold discussions on any subject if raised as per parliamentary rules and procedures," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi after all-party meeting ahead of Monsoon Session.

Sources said Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge sought discussions on a broad range of issues including Covid-19 and its impact on the economy and employment, poverty, strong potential of a third wave and preparedness, farmers' agitation, issues relating to cooperative federalism, India-China border situation and Jammu and Kashmir among others.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar was of the view that a discussion on the situation in Afghanistan further to the withdrawal of US troops and its implications should be discussed while Trinamool Congress' Derek OBrien called for more scrutiny of Bills by the Parliamentary Committees.

Sources said other leaders stressed the need for allotting adequate time allocation for state-specific issues and more time for regional and small parties.

Naidu assured regional and small parties of improvement in time allocation while urging all MPs to stand by the people in the light of the situation caused by Covid-19 and discuss all related issues to dispel the gloom caused by it in the country.

"A dysfunctional Parliament adds to the prevailing gloom and hence, all sections of the House should ensure a smooth and productive session as it offers an opportunity to address the concerns of the people affected by Covid-19," sources quoted Naidu as saying.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi told the leaders that the government has identified 29 Bills, including six replacing ordinances, and two items of financial business for the Session.

Responding to suggestions by leaders, Naidu asked Joshi and other senior ministers to reach out to leaders of various parties for better coordination and smooth functioning of the House.

Naidu also said that though it is for the Government to take a view on referring the Bills to the Parliamentary Committees, it may be done to the extent possible. All issues can be discussed in the House but none should seek to force their own positions on others, Naidu said in the meeting.

Among others, the newly-appointed Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, HRD Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the meeting.
The intervention of Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje helped a woman from Mangaluru to travel from Kuwait to Mangaluru without subjecting her six-month-old baby to Covid-19 test on Saturday.

Air India authorities in Kuwait had insisted that Adithi Sudesh Nayak Karopady, a resident of Kuntikana in Mangaluru, make her child undergo Covid-19 test at the last minute before the departure of the flight to Mangaluru.

NRI Mohandas Kamath spoke to Union minister Karandlaje and apprised her of the situation.

Also Read | From Puttur to parliament: Shobha Karandlajes inspiring success story

The minister, in turn, contacted Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia. Later, the ministry contacted Air India in Kuwait and Adithi was allowed to travel with her child in the same flight to Mangaluru.

Adithi said she was not allowed to board the flight after completing web check-in.

The authorities insisted Covid-19 negative certificate for her child after carrying out the test immediately.

When the issue was brought to the notice of Mohandas Kamath, her cousin, he immediately sought Shobhas help. Finally, Adithi was allowed to board the flight and she landed in Mangaluru at midnight along with her baby.
Editor of Town Talk, News & Press of Delaware County

Call me wife, mom, daughter, granny, writer, neighbor, sister, aunt, editor, Godmother, niece, friend, acquaintance, co-worker, cousin, news junkie, diva, funmeister... call me them all, just call, text or e-mail me-- especially when there's "a scoop!"
Adarsh Gourav: I want to keep changing and evolving; I want to work globally

Critical success of Ramin Bahrani's The White Tiger as well as a BAFTA nomination for his performance in the film has given Adarsh Gourav an access to opportunities and the actor says he wants the make most of it by choosing unique characters. The Jamshedpur-born actor was nominated for the leading actor BAFTA for his role of Balram, the quintessential underdog, from a poor low-caste family.

Based on Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize winning novel of the same name, The White Tiger follows Balram's (Gourav) rise from a poor villager to a successful entrepreneur in India, showcasing how hunger and lack of opportunity can build and drive a human being's animal instinct of survival. It also featured Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Rajkummar Rao.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adarsh Gourav (@gouravadarsh)

Gourav said going ahead he wants to keep evolving as an individual and an artiste. I do not feel a sense of pressure in terms of what I will do next. All I know is, I want to do films that engage me and the audience. I want to keep changing and evolving as an individual. I want to become a better version of myself, the actor told PTI in a Zoom interview.

He added that he would not like to restrict himself and keep learning and exploring newer things in life. I want to work globally. Work in all languages, learn new languages. I hope, I have the time to do that. My driving force in life is to pick up new things and chase them completely and try to master them in some way. I want to be part of unique stories, play different characters with ease and that will come with age and experience.

The international acclaim combined with award nominations at Independent Spirit award and AACTA award, led to increased media attention and better offers for the 27-year-old actor, who has previously appeared in movies My Name is Khan, Mom and Netflix series Leila.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adarsh Gourav (@gouravadarsh)

The actor said he has read a lot of script in the past few months and there are some interesting offers, but he is not in position to divulge any details until the official announcement. There are a lot more auditions happening and access to opportunities than before. I have read a lot of scripts; spoken to filmmakers I have aspired to work with. Things are looking good. But there is only so much I can talk about because there is no official announcement on my future projects. But there are a bunch of interesting things happening next year."

Gourav said as a child he never intended to be an actor, but now he does aim to excel the craft. He has also made a wish list of directors he would like to work with and that includes Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Devashish Makhija among others. It (acting) happened accidentally. I was singing at a place and someone asked me if I want to try out acting and I said, why not. I was just an enthusiastic kid. I gave it a shot and it worked then. It was purely an accident, I never intended to be an actor, he said.

The actor will now be seen reprising his role of Ankit Pandey in the second season of Hostel Daze, directed by Amir Musanna and Sangram Naiksatam. The Amazon Prime Video show, which will be out on July 23, captures the hostel-culture of an engineering college.

The actor said in the sophomore season newer arcs are being explored in terms of relationship dynamics and individual journey of every character. This is the only show that I am part of that has had a sequel. For the second season, I did watch the first part and sort of revise, jog my memory through my character arc and all of that. Having said that, the character has been established (in season two), you understand his sense of morality, ethics, thought process better, he said.

Besides Gourav, the comedy-drama series also stars Luv Vispute, Shubham Gaur, Nikhil Vijay, Ahsaas Channa and Ayushi Gupta.
Kabir Bedi calls Hollywood a 'clever illusion', says the industry devastated him

Hollywood is a famous sign on a hill, a word for American films, a symbol of fantasy for millions but it devastated him, says veteran actor Kabir Bedi.

Hollywood reminds Bedi of several of his films and television series abroad but he says they didn't make him a star in America.

"Hollywood devastated me, Italy and India resurrected me... What comes to mind when I think of Hollywood? It's a famous sign on a hill, a word for American films, a symbol of fantasy for millions. But it's a clever illusion," the actor writes in his memoir "Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor".

Published by Westland, the book takes readers through the highs and lows of Bedi's professional and personal life, his relationships, including marriage and divorce, and his exciting days in film, television and theatre, in India, Europe and Hollywood.

He acted in films like "Octopussy" with Roger Moore as James Bond, "Ashanti" with Michael Caine, "The Thief of Baghdad" with Roddy McDowall, and "The Beast of War" directed by Kevin Reynolds. Long roles in popular television series included "The Bold and the Beautiful", "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital".

In the book, Bedi bares his soul and tells the stories closest to his heart.

"They are emotional stories of turbulent times. Together, they are the story of my tumultuous journey as an actor," he says.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kabir Bedi (@ikabirbedi)

The book begins with Bedi mentioning how he left his hometown Delhi because of The Beatles. He interviewed this iconic rock band as a freelance reporter with All India Radio on July 7, 1966 - an "exclusive face-to-face, Beatle-by-Beatle interview, for 30 minutes" after much persuasion and almost a no from their manager Brian Epstein.

Bedi was 20 then and the interview went off well but soon his biggest disappointment came. When he asked the radio staffers for a copy of the interview, they couldn't find the tape. It turned out they had recorded other programmes over the taped interview.

Bedi also talks about his friendship with Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi.

"We became friends at 'Aunty Gauba's', my first school in Delhi. It was a small Montessori-style school in a colonial mansion near Connaught Circus, run by a kind but mercurial German lady, Elisabeth Gauba," he recalls.

He also says Rajiv Gandhi's "astonishing rise to power" surprised him. "From being an airline pilot with no political ambitions, he suddenly became India's prime minister after his mother was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984."

He then goes on to add: "In time, Rajiv emerged as the hope of a new generation. India was hungering for change."

He describes his relationship with Protima Bedi "as frankly as I can, with my own fallibilities" and also his time with Parveen Babi in vivid detail.

Of his several relationships, Bedi says he had gone from one emotionally draining woman to another, without a pause in between, leaving him no time for himself.

"People may think 'what a lucky guy' for having one beautiful woman after another. Only I know the price I paid for being an impulsively emotional man," he writes.

The book also has elaborate details about Bedi's connection with Buddhism.

His mother became a fully ordained Buddhist nun in 1966.

He says he saw the aura of the Dalai Lama when he once met him in Dharamshala, even of his mother's guru, the Karmapa.

"They felt like enlightened beings. Buddhism's emphasis on compassion and meditation is unmatched by any. Vipassana gave me lifelong insights after I learned it as a monk in my childhood," he says.

The book was launched by actor Priyanka Chopra. Recently spiritual guide Kamlesh Patel, also known as Daaji, joined Bedi in a conversation on spirituality, meditation, yoga, and designing one's destiny.

During the discussion, Bedi spoke about his inner strength, dealing with setbacks and losses, and his experiences as a Buddhist monk. Daaji explained in detail about heartfulness meditation and its significance in life. He offered tips on yoga, and emphasised on the importance of mental and emotional well-being.

Speaking about yoga being touted as a cure all, Daaji said, "Yoga has been misunderstood as a cure for all. It is not a cure for all. When practiced only at a physical level, yoga cannot impact your soul. Asanas and Pranayamas only improve our physical health. They are a part of yoga, and not yoga itself. Our emotional, mental, and spiritual self, are more important than our physical self; and therefore, vital for holistic wellbeing."
Twinkle Khanna says her father Rajesh Khanna 'still lives on' in a post: "I have his eyes, my son has his smile"

Actor Twinkle Khanna on Sunday paid tributes to her late superstar father Rajesh Khanna on his ninth death anniversary and said the actor continues to live on in the hearts of his fans.

Rajesh Khanna was hailed as India's first superstar, featuring in some of the biggest hits of the late 60s and early 70s.

The actor-turned-author took to Instagram and shared a video from the making of the screen icon's 1974 romantic drama "Aap Ki Kasam", which also starred Mumtaz and Sanjeev Kumar.

"I have his eyes, my son has his smile and the world has pieces of him embedded in their hearts. He still lives on," Twinkle Khanna, 46, wrote.

The video featured Rajesh Khanna filming the popular Lata Mangeshkar-Kishore Kumar track "Suno Kaho Kaha Suna".

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Twinkle Khanna (@twinklerkhanna)

In the behind the scenes footage, the actor was in conversation with a journalist.

"I enjoyed it very much. It was better than running around trees. It's running around rocks," Rajesh Khanna said in the video about filming his solo sequence.

The actor, who passed away at his Bandra residence aged 69, had a landmark streak of as many as 15 consecutive solo hits between 1969 and 1972, with films like "Aradhana", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Anand" and "Amar Prem."

He married actor Dimple Kapadia in 1973 and they had two daughters-- Twinkle and Rinkie.

In 2013, the actor was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.
ADA [ndash] Rhonda Kay Omstead, 58, of Ada, Oklahoma passed away Tuesday, July 20, 2021, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, July 26, 2021, at Estes-Phillips Funeral Home in Ada, Oklahoma. For up-to-date service information, please follow us on Faceb
Two local Dundalk men are set to take part in a 3000-mile rowboat race across the Atlantic Ocean late next year, with plans to sail from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

Eugene and Frankie Mohan will be part of a team of 9 who will take part in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, a two-month-long rowing competition that stretches 300-miles across the entire Atlantic Ocean.

Their team, Row Hard or Go Home, will leave the Canaries in December 2022, with four men in one boat and five in the other.

Eugene and Frankie will be joined by Gearoid O Briain and Oisin McGrath in the four-man boat.

Eugene, who lives in Blackrock, while his brother lives in Knockbridge, say that theyll be undertaking the challenge for charity, but that they have not yet settled on who it will be for.

Speaking to the Democrat, Eugene Mohan said that the idea to undertake the challenge came from being a set of friends who like to challenge one another.

This is just taking it to the next level, said Mr Mohan, with all men currently undergoing intense training 17 months out from the competition kicking off.

According to Mr Mohan, the group first began their training 6 months ago, working on practice 24-hour row shifts with their trainer, John Belton.

The challenge itself will force contestants to row their boats all day and night, with two people actively rowing at any one time.

The rowing will be done in shifts, while one pair is rowing, the others will be able to rest or get some sleep.

One of the big challenges of the race according to Mr Mohan, is the unpredictability of how long rowers could be at sea.

He says that the race could take between 40 and 70 days to complete, or go higher depending on weather conditions at sea.

It is quite a big event, in terms of the toll it is going to take on us It could take anything from 40 to 50, 60, 70 days to get across, said Mr Mohan.

Some of it can be a roll of the dice with bad weather that may end up causing the trip to be longer.

Theres nothing you can do, sometimes you just have to battle through it and try row through it and then theres other times where the weather will just be too severe that you have to batten down the hatches and stay in the cabins and ride out the storm.

According to Mr Mohan, the group will be taking part in other events in the lead up to the race, including a rowing challenge to go from Carlingford to the Isle of Man.

When asked about what his family thinks, Mr Mohan said that their first thoughts were that he was mad.

They think were mad in the head, to be honest.. definitely at the initial stages it was like, are you guys crazy or what is wrong with ye, said Mr Mohan.

They have kind of come around a little bit but it does come up in conversation sometimes, like what are ye doing.

Theyre on board for sure, and theyre fully supporting us now, which is great.

Mr Mohan also said that it will be tough on the families of the rowers, as they could be gone from anywhere from 5 to six weeks to over two months, depending on weather conditions.

For Mr Mohan, he says that the first week of the race will be the toughest, with both mental and physical challenges as the team has to adapt to the next several months on a small rowboat.

They do say that the first seven days are probably the worst. Youre getting your body used to the seasickness, the sleep deprivation and the physical exertion.

The main concern of Mr Mohan and his team is around becoming injured during the race, as he says nobody in the group wants to be left unable to perform while theyre racing.

However, he doesnt have any other major concerns, saying that they have the training to be able to check and mitigate and solve problems, alongside a well-balanced team who each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

People can follow the groups progress and training in the lead up to the Atlantic Challenge by visiting the teams website, rowhardorgohome.com.
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By the Staff of The News

CLOVIS  The city of Clovis Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a replat of Wicks Heights Addition in Clovis.

The applicant and owner is G4 New Generation, LLC.

Chad Lydick of Lydick Engineers told the commissioners it will be good for the city.

They are going to put in some multifamily and it will be good for the whole area, Lydick said.

He said the only recommendation was that they put in an additional hydrant. The streets and utilities are in, he said.
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June 17, 1949 - July 20, 2021 Celebration of Life Service for Carrie Lee Lanier, 72, of Enid, will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 24, 2021, in the Anderson-Burris Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Ethan Stoking officiating. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Anderson-Burris Fune
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Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to produce in-depth and investigative journalism on public-policy and quality-of-life issues facing the state.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for the News & Eagle ? Send an email to enidnews@enidnews.com.
Sunday, July 18, 2021

Regarding Lee Harvey Oswald's alleged participation in covert programs headed by Prouty specifically in Indonesia in 1958

Allegation #8 : Excerpt from the Prouty ARRB interview.

Wray: Do you recall any experiences after you returned to Washington that you consider relevant to the assassination? By that I mean: when you got back in your office, people were talking about the assassination in such a way, I guess, that would arouse your suspicions, or would seem to have contributed information that was not public knowledge, or something like that?

Prouty: Well ... first of all, I was very busy, because I had gone to Antarctica on business. And some of the people that had gone -- I was meeting with them, and that kind of thing. Otherwise, to be very frank with you, I thought it was over. I mean, I can just look at the pictures and know that something -- you know, that it was a big time conspiracy; [one] that was big enough to control the news, and control other things. There was nothing I could do about it; being a military officer, I went back to my job. I was not what grew later to be [called] an assassination "buff." I have never even picked up the Warren Commission Report. I wouldn't know it if I saw it. That kind of thing -- that's not my business. So, then when I got home, I bought newspapers, and read some of the other stories. The early ones agreed with this stuff. Others began to have stories. I must have lost interest in -- I just figured, 'it's just a story.' I knew damn well that -- oh, by the way ... Lee Harvey Oswald was among the people taken from the Armed Forces, working for [the] CIA in the program that I headed. I didn't head the Marine program, but, I mean, he was down in that program. And he was out at Atsugi, Japan; he had worked for us in the Indonesia campaign. And I just figured that a guy who has been in this program has certainly been screened enough to ... so people know him. And I just let it go at -- of course, I never met ... We never met people personally. We didn't want them to know who we were, and vice versa. But I found that out from the records later. Of course, my boss being a Marine general, [it was] easy to find out."

The ARRB was interested in this allegation and wanted more detail:

Wray: Let me ask you a little bit more about that. When you say that Lee Harvey Oswald was in this program, what specific program are you talking about?

Prouty: He was ... support of the military operations of the CIA; clandestine operations. And he was assigned to Atsugi, as I understand, with the U-2 program. There were several programs there; one that had to do with radar, and one was ... U-2 reception program. Whatever the duties were for the people there; you know, Atsugi was the Far East base for [the] CIA. I've been to Atsugi, I don't know if you know -- [it's a] huge underground base -- it's an air base from the air, but it's a big underground base. I was on Atsugi [sic] on September 1, 1945, the day before the surrender. That's the airport we landed on.

Prouty admitted that he never saw Oswald's records:

Wray: When you say, "Lee Harvey Oswald was in the program," ... I'm trying to inquire, and sort of carefully ascertain ... do you know that because you learned that afterwards -- that someone called your attention to the fact that, 'hey, look, here's this guy Oswald that was in our program.' ... Or, if you can recollect this, do you recall having been aware of Oswald's name before the assassination?

Prouty: No, no. We almost never saw names. Even when Gary Powers went down, the Air Force pilot ... I had to find out later that he was an Air Force pilot and not a civilian pilot. But we had the records. I never saw the Oswald records, I never looked for the Oswald records. In fact, I had retired after that.

But where did this allegation come from?

Wray: So, when you say that "Oswald was in this program," what's the basis for your saying that?

Prouty: (Pause) It's just general knowledge. It's come up lots of times. And since I recognize the program whenever see it ... he fit the pattern so perfectly, I would never doubt the stories I saw. I don't know whether it was the New York Times [or] something like that, I don't know.

So, was there a factual basis for the allegation?

Wray: But you're saying, if I'm understanding you correctly, that your understanding that Oswald was involved in this program comes from sources outside your duty position -- [the] New York Times, or other things that you've read, as opposed to official papers that you saw?

Prouty: Well, and the way I read those sources. For instance, when it was stated that he was close to the U-2 program, I knew what the U-2 program in Atsugi was; even if the writer of the story didn't know, I did. Or if he was connected to the Indonesia campaign, [it's] the same thing. I'm the guy that sent the guys to Indonesia. But I didn't do it by name and serial number. We needed so many men to go, and he was among the men that went. Well, he went -- I knew what the program meant. It was a clandestine program -- he didn't go for a vacation.

Wray: The ... Oswald's involvement in the Indonesia campaign -- again, that comes from your interpretation of stories that you've heard?

Prouty: Things that I've read, yeah. Things from various sources or people I've talked to.

Result or conclusion by ARRB : Prouty could not and did not provide any substantiating evidence whatsoever. At one point, it became apparent that this source for this information was not personal knowledge, but a report in the New York Times or some other newspaper. There is no evidence to support this allegation and no further investigation by ARRB is recommended.

Previous Relevant Posts on Fletcher Prouty

Fletcher Prouty Talks to the ARRB

A summary document of his interview with the ARRB

Transcript of Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB

Fletcher Prouty and Army Intelligence in Dallas

Another summary document from the ARRB about Prouty's allegations and army intelligence.

Was Fletcher Prouty an Antisemite?

Prouty had some very unsavory relationships with antisemitic groups.

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part One

Was Fletcher Prouty's Trip to Antarctica Unusual?

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part Two

Regarding Christchurch, New Zealand and The Christchurch Star

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part Three

Regarding the 112th Intelligence Corps (INTC) Group and/or the 316th INTC Detachment

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part Four

Did Prouty Keep the notes from his supposed phone call about army intelligence?

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part Five

Prouty's experience with military presidential protection duties

Fletcher Prouty's Interview with the ARRB, Part Six

Flagrant failure by the Secret Service to take minimum precautions?
Three Democratic state lawmakers who left the state for Washington, D.C., this week have tested positive for COVID-19, the Texas House Democratic Caucus announced Saturday.

All three members are fully vaccinated, according to the caucus, which did not identify the lawmakers.

One member tested positive for COVID Friday night, followed by two members who tested positive on a rapid test Saturday morning, according to a statement from the caucus.

State Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat and chair of the caucus, said the members are following guidance and protocols issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is a sober reminder that COVID is still with us, and though vaccinations offer tremendous protection, we still must take necessary precautions, Turner said. We are in touch with public health experts in Texas to provide additional guidance. Our caucus will follow all recommendations from public health experts as we continue our work.

The agency advises that fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID do not need to quarantine, be restricted from work, or be tested following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low.

Members of the delegation have met with a number of top officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, after fleeing the state Monday to block Texas Republicans elections bill. It was not immediately clear which officials had been in direct contact with the state lawmakers who tested positive.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
As water began to pool on streets and underpasses July 6, many San Antonians heard a ping from their cell phones alerting them to a flash flood warning.

Wayne Tschirhart and Aarin Teague werent caught off guard. They had seen it all coming hours ahead of time.

Theyre part of a team of engineers at the San Antonio River Authority who use predictive software to forecast  up to 24 hours in advance of a storm  how intense the rain will be and how high floodwaters will rise.

On ExpressNews.com: Heavy rains, floods wreak havoc on San Antonio

Their system likely will become key to emergency preparations in San Antonio as climate change makes rainstorms more intense. Early warning systems are one of many adaptive measures outlined in San Antonios 2019 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.

Theres an email I send periodically to the city and county about an impending storm, which pretty much says, Hey, this is what were seeing, said Tschirhart, the SARA teams project manager and senior technical engineer.

During the weeklong bout of heavy rain earlier this month, the teams predictions said this rain is going to be a bit less random than we thought, more organized and more intense, Tschirhart said.

When a forecast calls for severe flooding, the citys Emergency Operations Center can order evacuations or block off roads.

You cant simulate nature exactly, Tschirhart said. Theres always going to be differences.

A future of extremes

The future of flooding in San Antonio, short- and long-term, is a matter of urgent interest. In a city accustomed to torrential downpours and flash floods, emergency managers need to consider what the climate will look like in 10 years, in 15 years, in the year 2050.

The climate consensus for Texas is higher temperatures, extreme drought and more downpours, with the nature and severity of the change varying by region.

On ExpressNews.com: Express-News flood tracker shows flood risk, road closures

The idea that well have more heavy rain events is something that climate models have been predicting for decades, and we actually have observations now that show that happening, said Andrew Dessler, a professor of geosciences and climate change at Texas A&M University in College Station.

The drier places will get drier, and the places that are already wet will only get wetter, he said.

For San Antonio, a city situated between arid West Texas and rainy East Texas, the future holds a greater risk of both drought and flooding, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, a massive data archive maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Simply put, the city will get drier when the weather is dry and wetter when its wet. The increased rainfall will not be spread out evenly over the course of the year. Rather, it will come down heavier than before, in concentrated bursts accompanied by flash floods.

This emerging new normal was fleshed out in a 2018 study conducted for the city by Hatim Sharif, an engineering professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Sharif developed climate projections showing the potential rise in temperatures, rainfall and extreme precipitation events in San Antonio. He estimated the likely rainfall during severe, 24-hour storms from 2071 to 2100, compared with baseline data from 1971 to 2000.

Sharif found that under a worst-case scenario for concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, rainfall would be 2.8 inches more during a 1-in-10-year storm and 4.9 inches more during a 1-in-100-year storm.

But average annual rainfall would decrease 3.6 inches during the same time frame, and maximum summer temperatures would jump as much as 10 degrees, the study concluded.

Were all data

On ExpressNews.com: Days of extreme warmth on the rise in San Antonio

In a world of extremes, good data and prompt emergency response will be crucial. Thats where SARAs flood forecasting system comes in.

Tschirhart crafted and tinkered with the software for months, along with Vieux & Associates Inc., a software development company based in Oklahoma.

When a gnarly technical issue arises, the team looks to Tschirhart for answers. He holds bachelor of science degrees in meteorology from Texas A&M and in civil engineering from UT-Austin.

Tschirhart has been keyed into San Antonios flooding and flood control systems for a long time, and this is just the project to prove it. When the flood forecasting systems user interface is pulled up on a big screen, he gestures animatedly, moving through each map layer as if by second nature.

Teague helps explain the technical jargon. Like Tschirhart, she has years of experience in civil and environmental engineering. She holds a doctorate in the two disciplines from Rice University. Shes an ecological engineer at SARA and manages flood prediction, water quality modeling, the agencys stream restoration program and resource protection.

The two engineers laugh when trying to think of a way to explain their prediction system in plain language.

Dont use warning, Tschirhart said. I dont want anyone to think were the ones who do the warning. Were all data.

They dont want to use forecasting either. Thats for the National Weather Service.

Instead, they go with this explanation, courtesy of Teague: We take radar rainfall from the National Weather Service and through computer models predict the flooding impacts in Bexar County for the next 24 hours.

In addition to the weather service data, the team receives real-time measurements from rain gauges all over the city, including at watch points such as Leon Creek and the Olmos Basin. Once a storm hits, the team compares the simulated rainfall with the actual measurements.

We are able to judge our model continuously to see how well its running, Teague said. We then correct it to reality and move forward. We want the simulated results to get closer to reality every time, so rain predictions can become more and more accurate.

On ExpressNews.com: Heavy rains, floods wreak havoc on San Antonios parks, trails and pipes

The predictions are accurate enough for the city to judge whether an emergency response is needed. In that case, Tschirhart will get on a call with officials at the National Weather Service, the city, the Fire Department, Bexar County, the Red Cross and other agencies to discuss what to do.

That kind of mobilization has not happened yet this summer, though everyone is keeping a close eye on the forecasting system.

Although the teams predictive system is not accessible to the public, SARA has a separate, public-facing interface called the Bexar County flood map, which provides up-to-date information on street flooding and closures. (The Express-News flood tracker  at ExpressNews.com/flood  offers similar information.)

Incredibly painful outlook

Short-term forecasts are one thing; preparing for life in an altered climate is another. Most cities in the U.S. are not addressing climate change in a serious way, according to Dessler.

Its like something you know you have to do, and as you keep putting it off, it only gets worse and worse because we waited so long and are continuing to wait, Dessler said. The future of our climate is going to be an incredibly painful experience.

Dessler said Februarys winter storm  when ice and frigid temperatures cut off electricity, heat and water to millions of Texans, causing hundreds of deaths  is an exact example of how ill-prepared we are for climate variability.

At SARA, the engineers have looked as far ahead as 2100 and have simulated a hurricane-scale disaster in San Antonio, with 30 to 50 inches of rain in a concentrated period, by modeling the equivalent of Hurricane Harvey, the 2017 storm that devastated Houston.

The simulation envisioned heavy flooding along the Broadway corridor, Tobin Hill and Southtown and predicted that water would overflow the Olmos Dam and cover segments of U.S. 281 for nearly two weeks.

But these kinds of results have a lot of variability, Tschirhart said. Moving the eye of the storm just slightly west or east can cause a massive shift in what areas are impacted the most.

What most concerns the team is not increased rainfall in the future but the risk posed by new development. Construction that covers natural terrain with buildings and asphalt blocks absorption of rainfall and can make downstream flooding worse.

In the case of Julys flooding, which was primarily caused by heavy rain, the spread of impervious cover may have increased the speed at which runoff poured into Leon Creek.

The future of flooding in San Antonio is something were keeping an eye on. Were being very proactive in our investments in data and understanding the models, so we can translate the data and models into action, Teague said. Its not something were panicked over. Its just something were making sure were on top of.

She and Tschirhart say their system represents just the beginning for flood prediction. With an increasingly variable climate, simulated certainty may be one of the best ways forward.

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. elena.bruess@express-news.net
A neighborhood on San Antonios Southeast Side was shaken on Saturday when an SUV crashed into a home, injuring a child. It was the latest such crash on a stretch of East Southcross Boulevard that residents say has become a hotspot for high-speed accidents.

Residents of the 3000 block of East Southcross said Saturdays crash marked the fifth time in the past five years that a car has gone off the road and into a house or tree. The last time it happened was in September.

On Sunday, the front lawn of the house that was hit was still littered with debris from the house and car. Tire marks stretched across several lawns and a tree had been stripped of its bark as high up as as 10 feet off the ground from where the car made contact. At least three houses on the block still had boarded up walls or windows due to past crashes.

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This is not OK. Its very dangerous here, a neighbor who did not want to be identified said in Spanish. Its traumatizing.

San Antonio police said the driver of a GMC Yukon failed to navigate a curve in the road and hit the curb, which caused the car to roll into the front of a two-family house around 2 a.m. The driver was ejected from the car and suffered serious injuries.

The car crashed into a room where multiple children had been sleeping. A 9-year-old boy who had been in bed was buried under the rubble and suffered an arm injury. Another child, who had been in a crib next to the boys bed, had been removed by their mother just moments before the crash, according to neighbors who said they were close with the family whose home was damaged.

When she moved him is when the accident happened, another neighbor who did not want to be identified said in Spanish. The crib was destroyed. It would have killed him.

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The driver and the 9-year-old boy were taken to area hospitals. The crash is under investigation and there may be future charges, police said.

Joel Rodriguez, 18, lives in the house that got hit. He said his family occupies the back unit, which suffered less damage. But the crash was still shocking.

We woke up because there was a loud noise, a loud bang, and next thing we know the car was against the tree, Rodriguez said. It was a mess. They had to dig up the kid from the rubble.

Rodriguezs home has a shattered window and a hole in the wall. Another neighbors house has a shattered window  the result of the SUVs bumper flying off the car.

He and other neighbors said they want to see the city install barriers, reflective signage or police officers in the area to slow down speeding drivers. Those changes could help reduce accidents on the block, which is just down the street from Highland Hills Elementary School.

This whole curve, its very dangerous because some drivers go really fast and they dont seem to notice that it curves, so they always ride up on the lawns, Rodriguez said.

The office of Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, who represents San Antonios Southeast Side, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Until changes are made, some residents will continue to live in fear of the next crash, said a neighbor.

We might have to move from here because we could be next, she said. Ive been here almost five years and nothing has changed.

andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon
Gov. Greg Abbott:

Your office has endeavored to empower parents to choose the school thats best for their children and to propel Texas to the top tier among states for digital learning. You have an opportunity right now to take a great stride toward both.

Because of your leadership during the pandemic, innovation in virtual learning took off around the state, offering students high-quality online school options that were previously unavailable in Texas.

House Bill 1468 would have continued the innovative momentum. The bill enjoyed wide bipartisan support and would have provided Texas students the same kind of virtual learning that is available to students in states such as Florida and Arizona. But when the House adjourned just minutes before it took up HB 1468, that momentum came to a screeching halt. Now thousands of students, parents and educators across the state are in limbo as the start of school quickly approaches.

Thirty independent school districts in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston have asked you to put virtual learning on the agenda for the special session.

San Antonio ISD board President Christina Martinez describes her districts needs this way: Parents and caregivers are making calculated decisions every day about their childrens health and well-being. Our focus as a district is to get as many children back in person as possible because thats where most children learn best. But we also understand that our very diverse district needs options for families who are just not ready to come back yet.

Virtual learning, for example, supports moms like Kristin Branyon of La Vernia, a certified Texas teacher, for whom neither in-person school nor home-schooling are viable options because her four children have life-threatening health conditions and profound learning challenges. In a public letter to you she shared on the education advocacy forum San Antonio Charter Moms social media page, Branyon urged you to make accommodations for online schools that HB 1468 would have supported.

Commentary: Virtual learning has an equalizing power

Virtual learning also supports elite Texas athletes like Simone Biles, who chose to school at home so she could pursue her Olympic dreams. But unique students and big-city school districts are not the only ones who want virtual learning. Rural Texans like my family want it, too.

This year, two of my children  a kindergartner and a third grader  attended Great Hearts Online, an open-enrollment classical charter school that was previously unavailable in our small Texas town. After seeing our children thrive, my wife and I are convinced it is the best school for our children.

Before, we home-schooled because it allowed us to be deeply engaged with our childrens education while creating the margin and flexibility  read better-rested, less harried children  we needed to be a healthy, happy family with a gaggle of small kids. Home-schooling also afforded us the only option for an academically rigorous, classical education in our small town.

But schooling children at home is hard. Virtual learning has alleviated many of our frustrations without compromising what we love about home-schooling. Simply put, our family thrived because we became part of a like-minded educational community we couldnt find in our town.

We were also thankful to see our children tested for learning differences, and the charter school network had the specialists and resources available to identify and address any challenges. In other words, we are confident that virtual learning is the right fit for our kids because the data show that it is working for our family.

Gov. Abbott, without your immediate action, my childrens online academy will not be an option for my family this fall. You have the opportunity to empower parents like us to choose the school thats best for our children and to make Texas a top-tier incubator for digital learning. But without your leadership right now, students across the state will be forced to settle for a less-than-best fit when school resumes in August.

Jonathan R. Hornok of Corsicana is a father of four, an attorney and a former federal prosecutor.
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2021) - Recently, the world-renowned cryptocurrency exchange Bitdogex has upgraded the security core of its entire web platform, from web to app, to ensure "bank-grade" security for global user transactions.





Download APP, you will be able to easily at any time, anywhere trading global mainstream, pop digital assets.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7987/90552_1edb1f93d47b7b1b_001full.jpg

Bitdogex is headquartered in the Asian financial center of Singapore and is the world's leading new-generation cryptocurrency exchange. It is issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the FinCEN Financial Crime Enforcement Bureau (MSB) of the United States and the Canadian FINTRAC Monetary Authority (MSB).

As a world-renowned leader in the blockchain industry, its digital asset trading platform is one of the service providers with a large number of global compliance licenses, and has offices in Asia Pacific, Europe, America and the Middle East or top financial institutions from all over the world expert. Bitdogex has the world's top security risk control system. Technical talents are gathered in the headquarters, and the total number of employees worldwide exceeds 1,000.

Bitdogex is committed to establishing a global ecological layout, with blockchain basic services as the core, and establishing a blockchain industry ecosystem integrating technology research and development, digital asset research, free capital investment, and information. The servers all adopt a professional distributed architecture and anti-DDOS attack system. Real-time trading technology at the microsecond level is implemented in the transaction. The order processing speed of the trading system reaches one million orders per second, which is hundreds of times faster than most competitive products. It supports more than 100 million simultaneous online users.

The platform mainly provides multiple derivatives trading objects such as BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, EOS, etc., and provides legal currency over-the-counter transactions and currency-to-currency transactions. It uses a variety of types such as a brand-new and original full-warehouse trading system.

Bitdogex always adheres to the principle of user first, adhering to the service concept of fairness, openness and justice, and provides investors with a comprehensive service system. Bitdogex believes in the core ideas of Bitcoin and blockchain, and believes that distributed ledger and smart contract technology will build the foundation of human trust, eliminate transaction barriers, improve transaction efficiency, and have a significant impact on the real economy of mankind. Therefore, Bitdogex gave up many choices and devoted itself to the wave of the blockchain revolution wholeheartedly, hoping that something can be done for the world.

Media Contact

Contact: Yu Chen

Company Name: Bitdogex

Website: https://www.bitdogex.com

Email: support@bitdogex.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/90552
Climate X, a London UK-based climate Intelligence startup, raised $1.5M in funding.

The round was led by Pale Blue Dot, with participation from Blue Wire Capital, A100x and Possibilian.

The company intends to use the funds to expand operations, accelerate growth and its business reach.



Co-founded by CEO Lukky Ahmed and CPO Kamil Kluza, Climate X provides businesses, governments and individuals around the world with a climate intelligence platform which uses a combination of physical risk models and machine learning to automatically project how extreme weather events linked to climate change could impact millions of specific assets or locations anywhere in the world, up to 80 years into the future.

The company is set to release its final product to the UK market by the end of 2021, with plans for rapid international expansion in 2022.

FinSMEs

18/07/2021
Tampa, FL (33646)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 78F. Winds light and variable..

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A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 78F. Winds light and variable.
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MOBILE, Ala. --This afternoon, Mobile Fire-Rescue Department responded to Texas Roadhouse at 6150 Airport Boulevard.

Engine 22 was initially dispatched for an electronic fire alarm.

Upon their arrival, flames and smoke were bursting through the roof. Engine 22s company then requested a full response.

All occupants were already safely outside of the structure prior to MFRD arrival on scene.

Upon entry, fire personnel discovered flames in the kitchen.

Ladder truck crews also gained access to the roof, where they successfully cut an adequate-sized hole to assist with ventilation of heated smoke and gas.

Firefighters were able to confine the fire to the kitchen area.

Several employees said the fire alarm going off isn't a new thing. Over the last few months, it's happened a lot, but each time turned out to be a false alarm.

Today when the alarm went off, most employees kept working, thinking it wasn't that serious.

"Whenever we were serving, we saw a grill fire coming up and apparently the hood vents engulfed the flames," said Maris Gallagher, employee. "We didn't really think it was that serious, but then we had to back up. It kept getting gradually worse, and everyone had to evacuate."

One cook tried to extinguish the fire, but it soon got too big.

"I wasn't scared," said Jacoby Peters. "I was trying to put it out."

All signs of flames were extinguished without further incident.

There were no injuries reported from the scene.

The cause of the fire has been determined an accidental incident.
GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina)-. The family of the one-year-old boy who died at an Upstate daycare on Monday held a press conference on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in front of Bumblebee Daycare and Learning Center to update the community on the situation.
Question of the Week: Should masking, social distancing and other pandemic precautions be reinstated with the rise in delta variant cases?
Music icon Bob Dylan  pictured here performing weeks after his 70th birthday at the London Feis Festival in Finsbury Park on June 18, 2011  turned 80 on May 24.
This chart illustrates the components of the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project, a four-year effort to improve safety and efficiency for tens of thousands of Valley motorists.
Gillette, WY (82718)

Today

Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm this evening. Then partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Gillette, WY (82718)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
PUNE, India, July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Multi-rotor Wind Turbine Market Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecasts, 2020-2030 provides insights on key developments, business strategies, research & development activities, supply chain analysis, competitive landscape, and market composition analysis.



Vestas erected a moocher rotor multi-rotor concept demonstrator at the test site in Riso, Denmark in 2016. The idea was to comprehensively test and demonstrate its functionalities. Turbines mainly were tested for structural dynamics focusing on the startling vibrations in the structure caused by wind flow. Another aspect experimented with was Aerodynamics administering to how the rotor blades interact when placed close to each other.

Ever since, this experiment was strongly testified to, Turbines have grown bigger and bigger over the years working towards accumulating more power and reducing the initial cost of energy. Reducing the cost of energy produced is the constitutional goal here. Bolstering the amplifying need for adequate power generation by wind turbines, this notion of multi-rotor wind turbines caught the attention of several industries as a propitious option to traditional massive single-rotor wind turbines used for decades.

View the Entire report with Table of Contents: https://www.insightslice.com/multi-rotor-wind-turbine-market

Factors driving the growth of the Multi-rotor Wind Turbine Market:

To reduce the increasing adverse impact of global warming, the accouterment of sustainable sources of energy, namely wind energy, is doubling up significantly across the globe. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the wind industry is expected to bring a total global wind power capacity nearly to 1000 GW by the end of 2024 with new induction of 348 GW capacity between 2020 and 2024.

Technologically talking, the need to catch up with innovations in other wind turbine materials such as glass composites for dwindling the installation cost with respect to design is expected to drive the global multi-rotor wind turbine market during the forecast period. Smaller peripherals made up of modern glass composites are found to be cheaper provide ease in transportation and assembly. This helps in reducing the installation and maintenance costs.

Eminently skilled specialists required for the installation of wind turbines can result in curbing the global multi-rotor wind turbine market during the forecast period.

The leading market segments of the Multi-rotor Wind Turbine Market:

Post covid19 outspread intercontinental or for that matter, inter-regional transportation was affected negatively. However, recognizing the fact that, broadening adoption of renewable sources is the need of modern times. Along with an increasing appeal for electricity cannot be ignored.

Access Sample Pages of this Report: https://www.insightslice.com/request-sample/654

Offshore turbines to lead installation type segment

Offshore wind technologies are remarkably endorsed owing to their significantly effective power generation potential. Lesser noise, zero land acquisition cost, and general availability of wind resources in comparison with conventional onshore projects are some of the profitable features sustaining the offshore wind turbine market growth. The off-shore segment growth is anticipated at a faster pace, as off-shore installation helps curb effects such as noise pollution and environmental contamination.

Corresponding state and national governments conjointly with private market players proactively is investing across discrete clean energy sectors. This, in turn will fuel the stationing of high-capacity offshore wind turbines eventually.

Based on region segment, the global multi-rotor wind turbine market can be distributed into the Middle East & Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America

China is leading geography followed by America and Germany

China is likely to lead the market in the Asia Pacific during the specified forecast period. Complying to the International Renewable Energy Agency, total renewable electricity generation in the Asia Pacific stood at 26,43,589 GWH in 2018; of this, 13.86% of electricity is generated by wind energy sources in China.

Related report:

Global Barrier Systems Market: https://www.insightslice.com/barrier-systems-market

Global Rotary Pumps Market: https://www.insightslice.com/rotary-pumps-market

Global Escalators and Elevators Market: https://www.insightslice.com/escalators-and-elevators-market

The U.S. dominated the market in North America by instituting nearly 17 GW new capacity Wind Turbines in 2020. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total wind power capacity of North America was 136 GW in 2020. On the other hand, the total wind power capacity of Latin America stood at 34 GW in 2020. Brazil dominated the market in the Latin America segment, with the installation of about 2.3 GW capacity in 2020. North America and Latin America increased wind power installation capacity by 62% in 2020. This alleviated fettering around 250 million tons of carbon dioxide emission annually.

Germany segment is supposed to dominate the market from the Europe region segment during the forecast period. Conforming to the International Renewable Energy Agency, total renewable electricity generation in Europe stood at 12,97,883 GWH in 2018; out of this, 08.47% of electricity is generated through wind energy sources in Germany.

The key players of the Multi-rotor Wind Turbine Market are:

Airgenesis LLC, UNITRON Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd., Avant Garde Innovations Pvt. Ltd., ATB Holding S.p.A., Bergey Windpower Co Eocycle, Vergnet UK Limited, Fortis Wind, Aria srl, Kestrel Renewable Energy.

Buy This Report: https://www.insightslice.com/buy-now/654

Segmentation of Multi-rotor Wind Turbine Market:

By Installation Type

On-shore

Off-shore

By Capacity

0-2 MW

2-6 MW

6-9 MW

9 MW & Above

By Region

North America U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe Germany France U.K. Italy Spain Russia & CIS Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India Rest of Asia Pacific

South America Brazil Rest of South America

Middle East & Africa UAE Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa







insightSLICE is a market intelligence and strategy consulting company. The company provides tailor-made and off the shelf market research studies. The prime focus of the company is on strategy consulting to provide end-to-end solutions. For more details, please contact our research and consulting team at info@insightslice.com.

Contact Us:

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Phone (USA): +1 707 736 6633

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Core One Labs Inc. (CSE: COOL), (OTC: CLABF), (Frankfurt: LD6, WKN: A3CSSU) (Core One or the Company) is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert E.W. Hancock, the Companys Chairman, and CEO of its wholly owned subsidiary Vocan Biotechnologies Inc. (Vocan) will be presenting at a Company hosted Virtual Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. PST/ 4:30 p.m. ET/ 22:30 p.m. CET.



The Virtual Town Hall event will comprise of a presentation by Dr. Hancock on the status of Vocans production of biosynthetic psilocybin and will include live video from the Companys operating laboratory in Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Hancock will also be answering questions from investors.

2021 has been a significant year for Core One Labs, and our teams have been very focused on building a company that we truly feel sets precedent in the psychedelics space. Our multi-faceted business model envisions a Company that addresses the full psychedelics cycle; from research in proprietary product development, developing and implementing appropriate clinical trials research, as well as addressing the treatment needs of clients in their various journeys to attaining sustained mental health well-being, stated Joel Shacker, CEO of the Company.

This is a vision that every one of our team members is committed to, and diligently works towards. In the past few months the Company has accomplished significant milestones, and I am very excited to announce that our Company Chairman, psychedelics as alternative medicines visionary, and world renowned scientist, Dr. Robert Hancock will be presenting in the Companys first-ever Investors virtual town hall to provide all market participants with in-depth insight into some of our exciting developments.

About Core One Labs Inc.

Core One is a biotechnology research and technology life sciences enterprise focused on bringing psychedelic medicines to market through novel delivery systems and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. Core One has developed a patent pending thin film oral strip (the technology) which dissolves instantly when placed in the mouth and delivers organic molecules in precise quantities to the bloodstream, maintaining excellent bioavailability. The Company intends to further develop and apply the technology to psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin. Core One also holds an interest in medical clinics which maintain a combined database of over 275,000 patients. Through these clinics, the integration of its intellectual property, R&D related to psychedelic treatments and novel drug therapies, the Company intends to obtain regulatory research approval for the advancement of psychedelic-derived treatments for mental health disorders.

Core One Labs Inc.

Joel Shacker

Chief Executive Officer

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

info@core1labs.com

1-866-347-5058

Cautionary Disclaimer Statement:

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Companys limited operating history and the need to comply with strict regulatory regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

In addition, psilocybin is currently a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) and it is a criminal offence to possess substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) without a prescription or authorization. Health Canada has not approved psilocybin as a drug for any indication. Core One does not have any direct or indirect involvement with illegal selling, production, or distribution of psychedelic substances in jurisdictions in which it operates. While Core One believes psychedelic substances can be used to treat certain medical conditions, it does not advocate for the legalization of psychedelics substances for recreational use. Core One does not deal with psychedelic substances, except within laboratory and clinical trial settings conducted within approved regulatory frameworks.
Gloucester - Edmund P. Noble Jr., 68, of Gloucester, passed away Saturday evening, July 17, 2021, at his home. He was the husband of Faye (Paris) Noble. Born in Gloucester, he was the son of the late Edmund and Barbara L. (Goss) Noble. He was raised and educated in Gloucester and graduated f
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Governor Northam Announces $304.5 Million in Federal American Rescue Plan Act Funding Distributed to Virginias Towns

Payments follow funds received from U.S. Treasury for counties and cities

RICHMONDGovernor Ralph Northam today announced that the Commonwealth has distributed approximately $304.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to 190 towns. These payments represent the first half of funding provided by the U.S. Treasury for Non-Entitlement Units of local government, with the same amount to be provided in June 2022. These funds are in addition to $2.3 billion available to Virginias 133 counties and cities directly from the federal government, as well as $4.3 billion that Governor Northam and the General Assembly will allocate during a special session beginning August 2.

Our Administration is committed to ensuring that communities of all sizes get the assistance they need to recover from the impacts of the pandemicthats why we expedited the distribution of funding for Virginias towns, said Governor Northam. These federal dollars represent an unprecedented opportunity to meet local response needs while also making transformative investments to support broad-based, equitable growth in every corner of the Commonwealth. We encourage collaboration across localities to maximize these funds for the benefit of all Virginians.

The Secretary of Finance issued a memorandum to local officials of Non-Entitlement Units of government on June 9, 2021 with guidance on distributing the first round of CSLFRF allocations.

ARPA funding will provide significant assistance to state and local governments in a wide range of areas, said Secretary of Finance Joe Flores. We have worked diligently to ensure that all localities receive the funds designated for them, and we are excited to see the positive outcomes that will result for communities across Virginia.

The ARPA established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) to assist states and eligible units of local and tribal government with COVID-19 recovery and infrastructure improvements. Within the categories of eligible uses, recipients have broad flexibility to decide how best to use this funding to meet local needs. Eligible uses of CSLFRF funds include:

Supporting public health expenditures, including COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral health care, and certain public health and safety staff;

Addressing economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector;

Replacing lost public sector revenue, providing government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic;

Providing premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors; and

Investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expand access to broadband internet.

# # #
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Dr Helmut Marko had a pointed rebuke after his Mercedes counterpart declared that Lewis Hamilton's Friday pole was a case of "The empire strikes back".

"My regards to the empire," Red Bull's Marko said, pointing the quip at Toto Wolff after Max Verstappen extended his points lead over Lewis Hamilton on Saturday.

It was Formula 1's first-ever 'sprint qualifying' at Silverstone - a 17-lap run to the chequered flag that will be trialled over two more race weekends in 2021.

"We're very happy with it," F1 managing director Ross Brawn said.

"One of the things we saw was that drivers are always drivers," he added. "They just don't know how to not race.

"Look at what Fernando Alonso did. I'm ready to watch a show like that every day."

Indeed, the Spaniard wowed the full house at the British GP venue by passing several rivals in his Alpine and even getting a warning for excessively weaving to defend his position.

However, Alonso said he isn't sure if his attacking approach is actually the wisest.

"Today showed that you can lose more than you can win," said the two-time champion. "Look at Perez - he will start from the very back tomorrow. So with extra risk, you might make up one or two positions."

Predictably, the new format raised even more questions among the main protagonists - like the usefulness of the practice session between Friday qualifying and the Saturday sprint.

"According to the regulations, we're not allowed to change anything on the car after qualifying," Sunday pole-sitter Verstappen told Ziggo Sport.

"So what is the use of the other practice session? That doesn't matter anymore."

Verstappen says he even had to do the final practice session knowing that he would be "stuck" with the basic setup decided on Friday.

"Maybe we underestimated how the track would develop," he said. "We didn't expect that much grip and maybe drove with the rear wing too steep."

The Dutchman also said the process of qualifying now feels "strange" - because the Friday 'pole' is only for Saturday's grid order, while the official pole position is only awarded after the sprint race.

"So the usual excitement of qualifying never really happened," said Verstappen. "When I crossed the line today, they were like 'great job, pole position' and you've just done a third of a race distance, so that's a bit odd."

Toto Wolff agrees: "Pole position should be awarded in qualifying, not in the sprint race. And I would have said that even if Lewis wasn't fastest on Friday."

Mercedes' Hamilton, meanwhile, is not expecting Sunday's main race to be much different from the outcome of the sprint.

"It was pretty much the same as the last races," he said. "Just following behind Max.

"It's very hard to follow with these cars, so it wasn't the most exciting race. Hopefully it was for the fans."

Mercedes boss Wolff says he supports sprint qualifying going forward, but not if Formula 1 plans to use the format at each and every race weekend.

"If we do it as a kind of Grand Slam four times a year, then I'm for it," he said. "But maybe we should come up with a solution for Saturday morning so that the viewers understand what we are doing."

Wolff added: "I do think it's pretty good, but instead of doing 17 laps, it could be five or eight laps.

"It would bring the same result because there is not much overtaking after the start because nobody wants to take risks."

Brawn said Formula 1 will consider tweaking the format only after the full 3-round trial is complete in 2021.

"Let's at least wait until after the weekend, see the race and only then do the analysis and talk to the fans to understand whether something needs to be corrected," he said.

"But we are already receiving very positive feedback on social media, and we will also take the other comments into account as well."

(GMM)
Nikita Mazepin is already "signed" to remain with Haas in 2022, team boss Gunther Steiner has revealed.

He was speaking to the German-language Motorsport-Total, amid speculation the small Ferrari-linked American team may be set to lose its other 2021 rookie, Mick Schumacher.

Steiner said the uncertainty has emerged because the young German's contract is a three-way one involving Schumacher, Haas, and his place in the Ferrari driver academy.

"It's a three-party contract because he also has one at Ferrari," he explained. "So there are still a few things that have to be sorted out.

"A few T's have to be crossed and a few i's dotted and then we're there.

"Mick can't say it has been signed yet, but there is an agreement," Steiner insisted. "However, since there are three parties, it is more complicated than if it was just a contract between the two of us."

The situation with Russian 22-year-old Mazepin, however, is much clearer. His father Dmitry's Uralkali company is reportedly continuing as title sponsor, and so Mazepin will definitely be in the all-new Haas car for 2022.

"Everything is signed," Steiner confirmed.

(GMM)
UCAP Power, Inc., a developer of ultracapacitor-based power solutions, has completed the purchase of Maxwell Technologies Korea, the Korean-based ultracapacitor business, as well as other related assets including the Maxwell brand and system patents and products.

UCAP recently introduced the POWERBLoK battery replacement solution. POWERBLoK incorporates integrated charging and control to offer a scalable, long-life, safe sustainable alternative to lead-acid batteries.





UCAP is focused on further growing the market for ultracapacitor-based solutions, with specific focus on three main areas:

Systems and application expertise - Moving beyond ultracapacitor as a component. Intelligent electronics integration - Increasing value while reducing overall system costs. Advanced chemistry and processes - Resetting traditional standards with a green emphasis.

San Diego-based UCAP Power provides ultracapacitor-based power solutions across a wide range of renewable markets. Established in 2019, the company was founded by proven leaders in the ultracapacitor market, who had previously held positions in Maxwell Technologies leadership and product teams prior to Maxwells acquisition in 2019.

UCAP Power is a portfolio company of EvoNexus, Californias leading non-profit technology incubator and a member of Southern California Energy Innovation Network (SCEIN).
Wallbox has introduced the 48 Amp Pulsar Plus, designed to give drivers of next generation 48 Amp-compatible EVs, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the VW ID.4, the option of a more powerful home charger.





Pulsar Plus is the smallest smart home EV charger in the US, and among the most powerful in the market. This new model charges at up to 48 Amp (11.5kW), making it up to eight times faster than a standard 110V charger; its currently available exclusively in the US.

Features include flexible amperage setting, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, charge scheduling, power sharing, the myWallbox app, and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The Pulsar Plus 48 Amp is also NEMA Type 4 rated watertight. Both models (original 40 Amp and new 48 Amp) come with a 25-foot charging cable and include a specially-designed cable management holster.

Pulsar Plus, Wallboxs best selling home charger worldwide, is compatible with all EVs, including Teslas, using the Tesla-provided J1772 adapter. The Pulsar Plus 40 and 48 Amp chargers are eligible for most federal, state, and local tax credits and rebates where available, including the US federal tax credit for up to 30% of total equipment and installation costs up to $1,000.

The 48 Amp Wallbox Pulsar Plus is available for $699 beginning 1 August on the Wallbox website, Amazon, and from Wallbox-certified resellers and installers across the US.
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GREENWICH  A historic building in central Greenwich is getting a new tenant.

The John Lockhart House at 75 Arch St. will be the new home of Douglas Elliman, a leading real estate firm that is relocating to the historic site from a nearby office. The office is the main headquarters for Douglas Elliman in Connecticut.

Built in about 1867 in the Second Empire style, the building is notable for its mansard roof. It has functioned as an office building for a number of years, serving as the office of David Ogilvy, a longtime Greenwich real estate broker who died in 2020. It was landmarked by the Greenwich Historical Society in 2013. Ogilvy oversaw the renovations of the building when he moved his business there in 1987.

Douglas Elliman doesnt have far to go, as its current office is close by.

While we have enjoyed our time at 88 Field Point Road in Greenwich, it is time we trade up to a larger space for the betterment of our successful agents and their clients, said Scott Durkin, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman. We are incredibly proud to call the John Lockhart House home and look forward to conducting best-in-class real estate service from our new stomping ground.

The new site will house 70 agents and what the company calls a growing real estate business. The four-story building includes 6,000 square feet of space. Douglas Elliman said proximity to the nearby Metro-North train station was a plus. An executive with the company, Michael Fitzgibbon, noted that the staff at the office would be active, engaged members of the surrounding community.

The real-estate firm has been reporting significant sales this year. The Greenwich office closed a record $281,958,000 in real estate sales in 2020, a 34 percent increase in sales volume from 2019. In January of this year, a company agent brought a buyer to Tommy Hilfigers estate at 30 John St. for $45 million, the highest sale in Greenwich so far this year.

Founded in 1911, Douglas Elliman bills itself as the largest brokerage in the New York metro area.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
CHICAGO (AP)  A 17-year-old boy was ordered held without bail in an alleged attack during an attempted carjacking in Chicago that left a 73-year-old man dead.

The boy, who isnt being named because hes a juvenile, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Judge John Lyke Jr. denied the teen bail during bond court on Saturday. An 18-year-old, Frank Harris, was also charged in the attack.
Months after it was originally unveiled, the Sony Xperia 1 III is finally available for pre-order. It should start shipping on August 19 in the US and the UK, in late August in mainland Europe (e.g. Amazon Germany has set the launch date as August 25). And some people have their eye on the Mark 3 flagship, but even more have their eye on its price tag.

Last weeks poll shows that about a fifth of voters are interested in pre-ordering the 1 III. They will receive a free pair of WH-1000XM3 (Europe) or WF-1000XM (US) noise canceling headphones, plus some additional (region-dependent) freebies.

However, an even bigger group, one third of voters, will wait for a lower price. That may or may not work out for them. Sony phones sell in relatively low volumes, so their price is quite stable  both for new units and second-hand phones.

There was some debate in the comments on the merits of the Xperia 5 III over its larger sibling. As we noted in our written and video reviews, that 4K-class display comes with some caveats. Its still one of a kind, though. Plus, if the older Mark 2 generation is any indication, the smaller phone may get the better battery life.

One advantage of Sony doing its own thing in terms of design instead of following market trends is that it doesnt have to launch its products in lockstep with the rest of the industry  for better or for worse, no 2021 phone is quite like the Xperia 1 III.
I get to write about Guam food for the Pacific Daily News, holy smokes.

Never say never. As a teenager on Guam, I told my bestie that Id never leave Guam, Id never live anywhere but Guam, and Id never marry into the military. Turns out, I did all three. My mahalangness has enabled me to write about Guam food through my cookbooks, my website, my YouTube channel, and now here in the PDN.

More: Guam risks losing cultural heritage with loss of endangered species

More: Parents offer tips to improve kids' mental health

Ive gone from sharing and preserving our recipes to researching the history of our food, how our food connects us to the rest of the world, and how we can make small changes in how we eat so that we can thrive in the years to come. Lets continue to celebrate this delectable palate weve inherited. How blessed we are, for sure.

Sweet tamales mendioka with ice cream and mango

My oldest memory of sweet tamales mendioka was this big hunk of sweet chewiness, wrapped in foil, cut in half, and served up at a fiesta. Almost 40 years later, it still makes me giddy. The addition of toppings is a luscious treat.

Vanilla ice cream and local ripe mango atop warm sweet tamales mendioka  a tropical version of apple pie? Almost. This adaptation of CHamoru sweet tamales mendioka is a play on Thai mango sticky rice.

The preparation of tamales, or tamal, originated in Mexico and Central America, in a time before the Aztecs and the Mayans. Wild species of cassava, or mendioka in CHamoru, is thought to have first been growing in Brazil and Paraguay. With Spanish colonization and the Manila Galleon Trade Route, tamales preparation and the mendioka plant made it to Guahan. Although CHamorus favor a sweet version of cassava tamales, many Latin American countries, such as Puerto Rico, cook savory flavors.

There is sweet cassava and bitter cassava. Bitter cassava contains large amounts of poison. To keep it simple, use the frozen grated cassava unless you know for sure you are buying or harvesting sweet mendioka.

Consuming mendioka was less popular in CHamoru cuisine during Spanish colonization compared to sweet potatoes and yam, but I bet these days youd grab a handful of sweet tamales mendioka in a heartbeat. Instead of corn husks, CHamorus and Filipinos likely used banana leaves because banana trees grew better in the tropics compared to cornstalks.

Since World War II, it has become common practice to wrap tamales in foil. Use fresh leaves on island, or if stateside, look for banana leaves in the frozen section of your international grocer. The leaves do impart an earthy aroma, a subtle flavor, and a bit of color. After wrapping in banana leaves, I then wrap the sweet tamales in foil to prevent the flavor and texture from becoming diluted as they boil.

Guahans sweet tamales mendioka is similar to the Philippines sumang kamoten kahoy. Suman kamoten kahoy is made with grated cassava, coconut milk, and sugar. I offer two recipes below, one using fresh ingredients, the other using frozen and canned.

Both recipes utilize scrubbed and rinsed banana leaf sections, each measuring about 10 x 10 inches, with hard ribs removed. Make ties for the tamales by pulling thin strips of banana leaves apart and tying three pieces together.

Makes 10 to 12 pouches. Recipe may be multiplied.

Ingredients

(Fresh)

4 cups grated, fresh cassava mix (If cassava is dry, add enough coconut milk or young coconut juice to the fresh cassava to form a thick, wet mixture, then measure 4 cups.)

2 cups fresh manha (young coconut) pulp

 cup fresh manha juice or fresh coconut milk

1  cups granulated sugar

(Or Frozen)

Two 16 ounce bags frozen, grated cassava, thawed (Do not thaw in water.)

Two 15 ounce cans young coconut, drained, pulp roughly chopped

1 cup canned, thick coconut milk

1  cups granulated sugar

Toppings

Vanilla ice cream

Ripe mango, diced

Tools: large bowl, large whisk, a pot, -cup measuring cup, and pre-made foil sheets

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the mendioka, manha, sugar, and the manha juice OR coconut milk. Mix with your hand or a large whisk.

Soften the banana leaves in a pan of hot water, or by running the leaf over a hot burner or grill. Lay the leaf so that the natural lines of the leaf run left to right. Scoop a generous half cup of the mixture onto the center of the leaf, being sure to somewhat spread the mixture left to right.

Bring top and bottom edges of the leaf together, fold it a couple of times then fold left and right ends as well. Secure the folds with a tie along the long edge of the tamale. Wrap this package with two foil sheets, folded in the same manner. Tamale should be about 1 inch thick. Repeat to finish the mixture.

To cook, fill a pot with tamales then cover with water. The tamales should take up the entire pot so that they are not floating in the water. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil for 60 minutes. Open one tamale to ensure it is cooked all the way through.

The tamale is cooked when it is completely transparent. If there are white parts of grated cassava, continue to boil 15 to 20 more minutes. Set aside cooked tamales for an hour to firm up. Remove foil covering to serve.

Uncooked tamales may be stored in freezer storage bags and kept in the freezer. Boil in the same manner, no need to thaw. Cook for about 75 minutes then check for doneness.

Place a warm, unwrapped sweet tamales mendioka on a plate. Top with vanilla ice cream then add a generous amount of ripe mango. Tell me you love it!

Heres a link to my detailed video for sweet tamales mendioka: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zb-IyW2fkA&t=906s

Paula Lujan Quinene, author of A Taste of Guam, Remember Guam, Conquered, and Stormed is enjoying CHamoru food in a fasting lifestyle. You can reach her at pquinene@gmail.com. You can also find her recipes at www.PaulaQ.com and connect with her as Guam Mama Cooks on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Sweet tamales mendioka recipe plays on Thai mango sticky rice
The Archdiocese of Agana on Saturday said Catholic parishes and schools are held in trust by the archdiocese.

It issued a statement in response to District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewoods Friday ruling that local parishes and schools are part of, and are unincorporated divisions of, the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Agana maintains, through Archbishop Michael Byrnes, that the parishes and schools are held only in trust by the archdiocese, and in particular by the archbishop in office at any particular time, the archdiocese stated.

The archdiocese sought bankruptcy protection in January 2019 after a deluge of clergy sex abuse claims and hired Elsaesser Anderson Chtd. as its bankruptcy counsel.

The District Courts ruling prevents Guams 33 Catholic parishes and schools from protecting assets likely to be sold to cover clergy sex abuse claims against the Archdiocese.

While this decision has been argued and is pending, the archdiocese has continued to engage in mediation with the survivors committee with the hopes that a consensual resolution of bankruptcy could be achieved while this matter remains before the court, the Archdiocese stated.

According to court documents, the ruling was due to the limited nature of the official committee of unsecured creditors motion for partial summary judgment.

A total of 259 clergy sex abuse claims were filed against the archdiocese, dating back to the 1950s.

The Archdiocese of Agana was committed to providing the greatest measure of justice for survivors of clergy abuse, the statement read.
A question led the Rev. Francis Hezel to join with filmmaker Leonard Tenorio to make a documentary, Heart but No Home  How can people be homeless in a place where everyone is supposed to have a home?

It focuses on the stories of homeless individuals and families in Guam, as well as the agencies and nonprofits trying to help them.

The film premiered during the Guam Homeless Coalition telethon June 24 and can be viewed on its Facebook page.

Hezel is the former director of the Micronesian Seminar and during his career he has made around 70 documentary and educational films on different social justice topics and historical subjects.

He decided to produce and write the script for a film about homelessness as his next project to bring attention to an issue on Guam that many would like to ignore.

It seemed the Guam Homeless Coalition needed help and why couldnt we just assist them by drawing this to the attention of people. So that the people of Guam would own the problem, Hezel said. Sorry; sometimes you have to talk about these problems in order to come to some kind of a solution.

Intrigued

Tenorio, co-producer, director and editor of the project, said he was intrigued when Hezel presented him with an outline for the film and wanted to be part of raising awareness.

The two worked together on a previous documentary, Before We Began Counting Years.

You see homeless along Marine Corps Drive and its as if they have just become part of the highway to most people. They are there. They exist; we cant just sweep them under the rug, Tenorio said.

Growing up in Micronesia, Hezel said he was led to believe that in island culture, there was no such thing as homelessness or being without a family. From the strong familial bonds he saw, he said he couldnt imagine anyone leaving home or being dismissed by their family.

After he moved to Guam in the summer of 2014, he began to see people living in parks and meeting individuals and families who identified as homeless.

Hezel said he has an interest in sociology and likes to find out how societies work and what their weak points are and how to deal with those things. This was his approach to his work at the Micronesian Seminar and what he is trying to do with this film on Guam.

New perspective

There were aspects of homelessness on Guam Hezel said he learned about while making the film.

In most cases he said people interviewed spoke of a love-hate relationship with their families, that is more love than anything else, but that there are feelings of being neglected or putting up a barrier with their families.

Hezel was unaware that there were street families that people would create to have a sense of community for mutual protection and friendship. A common complaint he heard was things being stolen, especially cell phones and documents like passports and IDs.

Tenorio said he was unaware of the complexities of why people were homeless, that some are forced into a life on the street and for others it was a choice because of family issues, economic trouble, the influence of drugs or other reasons.

He was also not aware of the number of migrants from other islands in Micronesia that come to Guam seeking opportunities and are homeless.

You need to consider the situation for all these people that they are all different, they are not all categorized as homeless. They have different issues such as drugs, mental issues, family problems its just an endless list.

Filmmaking as a medium is important to Hezel because it is faster and more impactful to see and hear real human voices rather than only read about them.

He also believes in creating content that children who watch an understand and learn from to educate a new generation.

It reaches the general public in a way books and booklets never will. I can do a documentary in Micronesia, for example in the Caroline Islands, and I can guarantee it will be on one or two video channels in the states so everyone will get a chance to see it, Hezel said.

Tenorio hopes the documentary will bring awareness to politicians and organizations that are able to help the homeless and find the best ways to use their resources.

It was a really tough project because it brings you to the realization that these problems exist. It affects everybody, because perhaps some of these people are family members or friends. Then it touches home, Tenorio said.
Last summers Liberation event passed by silently. This week will be very different if you plan to visit the fireworks and drone displays.

Whether you want to attend a commemoration ceremony or prefer a low-key and socially distanced gathering, here are the festivities that fit the bill.

Guams 77th Liberation Day is themed Kontra i Piligru, Ta Fanachu, or Against All Peril, We Rise, the governor announced.

Kontra i Piligru, Ta Fanachu manifests the unmatched strength and resilience demonstrated by our parents and grandparents during World War II, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in a news release.

Commemorations

7 a.m. July 19: Mass and Fena cave visit in Santa Rita.

9:30 a.m. July 20: Sumay blessing and wreath-laying in Naval Base.

9 a.m. Aug. 7: Chaguian memorial blessing in Yigo{/li}

8 a.m. Aug. 8: Chaguian memorial mass in Yigo

Agat

The Agat mayors office plans to hand out candies and snacks around the village on a Liberation float. Residents of Agat can wait outside as early as 10 a.m. July 21 as the float makes its way around the village.

Asan

Head to Asan beach for a liberation-themed family event 9-11 a.m. July 20. If the weather permits, decorate the sidewalks to celebrate Liberation Day. Chalk materials will be provided. You can pack a picnic and bring your own chalk.

Liberation virtual parades

77th Guam Liberation: Village to Village We Are Survivors, will air at 9 a.m. July 21 on KGTF Channel 12, PBS Guams YouTube channel and official Facebook page. A rebroadcast of the 75th Liberation Day Parade will air after.

The rebroadcasts of the 77th Guam Liberation: Village to Village We Are Survivors will be at 4:30 p.m. on July 25 and stream live on the PBS Video App, PBS Guams YouTube Channel and Facebook page.

Bike and hike on Liberation Day

As part of GY671s mission to empower veterans and their loved ones, the group plans to meet at 7 a.m. July 21 in Asans War in the Pacific National Historical Park.

The start time is 7:30 a.m. Hikers will trek to the miniature Statue of Liberty at Paseo Park. The bike event will begin at Paseo Park, with bikers meeting up with the hikers at Skinners Plaza.

After the event, there will also be games, food trucks and prizes.

Veterans are encouraged to wear their silkies with a tank top, knee-high socks and boots. Active duty military members and reservists are also encouraged to join.

Contact GY671 at gotyoursix71@yahoo.com or reach them through their Facebook and Instagram pages.

Tree planting

To commemorate Guams 77th Liberation, the Islandwide Beautification Task Force invites people to join a tree planting event at 8 a.m. July 24 at the Manell Watershed in Merizo.

Boonie Stompers hike

July 24: Invasion Hike, very difficult, 6 hours for 5 miles; Tonys Falls Only, easy/medium, 3 hours for 2 miles

The Invasion hike retraces the trail of the U.S. 3rd Marines from Asan Beach up the hills and cliffs to Nimitz Hill and the Asan Bay Overlook Memorial. We then hike the open ridge down to Tonys Falls for jumping and swimming. The Tonys Falls Only hike takes a short trail directly to the falls and is perfect for small children and novice hikers.

Bring: 3 quarts water, get wet shoes, gloves, swimsuit, sunscreen, insect repellent and snacks.

Special conditions: Sword grass, steep hills.

July 31 Lubugon to Fonte Swim Hole, medium, 3 hours for 2 miles{/h3}

Well visit the ruins of the historic site of the U.S. Navy radio station and Operation Magic, hidden in the thick jungle. Then well hike to the 1910 brick dam, climb to the excellent lookout, and explore the valley downstream to cool off in the waterfalls and pools.

Bring: 2 quarts water, get wet shoes, gloves, swimsuit, sunscreen, insect repellent, lunch and a camera.

Special conditions: Sword grass, possible muddy trail, mosquitoes and some short steep slopes.

Fanohge for the Future

The Fanohge Coalition which supports CHamoru self-determination invites the community to attend Fanohge for the Future: Guams Liberation Part 2, a forum scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 20 at the Guam Museum Theater. According to a news release, the forum will feature presentations by the three political status task forces on statehood, free association and independence.

Sign up through eventbrite.com/e/fanohge-for-the-future-liberation-part-ii-tickets-161153609785. The forum will also be live streamed and archived on the Fanohge Coalitions Facebook page at facebook.com/fanohgecoalition.

Inadahen i Linala Kotturan Chamoru Inc. and Sagan Kotturan Chamoru present Gopte i Irensia-ta, which celebrates CHamoru culture.

The event takes place at Sagan Kotturan Chamoru Cultural Center on July 21. Gate will open at 11 a.m., with a suggested donation of $10 per vehicle. Proceeds benefit the maintenance and utilities for the center.

The gift shop, Guinahan Chamoru, will open, and workshops from Guma YoAmte, Acho Marianas (slinging organization), Guahan Sustainable Culture will take place.

Bring mats or beach chairs.
Ron McNinch is chairman of public administration and legal studies at the University of Guams School of Business and Public Administration and a member of the Guam Education Board.
Our View: $30M may not be enough to cover all RISE Act payments
The first day of school for the Guam Department of Education is three weeks away, and Superintendent Jon Fernandez said the school system urge
The Pacific Daily News, formerly Guam Daily News, is a morning edition newspaper based in Hagatna, in the United States territory of Guam. It is the primary source of information on island, and Guams longest serving daily newspaper published seven days a week. The Pacific Daily News started its local ownership in 1949, when former Gov. Joseph Flores bought the Guam News from the Navy. Flores then named the newspaper the Guam Daily News. In 1971, the newspaper was purchased by a Honolulu Group, then subsequently bought in the same year by Gannett Inc., and named the Pacific Daily News.

The paper returned to local ownership in April 2021 when former lieutenant governor, senator, and local businessman Kaleo Moylan purchased the Pacific Daily News from subsidiaries of the Gannett Company. Moylan's acquisition of the Pacific Daily News returned the media company to local ownership after 50 years of ownership by Gannett. The Pacific Daily News has evolved into a full media provider, servicing the community with both print and digital content, as well as a range of marketing services, from traditional print advertising to all forms of digital marketing and custom publishing solutions. The Pacific Daily News continues its legacy of local leadership and philanthropy in its long-standing support of many local organizations and community causes, as well as its high standards and ethical practices in journalism.
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5. Third Party Links

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10. Privacy Policy for California Residents

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13. Accessibility

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

15. Contact Us

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In addition, you may opt out of certain interest-based advertising by using the following resources:

(a) You may opt-out of tracking and receiving tailored advertisements on your mobile device by some mobile advertising companies and other similar entities by downloading the App Choices app at www.aboutads.info/appchoices

(b) You may opt-out of receiving permissible targeted advertisements by using the NAI Opt-out tool available at http://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1 or visiting About Ads at http://optout.aboutads.info

(c) You may opt-out of having your activity on our Websites and Services made available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out add-on for your web browser by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout for your web browser.

5. THIRD PARTY LINKS

Our Websites or Services may contain links to other websites or services that are not owned or controlled by us, including links to social media platforms, or may redirect you off our Website or away from our Services to other websites for information or other services. This Privacy Policy only applies to information collected by our Websites and Services. We are not responsible for the privacy and security practices of those other websites or social media platforms or the information they may collect (which may include IP address). You should refer to such third parties privacy policies on their sites to determine their respective privacy practices. Links to any other websites or content do not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by us of the linked website, social media platform, and/or content.

6. SECURITY

We use commercially reasonable procedures and various technical, administrative and physical safeguards to help protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information. However, you should assume that no data transmitted over the Internet or stored or maintained by us or our third-party service providers can be 100% secure. Therefore, although we believe the measures implemented by us reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved, we do not promise or guarantee, and you should not expect, that your Personal Information or private communications will always remain private or secure. We do not guarantee that your Personal Information will not be misused by third parties. We are not responsible for the circumvention of any privacy settings or security features. If you believe that your Personal Information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorized person, please promptly Contact Us so that necessary measures can quickly be taken.

7. ACCESSING, CORRECTING, OR DELETING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

As required by applicable laws, and subject to any permitted exceptions and limitations, we will comply with any verified consumer request you submit with respect to your Personal Information. Please submit a verifiable consumer request to us through the web form link provided below in Contact Us.

8. TRANSFERS

Your Personal Information may be stored, transferred to, and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers. These countries may be outside the United States, and may have different data protection laws than in the United States.

9. AGGREGATE AND DE-IDENTIFIED INFORMATION

We may aggregate and/or de-identify any information collected through the Websites and Services so that such information can no longer be linked to you or your device (Aggregate/De-Identified Information). We may use Aggregate/De-Identified Information for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, and sponsors, in our discretion.

10. PRIVACY POLICY FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

11. INDIVIDUALS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA), OR UK

This Section 11 is included in this Privacy Policy to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). It applies only to individuals coming to our Websites from within the EEA or the UK and applies only (1) if we collect through the Website any Personal Data of those individuals or (2) if we track individuals in the UK or EEA who access our Websites.

Services so that such information can no longer be linked to you or your device (Aggregate/De-Identified Information). We may use Aggregate/De-Identified Information for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with any third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners, and sponsors, in our discretion.

11.1. Controller

Pacific Daily News is the controller (as defined under the GDPR) for processing and using the Personal Data of individuals within the EEA or UK that is collected through our Site. Please see the Contact Us section below to find out how to contact us.

11.2. Rights of Individuals Based in the EEA

Subject to applicable law, you may be able to exercise any of the following rights in relation to your Personal Data:

Right to know what information we have about you: This is known as the "right of access" and gives you the right to find out what, if any, Personal Data we have about you, how we process it, and to request a copy of the Personal Data.

This is known as the and gives you the right to find out what, if any, Personal Data we have about you, how we process it, and to request a copy of the Personal Data. Right to correct your information: This is known as the "right of rectification" and gives you the right to ask that we correct or complete any Personal Data we have about you.

This is known as the and gives you the right to ask that we correct or complete any Personal Data we have about you. Right to delete your information: This is known as the "right to erasure" or "right to be forgotten" and gives you the right to ask us to delete your Personal Data.

This is known as the or and gives you the right to ask us to delete your Personal Data. Right to change how we use your information: This is known as the "right to restrict processing" and gives you the right to ask us to change how we use your Personal Data in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of the data or object to us using it in a certain way.

This is known as the and gives you the right to ask us to change how we use your Personal Data in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of the data or object to us using it in a certain way. Right to move your information: This is known as the "right to data portability" and gives you the right to ask to receive your Personal Data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to have it transmitted to another controller.

This is known as the and gives you the right to ask to receive your Personal Data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to have it transmitted to another controller. Right to stop us from using your information: This is known as the "right to object" and gives you the right to ask us to stop using your Personal Data when applicable.

This is known as the and gives you the right to ask us to stop using your Personal Data when applicable. Rights relating to how we use your information to categorize you or make decisions about you: This is known as the "right in relation to automated decision-making and profiling": You have the right to be free from decisions we may make that are based solely on automated processing of your Personal Data, including profiling, if they produce a significant legal effect on you, unless such decision-making or profiling is necessary for entering into or performing a contract between you and us, or is made with your explicit consent.

This is known as the You have the right to be free from decisions we may make that are based solely on automated processing of your Personal Data, including profiling, if they produce a significant legal effect on you, unless such decision-making or profiling is necessary for entering into or performing a contract between you and us, or is made with your explicit consent. Right to withdraw consent: If we rely on your consent to use your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect our use of your data before we received notice that you wished to withdraw your consent.

If we rely on your consent to use your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect our use of your data before we received notice that you wished to withdraw your consent. Right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority: If you have a concern about our privacy practices, including the way we handled your Personal Data, you can report it to the supervisory authority that is authorized to hear those concerns in your jurisdiction, although we invite you to Contact Us with any concern as we would be happy to try and resolve it directly.

You may exercise your rights by contacting us as indicated under the Contact Us section below.

The requests above will be considered and responded to in the time period stated by applicable law. Certain information may be exempt from such requests. We may require additional information from you to confirm your identity in responding to such requests.

11.3. Legitimate Interests

"Legitimate interests" means the interests of our company in conducting and managing our organization. For example, and without limitation, we have a legitimate interest in processing your Personal Data to analyze how the Website and our products and Services are being used, to administer our contractual relationships, fulfill legal obligations, process employee data, prevent fraud or criminal activity or misuse of our products or services, ensure the security of our IT systems, architecture and networks, and meet our corporate and social responsibility objectives, and/or effectively and efficiently operate our business and provide you with the services offered through our Services, as described in this Privacy Policy. When we process your Personal Data for our legitimate interests, we make sure to consider and balance any potential impact on you, and your rights under data protection laws. Our legitimate interests do not automatically override your interests. We will not use your Personal Data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you, unless we have your consent or those activities are otherwise required or permitted to by law. You have the right to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests. For more information on your rights, please see " Your Rights" section above.

11.4. Data Transfers

Pacific Daily News is based in the United States, and we use service providers (described above) based in the United States to operate our business and our relationship with you. When you use our Site and the Services, you acknowledge that your Personal Data may be transmitted, stored, processed by us and our service providers servers in the United States to provide you with the services that you requested, administer our contract with you or to respond to your requests as described in this Privacy Policy. The United States may have data protection laws less stringent than or otherwise different from the laws in effect in the country in which you are located. Where we transfer your Personal Data out of the EEA we will take steps to ensure that your rights continue to be protected. We endeavor to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your Personal Data and to use it only consistent with your relationship with us and the practices described in this Privacy Policy. We also enter into data processing agreements and model clauses with vendors as appropriate.

11.5. Data Transfers

We will keep your Personal Data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy based on the context in which you provided it, or for the duration required by law, whichever is the longer.

12. CHILDRENS ON-LINE PRIVACY INFORMATION

In general, the Websites and Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 13, or 16 where applicable. In cases where certain Websites or Services are intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or 16 where applicable), we will post appropriate notices and take steps as required by applicable law to safeguard children's data. In addition, we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13 (or 16 where applicable) through form submissions on our Websites or Services, although certain third party sites that we link to may do so. These third-party sites have their own terms of use and privacy policies and we encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their childrens Internet usage and to help enforce our Privacy Policy by instructing their children to never provide information on our Websites without their permission.

Involvement of parents: In accordance with the provisions of the Childrens Online Privacy Act, in the event that we do begin collecting any Personal Information or data from children under the age of 13 (or 16 where applicable), we will notify parents first, and will seek parental or guardian consent to collect, use and/or disclose certain Personal Information from children under the age of 13, or 16 where applicable. A parent may review and have deleted their childs Personal Information, and may refuse to permit further collection or use of their childs information by contacting us as noted at the end of this Privacy Policy. Parents may consent to our collection and use of their childs Personal Information without consenting to the disclosure of that information to others.

If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 (or 16) has provided Personal Information "Contact Us" below with sufficient detail to enable us to delete that information from our databases.

13. Accessibility

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may amend this Privacy Policy at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the updated notice on our Websites and update the notice's "Last Updated" date. Where permitted by applicable law, your continued use of our Website and/or Services following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

15. CONTACT US

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your Personal Information described here, your choices and rights regarding such use, or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us as provided below.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU SHOULD ONLY CONTACT US AT THIS EMAIL FORM OR ADDRESS FOR PRIVACY RELATED CONCERNS, AND NOT FOR EDITORIAL, SUBSCRIPTION OR CONTENT-BASED ISSUES INCLUDING TAKE-DOWN REQUESTS RELATING TO YOUR NAME OR IMAGE APPEARING IN NEWS STORIES. PLEASE SEE OUR "Contact Us" PAGE INSTEAD FOR THOSE MATTERS.
Terms of Service

Last Updated: January 3rd, 2013

By using our website, mobile site or app (the "Site"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and to use the Site in accordance with these Terms of Service, our Privacy Notice, and any additional terms and conditions that are referenced herein or that otherwise may apply to specific sections of the Site, or to products and services that we make available to you through the Site (all of which are deemed part of these Terms of Service). Accessing the Site, in any manner, whether automated or otherwise, constitutes use of the Site and your agreement to be bound by these Terms of Service. Your accessing the Site for the limited and exclusive purpose of reviewing these Terms of Service does not constitute your "use" of the Site or agreement to be bound by these Terms of Service unless you further access or use the Site.

We reserve the right to change these Terms of Service or to impose new conditions on use of the Site, from time to time, in which case we will post the revised Terms of Service on this website and update the "Last Updated" date to reflect the date of the changes. If we make a material change to the Terms of Service, we will not enforce the material change retroactively (i.e., to use of the Site occurring before the change) unless we notify you by posting a prominent notice of the change on the home or landing page of the Site or otherwise notify you of the changes so you may elect whether to accept the changes by continuing to use the Site, or terminate your account. By continuing to use the Site after we post any such changes or notify you of any material changes, you accept the Terms of Service, as modified.

We also reserve the right to deny access to the Site or any features of the Site to anyone who violates these Terms of Service or who, in our sole judgment, interferes with the ability of others to enjoy our website or infringes the rights of others.

Rights and Restrictions Relating to Site Content

Your Limited Right to Use Site Materials. This Site and all the materials available on the Site are the property of us and/or our affiliates or licensors, and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. The Site is provided solely for your personal noncommercial use. You may not use the Site or the materials available on the Site in a manner that constitutes an infringement of our rights or that has not been authorized by us. More specifically, unless explicitly authorized in these Terms of Service or by the owner of the materials, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium (including by email or other electronic means) any material from the Site. You may, however, from time to time, download and/or print one copy of individual pages of the Site for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. For information about requesting permission to reproduce or distribute materials from the Site, please contact us.

Our Right to Use Materials You Submit or Post. When you submit or post any material via the Site, you grant us, and anyone authorized by us, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, copy, modify, transmit, sell, exploit, create derivative works from, distribute, and/or publicly perform or display such material, in whole or in part, in any manner or medium (whether now known or hereafter developed), for any purpose that we choose. The foregoing grant includes the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such posting or submission, including, but not limited to, rights under copyright, trademark or patent laws that exist in any relevant jurisdiction. Also, in connection with the exercise of these rights, you grant us, and anyone authorized by us, the right to identify you as the author of any of your postings or submissions by name, email address or screen name, as we deem appropriate. You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Site, including content submitted by you, may involve transmissions over various networks, and may involve changes to the content to conform and adapt it to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. You will not receive any compensation of any kind for the use of any materials submitted by you.

Limitations on Linking and Framing. You are free to establish a hypertext link to our Site so long as the link does not state or imply any sponsorship of your website or service by us or by our Site. However, you may not, without our prior written permission, frame or inline link any of the content of our Site, or incorporate into another website or other service any of our material, content or intellectual property.

Limitations on Use of Associated Press Materials. Some of the material available on this Site is provided by the Associated Press. By using this Site you agree and acknowledge that (1) you will not publish, display, broadcast, or rewrite for broadcast or publication, or redistribute, directly or indirectly in any medium, any Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio, and/or video material; and (2) no Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in its materials or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part of its materials, or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. In addition to those set forth in this paragraph, the Associated Press may impose other terms and conditions on the use of its materials. Please click here for more information.

Access to Certain Features of Our Site

To access certain features of our Site, we may ask you to provide certain demographic information including your gender, year of birth, zip code and country. In addition, if you elect to sign-up for a particular feature of the Site, such as discussion forums, blogs, photo- and video-sharing pages or social networking features, you may also be asked to register with us on the form provided and such registration may require you to provide information such as your name and email address. You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Site's registration form. If we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Site (or any portion thereof). Our use of any information you provide to us as part of the registration process is governed by the terms of our Privacy Notice.

Privacy

We respect the privacy of the users of our Site. Please review our Privacy Notice. These Terms include and fully incorporate our Privacy notice.

Responsibility for Your Username and Password

To use certain features of our Site, you will need a username and password to create an account. We reserve the right to reject or terminate the use of any username that we deem offensive or inappropriate. In addition, we also reserve the right to terminate the use of any username or account, or to deny access to the Site or any features of the Site, to anyone who violates these Terms of Service or who, in our sole judgment, interferes with the ability of others to enjoy our website or infringes the rights of others. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account, and are responsible for all activities (whether by you or by others) that occur under your password or account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your password or account information.

Online Commerce

Certain sections of this Site may allow you to purchase different types of products and services online that are provided by third parties. We are not responsible for the quality, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or any other aspect of these products and services. If you make a purchase from a merchant on our Site, or on a third-party website that you have accessed via a link on our Site, the information obtained during your visit to that merchant's online store or site, and the information that you give as part of the transaction, such as your credit card number and contact information, may be collected by both the merchant and us. A merchant may have privacy and data collection practices that are different from ours. We have no responsibility or liability for these independent policies. In addition, when you purchase products or services on or through the Site, you may be subject to additional terms and conditions that specifically apply to your purchase or use of such products or services. For more information regarding a merchant, its online store, its privacy policies, and/or any additional terms and conditions that may apply, visit that merchant's website and click on its information links or contact the merchant directly. You release us and our affiliates from any damages that you incur, and agree not to assert any claims against us or any of our affiliates, arising from your purchase or use of any products or services made available by third parties through the Site.

You agree to be financially responsible for all purchases made by you or someone acting on your behalf through the Site. You agree to use the Site, and to purchase services or products through the Site, for legitimate, non-commercial purposes only. You also agree not to make any purchases for speculative, false or fraudulent purposes or for the purpose of anticipating demand for a particular product or service. You agree to only purchase goods or services for yourself or for another person for whom you are legally permitted to do so. When making a purchase for a third party that requires you to submit the third party's personal information to us or a merchant, you represent that you have obtained the express consent of such third party to provide such third party's personal information.

Responsibility for User-Provided Content

This Site may include a variety of features, such as discussion forums, blogs, photo- and video-sharing pages, email services and social networking features that allow feedback to us and allow users to interact with each other on the Site and post content and materials for display on the Site. This Site also may include other features, such as personalized home pages and email services, that allow users to communicate with third parties. By accessing and using any such features, you represent and agree: (i) that you have read and agree to abide by our Community Rules; (ii) that you are the owner of any material you post or submit, or are making your posting or submission with the express consent of the owner of the material; (iii) that you are making your posting or submission with the express consent of anyone pictured in any material you post or submit, (iv) that you are 13 years of age or older; (v) that the materials will not violate the rights of, or cause injury to, any person or entity; and (vi) that you will indemnify and hold harmless us, our affiliates, and each of our and their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, representatives and licensors, from and against any liability of any nature arising out of related to any content or materials displayed on or submitted via the Site by you or by others using your username and password. You also grant us a license to use the materials you post or submit via such features, as described above under the header "Rights and Restrictions Relating to Site Content."

Responsibility for what is posted on discussion forums, blogs, photo- and video-sharing pages, and other areas on the Site through which users can supply information or material, or sent via any email services that are made available via the Site, lies with each user  you alone are responsible for the material you post or send. We are not responsible for the speech, content, messages, information or files that you or others may transmit, post or otherwise provide on or through the Site.

You understand that we have no obligation to monitor any discussion forums, blogs, photo- or video-sharing pages, or other areas of the Site through which users can supply information or material. However, we reserve the right at all times, in our sole discretion, to screen content submitted by users and to edit, move, delete, and/or refuse to accept any content that in our judgment violates these Terms of Service or is otherwise unacceptable or inappropriate, whether for legal or any other reasons.

You acknowledge and agree that we may preserve content and materials submitted by you, and may also disclose such content and materials if required to do so by law or if, in our business judgment, such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce these Terms of Service; (c) respond to claims that any content or materials submitted by you violate the rights of third parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of our Site, us, our affiliates, our officers, directors, employees, representatives, our licensors, other users, and/or the public.

Classified Advertising

All classified ads are subject to the applicable rate card, copies of which are available from our Advertising Dept. All ads are subject to approval before publication. The Site reserves the right to edit, refuse, reject, classify or cancel any ad at any time. Errors must be reported in the first day of publication.

The Site shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from an error in or omission of an advertisement. No refunds for early cancellation of order.

When you submit a classified ad for publication on the Site, you agree that the advertisement as it appears on the Site becomes our property and you assign all ownership interest in the advertisement as it appears on the Site under copyright law or otherwise to us. Submission of an advertisement does not constitute a commitment to publish the advertisement, and publication of an advertisement does not constitute an agreement for continued publication. We will accept only standard abbreviations and require proper punctuation. We reserve the right to edit, reclassify, revise, reject or cancel any advertisement at any time, in our sole discretion. Rates and specifications for any advertisement are subject to change.

Real Estate Advertisements; Equal Housing Opportunity

The Federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to advertise "any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination." State law may also forbid discrimination based on these factors and others. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 800-669-9777.

Job Listings

Our Site may permit users to post, and search for, job openings. We do not knowingly accept listings regarding employment that are not for bona fide job opportunities. We also do not knowingly accept listings that discriminate or intend to discriminate on any illegal basis, or that are otherwise illegal. If you think that a listing posted on our Site discriminates on any illegal basis, or is otherwise illegal, please contact us. We encourage you to investigate fully and understand all aspects of any job you are considering.

Limitation on Use of Company Directories

The information contained in any company directories that may be provided on the Site is provided for business lookup purposes and is not to be used for marketing or telemarketing applications. This information may not be copied or redistributed and is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. In no event will we or our suppliers be liable in any way with regard to such information.

Modifications to, or Discontinuation of, the Site

We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site, or any portion thereof, with or without notice. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Site or any portion thereof.

Disclaimers

Throughout our Site, we have provided links and pointers to Internet sites maintained by third parties. Our linking to such third-party sites does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of such sites, or the information, products or services offered on or through the sites. In addition, neither we nor our parent or subsidiary companies nor any of our respective affiliates operate or control in any respect any information, products or services that third parties may provide on or through the Site or on websites linked to by us on the Site.

THE INFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE AND ANY THIRD-PARTY SITES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR ANY OF ITS FUNCTIONS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT ANY PART OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING BULLETIN BOARDS, OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE IT AVAILABLE, ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

WE DO NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SITE OR MATERIALS ON THIS SITE OR ON THIRD-PARTY SITES IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION ARE A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT AND CONSIDERATION TO US TO GRANT THE LICENSE CONTAINED IN THIS TERMS OF SERVICE AND TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ACCESS TO THE SITE AND SERVICES.

You must provide and are solely responsible for all hardware and/or software necessary to access the Site. You assume the entire cost of and responsibility for any damage to, and all necessary maintenance, repair or correction of, that hardware and/or software.

You acknowledge that by using the Site, you may incur charges from your wireless carrier, internet service provider or other method of internet or data access, and that payment of any such charges will be your sole responsibility. You agree that your use of the Site will be in accordance with all requirements of your wireless carrier, internet service provider and other method of internet or data access. We do not control network access. Your use of these networks may not be secure and may expose your personal information sent over such networks.

The Site is provided for informational purposes only, and is not intended for trading or investing purposes, or for commercial use. Stock and mutual fund quotes, and related financial news stories may be delayed at least 20 minutes, as may be required by the stock exchanges and/or the financial information services. The Site should not be used in any high risk activities where damage or injury to persons, property, environment, finances or business may result if an error occurs. You expressly assume all risk for such use.

Your interactions with companies, organizations and/or individuals found on or through our Site, including any purchases, transactions, or other dealings, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such companies, organizations and/or individuals. You agree that we will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings. You also agree that, if there is a dispute between users of this Site, or between a user and any third party, we are under no obligation to become involved, and you agree to release us and our affiliates from any claims, demands and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such dispute and/or our Site.

Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE, WILL WE OR OUR SUBSIDIARIES, PARENT COMPANIES OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THIS SITE, INCLUDING ITS MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES, OR THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE, EVEN IF WE ARE ADVISED BEFOREHAND OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. (BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, OUR LIABILITY AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR SUBSIDIARIES, PARENT COMPANIES AND AFFILIATES, IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY SUCH STATE LAW.) YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY USER. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE, OR ANY MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES ON THE SITE, OR WITH ANY OF THE SITE'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us, our affiliates, and each of our and their respective directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, representatives and licensors, from and against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, that arise out of your use of the Site, violation of these Terms of Service by you or any other person using your account, or your violation of any rights of another. We reserve the right to take over the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification under this section. In such event, you agree to provide us with such cooperation as is reasonably requested by us.

Suspension and Termination of Access

You agree that, in our sole discretion, we may suspend or terminate your password, account (or any part thereof) or use of the Site, or any part of the Site, and remove and discard any materials that you submit to the Site, at any time, for any reason, without notice. You agree that we will not be liable to you or any third-party for any suspension or termination of your password, account (or any part thereof) or use of the Site, or any removal of any materials that you have submitted to the Site. In the event that we suspend or terminate your access to and/or use of the Site, you will continue to be bound by the Terms of Service that were in effect as of the date of your suspension or termination.

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Gwinnett school board names Kent School District chief Calvin Watts as sole finalist for GCPS superintendent position

Staff Photo: Curt Yeomans Kent School District Superintendent Calvin Watts addresses attendees at the Gwinnett County school board meeting after he was named the sole finalist for the Gwinnett County Public Schools superintendent position on Thursday. Watts is a former GCPS administrator who has led Kent schools, near Seattle, Wash., since 2015. Calvin Watts

The Gwinnett County Board of Education has named Calvin Watts as the sole finalist to replace outgoing Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, putting the district on the cusp of a history-making leadership appointment.

The vote to name Watts as the finalist came during the boards monthly meeting Thursday night at the Instructional Support Center named for Wilbanks.

The board is required under state law to wait 14 days before taking a final vote to hire Watts, who is currently the superintendent of the Kent School District near Seattle, Washington, to lead the district. That puts a decision on whether to hire him just before Wilbanks last day, which is July 31. The school board is expected to hold a special meeting July 29 for a final vote on hiring Watts.

If hired, Watts would become the first African-American to lead Georgias largest school district.

GCPS has a long history of success and J. Alvin Wilbanks leaves a great legacy, said Watts, who joined Thursdays meeting virtually. Certainly with the support and assistance of our Board of Education, our students, our families, our teachers, our principals and assistant principals, support staff as well as our faith-based and community partners and volunteers, I look forward to leading Gwinnett County Public Schools towards its next chapter and trajectory of greatness for each and every school.

Watts is a former assistant superintendent in Gwinnett County Public Schools, and rose through the administrative ranks in GCPS before leaving to become superintendent of the Kent School District in 2015.

Watts was also an assistant principal at Bethesda Elementary School, principal at Trickum Middle School and Annistown Elementary School and oversaw staffing in the districts human resources department. As an assistant superintendent in GCPS, he worked with principals in school improvement and operations.

I have always referred to Gwinnett County Public Schools as the place where I grew up professionally, Watts said.

He also held administrative positions at Archdiocese of Atlanta-run schools and was a teacher in Carrollton City Schools, Atlanta Public Schools and Seattle (Wash.) Public Schools.

The board voted earlier this year to terminate Wilbanks contract 11 months early, effective the end of this month. Wilbanks has led Gwinnett County Public Schools for a quarter of a century, beginning in March 1996, and had previously said he was not planning to seek an extension beyond his contracts original expiration date of June 30, 2022.

Wilbanks is the highest paid superintendent in Georgia, making more than $600,000 a year, including a base salary and several financial bonuses built into his contract.

It is unclear how much Watts will be paid on an annual basis. School board chairman Everton Blair Jr. said a contract still has to be negotiated with Watts.

The naming of Watts as the sole finalist for GCPS superintendent position comes three weeks after the Kent School Board voted 3-2 to extend his contract to be that districts leader for an extra year, until June 2023. The Kent Reporter reported last month that Watts annual salary in the Seattle-area district was $279,500.

Watts faced a similar 3-2 vote last year on a one-year contract extension. Two of the three board members who voted to approve each contract extension are reportedly not seeking re-election when their terms end later this year, according to the Kent Reporter.

Watts time with the Kent School District hasnt been totally issue-free.

He joined the district while it was experiencing financial issues and there was a $6.9 million budget shortfall in 2017. He was hit with a No Confidence vote from the local teachers association after his administration announced plans to cut dozens of teacher positions in an effort to improve the districts fund balance, according to news reports from Washington.

We did interrogate him about that, Blair said. It was very clear from the financial data longitudinally that improvement occurred because he was there. And, its a lagging indicator so youre not going to get the bond rating until several years after you do the work to ensure that your system is financially healthy.

We did probe deeply in that area and are confident that he will be able to hold to much easier situation here where hes going to be given a good situation.

But, efforts to improve the districts finances appear to have had an impact. Moodys Investor Services, which is one of the top credit rating agencies, issued a positive report on the financial outlook, citing an improved financial standing and a strong financial management team, in 2019, according to the Kent Reporter.

The newspaper also reported that Moodys cited the district showed a massive improvement in the districts financial profile resulting in fund balance and liquidity levels.

Earlier this year, Moodys cited continued improvement as it upgraded the Kent School Districts credit rating from A1 to Aa3, saying that although enrollment is declining with a significant drop in fiscal 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, management has demonstrated its ability to address challenging financial situations and deliver strong results.

Another credit rating agency, S&Ps Financial Services, upgraded the Kent School Districts financial outlook from negative to stable in 2020, according to Watts application.

And, Kent schools reported in 2020 that its graduation rate had jumped 8.1% between 2015 and 2020.

Kent School Board President Denise Daniels praised the work Watts did in that district in a statement released Friday, citing improvements in diversity and equity  an area that has been a particular focus for the Gwinnett school board lately.

Dr. Watts leadership and commitment to our district are evidenced by our four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate being at an all-time high, the advances of our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, and being selected for this position also speaks volumes about his leadership, Daniels said.

We, in the Kent School District, have been so very fortunate to have a leader with a continual focus on student success, while consistently demonstrating dignity and integrity even when faced with multiple challenges and adversity.

Watts said in his application that Kent schools reduced the number of Black male students who received in-school or out of school suspension from 15% to 7% between 2015 and 2020 by using equity-based strategies such as restorative justice, empathy interviews and action learning projects. His administration also established a Race and Equity Policy in 2017, expanded underrepresented voices in cabinet meetings and holds monthly meetings and listening sessions with groups representing educators of color and the LGBTQ+ community.

There was unanimous approval from Gwinnetts school board to name Watts as their finalist to replace Wilbanks, with both Republicans and Democrats on board expressing excitement about the decision to name him as the finalist.

He has the proven experience in Gwinnett County at every level that the community shared, in the survey that we sent out, that they would want to see in a superintendent as well as sitting superintendent experience, Blair said. And, in that experience, the financial health and well-being of the district increased, the student achievement increased and the provision of equity increased in the reduction of student achievement disparities in Kent.

Those were things that given Kents comparable diversity to Gwinnett we were really excited about (him) as well as just his vision for how he was going to hold to what has been so successfully established here and move forward and really address where we can continuously improve.

Board member Steve Knudsen said, hes been trained and he cut his teeth in GCPS and in leadership here under Mr. Wilbanks and I think thats going to come in handy. Hes committed to communicate with our community and to listen to our community. Im committed to working with him to do that.

The school board worked with the Georgia School Boards Association to search for a new superintendent. GSBA officials previously said 27 people applied for the job.




Haiti - FLASH : Turnaround of core Group in favor of the PM named Ariel Henry





The core Group (made up of the Ambassadors of Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States of America, France, the European Union, the Special Representative of the Organization of American States and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations)

To this end, he strongly encourages the Prime Minister named Ariel Henry https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34151-haiti-flash-ariel-henry-new-prime-minister-ai-official-update-6-19-am.html to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a Government.



While Haiti faces serious perils, "the members of the Group express the wish that all political, economic and civil society actors in the country fully support the authorities in their efforts to restore security on the throughout the country, including in areas currently plagued by gang violence, to organize free, fair, transparent and credible legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible, and to ensure that every citizen benefits from adequate state services."



A disconcerting turnaround of the core Group after Helen La Lime, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) told the United Nations Security Council on July 8 that the Prime Minister ai Claude Joseph was the responsible leader, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34187-haiti-un-helen-la-lime-declared-that-it-is-claude-joseph-would-lead-haiti.html citing the amended Constitution of Haiti of 1987 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34165-haiti-assassination-of-jovenel-moise-what-says-the-constitution.html



A UN spokesperson declined to comment on Core's position, except to recall that the UN is part of the Core Group that issued the statement. On his side the OAS declared "For the moment, there is nothing more to say than what the declaration says."



Second turnaround, Ariel Henry has just been informed in a correspondence dated July 16 that the signatories of the National Agreement Protocol (PEN) of the opposition and of the Civil Society, were withdrawing from him their supports



Letter from the signatories of the National Memorandum of Understanding :



"Petion-ville, July 16, 202 l



Mr. Prime Minister appointed,



Following today's meeting, the members of the Political Opposition and of Civil Society, signatories of the National Protocol of Understanding (PEN), hasten to inform you that they take note of your desire to form a Government without taking into account the two-headed character of the executive with a number of figures already criticized in public opinion with their political project rejected for more than three years by the population.



This meeting did not allow to detect either, any inclination to satisfy the popular demands, among others the cancellation of the decrees and decrees liberticide and antidemocratic, the holding of various trials of the cases Petrocaribe, CIRH etc... carried in the ten departments ofthe country and in the diaspora through massive protest demonstrations.



Indeed, the exaggerated rise in insecurity, the massacres perpetrated in working-class neighborhoods, summary executions, the illegal detention of opposition activists, repeated political persecution, the catastrophic management of State affairs, the project illegitimate and illegal to endow the country with a new made-to-measure constitution by referendum and the fraudulent organization of general elections under any condition : such is the damning picture that the main chosen of your new government bear in their liabilities. in the making.



Also, noting that you have deliberately chosen to deviate from the terms of the said protocol, the signatories of the PEN are obliged to withdraw their support from you and to continue an inclusive dialogue with the forces of the Nation in order to conclude a political agreement for a peaceful Haitian resolution to the crisis.



Patriotic greetings



Senator Francenet Denius VERITE

Schultz Sirnpssie Cazir General Secretary of MTV Ayiti

Gerald Gilles National Forces for Democracy (FND)

Rodon Beloved FND

Kenol Mathieu National Coordinator Veye Y o

Dr. Emmanuel Menard Secretary General of the Democratic Bloc

Youri Latortue National AAA Coordinator

Resemomnd Pradel Secretary General Merger Party of Haitian Social Democrats (PFSDH)"



Neither prime minister has made statements so far.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34187-haiti-un-helen-la-lime-declared-that-it-is-claude-joseph-would-lead-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34165-haiti-assassination-of-jovenel-moise-what-says-the-constitution.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34151-haiti-flash-ariel-henry-new-prime-minister-ai-official-update-6-19-am.html



SL/ HaitiLibre
























Haiti - Diplomacy : Virtual interview between the Canadian Chancellor and PM Claude Joseph





Marc Garneau, Caandian Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke this week with Claude Joseph, Haitis interim prime minister and foreign affairs minister.



Minister Garneau conveyed his condolences and those of the Government of Canada to Jovenel Moises family, the Haitian government, and to the Haitian people. He strongly condemned the heinous assassination of Mr. Moise and called for an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice and to fight impunity in Haiti.



Garneau encouraged interim Prime Minister Joseph to engage in a dialogue with all parties to develop a credible plan for the Haitian government to hold elections by the end of the year, as democratic renewal is a stepping stone to lasting peace and stability for the Haitian people.



Canadian Minister also expressed Canadas deep concerns over the current levels of insecurity in Haiti and urged for immediate steps to be taken to mitigate the increasing level of violence and ensure accountability for crimes committed. Minister Garneau highlighted the plight of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the recent violent clashes between gangs, noting that it is essential for Haiti to secure access to basic services and ensure the necessary humanitarian aid delivery, including support through Canadian projects. Unconditional and safe access to sites hosting IDPs in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince is also needed.



Minister Garneau underscored that Canada stands with the Haitian people during this difficult and uncertain time and stands ready to respond to the needs of Haitians to move toward greater stability and greater opportunity for everyone.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Editor: In all my 81 years as an American, I could never have imagined that a time
I was down the shore this weekend, enjoying the sea, the sun and the sweeping pano
Sir Elton John gave Patti LaBelle a diamond ring after losing her Tupperware.

Patti, 77, revealed that when she was singing with the Bluebelles, Elton, 74 - whose real name is Reginald Dwight - was working with her in the studio as a pianist and she used to invite him back to her flat for food.

Although she asked him to bring back the Tupperware container that she gave him filled with leftovers, he never did, and years later he replaced it with a diamond ring.

Speaking on Andy Cohen's 'Watch What Happens Live', Patti explained: "I cooked for him and the band because nobody had any pounds, you know? We were in London. So I would invite them up to my loft every night and give them Tupperware to take home because nobody had food. I said to them at the time, 'Bring my Tupperware to the next show.' They didn't.

"I get a call years after that saying, 'Hi, Patti, it's Reggie, I want you to come and see me tonight'. I said, 'Reggie, who are you opening for?' He said 'I'm Elton John now.' So I said, 'Punk, where is my Tupperware?''

"He left this [diamond ring] on the piano. I said, 'Elton, your ring!' He said, 'Patti, that's your Tupperware.' I'm so happy for his success, and I haven't sold it!"

Meanwhile, Elton has performed with a number of huge artists over the years, and remembers being in the presence of true greatness, which was often so overwhelming, he was frightened.

He previously told Record Collector magazine: I just loved [Aretha Franklin]. She sang her last show at our AIDS Foundation event in 2017, at St. John The Divine Cathedral.

I'll never forget it, because I was standing by the stage with Roseanne Cash and Sheryl Crow and we were just crying because she was playing the piano and she was so ill and yet she came on and did 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

And afterwards, she said, 'This is it I'm never going to sing again - this is the last thing I'll ever do.' "But those are the moments you know you're with true greatness. Sometimes that's frightening.

"I was so scared of Nina Simone. When she played her last ever Carnegie Hall show in 2003, I was assigned to look after her with Patti LaBelle. And at the end they sang 'Young Gifted and Black' and she's sitting in the chair and the whole audience stood up and she cried. And I cried. Everybody cried."
As Mission retreats, Pardee, AdventHealth fill primary care gap

When HCA Healthcare purchased Asheville-based nonprofit Mission Health, the Tennessee-based for-profit company promised to ensure everyone access to high-quality care health care in Western North Carolina.

Two years after the sale, nearly 100 physicians have left the HCA system, and several primary care clinics have closed.

In their exodus, doctors and other health professionals have joined nonprofit providers such as Pardee, Advent Health or Duke LifePoint, gone to work for local federally qualified health centers or created new independent practices rather than serve in a for-profit health system.

Underneath all of the chaos that is our health care system, I think there is some excitement among providers, said Ben Aiken, a primary care physician in Asheville who left HCA. As we think more long term for the region, we can hopefully be a part of the change that weve wanted to see.

HCA's retreat from primary care may be helping nonprofit competitors like Pardee UNC Health and AdventHealth, which have stepped into the breach.

Pardee UNC Health Care and AdventHealth have expanded their footprints and gained market share among the area residents who had to find new providers.

In 2018, before the sale, Mission held an estimated 49.5% market share in the 11 counties where it offers services, including hospitals in Mitchell, Buncombe, Transylvania, Macon, McDowell and Jackson counties, making it the clear leader, as the other 50% market share was divided among numerous other firms.

Obviously, Advent and Pardee are taking this opportunity as a striking one to grow and absorb primary care practices, Aiken said. They are really kind of trying to position themselves as a more direct competitor, if you will, to Mission or HCA, and from the outside, it seems they are having some success in doing so.

Pardee also announced last week that Dr. Duff Hardein, who had been practicing at Mission Neurology, has joined Pardee Neurology Associates.

HCA shutters financially marginal practices

While the changes opened a window of opportunity for more flexible primary care practices to develop, questions linger for patients who seek services at regional hospitals or who live in rural communities without adequate access to basic primary care services.

Before the sale, physicians at his clinic in Candler had a lot of concern, former Mission primary care practitioner Tim Plaut said.

People started reading up, looking at HCA and looking at their patterns in previous purchases, Plaut said. And their pattern is to shut down primary care wherever theyre going and just assume other people are going to pick it up. They dont want it. Its not a big enough profit for them.

Kate Rasche, who served as a family physician and medical director at the same Candler clinic as Plaut, said HCA alienated many primary care physicians.

Mission honestly lost money on primary care before HCA came in, Rasche said. Thats why HCA has moved to cut costs and redo contracts, or just closed practices that werent performing financially.

Even when whole clinics arent shuttered, Plaut said, HCA has cut back on services even though N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein stipulated that HCA could not make major cuts to services for at least 10 years.

Its all in the nuance, Plaut said. They say, Were not gonna cut services. Well in Candler, we had physical therapy. It was cut immediately. Did Mission still offer physical therapy? Yes. Was it drastically cut back? Yes, but it was still technically there.

After just a few months, Rasche and Plauts clinic was among the very first to be closed after the sale.

Plaut said he asked leadership if there were plans to close the clinic and that he was initially assured HCA had no plans to cut primary care.

Several weeks later they walked in and told us they were shutting it, Plaut said, though he specified that he believed the decision came from higher up than the local leaders with whom he dealt.

They told us we had 45 days, Plaut said. It was just a very corporate thing to do. And it didnt take into account the literal thousands of lives that were affected.

Though their clinic was not a moneymaker for Mission, both Plaut and Rasche said they believed Mission saw the value they provided to their roughly 5,000 primary care patients who would need to find a new provider.

Before the HCA sale, Aiken had been hired by Mission specifically to develop and pilot a direct primary care, or DPC, program, an emerging model of health care where clients pay a monthly fee directly to a network of physicians instead of paying per visit.

He said Mission was trying to be innovative and push the envelope in what primary care could look like.

After the sale, though, Aiken said the new leadership did not express that same support for the DPC experiment, saying HCA appreciated the model but that it was not a priority.

Mission Health employs more than 100 primary care providers and has more than 20 primary care locations across Western North Carolina, Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said in a statement.

Primary care is also offered virtually. Our primary care locations continue to be available to the community for care needs, and we are recruiting as the needs of the community expand.

New clinics fill the gaps

When HCA decided to close the direct primary care clinic in downtown Asheville, Aiken instead bought the practice so that it could continue independently as Lantern Health beginning in February 2020.

Rasche, who had previously worked with Aiken elsewhere and was already interested in the direct primary care model, joined Lantern soon after HCA shuttered her Candler clinic.

Some physicians view the direct primary care model as concierge medicine which caters itself to wealthier clients, Rasche said.

She and Aiken recognize that view but hope skeptics will see that the DPC approach, with its transparent pricing structure and a focus on payment for outcomes as opposed to fee-for-service, could represent a restructuring of an approach to health care.

For example, Aiken said, a typical primary care practice will average two or three interactions with a client in a given year.

So far at our practice, we have somewhere between 10 and 14 touches with a client in a year, Aiken said. Those touches can be in person, they can be virtual, it could be just a text exchange. Its a much more free-form model that results in more touches.

Plaut opted for a different route after leaving HCA.

He is now the chief medical officer at the Asheville-based Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers. AMCHC is a federally qualified health center, meaning it receives federal government support and offers a wide range of services on a sliding-scale fee basis to serve the most vulnerable populations in the community.

The people who are working with us are here for the right reasons, Plaut said. Theyre not going to make millions of dollars working for an FQHC, but theyre doing it for the right reasons and theyre proud of it.

AMCHC was also originally created within the Mission Health system several years ago before becoming independent, though it did so before the sale to HCA.

Like Pardee and AdventHealth, Duke LifePoint, which primarily offers services to the west of Asheville and operates hospitals in nearby Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties, has also filled vacuums that HCA has created.

LifePoint opened a new primary care office in the Candler area just after HCA announced it would close its clinic in the area. Plaut said several of his staff from the HCA Candler clinic moved to LifePoint and he interviewed with LifePoint to potentially head that new clinic before he decided to join AMCHC.

In Transylvania County, where more than a dozen local physicians have left HCA, Pardee has opened multiple new clinics within the past year, including a primary care office just across the street from HCAs Transylvania Regional Hospital, where several of the physicians previously worked.

However, not all localities have seen new models filling in gaps. In Cashiers, several residents told Carolina Public Press that they have struggled to find health care in the region.

There are no doctors here, said Eleanor Blair, a professor of education at Western Carolina University in nearby Cullowhee. I either go 30 minutes to Sylva or an hour and a half to Asheville, referring to Duke Lifepoints hospital in Sylva and HCAs in Asheville.

I think the health care in this area is lacking, said Ginger Dempsey, who currently drives 45 minutes to Brevard in Transylvania County to see a physician. Its not convenient, but Ill be 89 in a few days, and I need to be able to see a doctor.

Recently, Blue Ridge Health brought two physicians to a clinic located next to the HCA-owned Highlands-Cashiers Hospital.

Aiken of Lantern Health said he had been in contact with interested stakeholders in Cashiers and several other rural communities about potentially replicating the direct primary care model in these communities.

Pardee gains new patients in Brevard

The full effect of the changing primary care landscape on the larger health care systems in the region is not yet known.

A solid network of primary care clinics also serves as the entry point to a referral network for a hospital system, Rasche explained.

HCA has alienated a lot of primary care docs in the area, Rashce said.

When those doctors leave for competing systems and need to refer their patient to see a urologist or orthopedist, they are going to recommend within their own system. It will no longer be at Transylvania Regional Hospital or Highland-Cashiers, where they used to be.

Jack Duncan of Brevard is one of those patients. He said his physician was one of those who made the move from TRH to Pardee.

Im happy to see Pardee come into the area, Duncan said. But I only live a mile from Transylvania Regional Hospital. Now if Im recommended for surgery, Ill have to go to Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville. Its going to be a little bit harder.

That referral network is the financial lifeblood of those outlying regional hospitals, Rasche said. HCA is threatening the viability of those community hospitals, which means a great deal to the people who live there.

As part of its purchase, HCA made 15 commitments required by the attorney general around retaining certain services to ease community fears around a reduction of services.

Mission Healths independent monitor is responsible for reviewing data to determine whether HCA is in compliance with those 15 requirements.

Duncan said HCAs promises at the time of the acquisition to abide by the stipulations werent convincing to him.

When I look at the independent monitor  theres a bunch of glad words to me, Duncan said. It says, Were committed to quality of care, but I dont see We will specifically do or not do this. Something is missing there.

WLOS reported that Ronald Winters, co-founder of the firm which serves as HCAs independent monitor, said while HCA has committed to maintaining specific services at hospitals, no specific metrics exist to gauge the level of service provided.

But gauging the level of service is exactly what Brevard City Council member Maureen Copelof wants.

Copelof, who serves as the councils appointed community liaison for health care, said HCA has a history of moving into a community, then downsizing clinics and changing the services offered.

She wants access to specific numbers, such as the number of surgeries performed and number of MRI scans taken in a year, in order to monitor the data and ensure that TRH is used to the same degree as it was before the sale, she said.

As long as physicians continue to refer (patients) to Transylvania Regional Hospital, and as long as the populace has confidence in the hospital, then a lot of those services could continue, she said.

But those two things have to happen. And thats what we dont know. Thats why checking the metrics is going to be so important.

The Mission Health spokesperson said service usage data had been presented to the council at a public meeting in June but declined to say if raw 2021 service usage data would be publicly released. The presentation is not currently publicly available because, according to Brevard City Clerk Jill Murray, the meetings minutes have not yet been approved.

The leadership of Transylvania Regional Hospital is very willing to speak with our patients and community members regarding their hospital care, spokesperson Lindell said.

* * * * *

Christian Green is the lead Carolina Public Press contributing writer reporting on healthcare and health policy in North Carolina. He obtained a masters degree in neuroscience at Wake Forest Universitys Graduate School for the Arts and Sciences, where he worked in the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks. He is based in Raleigh. Contact him at cgreen@carolinapublicpress.org.
AN Army cadet from Henley has been promoted to the highest rank in Oxfordshire.

Tallulah Scott is now regimental serjeant major for the countys Rifles Battalion after previously serving as company serjeant major for Nivelle company, one of four which make up the Oxfordshire force.

This incorporates the Henley detachment, which meets at the drill hall in Friday Street every Wednesday evening.

Tallulah, 17, joined the cadets in 2016 and has previously held the ranks of cadet, lance-corporal, corporal, serjeant and colour serjeant.

She will now attend events around Oxfordshire and speak to cadets, including senior ones whom she will help train, and act as their voice within the organisation.

Tallulah will also lead parades at camps and serve as personal cadet to the Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, alongside her counterparts from the countys sea and air cadets.

She will be expected to be a role model in the realms of morale, discipline and dress, on which she was assessed when she was put forward for the post. To secure her promotion, she had to reach the top level of four stars for leadership skills, then prove them in a practical test.

She acted as second-in-command and then commander of an eight-strong overnight patrol through the countryside which was ambushed by other cadets. Tallulah had to quickly decide the best way to evade them and then turn the tables to capture their ground.

She later had to pass an interview with battalion commandant Colonel Matthew Petersen.

Her superiors were impressed by the way in which she conducted Zoom classes for other cadets during the coronavirus pandemic and led activities like scavenger hunts when restrictions were not in place.

Tallulah also helps the Henley and Peppard branch of the Royal British Legions to write and lay out its newsletter and represents her detachment at events.

She will serve until she turns 18 next year when she has to leave.

Tallulah, who attends the Piggott School in Wargrave and works at the gym at Henley Rugby Club, was inspired to sign up for the cadets by her father Nathaniel, with whom she lives in Greys Road. Mr Scott is an instructor and second lieutenant in the Henley detachment and previously served in the Armys military intelligence corps.

She said: I always wanted to take this as far as I could but never imagined that I would do quite so well, though Im pleased to have proved myself wrong.

Im so glad I signed up because Ive learned skills that transfer well in everyday life.

Second lieutenant Melissa Haynes, the detachments commandant, said: Were all very proud because Tallulah is so bright and hard-working and incredibly mature for her age.

Shes very good at public speaking, confident, ambitious and carries herself well. She has achieved everything she had aimed for and is a great role model to other cadets.

I was sure shed be promoted because she ticked all the right boxes and was already performing elements of the role so she didnt have that much to learn. Im so happy for her and hope she enjoys it.

Talullahs previous role goes to Jamie Forehand, 17, who serves in the Henley detachment. He attends University Technical College in Reading, where he is studying engineering with a view to pursuing it in the Army, and joined the cadets after watching a presentation while he was a pupil at Gillotts School in Henley.

Jamie, who lives in Greys Road, Henley, with his mother Kirsty Mcintyre, was recently invited to attend a science, technology, engineering and mathematics course by the Army, which only offers this to promising students.

His promotion also recognised his work last year researching the Battle of Cassel in the Second World War, in which he spoke to veteran Dick Charlton, a lifelong Henley resident now living at the Chilterns Court care centre.

Jamie said: Im so happy because this is a massive step forward and a great leadership role where I can have a real influence on the younger cadets.

Ive loved every moment since joining because there are so many opportunities to build friendships and gain qualifications like first aid. I knew it was for me the moment I heard about it.
Ramped-up tensions in the South-Pacific have taken a new turn after Xi Jinping, China's President warned Australia for monitoring a Chinese spy ship. The vessel, Tianwangxing is in the waters of Queensland observing the Talisman Sabre war games 2021.

Since the tensions in the Indo-Pacific started many nations have questioned the belligerence of China in the region. But, Australia has taken an active role in participating in drills with the US and Quad allies, in the face of China's military might.

So much is the wariness of Chinese presence and their intentions, especially when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is keen about military drills conducted in the Indo-Pacific.

Spy ship spotted

According to the Australian military which has been monitoring the PLA naval surveillance ship, Tianwangxing is going to international waters off Queensland on the northeast coast. The ship's purpose is to position itself in an area close enough to see military activities involving drills that the naval coalition is conducting, reported the Express UK.

Drills between the US and Australian naval forces that include interoperability in their war games have gone under way this week.

Australian Senator Eric Abetz, chairman of the Senate's Foreign Affairs, and Defense and Trade Committee cited that Beijing's disposition to foreign ships is far different than other nations in south-east Asia, cited Newscon.

He added that the military is monitoring the arrival of the Chinese intelligence ship and that it was not an accident that it came ahead of the Talisman Sabre war games.

Xi Jinping threatened Australia for monitoring the Chinese spy ship which they did not drive out even if it was too close to their home waters but acknowledged international law instead.

Read Also: Chinese Spymaster Dong Jingwei Allegedly Escapes China Bringing Evidence of Covid-19 Lab Leak from Wuhan Institute

Compared to how China treats others ships crossing into their claimed territories in the South China Sea, their spy ship has intruded in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone. Instead of being chased out of the area, it is allowed passage due to international maritime law, which Abetz points out.

China- Australia Conflict

The Australian senator remarked that China is hypocritical to demand to practice freedom of navigation in territorial waters, to close for comfort. Beijing on the other hand does not like other nations doing the same thing in the South China Sea, but they can.

If any nation trespasses in China's Exclusive Economic Zone, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may say it is interference in their internal affairs.

It was confirmed by a media outlet early in the week, Defense Minister Peter Dutton verified the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is checking the situation.

He added the Chinese spy ship, Tianwangxing is passing Australia's east coast through the Torres Strait. The ADF has been keeping tabs on the ship to counter-surveillance it.

The ship has advanced communications systems, that are covered by domes with parabolic antennas used to listen in. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce spoke earlier that Beijing was tuning in on the drills, noted the Weekend Australian.

He told an Australian radio station that the ship was in international waters in Queensland where they can stay and do their tasks. They are listening to the transmissions but are trying to hack to steal information as well.

China is interested how effective the platforms of Australia are and how it contrasts to their own drills.

Suspicious Australia was threathened by Xi Jinping for monitoring a Chinese spy ship in their territory, but it was conveniently ignored and went along with their naval drills.

Related Article: China Provokes Falklands Islands to Confront the UK with Force, Ending the Dispute of Sovereignty

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Another stimulus law was recently approved, according to a social media post, and the government will be handing out $2,500 cheques at the end of July.

Social Media Hoax

In a recently published article in USA Today, a Facebook post began circulating on July 15 which reads "It passed 10 minutes ago! Everyone gets another stimulus check for $2500 on July 30, 2021. They did it!"

This is just one of the many social media posts that claim that there will be another stimulus check that eligible Americans will receive this July. However, this is not the federal aid that Americans will receive this month.

All of the postings provide an external link with ostensible instructions on how to have the promised stimulus payment deposited straight into your bank account. Users who click the link, on the other hand, are sent to a picture of an ape giving the middle finger.

Meanwhile, the monkey image may suggest that some Facebook users are mocking the allegation. Others, however, are taking it seriously, as shown by comments under different postings, according to a published article in POLITIFACT.

Read Also: Fourth Stimulus Checks Could Start Hitting Your Bank Automatically Once Approved

Will There Be Another Stimulus Check this Month?

This is not the first time someone has made such a claim on social media. A Facebook post in May claimed that a $2,000 direct payment per individual will arrive by Memorial Day weekend. Congress has not announced a fourth stimulus check for July 30.

In April 2020, the first batch of coronavirus stimulus assistance of up to $1,200 was handed out. Since then, Congress has authorized two further batches, in December 2020 and March of this year, according to a published article in Daily Advent.

While some Democratic legislators have called for additional government assistance, even a fourth round of stimulus, the latter is unlikely to happen. Even though there are calls from some Democratic lawmakers to send another stimulus check.

Instead, under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan, which was approved in March, qualified Americans would receive money through the Child Tax Credit and extended jobless benefits.

A Push for Fourth Stimulus Checks

CBS News reports that the proposal has been taken up by a few legislators. Twenty-one senators, all Democrats, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on March 30 in favor of regular stimulus payments, arguing that the IRS's $1,400 payment would not last long.

The current batch of $1,400 checks may not last long for many individuals, a problem that many Americans are concerned about as they continue to suffer from joblessness and a poor labor market. Indeed, more than 2.5 million individuals have signed a Change.org petition calling on legislators to enact legislation requiring recurring $2,000 monthly contributions, which was launched last year.

Furthermore, the senators' letter does not specify the size of the payments they want, but a previous attempt by Democratic legislators in January called for $2,000 monthly payouts until the epidemic is over. The American Rescue Plan, on the other hand, set aside $1,400 for each qualified adult and dependent.

According to a Politico-Harvard survey, just roughly a third of Americans think the American Rescue Plan will assist them significantly. This indicates that some families believe they may need more assistance in the coming months.

Related Article: 4th Stimulus Check Update: Petition Calling for $2,000 Monthly Payments Keeps Growing Signatures



@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
On Saturday, Afghan officials met with Taliban militants in Qatar, with all sides appealing for peace even though violence has escalated and displaced thousands of civilians.

Negotiators Between Two Parties Attempt to Have Peace Talk Progress

In a recently published article in the U.S. News, Negotiators have been meeting in Doha since September but have yet to make any headway, even though time is running out before the complete withdrawal of Western forces on September 11.

As US-led international troops leave and the Taliban begin offensives across Afghanistan, seizing districts and border crossings while surrounding provincial capitals, the war has taken a turn for the worst.

Abdullah Abdullah, head of the government's High Council for National Reconciliation, said during new high-level talks intended to last two days "Let's take important steps to continue the peace process, to prevent the killing of the people," according to a published article in News Block.

However, the Taliban's deputy commander and negotiator, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, expressed sorrow over the lack of progress and said that there is still hope and that the Taliban would make efforts for good results in the negotiations.

Read Also: Taliban Executes 22 Afghan Commandos; Group Denies the Execution

Thousands Flee Their Homes as Fighting Continues

According to local authorities, approximately 12,000 people in northern Takhar province have been forced to leave their homes as violence continues. With limited supplies, many people congregated at a school in the provincial capital, according to a published news report in the Times of India.

Heavy combat has erupted in southern Kandahar province, and the Taliban captured Spin Boldak, a border crossing with Pakistan, earlier this week, but the Afghan government claimed on Friday that it had recovered control of the gate.

According to the UN's humanitarian agency, more than 2,000 people have been displaced in Kandahar this month, and Kandahar's provincial governor imposed a nighttime curfew in Kandahar city on Friday evening owing to the fighting.

Other Important Infomation About the Peace Talk

In a recently published report in Al Jazeera, the two parties have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital for months, but the negotiations have stalled as the armed group's military advances have coincided with Western troops' departure from Afghanistan.

Its stated goal is to assist the government's negotiating team in moving the deadlocked negotiations forward. They were accompanied by representatives from the Taliban's Doha political office. Najia Anwari, a spokeswoman for the Afghan government's negotiating delegation in Doha, told a news agency that discussions will continue on Sunday after the hour-long session on Saturday.

The spokesperson for the Afghan government delegation, Fraidoon Kwazoon, said that talks are the key to ending the war in Afghanistan and that peace may be achieved via communication. Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem, for his part, said the organization has consistently stated its willingness to engage in discussion and talks.

As the Peace Talks continue, the Taliban have used the last phases of the US and other foreign forces' departure from Afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives throughout the nation. After beginning an offensive to recapture the crucial southern border crossing with Pakistan, Afghan troops fought with Taliban militants in Spin Boldak on Friday.

Related Article: Taliban Fighters Raise Flag Above a Key Border Post Between Afghanistan and Pakistan



@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Absolutely  it needs to be known if hes even eligible to be a state rep.

No, the Legislature should let it play out in the legal system

I hope at least theres a thorough investigation and isnt just let go.

Vote

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PARIS (AP)  When the race for coronavirus vaccines started, health officials knew the competition between rich and poor countries would be lopsided.

But few expected poor countries to be at the mercy of donations from the rich, or that the inequity would be this bad for so long. Poor countries have vaccinated 1% of their population, compared with 55% in the United States and about 25% globally.

The reasons for that gap return to decisions early on, in the initial bankrolling and distributing of the vaccines. Officials, primarily from the U.S. and Europe, have told The Associated Press they never thought to handle the situation globally. Instead, they jostled for domestic use.

COVID-19 unexpectedly devastated wealthy countries first, and many were also the places with the capacity and know-how to launch vaccine development.

Flaws built into a global purchase plan for poorer countries meant it couldnt compete in the cutthroat competition to buy.

Intellectual property rights vied with public health for priority.

Rich countries expanded vaccinations to younger and younger people, even as poor countries went without.

Its like a famine in which the richest guys grab the baker, Strive Masiyiwa, the African Unions envoy for vaccine acquisition, said recently.

The disparity was in some ways inevitable; taxpayers in wealthy nations expected a return on their investment. But the scale of the inequity, the stockpiling, the lack of a viable plan to solve a global problem has shocked health officials.

This is where we were with the HIV pandemic. Eight years after therapeutics were available in the West, we did not receive them and we lost 10 million people," Masiyiwa said. We have no vaccine miracle.

For years, the World Health Organization assessed pandemic readiness: The United States, European countries, and India ranked near the top. When the flu-like coronavirus hit, those assessments would prove horrifically optimistic.

The premise for pandemic vaccine development was that "rich countries would fund it for the developing world, said Christian Happi, who advises the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations, known as CEPI.

When the race was on to make and secure vaccines, the United States and Britain were leagues ahead  a lead they wouldn't lose. Still, they and 22 countries in the European Union recorded declines in life expectanc y unseen for decades.

But all those countries had a major advantage: They were home to the companies with the most promising vaccine candidates, advanced production facilities, and the money to fund both.

On May 15, 2020, President Donald Trump announced Operation Warp Speed and promised to deliver vaccines by New Year's. With unparalleled money and ambition, Warp Speed head Moncef Slaoui was more confident than his counterparts in Europe. He signed contracts almost without regard to price or conditions.

We were frankly focused on getting this as fast as humanly possible, Slaoui said.

Operation Warp Speed supercharged the global race as did the U.S. Defense Production Act, which barred exports of raw materials and eventually, of the vaccines themselves.

Two weeks later, COVAX  the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility  was officially formed. The Serum Institute of India would be its core supplier.

COVAX had the backing of WHO, CEPI, vaccines alliance Gavi and the powerful Gates Foundation. What it didn't have was cash to secure contracts.

A plan from Costa Rica and WHO for a technology-sharing platform to expand vaccine production foundered. No company agreed to share its blueprints, even for a fee  and no government pushed them, according to multiple people involved in the project.

In the United States, manufacturing and the trials went on in parallel, which is where the risks from taxpayers and the companies paid off. Europe and Britain also scaled up manufacturing.

This wasnt an option in Africa, where WHOs expert in vaccine development, Richard Mihigo, said the brutal lesson learned was how dependent we were on imports.

Doses were stockpiled in Europe and North America and a few countries that paid a premium. COVAX was still getting promises instead of cash.

On Dec. 8, Britain became the first country to start widespread vaccinations. Six days later, the United States launched its own campaign. On Dec. 26, the European Union followed suit. China and Russia had been vaccinating even before releasing data from their homegrown inoculations.

COVAX delivered its first vaccines on Feb. 24, to Ghana, a load of 600,000 AstraZeneca doses manufactured in India, but supply and distribution were spotty. The gulf with wealthy countries was growing by millions of doses every day.

Making vaccines isn't a simple process, and pharmaceutical plants started to fall behind.

AstraZeneca announced repeated delivery cuts to Europe. Pfizer's production briefly slowed. There was a fire at an Indian vaccine plant construction site. Moderna cut supply to Britain and Canada.

In the United States, officials tossed out millions of corrupted doses of vaccine from a Baltimore plant after discovering that workers had inadvertently blended ingredients from two different vaccines.

Then India, in the throes of its own COVID-19 surge, blocked export of its vaccines until at least the end of 2021.

When Moderna and Pfizer created new production lines, it was in the European and American manufacturing networks that had as much stake as anyone in both ensuring the highest standards and keeping promises not to abuse intellectual property.

For the pharmaceutical industry, mRNA is the ultimate confirmation that hard work and risk-taking is rewarded. And those companies keep tight hold on the keys to their successful vaccines.

Many public health officials have pushed for technology transfer during the pandemic. Initially resistant, the Gates Foundation now favors sharing.

A recent meeting of WHOs vaccine allocation group disbanded with nothing accomplished, because there was no vaccine to allocate. Zero doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, zero doses of Pfizer vaccine, zero doses of J&J vaccine, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior WHO advisor.

Both Trump and Biden administration officials reject the notion that any country would share vaccines until theyd protected their own, including teenagers.

We had a responsibility to what I say, put on our own oxygen masks before helping others, CDC Director Rachelle Walensky said in May.

COVAX now must rely on uncertain donations, with most of the promised doses pushed to 2022.

Dr. Ingrid Katz, a researcher at the Center for Global Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the key question is whether vaccines and essential medications are a commodity or a right.

You have the source of decision-making sitting with very few people who have a lot of wealth and are essentially making life and death decisions for the rest of the globe, she said . Every month that we lost put us further and further behind.

___

Maria Cheng reported from London, and Aniruddha Ghosal from New Delhi. Other contributors include Sally Ho in Seattle; Zeke Miller in Washington; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Stacey Plaisance in New Orleans.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
Metro Video Services

Two men were killed Saturday when a shooter opened fire on a crowd of people at a north Harris County barbecue, police said.

Deputies rushed to the shooting around 8:45 p.m. outside a business in the 6000 block of Brittmoore Road, near West Little York Road. By then, most of the party-goers, at least 30 of them, had fled and two men who had been shot remained.
Social media users broke into a bitter debate mirroring the Texas Legislatures arguments over a controversial election integrity bill on Sunday, following Gov. Greg Abbotts latest Facebook post sharing a Houston Chronicle opinion piece on the legislation re-introduced during a special session.

The opinion piece, authored by Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, called the rancorous fight in the Texas Legislature based on misconceptions and hyperbole. The elections bill, which would ban drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting and election officials from sending vote-by-mail applications before a voter requests one, is making its second appearance this year after a first version of the legislation died in May.

Facts matter, Abbott wrote. Reckless rhetoric doesnt. The Texas election integrity bill doesnt disenfranchise Texas voters. It makes elections fair and uniform. Anyone saying that the bill denies people the right to vote is simply lying.

Earlier in the week, the majority of the 67 House Democrats flew to Washington, D.C. to deny the Texas House quorum during the special session of the Legislature. They say the bill would make it harder for people of color to vote.

The reactions to Abbotts post came in droves, with more than 1,400 comments as of Sunday afternoon.

Nothing like starting a lie with the Facts matter, user Michael Paolini wrote in the comments. If facts mattered, you produce proof of voter fraud and no one would fight you on fixing it. Instead you lie and lie more in the pursuit of power.

Another Facebook user, Sarah Freed, said politics in general is corrupt.

All you folks still stuck on the Trump was cheated bandwagon, Freed wrote. This was the largest voter turn-out in history. He lost. Many Republicans did NOT vote for him! Next!!!

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas Democrats flee to D.C. to thwart Republican voting restriction bill

Others said the bill should be everyones concern and priority.

Election integrity should be EVERYONE'S concern and priority..., Facebook user Rose Annette Pulice Arnold commented. If it's not then something is up. They are fighting this way too hard... Keep pushing Texas... American Patriots appreciate you all.

More time to early vote, ID vote, mail in actually requiring its you, and disabled may still vote in car as always, user Becky Sebastian commented. No drive thru for healthy people and mail on (sic) for them. Election ends like it use to on time. Geez. Big old Meanies going back to fair voting!

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, offered to fly the Texas Democrats back to Texas on a charter plane. None have taken him up on the offer, Enrique Marquez, Phelans spokesperson, told the Dallas Morning News.

The Speaker should save his money. We wont be needing a plane anytime soon, as our work to save democracy from the Trump Republicans is just getting started, state Reps. Rafael Anchia, Nicole Collier and Chris Turner said in a joint statement. Were not going anywhere and suggest instead the speaker end this charade of a session, which is nothing more than a monthlong campaign commercial for Gov. Abbotts re-election.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu
Houston police

A woman and an 8-year-old boy in Houston suffered minor injuries Saturday when a gun accidentally discharged, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at 12500 Kuykendah Road, according to Houston police. The extent of the pairs injuries was not immediately disclosed.
Regarding Abortion provider sues to stop new Texas law before it's implemented, (July 13): This law is what we might expect from the lowest intellects in the Taliban, for instance  where the war on women is never-ending. Instead we have Texas Republicans wanting to pay a bounty to anyone who tattles on a women who just might need an abortion. What on earth are they thinking? They dont want to pay for child care, maternal and child health issues, education or medical insurance for the family. But its OK to demand that someone else have a baby that she may not be able to care for? Its time to get off your high horses, gentlemen, and get back to fixing ERCOT, our miserable education system and our lousy health care access.

Mary Needham, Houston

Climate action

Regarding Carbon fees, (July 12): People who say that a carbon fee will do nothing but raise prices are ignoring what happened in the 70s when OPEC in effect enacted a global carbon fee. Personally, as a plant engineer, I opened a file drawer full of rejected energy conservation projects, put in the new energy prices and had almost all of them approved and in service within a year. A refinery in Mississippi went from buying natural gas to having so much excess fuel gas that they built a power plant to use it. Nationwide the result was a permanent change in the trajectory of U.S. energy use. On the old track, we would be using twice as much energy today.

David Rosenberg, Houston

Fluency and literacy

Regarding Houston has an ambitious new plan to tackle silent crisis of low adult literacy, (July 7): I read with great interest your article on adult low literacy in Houston. The woman in the article photo, Paola Molina, is described as having been an engineer in her native Venezuela but as lacking literacy in her life here in Houston. Molina may not be fluent in English, but she in no way lacks literacy. Houston does have a problem with adult literacy. But fluency and literacy are different issues. This is a story about learning English as a second language. When we read and think about immigrants like Molina and Cindy Estrada, we should respect the skills, persistence and intelligence that they possess. And we should choose diction that reflects accurately what they are trying to accomplish.

Katharine W. Jager, University of Houston-Downtown professor of English
The Houston police blotter reads like a document from a much deadlier era decades ago. A murder-suicide in southwest Houston. A woman robbed at gunpoint in her driveway in northwest Houston. A man shot and killed in north Houston following a dispute over money. A teen shot on the freeway on the way home from an Astros game, later dying of his wounds.

And thats just the past two weeks.

The uptick surged during the pandemic and continues with near-daily incidents adding up to one of the highest homicide rates in three decades. To date, there have been more than 250 homicides in Houston  a 35 percent increase from this time last year.

During the crime spike 30 years ago, when crack cocaine still raged and the city was becoming a hub for the illicit drug trade, Houston recorded so many murders  617 in 1991 alone  that curfews were being discussed. Then, as now, Houston faced a public safety crisis. Then, as now, fear led to finger-pointing and convenient narratives for political opportunists.

History suggests that this downward spiral, if sustained, could usher in draconian measures and regressive tactics that threaten to stall the progress the state and city have made on smarter, fairer criminal justice policies.

Armchair criminology is in full swing as some on the right weaponize opposition to bail reform, falsely blaming efforts to end unconstitutional poverty jailing in minor cases for fueling a rise in violent crime. Joined by victim advocates and police union representatives, politicians in Austin point to increasing numbers of charges against people out on bond as evidence that misdemeanor bail reform and the use of no-cash bonds in Harris County are to blame.

Some have even dubbed the crime spike the bond pandemic.

This gross oversimplification of the issue is not solving the problem. Its making it worse by skewing the publics view of the situation, drowning out serious discussion with political hyperbole that does nothing to identify true causes or elevate solutions.

Most of the people out committing new crimes while awaiting trial on other charges arent on the loose because of bail reform or liberal judges. Theyre out on bail because they paid bail  a right that has been long allowed in Texas, even for defendants who pose a danger to the community. In Texas, one of the few tools judges have to hold such people initially is higher bail. Defendants who are innocent until proven guilty can only be denied bail in rare circumstances, including in capital murder cases. It would take a constitutional amendment to change that and this editorial board is open to considering such a change if lawmakers tailor it narrowly enough.

Whats different now in this crime spike, besides a global pandemic driving up crime everywhere, is that massive backlogs in the courts are delaying justice  hearings, pleas, trials and potential prison sentences  for everyone, including truly violent offenders who really did commit the crimes for which theyre charged, allowing them more time to roam free and commit new crimes.

In Harris County, a year of court closures and delays that ground the justice system to a halt is a disaster on top of a disaster because were still digging out of the years-long backlog from Hurricane Harvey.

Well leave the root causes of the pandemic-era violent crime increase to the experts. There is little doubt that the haze of unemployment, social isolation and stress have exacerbated pockets of poverty in cities across the country, and combined with diminished social services to create conditions ripe for social unrest.

But while many of the causes of this crisis were out of our hands, the solutions are not.

As courtrooms reopen, Harris County has a backlog of 148,000 cases  including 98,000 criminal cases, roughly split evenly between felonies and misdemeanors  and only 367 prosecutors and 38 judges in district and county courts to handle them.

The justice system in Harris County is on the verge of buckling under the weight of an untenable volume of cases. There are 5,500 violent offenders in jail awaiting trial, but tens of thousands more are out on bail, and at least 4,000 of them are repeat and violent, high-risk offenders wearing ankle monitors, according to the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

The threat of the backlog isnt just that people awaiting trial will re-offend; its that existing cases against dangerous offenders will fall apart. Criminal cases stagnating in our sclerotic court system become less winnable because witnesses disappear, memories fade, arresting officers may retire or leave the force, all of which weakens the prosecutions likelihood of a conviction and erodes public trust in the justice system. It's not fair to the victims or the defendants sitting in jail.

Clearing the backlog is a grueling endeavor but three things can help: more prosecutors, more judges and some form of compassionate forgiveness  such as dismissal and diversion  for older nonviolent cases, particularly those that do not involve victims.

Thankfully, District Attorney Kim Ogg recently announced a plan to re-review more than 30,000 misdemeanors and state jail felonies. Every possible non-victim case will be considered for an alternative solution instead of jail, prison or formal supervision such as an ankle monitor.

On the need for more prosecutors, the DA has secured $3 million in funding from the county for a pilot program for prosecutors to review and resolve cases after-hours for overtime compensation. County commissioners should permanently fund this program, allowing the district attorney to hire additional full-time staff and alleviate the potential for burnout from the prosecutors working extra hours.

Incidentally, this is not a time to get bogged down in political spats or disagreements over criminal justice philosophies. Oggs repeated requests for more prosecutors have been rejected in years past, with some liberals and advocates arguing that more prosecutors means more prosecutions of lower-level crimes. That view was off-base then and even less credible now that the DAs need for more lawyers to clear the case backlog is undeniable.

Prosecutors arent just needed to pursue guilty verdicts, but to determine which cases to prioritize, which are still viable, which are good candidates for alternative solutions. Taking this backlog seriously means the county must add significant staffing capacity to its court system, and that includes public defenders as well.

The District Attorneys Office should also take a hard look at recommendations offered by the nonprofit Justice Management Institute last year to county commissioners that outline a more aggressive approach of dismissing all non-violent felony cases older than 9 months, with exceptions for DWI and other cases involving victims awaiting justice. The fact is, most defendants dont end up in prison anyway. The nonprofit noted in its report that only 42 percent of all felony cases in 2019 resulted in conviction, with the rest either dismissed, deferred or acquitted. Most of those convicted were released back into the community on probation. Doing away with these cases allows prosecutors, defense and courts to focus existing resources on newer cases entering the system and, most importantly, violent cases.

For their part, judges need to step up and do all they can  including working full days and extra hours  to get dockets moving and to ensure trial dates. Setting an actual trial date can light a fire under strapped prosecutors, helping them prioritize their workloads and spurring them to do the necessary leg work to assess which cases have a high or low likelihood of conviction.

But judges also need help. The number of courts in Harris County pales in comparison to major cities such as New York and Chicago. The county has not added a criminal district court since 1984, when the average caseload per court was a mere 888 new filings per year. That number has more than doubled.

We applaud the $17 million proposal recently unveiled by County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and other local leaders that would add six associate judges to assist the 22 criminal district courts, expand jury operations at NRG Stadium, and fund visiting judges. The associate judges specifically would be directed to address the most violent cases that have sat dormant in the backlog, while the visiting judges could assist with pretrial motions, hearings and daily docket proceedings.

The crisis in our criminal justice system is serious  but it need not cause panic or be left to decay into easy pickings in culture war politics. It need not resurrect tough on crime rally cries or a new age of over-incarceration fueled by fear.

No solution can instantly cease the tragic killings across Houston. But theres an obvious way to get a handle on the situation. We call on our elected leaders to get our courts moving. Clear the backlogs. Bring violent, repeat offenders to justice and get them off our streets and in prison where they belong. That approach wont win the soundbite rodeo on cable news or rev up a stump speech in a Republican primary, but it just might save lives.
What a mess.

Democrats (and their allies in the media) have convinced themselves that the Republican Party is at war with democracy.

Republicans (and their allies in the media) have convinced themselves that the Democratic Party is at war with democracy.

Theyre both wrong, although in very different ways.

Lets set the stage. For years, Democrats have been determined to make voting as easy as possible. The pandemic offered a once-in-a-century opportunity to do just that, because mass gatherings were deemed dangerous. So, various states, including those run by Republicans, eased rules on absentee and early voting. Democracy must go on and all that.

These changes were, to my mind, entirely reasonable even if there were some problems with how they were implemented. In some states, changes werent made by the state legislature but by governors and judges. Republicans offered no legal objections when they had standing to do so and only complained after Donald Trump lost.

In the wake of the 2020 election, Trumps team members claimed these changes amounted to evidence the election was stolen from him. (They also spewed a host of insane conspiracy theories involving everything from Chinese and Venezuelan computer hacking to North Korean counterfeit ballots.)

Partly because of Trumps false claims and partly because they believed that pandemic voting rules were extraordinary measures that shouldnt be made permanent, Republicans at the state level decided they had to prove they took election integrity seriously.

They thought, incorrectly, this was a brilliant political strategy that would allow them to sidestep addressing Trumps lies while placating his voters. Instead, they found themselves seeming to ratify Trumps lies and annoying his supporters by not going far enough.

Still, most of the measures that have been made into law are reasonable. Indeed, in many states voting will be easier than it was before the pandemic.

But Democrats have stuck to a script that makes no allowances for this reality. Instead, they insist that any tightening of the pandemic rules is a frontal assault on democracy. President Joe Biden and a host of other Democrats, as well as legions of liberal pundits, claim these changes amount to a 21st century Jim Crow assault on democracy, in Bidens words.

Consider one of the few restrictions on voting thats actually stricter than the pre-pandemic standard: providing voter ID numbers for mail-in ballots. This is one of the issues that drove a bunch of Democratic lawmakers in Texas to flee the state and sing We Shall Overcome rather than allow voting measures to be passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Now, you can think this is a bad policy. (I dont.) But how on earth it amounts to Jim Crow is a mystery to me. Put aside that a majority of African Americans favor requiring voter ID. Ignore the fact that Texas already required identification for in-person voting. This seems like a far cry from a system that sanctioned lynching, segregation and apartheid.

Vice President Kamala Harris was asked by BET TV whats so terrible about voter ID for mail-in voting.

There are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who dont (have access to photocopiers), Harris explained. Theres no Kinkos, theres no Office Max near them.

Regardless of whether the bill requires a photocopy in the first place and whatever you think of the scarcity-of-copy-machines claim  virtually every mobile phone has a camera on it, by the way  theres another problem. Rural America is about 78 percent white, according to government statistics, and this is where Republicans overperform. Trump beat Biden 2 to 1 in rural counties, and Trump destroyed Biden in rural Texas.

Are we to believe a restriction that disproportionately affects the GOPs white, rural base is tantamount to Jim Crow? Really?

Or consider the elimination of drive-thru voting, as some Republicans want. Voters couldnt cast ballots that way in 2018. Was that Jim Crow? If so, Barack Obama, the first Black president, was elected by a Jim Crow country.

Its all such nonsense.

Claims that the Republicans are at war with democracy are ludicrous when directed at these various bills  even if some of the changes are misguided or unnecessary.

But they do have weight when aimed at Trump himself. He is the first modern president to openly reject the legitimacy of an election. And because of his stranglehold on the party, Republicans have maneuvered themselves into a ridiculous cul-de-sac that gives Democrats all the ammo and permission they need to make ridiculous claims that, among other things, reduce Jim Crows real moral horrors to election trivialities.

Shame on all of them.

Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast.
Accusations of spying, smoke rising from documents being burned in a courtyard, one superpower evicting another from its building on Montrose Boulevard  it has been just over a year since Houston was thrust in the middle of the international spotlight on June 23, 2020, when the State Department shuttered the Peoples Republic of China consulate.

Was it the right thing to do? Should the Biden administration offer to reopen it, so long as China reopens the American Consulate in Chengdu, which it shuttered in retaliation? And above all, if the consulate is reopened, should Houstonians adopt a new stance  less naive and more wary  or go back to business as usual in dealing with representatives of the Chinese government?

I believe the answer to the last question is yes. From my observation, Houstons civil society failed to see that Chinas interests arent always aligned with our own, something that not even the obvious advantages of a closer working relationship with a major trading partner should have allowed us to forget. But before we look closely at that, its worth reviewing last years decision and its consequences.

Evidence suggests that the official rationale for closing the Houston consulate  espionage at enormous scale  was exaggerated. Mike Pompeo, then secretary of state, referred to the PRC Consulate in Houston as a center of malign activity, especially industrial espionage, a claim repeated by many Trump administration officials and presidential contenders in Congress, but a full detailing of the extent of these malign activities has never been made public. Nor has the Department of Justices China Initiative exposed any exceptionally high levels of espionage in our region: Of the 84 cases mentioned by the DOJ over the last three years and across the six Chinese consular regions in the U.S., only 11 are in the Houston consular region, and of those only three involved theft of trade secrets or purchases of advanced technology.

In my own conversations with U.S. diplomatic and security officials, it was privately explained that although the PRC engaged in espionage in all its consulates  all technically sophisticated powers do this  if there was an epicenter of such Chinese government industrial espionage surely it would be at the San Francisco consulate, near Silicon Valley, or in the New York or Boston consulates, where there are more companies and universities conducting advanced research than in the nine-state and territory area served by the PRC Houston consulate. Certainly the high level of DOJ indictments in the Northeast and the West Coast supports this conclusion.

One official explained it to me this way: The Houston consulate was closed because it was the less important one, so as not to escalate too rapidly a diplomatic war with China, and because our regions state delegations to Congress, and our state governments, would not oppose its closure, despite the fact it disadvantages our state economies in terms of future exports to China. In 2017, before Trumps trade war cut trade from both countries, China was the third largest goods export market ($15.6 billion) for Texas, after Mexico and Canada, and in 2016 China was the second largest ($4.3 billion) services export market, after the U.K. Estimates are that some 75,000 Texas jobs, mainly in the oil and gas and semiconductor industries, and in the education, royalties, and travel service sectors, depended on the Chinese market.

Whether or not closing the Houston consulate was the right thing to do in 2020, Texas and neighboring states must now bear the economic consequences of not having convenient visa services, legal services and official international trade promotion events that facilitate trade between our region and the worlds second-largest economy. This is especially important to consider as it is likely that trade in the near future will depend on trade between countries with higher vaccination rates  the United States, Japan and the OECD countries, but also China  and during the Trump administrations internecine trade war with China and the abandonment of the Trans Pacific Partnership many of our trade partners in Asia have signed free trade agreements among themselves, and increasingly with China.

When the global economy goes into high gear again, why should Texas and the South be left behind without the reopening of the PRC Consulate in Houston and the American consulate in Chengdu, one of Chinas fastest growing regions? Also important to consider is the human cost of a lack of nearby consular representation. Tens of thousands of Chinese students and citizens living in the former Houston consular region  including some trapped by the pandemic  have not been able to access support from their government, and in turn many thousands of Americans living in Southwest China have been denied nearby consular assistance from the State Department, including representation if they are arrested or detained.

But if we are to allow the Chinese consulate in Houston to reopen, should we return to business as usual in our dealings with Chinese government officials? I believe we should take advantage of this reset and think about whether or not Houstons past relationship with the Chinese consular officials was a beneficial and mutually respectful one. The monitoring of Chinese consular officials is being strengthened elsewhere in America, and should be at a reopened consulate in Houston as well. In addition, Houston civil society  our civic groups, our professional associations, our philanthropic foundations, our corporations, our universities and our cultural institutions  needs to have a critically important public discussion among ourselves about how we should welcome any potential return of Chinese government representatives.

I believe history shows many in our community viewed the Chinese consular officials unquestioningly as a friend or partner, when in fact they should have been viewed more soberly as a competitor who could also be a foe. About a decade ago, as I was leaving a fundraiser for Chinese community work and cultural exchange managed by the Chinese consulate, I encountered the education consul and asked what she thought of the event. Instead of thanking me for attending, she scolded me, asking why my employer, a think tank at a private university, did not buy a table to donate to their cause. I informed her that we have a policy against buying tables at fundraisers, and she scoffed and turned away. I let it go, but I wanted to ask her: American citizens pay taxes to support public diplomacy by our consulates in China, why cant Chinese citizens support your governments public diplomacy?

I had another conversation, over five years ago, with a Chinese scholar of international relations at a major university in China, that was even more revealing about how the Chinese government viewed its public diplomacy in cities like Houston. We were talking about the effectiveness of American centers at universities in China, and of Confucius Institutes at American universities, and they said they understood why the American government opposes Chinese government influence in America, but did not understand why American civil society welcomed their party officials so enthusiastically. Didnt Houston society just throw a gala for our visiting Communist Party Politburo member responsible for education, charging $250 a seat to attend? they said incredulously. Just to listen to a speech written by the Central Propaganda Office? I had no good explanation in reply, because there is none.

When I first went to China to teach English in the 1980s, just a few years after then Chinese leader Deng Xiaopings historic trip to Houston and normalization of relations in 1979, both Americans and Chinese were so worried about missteps and unintended consequences that they studiously stuck to a clear guiding principle: reciprocity. Since then it has become very clear that Americas liberal democratic order and civil society, which thrive on openness and free speech and private initiative, have been far more permissive of Chinese government influence than the Chinese Communist Party would allow American diplomats and citizens to be in China.

With the brutal repression of Uyghur and Tibetan ethnic minorities and religious minorities in China, the assault on Hong Kongs civil society and corrosion of its independent judiciary, and the Chinese governments obstruction of investigations into the origins of COVID, its diplomats will have much explaining to do if they are allowed to return. Why should Chinese state enterprises have access to American capital markets to continue perpetrating these inhumane and immoral policies? Houstons civil society should not stop there, of course, and treat with equal disdain the representatives of other authoritarian regimes and dictatorships that have consulates in Houston. Finally, given Americas own history of racism and violence, Houstons civil society should loudly oppose linking the crimes of the Chinese government and the lives of ordinary, innocent Chinese and Asian Americans living in Houston. President Donald Trump egged on anti-Chinese hatred  stoking the embers of bigotry burning since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882  and President Joe Biden and Congress have responded by signing the Hate Crimes Act to combat the increasing attacks on Asian Americans in particular.

Reopening the Chinese Consulate in Houston and the American Consulate in Chengdu would clearly help many thousands of ordinary American and Chinese citizens who are just trying to live their lives and go about their private business, and reopening would also help our Texas economy compete with other regions in America exporting to China in the future, but we need to ask ourselves how best to have a sober and mutually respectful engagement with Chinese officials in Houston in particular if they return to the Montrose. We should start by asking whether or not we are letting Chinese diplomats have more access to American society than the Chinese government is allowing our diplomats, and our citizens and scholars and business people, to enjoy in China.

Lewis is the C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute.
We live in ignorant times.

By now, surely this is obvious beyond argument to anyone whos been paying attention. From the Capitol insurrectionist who thought he was storming the White House to Sen. Tim Scotts claim that woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy to whatever thing Tucker Carlson last said, ignorance is ascendant.

Yet, even by that dubious standard, what happened recently in Tennessee bears note. According to a story by Brett Kelman of the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, the state, under pressure from Republican lawmakers, fired its top immunization official, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, and shut down all vaccine outreach to young people. Fiscus sin? Doing her job, working to increase access to the COVID-19 shot among kids.

Specifically, she sent a letter to health care providers reminding them that under the states Mature Minor Doctrine, they are legally allowed to vaccinate children 14 years or older without parental consent. According to Fiscus, the letter, written in response to requests for guidance made by those administering the shots, utilized language drafted by an attorney for the department of health and was vetted by the governors office.

All that notwithstanding, it infuriated some state lawmakers. They used words like extreme disappointment and reprehensible and talked of closing the health department. Some anonymous person even sent Fiscus a dog muzzle. Then she was fired, and the state shut down all vaccine publicity efforts targeting young people.

This means no postcards sent out to remind kids to get their shots, no nudges on social media, no flyers or advertisements, no events at schools, no outreach whatsoever. And not just for COVID, mind you, but for everything  measles, mumps, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis, polio.

In a pandemic.

In a state with a less-than-stellar COVID vaccination rate.

At a time when experts are tracking the rise of a deadlier new COVID variant.

It is hard to imagine behavior dumber, more dangerous, more short-sighted and more downright bass-ackward than that exhibited by Tennessee and its lawmakers.

Which is, unfortunately, right on brand for this country in this era. It was in the 2000s that Stephen Colbert coined the term truthiness to describe the right wings secession from objective fact, and some of us began to speak of them as living in an alternate reality. How, we wondered in newspaper columns and speeches, can we have meaningful discourse if we cannot agree on basic facts?

Years later, that concern feels too abstract. The threat turns out to be more visceral and urgent than any of us could have imagined. Yes, some people live in alternate realities. Whats worse, though, is when they have power to impose those realities on the rest of us. Thats what were seeing in Tennessee and elsewhere, and the results will be as tragic as they are predictable and preventable.

Ignorance is bliss, they say. But it isnt.

Ignorance is fever.

Ignorance is chills.

Ignorance is trouble breathing.

Ignorance is an empty seat at the table, a bedroom come suddenly available.

Because ignorance is death.

And while the aphorism isnt true, can you imagine if it were, if ignorance really were bliss? Disney theme parks would have to find a new slogan.

Right now, Tennessee would be the happiest place on Earth.

Pitts is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
More Information

Texas County Memorial Hospital reported Monday that it admitted 15 COVID-19 patients in the last week.

Of that total, seven became patients since Friday. There are eight patients hospitalized.

Its positive test rate stood at 30.4 percent.

The hospital, in a statement said, If you are vaccinated you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated. 99.5 percent of deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 are individuals who are not vaccinated.
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Campers ages 3 to 12 were able to interact with first responders and their equipment. PreviousNext

Clarksburg Summer Campers Meet Community Heroes, Explore Heavy Equipment

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  On Tuesday, July 13 The Clarksburg Elementary School Summer Camp hosted a Community Heroes Night.

Campers ages 3 to 12 were able to interact with first responders and their equipment.

North Adams Police and Ambulance joined the Clarksburg Police Department and Fire Department. The Florida Fire Department was also present.

First responders gave interactive demonstrations on safety protocols, equipment, and the importance of first responders in the community.

There was more action on Wednesday, July 14. Jay Petri of Petri contracting and members of the Clarksburg Highway Department brought construction vehicles to the school so the summer camp students could experience a different variety of vehicles.

Campers were able to climb into vehicles, honk their horns, watch demonstrations, and some were even able to take a short ride.
Madison Puppolo of Hoosac Valley High School, Conor Burt of Wahconah Regional High School, and Aaron Cassavant of Pittsfield High School each received $2,000 for their college education in honor of the man who was an inspiration to many. Madison Puppolo will be studying criminal justice and playing softball at Herkimer College in New York. Conor Burt will be studying criminal justice at Franklin Pierce University. Aaron Cassavant will be studying fire science at Berkshire Community College. PreviousNext

Iron Mike Polidoro Scholarship Given to Three Local High School Graduates

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Three local high school graduates were awarded the Iron Mike Polidoro Scholarship" created in honor of Pittsfield Fire Department's former Deputy Chief Michael Polidoro, who passed away on March 30 after a long battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.

On Tuesday, a small ceremony was held at the Pittsfield Fire Department headquarters where the recipients received the scholarships. Friends and family of Polidoro gathered for the occasion.

He was an icon in the Pittsfield Fire Department and in Massachusetts," Fire Chief Thomas Sammons said. It's great that the generosity of our community poured out and we are able to do this."

The award is given to Berkshire County high-school seniors wishing to pursue a career in the fire department, law enforcement, or emergency health service fields. It was created by his wife Donna and other family members to continue his legacy in younger generations.

Madison Puppolo of Hoosac Valley High School, Conor Burt of Wahconah Regional High School, and Aaron Cassavant of Pittsfield High School each received $2,000 for their college education in honor of the man who was an inspiration to many.

Puppolo will be studying criminal justice and playing softball at Herkimer College in New York, Burt will be studying criminal justice at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, and Cassavant will be studying fire science at Berkshire Community College.

Polidoro served in the department for 28 years and continued to help out when possible. He'd been a member of the region's hazardous materials team and had spent time at the World Trade Center during recovery operations after the Sept. 11 attacks and volunteered in the aftermath of other disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.

He retired in 2017 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative condition often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. In 2019, Engine 6 was dedicated to Polidoro and renamed Poly's Pride."

After being diagnosed with ALS, he teamed up with Lee Police Chief Jeffery Roosa, who also has ALS and retired earlier this year, to raise funds and awareness of the disease through "Arrest and Extinguish ALS" events. An event in 2019 in Lenox raised $50,000.

Between various fundraisers, the department was able to raise around $20,000 for the scholarship fund. One of which was crossfit fundraiser held by Pittsfield firefighter Jamie Law, owner of Crossfit Pittsfield.

We were able to develop a workout that had some numbers involved for his career," Law said. And when we tried to raise as much money to go to a local legend, I think they rose to the occasion and was able to do that."

Next year, the Iron Mike Polidoro Scholarships will be given to two graduating seniors and two Pittsfield firefighters for career advancement.

Beginning in the fall, the Massachusetts Association of Hazardous Materials is also recognizing Polidoro by naming an award after him because of his achievements in the HAZMAT department.

Members of the Pittsfield Fire Department said that the depth of Polidoro's character was amazing between being knowledgeable, hard-working, and caring.
I think, therefore I am. With that pithy statement, the philosopher Descartes drastically reduced the scope of what human beings can count on as certainty. One wonders whether  nearly four centuries on  the contemporary equivalent of that statement would be: My life story is being developed as a series by Netflix, therefore my life must be justified  regardless of my dodgy CV.

This might well seem to be the predicament of Anna Sorokin  or Anna Delvey (to use her assumed name)  the fake heiress who defrauded her way to the pinnacle of the globalised online world, where to curate gives the body more of a buzz than to create. This uber-charlatan  who ended up with convictions for grand larceny (she was from a poor suburb south of Moscow; her father worked as a truck driver)  forms the basis of Anna X, the highly intriguing and talented new play by Joseph Charlton.

Daniel Raggetts enlivening instalment is the third in Sonia Friedmans bracing Re:Emerge season at the Harold Pinter. Mikaela Liakata and Tal Yarden are the set and video designers; working on a gridlined set that can become move-around white boxes, they make the proceedings swarm and sway with the kind of imagery that turns these folk on.

Emma Corrin (familiar as Diana in The Crown) and Nabhaan Rizwan (TVs Informer and Industry ) play all the parts, including the thrusting jerks who have compiled 500-page coffee-table books detailing their sexual history. Rizwan mainly portrays Ariel, a start-up whizz kid who has designed a dating app (by invite only) that incorporates his perception that fashionistas hate the way the internet has democratised culture. They are still with Andy Warhol and the politics of Studio 54, where it was a case of Were a dictatorship at the door, a democracy on the dance floor.

Anna, meanwhile, has started her single-minded ascent through a moneyed milieu, where the rich seem to be positively flattered by pretenders (until the cheques start to bounce). The pair meet by chance at a sweaty immersive party experience on Governors Island (great aerial shots of the Statue of Liberty from the rear).

Corrin and Rizwan have very good spontaneous chemistry. All to the good, because the clever and compelling twist in Charltons conception of the Anna enigma is that he presents it as almost-love-story. The ice princess thaws out enough to laugh at his sightly starstruck gullibility. She enjoys teasing him with transparently fake stories, such as how Soviet girls would insert vodka-soaked tampons into their vaginas to absorb the alcohol.

At one point, the pair attend a private view of an exhibition of sub-Rothko all-black canvases. Ariel mistakenly refers to the artistic influence as Rothcow, and is impressed that Anna has read up on Rothko on Whatsapp in the taxi on the way. You know, thats almost funny, she tells him.

Of course Ariel (spoiler alert) becomes the agent of her downfall. But her fall from grace ruins him, too, and his fascination with her persists. Through him, we see a side of her that would like to allow glimpses of her imposture.

Corrin and Rizwan have a spontaneous chemistry (Helen Murray)

I hope that Joseph Charlton continues to write for the theatre. He has a real feel for what is enigmatic and imponderable in the static-fizzy conundrum of contemporary living, and uses the capabilities of the medium as a way of not editing out the possibilities. At times, watching Anna X, I got a sense that he might have a work within him as profound and tantalisingly irreducible as Michael Frayns Copenhagen.

Playing till 4 August at the Harold Pinter Theatre
A search mission has been launched for 14 workers who went missing when water flooded a tunnel under construction in southern China three days ago, authorities have said.

Underwater robots, unmanned ships and sonar detectors have been deployed, in Zhuhai in a bid to rescue the group, the citys vice mayor Zhang Yisheng said.

He told a news conference that the water level in the tunnel had dropped by 11.3 metres (37ft), according to an online report by state broadcaster CCTV.

Zhuhai is a coastal city in Guangdong province and near Macao at the mouth of the Pearl River delta. It was one of Chinas early special economic zones when the ruling Communist Party started opening up the nations economy about 40 years ago.

More than 1,000 workers, 22 fire trucks and five pumping vehicles were deployed as part of the search and rescue mission three days ago, with search and rescue teams dispatched from surrounding cities in Guangdong province.

Search teams have been slowly advancing into the tunnel as water is pumped out. As of Sunday morning, they were about 600 metres into the tunnel, a little more than half the 1.1-kilometre distance to where the workers were trapped.

Their advance has been slowed by carbon monoxide fumes from machinery being used in the tunnel as part of the operation, though the level of the potentially deadly gas has been lowered by improving ventilation.

The flood happened at about 3.30 am on Thursday. An abnormal noise was heard and bits of material started falling off on one side of the two-tube tunnel.

An evacuation was ordered but water rushed in and flowed through a connection into the other tube of the tunnel, trapping 14 workers on that side.

The tunnel lies under a reservoir, but the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press
Landslides triggered by heavy rain have left at least 25 people dead in Mumbai, officials said.

Several houses have collapsed and it is feared victims could be trapped under the debris.

Authorities have reported 11 incidents of houses or walls collapsing in the Mumbai area in the last 24 hours. In one neighbourhood about half a dozen shacks located at the base of a hill collapsed on top of each other, officials said.

Rescuers were seen using their hands to dig up the ground and retrieve bodies and carrying the injured through narrow lanes on makeshift stretchers, local television showed.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, offered condolences in a tweet and announced aid for the victims.

He said: Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that those who are injured have a speedy recovery.

He added, in a second tweet: Rs. 2 lakh [200,000 rupees, or 1,950] each from PMNRF [Prime Ministers National Relief Fund] would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to wall collapses in Mumbai. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those injured.

Several areas in the city were flooded after heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours and suburban train services were disrupted, crippling Indias financial capital.

Mumbai and the coast of Indias industrial Maharashtra state are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next four days, the weather department said on Sunday.

Additional reporting by Reuters
 Close Angela Merkel visits flood-hit area in Germany

The death toll across Germany and Belgium topped 180 on Sunday after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Some 155 people have been confirmed dead in Germany while 27 have died in Belgium.

After a visit to the flood-ravaged Rhineland-Palatinate region on Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel called the floods terrifying and pledged short-term relief to the victims, which she said would be launched on Wednesday.

It is shocking - I can almost say that the German language doesnt have words for the destruction thats been wreaked, she said.

Germanys finance minister Olaf Scholz has said that officials must begin setting up a rebuilding programme which is likely to cost billions.

He said he would propose a package of immediate aid, totalling at least 300 million euros (257 million), at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Some 65 people were evacuated from their homes in Germanys Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed.

The floods have begun to spill over into Austria, where a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein late Saturday, although no casualties have been reported.

The military has been deployed to help aid the search and rescue mission and was seen using armoured vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters in Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne where the ground in a neighbourhood gave way.
A harmful red tide is killing hundreds of tons of fish in Florida, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has so far refused to declare a state of emergency.

At least 600 tons of marine life have been washed up on the shores of southern Florida since late June. Waves of dead fish have also been reported in South Tampa and St Petersburg, according to the Smithsonian and WUSF, a public radio station.

Officials in Pinellas County and the city of St Petersburg, which has been worse hit by the rise in toxic waters, recovered nine tons of fish over a single 24-hour period following last weeks Storm Elsa.

Environmental activists say the annual algae bloom was worsened by industrial waste poured into Tampa Bay in March, and is both killing hundreds of tons of fish and ruining Floridas waters.

Red tide can worsen respiratory problems for sufferers of asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, and also causes a foul smell, which has been lingering over St Petersburg on and off for weeks.

On Saturday, more than 100 people protested in the city, demanding Gov DeSantis declare an emergency over the red tide, to free up resources to fight the algae.

Although officials in St Petersburg have already done so, the office of the Republican governor has ruled it out, and argued that sufficient funds were available from the state Department of Environmental Protection to fight the red tide outbreak.

Tampa Bays struggle with toxic algae follows the closure of the Piney Point phosphate and fertiliser plant in 2001, which was thought to have dumped more than 200 million gallons (757 million litres) of contaminated water into the bay in March.

The additional fertiliser and pollutants in the waters off southern Florida has been blamed for the algae bloom, which feeds off the nutrients  but is fatal for marine life.

Scientists at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina have also argued in a recent letter that warming temperatures as a result of the climate crisis would stop our ability to control blooms.

The algae grows faster in warmer, as well as nutrient rich, waters.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Public Health England (PHE) has warned that norovirus outbreaks are increasing in England.

Otherwise known as the winter vomiting bug, given that it typically spreads in the colder months, it is estimated that the health condition affects between 600,000 and a million people in the UK every year.

It is one of the most common forms of stomach bug in the UK and frequently causes cases of gastroenteritis among adults.

Professor Saheer Gharbia, Deputy Director, National Infection Service, PHE, said: Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, has been at lower levels than normal throughout the pandemic with less opportunity to spread between people in the community but as restrictions have eased we have seen an increase in cases across all age groups.

Here is everything you need to know about norovirus:

What are the symptoms?

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The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

Symptoms of norovirus usually appear within one to two days of becoming infected, but can also appear within 12 hours, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states.

The NHS outlines that the main symptoms of the winter vomiting bug include feeling sick, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Those who have been infected may also experience a temperature of 38C or above, a headache, aching limbs and painful stomach cramps.

How long does it last?

According to the NHS, those who are suffering from norovirus should expect to feel better after two or three days.

The health service advises staying home from school or work until symptoms of the condition have stopped for two days.

Furthermore, it is recommended that infected persons refrain from visiting anyone in hospital until they are in the all-clear.

The NHS recommends seeking medical advice if symptoms havent improved after a few days, if the infected person has a serious underlying medical condition such as kidney disease and if they are exhibiting symptoms of severe dehydration.

For more information about when to seek medical advice, click here.

How can it be treated?

While there is no treatment for norovirus, the NHS advises that affected adults and children drink lots of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated.

You need to drink more than usual to replace the fluids lost from vomiting and diarrhoea  as well as water, adults could also try fruit juice and soup, the health service states.

Providing fizzy drinks or fruit juice to children with norovirus could worsen their diarrhoea, and adults looking after babies suffering from the condition are advised to continue feeding them as usual.

The NHS states that if those with norovirus feel like eating, they should opt for plain foods including soup, rice, pasta and bread.

Furthermore, patients are urged to rest and take paracetamol to treat a fever or any aches they are experiencing.

Special products can be purchased from pharmacies to treat dehydration. For more information on treating dehydration, click here.

How can you avoid catching or spreading norovirus?

Norovirus is highly contagious and can be spread very easily.

The stomach bug can be caught by being close to a person who is infected; touching surfaces or objects that have been in contact with the virus and then touching your mouth; and eating food that has been handled by a person with norovirus.

The NHS advises washing your hands regularly with water and soap in order to prevent the illness from spreading.

The health service adds that alcohol hand gels do not kill the virus.

It is also advisable to wash any items that may have become contaminated  such as bedding and clothing  in a hot wash.
Rail services in western Scotland were severely disrupted after a large fire broke out at a station.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was called to Troon railway station at 12.40pm on Saturday, with six appliances in attendance.

Scotrail was forced to cut the power to overhead lines to allow firefighters to tackle the blaze and the fire caused major disruption to the Scottish seaside town.

Scotrail said that this took out a large area and affected other routes power supply.

Trains were either cancelled, delayed or revised because of the fire, the company tweeted at the time and travellers were urged to use other services.

The fire had a significant impact on the historic train station building, which was designed by James Miller and built in 1892.

No one was thought to have been injured in the blaze.

Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney commented: Tragic to see this fire engulf the beautiful James Miller designed railway station building on platform 1 at Troon.

It was originally built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway in 1892. I hope it can be restored. Good to see RailwayHeritage is already offering their support.

Within hours of the fire, the Railway Heritage Trust offered its support to both Scotrail and Network Rail to salvage as much of the historic building as possible.

The fire broke out on a day where temperatures were expected to hit 21C in the town, which is popular in the summer with tourists from across the west of Scotland who flock to its beach as the mercury rises.

Saturday was provisionally recorded as the hottest day of the year so far in all four UK nations, with some regions of Scotland reaching at least 28C.

Speaking to the Ayrshire Daily News website at the scene, Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown - whose constituency includes Troon and the nearby Prestwick - said the fire was devastating.

She added: Ive spoken to the transport minister and hes being updated on the situation that has had a significant impact on the whole building - as you can see theyre still trying to get the fire out.

There will be severe disruptions to the train lines going from Ayr up to Glasgow and theyll be putting on buses and we will keep you updated on the situation.

She added: We dont know for sure how the fire started but we do believe that it did start in the ticket office somehow but we will have to determine that further down the track.

But thankfully, nobody has been hurt.

Additional reporting by Press Association
A Caribbean woman whose Windrush father served in Royal Air Force (RAF) for years has been forced to shell out thousands of pounds to remain in the UK due to what lawyers term discriminatory British nationality laws.

Sharon Vitalis, 48, who worked for the NHS for more than 15 years, has been refused status under the Windrush Scheme on the basis that she was born in Germany while her father was deployed in the country.

Her five siblings, all of whom were born in the UK, were British by birth.

Ms Vitalis, whose family moved back to the UK months after she was born, has twice been threatened with deportation and is now having to pay around 3,000 every three years to remain in the country with her two children and the rest of their relatives.

Lawyers say her Windrush case was refused on the basis of needlessly complex and discriminatory elements of British nationality law.

Ms Vitaliss father Oswald Joseph Vitalis, who flew in the RAF for 13 years (Sharon Vitalis)

The Home Office has proposed to rectify this in its new Nationality and Borders Bill, which receives its second reading in parliament on Monday, but it is not clear when  or whether  this will be passed.

Ms Vitalis lived in Britain until the age of six, when she moved to the Caribbean with her mother and siblings to go to school there. She returned when she was in her early 20s and began working as a nurse.

She faced no problems for 17 years, during which she gave birth to a daughter in 1999 and a son in 2005. Her partner later moved to the US after the couple split.

In 2013, when Ms Vitalis went to collect her daughter from Gatwick Airport after a spell living with her father, she was stopped by immigration officials and told she was liable for deportation, before being taken to a detention centre.

She was released shortly after, but she was issued deportation proceedings and was therefore dismissed from her NHS job.

She successfully appealed her removal but was issued deportation orders again in 2017, at which point The Independent covered her case and the Home Office later revoked her removal.

I feel so anxious. Im in limbo. Im having to ask around for money just so I can stay with my family. What is the Home Office waiting for, for me to die?

When the Windrush Scheme opened, Ms Vitalis had been hopeful that it would enable her to obtain British citizenship, but her application was refused in January 2019 and again in February 2021.

The Home Office said she was not eligible for British citizenship because she was born outside the UK.

Ms Vitalis, who had to pay out 2,700 on immigration application fees and charges earlier this month, told The Independent: I feel so anxious. Im in limbo. Im having to ask around for money just so I can stay with my family. What is the Home Office waiting for, for me to die?

Her children, now aged 22 and 15, were both born in the UK but do not have UK status on the basis of Ms Vitaliss lack of citizenship  meaning they are currently unable to travel or go to university.

Sharon Vitalis with her son and daughter, now 15 and 22 (Sharon Vitalis)

Its tough for my kids. My daughter gets so frustrated, all her friends go away abroad. My sons school wants to put him up for Oxford or Cambridge because hes quite bright. Im thinking, I dont want him to not get a scholarship because of all this.

Rejecting the prospect of leaving the UK, she said: Were not going anywhere. We have no family back in the Caribbean. Everyone is here.

My dad was in the Air Force for 13 years. He was the only Black person in his battalion. For me to be going through all of this 48 years later  its an insult to his service. He must be turning in his grave.

In the Nationality and Borders Bill, the Home Office has proposed adding flexibility to nationality law so that caseworkers can use discretion to register an adult as a British citizen in certain compelling cases.

Jacqueline McKenzie, of Leigh Day Solicitors, said this would help people like Ms Vitalis to become British citizens, describing UK nationality law as needlessly complex and in many instances, discriminatory and often illogical.

It would seem perfectly normal that a father who was serving in the British armed forces and settled in the UK would expect his children to be British, she added.

These inconsistencies and conflation in laws around citizenship and independence cause real hardships to innocent parties, such as children born into these situations.

These are the sorts of problems we hope to see resolved through the current Nationality and Borders Bill making its way through parliament.

A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on Ms Vitaliss case.

The said: The Windrush Scheme also provides for eligible people to apply for British citizenship free of charge. Where a person is not eligible for the Windrush Scheme, they may still apply for leave in the UK, or for British citizenship, in the normal way.
 Close Boris Johnson calls The Telegraph his real boss, claims Dominic Cummings

No-one on Earth knows whether Brexit was a good idea for Britain, the driving force behind the Vote Leave campaign has admitted.

Dominic Cummings, who went on to mastermind Boris Johnsons election victory on a get Brexit done platform, said that he personally regards EU withdrawal as a good thing but admitted it could have been a mistake.

The former top aide revealed his thoughts on the EU referendum in an explosive interview by the PMs former top adviser with the BBCs political editor Laura Kuenssberg, which aired on BBC Two at 7pm this evening.

He also said he discussed removing the prime minister from his role only weeks after the 2019 election and revealed lockdown-sceptic WhatsApp messages sent to him by Mr Johnson last autumn. The messages resembled ideas in a fringe anti-lockdown opinion piece published in the Telegraph newspaper a few days earlier.

All the claims revealed in leaked messages were made virtually word-for-word in a comment piece published just a few days before in the 11 October edition of the newspaper  which until recently paid Mr Johnson 275,000 a year.

Critics have accused the prime minister of believing everything he reads in the paper.
Around half a million people can be expected to develop long Covid during the current wave of coronavirus, epidemiologist Neil Ferguson has warned.

The Imperial College London scientist said it was almost inevitable that daily infection rates will hit a record 100,000 within weeks, and said the pandemic could spike at more than 200,000 positive cases a day.

Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick agreed that the wave driven by the Delta variant of Covid-19 will be challenging and could last into September, but said the government would do everything we can to avoid further lockdown restrictions.

Prof Ferguson told BBC1s Andrew Marr Show that success in the current wave would be keeping hospitalisations at around 1,000 a day and then declining, case numbers maybe peaking a little over 100,000 a day and then slowly declining.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester Getty Images UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match Pool via Reuters UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australias Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republics Karolina Pliskova Reuters UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday PA UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London AP UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament PA UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds PA UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club PA UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyonce Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London Getty for UK Black Pride UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 Englands Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his sides fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome AP UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their mens singles third round match at Wimbledon Getty UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London AP UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham PA UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London AP UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London Getty UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the governments perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic PA UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho Angela Christofilou/The Independent UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena PA UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London EPA UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London Bank of England via Reuters UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022 AP UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall aBhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice PA UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Womens International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground PA UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw Getty UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre PA UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park Reuters UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring Englands first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley Reuters UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall EPA UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 10 June 2021 A woman walks her dogs as the incoming tide begins to wash away the heads of G7 leaders drawn in the sand by activists on the beach at Newquay, Cornwall AP UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend Tom Maddick / SWNS UK news in pictures 8 June 2021 REUTERS UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 6 June 2021 Isobel Salamon, founder of the Edinburgh Cinema Club, poses alongside the Leith Trainspotting murals in Quality Yard, Leith, Edinburgh, for the programme launch of the Cinescapes Festival which starts on July 4 with a Trainspotting 1 and 2 double bill PA UK news in pictures 5 June 2021 A long exposure photograph captures the rotation of the earth as the stars blur into circles over Knowlton church ruins in Dorset Nick Lucas/SWNS UK news in pictures 4 June 2021 Balloonists take flight during the opening of the Midlands Air Festival in Alcester, Warwickshire PA UK news in pictures 3 June 2021 Members of the Household Cavalry during the Major General's annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park, London PA UK news in pictures 2 June 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 1 June 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 AP

And he said that there was likely to be a large increase in numbers suffering the symptoms of long Covid, such as extreme fatigue, weakness, headaches and brain fog for three months or more.

Were seeing very high infection rates now, said Prof Ferguson. Weve seen the impact on schooling. Well have probably an impact too on long Covid rates.

We know now that probably around a quarter of people who get symptomatic Covid have those symptoms for a long period of time.

We are at about a million people with long Covid, on Office for National Statistics numbers, we could go up another half a million on top of that.

Prof Ferguson said there was considerable uncertainty about precisely how many people will be caught by the Delta variant over the coming weeks, but made clear there was little doubt that the number of daily cases would far surpass the 60,000-plus peak experienced in January.

I think its almost certain well get to 1,000 hospitalisations per day, he told Marr. Itll almost certainly get to 100,000 cases a day.

The real question is, do we get to double that or even higher? And thats where the crystal ball starts to fail. We could get to 2,000 hospitalisations a day, 200,000 cases a day, but its much less certain.

Infections at this level would place a significant burden on the health system, even though vaccination has reduced the link with serious illness and death, he said.

A level of 2,000 hospital admissions a day would be roughly half what we got to before Christmas with the second wave, said Prof Ferguson.

There you are talking about major disruption of services and cancellation of elective surgery and the backlog in the NHS getting longer and longer.

Prof Ferguson said it looked like people currently being admitted to hospital were not as severely ill as those in December and January, with the mortality rate much, much lower.

Still, if you have enough cases you can still have quite significant burden on the healthcare system, he said.

He added: Fundamentally, this will be a different wave from the previous two.

The previous two peaked because we introduced lockdown measures, and thats the only reason.

This time, if we dont have to change course, then it will peak because herd immunity is being reached, and then it overshoots and you still get infections beyond that point, but the epidemic will be in decline.

Responding to Prof Fergusons warnings, housing secretary Robert Jenrick told Marr: I think we have to be honest with ourselves that we're going to see a significant rise in the number of cases, and the number of people going into hospital.

As Professor Ferguson said, it's likely that this wave - that we've known about since at least the beginning of the year - isn't going to peak until late August, possibly even into September.

So there's going to be some challenging days ahead.

It is true, however, that we've significantly weakened the link between cases and serious illness. The last time we had cases at the level we do today, the number of people dying from the virus was 30 times the number it is today.

The housing secretary added: Of course, we will do everything we can to avoid having to impose further restrictions and that's why we're urging the public to exercise caution to exercise good judgement and common sense, and to go about daily life in a sensible careful way, and to do things gradually, rather than rushing back to normality on Monday.

Mr Jenrick said the government was very worried about long Covid and was today allocating a further 20m for research into the cruel and debilitating condition.
The man who allegedly grabbed a child from a New York street was with his father at the time of the shocking incident, say police.

James McGonagle, 24, is accused of trying to kidnap the five-year-old boy as he walked with his mother and siblings in Queens.

Video footage shows Mr McGonagle snatching the youngster and bundling him into a car, before his mother, Dolores Diaz Lopez, managed to drag the child back out through an open window.

Police say that a second man in the car was Mr McGonagles father, a 55-year-old who is also named James McGonagle.

Investigators do not know if his father knew anything about the kidnap attempt, according to The New York Post.

Following the incident the youngest Mr McGonagle went to Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, where he allegedly punched a bystander in the face.

A police officer at the hospital on a separate matter recognized the suspect from the surveillance video and raised the alarm. During his arrest Mr McGonagle was caught on an offices body cam saying I attempted to kidnap a kid today sources told The Post.

Mr McGonagle was admitted to the hospitals psychiatric ward early Friday, added police sources.

His court arraignment was postponed when the suspect allegedly punched a police officer attempting to fingerprint him on Saturday.

He remains at Brookdale Hospital and now faces an additional charge of assaulting a police officer.

You cant go before the judge before we formally identify you and he wont let us fingerprint him without knocking us in the face, an NYPD source told the newspaper. So hell be a guest of the government for the time being.

He is also charged with attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment and acting in a manner injurious to a child in connection with the incident, says the NYPD.

Investigators are still trying to locate his father.
Egyptian authorities released two activists and a journalist Sunday after months in pre-trial detention, officials and lawyers said, amid concern by President Joe Bidens administration over the arrest and harassment of government critics.

State security prosecutors ordered the release of the three late Saturday pending ongoing investigations into charges against them, according to two judicial officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Esraa Abdel-Fattah a pro-democracy activist and writer, walked free early Sunday, her sister Shimaa wrote in a Facebook post. She was a co-founder of the April 6 movement that played a crucial role in the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak

Abdel-Fattah was arrested in October 2019 in a city west of Cairo, during a crackdown that followed small but rare anti-government protests. Hundreds were arrested at the time, but many were later released.

She faces charges of spreading false news, being a member of a banned group and misuse of social media, but despite the lengthy detention has yet to stand trial, according her lawyers.

Authorities also released journalist Gamal el-Gamal, said rights lawyer Nasser Amin. El-Gamal is widely known for his columns critical of the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Amin posted a photo on Facebook showing him sitting with el-Gamal at home after his release.

Security forces arrested el-Gamal in February upon arrival at Cairo International Airport from Turkey where he had lived since 2017.

El-Gamal was charged with spreading false news, joining a terrorist organization and inciting public opinion against state institutions.

Authorities also released Abdel-Nasser Ismail, deputy head of the Socialist Peoples Alliance Party, after roughly two years in pre-trial detention, his brother Abdel-Mawla Ismail said.

Ismail was arrested in the September 2019 crackdown. He was accused of spreading false news and of joining a terrorist organization.

The releases came after an outcry by rights advocates when prosecutors last week referred Hossam Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial. Bahgat said he was accused of insulting Egypt's election authority, spreading false news alleging electoral fraud, and using social media to commit crimes.

The accusations stem from a tweet Bahgat wrote last year blaming the election authoritys chairman for allegedly mishandling last year's parliamentary vote, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, or EIPR, the organization Bahgat founded 18 years ago.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned Bahgats indictment and the detention and harassment of Egyptian civil society leaders, academics, and journalists under el-Sissi.

Weve communicated to the Egyptian government our strong belief that individuals such as Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for expressing their views peacefully, Price said last week. As a strategic partner weve raised these concerns with the Egyptian government, and we will continue to do so going forward.

The Egyptian government has in recent years waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Journalists have also been targeted, with dozens imprisoned and some foreign journalists expelled. Egypt remains among the worlds top jailers of journalists, along with Turkey and China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The front-runner to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's September election has apologized for a scene in which he was seen laughing in the background as the country's president delivered a statement on the devastating floods in western Germany.

Armin Laschet, the candidate of Merkel's center-right Union bloc to be Germany's next leader, is also the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state  one of two badly hit by last week's floods. On Saturday, he visited the town of Erfstadt, which was the scene of a dramatic rescue effort after the ground gave way, with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

While Steinmeier gave a statement to reporters after the visit, Laschet and a group of others stood in the background. Photos showed him turning to someone else and laughing.

Lars Klingbeil, the general secretary of the center-left Social Democrats told Sunday's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that Laschet's behavior was lacking in decency and appalling.

They say that people's character shows in times of crisis, he added.

Laschet took to Twitter on Saturday evening to explain himself and thank Steinmeier for his visit.

The fate of those affected, which we heard about in many conversations, is important to us, he wrote. So I regret all the more the impression that arose from a conversational situation. That was inappropriate and I am sorry.

The Union bloc currently leads polls ahead of the environmentalist Greens with the Social Democrats in third place. The election is on Sept. 26.
A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation  of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history  is fueling straight-up delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6.

Hate is love. Violence is peace. The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots.

Months after the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol that winter day, Trump and his acolytes are taking this revisionism to a new and dangerous place  one of martyrs and warlike heroes, and of revenge. It's a place where cries of blue lives matter have transformed into shouts of f--- the blue.

The fact inversion about the siege is the latest in Trump's contorted oeuvre of the "big lie compendium, the most specious of which is that the election was stolen from him, when it was not.

It is rooted in the basic formula of potent propaganda through the ages: Say it loud, say it often, say it with the heft of political power behind you, and people will believe. Once spread by pamphlets, posters and word of mouth, now spread by swipe of finger, the result is the same: a passionate, unquestioning following.

Techniques of glorifying your side and demonizing the other with skewed information, if not outright lies, have been in play at least since World War I, when the U.S. government roused sentiment for the cause with posters depicting the German soldier as an ape-human with an American maiden in his clutches. That paled next to what followed years later with Nazi Germany's terrifying use of propaganda for the slaughter and subjugation of millions.

Whether the deception feeds warmongering or merely a defeated president's ego, some of the methods are the same, like telling the same fabrication over and over until it sticks.

Trump perfected the art of repetition  about the election hoax, the rigged election and massive voter fraud, with none of those accusations substantiated but engrained nonetheless among his supporters.

Four years ago, Trump appeared to equate white supremacists and racial justice protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his comment that there were very fine people, on both sides.

This time, in this telling, the very fine people on Jan. 6 were on one side: his.

For the other side  the police, overwhelmed for hours and beaten in the insurrection  Trump only has an in-your-face question that doubles as a four-word conspiracy theory: Who killed Ashli Babbitt?

Those words have become a viral mantra meant to elevate Babbitt as a righteous martyr. They ricochet around the mainline social media platforms where Trump is banned for spreading misinformation but his followers still commiserate. The woman died from a police officer's bullet fired as she tried to climb through the jagged glass of a smashed window toward the House chamber.

Trump and many Republicans have cycled through various characterizations of the insurrection, each wholly unlike the previous one. The attackers were said to be leftist antifa followers in disguise. Then were said to be overexcited tourists. Now they are heralded as foot soldiers for freedom.

Each iteration has required Americans to ignore the rage they saw on their screens, and some lawmakers to ignore that they were among the shocked targets of the attackers that day.

The revisionists and their believers are swimming in a vast sea of nonsense," said Brendan Buck, a former top aide to House Speaker Paul Ryan

That sea's currents are familiar to historians.

Once people buy into the lies, there can be no convincing them they aren't true, said Dolores Albarracin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of a coming book, Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts are Shaped.

Believers often dismiss anyone who tries to set them straight by claiming they are either duped or part of the conspiracy, Albarracin said.

The belief contains a device that protects it, she said. Nothing can invalidate the conspiracy theory. Trying to refute the theory proves the theory and signals you as a conspirator.

Recent polls illustrate the country's divide over Trump and his post-election histrionics. In essence, two-thirds of the population is against him; two-thirds of Republicans for him. In one of the latest, Quinnipiac found that 66% of Republicans consider President Joe Biden to have been illegitimately elected.

That number and others like it in multiple polls represent tens of millions of people who were hoodwinked into believing allegations of election fraud that have been thoroughly investigated and refuted. Trump's fabrications have stuck and now undergird the attempts by him and those closest to him to glorify the Jan. 6 mob.

The consequence of lying is you kind of never get back to where you were before," said Harvard historian Jill Lepore, whose podcast, The Last Archive, explores hoaxes, deceptions and what has happened to truth. Thats whats pernicious about our particular moment.

Of Trump, she said: His method is generally to just create chaos so that people really dont know which way to look.

In the case of the insurrection, his followers looked away. An aggressive amnesia seems to have taken hold over how ugly it was.

Swarming to the Capitol after a staging rally where Trump told them to fight like hell, the attackers injured scores of the outnumbered law enforcement officers.

Babbitt was part of the group that was trying to beat down the doors of the House chamber as Capitol Police officers were evacuating the House floor and as some members were still trapped in the upper gallery. The officers used furniture to barricade the glass doors separating the hallway from the Speakers Lobby to try to stave off the attackers, who were breaking glass with their fists, flagpoles and other objects.

Only three police officers were guarding the doors against at least 20 attackers. A Capitol Police lieutenant pointed his gun as hysteria reached a fever pitch. Attackers started to lift Babbitt up to climb through the jagged window. The officer fired one round.

Babbitt was struck in the shoulder. She later died.

Trump now states falsely, and repeatedly, that she was shot right in the head.

___

Klepper reported from Providence, R.I.
Traffic was halted on Michigans famous Mackinac Bridge after a bomb threat was reported, according to state police.

Michigan state police told local news affiliate WLUC-TV that a bomb threat had shut down the bridge in both directions as authorities investigated the scene.

Mackinac Bridge is CLOSED to all traffic due to an emergency incident. Please stay clear of the area, added the Mackinac Bridge Authority in a statement to WLUC-TV.

Video showed cars backed up waiting to cross after authorities shut down traffic on both sides.

Short video of the current traffic situation near the Mackinac Bridge.#mackinacbridge pic.twitter.com/Nr4Bz99D58  Michigan Mittens (@MichiganMittens) July 18, 2021

The Bridge Authority added that law enforcement had carried out an initial sweep of the structure and found no explosive devices, and that they undertaking. a second search.

Law enforcement notified the MBA of a bomb threat on the bridge; MBA closed the bridge at 2:15 p.m. After an extensive search, nothing has been found, the MBA tweeted.

They are completing one more sweep and hope to re-open the bridge soon. MSP and Mackinaw City police are investigating.

Shortly after the announcement the webcam feed on the Authoritys website was taken down.

The bridge eventually reopened after two hours when law enforcement gave it the all-clear to do so.

All clear on the Mackinac Bridge. Please drive with care. Have a safe and pleasant trip! the Authority tweeted when it opened again.

The suspension bridge that connects Michigans Lower and Upper peninsulas first opened to traffic on 1 November 1957.

The total length of the bridge is five miles and it took 2,500 workers three years to build using 71,300 tons of structural steel, 466,3000 cubic yards of concrete, 41,000 miles of cable wire and millions of steel rivets and bolts.
The USs top doctor is predicting that more cities and municipalities will follow the lead of Los Angeles County and reinstate mask mandates as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy said the rising rate of cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated Americans in many states could lead to localities reinstating mask mandates.

Such a move would likely trigger a major backlash in some conservative circles, where resistance to mask mandates and other Covid-19 preventative measures has been pronounced.

What were seeing in LA County is concerning, this rise in cases, and unfortunately we are seeing rises particularly among the unvaccinated in many parts of the country now, Dr Murthy said on ABCs This Week.

Now, in areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people, or where cases are rising, its very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures...and I anticipate that will take place in other parts of the country too, Dr Murthy continued.

The Surgeon General went on to note that many who have unvaccinated family members, such as young children, have continued to wear masks in public as mask mandates have ended due to concerns about spreading the virus to those individuals.

When asked if the CDC should change its guidance on masks following new Los Angeles County mandate, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy tells @MarthaRaddatz that counties certainly have the right to put mitigation measures back in place. https://t.co/PXkOeejG49 pic.twitter.com/g6bjgTrDlM  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 18, 2021

His comments followed a statement from Dr Jerome Adams, Surgeon General under the Trump administration, taking responsibility for erroneous advice in the spring of 2020 urging Americans not to wear masks.

Dr Adams and others such as Dr Anthony Fauci have said that the guidance was aimed at the time at preserving scarce personal protective equipment for medical professionals. However it has been blamed for the skepticism many Americans have shown in taking basic measures to stop the virus from spreading.

Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it, tweeted Dr Adams on Saturday.

Im worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of [rising cases of] delta variant, he continued.

Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it.



Im worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of  delta variant.  Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) July 17, 2021

California saw its one-week total for Covid cases double over last week, as it now lags behind only Tennessee in terms of the rate of new cases being reported.

A variant of the virus thought to be more infectious than previous iterations, known as the Delta variant, has also been recorded in all 50 states. Health experts have warned that hospital systems in rural areas and places where unvaccinated rates are high could be overwhelmed if current trends continue in the weeks ahead.

Just over half of Californias eligible population is vaccinated, while 63 per cent of its eligible residents have received one dose.

Despite the surge, the sheriff of one of Californias largest counties, Los Angeles County, falsely claimed in a statement this week that mask mandates for vaccinated Californians was not backed by science and would not be enforced by his department.

Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the sheriffs order falsely claims. CDC guidelines state that localities can reinstate such guidelines if case numbers are rising significantly.

The Independent has reached out to the sheriffs department for comment.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has authority to enforce the order, but the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance. We encourage the DPH to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science, Sheriff Alex Villanueva added.

Misinformation about vaccinations is now one of the leading causes of the dropping vaccination rates around the country, Dr Murthy said at a White House address earlier this week, and now poses a major public health risk.

"This is about the health of Americans and the reality is that misinformation is still spreading like wildfire in our country, aided and abetted by technology platforms," he added today on Fox News Sunday.
A former Walmart employee with Downs Syndrome, who was fired after raising concerns about her rota, has been awarded $125 million (90.7m) following a lawsuit.

Marlo Spaeth worked at a Walmart store in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, from 1999 until she was fired in 2015. Ms Spaeth was described by her managers as a very hard worker.

In late 2014, the store introduced a computerised scheduling system which analysed customer traffic to make sure there would be enough employees working when the store was most busy.

Ms Spaeth had her noon-4pm shift changed to 1pm-5.30pm, according to The New York Times.

The abrupt change worried Ms Spaeth. Her family reportedly told Walmart after the 2014 rota change: Shes afraid shes going to miss the bus. Shes afraid shes going to miss dinner. Its upsetting to her.

Walmart bosses refused to switch back her working hours at her familys request. Ms Spaeth then received two warnings for absenteeism as well as for tardiness. Eight months later, the supermarket terminated her contract, and then refused to rehire her.

In a ruling on Thursday, a jury in east Wisconsins federal court found that Walmart had violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, which bans discrimination against anyone with a disability.

The jury here recognised, and apparently was quite offended, that Ms Spaeth lost her job because of needless  and unlawful  inflexibility on the part of Walmart, said Gregory Gochanour, a lawyer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which had sued Walmart on behalf of Ms Spaeth.

Employers, no matter how large, have an obligation under the law to evaluate the individual circumstances of employees with disabilities when considering requests for reasonable accommodations, said Julianne Bowman, the Chicago district director at the EEOC, in a statement.

Ms Spaeths request was a simple one and denying it profoundly altered her life.

She was awarded $125million, which Walmart argued would be reduced to $300,000 because of a federal law that caps compensatory and punitive damages at that figure. It also called the EEOC lawsuits demands unreasonable.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Walmart said: We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, and we routinely accommodate thousands of associates every year. We often adjust associate schedules to meet our customers expectations and while Ms Spaeths schedule was adjusted, it remained within the times she indicated she was available.

Were sensitive to this situation and believe we could have resolved this issue with Ms. Spaeth, however the EEOCs demands were unreasonable. The verdict will be reduced to $300,000, which is the maximum amount allowed under federal law for compensatory and punitive damages. Were reviewing our options.
Katie Hopkins has been axed from the upcoming season of Australias Big Brother VIP and could be kicked out of Australia after reportedly admitting to deliberately disobeying strict hotel quarantine rules.

The British far-right commentator and former The Apprentice contestant was placed into two weeks of quarantine in a government-mandated hotel in Sydney on her arrival in Australia earlier this week.

She reportedly said in an Instagram live video that she was deliberately breaking quarantine rules by taunting guards and opening the door of her hotel room without wearing a mask.

On Sunday, the Seven Network  which airs the reality TV programme  confirmed that she would not feature in the show.

In a statement, it added: Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.

It came as the state of Victoria  which includes Melbourne  was put into a five-day-lockdown as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has increased infection numbers. Sydney in New South Wales (NSW) has already been put under restrictions.

About 12.2 million Australians, nearly half the nations population, are in lockdown.

Earlier on Sunday, the countrys immigration minister Alex Hawke said the border force had launched an investigation into Ms Hopkins.

He said in a statement on Twitter: With NSW & Victoria in lockdown, a reminder that temporary visa holders must obey public health orders.

Australian Border Force is reviewing this matter. Where visa conditions are breached, individuals may face visa cancellation in accordance with the law.

The NSW Police Force spokeswoman said it was aiding the border force review to ascertain whether the visa to enter Australia provided to a 46-year-old woman from the United Kingdom remains valid.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Australias health minister Greg Hunt condemned Hopkinss actions as dangerous, irresponsible and apparently deliberate.

He added: If the facts are borne out of deliberately exposing someone to potential contact with a person who has not completed quarantine, then the strongest action should be taken.

In October, Ms Hopkins angered passengers when she flew from LA to London without wearing a mask.

On her way to Heathrow Airport earlier this week, she broadcast herself on Instagram riding a bus without wearing a mask. She accused Mayor of London Sadiq Khan of wanting to keep Londoners muzzled after he had ruled that masks will remain compulsory on the Transport for London network after 19 July, when existing rules come to an end.
Angela Merkel has described the floods that have wrought havoc in western Europe as terrifying and surreal on a visit to the disaster zone.

The chancellor cut short a trip to the US to see damage caused in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, where the death toll currently stands at around 112, on Sunday to witness the devastation for herself.

In the North Rhine-Westphalia area, Germanys most populous area, some 46 people have been confirmed dead, including four firefighters.

Twenty-seven people have died in Belgium, bringing the total death toll above 180.

It is shocking  I can almost say that the German language doesnt have words for the destruction thats been wreaked, Ms Merkel said.

Following her visit, the chancellor also said Germany must get faster in the battle against climate change, with policies that pay more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years.

She said: One flood isnt the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously  so we must make a great effort.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.

Scientists cant yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather disasters on display around the world.

Ms Merkel also pledged short-term relief to those affected by the floods, which will be launched by the government on Wednesday.

Germanys finance minister Olaf Scholz has said that officials must begin setting up a rebuilding programme which is likely to cost billions of euros.

He told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he would propose a package of immediate aid, totalling at least 300m (257m), at Wednesdays cabinet meeting.

Economy minister Peter Altmaier also told the newspaper that there could be a 10,000 short-term payment for businesses affected by the impact of the floods as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Saturday night the waters began to spill over into Austria, where a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein, although no casualties were reported.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.

He added: I would like to thank all the emergency services and volunteers who do everything to help! We will not leave those affected alone and support them in rebuilding.

Meanwhile, scientists have warned that the floods are an indication that even the most developed countries are unprepared for the fight against climate change.

Dr Liz Stephens, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Reading, said: The flooding in Europe is a sobering demonstration of how even the most developed countries are not prepared for the impacts of climate change.

Intense summer rainfall events are expected to occur more frequently under climate change, and national and local governments need to wake up to the danger and make sure that appropriate measures are taken to avoid the unacceptable number of fatalities that have been reported from this event.

The floods in London earlier this week provide a warning that we are not immune to these kinds of flood impacts in the UK and should learn our own lessons from this disaster.
Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community!

Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
Born in a Brahmo family in Chandsi, in Bengal's Barisal district (now in Bangladesh) on July 18, 1861 Kadambini Basu along with Chandramukhi Basu, became the first female graduate in India, from Bethune College in Kolkata. Not only that, she was the first female doctor in South Asia to get three bachelor's degrees in medicine! Let's look back at her story:



Beginning of Kadambinis study

Indiatimes

Her father Braja Kishore Basu was the headmaster of Bhagalpur school and very enthusiastic about Brahman and women's education and founded an organization called 'Bhagalpur Mahila Samiti' for women's liberation in 1863, the first of its kind womens organisation in India. He brought his daughter from Bhagalpur to Calcutta for higher studies. The society of that time did not look favorably on women's education at all.



The honor of graduating during the British Raj

TOI

Kadambini was admitted to the Banga Mahila Vidyalaya in Calcutta later merged with the Bethune School. And from there she passed the entrance exam for the University of Calcutta and created history becoming the first woman to pass the test as early as 1878. She studied science there and graduated along with Chandramukhi Basu in 1883. These two accomplished women were the first Indian women to achieve the rare honor of graduating during British India.



She fought with society

After graduation, Kadambini decided to study medicine. It didn't take long for that news to spread. The aristocratic society of Calcutta began to mock her in various ways. So that she could not study medicine, there were many misdeeds for her. But Kadambini was not the girl to leave and ignoring the bloody eyes of society, she was admitted to the medical college in 1884. Then not only the conservative society but also the teaching staff of the medical college started opposing her.

Triple diploma

Kadambini passed her medical examination and became the first Indian women physician eligible to practice western medicine alongside Anandi Gopal Joshi in 1886. Kadambini travelled to England for further study in 1893 and earned a 'triple diploma' in a short time, LRCP (Edinburgh), LRCS (Glasgow), and GFPS (Dublin). She Was the first female physician in India to show the rare skill of obtaining multiple foreign degrees in medicine.

Politics

Returning from Britain, this wise and fearless woman focused on public service. She used to rush to the villages for treatment. She also joined politics. She joined the Indian National Congress in 1899 as one of the first female delegates. In 1906 she organized the Women's Conference in Calcutta. After the partition of Bengal, she continued the movement for the participation of Calcutta Medical Women as students.

An inspiration to other women at the time

Kadambini's efforts as an independent physician opened a new direction for women's education, employment, and self-establishment throughout Asia. Seeing her, several women came forward. Although the path was not easy. But gradually the stagnation of many years began to break.

Kadambini played an important role in changing the society

She was the first woman to face strong obstacles and adversity for her contemporary work. She had to face a lot of obstacles before she was established as an independent professional. The path was not easy. Yet, inspired by her husband and father, she played a major role in changing the social status of women throughout South Asia.

Personal life

Wikipedia

11 days before joining Calcutta Medical College, Kadambini tied a knot with Dwarkanath Ganguly in 1883. She was a mother of eight children. She died on 7th October 1923. Until her last breath, she didn't turn down any medical calls, a few minutes after she returned from undergoing some emergency operations she left the world.



TV serials based on Kadambinis life

Serval Bengali serials have been telecasts based on her life, Prothoma Kadambini is currently being telecast on Star Jalsha since March 2020, and Kadambini which was telecast on Zee Bangla in 2019

Google honours Kadambini

Google

On Kadambini Ganguly's 160th birth anniversary, Google honoured India's first female doctor with a doodle.


Nelson Mandela remains one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. An icon of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela spent 27 years behind bars before coming out free on February 11, 1990. Imprisoned for his ideas, he never gave up and with good reason.

The man who was nicknamed "Madiba" (a term used for older people) became the first black president of South Africa elected by non-racial suffrage from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela died on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95. As visitors from all over the world still flock to discover his former prison cell at Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, let's dive back into the ultra-positive and caring thoughts of the man who received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15, 1993.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the US India Business Council Roundtable on Maximizing Indias Sustainable and Inclusive Growth as a Global Destination for U.S. Investment through video conferencing, in New Delhi July 16. (ANI photo)
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Milk costs from 2015 to 2019 were analysed in key milk-producing EU countries for the EMB by German agricultural sociologist Dr Karin Juergens. The minimum milk price farmers needed for a decent family income was calculated.

General operating costs (based on official EU data) included seeds, fertilisers, feed, buildings, machinery, pesticides, and energy. Droughts were found to have caused a significant cost increase for feed in some countries.

When beef sales were deducted from general operating costs, paid milk production costs were found to range from 21.54c/kg in Ireland to 38.68c in Denmark.

Adequate income was calculated, based mainly on national wage agreements. This ranged from 8.76 per hour in Lithuania to 30.06 in Denmark (22.66 in Ireland).

But in most countries, not even paid costs were covered, not to mind adequate income (CAP payments were included as income). Only Ireland came close, with "real" income of 22.23 per hour not too far short of the estimated adequate income of 22.66.

The EU average outcome was found to be "real" income of 3.25 per hour compared to estimated adequate income of 19.85.

Economic sense

According to the study by Dr Jurgens, this outcome is being reflected in dairy farm closures across the EU, because it makes little economic sense for a young farmer to stay in dairying.

In the study, net investment from 2009 to 2018 was found to be generally low, and negative in France, implying running down of assets.

According to the study, the milk production cost (including adequate income of 12.07c/kg, based on an hourly wage of 22.66) in Ireland increased to 34.21c/kg in 2019, mainly because of drought (in 2018) making feed more expensive.

But the milk price was only 31.26c.

The average Irish outcome in the study from 2015 to 2019 was a "cost" of 21.54c, compared to a 33.38c milk price.

In 2019, the average milk cost (including adequate income) across the EU was calculated at 45.35 cents/kg. With EU prices for milk averaging 34.52 cents/kg, there was a significant shortfall.

This clearly shows a problematic imbalance throughout the EU, said EMB President Sieta van Keimpema, from the Netherlands.

Production costs

The EMB said Ireland had the lowest production costs in 2019 by a long shot, at 34.21 cents/kg. However, even with Irelands extremely favourable conditions for milk production, costs in the study were not covered in three of the five years looked at.

At the other end of the scale, Lithuania, with many small farms, had the highest 2019 production costs at 58.63c/kg, and a low milk price of 28.79c, leaving a shortfall of 51%.

Production costs in the eight EU countries were found to range from about 34 to 59c/kg, but prices for milk only ranged from about 29 to 34c/kg.

The EMB said the study showed that in the Netherlands and Denmark, farm managers and family labour were left with nothing in hand, and thus no income.

We have to bear in mind that we are talking about the Netherlands and Denmark, countries with very modern farms that continue to take on new technical developments, says Ms van Keimpema.

Dr Jurgens, the author of the study, said: Dairy farms are not just missing the earnings needed for stable and future-proof operations.

"They are not even making enough for an appropriate income or even an adequate living. In the study, she calculated costs including income targets appropriate for the level of training and qualifications and based on national minimum wages.

EMB Vice-President Kjartan Poulsen, an organic dairy farmer in Denmark, said: How can it be acceptable for someone to earn nothing or close to nothing? We are a well-trained workforce with long-standing experience, and we work hard every day. That includes weekends and holidays.

Furthermore, we also undertake major risks and shoulder significant responsibility for our animals, for food security and for the environment.

Insights

Dr Jurgens said the study provides important insights for successful implementation of current environmental policies like the EUs Green Deal.

Farms will only be in a position to contribute to the implementation of environmental, climate and animal welfare goals that imply higher costs if there are lasting improvements to their economic situation.

She found that 2019 milk production costs, including appropriate remuneration, were lower than paid milk prices in all eight countries and in the EU on average.

The calculated cost shortfall averaged 24% in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which together produce 60% of the EU-27's milk.

High general operating costs were attributed in Denmark to wages, depreciation, and contractor charges; in France to depreciation, and contract work; and in Lithuania and Luxembourg, depreciation was almost half of the costs.

Denmark has only 35% family labour, compared to nearly 70% in other member states.

Per kg of milk, adequate income is low in Denmark because of high milk yield and less non-remunerated family labour.

It is high in Lithuania, due to more family labour, and low milk yield.

The study included a separate analysis of organic milk production in Germany in 2019, based on data from the federal ministry.

The cost was estimated at 64.63c/kg (including adequate income of 24.53c for labour), compared to a milk price of 47.17. Real earnings per kg to repay the estimated 24.53c for labour were therefore only 7c.

The European Milk Board (see europeanmilkboard.org) is made up of 21 dairy farmer associations and farmers' lobbies in 16 countries, including the ICMSA in Ireland.
So how widespread was garda corruption in Irish life? The Disclosures Tribunal reached a finish line of sorts on July 8 with the publication of the Nicky Keogh module. There are a few other bits and bobs to tidy up, but Keogh was the last of three gardai around whose allegations the tribunal was initiated in 2017.

The tribunal was set up to examine to what extent, if any, that gardai who spoke up about malpractice within the force were targeted for reprisal.

Maurice McCabe was the main focus. By early 2017, an allegation that he had been targeted for character assassination from the top was in the preliminary stage of investigation.

Then a bombshell fell into the public domain when it emerged that he had been falsely branded a suspected child rapist in the child and family agency Tusla. Naturally, he, and the vast majority of the public, had reason to believe that such an attack must have been associated with his whistleblowing, for which by then he had received widespread public approval.

McCabe said he would only trust an inquiry in public to deal with the issues and the atmosphere of revulsion was such that the government was not going to demur. This was a major departure. Tribunals were, by 2017, a thing of the past, buried with multi-million legal fees in the grave.

Inquiries were almost exclusively conducted behind closed doors in a commission of investigation which was cheaper and faster and had, certainly until then, proved to be a commendable successor to the unwieldy and horribly expensive public tribunal. But the lingering whiff of scandal off the McCabe case meant a public reckoning was required.

Then along to Leinster House trooped two other gardai who claimed they were mini-McCabes. Keith Harrison had, in 2009, collared a fellow officer for drink driving. Subsequently, his career took various lurches which he attributed to whistleblower reprisal. He had his own problems, not least a complaint to the gardai that he threatened to burn his partner out of her home and bury her. He denied the allegation.

The other garda to come forward at the time was Nicky Keogh. He had made a complaint about gardai inducing some people to buy drugs in order to manipulate crime statistics in the Athlone area. The complaint was examined and a file sent to the DPP who had determined there wasnt enough evidence for a prosecution. Keogh claimed he had suffered major hardship within the force as a result of his whistleblowing. He also had personal issues, including a dependence on alcohol.

Liaised with politicians

Both of these gardai had liaised with politicians about their complaints prior to early 2017. In both cases, their concerns had been highlighted in the Dail. But in the febrile atmosphere that prevailed following the McCabe revelations, their respective cases were given a fresh scrub. Harrison issued a statement.

The treatment of Sergeant McCabe and myself bear similarities, he said, going on to note striking similarities which showed that what he was subjected to formed part of an orchestrated system and culture within senior management of An Garda Siochana.

Politicians flocked to Harrison and Keogh.

It was as if hugging a Garda whistleblower in a febrile atmosphere was the equivalent of kissing babies at election time.

There was huge political pressure applied to have their two cases included in the forthcoming tribunal. Who, in such an atmosphere, was going to deny them?

Hindsight mocks the decision. The tribunal ultimately ruled that the dozens of allegations that both had made against other officers, including the most senior in the force, were groundless.

Judge Peter Charleton: Picture: Mary Browne

Judge Peter Charleton was critical of Harrisons evidence. Judge Sean Ryan  who took over from Charleton  did offer some sympathy to Keoghs plight, but ruled that none of his myriad of allegations had any substance.

Garda Keogh saw himself as a person engaged in a struggle with the establishment of a large and malign organisation that was determined to do him down because he had pointed out corruption, Judge Ryan reported.

The gardas self-image was shown to be built on sand.

Assigning the cases of both these gardai to a tribunal of inquiry meant that those against whom allegations were made had their actions parsed in public and reputations suspended until the final outcome.

On a more mundane level, it undoubtedly restrained the two individuals themselves from attempting to move on with their lives.

And it was expensive, far more so than if their cases had, if it was deemed anyway necessary, been examined by a commission of investigation even.

As such, many will point to the febrile atmosphere, the politicians and media which fuelled it, and suggest that culpability lies there.

Perhaps it might be more accurate to point out that the febrility was due to the incapacity of the system to properly examine the claims of Maurice McCabe and deal with them in an adult fashion.

Gsoc, the Garda ombudsman, was desperately under resourced at the time.

Internally, An Garda Siochana lacked leadership  or even the will  to address the claims. And the structures were not in place to ensure proper oversight of what went on in the force.

In such a milieu, crazy things are likely to happen, and in the McCabe case they did. There was a campaign of calumny, as Judge Charleton described it, directed by the Garda Commissioner.

His reputation was thrashed in Tusla, although the tribunal did not find evidence of a direct connection with that and his plight within An Garda Siochana.

Things had got to the point that only a public airing of all that had transpired had any hope of restoring confidence in the police. That is the background against which the dubious claims of Harrison and Keogh were given inflated value.

Lessons to be learned

There is one other lesson that can be taken from the whole farrago.

Care needs to be taken by those who act, usually in good faith, to highlight whistleblower concerns.

John Devitt, CEO of Transparency Ireland International, has long experience in advocating for whistleblowers but he sees dangers in how their claims are dealt with if brought into the public domain.

TDs dont just owe it to the person alleged to have committed wrongdoing to exercise caution when reading allegations into the public record (under privilege in the Dail), he says.

They also owe it the person blowing the whistle to be careful because they may not always get it right.

"What they are alleging still needs to be investigated by an appropriate authority in most cases. TDs, and even journalists, owe a duty of care to people who come to them and should ask whether they got legal advice before speaking out in public.

The point is well made. Lets be careful out there.
Its summer, and that means BBQ! Do yourself a favour and try Irish company DropChefs new five-course BBQ Boxes. The quality is outstanding and we love that they use Irish produce and locally sourced gorgeousness like Irish beef burgers from FX Buckley with brioche buns, Clonmel halloumi burgers, and a selection of Ballymaloe sauces.

Ryan Scott, the co-founder of DropChef, tells us, We deliver everything that is needed to host a five-course BBQ.

And hes not kidding  the four-person and six-person BBQ boxes are nutritious and high in protein and fibre, think fresh vegetables, and sides like caramelised onion and crisp baby gem leaves, honey and lime-glazed chicken skewers, flavoursome feta, flat-leaf parsley topped bulgur tabbouleh with cucumber...and loads more. The Ultimate BBQ Box is available for four people at 47.70 and for six people at 71.55, there's a vegetarian option or theyll even create bespoke menus.

Check it out at www.dropchef.com.

Isnt this divine? Its Sun-dappled Sunday by Irish artist Roisin OFarrell. Roisins work embraces beauty in imperfection.

She explains that the idea that beauty exists despite, and possibly even because of, its imperfection. She consciously honours the imperfect in her work, saving it from correction and allowing the work to express its own beauty.

She says:  Im affected by bold jewel colours and treat myself to them as I work, like sweeties from a box.

Initially discovered by The Killarney Art Gallery in early 2009, Roisin OFarrell has gone on to exhibit widely in established galleries and international fairs throughout Ireland, UK and Europe. This painting is 32x35 , and 3,300, find out more at www.killarneyartgallery.com.

Gamechangers are always welcome in the kitchen! The George Foreman Smokeless Grill is a sleek stainless steel machine that looks gorgeous and is designed with smokeless technology to grill with 87% less smoke.

It really does work  the hot juices from the meat are funnelled through holes in the grill plate and immediately cooled down, so theres nothing on the grill to burn. With an advanced non-stick coating so its easy to wipe down.

Even better, the removable plates and drip tray are dishwasher safe. Its 129.99 and the whole George Foreman range is available from independent electrical retailers nationwide.

Exciting news at Adare Manor in Co Limerick, as they launch a partnership with luxury skincare brand 111Skin to create the only 111Spa/Clinic in Ireland. The spa will offer a new signature treatment, The Rose Gold Renaissance uses both Rose Quartz Crystals and gold sheets for a luxurious and relaxing facial. The brands holistic oils and healing scents line, 111Aromatics, will be used throughout the treatments and available for purchase at the spa. For more information visit www.adaremanor.com.

Were delighted to hear about a new indoor plant shop at the Waterfront Business Park, Co Cork, created by 20-year-old student Vivienne Sayers. Prickly Plants began in her little greenhouse on her family's farm in Carrignavar, Co Cork.

We've been trading online for the past 10 months and we have just opened our first retail store in Waterfront Business Park, Little Island, Vivienne tells us.

They are open every weekend 10 am-5pm and they are encouraging our customers to donate to the Irish Cancer Society in store.

Call in and check out the homemade 100% Irish pots which they craft and colour using Irish eco-cement and rainwater. See more at https://www.instagram.com/prickly_plants_/?hl=en

www.dfs.ie

We were thrilled to discover Indian-born Shabnam Vasisht, who emailed us to share her pieces. She is a visual artist who uses waste/recycled materials in her art. She tells us she sees colour as her cultural inheritance and expresses emotion through it. I often use the medium of her trade as dress-designer to create two-dimensional images and soft sculptures.

This manipulation of waste textiles sometimes extends to other throwaway products, combining diverse textures and colours by layering, intertwining or juxta positioning into a composite mixed-media whole. Pictured here is Remembrance, 495, and you can find out more at www.artnetdlr.ie/shabnam-vasisht and Shabnam can be contacted at rajembers@gmail.com.

If youre looking to freshen up your bathroom, theres a gorgeous new range from the luxury Meraki brand, available from The Irish Country Home. A Scandinavian range of certified organic, hygiene and skincare products, made from gentle and nourishing ingredients.

This Harvest Moon gift box contains a mild and effective hand soap and hand lotion that are certified organic with cactus flower extract, aloe vera and olive leaf. The duo gift box is 28, see www.theirishcountryhome.com.

Im gone mad into the podcasts this summer. One Im really looking forward to is the Skin Conscious podcast in association with RELIFE. There are eight episodes hosted by Laura Dowling, RELIFE Irelands Pharmacist Advisor, you might know her from her social channels @fabulouspharmacist.

As someone whos struggling with getting the balance right with my skin, this will be particularly interesting. It promises to be a diverse range of interviewees sharing their experiences of living with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

There will be skin health advice from the experts on an array of skin conditions such as acne and pigmentation, along with tips on caring for babys skin, and make-up application insights for those with very dry skin.The Skin Conscious Podcast will be hosted on Spotify, iTunes and on the website www.skinconscious.ie
If you made, won or inherited a fortune you would want to buy a property just like Auskurra House in Dunmore East.

You would want it not just for its swimming pool, gym , roof terrace , home cinema, sea views and 8,000 sq ft of living space - but also for its distinctive contemporary style - which might just tempt you to part with its 1.75 million guide price.

It was built at the height of the boom in 2005 for owners who wanted a spacious family home with a pool house and were prepared to pay whatever was necessary to make it distinctive, energy efficient and luxurious.

When it was finished Image magazine described it as spectacular - noting that the elegant, understated glamour of the design made it blend well into the local landscape. The magazine article also revealed that for the owners, part of the deal in employing New Zealand architect Stephen Nelson to provide a personalized design, involved travelling with him to Europe to look at fittings and furniture.

The owners had looked at concept sketches from a few architects before being wowed by the ones shown to them by Mr Nelson.  The others were of the type of house you see all over Ireland now  but this one stood out - it was different, the man of the house reveals.

Built in to a sloping hillside above Dunmore East, Auskurra House is a three storey property on a one-acre site with views across the village and countryside to Hook Head Peninsula on the Wexford coast.

Mr Nelson told Image magazine that he took inspiration from local traditional architecture and used limestone in the entrance, natural slate tiles on the roof and sandstone in the pool house.

The choice of white walls may have been influenced by traditional rendered cottage - but in its size, rectangular shape and with its walled roof terrace the house looks just a little like a modern take on a castle Given the sheer size of the property , energy efficiency was given a very high priority and a mechanical electric consultant was brought on board to help achieve the high B2 BER rating. It has heat recovery ventilation and a bank of solar panels on the roof of the pool house.

Explaining to Image magazine that the windows of the houses were produced from sustainably grown oak from Austrian forests, Mr Nelson revealed that he went to the factory to see them being made.

For the flooring throughout the house the owners chose Maribu  an African hardwood which is also used in the treads of the glass balustraded staircases.

Following 14 month construction period the owners moved in to Auskurra House by Christmas 2005. By then it had been furnished with a selection of items chosen by the owners and the architect at furniture fairs in Cologne and Milan.

The main entrance to this extremely spacious three storey split property on its middle floor. At this level there is a huge open plan living area in the shape of an inverted L which at one end has a high gloss grey/blue Italian Poliform kitchen equipped with Gaggenau appliances.

It opens into a long lounge dining area with three sets of double doors opening out on to a decked platform with glass balustrades.

 On fine days you can fold back the windows  from here you have views out over the village and across the coast to the Saltee Islands , says the owner admitting that this is the place in the house he loves most.

On this floor theres also a lounge, an office and a bathroom while the top level has three bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom is the epitome of luxury with an en suite, a walk-in-wardrobe with Poliform fitted units as well as a separate Jacuzzi room.

Main bedroom

The bedrooms also have access to a walled roof terrace which has a high sandstone chimney with a BBQ.

On the lower ground floor there are two coast facing en suite bedrooms which are used for guests in addition to a home cinema room, a gym and a bathroom.

The attached pool house has a 25 ft long heated pool with air conditioning as well as a bathroom, a sauna, a steam room and a shower area. A second staircase at this end of the house provides access to the pool house from all three floors.

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In addition to having two staircases , the property also has a lift serving all three floors.

Margaret Fogarty of Remax believes this uniquely designed, expensively finished property offers good value for its guide price. You would pay millions of Euros to built something of this size to this standard now  to achieve this level of finish you would pay 400 per square foot. Describing it as possibly the finest property to come on the market in Dunmore East if not the South East in recent years , Ms Fogarty says it is already attracting interest from local and Dublin buyers.

Meanwhile, the owners are preparing to find themselves somewhere smaller now that their children have grown up.

VERDICT: All the style and substance a millionaire could wish for.
New leaks have revealed a possible 2022 release of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30-Series Super SKUs (StockKeeping Unit).

According to reliable Nvidia leaker kopite7kimi in a Tom's Hardware report, these super graphics cards are based on an eight-nanometer process node from Samsung. These cards are said to lead to the leading GPU maker's next-generation Ada Lovelace gaming graphics cards based on TSMC's 5-nm chipmaking process.

Nvidia RTX 30-Series Super Card Product Lineup

While the leaker did not disclose the specific lineup, but if Nvidia would follow the same strategy in its Turing-based offerings, Tom's Hardware said it expects a GeForce RTX 3060 Super, GeForce RTX 3070 Super, and a GeForce RTX 3080 Super lineup.

Along with the desktop versions, Nvidia would most certainly release mobile counterparts of these cards.

Read Also: Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti Restocks: How to Join Raffle to Win Graphics Card Plus 'Doom Eternal' Bundle!

Nvidia has not indicated when it will actually release these new GPUs, but it expected to roll out early next year.

The leaker had also hinted a possible arrival of the GA103 Ampere earlier this year, but has since not yet materialized. But with the upcoming GeForce RTX-30 series Super cards, the GA103 Ampere may soon come out as well, PCGamersN.com stressed.

Before we expect its Super card versions, the current GeForce RTX 30-series non-Super versions, which are also based on the 8nm Samsung process, run some of the most awesome gaming PCs at present. Either you build one on your own or purchase a complete set, the RTX 30-series is the choice GPU, but the question lies on which one to select.

Currently, five Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs are in the market that range from $329 to $1499, Tom's Guide noted in a report. These cards can be used in a wide range of gaming machines, from a 1080p system to a 4K high-end graphics gaming PC.

Comparing Nvidia's GeForce RTX-30 Cards Based on Specs, Prices

What will you choose? Here are some important details about these cards that could help you decide, courtesy of Tom's Guide.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 might be easy to find, but its $1,500 price tag still makes it hard decision to invest in. Of course, with those high-end specs of 10,496 Nvidia CUDA Cores, 24GB GDDR6X Memory, this cared is aimed at productivity users having creative suite drivers and has more memory than what your games need. While it is future proof and a fantastic GPU, the GeForce RTX 3090 might be a good buy unless you work in animation.

The GeForce RTX 3080, on the other hand, is a $700 card highly recommended for upscale gaming. With its 9,000 Nvidia CUDA cores and 10GB GDDR6X memory, it offers a distinct advantage over other entry level cards. It may however demand a great amount of power, and thus you need to make sure your power supply supports it. In addition, having a top-of-the-line processor and immense amount of RAM to really get a massive kick out of it.

As for the GeForce RTX 3070, it is impressive with games under quad high definition (QHD) offering 5,888 Nvidia CUDA cores with 10GB GDDR6X memory. While it won't be proficient in running 4K , it would still perform well with 30 frames per second in most games. . Still pricey at $500, it is still more affordable than the RTX 3080 or RTX 3090.

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, priced at $400, provides 4,864 Nvidia CUDA cores and 8GB GDDR6X memory. It is a good choice for lower-end PCs that deliver acceptable QHD performance.

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 may seem the least powerful but $330 tag, it should be a safe buy for users who want just decent frame rates and 1080p resolution. QHD might be questionable but certainly, 4K is far-off. Its distinct advantage is having Nvidia's resizable BAR technology that allows faster frame rates without additional processing power.

Related Article: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 3080 Ti Release Date, Pre-Order Details, Specs and More [RUMOR]
The percentage of Texas Covid-19 tests coming back positive is now at levels considered red flags by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Trump administration during the height of the pandemic. State officials and virologists say the highly contagious delta variant is fueling the rise in new cases and hospitalizations, especially among the unvaccinated. The delta variant also is capable of infecting the vaccinated, considered breakthrough infections, although the vaccinated experience only mild cases. Should the public return to pandemic safety measures such as mask wearing in public places?

You voted:
Anna (left), 9, and Mahkia, almost 11, are Trumansburg students who joined in the group welcoming the re-created Taughannock Giant July 3 to his permanent home in a little pavilion at the north edge of the village.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
A funeral service for Bill Slider, of Jacksonville, is scheduled at Autry Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at 4 p.m. Reverend Ernest Higginbotham and Jeff Slider will officiate. He will be laid to rest at Pierce's Chapel Cemetery in Jacksonville. Visitation wil
Staff Writer

Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Jonesborough, healthcare and higher education. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019.
Tribute has flooded into Matt George, who co-hosted the She Says Dogs podcast after he was killed in a hit and run accident.

The police confirmed that the 26-year-old man was Was hit and killed by a white BMW in angel, After his co-host Michaela Okland announced the news at around 2.30am on Saturday morning Twitter.

I would rather you get this from me than a news article. Matt was killed in a hit and run last night, she wrote on Twitter.

I really have nothing else to say now.

I wish I could contact everyone who knew him, but the news has come out and I cant do it now.

Read our Mat George live blog for the latest updates
The attackers also destroyed equipment belonging to Chinese and Mauritanian construction companies.

According to the Malian Armed Forces, gunmen kidnapped three Chinese citizens and two Mauritanians at a construction site in southwestern Mali.

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) said in a statement that the attackers attacked the site 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the town of Kwara on Saturday and left with five pickup trucks and hostages. statement On Facebook.

According to the military, these people also destroyed equipment including cranes and dump trucks belonging to the Chinese construction company COVEC and the Mauritanian road construction company ATTM.

A Malian army official who requested anonymity told AFP that the victim was building roads in the area.

The release of all hostages is our top priority, he said.

Mauritanias Al-Akhbar news agency reported that the gunman arrived on a motorcycle and burned equipment and fuel tanks before evacuating with prisoners.

Friends and family of Olivier Dubois, a journalist kidnapped in northern Mali on April 8, gather in Bamako for a solidarity march on July 17, 2021 [Annie Risemberg/ AFP]

Since 2012, Mali has been working to curb violence related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) affiliated groups. The combatants have now expanded their operations from their strongholds in the northern desert of the country to their centers and neighbouring countries Burkina Faso and Niger.

Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

Abductions of Malians and foreigners are not uncommon.

On April 8, a French journalist was kidnapped in northern Mali. In a hostage video, Olivier Dubois said that the largest coalition of armed groups in the Sahel, the Organization for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), kidnapped him.

As the violence continues to escalate, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the Security Council to authorize additional peacekeeping forces for Mali. According to Reuters, Guterres made this request in a July 15 report.

The proposed increase of 2,069 soldiers and police will bring the authorized size of MINUSMA to 17,278 military and police personnel, the largest since its establishment in 2013.

Guterres stated that the plan can only be consistent with the efforts of the Malian authorities to strengthen security and strengthen governance.

After the military officers launched the second coup in nine months in May, Mali fell into political uncertainty.
titaniumA wild body horror thriller featuring car sex and a surprisingly tender heart. It won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival, making Julia Dukunau the first in the festivals 74-year history. Two female filmmakers who won the highest honors.

Spike Lee, the chairman of the jury, falsely announced Saturdays victory at the top of the closing ceremony, causing a moment of confusion. It was not until the official announcement at the end of the awards ceremony that the French filmmaker Du Cournow took the stage to accept the award. But the early hints did not disappear from her emotional response.

Sorry, I kept shaking my head, Ducoernau said, holding his breath. Is this true? I dont know why I speak English now because I am French. Tonight is so perfect because it is not perfect.

After several mistakes, Lee begged Sharon Stone to announce the Palme dOr and explained: She will not mess things up. The problem started when Lee was asked to say which award would be awarded first. . Instead, he announced the final prize of the night, while juror Mati Diop buried his head in her hands, and everyone else rushed to stop him.

At the awards ceremony on Saturday, director Julia Ducournau awarded the Palme dOr for the movie Titane. (Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press)

Li himself held his head in both hands for a few minutes, and then apologized for eliminating a lot of suspense at night.

I dont have any excuses, Li told reporters later. I messed up, he added. Its that easy.

The long-awaited victory

Lee is the first black chairman of the jury in Cannes. His jury members are: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Song Kanghao, Taha Raheem, Marty Diop, Jessica Hausner, Kleber Men Donka Filho and Melin Farmer.

Ducournaus victory was a long-awaited victory. The only female filmmaker ever to win the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival  one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry  was Jane Campion. piano 1993.

Asghar Farhadi, who won the grand prize for his movie Hero, poses for the photographer at the Film Festival on Saturday. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/Associated Press)

In 2019, another genre movie-Feng Junhaos Parasites -Before continuing to win the Oscar for Best Picture, he also won the Palme Award.It is said that the jury led by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu unanimously passed this choice, but titanium -An extremely violent film-This years jury stated that it was produced through a process of democratic dialogue and debate. Gyllenhaal said they did not agree on anything.

in titanium, Like Parasites To be released in the United States by Neon, Agathe Rousselle plays a serial killer fleeing his homeland. As a child, a car accident caused her to wear a titanium plate on her head and had a strange connection with the car. In the most talked about scene at the festival, she was pregnant by a Cadillac. Lee called it a unique experience.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), the winner of the jury award for the film Memory, poses for the photographers on Saturday. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/Associated Press)

The closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival ended with a 12-day red carpet premiere, regular COVID-19 testing of many attendees, and the first major film festival to be held in almost usual fashion since the pandemic began. The Cannes Film Festival has a small audience and a mandatory requirement to wear masks in theaters, thus driving the ambitious global film market. Last years festival was completely cancelled by the pandemic.

Solid slate

A year after the film was shrunk to a smaller screen and covered with spider webs on the red carpet, assembled as a way to help make a sensational movie, it is widely regarded as powerful and features many leading international filmmakers. The awards are widely distributed.

Grand prize is equally divided by Asghar Farhadis Iranian drama A hero With Finnish director Juho Kusmanen Booth 6.

On Saturday, at the 74th International Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Cannes, southern France, director Julia Ducournau (left) embraced the chairman of the jury Spike Lee after winning the Palme dOr for the film Titan. (Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press)

Best Director Award goes to Leos Carax Annette, A fantasy musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard kicked off the festival.

The jury also divides the jury bonus equally.Nadav Lapids Aheds knee, A passionate drama about creative freedom in modern Israel; and the work of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasthakul memory, A meditation movie starring Tilda Swinton.

Caleb Landry Jones won the best actor award for his performance in a fact-based Australian mass murderer. Nitramine By Justin Kuzel. Renate Reinsve won the best actress award for work by Joachim Trier The worst person in the world. The best script is by Ryusuke Hamaguchi Drive my car, Haruki Murakami adapted from Oe Takamasa.
To commemorate President Joe Biden, who has long served as a member of Congress, once again urged Congress to pass legislation to defend the right to vote.

US President Joe Biden once again called on Congress to pass legislation to protect the voting rights of civil rights leader and long-time Congressman John Lewis. Passed away a year ago.

In a statement on the first anniversary of Lewiss death on Saturday, Biden stated that it is vital to continue the cause for which John is willing to give his life: protecting the sacred right to vote.

Since the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, we have not seen such a relentless attack on voting rights and the integrity of our elections, Biden said, noting that his predecessor Donald Trump falsely claimed The 2020 elections are widely regarded as examples.

He also criticized the new wave of voter suppression, referring to A series of state legislation This is designed to limit the chances of voting, which critics say will disproportionately harm black and other colored voters.

Controversial laws are being debated in states such as Texas and implemented by Republican lawmakers in other states, including Arizona, Florida, and Georgia.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University tracks voter suppression laws across the United States, Say On its website, as of June 21, 17 states had enacted 28 new laws restricting voting.

Biden said in the statement: I once again call on Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Promotion Act so that I can sign them into law, he was referring to the proposed legislation aimed at strengthening The right to vote, but stagnated in Congress. .

Lewis, who has served in Congress for decades, is a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr., who has fought for civil rights and human rights until the end of his life.

He is probably best known for leading about 600 protesters in protests. Bloody sunday march Crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965. On the same day, the state police defeated Lewis and other militants who marched for the right to vote.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called Lewis an American hero.

Harris said in his statement on Saturday: Congressman Lewis has worked tirelessly for the highest ideals of our country: freedom and justice for all, and the right of every American to express his or her voice in the ballot box.

As a college student at American Baptist College and Fisk University, Lewis also helped abolish apartheid in public places in Nashville and promoted racial justice throughout the South.

Nashville held a series of events on Friday and Saturday to commemorate his death anniversary, renaming most of Fifth Avenue to Congressman John Lewis Way.

Mourners viewed the temporary memorial to the late Congressman John Lewis in Atlanta last year, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and a long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives [Dustin Chambers/Reuters]

Among the institutions on both sides of the street are the buildings in downtown Woolworth, where Lewis and other black civil rights leaders sit provocatively at the isolated lunch counter, where they will not be served in 1960. Hundreds of people marched along the street and then arrived at the Lehman Auditorium to participate in the celebration ceremony.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, senior U.S. lawmakers and Lewis family gathered in San Diego to name a naval ship named after Lewis.

This ship will become a beacon of the world, reminding everyone who sees it of John Lewis perseverance and courage, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at the baptism of US Navy John Lewis.

Lewis nephew Marcus Tyner (Marcus Tyner) said that the family was grateful for the honor, but said that my uncle is most pleased if Congress passes a voting rights bill named after him.
The French director is the second woman to win the highest award in the 74-year history of the Cannes Film Festival.

An imaginative film about a serial killer having sex with a car, Titan won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival.

Saturdays victory made French director Julie Ducunau the second female film producer to win the highest honor in the festivals 74-year history.

Her violent films have created disagreements among critics. Some praised its originality, but others delayed it because of its crazy and messy approach. The film is described as a physical horror movie, based on a character with a titanium plate on his head, and its energy leaves a deep impression.

Ducournaus beautiful, dark, distorted fantasy is a nightmarish prank, full of sex, violence, appalling lights and shocking music, said a critic of the BBC Broadcasting Corporation.

It is also impossible to predict where it will go next.

The chairman of the jury, Spike Lee, erroneously announced the victory of the Titans at the top of the closing ceremony, causing some confusion. It was not until the official announcement at the end of the award ceremony that Ducournau took the stage to accept the award.

Spike Lee, the American director and chairman of the jury of the 74th Cannes Film Festival, revealed at the beginning of the Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony that the French shocking film Titan won the Palme dOr [Valery Hache/ AFP]

But the early hints did not disappear from her emotional response.

Sorry, I kept shaking my head, Ducoernau said, holding his breath. is this real?

She thanked the jury for letting the monsters in and then confessed her place in history to reporters. But she also said that her victory cannot be attributed to a woman.

Ducournau said that more women will follow her. There will be a third, there will be a fourth, there will be a fifth.

In 1993, Jane Campion won the Cannes Film Festivals highest honor for The Piano-one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry, and the only female film producer before .

Dissatisfaction with gender equality at the Cannes Film Festival has increased in recent years, including in 2018, when 82 women-including Agnes Varda, Cate Blanchett and Salma Hayek Protest against gender inequality on the red carpet in Cannes. Their numbers represent the total number of films of female directors selected to compete for the Palme dOr-82 films, compared with 1,645 films by male directors.

This year, 4 of Palmes 24 films were directed by women.

Renate Reinsve won the best actress award for her role in the movie The Worst Man in the World, posing [Sarah Meyssonnier/ Reuters]

Keller Landry Jones won the best actor award for his role in the movie Nitlam [Sarah Meyssonnier/ Reuters]

The Cannes Film Festival is the largest film festival in the world. After being interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it has returned to the French Riviera this year. The event attracted stars such as Matt Damon and Sharon Stone to the red carpet. Although the attendance has declined compared to previous years, the filmmakers and actors are happy to be back .

After the award was officially announced on Saturday, other big winners included Leos Carax, who was selected as the best director of Annette, a musical about two artists who fell into a twisted love.

The second prize of the Grand Prix was shared by Juho Kuosmanens Compartment no6 (about a woman embarking on a train journey through Russia) and Irans Asghar Farhadis A Hero (telling a prisoner facing a moral dilemma).

Japans Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takatake Oe won the best screenplay award for their heartbroken and lost story Driving My Car.

This was also an important night for the previously unknown Norwegian actress Renat Reinsvey, who became famous for her role in The Worst Man in the World. This movie by Joachim Trier is a modern romantic comedy, which is very popular among critics.

Caleb Landry Jones, who starred in the Australian film Nitlam, won the best actor award.

The Jury Award is another runner-up award for Best Film, awarded to two films: The Knee Ahead by Nadav Lapid in Israel and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in Thailand. )S Memoirs.
After rescuers dig deep into the wreckage left by the receding water, the death toll caused by the floods in Western Europe on Sunday climbed to more than 180.

The police set the death toll in the hard-hit Ahrweiler region in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate at 110 and expressed their concern that this number may rise. In neighbouring Germanys most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 45 people were confirmed dead, including 4 firefighters. Belgium has confirmed 27 casualties.

Later on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Schuld, a village near Ahrweiler, which was destroyed by floods. Her visit came after the German President visited the region on Saturday and made it clear that he needed long-term support.

On Saturday night, there were floods in the German-Czech border areas, all parts of the country that were hit by floods last week, the southeastern corner of Germany, and the Austrian border.

After the expansion of the Ache River, about 65 people were evacuated in Berchtesgaden, Germany. At least one person was killed.

Later on Saturday, a flash flood swept through the nearby Austrian town of Hallein, but no immediate casualties were reported.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms are causing severe damage in several areas of Austria.
According to reports, Prince Harry used a super exclusive VIP airport service during his journey from London to Los Angeles last month.

According to reports, the Duke of Sussex-an advocate for environmental protection-has been using a private suite, which has been described as the most VIP way through the airport.

1 According to reports, Prince Harry used a private suite during his stay in the United States (the picture shows Harry and Meghan in Windsor in 2019) Credit: Getty-Swimming Pool

Members register for 3,250 per year and pay an additional 2,500 for each trip-but can get on and off the plane from their own private stairs before other passengers.

They will then be picked up by a private SUV and taken to a private terminal, where they can collect their luggage individually and pass through the passport checkpoint. Mailed on sunday report.

On the private suite website, the company described itself as a private airport experience and wrote: PS has reimagined the airport experience for experienced and discerning travelers.

The company is run by Gavin de Becker, who is believed to be responsible for the security of Harry and Meghan on the Montecito mat.

Because of his celebrity status, the Duke needs to strengthen security-and has taken British Airways flights in the past.

Eco warrior

Although Harry has publicly opposed the dangers of climate change in the past, he is still suspected of using SUVs.

Earlier this year, Duke warned that the problem must be resolved from the source and stated that the United States is either on fire or underwater very frustrating.

In the Me You Cant See: The Way Forward podcast, he said that the post-pandemic world needs a reckoning moment and emphasized that he believes that climate change is one of the two most pressing issues in the world besides mental health. One.

In 2019, he told a group of young people at Wembleys SSE Arena to wake up and cope with the devastating impact of our lifestyle on the world.

But according to reports, the Duke Rent a private helicopter Just two days before the event, Friends of the Earth charity urged him to consider ways to reduce carbon intensity of travel.

When Meg and Harry boarded a private jet worth 20,000 to stay at Elton Johns French villa in 2019, they also provoked allegations of hypocrisy.

At the same time, a source told the Daily Mail on Sunday that Duke had been spending his time in California with the rich in Los Angeles, including owners of large companies, jets with private jets.

The source added: He spent some time in Malibu, Montecito and Beverly Hills.

As the star in the room, Harry seems really relaxed. He is usually the only celebrity at the party he attends, and he seems to be the one everyone flocks to.
Royal experts said that if George goes to boarding school, Princess Charlotte will miss her brother.

But they added that the independent and outgoing six-year-old princess is a little leader who would end up doing well without her brother by his side.

3 Princess Charlotte and Prince George are currently going to Thomas Battersea Credit: Splash News

As George turns 8 later this month, and William is the same age he was when he left London for boarding, there is growing speculation that the young prince can follow family traditions.

Both George and Charlotte are currently attending school in Thomas Battersea until they are 13 years old.

But Prince William and Prince Harry moved to Berkshires Luther Grove School at the age of eightand then studied at Eton College.

Gertrude Daly, who runs the Gerts Royals blog, told Daily Star: Of course Princess Charlotte will miss her elder brother like any child.

But when Prince George goes to boarding school, she will be fine. She looks like a very independent child.

3 But there is increasing speculation that George may move to boarding school next year-because he is the same age as his father. Credit: Getty

She added: I may be more concerned about Prince George and how he will deal with the situation away from the safety net.

With the freshmen who did not grow up with the prince, they are used to seeing Prince George and the Cambridge family in the news.

Brittani Barger, associate editor of Royal Central, agrees, speaking of Charlotte: She is very independent and outgoing, so I dont think she needs her brother by her side.

She might miss not seeing him at school, but she wont be frustrated because she is alone, I dont think. From what we have seen, she is a small leader, so I think she will be fine.

? Read our Royal Family Live Blog Get the latest update

Last month, the Daily Mail reported that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been asking about Berkshires schools for their children and nearby houses.

3 Royal experts say that Charlotte is a little leader, so it would be nice to have a brother without her, although she would miss him Credit: Splash News

The newspaper said that Kate Middleton and Wells really need to support their family in London as part of their long-term plan-although Kensington Palace will still be their base in London.

The youngest of the Cambridge couple, Louis, is three years old and currently attending the Wilcock Nursery in Kensington.

Earlier today, we revealed how William is securing the English players Target racist abuse.
After dozens of pro-democracy activists were killed, hundreds protested in Baghdad, demanding an end to impunity.

Hundreds of Iraqis protested in central Baghdad, demanding that the authorities hold accountable the murderers of dozens of militants associated with the long-standing protest movement.

Since the outbreak of the democratic protest movement against government corruption and incompetence in 2019, more than 70 activists have been targeted by assassinations, attempted murders, and kidnappings.

Hussein Al-Faili, an 18-year-old student, told AFP on Sunday at Firdos Square, the main protest site: We are here to end impunity in Iraq. 

We want to be free! This revolution started because of this, and we will not stop until we win.

Dozens of people also appeared in the southern city of Nasiriya, where tensions have been increasing since a fire broke out in the hospital. Killed at least 60 people on Monday.

Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi announced on Friday that four were arrested in the straightforward shooting of the famous academic and government adviser Hisham al-Hashemi a year ago. Suspects.

Iraqs state television broadcast a brief clip of the 36-year-old police lieutenant Ahmed al-Kenanis confession on Friday night, saying that he had murdered Hashmi with a pistol.

A security source told AFP that Kenani belongs to the pro-Iranian militia group Kataib Hezbollah.

But Farley said arrests were not enough.

We want the big man who ordered the murder, Farley said.

Iraqi demonstrators reacted at the rally, calling for support for the principles of justice and accountability [Saba Kareem/Reuters]

On Sunday, most young protesters chanted against political parties and traitors, while others tearfully recalled their assassinated comrades.

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and subsequent turmoil, Iraq remains torn and impoverished, and has always been a battleground of influence between Washington and Tehran, with the latter supporting paramilitary organizations and politicians.

Activist Shatha Al-Qaisi said: This sport seeks to gain support from all over the world to stop the bloodshed. This is not a politicized sport.

The High Commission for Human Rights reported that since anti-government protests swept through Iraq in October 2019, nearly 35 activists have been killed in Iraq.

Many expect that as Iraq plans to hold elections early in October, the killings will continue, which is the main demand of anti-government protesters.
Our posts here regularly cover Celebrity-backed cannabis company Who did the right thing (sometimes, did the wrong thing), but a recent copyright infringement case proved that not all celebrities are interested in participating in the industry-of course it should not be assumed that they can use their reputation to promote it.

Solar Therapeutics Inc., a marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts, erected a billboard on the side of the interstate to promote its cannabis products. The billboard has a portrait of Mr. Cohen as his Borat movie character, two thumbs up, and his signature Very good! The slogan is displayed at the top. It is said that the billboard has been erected for several weeks but has since been removed.

After issuing a suspension and termination letter on behalf of Mr. Cohen and his company Please You Can Touch (which owns all the infringed Borat copyrights), Mr. Cohen and his company personally sued Solar and its president/director, demanding that they deliberately copyright infringement, false advertising and Violation of Massachusetts regulations prohibiting the abuse of propaganda rights.

(By the way, personal liability is not what we often see, especially in California, but Massachusetts law stipulates that if a company official personally directs, controls, approves, or approves an illegal act, the company official shall respond to the companys infringement. Take personal responsibility.)

The complaint explains in great detail why this misappropriation is so destructive-Mr. Cohen has been very critical about his public participation; he has never participated in advertising any commercial products or services; he has never used it in his life marijuana. Despite this, the complaint alleges that Solar deliberately misappropriated his image in order to increase its sales revenue (estimated to be approximately US$26 million per year), and betting that Mr. Cohen never knew about their infringing billboard.

The amount of the claim is staggering: at least $9 million. This includes market value compensation, statutory triple compensation, punitive damages and attorney fees. Unfortunately, for Solar, Mr. Cohen and his company are actually entitled to all of this. According to their copyright infringement claims (not less than 12 copyrights), Article 504(b) of the Copyright Law provides for actual damages, the transfer of profits from the defendant as a result of the infringement, their reasonable attorneys fees, and packages.

The measure of damages for misappropriation is the market price-the amount that the defendant will have to pay for the same or similar celebrities (status and success) if the celebrity is willing to allow it. In addition, since Solar not only misappropriated Mr. Cohens image, but also misappropriated his image as a copyrighted character Borat, the calculation must also include damages to the copyright owner of the character. This number is usually the same (at least) the amount required to pay the celebrity. So here, Solar is studying the double damage of the same image. The complaint cited cases involving Kim Kardashian and Michael Jordan, as well as past advertising quotations provided to Mr. Cohen himself, claiming that this combined damages figure easily reached millions of dollars.

Since copyright infringement cases are often the case, this should be another lesson in the importance of reviewing and signing all these marketing efforts that seem to put many companies in trouble. We will continue to follow up and see what Solar says, but this seems to be a very clear example of what should not be done.
According to Palestinian media reports, the Palestinians condemned the Israeli police for attacking the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, and then fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at believers in the Third Holy Land of Islam in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials said that Israeli police had forcibly evacuated Muslim believers in one of the most sensitive locations in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, clearing the way for Jewish tourists.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which manages parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said in a statement that it believes that the Israeli occupation government is fully responsible for the escalation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex caused by Israels invasion of occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority described the Jewish visit as provocative and a serious threat to security and stability.

However, the Israeli police stated that in the early hours of the morning, Palestinian young people began to throw stones at the police forces in Temple Mount Square, and the police forces dispersed them.

The Israeli police monitor and manage Jewish visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, which are the holiest places in Islam after Mecca and Medina.

The location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is known by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or Temple of the Nobles, while Jews refer to the place of worship as the Temple Mount.

The incident occurred two days before the Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha, and on the eve of their annual Hajj.

The Hamas organization that rules the Gaza Strip called on Palestinians to go to Jerusalem and stay in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound until Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Violations and attacks

In a statement published on the official Palestinian website, the Jordanian Islamic religious organization responsible for managing the holy sites in the compound condemned violations and attacks carried out by Jewish fanatic groups under the support and political cover of the Israeli government. Wafa claimed that Israel aims Launch a religious war.

The spokesperson of Jordans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, De Farah Fayyad, said: Israels actions against the mosque have been rejected and condemned and violated the historical and legal status quo, international law, and Israels obligations as the occupying power of East Jerusalem. On Sunday, one day. In a statement.

According to the unwritten arrangement of the Ottoman era supervised by Waqf, Muslims can pray at the place, and non-Muslims can only enter as tourists.

The European Union mission in the Palestinian territories stated in a tweet that it was concerned about the ongoing tensions and urged against incitement.

It also called for respect for the status quo of the site and urged Israeli, religious and community leaders to urgently quell this explosive situation.

freedom of religion

But Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in an official statement after the incident that he instructed Jews to continue to visit there while maintaining order on the scene.

In the second statement following the condemnation of Waqf and PA, Bennett emphasized that the freedom of worship on the Temple Mount will also be fully reserved for Muslims and pointed out the upcoming Eid al-Adha.

Sunday is also the Jewish holiday Tisha BAv, and usually sees an increase in the number of Israeli tourists to the Holy Land.

Israeli media reported that more than 1,000 Israelis walked through Jerusalem Square. But a spokesperson for a Jewish group encouraging such visits told AFP that 1,679 pilgrims were in the mosque compound on Sunday morning and afternoon.

Most of them were devout Jews, some of them with children visited the site under close police guard to commemorate Tisha BAv fast day.

Expressed concern about the ongoing tension around Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount. Incitement must be avoided and the status quo must be respected. Israeli authorities, religious and community leaders from all sides should act urgently to quell this explosive situation. -The European Union and the Palestinians (@EUpalestinians) July 18, 2021

Two years ago, when Jewish and Muslim holidays coincided, dozens of Palestinians were injured by the Israeli army and seven others were arrested.

The area is located in the walled Old City of Jerusalem and is part of the territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a step that the international community has never recognized.

In May, the Israeli army attacked the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the last few days of Ramadan. After attacking Muslim believers, Israel launched an 11-day attack on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, while rockets fired by Palestinian groups killed at least 12 people, including two children. The escalation ended with a ceasefire with international mediation.
The announcement was made on the occasion of the organizations military progress and the resumption of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha.

The supreme leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Ahunzada, said that although the organization has launched a nationwide offensive, he strongly supports a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

The announcement on Sunday came as representatives of the Afghan government and armed Taliban sat down in Doha over the weekend for a new round of talks, which aroused hopes that the long-stale peace talks are recovering.

Despite military progress and progress, the Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] Strongly support the countrys political solution, Akhunzada said in a message released next week before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

He added: The Islamic Emirate will use every opportunity to establish an Islamic system, peace and security.

The two sides have been meeting intermittently in the capital of Qatar for several months, but they have barely achieved significant success. With the Taliban making significant progress on the battlefield, especially cooperation with foreign troops, the discussion seems to have lost momentum. Complete their exit From Afghanistan.

Both sides Start negotiations in Doha again on Saturday.

The Taliban leader stated that his organization is still committed to formulating a solution to end the war, but criticized the opposition party for wasting time.

He added: Our message is still, dont rely on foreigners, let us solve the problem ourselves and save our home from the current crisis.

Al Jazeeras Osama bin Jawad said that Ahhunzada discussed the issues raised by the Afghan people and the international community in the crafted Eid al-Fitr message. At the meeting he talked about women and ethnic minorities. The rights of the country, the role of security forces, and relations between Afghanistan are controlled by the Taliban and its neighbors.

On the first day of the talks, the atmosphere was described as pleasant and everything was under discussion, Binjawad said outside the Doha talks.

The Afghan people have high hopes for these talks. The biggest question is what they will make concessions.

Bin Javad said that both sides insisted on letting the other over, but it remains to be seen whether the latest round of talks in Doha will produce any concrete results.

Taliban offensive

Taliban militants used the final stage of the withdrawal of American and other foreign troops from Afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives in large areas of the country.

It is believed that the organization now controls about half of the countrys 400 regions, several important border crossings, and besieged a series of important provincial capitals.

For a long time, the Taliban seemed to be united, operating under an effective command system, and carrying out complex military operations, despite rumors of division between the leadership of the organization.

Questions remain about the attitude of Taliban leaders toward local commanders and whether they can persuade them to comply with the potential agreement signed.

The leaders statement specifically did not mention a formal ceasefire call for the Eid holiday.

Over the years, the Taliban announced a series of brief truces during religious holidays, which initially inspired hopes for greater efforts to reduce violence in the country.

However, the organization has recently been criticized for using a temporary ceasefire to resupply and replenish combatants, allowing them to launch fierce attacks on Afghan security forces after the truce expires.

After the invasion after the September 11, 2001 attacks, a military alliance headed by the United States has been stationed in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years.

There is growing concern that the Afghan army will be overwhelmed without the vital air support they provide, leading to the complete military takeover of the Taliban or the start of a multilateral civil war in a country that has been flooded with large weapons stocks after nearly 40 years of fighting.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims hovered in the holiest part of Islam in Mecca, but due to the impact of the coronavirus on Hajj for the second year in a row, they still kept their physical distance and wore masks.

The Hajj, which once attracted about 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from all over the world, is now almost unrecognizable.

The shrinking of this year and the ongoing Hajj due to the COVID-19 outbreak has not only affected the ability of people outside Saudi Arabia to fulfill Islamic obligations, but also the billions of dollars that Saudi Arabia receives from its guardians of holy places each year.

The Islamic pilgrimage lasts about five days, but Muslims traditionally arrive in Mecca a few weeks earlier. The pilgrimage ends with the Eid al-Adha, marked by the distribution of meat to the poor all over the world.

Due to continued concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, only 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia are allowed to perform the Hajj this year.This is a far greater number Last year was mainly a symbolic hajj Less than 1,000 people from within the kingdom participated.

With no clear or agreed vaccine passport standards, extremely uneven vaccination rates, and new variants of the virus threatening the progress already made in some countries, it is not clear when Saudi Arabia will once again receive its planned millions of Muslim pilgrims. Received in the next few years.

The Saudi rulers of the kingdom bet its legitimacy to a large extent on their supervision of pilgrimage sites, which provides them with a unique and powerful platform among Muslims around the world. Despite the changes caused by the pandemic, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still doing its utmost to ensure uninterrupted Hajj every year.

Safety measures in place

Robots have been deployed to spray disinfectants around the busiest sidewalks of the cubic Kaaba. The pilgrimage of most people begins and ends here.

Saudi Arabia is also testing smart bracelets in cooperation with government artificial intelligence agencies this year. The touch screen bracelet is similar to the Apple Watch and includes information about Hajj, pilgrims oxygen levels and vaccine data, and has an emergency function to call for help.

International media that already existed in the kingdom were allowed to report on the Hajj from Mecca this year, but other media were not allowed to fly in as they did before the pandemic.

The cleaners disinfect the huge white marble space of the Grand Mosque that houses the Kaaba several times a day.

We are disinfecting the floor and using a disinfectant, cleaning two or three times at the same time [each] Change shifts, said Olis Gul, a cleaner who has worked in Mecca for 20 years.

On Sunday, a pilgrim prayed at his tent camp in Mina near the Muslim holy city of Mecca. (Amr Nabil/Associated Press)

Hajj is one of the most important requirements of Islam, and it must be performed once in a lifetime. It follows the path taken by the Prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago, and is believed to eventually trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or the biblical names of Abraham and Ishmael.

Hajj is seen as an opportunity to erase the sins of the past and bring greater unity among Muslims. The shared experience of more than 2 million people from all over the world-Shia, Sunni and other Muslim sects-praying together, eating together and repenting together has long made Hajj both a challenging and transformative experience. Part.

Reduced public experience

There are doubts about whether the Hajj can attract such a large number of believers again. Male pilgrims wear terry cloth clothing to form a white ocean, symbolizing the equality of human beings before God, while women give up makeup and perfume to focus on the heart.

Just like last year, the pilgrims will drink water from the sacred osmosis spring using packaged plastic bottles. Pilgrims must also bring their own prayer blankets and must adhere to a strict timetable through a mobile app that informs them when they can enter certain areas to avoid congestion.

I hope this is a successful Hajj season, said Aly Aboulnaga, an Egyptian pilgrim and lecturer at the University of Saudi Arabia. We pray that God will accept everyones hajj, open the area to more pilgrims, and return to a better condition than before.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the kingdom was working to greatly expand Meccas capacity to receive pilgrims through the expansion of the US$60 billion Grand Mosque. On the south side of the mosque stands the 600-meter-high Bell Tower skyscraper, which is part of a seven towers built to accommodate high-end paying pilgrims.

This kingdom of more than 30 million people has reported more than 500,000 cases of COVID-19, with more than 8,000 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, it has received nearly 20 million doses of vaccine.
Firefighters continued to fight large-scale wildfires on the West Coast of the United States. California authorities closed a section of a highway and ordered an evacuation approaching the raging fire that was still completely uncontrolled.

In a statement on Sunday, the Humboldt-Toyaby National Forest said the Tamarack fire near Markliville, about 257 kilometers (160 miles) west of Sacramento, near the California-Nevada line It has been expanded to 18,299 acres (7,405 hectares).

The statement said: A thunderstorm is expected this afternoon, which may cause unstable winds in the fire area.

It added that firefighters will continue to fight the flames under safe conditions, and stated that 517 people have been assigned to participate in the fire fighting.

#TamarackFire Update on Sunday, July 18: The fire area is estimated to be 18,299 acres; including 0%; 517 personnel are assigned. The red flag warns from 11 oclock this morning to 11 oclock tomorrow morning. The T-storm predicted this afternoon may cause unstable winds in the fire zone. pic.twitter.com/VoRGC9Ou5P -Humboldt Toiyabe NF (@HumboldtToiyabe) July 18, 2021

In the past few weeks, the high temperature and drought conditions raging in the western United States have triggered several large-scale wildfires. Experts point out climate change As an important factor in exacerbating extreme weather events.

On Friday, Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near Markleeville, so when they were told to leave, her husband could participate in extreme bike rides in the area. They watched the smoke spread throughout the day, but were caught off guard by the rapid spread of the fire.

It happened so quickly, Pennington told the Associated Press. We left the tent, hammocks and some food, but we got most of the things, pushed our two children into the car and left.

The afternoon wind blows at a speed of 32 to 48 kilometers per hour (20 to 30 mph), which encourages the flames as they chew on dry wood and brushes.

Meteorologists predict that California and southern Oregon will see extremely dangerous fires at least until Monday, and the largest wildfires in the United States will continue to spread in dry forests.

The fire of piracy has expanded to Bigger than New York CityOfficials said over the weekend, adding that dry and windy weather conditions are expected to further fuel the fire.

On July 17, the Tamarack fire in the Markliville community in Alpine County, California burned behind the greenhouse [Noah Berger/AP Photo]

Incident Commander Joe Hassel said: This fire is so big and moving so fast that it spreads four to five miles every day. One of the many challenges our firefighters face every day is Work in a new country, and there may always be new dangers in this country.

The National Weather Service warned that there may be thunderstorms extending from the California coast to northern Montana on Sunday, and the new lightning ignition is likely to be due to extremely dry fuel in the western United States.

In recent weeks, dry, hot weather has also triggered dozens of wildfires in Canada. It is believed that extreme heat is one of the causes of the fires. Hundreds died Last month in British Columbia.

According to provincial wildfires, dozens of fires were burning in northern Ontario on Sunday tracking deviceDue to the fire, some indigenous communities in the area were forced to evacuate in the past week.
COVID-19 cases have nearly tripled in the U.S. over two weeks amid an onslaught of vaccine misinformation. The spike in infections is straining hospitals, frustrating doctors and pushing clergy into the fray. Across the U.S., the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. rose
Ji Sung (Kang Yo Han) becomes suspicious of Kim Min Jung's aggressive and competitive behavior towards him in The Devil Judge Episode 5. GOT7's Jinyoung (Kim Ga On), on the other hand, has recovered and returned to work.

Kang Yo Han Haunted by Isaac in His Dream

Years later and Kang Yo Han (Ji Sung) remains haunted by Isaac through his dreams and imaginations. As soon as he woke up, Kim Ga On (GOT7's Jinyoung) entered his room and was surprised to see the same face that reminds him of Isaac.

Kim Ga On Returns, Becomes a Star Overnight

In The Devil Judge Episode 5, Cha Kyung Hee (Jang Young Nam) paid a visit to her son in the detention room. Seeing her son in a cruel situation fueled her to make a move.

During her interview, she tried to be regretful of her previous actions to deceive the public and even shed tears as part of her scheme.

While watching Cha Kyung Hee, Kang Yo Han got curious if someone is helping her to protect her son.

Kim Ga On thought that Kang Yo Han would kick him out of work because of his behavior towards him last time, but he was relieved to know that he would return to court after Kang Yo Han said that he enjoys working with him.

When Kim Ga On arrived in his office, his colleague, Oh Jin Joo (Kim Jae Kyung), welcomed him and showed the gifts and letters delivered by his fans.

Yoon Su Hyun, Kim Ga On Reminisce Their Younger Years

After Kim Ga On returned, he called Yoon Su Hyun (Park Gyu Young) and went to Detective Park (Kim Kwang Sik), the only person who knew what happened in the Verena Church Fire years ago where Kang Yo Han's brother, Isaac, died.

Yoon Su Hyun asked Detective Park about the money assistance he got and to whom he is getting those financial support in running his restaurant business. But he was persistent not to say any word to them.

Not until Kim Ga On mentioned the Social Responsibility Foundation - this made the older detective run away from the two.

The chase had begun, but they failed to catch Detective Park. After a tiring chase, Kim Ga On remembered the time he was caught in the middle of a fight during their teenage years and Yoon Su Hyun was also the only person who was there by his side.

The Devil Judge Episode 5 showed how Yoon Su Hyun desires to protect Kim Ga On, and this is the reason why she entered the Police Academy.

As events unfolding are now more challenging, Kim Ga On asked Yoon Su Hyun to detach herself from handling cases related to the powerful officials in their country as it will put her in danger.

But the lady detective said it's already too late for him to stop her from doing what she wants. For Yoon Su Hyun, protecting her best friend Kim Ga On is always her priority.

Jung Sun A Attends Kang Yo Han's Trial

Kang Yo Han and his team was given a new case about an actor who sexually assaulted some of his workmates. Kang Yo Han became suspicious of this new case.

In the middle of the trial, a familiar figure entered the courtroom.

Jung Sun A (Kim Min Jung) made a surprise appearance, which shocked Kang Yo Han. But at the same time, this gave him clues on the mystery that surrounds her.

Seeing her presence made Yo Han think that the case he is handling was a set up to change his image in the eyes of the public. But he proved her wrong and made a wise decision of giving the offender a verdict of 20 years imprisonment, and a punishment that he deserves.

This time, Kang Yo Han did manage to win people's hearts.

Kang Yo Han Reunites with His Past

Kang Yo Han received an invitation from the Social Responsibility Foundation, which he attended. However, at the venue, he found himself stuck in a big room filled with memorabilia.

The door opened and he heard the sound of a woman's footsteps heading towards him. That person hugged him from behind.

This time, Kang Yo Han was not anymore surprised to see Jung Sun A, but he was still curious about her identity and why she keeps on watching over him.

Jung Sun A introduced herself, clad in her beautiful floral white dress, and showed a familiar cross necklace.

Kang Yo Han was shocked by what he saw - it was the necklace of the young woman who used to be a maid in Isaac's mansion.

At that moment, Kang Yo Han realized that Jung Sun A was the person who he shared some of his sorrowful days with in the past.

The judge reunited with his past through Jung Sun A. Before the episode ended, Jung Sun A gave Kang Yo Han a passionate kiss.

Have you watched The Devil Judge Episode 5? How's the story so far? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Shai Collins
Nevertheless Episode 5 delivers a surprising development to the whirlwind romance of Song Kang and Han So Hee.

Seemingly, the latest episode also highlights not only Yoo Na Bi and Park Jae Eon's relationship but also the characters of Yang Hye Ji, Kim Min Gwi, Lee Ho Jung, and Yoon Seo Ah.

Nevertheless Episode 5 Recap: Yoo Na Bi Receives a Warning from a Stranger

In the previous episode, Park Jae Eon (Song Kang) gets punched by an unidentified man. This was witnessed by Yoon Sol and Seo Ji Wan (Lee Ho Jung and Yoon Seo Ah, respectively), to which they reported to the police.

Nevertheless Episode 5 opens up with Yoo Na Bi (Han So Hee) getting a warning from a stranger regarding Park Jae Eon's past.

At the police station, the man revealed that Park Jae Eon slept with her sister and gets revenge for it since he knew that she was in a relationship. He also warned Yoo Na Bi not to get close with a man as problematic as Park Jae Eon.

Of course, this shook Yoo Na Bi to the core and confronted him about his true feelings and motive towards her.

Here, the senior art student somehow got the courage to end things with him.

Oh Bit Na Gets Jealous on Nam Kyu Hyun's New Date

Nevertheless Episode 5 also featured the development between Nam Kyu Hyun (Kim Min Gwi) and Oh Bit Na (Yang Hye Ji).

In the latest episode, Oh Bit Na accidentally saw Nam Kyu Hyun out on a date. What made her furious was the chocolate mint ice cream that the two have been devouring.

To recall, both Nam Kyu Hyun and Oh Bit Na hated that particular flavor, calling it toothpaste-flavored ice cream.

That night, he received a call from one of their friends saying that Oh Bit Na is too drunk to get home and asked him if he could drop her off at her house, to which he did, given that he still has feelings for Oh Bit Na.

At the restaurant, she found the drunk Oh Bit Na sitting outside. There, she confessed that she's jealous and he should not go out with other girls.

This somehow drew the line between the duo's budding romance.

Yang Do Hyuk Gets a Surprise Visit from Yoo Na Bi

Aside from Oh Bit Na and Nam Kyu Hyun, Nevertheless Episode 5 also featured Yang Do Hyuk (Chae Jong Hyeop) low-key expressing his intentions for Yoo Na Bi.

As she visited the restaurant where he works, Yang Do Hyuk surprised her with a present, which totally made Yoo Na Bi smile.

It's obvious that Yang Do Hyuk is totally crushing on Yoo Na Bi but wanted to take things slow.

Park Jae Eon Volunteers to Assist Yoo Na Bi

As things get awkward between the senior art student and Park Jae Eon, he tries to make up and attempts to win her back.

During her presentation, the junior art student volunteered to be her assistant alongside another male student.

In one scene, he invited her to an art studio where they can finish Yoo Na Bi's metalwork project. Park Jae Eon was so focused on Na Bi and their project that he ignored Yoon Seol Ah's (Lee Yeol Eum) phone calls.

Little did he know that she was outside the studio and secretly checking up on him and found out that he was with Yoo Na Bi.

Park Jae Eon's Past Meets Hi Present

Nevertheless Episode 5 featured an intriguing confrontation between Yoo Na Bi and Yoon Seol Ah.

At the campus, she paid Park Jae Eon, or should we say, Yoo Na Bi, a surprise visit. As the latter walked away, she pretended to drop a lighter with a butterfly design.

Of course, this caught her attention, and she asked if she knew Park Jae Eon, to which she answered affirmatively.

Seol Ah then received a call from Jae Eon saying that he'll meet her at the campus. After ending the call, Yoo Na Bi asked her about her relationship with him.

The gorgeous Yoon Seol Ah revealed that she used to date Park Jae Eon. In addition, she mentioned that they are currently dating, which made Yoo Na Bi speechless.

With an intense look in her eyes, Seol Ah added, "But are you just really friends with him?" She nodded and cleared to her that they are just friends.

As she is about to leave, she finally came to her senses and hinted at giving up on Park Jae Eon. She mentioned that he likes it when girls tie their hair back and instructs her to do so.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Nevertheless' Episode 4: Will Han So Hee End Things with Song Kang?





KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  Police said one person died and at least six people were injured in an early morning shooting Saturday in Portland, Oregon. Officers responding to calls about gunshots found seven people injured at the scene.

One person, an adult woman, later died at the hospital. The suspect or suspects left the scene before police arrived and there have been no arrests. Officials said there may be more victims who left the scene.

Portland has struggled with a surge in gun violence this year, with 570 shootings so far. That's more than twice the number in the same period in 2020.
A Republican senator who's helping to negotiate a bipartisan infrastructure proposal said Sunday that the group is no longer looking at toughening enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service as a way to pay for the massive bill.

"Well, one reason it's not part of the proposal is that we did have pushback. Another reason is that we found out that the Democrats were going to put a proposal into the reconciliation package, which was not just similar to the one we had, but with a lot more IRS enforcement," Sen. Rob Portman told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" when asked about Republican opposition to the idea.

"That created quite a problem because the general agreement is that this is the bipartisan-negotiated infrastructure package and that we will stick with that," added Portman, a lead Republican negotiator in the group who said he has been working with the White House on the legislation.

The comments from the Ohio Republican mean that the group of lawmakers will have to continue looking for ways to pay for the costly infrastructure package, the latest version of which suggested that an additional $100 billion could be collected by the IRS over the next 10 years simply by beefing up enforcement and making sure the government is collecting what taxpayers actually owe -- also known as closing the "tax gap."

A Democratic aide confirmed to CNN on Sunday that Republicans and Democrats in the bipartisan group have agreed to scrap the enhanced IRS enforcement provision after conservatives pushed back it, endangering the group's ability to get a deal ahead of a procedural vote scheduled for Wednesday to advance the legislation.

CNN reported earlier this month that it's unclear exactly how much could be raised and how much it would cost to increase enforcement. The latest IRS report available says that nearly 84% of federal taxes are paid voluntarily and on time, leaving $441 billion uncollected. After late payments are made and enforcement actions taken, the gap narrows to $381 billion, according to the report.

But that's based on tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013 and IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig told lawmakers earlier this year that he believes the tax gap could be much bigger now -- up to a massive $1 trillion a year.

President Joe Biden had supported tougher IRS enforcement and his administration has put the figure somewhere in the middle. A recent Treasury analysis found that the tax gap totaled nearly $600 billion in 2019 and could rise to about $7 trillion over the next decade if left unaddressed -- roughly equal to 15% of taxes owed.

Portman, who told Bash that the group of senators working on the package are meeting again on Sunday to work through its details, criticized what he called the "arbitrary deadline" for the bill set by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.

"Chuck Schumer, with all due respect, is not writing bill. Nor is (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell, by the way," he said. "So that's why we shouldn't have an arbitrary deadline of Wednesday. We should bring the legislation forward when it's ready. And it's incredibly important legislation."

The meeting later Sunday is expected to be about how to replace the now-abandoned IRS idea.

Asked about Schumer's push to start debate on the issue this week, Portman stressed that the negotiators don't yet have a concrete bill to consider.

"Start debate on what? You know, we don't have a product yet. And we won't have a product until we can finish the negotiations properly," he said. "Again, this is a complex bill -- it involves several committees, it involves, you know, a lot of very tough issues because we've got to resolve them between us first, so again we're meeting today. ... We're moving as fast as we can."

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who participated in bipartisan negotiations to create the bill's framework, on Sunday also criticized the procedural vote planned for Wednesday, telling Fox News that he wouldn't support it without a completed version of the bill.

"How can I vote for a cloture when the bill isn't written? Unless you want programmed failure, unless Sen. Schumer doesn't want this to happen, you need a little bit more time to get it right," Cassidy said.

The Louisiana Republican said a written version of the bill could be completed ahead of the vote but stressed that the White House and Democrats will need to work with Republicans to come up with pay-fors to fund the legislation.

This story has been updated with additional details Sunday.

The-CNN-Wire

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At the time, much was still unknown about his condition.

However, we did know it was severe, Valerie said. We were told when he was born that if hed had this condition five or 10 years earlier, he wouldnt have made it.

A second surgery was needed soon after, because the stitches were not holding from the first. The tally of Jacobs procedures to date includes the replacement or repair of each of his four heart valves.

At age 2, he was given a mechanical valve to replace his mitral valve.

His cardiologist said Jacob was the youngest patient that Childrens Hospital had seen to have this procedure, Valerie said.

Jacobs pulmonary valve was replaced by donor tissue, and his mitral valve has been replaced four times by mechanical devices. Jacob can recall procedures done when he was in sixth grade and the two he had in high school.

The one he had in sixth grade really hit home, Valerie said.

His latest surgery to replace his mitral valve, meanwhile, took 12 hours.

It was supposed to take eight hours, but there were complications because of scar tissue, Jacob said.
FLORENCE, Ore. -- Some community members in Florence are stunned after Lane County Public Health reported a major COVID-19 outbreak at Spruce Point Assisted Living and Memory Care.

A total of 19 residents and six staff members have tested positive for the virus, according to a spokesperson for Lane County Public Health.

"If you work in a place where you take care of elderly people and you're not vaccinated, somebody's dropping the ball somewhere," Donnie Attleberger who frequently visits his father at the facility said.

Along with other visitors, Attleberger is now forced to meet with his loved one outdoors until the outbreak is under control.

"I believe that I should be able to be COVID tested so I can see my dad too in his room," Attleberger said. "I just spent two hours outside talking to him and you know, he gets tired. He's 90 years old. He's not going to want to sit outside all day."

According to Lane County Public Health, only 5% of the facility's staff members are vaccinated. Officials said the low vaccination rate is likely the reason for the outbreak.

"If you work in a place where you take care of elderly people and you're not vaccinated, somebody's dropping the ball somewhere-- that's healthcare," Attleberger said.

RELATED: NEW DATA FROM OHA SHOWS VARYING VACCINATION RATES AMONG CERTAIN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS

KEZI spoke with one man, who wanted to remain anonymous. He said he visits the facility often.

"I'd say staff, whenever they weren't around residents, generally weren't wearing masks especially after everything , the lower restrictions and stuff," the same man said.

Health officials said they're planning to send a vaccination team to the facility to make shots more accessible for both residents and staff who choose to get them.

The Oregon Health Authority's most recent weekly report shows three other care facilities in Lane County with active COVID-19 outbreaks. Those are Avamere Rehabilitation of Junction City, Good Samaritan Society - Eugene Village, and River Grove Memory Care.

Data regarding the percentage of residents who have received a COVID-19 vaccine is unknown at this time, according to Lane County Public Health.
CORVALLIS, Ore.--- A 22-year-old male is seriously injured after getting shot in Corvallis on Friday, police said.

This happened around 11:00 p.m. on the 100 block of NW 15th Street.

Officials said the male was seen with a gunshot wound and transported to Good Samaritan Hospital with serious injuries.

They said the suspect fled the scene prior to arrival.

Investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Corvallis Police.
EUGENE, Ore.-- The University of Oregon reached a $450,000 settlement agreement with now-retired psychology professor Jennifer Freyd on Friday.

Freyd filed a lawsuit against the university in 2017, claiming she was getting paid substantially less than her male colleagues who hold the same positions and are no more accomplished.

The majority of the settlement, $335,000, will be paid to cover her legal fees and emotional distress. $15,000 will cover lost wages from the five to six year period at issue.

In addition, the university will make a $100,000 donation to the Center for Institutional Courage, which was founded by Freyd.

The UO and Freyd issued a joint settlement statement saying:

We are pleased to put this litigation behind us and together affirm our continued commitment to uncover, acknowledge, and address gender inequity and other forms of discrimination.

UO Vice President Kevin Reed said he's grateful to have settled the case.

We wish professor Freyd well as a retired member of faculty and as she pursues her next endeavors," Reed said.
If the health misinformation currently spreading regarding coronavirus vaccines existed during the days of polio, it would have never been eradicated, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said Saturday.

Asked by CNN's Jim Acosta about the misinformation spread by Fox News regarding the Covid-19 vaccines, Fauci said, "We probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now."

He added, "If we had that back decades ago, I would be certain that we'd still have polio in this country."

The statement comes as dangerous falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines are swirling and as health experts warn of the more transmissible Delta variant's increasing spread among unvaccinated Americans.

Nationwide vaccination rates are dropping, while in 46 states, the rates of new Covid cases this past week are at least 10% higher than the rates of new cases the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Acosta the vaccines are shown to be "highly effective in preventing symptomatic, clinically apparent disease."

Yet less than half of the US population -- 48.5%, per the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- are fully vaccinated. And it's the communities with lower vaccination rates that are at risk.

"Despite the rise of the Delta variant, still 97% of people who are hospitalized or killed by this virus are unvaccinated," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and a member of the US Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee. "If the Delta variant were escaping, essentially, immunity induced by vaccination, then you should have seen a rise in people who are vaccinated, but nonetheless were still hospitalized and killed. And that hasn't happened."

Among those states that have fully vaccinated less than half of their residents, the average Covid-19 case rate was 11 new cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 4 per 100,000 among states that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

"If you look at the extraordinary success in eradicating smallpox and eliminating polio for most of the world -- and we're on the brink of eradicating polio -- if we had had the pushback for vaccines the way we're seeing on certain media, I don't think it would've been possible at all to not only eradicate smallpox, we probably would still have smallpox," said Fauci.

Polio once was a common virus. In some young children it can affect the nerves and cause muscle weakness or paralysis. There is no treatment and no cure but getting vaccinated can prevent infection.

Just in August 2020, polio was eradicated from Africa after governments and non-profits had worked since 1996 to eliminate the virus with sustained vaccination campaigns.

Polio has now been eradicated in the Americas, Southeast Asia, Europe, most of Australasia and in Africa. Wild strains of polio circulate now in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
EYOTA, Minn.- Saturday was day six of Eyota Days and Eyota Ambulance cooked up an appetite for the community. The EMS workers held their annual Chicken Feed fundraiser. Since 1998, they've been holding it to raise money for new equipment including defibrillators and stretchers.

For Eyota Ambulance Director Christopher Arendt, Chicken Feed is more than a fundraiser.

"We use this as a way to engage our community. Everyone loves to see shiny trucks. Everyone loves to be out but the reality is people only see an ambulance service usually when you need them the most."

Arendt also says it's about connecting, especially after pandemic restrictions.

"This is one way that we can reach out to our community. We can offer a meal and everyone needs to sit down together."

The meal attracted tourists from out of town like Ron Dalton. Dalton is visiting his family from Lincoln, Nebraska. When he heard about Chicken Feed, he came out and showed his support.

"When I lived in a small community, we use to do this all the time."

Eyota Ambulance doesn't have any events scheduled for the future but hopes to get more involved in the community. Eyota Days also wraps up tomorrow with food trucks, a barbecue competition, and bean bag tournament. For a list of events, click here.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Family and friends are remembering the joy an 11-year-old boy brought to others before he was critically injured on a ride at an Iowa amusement park earlier this month.

Many of the more than 100 mourners grieving Michael Jaramillos death wore orange to his funeral in Des Moines on Saturday because it was his favorite color. Jaramillo was injured on July 3 after a boat he was riding on with five other family members flipped over at Adventureland Park and trapped the young boy and his older brother under the water for minutes.

Michael Jaramillo died the next day while 16-year-old David Jaramillo remains hospitalized in critical condition.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Gov. Tim Walz and top state Democratic lawmakers are calling on state Rep. John Thompson to resign following reports of domestic violence allegations in his past.

The Star Tribune reports the four domestic assault cases included allegations that Thompson punched and choked women, sometimes in the presence of children.

Neither Thompson nor his attorney could be reached for comment on Saturday.

The first-term Black Democratic lawmaker has been in the spotlight since he was stopped by police while driving July 4. Thompson said he was being profiled by law enforcement.
ELY, Min. (AP)  Superior National Forest officials say they are expanding their closure order for the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness north of Ely because of the threat of wildfires burning across the Canadian border.

The newly expanded order, which took effect Sunday, includes 12 more BWCA entry points and the area around Lac la Croix, in addition to the areas around Crooked and Iron lakes that had previously been included. It now stretches east nearly to Basswood Lake, west nearly to Crane Lake, and south to the Echo Trail.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports that wildfires burning unchecked just across the border in Ontarios Quetico Provincial Park could cross into the BWCA. Forest Service officials say the new order is meant to give campers time to leave the area
A Madison, Illinois has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of a Texas man in the Metro East Friday night.
A 27-year-old woman is in critical condition after a suspect fired shots into her South City apartment Saturday evening, police say.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Weather Alert

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 475 AND 476... ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 411, 413 AND 427... ...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 411, 413 AND 427... * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 411 Centennial Mountains and Snake River Range/Targhee NF, Fire Weather Zone 413 Caribou Range/Caribou NF and Fire Weather Zone 427 Goose Creek and Raft River Valley/Southern Sawtooth NF/Twin Falls BLM south of the Snake River. * IMPACTS...Lightning and or strong outflow winds could create critical fire conditions. * THUNDERSTORMS...Scattered thunderstorms are expected with a mix of wet and dry thunderstorms. Localized amounts over 0.25 inches are possible. * OUTFLOW WINDS...Winds over 35 mph are possible. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly based on these criteria for Southeastern Idaho: - Relative humidity at or below 15 percent and wind gusts of at least 25 mph in the mountains, or 30 mph in the Snake Plain. - Thunderstorm coverage of 25 percent, without specific rainfall criteria. - Other high impact events deemed critical by the National Weather Service and area fire management agencies. &&
UPDATE: JULY 22 AT 2:53 P.M.

Dan is recovering after a successful second surgery Thursday to remove all of the burned areas, except those on his face, Red Lodge Fire Rescue reports.

As the burns on his face continue to heal, Red Lodge Fire Rescue says doctors are hoping to remove his intubation tube this weekend. However, they are being extra cautious because Dan has a "touch of pneumonia" and they are waiting to see how he responds to antibiotics.

Red Lodge Fire Rescue says healing energy from the public is much appreciated.

UPDATE: JULY 19 AT 4:45 P.M.

Red Lodge Fire Rescue released an update on Dan's condition following his first surgery. They wrote: Dan went through his first of many surgical procedures today at the University of Utah Burn Center. The surgery was successful and he has been alert and is communicating with the family and firefighters that are with him. The recovery process will be long and difficult. It is expected that he will be there for about six months. We all appreciate the tremendous support from everyone across the region. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. A GoFundMe has been set up to help Dan that you can donate to here

UPDATE: July 17 AT 3:01 P.M.

The firefighter injured Friday on the Harris Fire near Joliet has been identified as Dan Steffensen.

According to Red Lodge Fire, Dan has been a firefighter with them since 2015.

In 2017 Dan was selected as volunteer Firefighter of the Year and works on the fuel mitigation/Initial Attack crew where in the summers he works to reduce hazardous fuels around homes and responds to emerging wildland fires, Red Lodge Fire said in a release. He is a nationally qualified wildland firefighter and has fought fires in Montana, Oregon, California and other western states as an engine boss and tender operator.

The other Red Lodge firefighter on the two-person crew was identified as Scott Wilson.

Scott was not injured and joined the fire department this year after retiring to Red Lodge.

Dan and Scott were reportedly fighting the Harris Fire when strong winds suddenly shifted toward them.

Dan tried to reach safety but was overrun by the fast moving fire.

Scott informed the incident commander and acted to get Dan to Emergency Care.

Due to the severity of his burns, Dan has been admitted to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City, and according to Red Lodge Fire, he is in serious condition.

His family and firefighting colleagues are traveling to be with him.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Dan that you can donate to here.

Wed like to thank the wildland firefighting community for reaching out to us with offers of help and words of support. Please keep Dan and his family in your thoughts and prayers during these difficult times, said Fire Chief Tom Kuntz. This event is a reminder that firefighting is dangerous and we are truly grateful to those who answer the call to help others in time of need.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

JOLIET, Mont. - A firefighter is getting treatment for severe burn injuries after Fire Engine 78 was burned over Friday while crews worked the Harris Fire near Joliet.
WALLOWA COUNTY  The Elbow Creek Fire, which is located in the northwest corner of Wallowa County, has quickly extended its acreage to become the third largest fire in Oregon. As of 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, July 17, the Elbow Creek fire is up to approximately 10,941 acres.
An ounce of prevention is worth well more than a pound of cure, especially when it comes to dock electric safety.

While it would be nice if every aspect of boating and Lake life was just plug-and-play, the reality is: things need to be maintained. And while boaters are typically diligent to winterize, maintain, and inspect their vessel (or pay someone qualified to do it), it can be tempting to gloss over the other stuff. But when it comes to safely enjoying the Lake life, Catalyst Electric owner Jon Bussey says few things are more important than ensuring your docks electrical system is in good shape. In business at Lake of the Ozarks for 10 years, Catalysts crews inspect hundreds of docks every year, and Bussey says some of the elecrical problems they findand solveare disconcerting.

By Amerens count (the utility company that permits docks on Lake of the Ozarks), the Lake has more than 30,000 docks along its 1,150 miles of shoreline. The vast majority of those docks use electrical connections: for everything from boat lifts to lights to water pumps to fancy bar setups. The harsh elements of the Ozarksfrom humidity and temperature swings to the rocking waves of a busy summer on the top recreational lake in the nationcan take their toll on the elements of a docks electrical system. And while the number of electric shock incidents on the water has been smallconsidering the hundreds of thousands of visitors the Lake sees every yearone electrical accident is too many.

There have been multiple electrocutions or near-electrocutions at the Lake over the past decade:

Electrocution Investigation Reveals Dock Wiring Problems LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo.  Investigators say a breaker that kept tripping was a sign of wirin

+3 Two children die from electrocution on Gravois Arm LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo.  Two children died Wednesday afternoon from electrocution while swi

Court Clears Ameren In Lake Of The Ozarks Electrocutions The Missouri Supreme Court found Ameren Missouri isnt liable for the electrocution deaths o

The best way to prevent another electrocution is for dock owners to be diligent, Bussey said. Honestly, you cant be too careful. But at the very least, a good place to start is by visually inspecting your docks electrical system every spring, as you prepare to get on, or in, the water.

Electricity can kill, so when in doubt, dock owners should always call an electrician. At the risk of sounding self-serving, Bussey points out not all electricians are created equally better to spend the extra few bucks on a reputable electrician than go with the guy who swears hes real handy and can probably figure it out. To that point, Busseys business partner Seth Agnew is literally a nationally-acclaimed electrician. Agnew recently won third place in an "Elite Tradesmen" national electrician competition. Check out the video of his award-winning, incredibly-efficient wiring job

(Skip to 20:17, 22:13, 23:00, and especially 24:55  26:00)

Bussey says dock owners dont even need to touch any wires to perform a safe, visual inspection of their docks electrical system. Just looking closelyand knowing where to lookcan help catch minor issues early, before they come major problems.

Heres what to look at, and what to look for:

ELECTRICAL INSPECTION CHECKLIST FOR DOCK OWNERS

1. CHECK BOXES & BREAKERS

-Boxes, fittings & covers should be in good shape. If theyre broken, they can expose wires to the elements and possibly result in electrical problems

-Every month, check every GFCI breaker by using the test button as well as a plug-in GFCI tester

-If you dont have GFCI breakers leading to your dock, its time to call an electrician today

**Pictured below: Seth Agnew, of Catalyst Electric, works on the electric connection for a Lake of the Ozarks dock.

2. CHECK YOUR CONDUIT

-Visually inspect the conduit coming from the house to the shoreline. It should be intact, and joints should be tight

-On the dock, visually inspect conduit running overhead and/or under the decking. If theres any separation in conduit joints, conduit damage, or visible wear and tear, you might have a problem.

-(If wiring on your dock has not been run in conduit, its time to call an electrician)

**Pictured below: 1) a broken conduit and 2) conduit not properly strapped to the dock structure

3. ON THE SHORELINE

-Your grounding jumpersfrom the dock to the shorelineshould have good connections and be secure

-Make sure that when the shoreline breakers are off, all power to the dock is off. If the breakers are off but youve still got power on the dock, youve got a problem.

-Visually inspect cords leading to pumps or lifts, and make sure theyre in good shape

**The disconnect pictured below is shown submerged during flooding. Breakers are not rated for water contact, so if you know any flooding has submerged your electrical connections, you should call an electrician to have them checked immediately.**

4. IN THE WATER

-Have a certified mechanic thoroughly check the boats electrical system. Faulty boat electrical grounds can be as dangerous as a poorly grounded dock.

-Use a current-detecting device to test the water around the dock before you go for a swim.
I have worked with your charity in the past when I was looking for assistance for several tenants in the low-income housing apartments I manage. The people you helped in the past all were greatly helped by the assistance they received. I have two tenants right now that I am very worried about. I have noticed they are struggling and after speaking with them I confirmed they would benefit from The Time is Now to Helps assistance.

The first person that needs help is Dorothy. She is a sweet senior woman who is always willing to help her neighbors with rides to the doctor or a homemade meal when they are not well. I have watched Dorothy change over the past month as she no longer would smile and began to lose weight. I finally asked her what was wrong, and she told me about her teeth. She has badly infected teeth that need to be removed and she will need dentures. The infection has made her very sick. She was embarrassed to admit that she cannot afford this care. I would love to see Dorothy smile again and no longer be in pain. The second person I am requesting help for is Amy. She is a young lady who until recently had been attending college. From what she told me she is going through her second battle with cancer. Due to this she has been struggling to make ends meet. I have enclosed their contact information so you may speak with them directly. I hope you are able to help these two wonderful women.
A wise man once said, You cant buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream, and that is pretty much the same thing.

As I joined Carrie Lepore  deputy secretary of marketing, tourism and film for the Department of Community and Economic Development  at Urban Churn creamery in Mechanicsburg to kick off Ice Cream Month and promote the Pennsylvania Ice Cream Trail, there were nothing but smiles and ice cream scoops in sight.

Ice cream is a favorite and staple for many, but it is also a treat with a much deeper connection.

Whether its a reward following a Little League win, a salute to reuniting with family and friends, or a tribute to a hot summer day, theres a lot to celebrate about and with Pennsylvania dairy.

Ice cream brings us together, and it exemplifies the sense of community found within the dairy industry.

While celebrating Dairy Month in June, I had the opportunity to attend the National Holstein Convention hosted by the Pennsylvania Holstein Association in Lancaster, where I was approached with a book, Cows, Farms & Families. Filled with Holstein history, the book weaves the stories of times gone by while highlighting the growth of the Pennsylvania dairy industry.

As I recognized the faces and names that help tell the tale of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association, I remembered my own experiences as a junior member. And I realized something more  dairy is a community that advances community.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, this community spirit was captured time and time again. As supply and demand forced many dairy farmers to dump their milk, it was the farmers who were at a loss who also raised their hands to ask what more they could do to support the charitable food system and their neighbors in need.

It was these farmers, and others, who sought alternatives to county fairs so youth could continue to learn more about their 4-H and FFA project animals, despite not being in a show ring.

Dairy is a community that advances community, and its an essential industry that strengthens our commonwealth.

Investing in Dairy

Pennsylvanias more than 5,400 dairy farm families power more than 53,000 jobs and $14.1 billion in economic output each year. It is an outstanding contribution to agriculture and greater society that deserves support and recognition.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is proud to invest in an industry that has given us so much. In the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget, Gov. Tom Wolf committed $2.8 million to Ag Excellence, which includes the Center for Dairy Excellence, to continue its good work.

The Center directly supports dairy farms through industry collaboration and on-farm grants and programming. This past week I had the opportunity to see one of these grants in action when I visited Don and Shirley Hoover, of Dairy-Lee Farm in Carlisle, who recently received a cow comfort grant to invest in fans and a cow brush.

Grants provided by the Center allow farmers to make necessary investments to strengthen animal welfare and, in return, cow productivity.

Investments like these  dedicated to family farms of every size and scope  improve on-farm vitality while increasing the competitiveness of Pennsylvania dairy, which is why we are committed to ensuring every dairy farm has opportunity to succeed at every step of the supply chain.

Opportunities like the Pennsylvania Dairy Investment Program are committed to helping dairy stand out in an innovative, competitive marketplace.

Funded in 2018 and again in 2019, PDIP invested $10 million over two years in 46 projects to strengthen on-farm dairy activities and investment. Projects included on-farm value-added processing, research and development, and marketing.

In June I met with Mike Baysal, CEO of Country Food LLC. Mike received a PDIP grant in 2018 to invest in cold storage, milk tanks and yogurt processing equipment. A PA Preferred member, Mike processes milk from Lancaster County for his line of yogurt products, including shelf-stable yogurt.

This investment allowed Mike to grow both his business and his community impact. The development of shelf-stable yogurt has been extremely valuable to the USDA Farmers to Family Food Box Program and the charitable food system. Mike admitted that without the PDIP grant, Country Food would not have had the capacity to assist families in need during the pandemic.

It is another example of how dairy  at every step of the value chain  is a community that advances community.

To everyone in the dairy industry, thank you. Your work does not go unnoticed, and our commonwealth is a better place because of all that you give back to society.
Samsung is expected to launch the new Galaxy A22 5G smartphone in the Indian market by next month. According to a recent report from 91mobiles, the upcoming 5G handset would be priced in India from Rs 19,999 for the base 6GB + 128GB variant. It's worth noting that the handset is already available in the European markets. The handset made its debut in the European markets in June 2021. Now, the company is ready to introduce the handset in the Indian market. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Might Come With S-Pen Pro Support, Check Leaked Price Here.

Samsung Galaxy A22 Smartphone (Photo Credits: Samsung Europe)

According to the report, the handset will be offered in two variants - 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB. The base variant with 6GB of RAM will cost Rs 19,999 while the bigger 8GB variant is said to be priced at Rs 21,999.

In terms of specifications, the upcoming Galaxy A22 5G will sport a 6.6-inch LCD display with FHD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 90Hz. The phone is said to be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, which will be paired with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. There will be a provision to expand internal storage via a microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy A22 Smartphone (Photo Credits: Samsung Europe)

For photography, there will be a triple rear camera module at the back. It will consist of a 48MP primary sensor accompanied by a 5MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor. The front camera will be an 8MP shooter for selfies and video calls. The phone is expected to be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with an 18W fast-charging support. It will also get a fingerprint scanner on the power button.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2021 11:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Since taking office, President Obama has sent U.S. troops into action on land or in the skies of seven countries on two continents. Obamas administration has authorized Navy SEALs to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and approved the fatal drone strike on an American cleric in Yemen.

Here is a look at targeted killings under the Obama administration.

Faruq Qatani | Al Qaeda

When: Death announced Nov. 4, 2016

How: A precision airstrike carried out by the United States military on Oct. 23, 2016

Where: Kunar Province, Afghanistan

Qatani was a top Al Qaeda leader in the eastern part of Afghanistan and one of Al Qaeda's "senior plotters of attacks against the United States," according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Read more >>

Abu Muhammad Adnani | Islamic State

Adnani, the Islamic State militant group's spokesman, is shown in this undated image provided by SITE Intelligence Group. (Associated Press)

When: Death announced Aug. 30, 2016

How: Drone strike but could not confirm his death. Islamic State said he was killed.

Where: Al Bab, Syria

Adnani was deeply involved in the Sunni Muslim militant groups larger operational strategies and served as its spokesman, creating a propaganda machine that has attracted foreign recruits from all over the globe.

Read more >>

Hafiz Saeed Khan | Islamic State

When: July 26, 2016

How: Killed in a drone strike

Where: Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

The State Department last year designated Khan a global terrorist, saying he is the leader of Islamic State in Khorasan, which includes former members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban. Khan had previously been a Tehrik-e Taliban commander, but last year pledged loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour | Taliban

Mansour in an image released by the militant group in December 2015. (Afghan Taliban)

Killed: May 21, 2016

How: Drone strike

Where: In western Pakistan along the Afghanistan border

Mansour was killed when a drone strike hit his vehicle as he traveled in Baluchistan, Pakistan.

Mansour, known for his mercurial leadership, had been in the U.S. militarys crosshairs for years. He officially took charge of the Taliban in the summer of 2015 after the group acknowledged the death of founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Read more >>

Rahman Mustafa Qaduli, a.k.a. Abu Ala Afri and Haji Imam | Islamic State

Rahman Mustafa Qaduli (U.S. State Department.)

When: March 24, 2016

How: Died during an attempt by special operations to capture him

Where: Syria

Qaduli was an influential finance minister for Islamic State and a close advisor to the group's leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi. He was a key player in Islamic State's military and financial operations, according to the Pentagon.

Qaduli, who had as many as a dozen aliases, joined Al Qaeda in Iraq in 2004, serving as Abu Musab Zarqawi's liaison for operations with Pakistan. The group was later rebranded as Islamic State. He was held in U.S. custody at the Camp Bucca military prison in Iraq in 2006, along with many other prisoners who went on to senior positions in Islamic State. He was released in 2012.

Read more >>

Abu Nabil, a.k.a. Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi | Islamic State

(AFP PHOTO / HO / AL-HAYAT MEDIA CENTRE)

When: Nov. 14, 2015

How: Killed by jet strike

Where: Derna, Libya

Nabil led Islamic State in Libya and was a longtime Al Qaeda figure. He was killed during a F-15 jet strike targeted at his compound in eastern Libya  the countrys government in effect has been a void since the toppling of Moammar Kadafi in 2011.

The Pentagon suggested Nabil may have played a key role in an execution video showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christian Egyptians along the southern Mediterranean coast in early 2015.

Read more >>

Jihadi John Mohammed Emwazi | Islamic State

(AFP/Getty Images)

When: Nov. 12, 2015

How: Killed by drone

Where: Raqqah, Syria

The 27-year-old British citizen was given the moniker Jihadi John after he appeared in videos announcing the killing of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as the slaying of American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.

Emwazi was described as a quiet and hardworking schoolboy in affluent northwest London and a graduate of University of Westminsters computer science program, and his presence brought the issue of homegrown extremism to the forefront.

"He was one of the worst, who hit and tortured without any restraint, Didier Francois, a journalist held for 10 months in Syria, told a French radio station.

Read more >>

Muhsin Fadhli | Al Qaeda

When: July 8, 2015

How: Vehicle was hit during drone strike

Where: Sarmada, Syria

Fadhli, who fought for the Taliban as a teenager in Afghanistan, had advanced notice of the Sept. 11 attacks. Years later, U.S. intelligence analysts had fears that his faction was progressing in its ability to attack jets and other Western targets.

The head of a shadowy cell of veteran Al Qaeda operatives known as the Khorasan Group, he was killed while traveling in his vehicle near the Turkish border in the Syrian town of Sarmada. He was identified as the authority of Al Qaedas operations in Iran before relocating to Syria.

Read more >>

Ali Awni Harzi | Islamic State

When: June 15, 2015

How: Airstrike

Where: Mosul, Iraq

Tunisian-born Harzi was a suspect in the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attack, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans. His brother, Tariq Harzi, was known as the emir of suicide bombers for orchestrating hundreds of suicide bombings among jihadists.

"While it may have taken years to track down and eliminate Ali Awni al Harzi, those who kill Americans must understand that our memories are long and our commitment to justice is steadfast," Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said.

Read more >>

Mokhtar Belmokhtar | Al Mourabitoun

(AFP/Getty Images)

When: June 13, 2015

How: Airstrike

Where: Libya

The Al Qaeda-linked North African was the architect of a 2013 plot to seize a natural gas refinery in Amenas, Algeria, which resulted in the deaths of more than 38 foreign captives from 10 countries, including three Americans.

Belmokhtar had an extensive history of organizing terrorism, yet always slipped out of the clutches of the U.S. military and its allies. In fact, the French government had nicknamed the Algerian militant "the Uncatchable."

Read more >>

Adan Garar | Shabab

When: March 12, 2015

How: Vehicle struck by drone strike

Where: Bardera, Somalia

Garar was a strategic commander who planned the high-profile attack on Nairobis Westgate shopping mall in 2013, which killed at least 67 people including children. Only those who could prove they were Muslim were spared.

The Shabab leader was killed in his vehicle near the southwestern town of Bardera in Somalia. The Shabab, which has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda rather than Islamic State, has suffered blows to their military capabilities in recent years.

Read more 

Adam Gadahn | Al Qaeda

(AFP/Getty Images)

When: Jan. 19, 2015

How: CIA drone strike

Where: Waziristan, Pakistan

The Orange County native, who served as a top propagandist for Al Qaeda, was killed in a CIA drone strike in Waziristan, Pakistan.

The grandson of a Jewish doctor, Gadahn converted to Islam in 1995. He frequented the Islamic Center of Orange County, where those close to Gadahn say he fell under the influence of Hisham Diab, an accountant who lived in the Little Gaza section of Anaheim, who espoused extremist views

Gadahn appeared in five incendiary Al Qaeda videos before his death and became the first American since the World War II era to be charged with treason.

Read more >>

Hakimullah Mehsud | Pakistani Taliban

Mehsud in 2008. (AFP Photo / A Majeed)

When: Nov. 1, 2013

How: CIA drone strike

Where: Waziristan, Pakistan

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, was killed by a CIA drone strike in Waziristan, Pakistan. He was known for attacking a CIA base in Afghanistan and a campaign that killed thousands of Pakistani civilians and security force members.

Mehsud was considered a top militant, and the FBI held a $5-million bounty on his head in the months before he was killed. Yet, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the drone strikes, calling them an attempt to sabotage peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Taliban.

Read more >>

Maulvi Nazir | Pakistani Taliban

Maulvi Nazir meets with associates in South Waziristan in April 2007. (Ishtiaq Mahsud / Associated Press)

When: Jan. 2, 2013

How: Drone strike

Where: Northwest Pakistan

A U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan killed the top Taliban commander responsible for coordinating attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Nazir was one of two Taliban commanders in the Waziristan tribal regions to issue decrees against polio vaccination efforts in their areas. Nazir said his decision to ban the vaccinations was motivated by Washingtons drone campaign and a phony inoculation program orchestrated by the CIA in 2011 to help track down Osama bin Laden.

Read more 

Abu Yahya al Libi | Al Qaeda

When: June 4, 2012

How: Drone strike

Where: North Waziristan, Pakistan

Al Qaedas former second-in-command, Libi was killed in a U.S. drone missile strike on Hesokhel, a small village in North Waziristan near the Afghan border. North Waziristan has long been a stronghold for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani network and other militant groups.

Libis death was a big win for covert U.S. anti-terrorism operations in Pakistan, which had their milestone with the killing of Osama bin Laden in early 2011.

Read more >>

Sakhr Taifi | Al Qaeda

When: May 29, 2012

How: Airstrike

Where: Kunar, Afghanistan

Al Qaedas second-in-command in Afghanistan was killed in an airstrike coordinated by coalition forces. Taifi frequently commanded attacks against NATO and Afghan forces, and he traveled frequently between Afghanistan and Pakistan to relocate weapons and insurgent fighters.

Read more 

Abdul-Rahman Awlaki and Ibrahim Banna | Al Qaeda

When: Oct. 14, 2011

How: Drone strike

Where: Azzan, Yemen

Awlaki, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, was eating dinner along the side of a road when he was killed by a drone strike. Awlakis father, Anwar, was killed two weeks earlier for terrorist operations, but the sons killing sparked outrage among human rights activists who argued that Awlakis death was unrelated to his fathers activities and he was executed without charge, trial or legitimate reasoning.

"If the government is going to be firing Predator missiles at American citizens, surely the American public has a right to know whos being targeted and why." Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said.

Also killed was Egyptian-born Banna, whom officials described as the media chief of the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen.

Read more >>

Anwar Awlaki | Al Qaeda

A file picture released by the SITE Intelligence Group on September 26, 2010 shows US-Yemeni radical Anwar al-Awlaki speaking during a video lecture at an unknown location. (AFP/Getty Images)

When: Sept. 30, 2011

How: Drone strike

Where: Azzan, Yemen

The American-born Muslim cleric, accused of inspiring and plotting terrorist attacks on Americans, including the deadly shooting at an army base in Texas, was killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a drone aircraft operated by the CIA.

Although Awlaki was a midlevel figure in Al Qaeda, he cast a potent shadow in U.S. counter-terrorism circles because he spoke fluent English and was effective at reaching disaffected Muslims in the United States and elsewhere via speeches and sermons on the Internet.

His death marked not only an escalation of Obama administration efforts to kill leaders of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, but also another significant intelligence coup after the CIA-led raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan.

Read more >>

Atiyah Abdul Rahman | Al Qaeda

When: Aug. 22, 2011

How: CIA Predator drone strike

Where: Waziristan, Pakistan

Rahman first met Osama bin Laden in his teens, and the Al Qaeda kingpin appointed him to chief liaison for the group in Iran. Though he was unknown to most Americans, he "gained considerable stature in Al Qaeda as an explosives expert and Islamic scholar," according to the website of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.

Atiyah was at the top of Al Qaeda's trusted core," said an intelligence official, who would not be identified discussing sensitive defense matters. "His combination of background, experience and abilities are unique in Al Qaeda; without question, they will not be easily replaced."

Read more 

Ilyas Kashmiri | Al Qaeda

Ilyas Kashmiri (Saeed Khan / AFP/Getty Images)

When: June 3, 2011

How: Drone strike

Where: South Waziristan, Pakistan

Ilyas Kashmiri, a key Al Qaeda strategist, was killed in a 2011 strike in South Waziristan, Pakistan. Reports on Kashmiri alleged that he trained mujahedin to counter Soviet forces in 1980s Afghanistan and that he was tipped to command Al Qaeda after Osama bin Ladens death.

Kashmiri led a militant group in Pakistan and in recent years had been brought into the leadership of Al Qaeda, running a training camp and planning attacks against targets in India and Europe, said a U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

Read more >>

Osama bin Laden | Al Qaeda

Osama bin Laden (Associated Press)

When: May 2, 2011

How: U.S. special forces unit raid

Where: Abbottabad, Pakistan

The founder of Al Qaeda and the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks was killed during a special forces raid of his compound. The Saudi Arabia-born extremist kingpin vanished after the fall of the World Trade Center towers.

Once or twice a year, Bin Laden popped up on a new video or audio recording, mocking America's leaders and urging his faithful to follow his path. They did so with bombings in London, Madrid, Bali, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

Interrogators at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were pushed to ask Al Qaeda suspects in custody about possible couriers. The information came in pieces, a U.S. official said, and it took years.

Read more >>

Abdallah Umar Qurayshi | Al Qaeda

When: Sept. 25, 2010

How: Airstrike

Where: Kunar, Afghanistan

The bombing of a compound in Kunar province, close to the border with Pakistan, killed Abdallah Umar Qurayshi, who had led Al Qaeda-affiliated Arab fighters operating in two eastern provinces, and Abu Atta Kuwaiti, an explosives expert.

Western troops, nearly all of them American, pulled out of the remote, rugged Korengal Valley after suffering heavy losses over several years. Fighters led by Qurayshi had staged attacks on Western forces in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, where insurgents sometimes targeted isolated U.S. outposts with devastating results.

Read more 

Sheik Said Masri | Al Qaeda

When: May 21, 2010

How: Drone Strike

Where: Pakistan

Al Qaeda's former third-ranking leader  a close associate and relative by marriage to Osama bin Laden  was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region. The death of Masri, an Egyptian who was believed to act as the terrorist network's operational leader, was a major blow to Al Qaeda, which had suffered a steady degradation of its leadership and ability to mount attacks since the U.S. stepped up its campaign of missile strikes by unmanned aircraft in the tribal region.

Read more >>

Hussein Yemeni | Al Qaeda

When: March 8, 2010

How: Drone Strike

Where: Miram Shah, Pakistan

The death of the elusive Yemeni proved a source of elation for U.S. intelligence officials after the expert bomb maker was killed by drone strike in early 2010. It is believed that Yemeni played a strategic role in the 2009 Camp Chapman suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA employees and contractors.

A counter-terrorism official described the Miram Shah strike as a "clean, precise action that shows these killers cannot hide even in relatively built-up places."

Read more >>

Baitullah Mahsud | Pakistani Taliban

Baitullah Mehsud (A. Majeed / AFP/Getty Images)

When: Aug. 5, 2009

How: Predator drone strike

Where: Miram Shah, Pakistan

Mahsud was a founding militant of the Pakistani Taliban, which U.S. intelligence suggested could have been behind the 2007 assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Despite his small stature, it is suggested that he had commanded as many as 20,000 fighters and provided refuge for Afghani Taliban members after the 2001 U.S. invasion.

Read more >>
At least two people died with multiple others injured in two separate shootings in Portland, Oregon. Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell noted that the two separate shooting incidents were among the four significant gun violence in the city, in the span of four hours on Saturday, CBS News reported.

According to Associated Press, the incidents occurred as gun violence and homicide rates soared in the city of Portland in the last six months.

READ NEXT: Colorado Governor Jared Polis Signs Gun Control Bills After Boulder Mass Shooting

2 Dead, Several Others Injured in Separate Portland Shootings

At around 2 a.m., authorities from the Portland Police Bureau responded to a report of multiple individuals shot downtown. The officers described the scene "extremely chaotic," as they discover multiple individuals wounded.

The officers discovered at least seven people were shot, including an 18-year-old woman who was reported to die in the hospital. Details about her identity were not furthered by the authorities. Moreover, six others were identified by the officials to sustain injuries with varying degrees of severity. However, the police believed that the injuries sustained by the six individuals were not life-threatening.

Despite the number of wounded, authorities noted that the 2 a.m. shooting in Portland would possibly have more shooting victims, and potential witnesses have fled the scene without speaking with the law enforcement officers, which according to Lovell was "understandable given how terrifying and hectic that scene was."

"We all want to know what happened and who did this and why, and I pledge that more information will come out as soon as possible," Lovell underscored.

At around 6:30 in the morning, the Portland police chief noted that another man was shot and killed in the 1130 block of Northeast Sandy Boulevard. No arrest was made in the 6:30 a.am shooting and the information of the suspect was also not released by the authorities. However, an eyewitness from a report mentioned by the Associated Press, noted that they saw a dark blue car took off right after the gunshots.

Details regarding the two other shootings in the city were not furthered by the authorities. Lovell underscored that the two incidents in Portland marked the city's 50th and 51st homicide this year.

"What happened early this morning is devastating. It's tragic and senseless," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said, adding that he was heartbroken and angry at the same time because of gun violence.

Gun Violence and Homicide in Portland, Oregon

Lovell acknowledged that their community has a dilemma with gun violence and homicide problem. However, the Portland police chief emphasized that the community should expect they will have adequate resources in controlling the issues.

Mayor Ted Wheeler echoed what Lovell said, arguing that he would push hard for officers and resources in Portland Police Bureau, labeling the gun violence in the community as a "pandemic".

CBS News reported that the shooting incidents in Portland, Oregon happened as the U.S. witnessed at least 362 mass shootings to date, citing a database from Gun Violence Archive. It can be remembered that President Joe Biden unveiled a strategy in late June that would address gun violence in the country, focusing on stemming the flow of firearms and providing more resources to law enforcement.

READ NEXT: Housekeeper Discovers Two Dead Men in Hotel Room at Former Versace Mansion in Miami Beach

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: One Dead and Six Injured in Portland Shooting - From CBS Evening News
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A burglar escaped garda custody via a hospital bathroom vent after they brought him for treatment for an arm injury, a court has heard.

The court heard Stephen Feery (31), then got the Luas away from the scene, with an untreated broken arm, in order to get more drugs to feed his addiction. He told gardai he had a lot going on.

Feery, of Snowdrop Walk, Darndale, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at Dame House, Dame Street on October 3, 2019. The charge of escape from lawful custody is to be taken into account.

Feery has 159 previous convictions for offences including theft and fraud, as well as road traffic offences.

Garda Damien McKenna told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that Feery was identified on CCTV by gardai as the culprit in a burglary at a tattoo artists studio in Dame House. Electrical equipment such as a laptop, tattoo gun, camera and phone was taken in the burglary.

The camera was later recovered when Feery was stopped by a garda and it was found on him.

Feery was arrested on October 24, 2019 after he gave a false name to gardai. It came to their attention that he had a hand injury and he was taken to St James Hospital accompanied by three gardai.

He asked to use the bathroom and was escorted there while a garda remained outside the unlocked bathroom door. The garda heard a noise and looked inside to see Feery crawling into a vent. He attempted to pull Feery back by his feet which were sticking out of the vent.

Feery kicked the garda into the chest and knocked him backwards.

He was later rearrested and interviewed. He admitted getting out through the vent while waiting for medical treatment, he said he got on the Luas to Tallaght and could not remember any more.

The victim of the burglary said in her impact statement the loss of her electrical equipment had a severe impact on her work and she struggled to replace the items.

Gda Mckenna agreed with Emer Ni Chuagain BL, defending, that the premise was not residential and there had been no interactions with any people during the burglary. He accepted Feery appeared to be very heavily addicted to drugs at the time.

Ms Ni Chuagain said Feery's intention in leaving the hospital that day had been to get more drugs. She said at the time he had a severe addiction to crack cocaine and had an untreated broken arm, which was an indication of how bad his addiction was.

Counsel said he had grown up a volatile family situation and become addicted to drugs at a young age, falling into a pattern of offending. She said he does well in custody but finds it hard to maintain sobriety in the community, repeatedly relapsing when he is released.

She said he is interested in residential rehabilitation and asked the court to structure a sentence to ensure he is not released without supports in place. She said there were two psychiatric reports and a psychological report before the court.

Judge Melanie Greally said Feerys needs appeared to be quite complex and she asked for an assessment by the probation service with a view to recommendations in relation to the issue of residential treatment and maintaining his mental wellbeing in the community.

Judge Greally adjourned sentencing until November 25 to allow the reports be prepared.


The Sean Mac Diarmada Summer School was broadcast live, online, for the second successive year on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5. The Summer School hosted a line-up of high profile speakers over the Friday evening, and on Saturday.

Following the undoubted success of 2020s online event, it was decided to proceed in the same manner for 2021, given that the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions associated with it, did not allow for the resumption of a real event in Kiltyclogher Holiday Centre.



The committee decided not to charge for the event during the Covid period. It was again, as with last year, a huge success with a 40% increase in overseas attendance. Given its success, the committee has already started planning next years event which will be back physically in Kiltyclogher and live streamed to the dispsora abroad.

The theme of the event was Reflections on the War of Independence 1919-1921.



The summer school of 2021 wishes to thank all the speakers who took part in the summer school. This included Prin Duignan, who co-ordinated the event from its inception in 2009 and who the committee are indebted to for steering this through in the early years.

Other speakers were Francis White and Sinead Guckian. The committee would also like to thank Ambassador Adrian ONeill, the Irish Ambassador to the UK as well as Professor John Crown (leading consultant medical oncologist) for opening the event.

Saturday commenced with three times former Taoiseach of Ireland, and a key broker in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, Mr Bertie Ahern. Mr Ahern focused on how the War of Independence shaped the fabric of Irish life for the next one hundred years.

In his presentation, Senator Michael Mc Dowell, former Tanaiste, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, contended that the War of Independence was A justified struggle.



Dr Sinead Mc Cool, historian and curator, spoke on the role of women in the War of Independence, with special emphasis on Min Ryan and the Ryan sisters.

Jack Ryan occupied the Youth Speaker slot in a new initiative created by the summer school committee for the 2021 event.

This exciting development sees the event approach a different third level educational institution each year, inviting a representative student speaker, thus offering a voice and a platform for aspiring young academics, and possibly, the policy makers of the future.



Jack Ryan, representing the History Department at NUI Galway, is a third Year undergraduate student of English and History. His presentation, Youth Perspective on the War of Independence and its Legacy, analysed the War of Independence from the objective distance of one hundred years and the thinking of his generation.

Ronan Mc Greevy, Irish Times journalist, examined how Irelands freedom was never a given, and was far from inevitable, in his presentation, The Miracle of Irish Independence.



Keynote speaker, Professor John Crown, brought the event to a close with his presentation, Building an island of saints, scholars and scientists.



The 2021 strong speaker line up combined with a range of interesting and diverse presentation titles resulted in a dynamic and engaging event.

The summer school attracted a large audience in the UK, and London, in particular, due to active advertising and promotion of the event there. It also reached out to participants in North America, Australia as well as the Middle East.

The long-term aim of the committee is to establish hubs in various locations around the world showing a high density of the Irish diaspora. From 2022 onwards, through a live streaming of the event alongside a real experience in Kiltyclogher, the committee hopes to bring Leitrim, its history and heritage, its culture, landscapes and environment, to a world-wide audience and showcase the very best of this unspoiled and special county.



The committee of the Sean Mac Diarmada Summer School would like to acknowledge, and thank, Leitrim County Council, for its continued support of the event since its inception in 2009. In addition, the committee is most grateful to Gerry Keany, London for his invaluable help in promoting the event in the Irish community there. A special thanks to Regina Fahey  Summer School Co-ordinator and Kate McCarthy for their very professional approach to deliver a quality event.
Organisers of the annual Lough Gill Hospice Swim have urged people to continue their generous support of local good causes, so charities can bridge funding gaps caused by the pandemic.

The swim is held every year in memory of 29-year-old Neill McGarry who died from cancer in October 2010. It has raised a massive 350,000 since its inception for the North West Hospice, which helps fund vital palliative care services.

A virtual event held last year raised almost 80,000.

This year the 10k swim, considered to be one of Irelands toughest outdoor charity swims, - takes place on Saturday, August 14, when the organising committee, including members of Neills family, will swim together in a special swim bubble on Lough Gill.

In tandem, because of continuing restrictions on public events, the organisers are again encouraging people to enter a virtual version of the Lough Gill Hospice Swim  where participants complete their own swim in their own time.

Members of the swims organising committee will formally launch this years event by staging a special 10k night swim in Lough Gill under a full moon at midnight on July 24.

Sam McGarry, Neills uncle, who will swim the event, explained: Were calling it the Follow your last star swim. The ethos of the Lough Gill Swim is that nothing great is easy! and on Neills headstone there is a quote from a song he wrote that says, "Follow your last star".

We felt that this year, these two elements were a perfect fit. Neill saw the world for how small it was and saw the universe for how diverse it was.

The sense that nothing is easy applies not only to the swim that we organise but also to the fact that charitable events, and not just ours, need the publics support more than ever to help them maintain and support services that make a difference for people.

This year, we will continue to follow that star, in memory of Neill, to honour his memory, to support the hospice which is the most important service in our region, and which matters so much to so many people. Yes, nothing great is easy - but we are also urging people all over Ireland to support their own local charities and the inspiring differences that they make.

The Lough Gill Hospice Swim is considered a real test of a swimmers abilities, mentally and physically, with the average swimmer usually taking 3.5 hours to complete the course. But this year, with the virtual swim, swimmers can swim 2km or 10km at their own pace.

On August 14, the event will start from Parkes Castle in Leitrim and end at Sligos Doorly Park. Registration for this years Lough Gill Hospice 2km and 10km Virtual Swim is open.

See here: https://endurancecui.active. com/new/events/75505333/forms? _p=96401145845919

Those who wish to participate can also contact the team on Facebook or Instagram @loughgillhospiceswim where updates on training and fundraising can be found.
KEMMY Business School at the University of Limerick, couldnt hold their annual ceremony honouring Business Studies students in the Mid-West so they asked them to send in their own photographs with their awards.

A virtual event was organised to celebrate the 105 students who obtained a distinction (90-100%) in Junior Cycle Business Studies in 2019.

They received certificates of achievement from the Kemmy Business School. The event, held in association with the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland (BSTAI), celebrates and recognises excellence in Junior Cycle Business Studies.

Following the awards ceremony, the Kemmy Business School ran a social media photograph competition asking awardees to submit photographs of themselves with their awards.

So enthused by the effort of applicants were the committee that it was decided to expand their prize pool to the 10 best photographs. Limerick students were well represented with three in the top 10  Ronan Griffin, Ardscoil Ris; Christian Oggel, Villiers; Ciara Slattery, Scoil Pol, Kilfinane.

In welcoming the students to the virtual ceremony, Professor Philip ORegan, former Dean, Kemmy Business School, said: We are delighted to recognise this fantastic achievement of our young awardees  the regions top Business Studies students in the Junior Certificate 2019. I congratulate all on their wonderful achievement and would also like to pay tribute to the commitment and dedication of their teachers in helping the students achieve such excellence.

The guest speaker was Hurler of the Year 2020 Gearoid Hegarty, who is a Kemmy Business School alumnus. Gearoid spoke about his own journey, on and off the pitch, and congratulated all the recipients on their amazing achievement.

Olivia Cumiskey, chairperson, Limerick/Clare branch of the BSTAI thanked the Kemmy Business School for organising the event and thanked the teachers who supported their students behind the scenes, and in front of the class, which led in part to their achievement.

Margaret McDonnell, honorary national president, BSTAI, said: In 2019 36,268 students sat the Junior Cycle Business Studies Exam and only 1.8% of those achieved the distinction, getting over 90% of an overall grade, so this is a fantastic result.

Kemmy Business School is one of Irelands leading business schools. Recent years has seen a significant increase in demand for the schools undergraduate programmes.
KILFINNY primary school pupils did their bit for a greener future before the school broke up for the summer holidays last month.

The Kilfinny pupils were joined by hundreds of other children in 12 schools across Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and Galway in an environmental initiative run by the Zimmer Biomet company.

The global healthcare technology company, which has plants in Shannon and Oranmore, operates a Junior Achievement outreach programme, Keen to Keep it Green.

As part of the initiative, the company donates trees and wildflowers and its employees visit schools to engage pupils in issues about biodiversity and how to reduce waste, reuse and recycle.

Kilfinny principal, Seamus Stritch, was delighted to welcome the Zimmer Biomet volunteers. They planted trees and flowers and led a litter pick with our pupils.

Throughout, they engaged cordially and respectfully with children and teachers alike. It was indeed a lovely learning and social experience for our students.

Claude Costelloe, site director of Zimmer Biomets Irish facilities explained the initiative is part of the companys commitment to preserve the natural environment for future generations.

We are delighted to support schools and foster environmental awareness. Seeing young students plant trees is a symbol of hope for the future. My thanks to the principals and staff, who welcome us so warmly, and to the children for their enthusiasm.

The company develops products and solutions to help treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints or supporting soft tissues.
LOUGH Derg RNLI was launched to assist a family of five onboard a cruiser on fire following a Mayday call earlier this Sunday.

Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to help those on board a 38ft cruiser on fire, by Castle Harbour, Portumna, at the most northern end of Lough Derg.

When the lifeboat crew assembled at the station they were informed by Valentia Coast Guard that three people had been safely evacuated from the vessel.

At 12.16pm the lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Keith Brennan, crew Eleanor Hooker, Joe ODonoghue and Doireann Kennedy on board. The lake was calm and visibility was excellent.

Aoife Kennedy, Lough Derg RNLI Deputy Launching Authority, relayed information from Valentia Coast Guard that the remaining two people had been safely evacuated from the burning vessel. Valentia Coast Guard contacted the lifeboat to request that volunteers check the wellbeing of the casualties.

Rescue 115, the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Helicopter based at Shannon was also in attendance, as was the Killaloe Coast Guard Search and Rescue Boat, based at Killaloe.

The lifeboat arrived on scene at 12.35pm. The fire on the casualty vessel had taken hold and fire firefighters from Portumna Fire Service were working to extinguish the fire. All five casualties were safe and unharmed and were being attended to by ambulance crew at Castle Harbour.

As there was significant risk to the many boat users close by with fuel onboard the vessel, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat and the Killaloe Coast Guard boat to monitor the scene and request that all vessels maintain a safe distance.

At 1.30pm, fire fighters had managed to put out the main fire, however the vessel was still smouldering and billowing smoke. The anchor line had burned and the vessel was now drifting into a main navigation channel.

At 2.14pm, the casualty vessel was relocated to Carrigahorig Bay, where fire fighters continued to pump water and foam to ensure the fire was fully out.

Valentia Coast Guard thanked Lough Derg RNLI and the Killaloe Coast Guard boat, and both were stood down.

Aoife Kennedy, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI, advises water users to "always be alert to the dangers of fire on a boat and always carry a mean of communication so that you can call the emergency services for help"
The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition seeks to corner the ruling dispensation over its handling of the second wave of COVID-19 and the rise in fuel prices. The government has listed 17 new bills for introduction in the session.

Three of the bills seek to replace ordinances issued recently. Once a session starts an ordinance has to be passed as a bill within 42 days or six weeks, else it lapses.

One of the ordinances issued on June 30, prohibits any agitation and strike by anyone engaged in the essential defence services.

The Essential Defence Services Ordinance 2021 came in the backdrop of the announcement by major federations of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to go on an indefinite strike from the later part of July to protest the government's decision to corporatise the OFB.

The Essential Defence Service Bill, 2021 has been listed to replace the ordinance, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on July 12.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 is another measure that seeks to replace an ordinance.

According to the government, the ordinance was brought to provide a permanent solution and establish a self-regulated, democratically monitored mechanism for tackling air pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas, rather than limited ad-hoc measures.

The Opposition on its part wants to corner the government by raising issues like alleged shortcomings in the healthcare system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the distribution of Covid vaccines to states.

It would also seek replies on the rising prices of petrol diesel and cooking gas during the session which would end on August 13.

According to the financial business listed in the bulletin, there would be a presentation, discussion and voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021-22.

There would also be a presentation, discussion and voting on Excess Demands for Grants for the year 2017-18.

On Saturday, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged members of Parliament to stand by people amid the pandemic and discuss all issues related to it in the House to address the concerns of the citizens.

Chairing a meeting of leaders of various parties and groups in Rajya Sabha ahead of the session, he also asked the leaders to ensure a smooth and productive session.

"A dysfunctional Parliament adds to the prevailing gloom and hence all sections of the House should ensure a smooth and productive session as it offers an opportunity to address the concerns of the people affected by COVID-19," he told the leaders.

Noting that the second wave of COVID-19 infection sprang several surprises and severely tested India's health infrastructure, Naidu said Parliament is the right forum to get updated about various aspects of fighting the disease and benefit from ground-level experiences of members of the House from different states.

This is important in the context of a possible third wave of infection which is being talked about a lot, he said.

During the session, all Covid-related protocols, which include maintaining social distancing, would be followed. Both the Houses will sit simultaneously.

Amid the pandemic, Rajya Sabha used to earlier sit in the first half of the day, and Lok Sabha in the second half.

But from part two of the Budget session in March this year, the two Houses had started sitting simultaneously from their usual timing of 11 am onwards.

According to latest data, 444 members from Lok Sabha and 218 from Rajya Sabha have been vaccinated with at least one dose. The figures may have gone up, officials said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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The Karnataka government further easing restrictions under "Unlock 4.0". At a meeting of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with ministers and govt officials, it has been decided that institutes of higher education will be allowed to reopen from 26 July.

People who are vaccinated (partially or fully) will be given entry, according to the news agency ANI. On reopening colleges and universities, the government said only those who have taken at least one dose of vaccine will be allowed to attend their duties and classes.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa with senior ministers and officials at his residence here. An official statement said cinema theatres would be allowed to operate with 50 per cent occupancy after adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

Earlier the Karnataka government has further eased restrictions with all public transport- buses and metro- were seen operating up to its seating capacity.

With the government allowing places of worship to open only for darshan, people, though fewer in number, were seen visiting temples following COVID precautionary measures at several places in the city.

The government had imposed restrictions since April 27 and it was made stringent from May 10 as the COVID-19 daily tally exceeded 50,000 cases on May 5, while active cases were over six lakh on May 15. The norms were relaxed from June 14, eased further on June 21 and again on July 5.

Night curfew, which was from 7 PM to 5 PM was further relaxed by two hours from July 5 and was in force from 9 PM to 5 AM. From Monday, it will be in force from 10 PM to 5 AM. The government relaxed the norms after the COVID cases came down substantially. The state reported 1,869 fresh infections, 42 deaths and 30,082 active cases on Saturday.

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Researchers in California reported Wednesday that they had developed and successfully tested an experimental brain implant that translates brain signals into words on a computer screen.

The achievement, described in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, marks a step toward technology that may one day help people speak by thinking. It also offers a glimmer of hope for the thousands of people who each year lose the ability to speak as a result of injury or illness.

Yet the limitations of the so-called speech neuroprosthesis indicate that brain-computer interface technologyin which tiny electrical signals from the brain are converted into actions in the physical world like speaking, typing or controlling a computer cursorremains in its infancy. In recent years the technology has drawn the attention of academic scientists as well as techcompanies that hope to commercialize it, including Elon Musks Neuralink Corp., Kernel and Facebook Inc.

Facebook is a sponsor of the new research and said in a blog post that it was eager for the development of a noninvasive, wearable device that could allow people to type by thinking.

To test their neuroprosthesis, the University of California, San Francisco researchers enlisted the help of a man in his 30s who had lost the ability to speak as a result of paralysis caused by a severe stroke suffered more than 15 years ago. The man, who now communicates by using a cap-worn pointer to tap out individual letters on a screen, agreed to have a small rectangular array of electrodes surgically attached to the outer surface of his brain.

Over the course of 81 weeks and in 50 separate sessions, the researchers attached a computer to the array to record the mans brain activity as he observed individual words displayed on a screen and imagined uttering them aloud. The researchers said in the paper that they could accurately identify the word the man was saying 47% of the time.

The accuracy rose to 76% when the scientists incorporated word-prediction algorithms similar to the auto-suggest feature of email and word-processing programs. The study was limited to a vocabulary of 50 wordsa tiny fraction of the many thousands of words that make up the vocabularies of elementary-school students.

To our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of direct decoding of full words from the brain activity of someone who is paralyzed and cannot speak," said Dr. Eddie Chang, a neurosurgeon at the university and the papers senior author. It shows strong promise to restore communication by tapping into the brains natural speech machinery."

In addition to demonstrating that the brain region responsible for speech continues to function even years after the ability to speak has been lost, the new research shows that computers can be taught to decode full words from brain activity and not just letters, said Amy Orsborn, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington, who wasnt involved in the research.

Devices capable of doing that could one day speed communication for people who have lost the ability to speak, she said, Many of these people type out words letter by letter on assistive devicesas does the man involved in the new research.

Yet Dr. Orsborn and other experts said the systems high error rate, its limited vocabulary and the large amount of time required to train the system to recognize the imagined words are among the reasons that such technology has a long way to go before a practical device is available.

Other researchers have been able to translate brain signals to computer text, but those efforts have mostly generated individual letters rather than full words. And while Dr. Chang and his team had previously demonstrated the ability to translate brain signals into words, they did so with test subjects who could speak, making it easier to teach a computer the brain waves associated with specific words.

The new research comes two months after Stanford researchers reported that they had developed and successfully demonstrated a similar system that enabled a man with a paralyzed hand to type" 90 characters a minute with 94% accuracy, and 99% with the addition of word-prediction algorithms. The system, which used electrodes implanted within the brain rather than on its surface, was described in a paper published in May in the journal Nature.

The University of California researchers didnt make the man or his family available for comment, saying he wished to remain anonymous. The speech neuroprosthesis he used in the study is an experimental device and not something the man can use daily.

But he continues to participate in the continuing researchone aim of which is to expand the number of words that can be usedand seems to enjoy the sessions and to take pride in his involvement. Dr. David Moses, a postdoctoral scientist at the university and a co-author of the new paper, said that the man would giggle and tremble with apparent delight when the computer displayed his words correctly.

He feels very fulfilled," Dr. Moses said. He gets a lot of joy from that, that hes contributing in his own special way."

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A Queens, N.Y. grand jury indicted TV actor Isaiah Stokes for murder on Friday. Stokes is accused of fatally shooting a man who sat in a parked car in Jamaica, Queens in February.

The defendant is accused of unloading nearly eleven shots during this brazen afternoon shooting, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release. Gun violence is all too prevalent in our neighborhoods. We will not allow it to become the norm.

Stokes was arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder on a three-count indictment, charging him with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. His sentencing is set for July 19 and he faces 25 years to life in prison. Representatives for Stokes declined to comment on the matter.

According to the charges, video surveillance footage from Feb. 7 showed the defendant exit a vehicle, approach the driver-side window of a Jeep Grand Cherokee and allegedly fire 11 gunshots into the car, which fatally injured Tyrone Jones, a 37-year-old man from Queens Village.

Law enforcement did not report on any sort of motive behind the shooting.

The Queens native was raised in Rochdale Village, a neighborhood in South Jamaica, and attended college at Delaware State University. His acting career coincided with the film debut of rapper Camron in the 2006 direct-to-video crime drama Killa Season, timed to the release of his album of the same name.

Since 2006, Stokes had appeared in number of network and premium cable staple dramas. He played two-episode stints on shows like Rescue Me, The Americans, Louie and Blue Bloods. His other acting credits include Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Boardwalk Empire and, most recently, Power.

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Continuing its victory lap around the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, indie studio Neon has acquired the North American distribution rights to A Chiara.

The Jonas Carpignano film won the top prize in the Cannes Directors Fortnight section. It is a companion film to his 2017 A Ciambra, for which he took the same award that year. Critics raved about the films exploration of young female identity and Carpignanos ability to create enduring interest in one fictional family across multiple films.

A Chiara follows Claudio and Carmela Guerrasio, who gather with family and friends to celebrate their eldest daughters 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara, as they compete on the dance floor. A happy occasion shifts suddenly when the patriarch disappears. As Chiara investigates, she discovers truths about her family and must face decisions about the kind of life she wants to build.

The Europa Cinema Label jury remarked that the film reflects a genre that has been extensively covered in cinema but this time from a new perspective. This story [] is brilliantly structured and built. The casting of non-professionals in all of the roles works extremely well, and the imaginative sound design makes a big contribution to the appeal of the film.

Carpignano wrote the script. Carmela Fumo, Claudio Rotolo and Swamy Rotolo star. Tim Curtin served as director of photography, with sound by Giuseppe Tripodi, production design by Marco Ascanio Viarigi, editing by Affonso Goncalves, and music by Oscar nominee Benh Zeitlin and Dan Romer.

Jeff Deutchman and Mason Speta negotiated the deal for Neon with Fionnuala Jamison from MK2 Films. A Chiara is a Stayblack and Haut et Court production. Producers are Jon Coplon, Paolo Carpignano, and Ryan Zacarias.

A Ciambra, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, was Italys 2018 Academy Award entry. Carpignanos first film Mediterranea earned him the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, was named the best directorial debut of 2015 by the National Board of Review and received Independent Spirit Award nominations for best first Feature, best first screenplay, and best male lead.

Neon set the Croisette on fire this year, taking the Palme dOr for the second consecutive time for Julia Ducournaus Titane, following their sensational Parasite. They premiered Apichatpong Weerasethakuls Memoria starring Tilda Swinton, which tied for the Jury Prize, as well as the anthology feature The Year of the Everlasting Storm. On Friday, the studio acquired the instantly beloved The Worst Person in The World from Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier, which took Cannes best actress award for Renate Reinsve.

The companys upcoming slate includes Pablo Larrains Spencer, Jamila Wignots Ailey, Celine Sciammas Petite Maman, and Jonas Poher Rasmussens Flee, executive produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

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The federal government is investigating mysterious health incidents among U.S. diplomats and government employees in Vienna, Austria. Since Biden took office in January of this year, around two dozen U.S. intelligence officials, diplomats and government employees in Vienna have reported symptoms, the New Yorker reported on Friday.

In coordination with our partners across the U.S. government, we are vigorously investigating reports of possible unexplained health incidents among the U.S. Embassy Vienna community, the State Department said, according to the AP. Any employees who reported a possible [unexplained health incident (UHI)] received immediate and appropriate attention and care.

On Saturday, the Austrian Foreign Ministry announced it is cooperating with the U.S. authorities to uncover the cause of the health incidents.

U.S. diplomats in the city have reported feeling strange symptoms, some of which are similar to those experienced by American diplomats in Havana, Cuba, starting in 2016, which came to be known as Havana syndrome. A study by the University of Pennsylvanias Center for Brain Injury and Repair examined those affected in Havana found signs of brain damage similar to those found in persistent concussion syndrome, yet there was no evidence of blunt head trauma.

One theory behind the symptoms is that foreign adversaries may be using devices that emit microwave and radio waves to possibly steal data from the diplomats computers or mobile phones. A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine theorized that the illnesses were caused by directed radio frequency energy that contained microwaves. The report also noted that there was significant research in Russia/USSR into the effects of pulsed, rather than continuous wave [radio frequency] exposures, although it did not explicitly blame Russia for the attacks.

In June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is conducting a government-wide review to figure out who is responsible for the attacks. We are in the midst  at the presidents direction, with the National Security Council in the lead  of coordinating a government-wide review, including the intelligence community, the State Department, the Defense Department, to try to get to the bottom of what caused them, who did it, if anyone did, and of course care for any people who may have been victimized by it, Blinken said.

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MOSCOW (AP)  Heavy smoke from raging wildfires covered the Russian city of Yakutsk and 50 other Siberian towns and settlements Sunday, temporarily halting operations at the city's airport.

Russia has been plagued by widespread forest fires, blamed on unusually high temperatures and the neglect of fire safety rules, with the Sakha-Yakutia region in northeastern Siberia being the worst affected.

Local emergency officials said 187 fires raged in the region on Sunday, and the total area engulfed by blazes has grown by 100,000 hectares (about 247,000 acres) in the past 24 hours.

The situation with wildfires in our republic is very difficult. I repeat that we are experiencing the driest summer in the past 150 years in Yakutia, and the month of June was the hottest on record. This, together with the dry thunderstorms that occur nearly daily in our republic, brought about significant wildfires," Aysen Nikolayev, Yakutia's governor, told reporters.

Smoke from the fires covered 51 towns, settlements and cities in the region, including the capital Yakutsk, forcing authorities to suspend all flights in and out of the city.

We cant see each other because of the smoke, our eyes are burning and overall the smoke is very dangerous for the health of us villagers," said Vasiliy Krivoshapkin, resident of Magaras. "We see on television planes that are dropping water on the burning forest but they arent sending these planes to help us for some reason. Why is there no help?

Russia's Emergency Ministry said Sunday it had deployed two amphibious aircraft to Yakutia to help tackle the fires. More than 2,200 people are involved in the firefighting effort.

___

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Three of the Democratic state lawmakers who fled Texas to stymie a Republican-backed effort to impose broad new voting restrictions have tested positive for COVID-19, the Texas House's Democratic Caucus director said Saturday.

One lawmaker tested positive Friday and the other two did so on Saturday, according to caucus director Phillip Martin. All three were fully vaccinated against the disease, according to Martin, who declined to release their names or conditions to respect the privacy of Members and their personal health.

RELATED: Exiled Texas Democrats stay far away as GOP calls for return

More than 50 Texas lawmakers arrived in Washington on Monday after leaving their home state on a private charter flight. They received criticism from Republicans and others after a photo showed them maskless on the plane, though federal pandemic guidelines dont require masks to be worn on private aircraft.

Martin said it is not known where or when the three were infected.

We don't know. In order to be on the plane everybody had to be fully vaccinated, according to Martin.

This is a sober reminder that COVID is still with us, and though vaccinations offer tremendous protection, we still must take necessary precautions, Rep. Chris Turner, the caucus chairman, said in a statement, adding that the caucus was conferring with health experts in Texas to get additional guidance.

The Democrats left the state to deny the Republican-controlled Legislature the necessary quorum to pass a bill that would place new restrictions on voting in Texas.

Members of the caucus have met with Vice President Kamala Harris, but Martin said it was not immediately known whether the three who contracted COVID-19 did so.

Our team is going through the list (of those at the meeting) and trying to determine exactly who was there, Martin said.

Harris' office said it would issue a statement later Saturday.

MORE POLITICS: Senator questions airline bosses over $54 billion in pandemic aid

Members of the group also met with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, but none of the three infected attended that meeting and Schumer's office has been notified of the positive tests, according to Martin.

Turner said the White House was also notified.

Texas House Speaker Dade McPhelan, a Republican, issued a statement saying he and his wife were praying for the health and safety of the sick lawmakers.

"My staff has reached out to Dr. John Hellerstedt, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and his epidemiology team for any additional guidance on protocols for those exposed to COVID-19 post-vaccination, Phelan wrote.
A cyber attack on the Health Service's IT systems is still having an adverse affect on services at a local level, it was claimed this week.

Dublin-Mid Leinster's HSE chairperson Cllr Paraic Brady said efforts to obtain answers from health bosses over a number of issues remain unresolved.

It comes after the HSE was forced to shut down all of its IT systems in May following a "significant" ransomware attack, which focused on accessing data stored on central servers.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid has previously stated how hospitals are still operating with one hand tied behind their back amid fears the data breach on its computer systems could take several months to fully fix.

Things still haven't sorted themselves out, he said this week.

I just hope the HSE can get a handle on it so that issues affecting Longford and the mid Leinster area can be addressed as soon as possible.

Cllr Brady said the delay has also meant there has been no formal meeting of the Dublin Mid Leinster Forum which he chairs over the past two months.

We can't raise an issue at the minute, he said.

Cllr Brady said there was a responsibility on health chiefs to provide clarity and ensure responses to matters of public interest are given at the earliest opportunity.

They (HSE) really need to step up to the plate and give some answers.

There are serious demands facing us and nobody has given any of us answers as to when these services will be brought back.

We need answers, he added.

It's expected the final bill in replacing IT systems damaged as a result of the cyberattack could cost at least 100m.
(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been contacted by NHS Test & Trace as a contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 but will not be self-isolating, Downing Street has said.

Instead, Johnson will be taking part in a daily contact testing pilot which allows him to continue to work from Downing Street.

The announcement follows the disclosure on Saturday that Health Secretary Sajid Javid had been confirmed as testing positive for the virus.

Johnson is reported to have had a lengthy meeting with Javid at No 10 on Friday.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak also has been contacted by Test &Trace and will also be taking part in the contact testing pilot.

A No 10 spokesman said: "They will be conducting only essential government business during this period."

There will be relief in Downing Street that Johnson will not be confined to home on so-called "freedom day" on Monday when most statutory lockdown restrictions end in England.

However, the disclosure that the prime minister and chancellor have avoided the requirement to quarantine is likely to anger thousands of people being forced to miss work after being "pinged" by the NHS Covid app.

Businesses have been pressing for the app to be overhauled and made less sensitive amid concerns that staff shortages mean they cannot operate effectively.

London Underground became the latest to succumb on Saturday when the Metropolitan Line was forced to close because of a lack of control room staff.

While most Covid restrictions lift in England on Monday the rules on self-isolating for contacts of people who test positive are not eased until August 16.

Then people who are double-jabbed will be able to take tests rather than quarantine at home.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said members of the public who are pinged should still self-isolate.

He said the test-and-release pilot being used by Johnson and Sunak was being trialled by about 20 public sector organisations including Border Force and Transport for London.

He said the two minsters would be tested at a special testing centre which has been set up in Downing Street.

"It is correct that the Cabinet Office and Downing Street are part of the pilot. I am not aware that other [government] departments are," Jenrick told Sky News.

"It means that you can be tested every day in specialist asymptomatic testing centres such at the one that has been set up in Downing Street.

"It means that the chancellor and the prime minister will be able to conduct the most essential government meetings but the rest of their time will have to be spent isolating and not meeting up with family or friends or socialising. So it is relatively restrictive.

"I entirely appreciate that this isn't available yet to wider members of the public and the frustration that they might feel listening to this.

"Other members of the public who are pinged will have to self-isolate in the usual way and that is a really important part of our plan to keep Covid under control."

By Gavin Cordon, PA Whitehall Editor

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Jefferson, GA (30549)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy. Low 71F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
A 27-year-old Dutch tourist remains in a critical condition in Son Espases Hospital following a savage beating in Playa de Palma in the early hours of Thursday morning.

He was beaten to the ground and kicked in the head and was one of a group of five Dutch visitors - another of whom was left unconscious - who were attacked by a gang of thirteen, also Dutch. Aged between 18 and 20, they had been ejected from a Playa de Palma club and then went on a violent rampage, attacking people at random.

Images were captured on security cameras. Police searched for them in hotels, but they weren't staying in a hotel. They were at a villa in Arenal. Eight of the group, knowing they were being hunted, managed to get on the first available flight back to the Netherlands. One other was arrested at the airport. He had waited in order to hand the villa keys back to the owner. The other four did not take part in the attack.

Information about the eight has been sent to the Dutch police.
On Sunday afternoon, Son Espases Hospital reported that the 27-year-old Dutch tourist who was beaten up and kicked in the head in Playa de Palma had died. The hospital had earlier announced that he had a haematoma on the brain.

The National Police homicide squad have confirmed that he and his four friends, all of whom were attacked as well, did not know any of the group of thirteen young Dutch tourists who had approached them between Balnearios 1 and 2. Nine of the thirteen took part in the assault; images were captured on security cameras. One was detained at Son Sant Joan as he attempted to take a flight back to the Netherlands. The eight others had managed to get flights. The Dutch police have been notified; the identities of the eight are known.

The police in Mallorca say that the group had come to the island with the sole intention of "doing harm".
ARCADIA  There will be plenty of fun beginning Friday on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Village of Arcadia when the 40th Arcadia Daze celebration returns after a one year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The popular Arcadia Daze draws in thousands of people from all over the Midwest to enjoy three days of good food, music and lots of family fun for all ages. The celebration is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Arcadia Lions Club, which uses the money raised for many worthwhile projects.

Arcadia Daze chair Milt Whitmore said all the fun events of the past and even a few new additions will be awaiting those that make the trip up M-22 to Arcadia.

"Everything is back this year and people are excited about it," said Whitmore. "We couldn't hold it last year because of what was going on, but there seems to be a lot of interest in let's get together and go do this thing."

Every day from Friday to Sunday activities will be held right in the heart of the Arcadia community at Finch Park and the surrounding streets. Whitmore said there is an added benefit to holding it in those areas.

"In the park and the streets where we have the arts and crafts you have shade," he said. "I know the arts and crafts people have commented on that over the years that it's very comfortable and usually a nice breeze comes off Lake Michigan and Arcadia Lake."

RELATED: Bear Lake Days 2021 brings the crowd-pleasing events, activities

Whitmore said a lot of people have discovered Arcadia Daze over the years, and once that occurs they keep coming back.

Many of them came in for that weekend and now come back every year just for Arcadia Daze, said Whitmore. We think it is one of the best small town festivals in northern Michigan. Its clean, safe and we have a variety of activities for everyone.

All the fun kicks off as the Lions like to refer to it on "Fridaze" with the Pickleball Tournament at 2:30 p.m. at the Pleasanton Valley Community Center. That and the Cornhole Torurnament at Finch Park on "Saturdaze" that starts with registration at 8:30 a.m. and play at 10 a.m. are two of the newer events.

RELATED: PHOTOS: Bear Lake Days cornhole tourney sees 28 teams

Most of Friday's activities center in Finch Park with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post official opening ceremony at 4:30 p.m.

Good food and music starts flowing at 5 p.m. with the pulled pork sandwiches and fixings. The musical group Barefoot will provide music at that location at the same time and there will be a domestic and craft beer tent for people to enjoy.

Moving into the evening dancing to live music at Finch Park will be added and everyone will move to the shores of Lake Michigan at dusk for a fireworks show.

Where we set everything up it is easy to get to and we dont have the M-22 traffic to contend with, so it is a very safe venue, said Whitmore.

RELATED: PHOTOS: Ten minutes at the Bear Lake Days dunk tank

Saturday gets off to an early start with the 7:30 a.m. 5K registration at Finch Park. Those who partake in the race and the rest of the public can fuel up at the Lions Club Pancake breakfast at Fourth and Oak streets beginning at 8 a.m. That breakfast will be repeated on Sunday at the same time.

Throughout the morning there will be activities around that area and Finch Park including the Casual Curbside Car Show, ArcadiaFit Community Open House, arts and crafts show, kids games and a family fishing tournament.

The Arcadia Lions Facebook page includes more details and times on all the events or you can find information at townshipofarcadia.org/arcadia-daze.html.

There is something for everyone and a variety of kids games and a fishing opportunity on Saturday along with a cornhole tournament, which is very popular, said Whitmore. We have had the 5K race ever since the first Arcadia Daze in 1980.

Whitmore said one thing about Arcadia Daze is people come back every year.

They come back and there are people who make this weekend into a family and friends reunion every year, he said. For most people the planning for Arcadia Daze 2022 will begin sometime this weekend.

District Health Department #10 is holding COVID-19 vaccination clinics at many festivals this year. One will be held during Arcadia Daze from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Finch Park.

The Lutheran Luncheon will offer another opportunity for food, starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church at Seventh and Mill streets.

During the afternoon there will be a Decorated Wheels Parade at 2 p.m. and a Hunt for Treasure at Finch Park.

The famous Barbecue Chicken Dinner will be in Finch Park beginning at 4:30 p.m. and lead into an evening music and dance at the park.

Sunday morning will feature kite flying at 11 a.m. by the Lake Michigan beach followed by the Plymouth Fife and Drum Concert at 12:30 p.m.

Everyone will line the streets for the 1:30 p.m. gala parade. This year Arcadia native Sue Stoops will serve as grand marshal of the event. Stoops has been an active volunteer in a variety of events and activities in the Arcadia area.

RELATED: PHOTOS: Top 10 Bear Lake Days 2021 photos

For years Arcadia Daze has been closed out with a concert by renowned Scottville Clown Band; that tradition will take place again this year at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in Finch Park.

Another part of the fundraising for the Lions Club has been the annual raffle, but there are changes to that this year.

We are selling 500 tickets at $25 each and this year there will be 23 prizes with first place being $1,500, said Whitmore. The tickets may cost a little more, but there is more chance to win as there are 20 $100 prizes.

Whitmore said he hopes they will get more volunteers to keep Arcadia Daze going well into the future.

There is an online site Arcadia Daze Volunteers Genius and people can go online to see where the needs are and signup to see where they can help out, said Whitmore.

Find information on how to sign up here.
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Autism can be detected during toddlerhood using a simple and brief questionnaire.

In the new research, in phase one, 13,070 caregivers were invited to complete the Q-CHAT about their child at 18-30 months. 3,770 caregivers returned the Q-CHAT, of whom 121 were invited for an autism diagnostic assessment.In phase two, the sample was followed up when the children were 4, using the Childhood Autism Screening Test (CAST), and a checklist enquiring whether any of the children had been referred or diagnosed with any developmental conditions, including autism. Autism assessments were made using internationally recognized methods.The sensitivity (the proportion of autistic children correctly identified by the Q-CHAT as being autistic) of the Q-CHAT in predicting autism at phase two is 44%, and the specificity (the proportion of children who are not autistic and who are correctly identified by the Q-CHAT as not being autistic) is 98%. Results also showed that the 'positive predictive value' (the proportion whose screened positive on the Q-CHAT who were found to be autistic) is 28%.This study demonstrates that early detection and diagnosis of autism is possible using the Q-CHAT, since all 11 children who were classified as autistic scored at or above the cut-point of 39. The Q-CHAT did not identify all children during toddlerhood who were later diagnosed with autism at age 4. This likely reflects that some autistic children do not show symptoms of sufficient severity until later in childhood.In other studies the team have found some autistic people do not receive a diagnosis until their teens or even adulthood, perhaps because family support cushions the need for a diagnosis until social demands increase, for example at transition to secondary school or transition to adulthood.Dr Carrie Allison, Director of Research Strategy at the Autism Research Centre, and who led the study, said: "This study tells us that autism can be detected during the toddler years, and that other children may only be identified as autistic later. Repeat screening and surveillance across development may be a better approach rather than relying on a single time-point."Professor Tony Charman, Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at Kings College London, and a member of the team, said: "Screening for autism in infancy means that children can be fast-tracked into early intervention, which we know can lead to better outcomes for many children. This is an exciting advance because most other autism screening measures in toddlers have not been subject to rigorous population studies of this kind."Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre and a member of the team, said: "25 years ago our team was the first to show autism could be screened and diagnosed as young as 18 months of age. This new study shows how our original screening instrument - the CHAT - has been revised into a better instrument - the Q-CHAT, which can pick up children who need an autism diagnosis. Early detection means happier, healthier, children and families because they can be targeted with support."Source: Eurekalert
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In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full
LONDON (AP)  Graham Vick, a British director who founded Birmingham Opera Company and worked in opera houses around the world, has died of complications from COVID-19. He was 67.

Birmingham Opera said it was devastated to announce that Vick, its artistic director, died Saturday.

Born in Birkenhead in northwest England in 1953, Vick was a champion of taking opera to the people. As director of productions at Scottish Opera in the 1980s, he toured productions to remote communities. After setting up a company in Englands second city, Birmingham, in 1987, he staged operas in nontraditional venues including factories, warehouses and nightclubs.

In Birmingham we go out and find our audience; meeting them on their own ground, Vick said in a 2016 speech. He said he believed that you do not need to be educated to be touched, to be moved and excited by opera. You only need to experience it directly at first hand with nothing getting in the way.

Vick was director of productions at Englands Glyndebourne opera festival between 1994 and 2000, and directed for leading companies including New Yorks Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera in London and La Scala in Milan. He was known for his bold, innovative stagings of both traditional and modern works.

Vick was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year for services to opera and to Britains regions.

Tributes came Sunday from opera companies around the world. La Scala said in a statement that he was one of the most significant figures in contemporary directing, a Maestro capable of revealing the power of the scores he staged and rediscovering their ability to question and move the audience.

The Royal Opera said Vick was a true innovator in the way he put community at the heart of opera, and will be greatly missed.

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly tweeted that COVID-19 has claimed one of the greatest opera-theatre directors of our time. A great galvaniser, innovator and he lived life to the full.
HELSINKI (AP)  A Lutheran church in Norway has held a name change ceremony for a 49-year-old transgender person in what officials said marked the first such event in a place of worship in the Nordic country.

Elin Stillingen lived the first 40 years of her life as a man and legally changed her name and gender last year. She marked the occasion at Saturdays ceremony at the medieval Hoff church north of the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

Stillingen said it was particularly important for her that the event took place in a church.

Im a member of the Norwegian church, and Im also about to come out of the closet as a Christian, so this ceremony is important to me, Stillingen told Norwegian broadcaster TV2 ahead of the ceremony Saturday.

The occasion was led by pastor Stein Ovesen who planned the ceremony with the Stensveen Foundation, a Norwegian non-governmental organization supporting people with gender identity and sexual orientation issues.

I know that so many are grateful that this event has come true, because this goes deep into the lives of people, Ovesen told TV2.

However, Ovesen acknowledged that not everyone in Norway approved of marking such an event in a church.

On the conservative wing, you will find priests who are deeply concerned about what we do today. But for me this is an important act that expresses the grace and openness that God shows me, Ovesen told TV2.

Video footage from TV2 showed Stillingen kneeling down in front of Ovesen at the church filled with her friends and family members. After the ceremony, Stillingen said it feels very right and I'm very, very happy.

Norwegians, like their Nordic neighbors in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, are predominantly Lutherans. The liberal-minded Nordic countries are strong advocates for LGBT rights and womens rights.
MANISTEE  Manistee City Council will consider recommendations from the Ad Hoc Blight Committee during its meeting this week.

The purpose of the ad Hoc Blight Committee is to provide recommendations to city council on the prevention and elimination of contributing factors and causes of blight, according to the meeting agenda.

The committee is comprised of city residents and has been meeting regularly since September 2020. The group has come to consensus on recommendations to city council.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in council chambers at Manistee City Hall.

Council also will consider additional compensation for Interim City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bradford.

Bradford was appointed to the interim position effective July 2 when former city manager Thad Taylor retired. Council voted to extend conditional offer of employment to William Gambill on July 13 after three candidates were interviewed on July 8.

RELATED: Manistee city councilmember: It's time to have a younger leader here

"At the time the appointment was made, there was not an increase in compensation for the additional duties," according to the meeting agenda. "It has been past city practice to adjust compensation for individuals serving in the role of interim city manager."

An increase of $300 per week effective July 3 until a permanent city manager is appointed and serving in the position is proposed.

RELATED: New interim Manistee city manager OK'd, council rejects primary candidate's contract

Other items on the agenda include:

 Consideration of the purchase of a 2022 Chevy Tahoe utility vehicle for the police department for a cost of $54,886.96.

 Consideration of City of Manistee Planning Commission Bylaw Amendment, which would dictate that letters to the commission "will no longer be required to be read aloud at meetings but rather shared with the Planning Commission prior. Letters would still be available to the public."

 A report from Rick Mohr on the Utilities Department.

The next city council work session is slated for 7 p.m. on Aug. 10 with a discussion on the use of the American Rescue Plan Funds planned.

RELATED

'Trying to change expectations': Committee talks changes to blight ordinance

City enlists help of police officers to cover blight in Manistee

Group wants to address blight in Manistee

City searching for citizens to join ad-hoc blight committee
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Former President Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts.

But in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where Trump lost by 80,000 votes eight months ago, they're finding new signs of life.

A Republican state lawmaker, bolstered by campaign trail support from top Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, has launched a push for a forensic investigation of the presidential election results, a review modeled on the widely discredited process underway in Arizona.

The effort is likely to face legal challenges and is still limited to three counties, where it is getting pushback even from Republican commissioners. But its march forward is forcing many to stop viewing it as one lawmaker's pet project and take it seriously.

The audit has fast become a litmus test in an election cycle where an open governors office and an open U.S. Senate seat  the political equivalent of a blue moon  have triggered fiercely competitive Republican primaries.

That has some GOP party officials and donors squirming with discomfort, albeit quietly. Some Republicans privately worry that the spectacle of a protracted election audit is a time bomb that not only will damage the states democratic institutions, but also the partys credibility with critical swing voters.

Most of the Republicans I know, at the very least, have misgivings and, at worst, are like me and realize this is just really a blunder of epic proportions, said former congressman Charlie Dent, a centrist Republican from the Allentown area. Why bring the Arizona clown show to Pennsylvania?

Those worries have been easily drowned out by supporters of the effort.

One, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who has claimed that Trump  asked me  to run for governor, is the ringleader of the audit campaign and is fundraising off it.

All Im asking for is a transparent and thorough investigation to prove to U.S. voters that our votes were fairly counted, and that we have nothing to worry about, Mastriano wrote in the email appeal last weekend.

A rival, former congressman Lou Barletta, who is running for governor, has said that he was for an audit way back in December.

Earlier this month, Mastriano sent letters to three counties  including Philadelphia, a Democratic bastion and the states largest city  to request access to a sweeping list of information, documents and equipment, with the threat of subpoenas for holdouts.

Gov. Tom Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, both Democrats, have vowed to fight the subpoenas in court, giving Republicans who are leery of Trump's antics hope that the audit will have a short life.

Subpoenas are a tool lawmakers have rarely used in the past, leaving it unclear whether a court would block such an effort, order counties to comply or just choose not to intervene, said Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law professor who teaches constitutional law.

No court is going to get in the way, probably," he predicted. "But that doesnt mean you get some kind of enforceable enforcement order.

Meanwhile, Mastriano has left key questions unanswered, including who will do the work, how it will be funded and where such a vast amount of documents and equipment would be stored securely.

That has not stopped candidates for U.S. Senate or governor from backing it.

Sean Parnell, a candidate for U.S. Senate, said that half the state not trusting the election result is a problem that can be remedied with an audit, and dismissed the official state and county audits as simply recounts" that were inadequate to investigate allegations that something went wrong.

And now after the fact, that people are saying, Hey, wait a minute, maybe there were some problems, they just blow us all off and say, No, no, screw you, you dont know what youre talking about,' like, 'Youre just a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists, Parnell told a radio show host Wednesday.

In Arizona, the Senates Republican leadership initiated the unprecedented partisan audit of votes in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, despite the fact that the votes already had been counted, recounted and certified. The effort has been supported by many Republican state lawmakers, state party chair Kelli Ward and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican who is running for U.S. Senate.

However, it has drawn withering criticism from some other establishment Republicans, including those who control the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; Cindy McCain, the wife of the late senator and GOP presidential nominee; and former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has avoided the topic altogether.

In Pennsylvania, Republican Party and Senate Republican leaders have responded with silence.

Many Republicans who want to distance the party from an audit question the cost for counties to comply with Mastriano's demands or argue that it's time to focus on future elections. Some say it is highly unlikely it would uncover smoking-gun evidence of widespread fraud, or they point to a slew of GOP-led legislative hearings that, they say, already covered the topic thoroughly and produced legislation.

At the end of the day, I dont know what youre going to achieve, said Sam DeMarco, the GOP chair of Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh.

Still, even Republicans who avoid repeating Trumps election fraud claims have perpetuated the idea that Democrats cheated.

They routinely distort the actions of state judges and officials as unconstitutional or illegal in settling legal disputes and questions over Pennsylvanias fledgling mail-in voting law in the weeks before Novembers election.

Weeks ago, Republican leaders of the state House of Representatives rejected doing any such 2020 election audit through their chamber.

Instead, those Republican lawmakers advanced a Voting Rights Protection Act that, they said, would make elections more secure and accessible and fix 2020's alleged problems.

In addition, it would have shifted authority over election policy away from the executive branch and assigned broad new election-auditing authority in future elections to the state auditor general, currently a Republican.

Democrats dismissed the bill as voter suppression and Wolf vetoed it, but it gave Republican Party figures something to point to, at the very least, as an alternative to an Arizona-style audit of the 2020 election.

I think thats the issue, said Jeffrey Piccola, the GOP chair in Republican-controlled York County. I dont think going back to 2020 is going to solve any problems, and Im not sure you can solve any problems.

___

Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter
SALEM  A pedestrian has died after a hit-and-run, according to Connecticut State Police.

The incident occurred Saturday night at approximately 11:12 p.m. State troopers responded to Route 354 in the area of Gardner Lake Fire Department, police said.

Upon arrival, a pedestrian with fatal injuries was observed, police said. An unknown vehicle fled the scene.

The pedestrian has not been identified by state police at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Trooper Fraites at Troop K at 860-465-5455, ext. 4044.

christine.derosa@hearstmediact.com
BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. God knows how I appreciate this.

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

Nearly 36% of 3,815 tests carried out in the past 24 hours came back positive, the health ministry said Saturday. Senegal has reported 50,374 cases and 1,214 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Faced with the dramatic increase, President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands. On Friday, Sall threatened to close borders and impose a state of emergency again if numbers continue to rise.

Many in Senegal have relaxed their use of masks and other precautions after the country's early surges weren't as severe as the outbreaks in other countries.

Tabaski, which will be celebrated on July 21 in Senegal, sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings. Many health officials are worried because in the run-up to the holiday, people throng marketplaces and gather to buy sheep.

Only about 600,000 people of Senegal's population of more than 16 million have been vaccinated. The country has a limited supply of vaccines and is awaiting further deliveries of Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.

About 30% of the new coronavirus infections in Senegal are from the delta variant, according to Souleymane Mboup, the director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, one of Senegal's testing labs.

We are facing a much more contagious virus, Mboup said.

The increase in cases is unprecedented," health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye said.

The pandemic has impacted especially the most vulnerable segments of the population, said Anne Catherine Dupre, project coordinator in Senegal for the group Secours Islamique France.

Since last year, 30% of the thousands of people supported by the group were forced to reduce their consumption of food as a result of the pandemic, she said.

We are already dealing with populations that are very vulnerable, so in fact, for them to reduce it, means theyre only going to eat once a day she added.

Secours Islamique France has been working in Senegal since 2008 and has distributed food and sheep during Ramadan and Tabaski. This year they had to increase their donations because of the rise in vulnerable people because of the pandemic.

Its important for them to celebrate Tabaski. Its the most important celebration in a country where more than 80% of the population are Muslims, she added.

The organization also distributes food and money, supports education and training for unemployed people. It plans to distribute about 2,000 sheep in the greater Dakar area.

Meanwhile, Ndiaye and others hope the pandemic ends soon so things can go back to normal.

I pray for the COVID to stop, she said. If there is good health, we can all work.

___

AP reporter Babacar Dione in Dakar contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the name of the organization is Secours Islamique France, not Islamic Relief France.

___

Follow all AP stories on the global pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
Brian Zahn / Hearst Connecticut Media

WEST HAVEN  An 11-year-old participant in a West Haven Parks and Recreation summer camp program tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, according to Mayor Nancy Rossi.

Rossi said the campers group will be quarantining out of an abundance of caution.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  The leader of the Taliban said Sunday that his movement is committed to a political settlement to end decades of war in Afghanistan, even as the insurgents battle in dozens of districts across to country to gain territory.

The statement by Maulawi Hibatullah Akhunzada came as Taliban leaders were meeting with a high-level Afghan government delegation in the Gulf state of Qatar to jump-start stalled peace talks. The Kabul delegation includes the No. 2 in the government, Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistans national reconciliation council.

The talks resumed Saturday, ahead of the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which in many parts of the world is expected to start Tuesday. A second session was to take place Sunday afternoon.

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is in Qatar, previously expressed hopes for a reduction in violence and possibly a cease-fire over Eid al-Adha.

Akhundzada said that in spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate strenuously favors a political settlement in the country, and every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is what the Taliban called their government when they ruled the country for five years, until their ouster by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.

Still, there are few signs of a political agreement on the horizon. Battles between the Taliban and government forces are continuing in dozens of provinces, and thousands of Afghans are seeking visas in hopes of leaving the country. Most are frightened that the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops after nearly 20 years will plunge their war-ravaged nation into deeper chaos. With the U.S. withdrawal more than 95% complete, Afghanistans future seems mired in uncertainty.

Militias with a brutal history have been resurrected to fight the Taliban but their loyalties are to their commanders, many of them U.S.-allied warlords with ethnic-based support.

This has raised the specter of deepening divisions between Afghanistan's many ethnic groups. Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns and in the past there have been brutal reprisal killings by one ethnic group against another.

In a sign of how little progress has been made in negotiations, both sides are still haggling over terminology, unable to even agree on the name for the war-tortured nation. The Taliban are insisting on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kabul wants the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Akhunzada's statement demanded an Islamic system without explaining what that meant.

He promised to support education, but for girls he said the Islamic Emirate will . . . strive to create an appropriate environment for female education within the framework of sublime Islamic law.

He didn't say how that differed from the educational institutions that have been created over the last 20 years and whether women would be allowed the freedom to work outside their home and move freely without being accompanied by a male relative.

He said the Taliban have ordered their commanders to treat civilians with care and to protect institutions and infrastructure. Yet, reports have emerged from areas coming under Taliban control that schools have been burned, women have been restricted to their homes and some government buildings have been blown up.

The Taliban have denied reports of such destruction, saying that the footage being shown is old and accused the government of being engaged in disinformation and propaganda.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Womens rights supporters and faith leaders are calling for a United Nations peacekeeping force for Afghanistan to protect hard-won gains for women over the last two decades as American and NATO forces complete their pullout from the war-torn country and a Taliban offensive gains control over more territory.

Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort. And though they still face many challenges in the country's male-dominated society, Afghan women have increasingly stepped into powerful positions in numerous fields  and many fear the departure of international troops and a Taliban takeover could take away their gains.

In a May 14 letter obtained by The Associated Press, 140 civil society and faith leaders from the U.S., Afghanistan and other countries dedicated to the education and rights of women in Afghanistan asked U.S. President Joe Biden to call for a U.N. peacekeeping force to ensure that the cost of U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is not paid for in the lives of schoolgirls.

The letter also asked the U.S. to increase humanitarian and development aid to Afghanistan as an important security strategy to strengthen women and girls and religious minorities like the Hazaras. Three bombings at a high school in a Hazara neighborhood in Kabul on May 8 killed nearly 100 people, all of them Hazara and most of them young girls just leaving class.

The signatories blamed the Trump administration for failing to honor a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in 2000 demanding equal participation for women in activities promoting global peace by refusing to insist that women were part of the peace talks with the Taliban.

Sakena Yacoobi, founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning which runs schools across 16 provinces, is quoted in the letter as saying: For 20 years the West told the women of Afghanistan they are free. Free to learn, to grow, to be a human being independent of mens expectations of who they are.

What the Taliban did in the 1990s was bad enough, she said. What will they do now, with a generation of women taught to expect freedom? It will be one of the greatest crimes against humanity in history. Help us save them. Please. Help us save who we can.

Among the signatories of the letter were Yacoobi; feminist activist and writer Gloria Steinem; former U.N. deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch Brown who now heads the Open Society Institute; Filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney; former UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy; Betty Reardon, the International Institute on Peace Educations founding director emeritus; The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director of The Interfaith Center of New York; Masuda Sultan, co-founder of Women for Afghan Women; and Nasir Ahmad Kayhan, UNESCO program manager in Afghanistan.

In April the Taliban promised that women can serve their society in the education, business, health and social fields while maintaining correct Islamic hijab. It promised girls would have the right to choose their own husbands, but offered few other details and didn't guarantee women could participate in politics or have freedom to move unaccompanied by a male relative.

Deborah Lyons, the U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan, told the Security Council on June 22 that preserving the rights of women remains a paramount concern and must not be used as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table."

In a follow-up letter on July 12 to U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a wider international group expressed deep concern for the lives and well-being of the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls now under great threat and called for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to deploy to Afghanistan as soon as practically possible.

The signatories said they are convinced the 2000 Security Council resolution obliges U.N. member states to protect women in such circumstances.

The United Nations has a political mission in Afghanistan. A U.N. peacekeeping mission would have to be approved by the Security Council, where the five permanent members -- the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France -- have veto power.

The letter to the U.S. ambassador said similar messages were being sent to other U.N. ambassadors from citizens in their countries asking for a peacekeeping operation. It asked Thomas-Greenfield to take action toward the initiation of a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan.

A U.S. mission spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the call for a U.N. peacekeeping force, instead stressing Thursday that the Biden administration will continue to support Afghan forces and U.S. diplomatic, humanitarian and economic engagement in the region.

We are putting our full weight behind diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government, said the spokesperson, who could not be named, adding the U.S. remains the largest aid donor to Afghanistan and continues to support the U.N. political mission known as UNAMA.
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Mets ace Jacob deGrom has been dealing with tightness in his right forearm and has been shut down until the discomfort subsides. Manager Luis Rojas told Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News (Twitter links), SNYs Steve Gelbs, and other reporters that an MRI didnt reveal any structural damage to deGroms forearm.

The problem existed prior the All-Star break, as Rojas said deGrom felt tightness while throwing a bullpen session last weekend. The forearm tightness continued during a side session on Friday, so the Mets opted to halt deGroms throwing so further testing could be done. No mention was made of the injured list, though an IL stint seems inevitable considering that the Mets will surely take every precaution in making sure deGrom is fully healthy.

DeGrom has already hit the IL once this season, missing two weeks due to tightness in his right side. Despite that missed time and other nagging injuries, the right-hander is in the midst of his most spectacular season yet, with a record-challenging 1.08 ERA over 92 innings and a wealth of league-leading numbers in most major categories (14.3 K/9, 13.27 K/BB rate, 1.1 BB/9, and an absurd 365 ERA+).

Losing deGrom for any amount of time would be a major blow to a Mets team hanging onto first place in the NL East, and the specter of a long-term forearm injury would be nothing short of devastating. DeGrom has a Tommy John surgery on his record, as he underwent the procedure just a few months after the Mets selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 draft. The major surgery and a few other lesser arm problems over the years didnt stop deGrom from becoming arguably the best pitcher of his generation, winning NL Cy Young Awards in 2018-19 and looking to be on track for a third this season.

There is no way to actually replace deGrom in the event of a longer-term absence, and the task will be even more difficult for a Mets team that was already looking to add some rotation help at the trade deadline. The trio of deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Taijuan Walker has been excellent, while the back end of the rotation has been a revolving door thanks to injuries and underperformance. The team is hopeful that Carlos Carrasco will be able to make his Mets debut soon, and rookie Tylor Megill has started his career off with a 3.50 ERA in 18 innings, perhaps earning a longer look if New York cant find a more experienced option on the trade market.
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Iraqi refugee brings a piece of his culture to Philadelphia
November 28, 2017 Turning The Corner In Afghanistan The news about the wars the U.S. is waging all over the world is unreliable. The same statements of progress are repeated year after year. The official numbers, be they of civilian casualties or deployed troops, are mere lies. Every news presentation should be engraved with a warning: "Assertions and numbers are not what they appear." Consider, for example, the various "turned corner" statements officials have made about Afghanistan. On October 5 2017 the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed to the BBC that Afghanistan has "turned the corner": ... when I ask whether he is saying Afghan forces have turned the corner in the fight against the Taliban, there is no hesitation: "Yes," he says. On October 24 the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson agreed with President Ghani: "With the mounting military, diplomatic, and social pressure that is building  that we all are collectively committed to sustaining over the coming years  the enemy will have no choice but to reconcile. I believe, as President Ghani says, 'we have turned the corner, he concluded. But a month later General Nicholson seemed to disagreed with his earlier statement: "We are still in a stalemate," Nicholson, a four-star Army general said in an exclusive interview. Today, five days after his "stalemate" statement, the general's opinion has changed again. Kevin Baron, the editor of Defense One, reports: JUST IN: Top US general in Afghanistan says war has "turned a corner... " The momentum is now with the Afghan security forces." ... The General seems confused. But he is not the first to have such a change of mind. On February 3 2010 then U.S. commander General Stanley McChrystal was cautious about the proverbial corner: General Stanley McChrystal also expressed confidence that Afghan forces would grow quickly enough to allow a reduction in U.S. troop numbers to begin on schedule in 2011. ... Im not prepared to say we have turned the corner, he added. Only twelve days later the turn had been made: Gen Stanley McChrystal had his own words. Helmand had turned the corner in its four year war, he told The Daily Telegraph. In May 2011 a British General also noted the turn: The civilians are looking to people such as General James Bucknall, a British Coldstream Guards officer who is second in command of the International Security and Assistance Force (Isaf).

...

[H]e sets out why he thinks a corner has now been turned, nodding to the surge in American troop numbers that has made it possible. Six years earlier another British General had already seen that turn: Handing over to 3 Commando Brigade, Brig Butler said: "When we prepared, we knew there would be rocky times ahead, and that things would get harder before they got easier. That has certainly been the case, but I judge we have turned the corner. We have achieved a huge amount." In May 2011 the U.S. Secretary of Defense was more cautious than the generals but nonetheless optimistic: I think we could be in a position by the end of this year where we have turned the corner in Afghanistan," [U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates] said. According to his boss progress came faster than Gates anticipated. On June 23 2011 CBS headlined Obama: U.S. has turned corner in Afghanistan: President Barack Obama on Thursday told American troops who've fought in Afghanistan that the U.S. has turned a corner after nearly 10 years of war, and it's time for their comrades still in that country to start coming home. Obama's victory jump may have been a bit premature, but a month later the local commander agreed that the turning process had at least begun: I spoke to Gen Petraeus as he stopped off in London on his way home from Afghanistan. In the interview, he spelled out what makes him think the country has begun to turn a corner after nearly 10 years of war. In September 2012 another U.S. Secretary of Defense asserted that the turn had finally been completed: [US Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta, however, has rejected suggestions that the strategy is failing, and on Friday he said we have turned the corner, in Afghanistan ... Four month later the Afghan President confirmed the turn: [President] Karzai also said that Afghanistan has turned the corner in terms of battling the Taliban. Karzai was very modest in acknowledging the turn. He knew that it had already happened much earlier: On October 9th, 2004, Afghanistan turned the corner. After decades of invasion, civil war, and anarchy, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically-elected President of a united Afghanistan. In May 2014 another man was elected President of Afghanistan. This finally turned the corner: Tonight there is a sense that the country has turned a corner - a new president who will sign the BSA, a continuation of developmental aid and training programmes, and Afghanistan has more than a fighting chance. A year later the Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani was encouraged by the corner turning progress the new government had made: With the successful conclusion of the security and political transitions, Afghanistan turned the corner in our path to becoming a self-reliant nation. Today, two and a half years later, General Nicholson is still in the corner turning business. The corner turning in Afghanistan is similar to an earlier war the U.S. had fought in vain: Of course, the Afghanistan War (ostensibly part of a Global War on Terrorism) differs from the Vietnam War (ostensibly part of the Cold War) in myriad ways. Yet it resembles Vietnam in three crucial respects. First, it drags on with no end in sight. Second, no evidence exists to suggest that mere persistence will produce a positive outcome. Third, those charged with managing the war have long since run out of ideas about how to turn things around. Another similarity is the constant lying by the military spokespersons. The famous Five o'clock Follies of Vietnam have been replaced by video conferences and drone videos but the central issue is the same. The military is consistently and consciously lying to the public. How many U.S. troops are there in Afghanistan? By law the Pentagon has to release the deployment numbers every three month. The latest release for September 2017 lists 15,298 soldiers and 1,202 DoD civilians in Afghanistan. But there are 29,092 soldiers listed in "unknown locations". The generals must have lost these somewhere. The report also lists nearly 2,000 soldiers in Syrian and nearly 9,000 in Iraq. The publicly admitted numbers are way lower. They are as trustworthy as all the "turned corner" claims. Indeed: The Defense Departments publicly disclosed data, which tracks U.S. personnel levels in dozens of countries, are not meant to represent an accurate accounting of troops deployed to any particular region, said Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman. The Pentagon clearly states that official data and assertions are "not meant to represent an accurate accounting". It is a warning. Whatever officials claim about this or that war, about "turned corners", or casualties, or troop deployments, must be considered to be a lie until it has been confirmed by observation or additional sources. h/t Shashank Joshi Posted by b on November 28, 2017 at 19:47 UTC | Permalink Comments
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Los Angeles County residents are again required to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status  a new mandate starting this weekend that health officials hope will reverse the latest spikes in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The rule went into effect late Saturday for the nations largest county, home to 11 million people, where a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases is led by the highly transmissible delta variant.

The vast majority of new cases are among unvaccinated people, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said Sunday.

Im not pleased that we have to go back to using the masks in this matter but, nonetheless, its going to save lives. And right now that to me is whats most important, Solis said on ABC's  This Week.

California has seen a steady rise in virus cases since the state fully reopened its economy on June 15 and did away with capacity limits and social distancing.

San Francisco Bay Area health officials last week urged residents to again wear masks inside public buildings, offices or businesses regardless of whether they are vaccinated. The counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and Sonoma and the city of Berkeley stopped short of making face coverings a requirement.

Other counties, including Sacramento and Yolo, are also strongly urging people to wear masks indoors but not requiring it.

Los Angeles County's mask rule, announced Thursday, follows a winter where the region experienced a massive surge in infections and deaths, with hospitals overloaded with COVID-19 patients and ambulances idling outside, waiting for beds to open.

Los Angeles County reported a caseload of 1,635 on Sunday  the 10th straight day with more than a thousand new cases. On June 15, when the state reopened, county health officials reported just 210 new cases.

More than 525 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in LA County on Saturday, the highest number since April 14. There were four new virus-related deaths reported Sunday.

The level of COVID-19 transmission we are currently experiencing is now leading to significant increases in serious illness and hospitalizations, and requires us to take immediate action to prevent erosion of our recovery efforts," Barbara Ferrer, the county's public health director, said in a statement.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger came out in opposition to the new mask mandate, saying by deviating from the state rules we create confusion and disagreement at the local level, which hinders public trust.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Friday his deputies will not actively enforce the mandate, saying requiring vaccinated people to wear masks is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

The sheriff's position is not new. He has said that since March 2020 that the sheriff's department has focused on education and voluntary compliance, with criminal enforcement measures being an extreme last resort.

Solis said that the LA County mask rule is not punishment, its prevention. But some vaccinated residents said it felt like they were being penalized despite doing the right thing.

It feels like the the burden of the unvaccinated is being placed on the vaccinated, Glendale resident Justin Sevakis told ABC7. Its like there are people that dont have common sense and so therefore all of us have to pay for it. And it sucks. It feels like, you know, the teacher is punishing the whole class.
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Many parents secretly hope their kid grows up to become president of the United States. The odds are long; but it never hurts to dream, right?

One day back in the spring of 1887, a man who actually had the job made a very strange wish  and he had no idea what fate had in store for the child he wished it upon.

Grover Cleveland was a lot of things. He was the fattest guy elected president (until Taft shattered that rotund record 12 years later). He was the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms, which forever screwed up the presidential numbering system. He was president 22, lost his reelection bid to president 23, and then was re-elected four years later. So, was he 22 again or 24? (After much debate, historians eventually decided to call him 22 and 24. Go figure.)

Cleveland was from New York and had a good friend there named James.

More Information Holy Cow! History is written by novelist, former television journalist and diehard history buff J. Mark Powell. Have a historic mystery that needs solving? A forgotten moment worth remembering? Send it to HolyCow@insidesources.com. See More Collapse

James lived in the Hudson River Valley, came from an old family, and was socially well-connected. He was a rich businessman who dealt in coal and railroads.

In the mid-1880s, he sank a lot of money into a partnership that wanted to build a canal across Panama. (This was 20 years before the U.S. did it.) He needed Washingtons help persuading Nicaragua  which controlled Panama back then  to let them dig. That meant lots of lobbying both of Congress and the Cleveland administration.

James decided to make a long visit to D.C. He, his wife, and their 5-year-old son, Frank, spent the first six months of 1887 in a rented a house on then-fashionable K Street.

In between all his wining and dining, as he schmoozed congressmen and bureaucrats, James also paid several purely social calls on his buddy Grover in the White House. How good friends were they?

A year earlier, the 49-year-old Cleveland had married Frances Folsom, his lovely 21-year-old ward. The union made a lot of presidential history. Cleveland was the first president to get married while in office, the only president to marry in the White House itself, and Frances became the youngest first lady in American history. (Jackie Kennedy, who was 31 when JFKs presidency began, was second.)

And there, on a prominent White House fireplace mantel, sat the splendid clock James had given the couple as a wedding gift. So when I say James and Grover were buddies, trust me, they were tight.

Anyway, back to our story.

As James extended stay in Washington was coming to a close, he hit up Cleveland for one small, but personal favor: He wanted to bring young Frank to the White House to meet the president.

Sure, Grover said, bring him by late tomorrow afternoon.

And so James and Frank went to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. the next day and waited outside Clevelands second-floor office.

It turned out Cleveland was having a particularly stressful day, and when the door opened and he finally appeared he was visibly weary. James introduced Frank and they shook hands.

Then Cleveland said something very odd. He patted the childs head and said, My little man, Im making a strange wish for you. May you never grow up to be president of the United States.

At age 5, Frank already had a knack for ignoring what he was told, and he apparently did so this time.

Because 46 years later, Frank was elected president.

And re-elected. And re-elected. And re-elected.

Frank, as youve probably guessed, was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Not only did Cleveland pick the wrong boy for his strange wish, he picked the one who would go on to serve as president longer than anyone else.

Hows that for irony? O. Henry couldnt have written a better twist ending.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 32 square miles (82 square kilometers) as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said, and was burning toward the Alpine County Airport after jumping a highway.

A notice posted on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.

It happened so fast, Pennington said. We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left."

Saturday's ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year during the coronavirus outbreak.

Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

They just said this is just how it goes, Burgess said. "Its part of climate change to a certain extent, its part of just a lot of fuels that are not burnt, the humidity is low, the fuel moisture levels are low, and ... around the state, many parts of it are much like a tinderbox.

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 kph) fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.

The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank. The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.

The fire was 453 square miles (1,173 square kilometers) in size, or more than 100 square miles larger than the area of New York City.

This fire is large and moving so fast, every day it progresses 4 to 5 miles, said Incident Commander Joe Hassel. One of the many challenges that our firefighters face every day is working in new country that can present new hazards all the time.

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves tied to climate change have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

In southern Oregon, fire crews have dealt with dangerous and extreme fire conditions, including massive fire clouds that rise up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze. The Bootleg Fire has destroyed at least 67 homes and 117 outbuildings.

The conflagration has forced 2,000 people to evacuate and is threatening 5,000 buildings, including homes and smaller structures in a rural area just north of the California border.

The Tamarack Fire sent heavy smoke over Lake Tahoe and into Nevada.

The National Weather Service warned of possible thunderstorms stretching from the California coast to northern Montana on Sunday and that new lightning ignitions are likely because of extremely dry fuels across the West.

Firefighters said in July they were facing conditions more typical of late summer or fall.

The fires were just two of numerous fires burning across the drought-stricken U.S. West, as new fires popped up or grew rapidly in Oregon and California.

There were 70 active large fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers) in the U.S., the National Interagency Fire Center said. The U.S. Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.

A fire in the mountains of northeast Oregon was also growing rapidly and was 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) in size on Saturday. The Elbow Creek fire started Thursday and has prompted evacuations in several small, rural communities around the Grande Ronde River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to mobilize more firefighters and equipment to help fight that fire.

The Dixie Fire, near the 2018 site of the deadliest fire in the U.S. in recent memory, was 5% contained and covered 39 square miles Saturday. The fire was in the Feather River Canyon, northeast of the town of Paradise, California, and survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched warily as the new blaze burned.

Officials ordered the evacuation of a wilderness recreation area and kept in place a warning for residents of the tiny communities of Pulga and east Concow to be ready to leave.

Were prepared, said Mike Garappo, a retired military veteran. Weve dealt with fires living in the mountains forever. We know theres a chance it may not hit here, but were ready to go in case.

____

Flaccus reported from Portland, Oregon. AP journalists Terry Chea in Belden, California, and Julie Walker in New York City contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration lashed out at Iran on Saturday for accusing it of delaying a proposed prisoner swap to force a quick resumption of indirect nuclear talks.

The State Department slammed as outrageous comments made by Irans deputy foreign minister who alleged the U.S. and Britain were holding the swap hostage to the negotiations over salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

In a pair of tweets from his verified account, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said the nuclear talks in Vienna could not resume until Irans hardline president-elect is inaugurated in early August. Were in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is underway in our capital, he said.

The nuclear talks must thus obviously await our new administration. This is what every democracy demands, Aragchi said. He added that the U.S. and Britain need to understand this and stop linking a humanitarian exchange  ready to be implemented  with the JCPOA.

Keeping such an exchange hostage to political aims achieves neither, said Aragchi who is Iran's chief negotiator at the Vienna talks. TEN PRISONERS on all sides may be released TOMORROW if US&UK fulfill their part of deal.

A sixth round of nuclear talks ended last month without agreement ahead of Iran's presidential election won by Ebrahim Raisi. The U.S. has repeatedly said it is ready for a seventh round as soon as Iran is ready while also calling for the immediate release of American citizens detained in Iran.

In response to Aragchi's remarks, State Department spokesman Ned Price categorically rejected the claim, denied there was already an agreement on a swap, and said the U.S. was prepared to continue talks on prisoners even while waiting for the resumption of the nuclear negotiations.

These comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse on a potential mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA, Price said. We stand ready to return to Vienna to complete work on a mutual return to the JCPOA once Iran has made the necessary decisions.

Price called Aragchi's reference to the possible imminent release of 10 prisoners on all sides just another cruel effort to raise the hopes of their families. If Iran were truly interested in making a humanitarian gesture, it would simply release the detainees immediately," he said.

Price did not address Aragchi's claim that Iran is in the midst of a democratic transfer of power but he did decry his reference to the U.S. and Britain holding the prisoner exchange hostage." He said it is the Iranian government that has been unjustly detaining four innocent Americans for years."

Price said indirect talks on the detainees had been progressing in the context of the Vienna nuclear negotiations and the delay in restarting that process is not helping.

But, while he said the U.S. believed the prisoner talks would be more effective in that context, he added that we are also prepared to continue with talks on detainees during the current hiatus.

The Biden administration has been trying to reverse former President Donald Trump's 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal and has offered sanctions relief in exchange for Iran returning to full compliance with its obligations.

As the Trump administration stepped up its maximum pressure campaign against Iran by re-imposing sanctions that had lifted under the initial deal, Iran stepped up its violations of the agreement by running advanced centrifuges and increasing uranium enrichment and heavy water production. It has also refused to answer questions from the UN's atomic watchdog about potential violations of other nuclear commitments.
The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly.

Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven't received shots, despite widespread vaccine availability, Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of what the future could hold.

I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated," Murthy said on CNNs State of the Union.

U.S. cases of COVID-19 last week increased by 17,000 nationwide over a 14-day period for the first time since late fall, and an increase in death historically follows a spike in illness. Much of the worsening problem is being driven by the delta variant first identified in India, that has since hit the United Kingdom and other countries, said Murthy.

While U.S. case numbers and hospitalizations are still far below levels from the worst of the pandemic early this year, Murthy said the worsening situation shows the need to convince more people to get inoculations.

It is our fastest, most effective way out of this pandemic, he said.

About 186 million Americans have received at least one shot, but another 90 million eligible Americans haven't. Officials are trying to overcome a refusal among some  particularly conservative, rural white people  to get vaccinated, but it's unclear how to do that. So, for the meantime at least, some places have reverted to health precautions that had been cast aside.

In Las Vegas, some resorts and casinos are again requiring employees to wear masks in response to a recommendation issued by health officials amid rising COVID-19 case rates in Nevada; it ranks fifth among U.S. states for the most new cases per capita over the last two weeks.

Los Angeles County late Saturday reinstated rules requiring everyone to wear masks inside public buildings. Around San Francisco's Bay Area, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in California, health officials have recommended that everyone again wear masks inside public buildings, regardless of their vaccination status.

But in conservative Alabama, where COVID-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled in a month and only about a third of the population is fully vaccinated, officials have refused to reinstitute statewide health rules or use gimmicks such as lotteries to boost immunizations.

I think the best thing for us to do is just encourage everyone to use their common sense and practice personal responsibility and make themselves and their families safe, Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters last week.

Cases also are on the rise in Springfield, Missouri, where Mayor Ken McClure told CBS-TV's Face the Nation that false information about the pandemic was hampering the fight to get people vaccinated.

I think we are seeing a lot spread through social media as people are talking about fears which they have, health related fears, what it might do to them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccinations, he said.

Murthy, the surgeon general, said not nearly enough progress was being made in the fight against misinformation spread through social media about COVID-19 and vaccines. Individuals, not just platforms such as Facebook, need to combat the problem, he said.

"Each of us has a decision that we make every time we post something on social media, and Im asking people to pause and to see, is a source accurate? Is it coming from a scientifically credible authority? And if its not, or if youre not sure, dont share, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report. Reeves reported from Newnan, Georgia.
Thai police use tear gas against anti-government protesters View Photo

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters who held a rally in Bangkok despite coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of more than five people.

The demonstrators were demanding Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas government step down, insisting the budget of the monarchy and the military be cut during the pandemic, and calling for the importing mRNA coronavirus vaccines that have yet to be brought to Thailand on a large scale to fight a growing surge of the virus.

The rally came as Thailand recorded its largest single-day jump in virus infections  nearly 11,400  and as fresh restrictions were announced such as the shut down of most domestic flights. Many parts of the country, including Bangkok, are already under some form of lockdown that includes restrictions on gatherings and business operations as well as a nighttime curfew.

As infections and deaths climb and as more people face economic suffering, disapproval of the governments handling of the pandemic has grown.

Criticism of Prayuths government for failing to secure early and adequate vaccine supplies is widespread. Thailand mostly relies on two vaccines, including Chinas Sinovac shot, which some studies indicate is less effective against the delta variant, which is currently wrecking havoc across Southeast Asia.

Thailands other main vaccine is AstraZeneca, which a Thai company owned by the countrys king has been producing, but only since June and in smaller than expected quantities.

Sundays rally was led by Free Youth, a student protest group that drew tens of thousands to its protests last year, when it had three main demands: that Prayuths government step down, the constitution be amended to make it more democratic and the nations monarchy become more accountable.

Jutatip Sirikhan, one of Free Youths main activists, charged in a phone interview with The Associated Press that many people have died from COVID-19 because of the lack of transparency and mismanagement of Prayuth and his Cabinet.

Thailand has recorded a total of 403,386 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,341 related deaths since the pandemic started. More than 90% of cases and deaths have occurred since April this year. This weekend daily virus deaths rose above 100 for the first time.

If we dont come out now, we dont know how long we shall survive and whether we will have a chance to do it again, she said of the virus and the protests.

The protesters started gathered at the capitals Democracy Monument in the early afternoon, where organizers distributed N95 masks, medical gloves, sanitizer spray and raincoats to them before attempting to go to Government House, which hosts the prime ministers offices.

Organizers also handed out mock corpses in white burial shrouds representing COVID-19 victims, which were later placed on the ground atop an image of Prayuth at an intersection near Government House and set alight. The eerie figures also evoked images of the bodies of several Thai activists who had apparently been kidnapped in 2019 from where they lived in exile in neighboring Laos.

In an effort at avoiding the spread of infection, many of the protesters drove cars or rode motorbikes, instead of marching as they had in previous protests.

Around 1,500 riot police were deployed, along with water cannon trucks. Deputy National Police Spokesman Kissana Pattanacharoen acknowledged that the authorities used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters after several warnings were given.

Reports of injuries were not complete, but the citys Erawan Medical Center emergency services said two people were sent to the hospital from the protests, which the organizers called an end to before nightfall.

By CHALIDA EKVITTAYAVECHNUKUL

Associated Press
Lightning at night View Photo

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Central Sierra Nevada and the Central Sierra Nevada Foothills, now through 5 PM Monday. A Red Flag Warning has also been issued for the Mother Lode, the Stanislaus National Forest and the Northern San Joaquin Valley from 5 PM this afternoon through 11 AM Monday.

A northerly surge of monsoonal moisture today through Monday will provide a favorable environment for thunderstorm development in the mountains and the central valley, along with a high fire danger.

Scattered thunderstorms with little or no rainfall, could be accompanied by an abundant amount of cloud to ground lightning.

The combination of parched fuels and dry lightning could easily ignite new fires within the Warning area.

Gusty and erratic winds up to forty mph are possible in the vicinity of thunderstorms. A combination of the winds and the terrain could cause the rapid spread of new and existing fires.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of extremely dry fuels, gusty erratic winds and lightning associated with thunderstorms can result in extreme fire behavior.
Some seek more boxes to check for other Pacific Islanders View Photo

HONOLULU (AP)  A few months into the pandemic, data showed Pacific Islanders suffered the highest infection rates in Hawaii.

But what early numbers didnt publicly show was which Pacific Islanders in the diverse identification category  which includes people with ethnic roots in Samoa, Micronesia and other islands but excludes Native Hawaiians  were affected the most.

In August 2020, when Hawaii recorded its greatest number of cases, people who identify as Pacific Islander represented 24% of all COVID-19 cases but accounted for just 4% of the states population, according to a report by the state Department of Health with academic and community groups.

The health equity report, published in March of this year, showed that the two single largest groups represented among Pacific Islander COVID-19 cases were Samoan at 29% and Chuukese at 24%.

Before the detailed data was readily and widely available, Dr. Kapono Chong-Hanssen on Kauai printed lists of people who checked the Pacific Islander box and looked at last names in an attempt to figure out specific racial backgrounds.

The feat was possible on a small island, he recalled, but it would have been quicker and easier to target communities with educational outreach in the languages they speak with more specific state data, which provides information about Native Hawaiians but lumps together other all other Pacific Islanders.

In the 1990s, prompted by concerns that Native Hawaiian students were considered overrepresented in colleges when counted as Asian, Esther Kiaaina worked at the federal level to separate Native Hawaiian data from Asian data. Since then, however, all other Pacific Islanders have remained in one category.

Now a member of the Honolulu City Council, Kiaaina introduced a resolution adopted last month urging Hawaii government agencies to go beyond minimum federal standards and get more specific when collecting racial data in one of the most racially diverse states in the nation.

Of Hawaiis 1.5 million residents, 38% are Asian  mostly Japanese and Filipino  26% are white, 2% are Black, and many people are multiple ethnicities, according to U.S. census figures. Native Hawaiians account for about 20% of the population.

Were geographically unique and we are culturally, racially, ethnically very unique in comparison to the rest of the United States, said Chong-Hanssen, medical director of the Kauai Community Health Center and a board member of the Association of Native Hawaiian Physicians. So the federal standards dont really serve our public health  and other services.

Disaggregated data  data that is broken down into smaller groupings  is also helpful now in the effort to urge people to get vaccinated, he said.

The resolution provides separate categories for Samoan, Micronesian, Tongan, Chamorro and other Pacific Islander. Categories also include white, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other Asian.

Even though the resolution isnt binding, Kiaaina said that the agencies she contacted so far are supportive. She said she plans to send the resolution to city and state agencies, asking them to comply voluntarily.

Were doing this not only to get the data to determine funding priorities, its also to promulgate policies to address the underlying disparities for whatever reason, she said, whether it be housing, whether it be education, whether it be health.

On the Big Island, Dr. Wilfred Alik, who is from the Republic of the Marshall Islands and speaks Marshallese, said he made it a point to collect specific ethnicity data on his own when talking with a Pacific Islander patient who tested positive.

While groups organized collectively as Asian and Pacific Islander can bring strength in numbers to smaller communities, getting specific data is helpful for contact tracing especially with language skills and cultural sensitivity, said Alik, who works for Kaiser Permanente.

Early in the pandemic, We Are Oceania, a group that advocates for Hawaiis Micronesian communities, asked state health officials to provide specific data for Pacific Islanders, said the groups CEO, Josie Howard.

While they believed that data would be key to understanding how people were affected by the virus, they also worried that the data would further stigmatize Micronesian people, who are often the targets of racism in Hawaii, Howard said.

Stigmatization and privacy were also concerns for state health officials, who already collect detailed, disaggregated data beyond whats recommended by the City Council resolution, said Joshua Quint, an epidemiologist with the Department of Health. There are limits on how to responsibly release data, including privacy issues, especially when it comes to small populations, he said.

Thats among the reasons they dont break Pacific Islanders down in whats available on the departments COVID-19 website, he said.

Its also difficult to detect disparities when there arent good population estimates for smaller groups, such as Chuukese people, Quint said.

In Hawaii, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Micronesians, who began migrating here in bigger numbers in the 1990s in search of economic and educational opportunities, according to We are Oceania. Numbers for people who are from Chuuk, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia, are harder to pinpoint.

When virus cases were first diagnosed in Hawaii, health officials asked questions of those who tested positive that focused on their travel histories, Quint said. But when community spread of the virus was established, social disparities among racial and ethnic groups began to emerge.

Advocates say expanding the options in the ethnicity category is an issue that goes beyond the pandemic.

When we are lumped together  when it comes to services, were like in the back burner, said Elisapeta Alaimaleata, executive director of the Le Fetuao Samoan Language Center.

Without specific data, it becomes harder to advocate for Samoan language education services in Hawaii public schools, she said as an example.

The ability to mark a box thats not simply other, can have benefits for personal identity, said Chong-Hanssen, who is half white, a quarter Chinese and a quarter Native Hawaiian, and grew up in Iowa.

It helps the larger population, at least in Hawaii, if not in the larger United States, understand that we exist, he said. These different types of Pacific Islanders are real people.

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER

Associated Press
GOP lawmakers hold California protest after 3 cancellations View Photo

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP)  Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a protest Saturday after a third venue in California canceled their event.

Instead, they held a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.

Heres what they need to understand, Greene told the crowd, according to the Press-Enterprise. Were going to put America first, we will not back down.

Gaetz spoke next, saying, Do you know why theyre so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them, according to the newspaper.

Shouts and arguments broke out between the lawmakers supporters and counterprotesters who gathered nearby.

Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns, the Press-Enterprise reported.

We respect free speech and we are capable of holding events, Lyster said. But it was the lack of advance notice for an event that would attract the attention at the level this one would that has raised issues for our city.

Lyster also said city officials had concerns about the nature of the event and that it does not reflect the city of Anaheim and the values we share.

Two venues in nearby cities previously canceled plans to host the event.

The two far-right members of Congress billed the event as an America First rally, part of a series they have spoken at this year.
Just under four years ago, brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista were in Brazilian prison cells with concrete bunk beds, their multibillion-dollar meat empire near collapse in one of the world's biggest corporate corruption scandals.

Today, they're not only free men but their company, JBS, is worth three times what it was then, operates in 20 countries and controls a quarter of U.S. beef processing. The brothers, worth $5.8 billion, hold stakes in companies with $28 billion in assets, towering over all other meat barons.

Their Lazarus-like revival comes partly from the one-two punch of pandemic food prices -- short supply, soaring demand -- that is making many in food rich right now. But it's more than that. It's a testament to bare-knuckles political deal making, ruthless efficiency (like using every inch of a carcass) while pivoting to plant-based alternatives and eyeing a U.S. listing.

"JBS is a prime example of the Brazilian way of doing business," said Luis Andre Azevedo, a professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas's law school, pointing to the company's deep, longstanding political connections.

The real trick has been not only mining those connections -- but betraying them. In 2017, the brothers turned on a network of politicians they'd spent years cultivating through legal and off-the-books donations. What followed was a scandal so widespread that it led to "Joesley Day," one of the worst market routs in Brazil's history.

Last month, when JBS was targeted by a large-scale cyberattack, it paid an $11-million ransom in bitcoin, putting an end to severe meatpacking disruptions in North America and Australia.

The Batista saga is steeped in proximity to power. Patriarch Jose Batista Sobrinho, 87, founded the company that bears his initials in 1953 and soon settled in the still-to-be-built city of Brasilia, selling meat to the construction workers erecting the new national capital. His sons soon joined him.

It was 49-year-old Joesley and Wesley, 51, who turned it into a global meat empire during a decade-long, $20 billion acquisition spree financed with stock and debt, with the help of Brazil's state-owned development bank. They targeted poorly-managed companies around the globe and turned them around.

"It's a combination of being very good in execution and good acquisitions that allowed them to diversify the business and generate good returns," said Leandro Fontanesi, head of food and agribusiness coverage at Bradesco BBI.

It's also been about cold-blooded choices.

In 2017, Brazil was trying to root out corruption, jailing politicians and businessmen. Joesley and Wesley were knee-deep in it and had a choice to make.

They described to prosecutors a network of bribes encompassing more than 1,800 politicians who allegedly eased access to government-owned banks and pension funds at a time when Brazilian authorities were shelling out cheap money to multiple companies hoping to create "national champions." The turmoil that followed nearly toppled a president.

The brothers, who declined to be interviewed for this article, were forced out of day-to-day operations, while the family's holding company, J&F, agreed to pay 10.3 billion reais ($2 billion) to Brazilian authorities over 25 years, followed by a similar deal with the U.S. Department of Justice last year for $256 million.

To appease creditors, they shed 12 billion reais in assets -- including a flip-flop maker, a dairy producer and businesses in Uruguay and Paraguay, in a complex debt restructuring that could have destroyed the company. They also had to convince cattle ranchers to wait until they had the cash to pay them while persuading key executives, like current global chief Gilberto Tomazoni, to stick with the firm.

When all was said and done, the Batista family kept control of its prized meat packer.

Wesley and Joesley never retook the reins of the business and disappeared from public life. Other family members are stepping in. Chief among them is Wesley Batista Filho, 30, who now handles key units at JBS and is being groomed for a top slot. In keeping with family tradition, he started out working in animal slaughter, learning every part of the carcass.

Of course, the Batistas aren't the only meatpackers doing well. The pandemic has been disruptive and lucrative for many others. Outbreaks of the virus among meatpacking staff sent animal protein prices surging as consumers clamored for supplies, while shutdowns spurred an unprecedented glut of livestock that squeezed ranchers and pushed down costs for slaughterhouses.

JBS has beaten most peers with a 69% surge in earnings before items in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Brazilian rival Marfrig Global Foods has also outperformed with a 38% jump. Marfrig's owner, Marcos Molina, agreed, without acknowledging guilt, to pay an indemnity in a bribery probe back in 2018.

Apart from taking advantage of the present, the JBS strategy is to anticipate the future.

"JBS and Tyson are in the process of reinventing themselves as protein companies rather than just meat companies," said Jennifer Bartashus, a senior analyst for packaged food & retail staples at Bloomberg Intelligence. "They are engaging more and more in plant-based alternatives."

That has meant going back to serial-acquisition mode, snapping up smaller companies all over the globe, including a German firm that makes plant-based meat substitutes.

Their endgame, as many JBS executives have stated during the years, is listing the meat giant in the U.S. Its New York-listed rival Tyson Foods is worth almost double, even though JBS outranks it in nearly other metric.

To appease governance concerns, the Batistas have added several senior compliance and control positions to their flagship JBS since 2017, said Flavia Bedran, credit analyst at S&P Ratings. But there's one key change they've yet to address: The board is still made up mostly of family members and executives with ties to JBS, she says.

They are also reckoning with criticism by environmental activists who say they're not doing enough to eliminate deforestation. JBS has vowed to invest $1 billion over the next decade to cut carbon emissions and implement other initiatives, while committing to tracking more effectively the origin of the cattle it buys.

"So they are taking the right steps to improve the perception to investors and I think the listing will also help," said Bradesco's Fontanesi. "It will be perceived as another positive step toward being more transparent, better governance."

It may not go smoothly.

This year the Batistas tried to take public in the U.S. a fintech side bet the family made in 2015. The transaction, in which they sought an $8-billion valuation for their payments firm PicS Ltd, was scrapped for now, according to people familiar with it. Investors demanded a steeper discount, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks aren't public.

After giving up on the IPO, the family has pledged to invest 3 billion reais in the firm, known as PicPay, out of their own pocket until 2023, with plans to resume the IPO then, a person familiar said. A representative for PicPay, which is run by another Batista family member, Jose Antonio Batista, confirmed the transaction had been postponed without adding further details.

Still, a recent industrywide chicken price-fixing scandal in the U.S. shows that investors tend to stay focused on the main product rather than on side deals or past turmoil, argues Bloomberg Intelligence's Bartashus.

"In the meat industry, people tend to move on from that," she observed.

- - -

Bloomberg's Gerson Freitas Jr. contributed to this report.
The United States is in an unprecedented juncture of the pandemic where just under half the population is fully vaccinated, health and safety restrictions are looser than they've been in 18 months, and cases of new coronavirus infections are once again on the rise after months of decline.

"The pandemic is not over, and delta changes the calculus," Joel Wertheim, an associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego, told The Washington Post on Saturday.

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As the delta variant spreads, the messaging from public health experts and officials is unequivocal: Vaccines are the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization. More than 97 percent of new hospitalizations from the delta variant are from people who are unvaccinated, making what Rochelle Walensky, who directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls "a pandemic of the unvaccinated."

Health experts said even though the delta variant is more infectious than the original variant that first took hold in the United States last year, there are precautions that can help both vaccinated and unvaccinated people limit their risk.

On Saturday, Los Angeles County's mask rules went back into effect - regardless of a person's vaccination status - on account of rising coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Some other cities have begun urging even the vaccinated to wear masks inside again.

Morsa Images/Getty Images

Here's what to know:

- If I'm fully vaccinated, do I need to wear a mask indoors?

The CDC announced this spring that people who are fully vaccinated can go without masks in most indoor settings, except when required by certain federal, state and local guidelines. Several health experts who spoke to The Washington Post disagreed that the CDC mask guidance is sufficient.

Emily Landon, the chief infectious-disease epidemiologist at University of Chicago Medicine, said the CDC should have included parameters on the mask rules, such as establishing a threshold allowing unvaccinated people to go without masks only if a certain percent of the population is inoculated.

"I think the CDC in May made a mistake," Landon said. "They made a recommendation based on biological science, but not any social science. Unfortunately, the policy of letting people self-sort into vaccinated and unvaccinated resulted in a sort of behavioral science problem."

Several experts consulted by The Post said it is safe for fully vaccinated people to spend time indoors with others who are fully vaccinated. The shots have proved widely effective, even in crowded indoor settings. But they said it is nonetheless a smart practice to continue wearing masks in environments where there might be people who are still vulnerable to getting the virus.

That can help protect both against getting a mild version of covid-19 and protecting those who haven't yet gotten the vaccine.

"If you yourself have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks and if people you are spending time with have been fully vaccinated for a least two weeks, you can feel relatively safe about not having to mask indoors," said Betty Jean "BJ" Ezell, who serves as a vaccine hesitancy outreach coordinator for Citrus County, Fla.

- Is it safe to attend a big outdoor gathering such as a wedding or a concert?

On the spectrum of risk, an outdoor setting for fully vaccinated, masked and socially distanced people is the safest - but maybe not an ideal party situation.

Ezell said it's a good idea to mask up or socially distance if you're in a large gathering outdoors and don't know if the people around you are vaccinated as "the delta variant has shown that it's rampant and unforgiving in its ability to spread."

"When you talk about outdoor weddings and parks, I think physical distancing is still a good thing because an infected person may be asymptomatic," Ezell said.

"This is a respiratory disease," she added. "Talking, coughing, putting out expectorate of any kind - if anyone passes through an area an infected person has been and those molecules with the virus are still hanging in the air, someone can still become infected."

- I've only had my first dose of the vaccine. Do I have enough protection from the delta variant?

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While partial vaccination is better than none at all, the best protection from severe illness from the delta variant is to be fully vaccinated, Wertheim said.

"We have this large swath of America that has only gotten one dose, and if we could only get them to get a second shot, I think that's a group where we could make a big difference," he said. "If you've been slow about getting a second dose, now is the time. There's no evidence to suggest that waiting longer [to get the second dose] is worse."

- My children aren't old enough to get a vaccine. How can I protect them?

Even though children tend to have milder cases of covid-19, Landon said infections in children are following the trendlines in delta variant hot spots: States with large outbreaks are showing more children with infections.

"I understand that it's really enticing to think of covid as just another cold, but it's not," Landon said of the typically milder infections in children. "It's always best to avoid getting sick at all."

For children who aren't old enough to get a vaccine, Landon said the adults and older siblings can reduce the risk to children by avoiding crowded indoor settings and wearing a mask inside.

Experts still also advise common-sense precautions to prevent all respiratory illnesses.

"We still pay attention to hand washing - sing that 'Happy Birthday' song twice - we still pay attention to masking and the fit of the mask," Ezell said.

However, the intensive surface cleaning people engaged in early in the pandemic is no longer considered necessary.

- How do I talk to loved ones who are still hesitant about the vaccine?

Ezell, the vaccine hesitancy outreach coordinator in Florida, said when it comes to meeting vaccine skeptics, she follows the advice of her pastor: You gain people's confidence not by "beating them over the head" but by planting a seed.

Give someone factual information to get them started, Ezell said, and the next person who comes along follows up by "watering," increasing the number of times trusted voices have shared sound information.

"I think it's especially important when you're having these conversations to present with what I call an active listening voice," Ezell said. "Ask people in particular what their objections are, and don't interrupt them; let them finish. Then give them the facts in a very calm manner."

- If cases continue to rise with the delta variant, will restrictions return?

No health expert can predict the future, but most who spoke to The Post were skeptical that there would be a return to widespread restrictions such as stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses like those from 2020.

Some restrictions such as the return to indoor mask rules seen in Los Angeles County this weekend could be revived, though experts such as Landon said they are likely to be hyperlocal and responsive to infection and hospitalization rates in a specific area.

Landon likened state-imposed measures such as masking rules to a wearing fight with small children.

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"It's like being exhausted and telling your kids, 'Fine, you can have ice cream for dinner,' " Landon said. "You don't have the will to say 'no' anymore.

"The bottom line, we should have mask mandates indoors. In public buildings, there's no reason we're not mandating masks. But will we go back to that? I doubt it. Now I think it will be really hard to go back to those restrictions."

Ezell, the outreach coordinator in Florida, agreed.

"The horse has left the barn on relaxing restrictions, so it's going to be really important that there are perhaps more public service announcements, group meetings, more getting trusted voices involved in communicating information from reliable sources," she said.
BERLIN (AP)  Rescue workers labored to deal with damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding in Western Europe rose above 160 and thoughts turned to the lengthy job of rebuilding communities devastated in minutes.

The death toll in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, home to the badly hit Ahrweiler county, rose to 98. Another 43 people were confirmed dead in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state. Belgiums national crisis center said the country's confirmed death toll rose to 27.

Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents.

Immediately after the floods hit on Wednesday and Thursday, German authorities listed large numbers of people as missing  something apparently caused in large part by confusion, multiple reporting and communications difficulties in the affected areas, some of which lacked electricity and telephone service.

By Saturday, authorities still feared finding more people dead, but said numbers unaccounted for had dropped constantly, without offering specific figures. In Belgium, 103 people were listed as missing Saturday, but the crisis center said lost or uncharged cellphones and people taken to hospitals without identification who hadn't had an opportunity to contact relatives were believed to be factors in the tally.

Meanwhile, the receding floodwaters eased access across much of the affected regions and revealed the extent of the damage.

A lot of people have lost everything they spent their lives building up  their possessions, their home, the roof over their heads, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting rescue workers and others in the town of Erftstadt.

It may only be possible to clear up in weeks how much damage needs to be compensated, he said.

Steinmeier said that people in the affected areas need continuing support.

Many people here in these regions have nothing left but their hope, and we must not disappoint this hope, he said.

In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. At least three houses and part of a mansion in the town's Blessem district collapsed.

The German military used armored vehicles to clear away cars and trucks overwhelmed by the floodwaters on a nearby road, some of which remained at least partly submerged. Officials feared that some people didn't manage to escape in Erftstadt, but no casualties were confirmed by Saturday afternoon.

In the Ahrweiler area, police warned of a potential risk from downed power lines and urged curious visitors to stay away. They complained on Twitter that would-be sightseers were blocking some roads.

Around 700 people were evacuated from part of the German town of Wassenberg, on the Dutch border, after the breach of a dike on the Rur river.

Visiting Erftstadt with Steinmeier, North Rhine-Westphalia governor Armin Laschet promised to organize aid for those immediately affected in the coming days. He said regional and federal authorities would discuss in the coming days how to help rebuilding efforts. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

We will do everything so that what needs to be rebuilt can be rebuilt, Laschet said.

In eastern Belgium, many train lines and roads remained blocked.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visited flood-damaged towns Saturday.

A resident of the Belgian town of Herk-de-Stad said she put off sleeping to try to empty her house of water.

We have been pumping all night long trying to get the water out of the house, Elke Lenaerts told broadcaster VTM.

Parts of the southern Netherlands also experienced heavy flooding, though thousands of residents were allowed to return home after being evacuated on Thursday and Friday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who visited the region on Friday, said that first, there was corona, now these floods, and soon people will have to work on cleanup and recovery.

"It is disaster after disaster after disaster. But we will not abandon Limburg, the southern province hit by the floods, he added. His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

Among other efforts to help the flood victims, the Hertog Jan brewery, which is based in the affected area, handed out 3,000 beer crates so locals could raise their belongings off the ground to protect them from the flooding.

An emergency dike in the town of Horn didnt hold and some houses were inundated. Authorities issued a warning to stay off the Maas River because of debris. Rescuers worked to save a cow stuck neck-deep in muddy water.

At the other end of Germany, there was flooding Saturday evening following torrential rain in the Saechsische Schweiz area near Dresden and across the border in the Czech Republic.

Roads, basements and railroad tracks flooded, disrupting train service between the Czech town of Decin and Bad Schandau, Germany. A summer camp for children on the Czech side had to evacuated.

In Austria, a flash flood swept through the town of Hallein, near the German border, late Saturday. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter that heavy rain and storms were causing serious damage in several parts of Austria.

I thank all first responders and volunteers who are doing everything they can to help! We won't leave those affected alone and will support the reconstruction, he wrote.

__

Angela Charlton in Paris, Molly Quell in Amsterdam and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.
PHOENIX (AP)  U.S. officials say the number of migrant families they encountered at the border in June increased by 25% from the previous month even as summer temperatures rise in the deserts and mountain terrain of the southwestern borderlands.

According to new numbers released Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection tallied 55,805 members of families with children in June, compared with 44,746 in May. While a large increase, the figure is far below the high of 88,587 in May 2019.

Overall, officials say they saw 5% more encounters with migrants trying to cross the border in June compared with May but attributed much of that increase to repeated attempts by people trying to get into the United States.

Pandemic-related powers that the government uses to rapidly expel most migrants from the country without allowing them to seek asylum has led to a larger-than-average number of migrants trying to cross multiple times, which means the numbers somewhat overstate how many are arriving at the border, Customs and Border Protection said in the monthly report.

Being expelled carries no legal consequences, so many people try to cross multiple times. The Trump administration issued the public health order in March 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and President Joe Biden has largely kept it in place.

The new numbers show slightly more than a third of the 188,829 people encountered at the border in June had unsuccessfully tried to cross at least one other time in the previous 12 months.

The CBP last month expelled 104,907 people under the pandemic powers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection since October has offered an exception to that order for children traveling alone and announced Friday it would allow the exception to stand following a review, allowing those minors to avoid deportation. The CDC said it determined there is sufficient infrastructure in place to protect the children, caregivers, and local communities in the U.S. from the virus.

The number of single adults encountered at the border fell in June, but they were the largest group of people trying to cross. Encounters with children traveling alone increased by 8% last month, to 15,253, compared with 14,137 in May. June's figure is still well below the high of 18,663 unaccompanied children encountered in March by the Border Patrol, which began publishing numbers in 2009.

The number of children in CBP custody fell to 832 on June 30 from 5,767 at its peak on March 29.

Although most border-crossers traditionally have been from Mexico and Central America, authorities have been noting growing numbers of migrants from other countries, including Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and Cuba.

CBP officials in recent weeks have been expressing concerns about the dangers migrants face crossing through remote borderlands without water at the height of summer.

We are in the hottest part of the summer, and we are seeing a high number of distress calls to CBP from migrants abandoned in treacherous terrain by smugglers with no regard for human life, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in Friday's report.

The bodies of an unusually large number of migrants who died in Arizonas borderlands are being recovered amid record temperatures in the sun-scorched desert and rugged mountains. An increase in migrant deaths also has been noted in Texas, and rescues are up throughout the border with Mexico.

The nonprofit group Humane Borders, which maps the recoveries of bodies in Arizona using data from the Pima County Medical Examiners Office in Tucson, said 43 sets of human remains were found in the states border region last month  the hottest June on record for Phoenix. Forecasters say highs in Phoenix, where temperatures last month regularly soared above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), tend to be similar to those in Arizonas Sonoran Desert north of Mexico.
In 2014, psychologists at the University of Virginia conducted a simple experiment to showcase the power of the human mind. They placed subjects in a room by themselves with no distractions for roughly 10 minutes, letting them be alone with their thoughts. Given the infinite possibilities that our imaginations hold, it aimed to promote the sheer pleasures we can derive from just thinking.

"We thought this would be great. People are so busy that it would give them a chance to slow down, sit quietly and daydream for a few minutes," said Erin Westgate, a young graduate student at the time. "So we started running these studies, and they were complete failures."

It turns out that people hated it. They found the experience so unpleasant, many of them preferred physical pain over the discomfort of boredom. When given the opportunity to self-administer a mild electric shock with a button, 67% of men and 25% of women pressed it at least once to help pass the time. One particularly miserable person shocked himself an incredible 190 times.

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These unexpected - and somewhat disturbing - results motivated Westgate to devote her research career to the science of boredom. She wondered how a mundane, almost childlike state could prompt such surprisingly extreme behavior.

"People aren't just more willing to hurt themselves when they're bored. More recent work has shown that they're more willing to hurt others and behave sadistically by docking other participants' pay or grinding up bugs in a coffee grinder, if given the choice," said Westgate, now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida. "It's terrible."

Psychologists like Westgate are on a mission to unravel the mysteries of boredom, a little-studied yet universal human experience distinct from apathy or depression.

- - -

Boredom is a distressing emotional state that combines feelings of restlessness and lethargy, arising from situations that are no longer satisfying or stimulating. Early research often dismissed boredom as temporary and inconsequential, but recent work has established its links to mental illness, traumatic brain injury and dysfunctional behaviors such as reckless driving and substance abuse.

Some experts believe the feeling is a modern phenomenon, driven by technology and a constant overload of meaningless stimulation. But historical literature proves that even our counterparts in ancient times had the burden of tedium to bear.

The poet and philosopher Lucretius described the plight of the Roman rich in his most famous work, "On the Nature of Things," as he flees from city house to country home to escape a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. In the fourth century, theologian Evagrius Ponticus warned his fellow monks about the "noonday demon," a passing feeling of exhaustion and listlessness brought on by the monotony of life.

Early scientific studies focused on boredom in the workplace, particularly at jobs involving repetitive tasks. A 1926 paper in The British Medical Journal on the physical and mental effects of modern industry says, "Monotony and fatigue are two aspects of a problem that affects the happiness and health of hundreds of thousands of workers in our civilization." Industrial psychologists of that era claimed that boredom led individuals to work more slowly, chatter among themselves and have a decreased rate of output.

More recent research has explored boredom as an inherent trait - known as boredom proneness - which has a whole host of negative associations. People who experience boredom more frequently and with greater intensity are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, gamble compulsively,binge-eat,drop out of school, drive recklessly and suffer from anxiety or depression. Studies conducted during the coronavirus pandemic also found that individuals high in boredom proneness had a greater tendency to break the rules of social distancing.

"There's a distinction between in-the-moment feelings of boredom - what psychologists refer to as 'state boredom' - which isn't good or bad," said psychologist James Danckert at the University of Waterloo. "If you're high in boredom proneness, however, there really aren't any positives to be associated with that. It's not good for your mental health to have this sort of chronic sense of being disengaged or disconnected with the world."

- - -

A harrowing personal experience triggered Danckert's fascination with boredom as a teenager in Australia.

His older brother, Paul, crashed his car into a tree, suffering a fairly severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Even as his other injuries began to heal, something in Paul had shifted. Frustratingly, he no longer got any enjoyment out of drumming and other activities that he used to love - to him, they were downright boring.

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When Danckert trained as a clinical neuropsychologist years later, he treated a number of young men who had head trauma similar to his brother's. Out of curiosity, he asked them whether they experienced more boredom now than before the accident. Every single one of the men said yes.

"To me, that added up to something sort of organic that has changed in the brain, something that is making it more difficult for these individuals to engage effectively with the world," he said. "I was fascinated by that and wanted to try to understand it more."

In a 2013 study, Danckert discovered that the connection between brain injury and boredom went beyond mere anecdotal evidence. He surveyed 52 patients who had suffered either mild, moderate or severe TBI, finding that the presence and severity of head trauma predicted levels of boredom proneness.

The exact mechanism remains unclear, but Danckert suspects it might have something to do with damage to an area of the brain that helps represent value and reward. The orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the frontal lobe that sits just above your eye sockets, is commonly affected in TBI and known to be dysfunctional in patients with depression.

"It may be the case that, having damaged this area, things just don't seem to have the same kind of value to patients," Danckert said. "When things lose value or meaning, there's a good chance that you will be bored by them.

- - -

But boredom isn't all bad.

When experienced occasionally, state boredom has value as a signal that something needs to change. It has the power to motivate us to pursue new goals when the old ones aren't meaningful anymore, and in this way, can help promote well-being. This kind of monotony-driven exploration and learning is seen in not only humans but also animals.

"In humans, teenagers are notorious for saying that they're bored all the time. We see the same thing in animals, where adolescent animals take more risks and leave the family group," said Charlotte Burn, associate professor in animal welfare and behavior science at the Royal Veterinary College. "The ability to feel boredom may actually prompt those useful behaviors that allow an animal to find new territory and food sources."

Burn studies animal boredom - or rather, boredom-like behavior, since it has not been established that species other than humans truly get bored. She recently performed an experiment with laboratory ferrets, giving one group an hour of playtime for three consecutive days in a room with a ball pit, paper bags and a human to interact with. A control group of ferrets remained confined to their cages. On the fourth day, Burn and her colleagues observed that the ferrets who got playtime slept soundly while the control group spent more time lying awake with eyes open and screeching.

Other work has found that animals kept in barren environments seek novelty, even in the form of things they would normally avoid. A 2012 study on mink found that animals kept in impoverished cages were more likely to approach even negative stimuli such as air puffs and bobcat urine. They also ate more snacks and stayed awake but inactive for longer periods of time, as bored humans have been known to do. Animals have even been observed to drink alcohol and take amphetamines, if given the opportunity.

"Because the brain relies on stimulation to keep working and being effective, some of the synapses - the links in your brain - can literally start to break down and become inactive," Burn said. "Animals kept in barren environments have physically lighter and smaller brains, and their learning ability is greatly affected."

- - -

Such results demonstrate that prolonged and inescapable boredom has serious negative consequences. Research on human prisoners in solitary confinement suggests that long-term boredom quickly advances into apathy, depression, cognitive disturbances, hallucinations and psychosis. Levels of self-harm and suicide, already much higher among prisoners than in the general population, increase even further for individuals placed in isolation.

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"When you think about captivity for humans or animals, you're preventing them from having the normal range of experiences they would have and autonomously engaging with the world," Danckert said. "The human brain, and the mammalian brain more generally, is always looking for change and novelty. When we're unable to have that, things go off the rails."

But living creatures are resilient, and even in captivity, animals such as elephants and birds have been observed to use tools when they don't normally in the wild - perhaps as a means of keeping themselves entertained. In humans, boredom in moderation can spark creativity, exploration and the pursuit of meaning. As long as the opportunity exists to act on it, boredom can be a positive force for change that pushes people out of their comfort zone.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation  of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history  is fueling delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6.

Hate is love. Violence is peace. The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots.

Months after the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol that winter day, Trump and his acolytes are taking this revisionism to a new and dangerous place  one of martyrs and warlike heroes, and of revenge. It's a place where cries of blue lives matter have transformed into shouts of f--- the blue.

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The fact inversion about the siege is the latest in Trump's contorted oeuvre of the "big lie compendium, the most specious of which is that the election was stolen from him, when it was not.

It is rooted in the formula of potent propaganda through the ages: Say it loud, say it often, say it with the heft of political power behind you, and people will believe. Once spread by pamphlets, posters and word of mouth, now spread by swipe of finger, the result is the same: a passionate, unquestioning following.

Techniques of glorifying your side and demonizing the other with skewed information, if not outright lies, have been in play at least since World War I, when the U.S. government roused sentiment for the cause with posters depicting the German soldier as an ape-human with a willowy American maiden in his clutches. That paled next to what followed years later with Nazi Germany's terrifying use of propaganda for the slaughter and subjugation of millions.

Whether the deception feeds warmongering or merely a defeated president's ego, some of the methods are the same, like telling the same fabrication over and over until it sticks.

Trump perfected the art of repetition  about the election hoax, the rigged election and massive voter fraud, with none of those accusations substantiated in the dozens of court cases and official post-election audits but engrained nonetheless among his supporters.

Four years ago, Trump appeared to equate white supremacists and racial justice protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his comment that there were very fine people, on both sides.

This time, in this telling, the very fine people on Jan. 6 were on one side: his.

For the other side  the police, overwhelmed for hours and bloodied in the insurrection  Trump only has an in-your-face question that doubles as a four-word conspiracy theory: Who killed Ashli Babbitt?

Those words have become a viral mantra meant to elevate Babbitt as a righteous martyr in the cause of liberty. They ricochet around the mainline social media platforms where Trump is banned for spreading misinformation but his followers still commiserate. The woman died from a police officer's bullet fired as she tried to climb through the jagged glass of a smashed window toward the House chamber during the riot.

Babbitt has become the face of the insurrection  emblazoned on T-shirts and cheered in basement ballrooms at hotels around the country where conspiracy theorists gather to vent. In Washington's Georgetown neighborhood, flyers are plastered on street lamps and building facades telling of an unveiling of a statue of Babbitt in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, on July 27, at high noon."

Trump and many Republicans have cycled through various characterizations of the insurrection, each iteration wholly unlike the previous one. The attackers were said to be leftist antifa followers in disguise. Then they were said to be overexcited tourists. Now they are heralded as foot soldiers for freedom.

Each iteration has required Americans to ignore the rage they saw on their screens, and some lawmakers to ignore that they were among the shocked targets of the attackers that day. The hunted now praise the hunters.

Taken together, the revisionists and their believers are swimming in a vast sea of nonsense," said Brendan Buck, a former top aide to onetime House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

That sea's currents are familiar to historians who study what makes some conspiracy theories and propaganda persuasive.

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Once people buy into the lies, there can be no convincing them they aren't true, said Dolores Albarracin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of a coming book, Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts are Shaped.

Despite the well-documented facts about what happened on Jan. 6, believers often dismiss anyone who tries to set them straight by claiming they are either duped or part of the conspiracy, Albarracin said.

The belief contains a device that protects it, she said. Nothing can invalidate the conspiracy theory. Trying to refute the theory proves the theory and signals you as a conspirator.

DJ Peterson, an expert on authoritarianism and propaganda, is president of Longview Global Advisors, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm, and worked at the Eurasia Group and the RAND Corporation. He said that in an online world awash in information and a real world riven by polarization, "you pick and choose what you want to believe, including sticking your head in the sand.

Trump, Peterson said, excels at amplifying claims that galvanize his core supporters and turn them against other Americans.

Thats where the power of Trump is," he said. "He's good at picking up on these threads ... that lower the level of trust and create division.

Recent polls are consistent in illustrating the country's divide over Trump and his post-election histrionics. In essence, two-thirds of the population is against him; two-thirds of Republicans for him. In one of the latest, Quinnipiac found that 66% of Republicans consider President Joe Biden to have been illegitimately elected.

That number and others like it in multiple polls represent tens of millions of people who were hoodwinked into believing allegations of election fraud that have been thoroughly investigated and refuted, including by Trump's own attorney general, William Barr. Trump's fabrications have stuck and now undergird the attempts by him and those closest to him to glorify the Jan. 6 mob.

The consequence of lying is you kind of never get back to where you were before," said Harvard historian Jill Lepore, whose podcast, The Last Archive, explores hoaxes, deceptions and what has happened to truth. Thats whats pernicious about our particular moment.

Of Trump, she said: His method is generally to just create chaos so that people really dont know which way to look.

In the case of the insurrection, his followers looked away. An aggressive amnesia seems to have taken hold over how ugly it all was, even though the scenes that were broadcast and streamed in real time are forever.

Swarming to the Capitol after a staging rally where Trump told them to fight like hell, and vowed, falsely, that he would be right there with them, the attackers beat the vastly outnumbered law enforcement officers, injuring scores of them. In one particularly awful case, an officer was crushed against a door by people pushing to get in, his mouth bleeding as the side of his face pressed against the glass of the door.

Lawmakers inside ran for their lives, hiding for hours as the mob wandered the halls of Congress holding up Trump flags. The assailants called out for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and wanted Trump's vice president, who was there, too. Hang Mike Pence, they chanted.

Babbitt was part of the group that was trying to beat down the doors of the House chamber as Capitol Police officers were evacuating the House floor and as some members were still trapped in the upper gallery. The officers used furniture to barricade the glass doors separating the hallway from the Speakers Lobby to try to stave off the attackers, who were breaking glass with their fists, flagpoles and other objects.

Only three police officers were guarding the doors on the other side of the stacked furniture as at least 20 attackers tried to get in, screaming, F--- the blue! and Break it down! One smashed the door glass next to an officer's head; another warned the officers they would be hurt if they didn't get out of the way.

A Capitol Police lieutenant pointed his gun. Gun! Gun! the attackers shouted as the hysteria reached a fever pitch. They started to lift Babbitt up, to climb through the window. The officer fired one round.

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Babbitt was struck in the shoulder. She later died. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing, and his name was not released.

Trump now states falsely  and with a stream of repetitions  that she was shot right in the head.

They were there for one reason, the rigged election, he told Fox News a week ago. They felt the election was rigged. Thats why they were there. And they were peaceful people. These were great people. The crowd was unbelievable. And I mentioned the word love. The love  the love in the air, I have never seen anything like it.
State

Naga origin doctor to be honoured by US state: July 19 as Dr. Jonathan Iralu Day

Dr. Jonathan Iralu

Correspondent Kohima, JUL 18 (NPN) | Publish Date: 7/18/2021 1:20:56 PM IST

New Mexico state will observe July 19 (Monday) as Dr. Jonathan Iralu Day, to recognise the service he rendered , ever since the pandemic broke out last year.

Dr Vilasier (Jonathan) Iralu is an American citizen of Naga descent and son of noted scientist late Dr. Vichazelhu Iralu (chairman of the department of microbiology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) and late Tefta Zografi Iralu. Dr. Jonathan Iralu is also the grandson of late Dr. Sevilie Iralu of Khonoma village.

Dr. Vilasier is among a team of seven doctors and nurses in New Mexico City who are being recognised by the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham at the New Mexico History Museum. Dr. Vilasier graduated from Yale College and obtained medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Dr Vilasier completed Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease training at Harvard. He is currently the Indian Health Service Chief Clinical Consultant for Infectious Diseases, Instructor at Harvard Medical School and also serves as a senior physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital Division of Global Health Equity in Boston, Massachusetts.

The team of health professionals in New Mexico were dubbed as health care heroes by US media and besides their recognition, a particular day starting from July 19 all through July 26, 2021 has been attributed to honor them as their day all over New Mexico starting with Dr Iralus day on July 19.

New Mexicos Governor stated that, Dr Iralu had been proactive since outset of the pandemic in taking measures to protect the people of New Mexico, establishing a drive thru COVID testing operation weeks before the first confirmed COVID-19 case in New Mexico and, throughout the pandemic, delivering timely, high-quality COVID-19 patient care to members of New Mexicos Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos.

Since he could not be interviewed due to requirement of official approval, Dr. Vilasier sent a message to Nagaland Post: I am grateful for the heroic work being done in Nagaland to treat and prevent COVID-19. I strongly recommend that my fellow Nagas get vaccinated for this infection as soon as possible to stop transmission. We are praying for the Naga people for Gods blessing, safety, and a full recovery.

Dr. Iralu lives with his wife Tammy, an elementary school teacher, and their four daughters in New Mexico in the Southern United States for the past 27 years.

Rio congratulates

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio also took to twitter to congratulate Dr. Vilasier. Im delighted to know the State of New Mexico Exec. Office, Santa Fe, New Mexico has proclaimed July 19, 2021 as Dr. Jonathan Iralu Day. Dr. Jonathan Vilasier Iralu is a 3rd generation doctor from Khonoma village. He has made the people of Nagaland proud. Congratulations to him, Rio tweeetd.
(Natural News) The European Union database of suspected drug reaction reports is EudraVigilance, which also tracks reports of injuries and deaths following the experimental COVID-19 vaccines.

(Article by Brian Shilhavy republished from HealthImpactNews.com)

A Health Impact News subscriber from Europe reminded us that this database maintained at EudraVigilance is only for countries in Europe who are part of the European Union (EU), which comprises 27 countries.

The total number of countries in Europe is much higher, almost twice as many, numbering around 50. (There are some differences of opinion as to which countries are technically part of Europe.)

So as high as these numbers are, they do NOT reflect all of Europe. The actual number in Europe who are reported dead or injured due to COVID-19 shots would be much higher than what we are reporting here.

The EudraVigilance database reports that through July 3, 2021 there are 17,503 deaths and 1,687,527 injuries reported following injections of four experimental COVID-19 shots:

From the total of injuries recorded, half of them (837,588 ) are serious injuries.

Seriousness provides information on the suspected undesirable effect; it can be classified as serious if it corresponds to a medical occurrence that results in death, is life-threatening, requires inpatient hospitalisation, results in another medically important condition, or prolongation of existing hospitalisation, results in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or is a congenital anomaly/birth defect.

As we reported yesterday, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. now regret getting the COVID-19 shots, and are begging for help, because the medical system has turned its back on them and refuses to treat their injuries. See:

One subscriber from the UK commented on the article and stated that the same thing was happening there:

It is exactly the same in Scotland and England. My vaccinated friends are not getting appointments with their family doctors who are avoiding them post vaccination even although there are no patients in the GP surgery waiting rooms when they have tried to get appointments. It is utterly cruel given they talked them into getting the vaccinations and accepted 10 UK pounds from the Scottish and English governments per person vaccinated on their patient list and did not disclose the risk of these vaccinations to the patients. A friend nearly passed out close to the GP surgery, a kind stranger wheeled her up to the GP surgery and she was not allowed to be seen by her GP because she did not have an appointment. The nurse refused to take bloods because they are not allowed to do so until management confirms they can do this so they cannot even do exploratory bloods to investigate what has gone wrong with these patients post vaccination. Another friends hospital consultant phoned a friends GP insisting her family doctor see her given she had had heart procedures and no appointments for 2 years. She told me after first Pfizer shot it was like acid going into my veins and the queen did not get the same vaccine asshe did which will be completely true. Her GP treated her with disdain and was not pleased to see her and my friend also tells me that every time she walks now post vaccination her heart races and her son has been unwell post vaccination too. All my friends who got the vaccination have had severe worsening of their pre-existing medical conditions and some have got heart conditions they did not previously have or chronic obstructive airways disease. I have noticed most have became irritable and short-tempered as they are becoming unwell not realising the vaccine is harming them and they are lashing out at others for no good reason. In UK, NHS contributions are deducted from peoples salaries and the retired paid these all their working life and now are getting refused service but they will still take these NHS contributions regardless. It is wicked and cruel. Though it is the governments who are instructing the GP and hospital management to treat the patients in this abysmal manner. I am quite sure this will be happening in most if not all countries. God be with us all.

A Health Impact News subscriber in Europe ran the reports for each of the four COVID-19 shots we are including here. This subscriber has volunteered to do this, and it is a lot of work to tabulate each reaction with injuries and fatalities, since there is no place on the EudraVigilance system we have found that tabulates all the results.

Since we have started publishing this, others from Europe have also calculated the numbers and confirmed the totals.*

Here is the summary data through July 3, 2021.

Total reactions for the experimental mRNA vaccine Tozinameran (code BNT162b2,Comirnaty) from BioNTech / Pfizer: 8,426 deaths and 632,623 injuries to 03/07/2021

17,754 Blood and lymphatic system disorders incl. 99 deaths

14,858 Cardiac disorders incl. 1,165 deaths

126 Congenital, familial and genetic disorders incl. 12 deaths

7,951 Ear and labyrinth disorders incl. 5 deaths

324 Endocrine disorders incl. 2 deaths

9,319 Eye disorders incl. 19 deaths

57,599 Gastrointestinal disorders incl. 388 deaths

173,572 General disorders and administration site conditions incl. 2,510 deaths

558 Hepatobiliary disorders incl. 33 deaths

6,948 Immune system disorders incl. 42 deaths

19,780 Infections and infestations incl. 834 deaths

7,204 Injury, poisoning and procedural complications incl. 124 deaths

15,281 Investigations incl. 296 deaths

4,721 Metabolism and nutrition disorders incl. 164 deaths

88,638 Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders incl. 103 deaths

386 Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl. cysts and polyps) incl. 26 deaths

114,125 Nervous system disorders incl. 902 deaths

478 Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions incl. 18 deaths

124 Product issues

11,148 Psychiatric disorders incl. 117 deaths

2,005 Renal and urinary disorders incl. 132 deaths

3,597 Reproductive system and breast disorders incl. 2 deaths

27,121 Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders incl. 989 deaths

30,404 Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders incl. 79 deaths

979 Social circumstances incl. 12 deaths

392 Surgical and medical procedures incl. 21 deaths

17,231 Vascular disorders incl. 332 deaths

Total reactions for the experimental mRNA vaccine mRNA-1273(CX-024414) from Moderna: 4,605 deaths and 157,802 injuries to 03/07/2021

2,890 Blood and lymphatic system disorders incl. 35 deaths

4,491 Cardiac disorders incl. 503 deaths

66 Congenital, familial and genetic disorders incl. 4 deaths

1,972 Ear and labyrinth disorders

110 Endocrine disorders incl. 1 death

2,498 Eye disorders incl. 9 deaths

13,626 Gastrointestinal disorders incl. 161 deaths

42,716 General disorders and administration site conditions incl. 1,928 deaths

269 Hepatobiliary disorders incl. 17 deaths

1,349 Immune system disorders incl. 5 deaths

4,793 Infections and infestations incl. 259 deaths

3,378 Injury, poisoning and procedural complications incl. 92 deaths

3,359 Investigations incl. 93 deaths

1,616 Metabolism and nutrition disorders incl. 94 deaths

19,416 Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders incl. 88 deaths

175 Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl. cysts and polyps) incl. 18 deaths

28,239 Nervous system disorders incl. 465 deaths

338 Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions incl. 2 deaths

24 Product issues

3,193 Psychiatric disorders incl. 75 deaths

1,061 Renal and urinary disorders incl. 66 deaths

723 Reproductive system and breast disorders incl. 2 death

7,268 Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders incl. 438 deaths

8,400 Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders incl. 32 deaths

690 Social circumstances incl. 16 deaths

540 Surgical and medical procedures incl. 42 deaths

4,602 Vascular disorders incl. 160 deaths

Total reactions for the experimental vaccine AZD1222/VAXZEVRIA (CHADOX1 NCOV-19) from Oxford/ AstraZeneca: 3,871 deaths and 852,616 injuries to 03/07/2021

9,950 Blood and lymphatic system disorders incl. 160 deaths

13,336 Cardiac disorders incl. 454 deaths

115 Congenital, familial and genetic disorders incl. 3 deaths

9,712 Ear and labyrinth disorders

355 Endocrine disorders incl. 3 deaths

14,641 Eye disorders incl. 15 deaths

86,515 Gastrointestinal disorders incl. 184 deaths

227,408 General disorders and administration site conditions incl. 1,009 deaths

607 Hepatobiliary disorders incl. 32 deaths

3,359 Immune system disorders incl. 14 deaths

19,508 Infections and infestations incl. 247 deaths

8,912 Injury, poisoning and procedural complications incl. 94 deaths

18,352 Investigations incl. 88 deaths

10,315 Metabolism and nutrition disorders incl. 50 deaths

131,547 Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders incl. 50 deaths

379 Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl. cysts and polyps) incl. 9 deaths

180,575 Nervous system disorders incl. 612 deaths

279 Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions incl. 5 deaths

117 Product issues

16,000 Psychiatric disorders incl. 33 deaths

3,045 Renal and urinary disorders incl. 33 deaths

8,593 Reproductive system and breast disorders

28,994 Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders incl. 447 deaths

39,173 Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders incl. 25 deaths

866 Social circumstances incl. 5 deaths

754 Surgical and medical procedures incl. 16 deaths

19,209 Vascular disorders incl. 283 deaths

Total reactions for the experimental COVID-19 vaccine JANSSEN (AD26.COV2.S) from Johnson & Johnson : 601 deaths and 44,486 injuries to 03/07/2021

405 Blood and lymphatic system disorders incl. 18 deaths

659 Cardiac disorders incl. 73 deaths

16 Congenital, familial and genetic disorders

250 Ear and labyrinth disorders

10 Endocrine disorders incl. 1 death

518 Eye disorders incl. 3 deaths

4,283 Gastrointestinal disorders incl. 25 deaths

11,832 General disorders and administration site conditions incl. 150 deaths

58 Hepatobiliary disorders incl. 4 deaths

161 Immune system disorders incl. 1 death

598 Infections and infestations incl. 16 deaths

413 Injury, poisoning and procedural complications incl. 8 deaths

2,420 Investigations incl. 39 deaths

225 Metabolism and nutrition disorders incl. 11 deaths

7,687 Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders incl. 17 deaths

18 Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl. cysts and polyps)

9,547 Nervous system disorders incl. 76 deaths

15 Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions incl. 1 death

11 Product issues

459 Psychiatric disorders incl. 5 deaths

150 Renal and urinary disorders incl. 8 deaths

166 Reproductive system and breast disorders incl. 1 death

1,453 Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders incl. 47 deaths

1,125 Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders incl. 2 deaths

91 Social circumstances incl. 3 deaths

393 Surgical and medical procedures incl. 27 deaths

1,523 Vascular disorders incl. 65 deaths

*These totals are estimates based on reports submitted to EudraVigilance. Totals may be much higher based on percentage of adverse reactions that are reported. Some of these reports may also be reported to the individual countrys adverse reaction databases, such as the U.S. VAERS database and the UK Yellow Card system. The fatalities are grouped by symptoms, and some fatalities may have resulted from multiple symptoms.

Read more at: HealthImpactNews.com
(Natural News) Pubs, restaurants and nightclubs operators are not planning to turn into coronavirus (COVID-19) police in the UK.

Hospitality chiefs said they do not have the technology to scan COVID vaccine passports and do not know how to check QR codes produced by the National Health Service (NHS) app as proof of double vaccination, immunity or a recent negative COVID test.

UKs Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced on July 12 that businesses and large events would be encouraged to use the NHS COVID Pass in high risk settings.

The COVID Pass is available through the same general NHS app as the travel certificate. It incorporates test results and naturally acquired immunity from COVID infection in the last six months.

The government has not set out exactly which venues will be encouraged to use the COVID Pass, stating only that it will work with venues that operate large, crowded settings where people are likely to be in close proximity to others outside their household. This could refer to pubs, restaurants nightclubs and venues of large events. (Related: England now ready to adopt vaccine passports for mass events.)

Business owners said the vaccine passports could be easily faked because they had not been supplied with the technology to check proof of identity.

A government spokesman said an app to allow businesses to scan QR codes would be released on July 17, just two days before the new guidance takes effect. But industry sources pointed out that many restaurants and pubs do not have QR readers and questioned whether staff would need to use their personal phones.

Its just another reason why this scheme is totally unworkable, said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality.

Without being able to scan the QR code, it makes it very difficult to prove this persons actual COVID status. It wont work on the door and I dont know a single one of my members who will be ready to do this on Monday.

Similar measure in France met with protests

In France, President Emmanuel Macrons plan to require a COVID-19 vaccine certificate or negative PCR test to gain entry to bars, restaurants and cinemas beginning next month was met with dozens of protests. Frances new COVID laws will also make vaccination compulsory for healthcare workers beginning September 15.

Frances Ministry of the Interior said that there were 53 different protests throughout the country. (Related: Vaccine passport now MANDATORY in France, following more than a year of corporate media propagandists claiming the idea was a conspiracy theory.)

The French authorities put the total number of protesters at 19,000. Some 2,250 people protested in Paris while other demonstrations took place in Lyon, Toulouse, Annecy, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nantes and elsewhere.

In Lyon, police fired tear gas grenades to try and contain a large demonstration in the city center. At least 1,400 mostly young people had gathered to protests against Macrons announcement, police estimated. Protesters allegedly threw projectiles at the police before the authorities responded with tear gas.

In Toulouse, a small rally was held by several Yellow Vests groups on Wednesday morning, while a small group of people in Annecy forced their way into the local council offices without causing any damage. Between 150 and 200 people remained in the courtyard of the building for over an hour, the Haute-Savoie prefecture said. Hundreds of people also gathered in Montpellier, Marseille, Perpignan and Rouen to protest against the restrictions.

Worse than a lockdown

Some regions in Russia have also announced that people have to present QR codes, vaccination certificates or negative PCR tests to stay in hotels or visit bars and restaurants.

Authorities from the Vladimir region ruled that QR codes were needed to visit restaurants, gyms, beauty parlors, hairdressers, cinemas and to stay in hotels.

The restrictions were criticized by local business operators who said in a statement the measures had been adopted in the middle of the tourist season and threatened the closure of thousands of firms in the service industries. We have almost zero revenues. We dont know what we can say tomorrow to staff the landlords, and suppliers, said Dmitry Bolshakov, owner of the cafe chain Vladim Group.

Three days after the measures came into effect the authorities met business owners and agreed to ease some of the measures.

Its worse than a lockdown, said Marina Zemskova, president of the association of hotels and restaurants in the Vladimir region. Because if there was one, we would have a complete closure and could count on some kind of government support measures.

Moscow had also required residents to present a QR code demonstrating they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have immunity in order to sit inside cafes, restaurants and bars since June 28.

But Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin recently announced on television that starting July 19 the Russian capital is canceling mandatory QR codes in catering.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

MSN.com

InstituteForGovernment.org.uk

DailyMail.co.uk

Yahoo.com
(Natural News) Los Angeles County, California, has announced that it is reimposing its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mask mandate.

The countys decision to force masks on residents once again goes against the argument made by public health officials that the coronavirus vaccines have eliminated the need for face masks. (Related: Here we go again: Los Angeles says even vaccinated should mask up to protect against covid delta variant.)

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, said Los Angeles County Public Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis. Were seeing the [infection] rates go up too high. We all need to do our part to try and prevent the need to do something else.

Davis announced his decision to reimpose Los Angeles Countys mask mandate on Thursday, July 15. All residents are required to wear masks in indoor public spaces and businesses regardless of vaccination status.

This means all customers of indoor public establishments, like retail and grocery stores, restaurants and workplaces, need to wear masks at all times. Davis said people will still be free to enjoy indoor dining, but customers will have to put their masks on when they are not actively eating or drinking anything.

Davis said his mask mandate will be similar to the one Los Angeles County had before this mandate was lifted on June 15. It will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 17.

Los Angeles County is home to over 10 million people and the United States second-largest city of Los Angeles. The county is one of a few jurisdictions around the country in recent days to either put out a new mandate or a recommendation regarding wearing masks.

Masking indoors must again become a normal practice by all, regardless of vaccination status, so that we can stop the trends and level of transmission we are currently seeing, said Davis at the press conference announcing the mask mandate.

When asked if there is potential for further restrictions in the county, Davis said everything is on the table if the situation does not improve. He placed the onus on not being in lockdown on the residents of the county as he said they cant wait for things to get worse before they decide to wear their masks.

Asked how long the mask mandate will be in effect, Davis said it will depend on when the spread of infections slows down. This is not the same situation as June 15, he said. We were at a low level when we reopened. This is a very different situation from where we were when restrictions were lifted.

Los Angeles County records thousands of post-vaccine coronavirus cases daily

The announcement to reimpose the mask mandate follows six straight days of the post-vaccine delta variant wreaking havoc on the county. In the six days before the order went out, the county reported over 1,000 new cases daily.

New daily cases of the virus in Los Angeles County spiked in January to nearly 20,000. This plummeted to around 100 new daily cases in June, but since then has been on an upward trend. On Wednesday, there were nearly 400 people hospitalized in the county for COVID-19, up from 275 the week prior. The county also recorded nine new coronavirus deaths on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the county reported 1,537 new post-vaccine coronavirus cases. This is the highest daily number since early March, and up from 1,315 new cases on Wednesday and 1,103 new cases on Tuesday.

Davis said the countys case rate was 7.1 cases per 100,000 people. This puts the region in the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Substantial category of spread.

According to county health data, the delta variant now accounts for around 71 percent of all tested COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County.

Davis blamed the rise in cases on the countys unvaccinated population, which numbers at slightly under four million.

According to data, around 61 percent of the countys residents over 16 years of age are vaccinated. Thirteen percent of the county population is under 12 years old and therefore not eligible for vaccination. If they are taken into account, only 51 percent of the county is fully vaccinated.

Were seeing cases in children and younger adults rising, scaremongered Davis. He claimed that if adults are fully vaccinated, they can protect children who cant get the vaccine.

Learn more about how state and local governments are using post-vaccine delta variant outbreaks to bring back restrictions like mask mandates at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

Deadline.com

Reuters.com

CBSNews.com

TheBlaze.com
(Natural News) More states have banned K-12 schools and universities from requiring Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and face masks for their students. At least eight states passed laws prohibiting COVID-19 vaccinations or vaccine passports, while at least three states mandated bans on making students mask up on campus. The bans on vaccines and face masks came contrary to federal guidance recommending that unvaccinated students wear masks when in-person classes resume.

In June 2021, Arizona passed laws banning vaccine and mandates at schools and colleges starting in the fall semester. The states move stemmed from Arizona State Universitys (ASU) June 14 announcement that unvaccinated students should expect frequent COVID-19 tests and wear masks at all times when fall classes start on Aug. 19. Arizonas Republican Gov. Doug Ducey did not take too kindly to the announcement, calling it a bad policy with no basis in public health.

Ducey then issued an executive order the next day banning mask mandates and required COVID-19 testing in public universities. His June 15 order provided an exception: Testing would be required in cases of outbreaks in dormitories. However, the mandate said universities must secure an approval from the Arizona Department of Health Services before doing so. A vote by the Arizona Legislature subsequently formalized Duceys mandate.

ASU spokesman Jay Thorne said the university will comply with the order and follow the honor system. He added that ASU will provide free vaccinations and COVID-19 testing on campus. Furthermore, Thorne said the university will continue to encourage vaccinations and recommend that unvaccinated students wear masks and get tested.

Oklahoma also passed legislation that banned schools from implementing mask mandates unless under a state of emergency. The law also prohibited schools, including higher education institutions, from requiring COVID-19 vaccines and proof of vaccination. However, the law exempted medical programs in post-secondary schools from the prohibition.

Oklahoma State Rep. Kevin West, a GOP lawmaker who sponsored the legislation, said he received overwhelming support  mostly from parents. It gives that authority [to wear a mask] to the parents, he said.

Arkansas also passed similar legislation in April that prohibited mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and face coverings in schools. GOP State Sen. Trent Garner, who penned the law, called these requirements one of the most contentious issues in Arkansas. Ultimately, the best form of local control is the individual  and each family can make that decision, Garner said.

Crazy mask mandates do more harm than good

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance recommending that students, teachers and staff members not yet fully vaccinated continue to wear masks indoors. It also urged schools to resume in-person classes while maintaining social distancing measures. The public health agency also encouraged more families to get their COVID-19 vaccines.

However, some children had been negatively impacted by mask mandates  including the two children of New York City resident Natalya Murakhaver. She said that her children aged 11 and seven years old suffered from the citys face mask requirement.

Theyre so dehydrated, and on hot days  they come out sweaty and exhausted. [Also], they have headaches  [and] have become more claustrophobic, she said. Murakhaver added that her seven-year-old daughter started mumbling after prolonged mask use. Prior to the mask, she was speaking beautifully. [But] after the masks, we couldnt understand what she was saying, she elaborated.

Back in May 2021, Leila Centner of the Centner Academy in Florida discussed the negative effects of masks on children. She said during the May 30 Advanced Medicine Conference that despite not requiring masks on campus, her school did not have any hospitalizations from COVID-19. She also showed videos of two medical experts that pointed out the harm of face coverings.

The first video featured ophthalmologist Dr. Jim Meehan, who said that healthy people should not be wearing masks at all. He mentioned the different health problems children can suffer from while wearing masks  such as facial rashes, dental problems, anxiety, panic attacks and more. The second video by Centner featured pediatrician Dr. Lawrence Palevsky. The pediatrician said masks promote fear, stress, panic and anxiety similar to the brains fight or flight response  negatively affecting childrens cognitive development.

Later, a group of Florida parents sent their childrens face masks for laboratory testing after a child developed a giant rash on his face. The childs mother Amanda Donoho said that repeated treatments did not cure the rash. It was only after a visit to a dermatologist that the rash was revealed to be a fungal infection caused by moisture accumulating behind the mask.

Donoho and other parents then sent their childrens face masks to the University of Floridas Mass Spectrometry Research and Education Center for testing. Laboratory tests found that pathogenic bacteria responsible for sicknesses such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and meningitis clung to the masks material.

Visit MedicalTyranny.com to read more articles about mandatory face masks and COVID-19 vaccination in schools nationwide.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

InsideHigherEd.com

AZGovernor.gov [PDF]

WakingTimes.com

JustTheNews.com
(Natural News) The Biden administration recently admitted that it is working with Big Tech to censor and remove so-called problematic content. In a July 15 press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the administration worked closely with Facebook and other social media platforms to flag problematic posts. Psakis remarks bolstered claims that the government and Big Tech collaborated to censor contrary opinions under the guise of misinformation.

During the press conference, Psaki answered a query regarding technology firms being called to exercise more aggression in policing misinformation. We are in regular touch with these social media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff. [This] is a big issue of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic, she said.

The press secretary also cited a number of actions the federal government has done to combat misinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). According to Psaki, the federal government increased disinformation research and tracking within the Office of the Surgeon General and flagged problematic posts  that spread disinformation.

She also added that the federal government worked to connect medical experts and influences to promote accurate information and boost trusted content. Psaki said: Were helping get trusted content out there.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also attended the July 15 press conference. When asked if misinformation was the No. 1 reason why people are not getting vaccinated, he answered that it was only one of several reasons. What we know from polls  is that two-thirds of people who are not vaccinated either believe common myths about the COVID-19 vaccine or think some of those myths might be true, Murthy replied.

The surgeon general called on social media companies to intensify their censorship of purported COVID-19 misinformation. We expect more from our technology companies. Were asking them to monitor misinformation more closely  [and] consistently take action against misinformation super-spreaders on their platforms, Murthy said. He also called on news organizations to proactively address the publics questions without allowing health misinformation to seep through.

Big Tech censorship cranked up to 11, thanks to the federal government

The July 15 press conference featuring Psaki and Murthy followed the latters release of a 22-page announcement warning about the dangers of health misinformation. Murthys advisory called health misinformation a serious threat that can cause confusion [and] sow mistrust. He said: Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic imperative that will require a whole-of-society effort.

The announcement from Murthy also put forward suggestions for technology companies to fight misinformation. It called on these firms to prioritize early detection of misinformation super-spreaders and repeat offenders. Clear consequences should be imposed on defiant violators of social media policy, it added.

Murthys document also called on technology platforms to bolster their multilingual content moderators and machine learning algorithms in other non-English languages. This was because health information in languages other than English continued to proliferate. It also noted that health misinformation on live streams, which are more difficult to moderate, ought to be addressed likewise.

Republican lawmakers did not take too kindly to what they dubbed as Psakis remarks during the July 15 press conference. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley described her comment as a casual admission of collusion between the government and Big Tech. He claimed that the Biden administration was attempting to censor speech and evade the First Amendment.

Hawley said in an interview with Fox News on the same day: I think its really scary to have the federal government  compiling lists of people [and] organizations and then going to a private company [such as] Facebook and saying, you need to censor, you need to do something about this.' (Related: COVID WITCH HUNT: DC AG subpoenas Facebook for data on ALL users that have spread COVID-19 misinformation.)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy echoed Hawleys sentiments, claiming that Big Tech and the White House conspired to control and censor Americans. He wrote in a tweet: The Biden administration just announced they are working with Facebook to censor more Americans. Big Tech and Big Government want the same thing: To control you. As a reminder, America is a land of freedom.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson meanwhile argued that the federal government has turned into Big Brother under the leadership of President Joe Biden. He continued: The censorship that results from this unholy alliance between [Big Government and Big Tech] has, and will continue to, cost lives. (Related: SUPPRESSING THE CURES: YouTube suspends Sen. Ron Johnson for uploading videos about hydroxychloroquine.)

Censorship.news has more about the collusion of the federal government and Big Tech to undermine the First Amendment under the guise of fighting misinformation.

Sources include:

OffGridSurvival.com

WhiteHouse.gov

KESQ.com

HHS.gov [PDF]

FoxBaltimore.com

Twitter.com
With cities struggling to get younger residents vaccinated against COVID-19, some local leaders are turning to campaigns with social media influencers or incentives like gift cards for people who get a shot.

The push to get people  particularly in the younger age group - vaccinated comes as Connecticut is seeing a rise in cases and people hospitalized for the illness, mirroring a trend seen around the country as the more infectious delta variant continues to spread.

In New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker said the city has thrown youth events to get people vaccinated.

Its basically with free food, music and a free shot, he said. The city has also raised the amount it gives out in gift certificates for people who get a shot from $10 to $25.

Were approaching this with the idea of everyones doing it, Elicker said.

Connecticuts second-largest city was once among the lowest vaccinated communities in the state, but data released by the state last week shows more than 53 percent of Elm City residents have now received at least one dose. It now ranks higher than some of the larger cities in the state, but the city is still lagging behind the state.

As of Thursday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed 68.2 percent of state residents have received at least one dose, while 62 percent are fully vaccinated.

Elicker said city departments are also working on a campaign that would feature social media influencers, among others, on billboards around the city trying to convince people to get vaccinated. The city employed a similar campaign to promote masks, he said.

Through door-knocking campaigns, he said the hesitancy in New Haven is not driven by conspiracy theories, but more a lack of urgency.

People feeling like they may not need it because theyre not going to get that sick, Elicker said.

Hartford Health Director Liany Arroyo described it as a mentality of wait and see among young people.

There was a time when access was the issue and door knocking was an effective way to get people signed up. The return on that isnt as high now, so we are always looking for creative ways to activate people to get their friends and family vaccinated, she said in an email.

With about 45 percent of residents at least partly vaccinated, Hartford ranks lowest among major cities in the state in terms of residents who have gotten at least one shot. Part of that may be due to age and eligibility, which does not include children younger than age 12. Arroyo noted with the median age in Hartford is about 32 years old.

Despite the majority of people eligible having started vaccination and 95 percent of seniors having been vaccinated, according to Arroyo, she said the citys numbers for young people are still not where they need to be.

Vaccination rates are also lagging in other cities, including New Britain, Bridgeport and Waterbury. In all three, less than half of residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

In other communities meanwhile, the vast majority of residents may be vaccinated. In Salisbury, Lyme, Old Saybrook and Kent, more than 80 percent of residents have received at least a first shot. And in Canaan, almost 100 percent of the towns 1,053 residents are vaccinated, according to the state data.

But the number of vaccines administered in a week has dropped to a little more than 30,000, state statistics show, down from a high of roughly 315,000 in mid-April.

This comes as the state has seen a slight uptick both in positivity rates and hospitalizations in recent days, with similar bumps in cases reported in every state around the nation.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, the states one-day positivity rate of tests remained above one percent, the first time the metric had crossed the one percent threshold since early June.

Experts believe the delta variant, which was first identified in India and is thought to be even more infectious than the alpha strain first detected in the U.K., may be fueling the rise in cases.

Dr. Ulysses Wu, system director of infectious diseases at Hartford HealthCare, said last week he now assumes new cases are the delta variant. But he also attributed the case increase to riskier behavior among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

I think the impact for us locally for delta is... its certainly affecting our unvaccinateds at this point, he said.

So far 87 cases of the strain have been confirmed in Connecticut. Last week, researchers at Jackson Laboratories and the Yale School of Public Health said the strain made up a little less than 64 percent of the samples they tested through genetic sequencing. Nathan Grubaugh, the researcher leading Yales sequencing efforts, said in a tweet the strain is now likely dominant in the state.

In some cases, Wu said hes seen entire family cohorts of unvaccinated people who have gotten sick kind of like the way it was before vaccines.

In terms of those who are not yet vaccinated, he noted for some in the state, accessing care may be an issue. But others are hesitant as a result of cultural political beliefs about both vaccines and COVID-19.

As the state works to drive up vaccine numbers, questions remain about whether federal regulators will approve booster shots of vaccines. So far only Pfizer, which developed the first vaccine approved for use in the U.S. with its German partner BioNTech, has approached regulators about providing a third doses of its vaccine in part citing the rise of the delta variant. The company has also said its testing a new version of its vaccine meant to target the strain.

But boosters may not be necessary at all.

Robert Hecht, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, argued for keeping the spotlight on getting people vaccinated for the first time around, in a phone interview Friday. He said doing so is a far higher priority than worrying about boosters.

We need to fasten our seatbelts and fasten them up tight, but I dont think... we dont yet need a new airbag I dont think, he said.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea on Sunday sent military aircraft to replace the entire 301-member crew of a navy destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa after nearly 70 of them tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.

Two multi-role aerial tankers are bringing the new crew and will then take home 301 sailors aboard the 4,400-ton-class destroyer Munmu the Great, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Health Ministry officials said.

They said 68 sailors have so far tested positive and the results of tests for 200 crew are still pending.

Fifteen sailors have been hospitalized in an African country that authorities did not name, while the rest are on the destroyer. None of the crew has been vaccinated for COVID-19 as they left South Korea in early February, before the start of the vaccination campaign, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said requesting anonymity citing department rules.

The cause of infections hasnt been officially announced. But military authorities suspect the virus might have spread when the destroyer docked at a harbor in the region to load goods in late June.

The replacement crew of 150 navy personnel will arrive aboard the aerial tankers and move to the destroyer, which is anchored at sea, to sail it back to South Korea on a journey that takes about a month, the Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.

Health Ministry official Sohn Youngrae told reporters that the 301 crew of the destroyer will be sent to hospitals or quarantine facilities upon their return to South Korea early this week. He said the crew were all relatively in good condition.

South Korea has taken part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden since 2009. Military officials said the Munmu the Great was to be replaced with another destroyer next month following a six-month rotational deployment. The second destroyer is on its way to the area.

The outbreak on the destroyer comes as South Korea is grappling with a spike in infections at home that has forced authorities to place the populous capital region under the toughest distancing rules.

Starting Monday, authorities will enforce a four-person cap on private gatherings in areas outside the Seoul metropolitan region for two weeks, Sohn said. In the Seoul area, the same restrictions have been in place during the daytime since last Monday but gatherings of three or more people are banned after 6 p.m.

South Korea on Sunday confirmed another 1,454 new cases, taking the countrys total to 177,951 infections and 2,057 deaths since the pandemic began. It was the 12th consecutive day for South Korea to report more than 1,000 new cases.
Johnny L. Gardner, 56, of New Castle passed away the morning of July 22, 2021, at UPMC Jameson Hospital. Following his wishes, no calling hours or services are scheduled at this time.
Bismah Malik By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amazons Prime Day sale in India will kick-off on July 26 and will also include popular Chinese brand Shein as one amongst its 1.2 million sellers.

Shein, which sells apparel, beauty, and athleisure products, was popular among Indias millennial and Gen Z shoppers until the government banned its app in the country last year amidst heightened geo-political tensions between China and India.

The low-price factor and influencer marketing remain as the primary attractants for the Shein customers, even as the east China-based company had also come under scrutiny for its corporate governance as well as alleged labour exploitation.

Industry experts say that Amazons attempt at helping Shein make a comeback in India is largely to stop its rival Flipkarts domination over the fashion segment in the e-commerce industry in India especially with latter's niche subsidiaries, Myntra as well as exclusive tie-ups with homegrown and overseas brands.

Walmart-backed Myntra recently concluded its annual End-of Reason sales, said that it sold 18 million products ordered by 4.2 million customers across the country.
Anuradha Shukla By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: As the world is inching towards global tax framework, India expects to gain minimum about $12-13 billion annually in taxation, which it loses to offshore tax havens, once the framework is implemented and expects many companies shifting base back to India.

Global tax framework is moving the way India wants it so it is a welcome move. Although the negotiations are still on and much will depend on the fine prints, our internal assessment suggests that even with a conservative estimate India will gain about $12 billion -$13 billion annually, which currently we are losing out. Also this will be a great disincentive for companies to shift base to low tax regime and will help in adding jobs as well, a senior finance ministry official said.

Other independent researches have backed the claim. According to the findings of the first study led by The Tax Justice Network (TJN), an independent research based international network, countries are losing over $427 billion in tax each year owing to international corporate tax abuse and private tax evasion. The report published in February this year, says that India lose $10.3 billion due to corporate tax evasion.

Official claim that if we calculate outbound investments for just tax abuse, including royalties paid to overseas affiliates in low tax jurisdictions, loss will be much more.

What is the big deal?

The framework was there for sometime, but in its current form, it was floated last year to stop large corporations like Google, Amazon from evading tax.

Currently the global framework has two pillars. Pilar one proposes to give countries taxing rights for market jurisdictions and sharing profit where the companies hold a physical presence.

The scope of Pillar One will apply to the largest and most profitable multinationals, like Google or Facebook, which has large consumer base in India and earn via ads and other tools, yet get away by paying paltry tax. By this arrangement they also evade tax back home.

In 2017-18, the Indian operations of Google and Facebook reported total revenues of almost Rs 9,800 crore ($1.4 billion). Their tax payments were around Rs 240 crore ($38 million). Once the deal is sealed, India will able to tax these corporates. However it has to let go the equalisation levy, it currently levy on such giants.

The second pillar of deal proposes a global minimum tax of 15%, which is under negotiation. Experts claim that the second pillar would help countries like India that sees a lot of investment coming from low tax jurisdictions like UAE or Singapore.

Of the two parts or pillars of the scheme, India is set to gain more from the second pillar, which proposes a global minimum income tax. There are many companies, startups who have set their base in low tax jurisdictions or investment hubs like Singapore, UAE or route their invoicing through these jurisdictions. Now India will be able to tax income flowing to these companies to the extent below the minimum tax rate. Consequently, this may vacate the need to route these transactions through such companies and leaves a greater amount of income base for market countries like India to tax, Rohinton Sidhwa, Partner, Deloitte India explained.

So even if the host country is charging 2 or 3%, India will be able to claim the balance of the 15% tax. However Sidhwa adds that the quantum of the gain can be better assessed when the final prints will be released, which is expected in October.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had already shared Indias expectations and suggestions with US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, and after discussion, extended support to the global tax framework.
Express News Service

BENGALURU: The 98-year-old heritage stone building of the Government Pre-University College and High School at Malleshwaram 18th Cross, which hosts about 2,000 students, will soon get a facelift.

The Hhigher Education Department had been looking for collaborators to revamp the building and found one in the Jain Group of Institutes. Institute chairman Dr Chenraj Roychand is said to have responded favourably to Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayans proposal for carrying out the renovation.

College Principal Ratnakara Shetty told The New Sunday Express that the school had 1,739 students in PUC and about 150 in high school till last year. The PUC section was started in 1972, while the high school division started in 1923. The Deputy CM himself studied in the high school for about six months, Shetty said.

Block Education Officer (BEO) Uma Devi told TNSE that the building has windows as tall as five feet, which need to be repaired. The floors also need a lot of polishing. The plans for repair are under way. Its great that such a heritage building is getting renovated. This will set a precedent for other such government buildings, she said and added that over the past two years, the college and high school has started accommodating girl students as well.

The building has a total of 22 rooms, of which 12 are classrooms and the rest are labs and offices, she said. When renovations are under way, the students can be either shifted to one section of the building, or to the new building, which is right behind the heritage one. An official from the Higher Education Department said that as per estimates from experts, the renovations will cost around Rs 4 crore and will take at least a year.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Unable to bear the harassment meted out by the Assistant Medical Officer of Health (AMOH) of Goshamahal Circle, a Sanitation Field Assistant (SFA) and his family attempted suicide in front of the GHMC Head Office in Tank Bund Road on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Ramesh Yadav, who has held the job for 15 years, alleged that AMOH C Uma Gauri was harassing him to pay a mamool of Rs 6,000 on a monthly basis. When the SFA told her that he could not pay the sum, he was removed from service, Yadav alleged.

Another worker also staged a protest against Uma Gauri and attempted suicide by pouring kerosene over himself. However, security personnel thwarted the move. GHMC officials clarified that Yadav had been terminated after an enquiry by the Khairatabad Zonal Comissioner. He had allegedly given a job on compassionate grounds to his relative after a worker from the department died, even though her son was eligible for the job. He was terminated due to his miscounduct, said the GHMC.

(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA's 24x7 Helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance.)
By AFP

CANNES (France): Shock-fest "Titane" took home the top Palme d'Or prize at Cannes on Saturday, revealed early at the closing ceremony in an embarrassing slip-up by jury president Spike Lee.

French director Julie Ducournau is only the second woman to scoop the prize, for a movie that was one of the wildest, sexiest and most violent ever shown at the Cannes film festival.

"It's the first film ever where a Cadillac impregnated a woman. That blew my mind!" Lee said. "That's genius and craziness together."

"Titane" tells the story of a woman who has sex with cars and kills without a care, with brutal scenes that had many cinema-goers shielding their eyes during the opening night.

Lee, the first black man to lead the jury, read out the winner at the very start of the prize ceremony, rather than introducing the first award of the night for best actor.

After an awkward pause and regrouping, the best actor award went to US actor Caleb Landry Jones for his chilling performance in "Nitram" about Australia's worst mass shooting.

Making a film about the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, in which 35 people died, triggered harsh criticism of director Justin Kurzel in Australia.

But critics were won over at the Cannes premiere, with Variety calling it a "devastating study of atrocity" that shows "quiet respect for the victims' dignity".

It was a huge night, too, for the previously unknown Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, who was rocketed to stardom by her role in "Worst Person in the World".

Her role as a twenty-something searching for her identity and pinballing through relationships was a sensation, and caught the 33-year-old totally unprepared.

"No one has seen me in anything," she told AFP after the premiere. "The other day I woke up and I puked. And today I woke up and I cried."

'Letting the monsters in'



When it finally became time to announce the Palme d'Or for real, Lee said: "I apologise for messing up."

But then he almost fluffed the presentation again, starting to announce the winner rather than presenter Sharon Stone, by which point Ducournau was giggling in the audience.

She still broke into tears when the official announcement was made, and told the crowd: "This evening has been perfect because it's been imperfect.

"Thank you for letting the monsters in."

The only other woman to win the top prize is Jane Campion for "The Piano" in 1993.

Other winners on the night included Leos Carax as best director for "Annette", the flamboyant rock opera starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and written by eccentric Los Angeles pop duo Sparks.

The second-prize Grand Prix was shared between Iran's two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi ("A Hero") and Finland's Juho Kuosmanen ("Compartment No.6"), while best screenplay went to Japan's Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamasa Oe for "Drive My Car".

The race had been wide open this year, with critics pointing to many possible successors to "Parasite", the South Korean hit which took home the last Palme in 2019 before making history by triumphing at the Oscars.

Last year's festival was cancelled because of the pandemic.

The jury members watched a lot of sex this year, from lesbian nuns in Paul Verhoeven's salacious "Benedetta" to a porn star returning to small-town Texas in "Red Rocket", which scored well with critics.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Working with Venkatesh Daggubati in the upcoming Telugu film "Narappa" was a surreal experience, says actor Karthik Rathnam.

The action-drama is a remake of critically-acclaimed Tamil hit Asuran, which starred Dhanush and was directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran.

Set in a village in Andhra Pradesh, the remake chronicles the story of a farmer named Narappa, played by Venkatesh who is ready to sacrifice everything for his family, following a sudden chain of untoward events.

Rathnam, who made his debut in 2018 with the successful Telugu film C/o Kancharapalem and has featured in its Tamil remake C/o Kaadhal and ZEE5 web series Gods of Dharmapuri , plays the elder son to Venkatesh's character in "Narappa".

Calling the film a "dream come true moment", the 24-year-old actor said he feels grateful to get the opportunity to act alongside the superstar.

"I have grown up watching him since childhood and so to work with him was a surreal experience. This film is a dream come true moment for me. When I heard the film is being remade in Telugu I was hoping and praying to god to get this role. It was a tough competition as we had several actors auditioning. I am glad I cracked it," Rathnam told PTI.

The movie, set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday, is directed by Srikanth Addala of Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu fame and is jointly produced by Suresh Babu and Kalaippuli S Thanu.

Rathnam recalled his first meeting with Venkatesh at the premiere of his debut film C/o Kancharapalem, which was presented by the star's famous nephew Rana Daggubati.

"I was awestruck. It was a fanboy moment for me. I just went running behind him and asked him for a photo. And that photo is still there with me, which I have put in a frame. So acting with him is really a huge thing."

Watching Venkatesh perform was a huge learning experience, said the young actor adding that the amount of hard work the 60-year-old actor put in every scene inspired him to do better.

"Working with sir, I have learnt how to emote and act through eyes and how to change our body language for every character. Even though he is such a senior actor he (still) struggles hard for every scene. It made me realise that we need to pull up our socks and not take things easily and keep working hard," he said.

Rathnam said he has seen the Tamil film Asuran and instantly fell in love with its world.

Actor Teejay Arunasalam had essayed the role of the lead character's son in the film, but Rathnam said for him it was important to not look like his Tamil counterpart's "replica".

"I had to make sure I don't end up being a replica of him so I have my own body language and nuances for this role," he said.

"Narappa" also features national award-winning actress Priyamani playing the role that Manju Warrier essayed in the Tamil original.
Medha Dutta Yadav By

Freedom is not the norm. We love being ruled. Netflixs new docu-series, How to Become a Tyrant, starts with this satirical statement. By the time you reach the end of the sixth episode, you realise how very true it is. Starting with Adolf Hitlers Nazi Germany, the episodes follow Saddam Husseins expunging brutality, Idi Amins sheer barbarism in Uganda, Joseph Stalins control of truth and manipulation of the mindset of his people, Muammar Gaddafis steps to carve a society into his image, and finally, North Korea and the Kim dynasty. It is, as the experts in the docu-series say, the idea of I alone can fix it all that brings such men to power and in most cases, initially makes them seem even alluring to the populace. After all, the Butcher of UgandaAminwas once known as the Gentle Giant.

Neatly divided into six episodeseach dealing with one dictatorthe series is presented as a Handbook on how to be the perfect tyrant. Narrated by Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), it strikes the perfect balance between lifting the veil off the cold, dark brutality of oppressive regimes and sneaking in some light moments with the help of an expert panel that does not dwell on the blood and gore alone. Also, the series resonates with our times. Former US President Donald Trump showed us recently how truth can be inconvenient. Maybe he should have taken a leaf out of Joseph Stalins Handbook, which North Korea has completely mastered with its blanket ban on outside information.

While it is almost impossible to rein in an entire life storyhumble background, failures, rise to power, challenges, threats and fallin a span of 30-odd minutes (the time-span of each episode), How to Become a Tyrant does an admirable job. It also serves as a reminder in these times how hatefulness, national pride, outrage against the other and a message that sells can easily be weaponised into the hands of a strong leader. As Hitler says in archival footage in Episode 1I am you, and you are mecommon grievance acts as the much-needed glue that brings the masses together.

Stressing how each tyrant starts with a megalomaniacal self-confidence, the producers use archival footage and even graphic art and animation to forward the storyline. No other documentary in recent memory has attacked such regimes and their celebrated cult leaders for what they actually arepart of political pageantrywith such fact-based ferocity. There is already a talk of Season 2 in the making. And with the world abounding in many such cult figures, there wont be any dearth of material. This, here, is a must-watch.
Noor Anand Chawla By

Anam Hassans mother gave her a secret weapona unique mutton ishtoo cooked in her Mughal aristocratic household once upon a time. India is the land of the multi-avatar stew, the simplest of complex dishes to grace any table. There are as many kinds as there are spellings: ishtoo, ishtu, ishtew, stoomade with diverse kinds of flesh like beef, lamb, goat, chicken, and game. The ishtoos of Rampur, Lucknow, Bhopal, Bengal and Kerala differ in colour, taste and texture.

The main difference between Kerala ishtu and the ishtoo is the basethe formers is coconut milk and coconut oil, and the latters is onion and ghee. Their commonality is mildness of flavour. The ishtoo uses whole spices such as cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. It has definite texture and aroma, with its grainy feel of minced onion and the scent of subdued garlic. The Kerala stoo smells of coconut and sliced onion; its non-vegetarian version is thicker and heavier to consume. In both stews, the meat is served on the bone.

An enduring gift of Indian royalty is food. The recipes were guarded as zealously as a eunuch protecting a harem. The Delhi Sultanate is the sous chef of Mughal cuisine, which absorbed influences from Persia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Punjab and the Deccan. Rampuri cuisine is subtle and refined, since saffron and other spices are used sparingly.

So is oil. The Rampur mutton stew, born in the kitchens of the Nawab of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, has the subtle fragrance of mutton slow-cooked with mild dry red chillies, black peppercorn and black cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, seeds of coriander and cumin, with the powders of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon. Curd is commonly used in its preparation.

The cuisine honours Indo-Islamic gastronomy by borrowing from and adapting Awadhi, Mughlai, and Afghani cuisine that shares similarities with the dishes of Delhi, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Shahjahanpura reason why ishtoo is commonly mistaken for a purely Mughal dish. The Mughal cuisine in restaurants, including in Old Delhi, is radically different from what we cook at home. Restaurant food is heavy on oil and spices, and is very rich, Hassan points out. Awadhi preparations use kevda, ittar and rosewater since the chefs gave equal emphasis to fragrance and flavour.

Indo-Islamic cuisine is a great gastronomic mosaic, ranging from Kerala, Hyderabad to Central India. The cuisine of Bengal, which is strongly influenced by its Islamic and colonial past, has its own version of stewthe mutton white stew as mentioned in Rakamari Amish Ranna, the famous Bengali cookbook by Renuka Debi Choudhurani. The bones are blanched to ensure that the gravy is white. Instead of coconut milk, cows milk is used in the making of this white stew.

Many culinary experts argue that the ishtoo is a Mughal interpretation of the bland British stew, which Shah Jehan spiced up. The stews of India are enough to demonstrate its eclectic culture, which has absorbed and reinvented outside cuisines as its own.

Mother of all menus

Almost everyone worth their sheermal in Delhi 6 has a Mughal story. With Lal Quila close by, many people from faraway countries who worked in the Mughal emperors kitchens lived with their families in areas surrounding the seat of power.

The descendants of the rulers now plunder family cookbooks to purvey the authentic flavours of Mughal cuisine, which Anam Hassan of My Mughal Roots had savoured while growing up in her family home near Jama Masjid. She reveals, My mother is a direct descendant of the Mughals and she has a number of hidden recipes, which are not served in restaurants.

The Indian family eats together to stay together. Food was an integral part of Hassans upbringing and now her daily life, with 20-odd family members eating every meal together, despite keeping separate kitchens and households. To this day, the women of the house, under the able leadership of Hassans mother, cook every meal by hand. The dishes are meat-heavy keeping with family tradition.

My grandfather, who was a freedom fighter, told us dastarkhan wasi hona chahiye anyone who visits our house should not leave without having eaten. Food is the bedrock of our family home, the focal point of most conversations, and in some ways, blurs gender roles since the men of the house often chip in, says Hassan.

She had never cooked a meal until she married Dhruv Sangari, an eminent Sufi vocalist, composer and avid foodie. He argued that her familys rich culinary heritage is meant to be shared. It was not till December of 2020 that she took the big step and launched My Mughal Roots. Hassan changes her weekly set menu. There is something new every time. Popular dishes are repeated on request.

The menu always has a meat gravy-based dish, a couple of bread options sourced from Old Delhi, a rice dish variant of the Delhi-style biryani, a dessert and an optional side. Though the fixed quantity meant to serve two, she has a generous hand.

Ishtew

Ingredients

 1 cup oil

 1 kg mutton with bone

 400 gm onion

 250 gm curd

 6 tsp coriander powder

 1/2 tsp red chilli powder

 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

 6-7 whole dry red chillies cut into broad pieces

 6-7 cloves

 6-7 green cardamom

 2-3 black cardamom

 1/2 tsp black peppercorns

 5-6 pods whole garlic

 1 whole ginger julienned

Method:

 Sautee onions in a generous amount of oil, nearly one cup

 Once the onions are softened, add all ingredients and meat

 Add half cup of water if needed

 Stir and pressure-cook with one whistle

The real trick is to bhuno, which means until oil separates and the sauce containing spices and onions caramelised

Instagram @my_mughal_roots
Prof Nisha Kant Ojha By

The US has started withdrawal of its Army from Afghanistan and at the same time, the Taliban have begun their lightning offensive activities across the surrounding and neighbouring regions. This changing dynamics is forcing the Taliban to draw their attention towards India through Pakistans ISI.

While the Taliban do not have any extrinsic expressions about India, intrinsically Pakistan tries to promote anti-India elements within the Taliban. Many Taliban members in person express their hatred of Pakistan and show their frustration because they have to depend on Pakistan for their war effort. But certain elements within the Taliban such as the Haqqani Network are very closely linked with the ISI and are very anti-India. The Haqqani Network is the segment of the Taliban that Pakistan has used time after time to attack Indian Embassy in Afghanistan.

From many years undercover, the risk of Pakistan using the Haqqani Network to recruit Afghans and sending them to India to conduct terrorist activities is rising. At the moment a private company is doing visa processing for the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan. But the company does not have the political and social resources to conduct thorough background checks on Afghans who apply for Indian visas. It is very important for the Indian Embassy to partner up with a more politically prominent company or to create an effective ecosystem to do visa processing in order to conduct more thorough background checks on Afghans travelling to India. This will help prevent infiltration of ISI into India through Afghanistan.

ISI has always been a different case study. At the moment they are very active in targeting pro-India assets in Afghanistan, which include the leadership of Baloch separatists based in Kabul. There have been quite a few assassinations of them in the last year. Additionally, once the issues between the Taliban, the US and the Afghan government come to their final outcomes, it is likely that the ISI will create pressure on the Taliban to ask for concessions such as reducing Indias footprint in Afghanistan.

That is something India needs to take into serious consideration. Pakistan always considers Indias presence in Afghanistan a threat to its own security and for that many operations were attempted. This is a position it takes to justify its ambition to exercise control over Afghanistans foreign policy and counter Indias influence there. Its foreign minister has questioned very recently Indias unacceptably large presence in Afghanistan despite not being its neighbour and has accused India of terrorism in Pakistan conducted from Afghan soil. India has the experience of Pakistan training jihadis in Afghanistan for terrorism in Kashmir, besides of course the IC 814 incident when the Taliban were in power in the country.

The ongoing projects in Afghanistan are facing more threat from political uncertainty than conflict itself. I doubt that there is a specific threat to projects in Afghanistan at the moment because the Taliban tax ongoing projects and earn money from them. The only exception is projects such as transmission lines being built by Indian companies. These projects might be threatened by Pakistan through the Taliban. At the moment these companies are operating with a risky strategy as they do not have strong political partners who could help convince local Afghans to protect their projects.

These companies should partner up with prominent political entities in Afghanistan to protect them in this turbulent year. But there is a strong chance that Pakistan may be busy in placing non-state terrorist assets in India at the moment, in advance of any attack by India. In this case if India attacks Pakistani assets in Kashmir (which Pakistan fears might be on agenda) then Pakistan will trigger these non-state terrorist assets placed in India to conduct multiple attacks on Indian soil. This is why it is key that India takes its visa processing activities in Afghanistan carefully.

However, to break the grip of Pakistan on extremist non-state actors, it is essential for India to support anti-state groups within Pakistan from Afghanistans soil. India should dedicate resources in Afghanistan to support Baloch separatists and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement who are both against the state of Pakistan. Both these groups have the potential to become a national movement that could challenge the core of Pakistan.

Prof Nisha Kant Ojha

nishakant02@gmail.com

Advisor, Cyber & Aerospace Security; Expert, Counter-Terrorism (West Asia & Middle East)


By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A week after the Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre in which a few senior ministers were shown the door, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while hes likely to call on Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.The CM met the Prime Minister after a long gap, and also in the wake of the inclusion of his loyalist Shobha Karandlaje in the Union council of ministers.

This is seen as a shot in arm for Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in the backdrop of faction-ridden state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party raising voices of dissent, besides fancying leadership change in Bengaluru.Sources said that the meeting of the chief minister with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been planned a couple of days ago.The Prime Minister had earlier this year described the chief minister as an experienced leader of the BJP.

While the chief minister, 78, is past the age ceiling within the BJP for occupying official positions, the partys state in-charge Arun Singh during his recent visit to the state had refuted speculation of leadership change.Though not averse to the prospects of a leadership change on the age grounds, the BJP top brass continues to give the chief minister the benefit of exceptional situations in the absence of a visible successor.Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa will also be meeting the BJP chief to discuss the political situation in the state. The chief minister is also likely to meet a few Union ministers during his stay in the national capital.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former law minister Ashwani Kumar on Sunday urged party leaders in Punjab to gracefully accept decision of the Congress high command to appoint Navjot Singh Sidhu as the new state party president and stressed on maintaining unity while fighting the upcoming assembly polls.

The former Rajya Sabha member from Punjab said the Congress leadership's decision should now be accepted by all in the interest of party unity.

"This is a time to be united. There are no victors or losers. Reconciliation is the way forward. All Congress persons will, hopefully, have a role to play in fighting an ideological battle," he said in a statement.

His remarks come amid factionalism in the Punjab unit and a series of meetings by various factions ahead of the party's revamp.

The chief minister and the incoming PPCC chief will need to pull together, and for this purpose magnanimity is expected on both sides, Kumar said.

"It is necessary to ensure that no one feels diminished. Sometimes, and in a complex political situation, perfect solutions are impossible. We know that in politics a person is as important as the purpose one serves," he said.

"The voice of the silent majority that defines the conscience of the party is in favour of unity and should be heeded," the former law minister also said.

Sidhu emerged as the frontrunner for the post of PPCC chief but the chief minister was opposed to the move and a flurry of political activity was on to prevent him from becoming the new party chief, sources said.
By ANI

CHANDIGARH: Amid the political tussle, ten Congress MLAs on Sunday urged the party high command 'not to let down' Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, "due to whose unrelenting efforts the party stands well-entrenched" in the state.

The MLAs in a letter said, "there was no doubt that the appointment of state PPCC chief was the prerogative of the party high command but at the same time washing dirty linen in public has only decreased the party graph during the last couple of months."

The letter was written by-- Patti MLA Harminder Singh Gill; Qadian MLA Fateh Bajwa; Bassi Pathana MLA Gurpreet Singh GP; Gill MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid; Shrihargobindpur MLA Balwinder Singh Laddi; Baba Bakala MLA Santokh Singh Bhalaipur; Bhoa MLA Joginderpal; Maur MLA Jagdev Singh Kamalu; Bhadaur MLA Pirmal Singh Khalsa; and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

ALSO READ | Navjot Singh Sidhu to become Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief?

In a statement, the MLAs said that it was due to Amarinder Singh that the party regained power in Punjab "in the aftermath of the 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib and the subsequent genocide of the Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in the country."

"Captain Amarinder Singh commanded immense respect across different sections of the society in the state, particularly the farmers for whom he even endangered his chair as CM while passing the 2004 Termination of Waters Agreement Act," they said.

The statement added that since 'merely six months are left for the elections', and pulling the party into the different directions will only harm its prospects in the 2022 polls.

MLAs also demanded that Navjot Singh Sidhu who had made numerous tweets against Capt Amarinder Singh and the government should tender a public apology "so that the party and government can function in tandem."

Calling Sidhu a 'celebrity', MLAs said there is "no doubt an asset to the party but condemning and criticising his own party and government in the in public view has only created a rift in the cadres and weakened it."

The MLAs said they hoped the party high command would take cognizance of their suggestions and will definitely keep in mind the status, contribution and background of the Punjab CM in mind while making vital decisions for the party.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday, police said here.

The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Check Sadiq Khan area of the south Kashmir district, following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire towards the security forces' positions.

The security forces retaliated, triggering a gunbattle that was going on when the last reports came in, the official said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A day before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins, the government on Sunday held an all-party meeting that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and floor leaders of various political parties.

Besides Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were present at the meeting.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also attended the meeting.

Floor leaders of all prominent opposition parties, including Derek O' Brien from TMC, Tiruchi Siva from DMK, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP's Satish Mishra were also present.

Apna Dal leader and NDA ally Anupriya Patel and LJP leader Pashupati Paras also attended the meeting.

The Monsoon session of Parliament will start from Monday and is scheduled to conclude on August 13.

On day one of the session, the prime minister will introduce the newly inducted ministers to both the Houses.

It is the convention that after the formation of a new government or an expansion or reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers, the prime minister introduces new ministers in both the Houses.

There was a major rejig in the Union Council of Ministers recently.

While several new faces were inducted, some ministers were elevated to the Cabinet rank and portfolios of some others were changed.

Some new members who recently entered Lok Sabha following bypolls would also take oath as members of the lower house on Monday.
Express News Service

KOLKATA/ GUWAHATI: Hours after Congress MP and the party's Assam chief Ripun Bora accused BJP's Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik, who was inducted in the council of ministers and given the minister of state (Home) portfolio, of being a Bangladeshi national and Trinamool Congress' district president Partha Pratim Roy raised the issue asking Pramanik to come clean, unidentified miscreants barged into Roy's house and opened fire. Though no one was injured in the incident, police are yet to ascertain whether it has any link with Roy's role on the issue of Pramanik's nationality.

"The attack took place at my house at Jiranpur block-I in Cooch Behar where my parents reside. On hearing the incident, I rushed there. The front gate of the premises generally remains open. My father told me a group of four-five entered the premises and opened fire. The sped away in a Maruti van. I don't know who were behind the attack and what was their motive," said Roy. Police recovered a cartridge from the premises of Roys house.

On Saturday, Roy sought clarification from Pramanik on his nationality issue. Referring to a Bangladeshi Facebook page which described the minister as a son of Bangladesh, Roy said, "As a concerned citizen, I said the Union Home MoS Nisith Pramanik should clarify the allegations whether he is the son of Cooch Behar or of Gaibandha in Bangladesh."

The attack comes two days after Bora, referring to some media reports revealing Pramanik's alleged Bangladesh nationality, wrote to PM Modi saying, "It is so, this is very serious matter for the country that a foreign national is appointed as a Union minister of state. Therefore, I urge upon you to conduct an inquiry about the actual birthplace and nationality of Nisith Pramanik in a most transparent way and clarify the whole issue as it creates confusion across the country."

Quoting the reports, Bora claimed that Pramanik, first time BJP MP who defected from the TMC ahead of the 2019 general elections, was born in Harinathpur under Palasbari police station in Bangladesh's Gaibandha district and he came to West Bengal for computer studies. He also raised the issue on his Twitter handle.

Bora also mentioned the uproar that erupted after a Bangladeshi Facebook page congratulated Pramanik on being appointed a minister of state and declared him a "son of Bangladesh".

Corroborating Bora's claim, even Wikipedia also says that Pramanik was born on January 17, 1986 to Bidhu Bhushan Pramanik and Chanda Pramanik in Harinathpur area of the Gaibandha district in Bangladesh and he came to India to attain a Bachelor of Computer Applications degree.

In his affidavit for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the recent Assembly elections, in which he contested from Dinhata in Coch Behar, Pramanik cited his Dinhata address and ticked 'No' to the mandatory question on "whether the candidate is under allegiance or adherence of any foreign country".

BJP's Bengal chapter rubbished Bora's allegation. "Anyone one can raise any allegation. Onus lies on the complainant to establish his or her allegation," said BJP's spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya.

Bora said he did not have any evidence to suggest Pramanik is a foreigner. He said he had written to Modi to get the matter probed. He said media reports suggested Pramanik is a Bangladeshi national. "I got it in public domain, so I brought it to the PM's notice. I demanded the Centre to clear the air by getting the matter probed," Bora told The New Indian Express on Sunday.

He added: "It is a serious matter if a foreigner has become a minister in our country. As an MP, I thought it was my duty to bring the matter to the PMs notice. It is up to the government to find out the truth."
By PTI

PUNE: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday hit out at the Modi government over a host of issues, including its "failure" on the coronavirus vaccination front and the rise in fuel prices.

He was here to take part in the Congress party's agitation over the fuel price and other issues.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion, Chavan said that in the last 186 days, since the country-wide vaccination drive began, the Centre has administered one COVID-19 vaccine dose to 36 crore people, while only 8.15 crore people have received both the doses.

"With this pace, only 14-15 crore people will be fully vaccinated by December this year," he said.

According to him, even if the government doubles up the speed of vaccination, the count of fully vaccinated people won't go above 25 crore by the end of this year.

"This is a clear failure of the central government. With this pace, it will take a long time for the economic revival," he alleged.

The former Maharashtra chief minister also accused the Modi government of adopting an "easy way" of increasing taxes on fuel to cover up the losses.

"Fuel prices surged around 66 times in the last year. A major component of the fuel price is excise duty. When the Modi government came to power in 2014, the excise duty on petrol was Rs 9.48 and now it is Rs 32.90, which is an almost a 316 per cent increase in excise duty on petrol. For diesel, it has increased by 840 per cent," he claimed, and added that due to this, the state-run petroleum companies were making a huge profit.

The central government was selling the family jewels that are government companies to manage the deficit, he added.

He hit out at senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, saying that he was misleading people by giving false information on the fuel prices and blaming the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for the rise in petroleum products in Maharashtra.

"The state government charges the same VAT on fuel that was being charged by the previous Fadnavis government, Chavan said.

The Congress-led UPA government had brought 14 crore people out of the BPL category with great efforts, but the present regime has pushed 23 crore of them back to poverty, he alleged.

"Coronavirus pandemic is not the only reason behind it. The situation was the same even before this crisis. According to figures from last seven quarters, the growth rate is coming down," the Congress leader said.

On the recent reshuffle of the Union council of ministers, Chavan said, "As per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement, the government failed to handle the pandemic, hence they were changing the health minister.

Same is the case with the education minister.

Modi government reshuffled the cabinet because the ministers were inefficient.

My question to the PM is - why did it take seven years for you to realise that these ministers are inefficient?" He said that all the decisions are anyway taken at the PMO, so changing the faces (of ministers) would not make any difference.

Replying to a query on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) actions against various leaders, Chavan said, " Inquiries should be conducted to punish the wrongdoers, but by following the court procedures. Nowadays, raids, arrests and many more things are happening. However, there is no conclusion of these actions."

He alleged that the central government was using these agencies to blackmail leaders from the rival parties.
By PTI

NAGPUR: The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at two residences of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in Nagpur district on Sunday as part of a probe into a money laundering case, a police official said.

Two separate teams of the ED searched Deshmukh's house in Katol town, located about 60 km from here, and his ancestral home at Wadvihira village near Katol, he said.

The searches started at around 6 am, he said.

The official said the search is still on at the Katol premises of Deshmukh, while the search at Wadvihira concluded around 12 noon.

The ED is conducting a probe into the money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to Deshmukh's resignation from the post of home minister in April this year.

The central agency recently arrested Deshmukh's personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45) after it carried out raids against them and the NCP leader in Mumbai and Nagpur.

Deshmukh had earlier skipped ED's summons for questioning in the case.

The ED's case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) first carried out a preliminary enquiry followed by a regular case being filed on the orders of the Bombay High Court.

The court had asked the CBI to look into the allegations of bribery made against Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Deshmukh, who resigned as the state home minister in April following the allegations, has denied any wrongdoing.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said her party is "open-minded" about forging an alliance with other political parties for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Asked whether the Congress will go it alone on all the 403 assembly seats in the state or align with some political party, Priyanka Gandhi told reporters in an informal meeting here, "It is too early to say."

On whether she is ruling out an alliance, she said, "I do not rule it out. We are absolutely not closed-minded. We are keeping an open mind."

"Our aim is to defeat the BJP," she said, adding that other political parties should also be "open-minded".

Priyanka Gandhi said the organisation is also her area of focus and a lot of work has been done on it in a silent manner.

"I have an open mind, but my priority is my party," she said.

To a question on the Congress becoming active in her presence and tending to become inactive as soon as she leaves the state, the party general secretary said, "When I come (here), there is media focus and you pay attention. But when I am not here, you do not pay any attention. But our work is going on."

"We have done the maximum work during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see that we are the ones who have raised issues. Congress is no longer confined to garlanding photographs. Our party has been out of power for 30-32 years, and it has become weak. However, full efforts have been made, and a lot of energy has come (into the party)," she added.

Asked to comment on what ails the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Congress is an old party and in old institutions, there are certain ideas and ways that become fixed.

At the same time, in the elders, there is a lot of wisdom and experience, yet you have to bring in the new.

So the challenge for the Congress is that you have to bring the good from the old, keep it, and be able to reach out to the public."

When asked if she will camp in Lucknow more often, she said, "Well, I will be going to Delhi today. I will be absent for 15-20 days and after that, I will come. The thing is that I get caught up with a lot of work in Delhi and I am required for other things. But I intend to spend much more time here."

To a query on whether she will be the Congress' CM candidate for the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Priyanka Gandhi said, "It's too early to say."

The Congress leader, who was on a three-day visit to Lucknow, also said that plans are afoot to revamp the Congress Seva Dal in UP.

She also slammed the BJP over its statement that she was a "political tourist".

She said the BJP's propaganda is to show her and her brother Rahul Gandhi as non-serious politicians.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are due early next year.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Tributes poured in for Kadambini Ganguly, one of India's first two women doctors on Sunday, her 160th birth anniversary.

Along with Anandi Joshi, Ganguly became the first woman in colonial India to study medicine and earn a degree in 1886.

While Joshi studied at Womans Medical College of Pennsylvania in the US, Ganguly pursued western medicine at Calcutta Medical College (CMC).

Born Kadimbini Bose in Bhagalpur, she was the daughter of well-known Brahmo Samaj reformer Braja Kishore Basu and was deeply influenced by the ongoing Bengal renaissance.

She fought a long battle to be admitted to the Calcutta Medical College before qualifying as a practicing doctor, after becoming along with Chandramukhi Basu, one of Calcutta Universitys first women graduates.

Among others, Google Doodle honoured the countrys first woman doctor with a special graphic on her.

The doodle, a portrait of Ganguly with the image of the main building of Calcutta Medical College, now officially called the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital in the background, has been designed by Bengaluru-based artist Oddrija, and it was widely shared across the country.

Politicians and common people from all walks of life hailed Ganguly as a champion of womens rights in India.

After her marriage with Brahmo reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly, the couple battled CMCs prohibition on women studying there, and Kadambini joined the medical college on June 23, 1883 despite strong criticism from the colonial society.

She was awarded the Graduate of Medical College of Bengal (GMCB) degree in 1886, which even attracted the attention of Florence Nightingale who enquired about Ganguly from a friend in a letter in 1888.

Ganguly later studied in Britain.

A champion of womens rights, Ganguly was among the six members of the first all-women delegation to the 1889 Indian National Congress.

Among other movements, Kadimbini Devi as she was popularly called, worked to better the working conditions of female coal miners in the Eastern India.

When Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal in 1906, Kadambini Devi organized the Women's Conference in Calcutta to protest the plan.

She also supported the Satyagraha movement and worked to supports families of imprisoned political workers.

Well known as a medical practitioner, she is reputed to have never turned down a call to treat or visit an ailing person while practicing medicine in Kolkata till her death in 1923.

Sharing her photograph, Congress tweeted: "Today we honour Kadambini Ganguly for inspiring generation of Indians to aspire for greatness. She was not only one of the first female graduates from India but also among the first women to practice western medicine in all of South Asia."

"Remembering #KadambiniGanguly ji on her birth anniversary. In a male-dominated society, Kadambini Ganguly fought all restrictions & prejudices to study medicine. She actively campaigned for the emancipation of women and their admission into academic institutions," National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma said in a Twitter post.

Politicians cutting across party lines paid tributes to Ganguly on the occasion.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted: "Tributes to #KadambiniGanguly, one of the first two female physicians from India on her birth anniversary. She studied medicine in 1883, trained in Scotland & established medical practice in India. Her contribution to women emancipation shall always be remembered."

"Pay my humble tribute to #KadambiniGanguly...Her struggle and fight in true sense, inspires Indian and Bengali women," West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said in a Twitter post.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of snooping of prominent citizens, the Indian government said that allegations of surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever.

In response to journalists' queries on snooping of prominent citizens, Additional Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology, Rajender Kumar said: "India is a robust democracy that is committed to ensuring the right to privacy to all its citizens as a fundamental right. In furtherance of this commitment, it has also introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to protect the personal data of individuals and to empower users of social media platforms."

"The commitment to free speech as a fundamental right is the cornerstone of India's democratic system. We have always strived to attain an informed citizenry with an emphasis on a culture of open dialogue. Government of India's response to a Right to Information application about the use of Pegasus has been prominently reported by the media and is in itself sufficient to counter any malicious claims about the alleged association between the Government of India and Pegasus," he added.

He stated that the questionnaire sent to the Government of India indicates that "the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in preconceived conclusions".

"It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury," he wrote.

He pointed out that answers to the queries posed have already been in public domain for a long time, and it also indicates poorly conducted research and lack of due diligence by the media organisations involved.

He held that in India there is a well-established procedure through which lawful interception of electronic communication is carried out in order for the purpose of national security, particularly on the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety, by agencies at the Centre and states.

"The requests for these lawful interception of electronic communication are made as per relevant rules under the provisions of Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act ,1885 and Section 69 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2000," the official said.

He mentioned that India's Minister of Electronics & IT has also spoken in detail, including in the Parliament, that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies.

"It is important to note that government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in Central and state governments, for clear stated reasons only in national interest. The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever," he said.

He further mentioned that in the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian state and those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court.

"This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions," he said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday appealed to the Union government to bring in a law to free temples and religious institutions of Hindus from government control in states, and also pressed for the enactment of a "strong" central law to stop illegal religious conversion in the country.

The saffron outfit passed two separate resolutions in this connection as a two-day meeting of its board of trustees and governing council concluded in Faridabad.

In view of a possible third wave of coronavirus pandemic hitting the country, the meeting also resolved to roll out a nationwide mass awareness campaign and organise Covid management training programs for volunteers.

"The two-day meeting concluded today with resolutions for protection against corona pandemic, prevention of illegal religious conversions and freedom of Mutt-Mandirs from government control," the VHP said in a statement.

Addressing the media, the working president of the outfit Alok Kumar said several temples and religious institutions of Hindus are under the control of the government in various states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttarakhand.

"The government can take care of law and order as well as security, but the management of the temples should be left in the hands of the Hindu society.

Why should the government decide who would be the pujari of a temple, how should a puja be organised in the temple," he questioned Hence, a resolution was passed at the meeting for freeing Hindu temples and religious institutions from government control, he said.

"The VHP appeals to the central government to make a central law to handover Hindu temples and religious institutions to the Hindu society so that saints and devotees could refurbish and do up their religious and administrative systems and their traditions oriented towards ensuring the spirituo-socio-cultural dynamism of Mrityunjayi Bharat," read the resolution.

In another resolution passed at the meeting, the VHP appealed to the central government to soon enact "a strong law against religious conversions so that Bharat can be free from this anti-national, anti-Hindu and anti-humanitarian agenda."

"The central board of trustees and governing council of the VHP is confident that the Government of Bharat shall definitely complete this long pending work too," read the resolution, which also called upon the Hindu society to remain "ever watchful about the conversion conspiracies and put a stop to it through all constitutional measures."
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the Modi government, saying "your hunger for power" has left lakhs craving for foodgrains.

His attack came over a media report which claimed that during the coronavirus period, even the middle-class Indians were forced to line up for rations.

"Your hunger for power has left lakhs craving for food grains -- You did nothing, but gave 'jumlas' everyday," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi using the hashtag 'JumlaJeevi'.

PM Modi had coined 'aandolan jeevi' to target those who thrive on protests.

The Congress uses the term to hit back at the Modi government.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi, in a follow up to his tweet from Friday in which he had asked people what they were reading these days, said, "Thank you for some superb book recommendations."

"Here is one I absolutely love," Gandhi said and shared the cover of the book 'The Unfettered Mind' by Takuan Soho, translated from Japanese into English by William Scott Wilson.

The Unfettered Mind is a three-part treatise on Buddhist philosophy and martial arts written in the 17th century by Soho, a Japanese monk.

Gandhi on Friday signalled a shift in his social media outreach, going from mostly commentative to conversational with this simple poser: "I'm wondering what you guys are reading these days?" Gandhi's communication on Twitter and maybe other social media platforms is set for a makeover and will get more interactive in the days to come, party insiders had said.
Gurbir Singh By

Climate issues are hotting up. Literally. Floods and scorching heat was the lot of the under-developed world. The Brahmaputra bursting its banks and flooding villages in lower Assam happens with sickening regularity in the monsoons. Chinas key cites like Beijing and Shanghai are facing hotter and longer summers, and wetter rain months.

But now climate is coming to haunt the developed world too. In the last few weeks, Canada and the US Pacific-rim states have seen record, scorching temperatures and hundreds of deaths. Lytton, British Columbia, touched 49.6 C in June end, a new record; temperatures you would associate with Sawai Madhavpur in Rajasthan. Vancouver police records show over 130 deaths on account of the heat wave. Canadas previous highest has been 45 C.

US President Joe Biden admitted the heat wave was the result of climate change. The phenomenon of searing heat conditions over western parts of Canada and the US has been caused by a dome of static high-pressure hot air stretching from California to the Arctic territories.

Meanwhile, western Europe is currently seeing the heaviest rainfall in a century. Flash floods have devastated large parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Footage beamed by TV channels showed streets and houses had become a mass of rubble. About 55 people have died so far while CNN reported in Germanys worst hit Rhineland-Palatinate state, 1,300 people have gone missing in the district of Ahrweiler.

At the other end of the Globe, Australia witnessed the hottest and driest year in history in 2020, and its summer of 2021 saw a wave of scorching temperatures and bushfires. Sydney recorded temperatures of over 40 C in January this year, while a rash of wildfires destroyed homes, and killed 33 persons and about a billion native animals. Weather data showed that between 2014 and 2018, summers were 50% longer, and winters had become shorter.

Rising temperatures

Global warming, and the ecological damage it wrecks, has no borders. The earths atmosphere has always acted like a greenhouse to capture the suns heat, permitting humans, animal and plant life to thrive. However, over time, the heat being radiated out into space is being trapped under a film of greenhouse gases, slowly raising the temperature of the earths surface.

Climate scientists estimate that land and ocean temperatures have increased at an average of 0.08 C (Celsius) per decade since 1880; but the average rate of increase since 1981 at 0.18 C has been more than twice the earlier rate. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 2005, and 7 of the 10 have occurred just since 2014. The year 2020 has been the second-warmest year of all time.

Among the greenhouse gases that is trapping the heat, creating a pressure-cooker effect around the earths surface, is carbon dioxide (Co2) estimated to make up 80% of these gases. Co2 is being emitted mainly from burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - fuels that are used for everything from powering vehicles and generating electricity to manufacturing industrial chemicals.

There has been a 2-degree increase in global average surface temperature that has occurred since the pre-industrial era (1880-1900). It looks small, but the accumulated heat has a huge impact. The additional heat is causing huge climate change that is reducing snow cover, pouring billions of liters of water that is raising sea levels, intensifying heavy rainfall and changing agricultural patterns for the worse.

The EU sets new targets

It is in this context, the European Union (EU) has just announced, ahead of the US summit on Climate Change, a path-breaking initiative to become climate-neutral by 2050 - an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. These are in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, but have more specific targets now for Europe. It also includes a deal to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.

Other key elements include complete phasing out of petrol and diesel cars by 2035; and increasing the binding target of renewable sources in the EUs energy mix to 40% from the earlier 32%. The EU package is under attack both from the Greens, who say it does not do enough, as well as from the corporate sector like airlines, who accuse the EU of setting up an unequal playing field. However, given the rapidly deteriorating climatic conditions, the EU package must be supported as it has clear targets to stem the rot. It will also force the pace of change on other regions.

What seems to be missed out in the Climate Change agenda is the failure to identify key global degradation areas like the Amazon rain forests and the Arctic meltdown. In the Amazon, 17% of the rain forests of south America have been destroyed deliberately by policies such as those of the current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. It has put the regions climate systems at risk. Global intervention to stall further destruction is necessary in such cases. Like stopping nuclear proliferation, limiting climate change is no more a national issue.
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty By

The current situation in Afghanistan is fraught with uncertainty. The risk of another civil war is looming large. The Soviet Unions army went into Afghanistan in 1979 to support a socialist-secular government. The Americans collaborated with Pakistan and other Islamic countries and created Al-Qaeda and the Mujahideens who launched a jihad against the Soviets. Pakistans contribution included the creation of the Taliban from among Afghan refugees who were indoctrinated, trained and armed for jihad to liberate their country from godless communists. The Soviets were forced into a humiliating retreat in 1989. Now, the Americans have decided to eat humble pie and exit Afghanistan after 20 years. Afghanistans reputation as the graveyard of empires stands refurbished.

The Al-Qaeda, hosted by the Taliban, had organised the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, triggering the American invasion of Afghanistan. Taliban leaders and foot soldiers fled to Pakistan, found refuge and started collaborating with Pakistan Army and ISI to destabilise the new government in Kabul. For the last 20 years, Pakistan has followed a policy of running with the hares and hunting with the hounds, milking the US for arms and money for providing supply line. Exploiting its geo-political position, as Afghanistans neighbour, it has used the Taliban as a tool to attack and kill Afghan and American soldiers. Pakistans ISI has embedded former and serving army personnel, jihadis from terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad in Taliban units for military operations.

Having spent around a trillion and a half dollars and suffered over 2,500 casualties, President Joe Biden has stuck to Trumps policy of quitting Afghanistan, justifying his decision on war fatigue and the futility of spilling more American blood, financial drain and the hopeless task of nation building. By negotiating with the Taliban, the US has imparted legitimacy to a terrorist organisation. Talks between the US and the Taliban have not produced any peace plan that can be seen as sustainable. On July 1, the Americans handed over the Bagram military base to the Afghan military and slunk out of the country at night. This is Americas Vietnam moment when they left their Vietnamese allies to fend for themselves. The UK has joined the US to peddle the line that it will be able to work with a Taliban government, if it behaves. This has imparted further legitimacy to the Taliban.

With Pakistans collaboration, the Taliban, encouraged by the impending American withdrawal and increased legitimacy, has mounted a renewed offensive and claim to have established control over 80% of the countrys territory. The Taliban have given ample evidence of their medieval mindset by decreeing that all men must grow beards and wear traditional dress. Women venturing outdoors, can do so only if accompanied by a male family member. They have issued orders to villages to prepare list of girls and widows who would be married to young Taliban fighters. Their bloodthirsty nature was demonstrated recently, when they killed Afghan Special Forces members when they were surrendering. Taliban has now offered a three-month ceasefire, if the Kabul government agrees to release another 7,000 Taliban prisoners and international sanctions on the Taliban are lifted. The tug of war continues as high-powered delegations from both sides are set to meet at Doha.

Though China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan may revel in subdued glee at the US humiliating plight, they may soon have to deal with an imploding Afghanistan. The Americans have dumped Afghanistan into the lap of regional powers. Chinas view that the US is in terminal decline will be vindicated. Pakistan would be salivating about achieving its holy grail of having a Taliban government in Kabul and giving it strategic depth. American withdrawal has raised the stakes for regional powers, and there is a flurry of diplomatic activity. Each regional power has divergent interest in Afghanistan. The recent Dushanbe meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Afghanistan has produced an anodyne statement [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | SCO (sectsco.org)] whose underlying message is that of uneasiness and uncertainty. While the SCO consensus is for a peaceful, negotiated political settlement, the increasing violence on the ground indicates that the Taliban will use force to dictate terms.

China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia are likely to sideline Indias interests. Pakistan will certainly push for minimal Indian presence in Afghanistan and with Chinas financial clout attempt to integrate it into the BRI. A Taliban government will accommodate Pakistans interest out of gratitude but may baulk at agreeing to egregious anti-Indian demands. Pakistans home-grown terrorist outfits like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and like-minded Pashtuns linking up in Afghanistan can cause trouble. The TTPs agenda is to build a Sharia-based country that will ultimately extend into India. China is concerned about jihadis creating problems in Xingjiang where the Uighurs are resisting Beijings heavy-handed oppression and the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM) may again link up with Al-Qaeda and ISIS elements.

Working with the SCO seems the only feasible option for India. New Delhi has already withdrawn Indian diplomats and officials from several consulates in Afghanistan, in view of the increased violence and Taliban advances towards provincial capitals. While India has maintained low-key contacts with the Taliban, it would have to engage the Taliban like other countries have done. This would not dilute support for the Kabul government. The Taliban has told India to remain neutral, as the end game unfolds. Indias interests lie in maintaining her equities and ensuring that terrorist groups are not permitted to link up in Afghanistan and export terrorism to India  an objective that will be on Pakistans agenda. India has consistently backed any Afghan-led settlement. If the Kabul government and Taliban agree to power sharing, it would be acceptable to India.

Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty

Former Secretary in the MEA and Ambassador

He is currently a Visiting Fellow at ORF, Delhi
Manoj Mishra By

Ever since its launch in December 2018 by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation or KALIA scheme is hailed as a phenomenon, a game changer in the agricultural landscape of India.

It was the nation's first scheme in agriculture that helped landless sharecroppers and vulnerable farmer households.

Unlike other innovations in farm policies, KALIA does not offer piecemeal support. It empowers the neglected and disenfranchised in the farm community, offering them direct income support for sustenance. KALIA doesnt stop at that.

With its long-term vision, the scheme endeavours to ensure not only farm support but also livelihood and educational hand-holding, making it a holistic welfare solution for the farmer's family.

The scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,180 crore (or around USD 1.4 billion) is envisaged for three years from 2018-19 till 2021-22. Under the scheme, Rs 8,249 crore has already been transferred to small, marginal and landless farm families.

KALIA targets over four million farmer households. It provides income support of Rs 25,000 over five crop seasons to small and marginal farmers. In addition, each landless agricultural household receives financial assistance of Rs 12,500, while each vulnerable household is entitled to Rs 10,000.

In the past two years, the overwhelming success of KALIA has been well-documented. The implementation and delivery along with its impact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable agriculture-dependent families has been acknowledged and lauded.

The shield of security that it has been able to lay over the poorest sections during the time of an unprecedented health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic is a different story altogether. But the greater achievement of the ambitious welfare project is the pace at which it was planned and delivered to beneficiaries.

Government schemes and their implementation come with their own gestation period - they take about a year or more to take off the ground. KALIA, however, demonstrated how governance determination combined with the infinite power of technology can work magic, turning the concept on paper to ready-to-deliver on field in just 15 days.

The lightning transition from design to implementation leveraging IT is in itself a case study for others.

Technology-enabled transformation to deliver time-bound outcomes is the cornerstone of the Odisha governments 5T (Transparency, Technology, Teamwork, Time leading to Transformation) governance model. KALIA aligns with this paradigm.

Backed by a robust technology backbone, the scheme never faced scale-up issues nor any system breakdown despite initial challenges of reaching out to the humongous number of beneficiaries, registering them, screening out fakes and duplications and then ensuring smooth transfer of the entitlements to each beneficiary.

Within two weeks of the announcement, the state machinery was flooded with 9.5 million applications - all with a claim on KALIA! To validate them was Herculean. The state administration then realised it had to surmount an inclusion-exclusion challenge of a different scale.

And, IT was unleashed. This process was started with a 'Smart Farmer Registration' module that populated more than 20 data sets to check the authenticity of farmers and prune the database. Technology was used extensively to identify the farmers from the lands they belonged to by integrating farmers demographics with the land records database.

The state compiled and authenticated a database of 6.5 million applications in just two weeks during the first phase of validation in January 2019. It was a mammoth task where the marriage of technology and data analytics delivered outcomes.

First, the state databases were integrated with the green forms invited from farmers who wished to opt for the KALIA scheme. Verification followed next. And it was done through multiple databases like Agricultural Census, Socio-Economic Caste Census, National Food Security Act (NFSA), National Population Registry (NPR), HRMS database of state government employees, bank account validation through bank databases and de-duplication through Aadhaar.

Algorithms were designed for data integration using the principles of unification, verification and exclusion. The next step was excluding ineligible beneficiaries: government employees, taxpayers, large farmers and all those who opted out on their own.

The initial challenge was to source data from the ground or the gram panchayat level. The State Data Centre (SDC) was fortified to handle the data load from 6,700 gram panchayats. The State Wide Area Network (SWAN) was utilised so that dedicated connectivity could be established with the KALIA portal server as well the blocks and gram panchayats.

Besides handling data load, the key concern was securing the data of KALIA beneficiaries. A team of officials drawn from the SDC and Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) oversaw the IT infrastructure and day-to-day operations.

KALIAs success validates the strength of IT - on how when used right, it can be a huge enabler in narrowing the gap between design and delivery. It has emerged as a lighthouse for future-ready governance solutions.

The programme only recently hit the spotlight again when a whopping Rs 920 crore was transferred, with the touch of a button, to the bank accounts of 4.2 million vulnerable farmer families: 3.7 million small and marginal farmers and 0.5 million landless agriculture households.

KALIA illustrates the power of technology-led transformation. It showcases the potential of technology to change the idiom of social welfare delivery. If governments were to unlock the power of digital for citizens, the way ahead is open source technologies, open APIs and mining the data right. Odisha is ready to help.

(The writer is Secretary, Electronics & IT and Science & Technology, and OSD to Chief Minister, Odisha. He can be reached at mishramanoj@yahoo.com)
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Heavy rains lashed Anantapur, Kadapa, Guntur, parts of Kurnool districts since Saturday evening, disrupting normal life.

The rivers and streams in Anantapur witnessed flash floods, with heavy downpour in upper catchment areas.

The Kadiri in Anantapur district received highest rainfall of 21.54 cm till Sunday morning and several low lying areas in Kadiri and nearby mandals were inundated. With knee deep rainwater entering the houses, people started panicking.

#Maddileru stream near #Kadiri of #Anantapur district in spate following heavy rains. Kadiri recorded more tha 21cm of rain. @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/LcXaYdp2YN  TNIE Andhra Pradesh (@xpressandhra) July 18, 2021

At around 4 a.m. on Sunday, Kadiri police received a distress call on Dial 100 from a young woman, stating that rainwater has entered her house. Immediately, Kadiri DSP Bhaviya Kishore, CI Srinivas with a group of constables rushed to Adapalavari Street in Tummalabeda village of Gandlapenta mandal.

The young woman identified as Manasa with her 10-month-old son were alone in the house, when the police reached the spot. The rainwater had entered the house and Manasa, who works as a village volunteer. She became afraid seeing that water levels entering the house were raising hour by hour. Police rescued the young mother and child and shifted them to a safer location.

With heavy downpour in the upper catchment area of Chitravati river, flood water started overflowing above the bridge on the outskirts of Puttaparthi.

#Police stand guard at bridge over #Chitravati river, which is in spate, on the outskirts of #Puttaparthi in #Anantapur district to stop people from getting struck on the bridge. @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/3k56rZrsRz  TNIE Andhra Pradesh (@xpressandhra) July 18, 2021

Observing the flood situation, police rushed to the bridge and barricaded it to ensure people do not get stuck on the bridge while trying to cross it. Despite downpour, they held their position to prevent people from crossing the bridge.

Meanwhile, heavy rains inundated several low-lying colonies in Kadapa town and other parts of the district, Guntur city and Bapatla town in Guntur district, Vijayawada city and some other parts of Krishna district also witnessed heavy downpour on Saturday night.
Express News Service

BENGALURU: Deputy chief minister of Karnataka Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana, who is also the minister for higher education announced the examination schedule for college students on Friday.

A meeting was earlier convened with higher eudcation department officials of the state.

The minister announced that 65 per cent of students in government and government-aided institutions have been vaccinated, and believed the progress to be satisfactory.

Pertaining to the opening of regular classes for degree classes, the decision will be taken in 3-4 days after consultations with the Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa, he added.

ALSO READ | Medical colleges in Karnataka allowed to open with Covid appropriate SOPs in place

The practical examinations for Diploma odd semesters (semester one, three and five) will be held from July 26-27 and the theory examinations will be held from August 2 to 21.

Meanwhile for Diploma even semesters students, practical examinations will be held on November 2 to 12 and theory examinations will be held from November 17 to December 6.

The exams of degree courses for odd semesters students (which was kept pending in Gulbarga, Karanata and Bengaluru universities and a few subjects leftover in some other universities) is scheduled to be completed by August 15.

Meanwhile, even semesters will be held in the month of October, for which the dates will be notified shortly, he added.

Contact classes will be held for students before the examinations to clarify doubts, he said.

ALSO WATCH | Karnataka unlock: Higher educational institutes to reopen on July 26
Chetana Belagere By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: While there are speculations about the onset of a third wave of Covid-19, experts believe that the country is at the tailend of the second wave but warn that Karnataka may see the next wave soon. It is still the continuation of the second wave in most states since there is no intermittent period of lower circulation levels. Given the continuing circulation in rural and urban areas, which hitherto had lower seroprevalence, it suggests that the disease is expanding widely, said Dr Giridhara Babu, epidimeologist and member of Technical Advisory Committee.

Dr Gagandeep Kang, renowned virologist, Professor of Microbiology, CMC Vellore, believes that we are at the tail end of the second wave. In Karnataka, explaining that though the number of cases are on the decline, Dr Manjunath C N, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Research said the authorities must take note of what relaxations are being given and added that people should avoid creating superspreader events. There is no way we can get complacent. Karnataka has not seen an onset of third wave yet. But we may soon start to see such trends, he said.

Dr Shashikiran U, Professor and Head of General Internal Medicine at Dr TMA Pai Hospital, Udupi, says this is probably the end of the second wave and also the likelihood of the start of the third wave. Even in July last year, when we thought we wont see another wave, we saw a similar pattern. I think we are at the arrival of the third wave and we may not see a gap between the two waves. There was a strict lockdown last time, but this time thats not there.

Dr Vishal Rao, Dean, Centre for Academic Research, HCG Hospitals, and member of Genome Sequencing Committee, said the signatures of the past waves, epidemiologically or genomically, shows the first wave was driven by the D614G variant and the second by the Delta variant. I believe that there will be another third wave which will be caused by the Delta variant which could genomically be synonymous to the second wave or may be an extension of it. But, if the third wave is going to see a signature of a completely new variant, which is part of the evolution of the Delta, then it is going to be more worrisome, he said.

We must now keep our eyes on where and how the plateau has been achieved. Was it due to a forced lockdown-kind of scenario? As of now, we have been able to keep the number of cases low only due to the implementation of socio-economic intervention by the government, which was behaviourally induced through a forced lockdown, he said.

Dr Rao believes that the third wave might hit us by August third week, considering that the jump time of the Delta variant has been from around 3% to 30% in two months. We have already passed the 15 days of the two-month period we have. So, my estimation from the fact that our vaccination has been slow, virulence of the variant has not reduced and now with the state in unlock mode, we will see the third wave by the end of August.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAPURA: Criticising the State Government for not extending any assistance to Covid-19 victims, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar said that though the government has announced some compensation after the Congress exerted pressure, the relief is yet to materialise and reach the beneficiaries.

Speaking to reporters in Sindagi town during his maiden visit to the district after taking charge as KPCC chief on Saturday, Shivakumar said, The state Congress has launched a drive to tour the state not only to hear the grievances of people, mainly SCs and the oppressed classes, but also to instill confidence among them. On the plight of SCs, he said, On one hand they have suffered because of Covid, on the other, they are still facing long-pending issues such as regularisation of their cultivable land and other problems.

Later, Shivakumar took part in an interaction session with SCs at Sindagi. He prasied MLA M B Patil for offering affordable medical facilities to Covid patients at BLDE hospital. Mayur, a member of Dalit Sangarsh Samiti, said, The government has stopped scholarship for SC students. The Opposition should raise this issue in the legislature session. A section leaders demanded that the Congress put pressure on the Centre to accord National Award to writer Siddalingaiah, who passed away recently.

Shivakumar also interacted with the people of Banjara community near Devara Hipparagi.

Covid norms flouted

Throwing Covid norms to the wind, hundreds of people took part in the programmes organised by the Congress in Sindagi and Devara Hipparagi. Sources said the organisers did not obtain permission from the administration for the events.

Several Lingayat MLAs ready to join Congress

Kalaburagi: DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that several MLAs and workers of other parties belonging to the Lingayat community want to join the Congress Shivakumar said KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre and former minister MB Patil were holding discussions with such MLAs and workers.


By Express News Service

BENGALURU: In what comes as a relief to the cinema industry and theatre groups, the Karnataka government has decided to further relax lockdown guidelines and allow cinema halls and auditoriums albeit with 50% capacity.

In a meeting chaired by chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday morning, it was decided to also open up higher educational institutions from July 26.

Only those teachers and students who have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine can attend offline classes, it was decided.

READ MORE | Colleges in Karnataka to be reopened soon; pending 'odd' semester exams to be completed by Aug 15

In the meeting, it was also decided to ease night curfew hours. Instead of 9 pm, the night curfew will now begin from 10 pm and will be in effect till 5 am.

An official notification bringing the decisions to effect starting Monday will be issued later on Sunday.

ALSO WATCH |
By Express News Service

MANGALURU: Inter-state bus operation between Mangaluru and Kasaragod will resume on Monday after a gap of more than four months. However, the Dakshina Kannada district administration has set certain conditions for the passengers travelling between the two states.

Passengers travelling in both KSRTC and private buses should have received at least one dose of covid vaccine or furnish covid negative report which is less than 72 hours old. The bus conductors should enforce this before allowing passengers to board the bus.

Further, they have to ensure that the passengers adhere to all covid protocols like wearing face masks and maintaining social distance. Those who violate these rules will attract action under Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act-2020 and Disaster Management Act-2005, said Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra in a press statement.

The DC said the decision to resume the buses was taken after analysing the Covid situation in Kerala state and in the interest of a huge number of people who commute between the two border districts daily for education, office work, business and other reasons.

He appealed to people to take all necessary precautions in order to check the spread of the virus and to manage the third wave of covid-19 which is expected to hit in the coming days.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The largest body of doctors in India, the Indian Medical Association on Sunday warned the Kerala government against easing restrictions ahead of Bakri Eid as the state is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases and test positivity rate.

In a statement, the association termed the decision of Kerala to ease restrictions ahead of the festival as retrograde, cautioning that a third wave of the pandemic may be inevitable if appropriate steps are not taken.

IMA is pained to see amidst the rise of cases and seropositivity, the Kerala Government has issued an order to ease out lockdown followed in the state on the pretext of religious gatherings of Bakri Eid, said the body on Sunday.

The association added that it is unwarranted and inappropriate at the time of medical emergency when many northern states like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have stopped with a constructive sense of public safety the traditional and popular pilgrimage Yatras.

The medical body also threatened that it may knock the doors of the Supreme Court if the state is not enforcing Covid-appropriate behaviour and become a model state to curtail the rising menace of Covid, by withdrawing this decision.

The IMA, in its statement also called for immediate withdrawal of the order and enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy towards Covid-appropriate behaviour.

It further urged the administration not to deviate from its statutory duty and vision to ensure the safety of the state as well as the country.

Kerala has been one of the worst-hit states in India and has recorded over 31 lakh Covid-19 cases and 15,269 deaths due to the infectious disease.

On Saturday, the state recorded 16, 148 new infections, the highest single-day rise in cases in over a month.

The test positivity rate for the state has also gone above 10 % which necessitates restrictions as per the ICMR guidelines.

ALSO WATCH:
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unrest has been brewing within LDF ally Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD). A section of senior leaders from the warring faction met national chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday seeking to remove state president M V Shreyams Kumar in view of the partys lacklustre performance in the recent assembly elections and failure to obtain a cabinet berth in the Left government.

LJD national general secretary Varghese George, state general secretary Sheikh P Harris, K P Mohanan, MLA, and state vice-president V Surendran Pillai met Yadav in Delhi and demanded a total revamp in party leadership. The rebel leaders pointed out that despite the party being allotted three seats - Vadakara, Kalpetta and Koothuparamba  it could win only the third one. Later, while minor parties with just one seat secured ministership, LJD was ignored. The rebel leaders felt that it was Shreyams Kumar himself who was not keen on the partys lone MLA K P Mohanan bagging a ministerial berth.

If LJD had previously got seven seats to contest while part of UDF, this time it was reduced to only three in LDF. Though the seats had winning possibility, we lost in two seats, primarily because of lapses on the part of the party leadership. Ideally those responsible for the failure should keep away or action should be taken against them, V Surendran Pillai told TNIE.

Meanwhile LJD parliamentary board chairman Charupara Ravi has lashed out against the move. M V Shreyams Kumar had offered to step down soon after the assembly polls. But the party leaders themselves were unanimous in their view that theres no need for a leadership change. If there are lapses within the party over not getting enough seats to contest or a ministerial berth, the leadership has a collective responsibility, he said.

Varghese George told TNIE that the demand was to go in for a total restructuring of the party. Most parties have gone for restructuring. Post the assembly elections, there was a need for totally reconstituting the party structure including the leadership. We have raised this before the national leadership. Now, its for them to take a call, he said.

NO DEMAND ON LEADERSHIP CHANGE

LJD state president M V Shreyams Kumar met Sharad Yadav later in the evening. Opinions that have come up in the party need not be viewed as rebel movement. There were no demands for a leadership change. No such discussions were held. If there are any issues in the party, it will be resolved through discussions, he said.


Amiya Meethal By

Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: Students and teachers of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Residential Higher Secondary School (RGMRHSS) at Noolpuzha in Wayanad are on cloud nine. For the first time in the school's 30-year history, a student has cleared the SSLC examination with A plus in all subjects.

Amalraj P from the tribal-only school has achieved the feat. He hails from the Kattunayka community which falls under the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG). Though the school started in 1991, the first SSLC batch passed out 20 years ago.

"Not only that, we secured 100 percent success rate too. All the 35 students who wrote SSLC examination have qualified for higher education. Till now, our top achievement was a student who got an A plus in six subjects. This time, we made a focused effort for better results," said headmaster Sunil Kumar M, who joined the school last year on request transfer. The school has 372 students in classes 1 to 10 and another 150 in the higher secondary section.

'Sreedhanya was my inspiration'

Hailing from Poovanchi colony, Chethalayam near Sultan Bathery, Amalraj said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Sreedhanya Suresh, the first tribal woman from the state who cracked the civil service examination. "The fact that Sreedhanya is from Wayanad was a major booster. Whenever I felt stuck in life, I remembered that she would have faced the same hurdles and overcame them with steely resolve," he told TNIE. The son of headload worker Raju V K and former local ward member Thankamani K B, Amalraj joined the residential school in class 1. His elder brother Akhilraj is pursuing a degree in sociology.

"Our lives reached nowhere. We don't want the same to happen to the next generation. Poovanchi colony has four government employees -3 cops and one forest watcher - from Kattunayka community. All of them were absorbed through special recruitment. Let our children raise the bar and reach new heights," said Amalraj's uncle V Chandran.

Among those who cleared the SSLC exam from RGMRHSS is a lone student from Cholanayaka community - Sobha of Parappanpara.
By Express News Service

While children like Santhosh, Saranya, and Reuben are only supporting their parents in these trying times, there are many unfortunate ones who get pushed into full-time labour; Murugesan* is one of them. Between 9 am and 8 pm every day, the boy sells ice cream at a crowded market area on Ranganathan Street at T Nagar. Express spoke with him as he was serving cone ice cream to a customer, a boy about the same age as he was.

Murugesan said he was from Thiruvannamalai and that he was 16. The boy, however, caught the glare of the older vendor next to him and quickly corrected himself: 18. Im 18. He refused to answer any more questions.

Another young boy, working at a roadside garments shop nearby, shouted: Shorts! Shorts! Track pants! Shorts! He looked no older than 15. Asked if he was enrolled in a school, he smirked and said: I finished schooling in Tambaram. I am 18-years-old. Owner will come. Do you want shorts?

Notably, over a dozen adolescent-looking boys like him working on Ranganathan Street said that they were precisely 18-years-old; no more, no less!

A dangerous spinoff

Another dangerous repercussion of the lockdown and school closure was children, especially those in peri-urban areas, getting exposed to a culture of drugs and drinks, said Ali Basha, who teaches children for free in Thiruvottiyur. Children about 15-16 years old start with Hans (a nicotine-based addictive); older children even use ganja, he said.

Ali Basha said that with each passing day, more and more children in North Chennai are introduced to alcohol and drugs. Access to drugs has become as easy as ordering food on Swiggy or Zomato. They call someone, fix a meeting point, meet the drug peddlar, and make the deal, he said, adding that with abundant free time and nothing to do, many children have lost all their interest in education.

There was a group of children playing on a vacant parcel of land near my house. I recently approached them and told them that I will take tuition for free. They stopped playing on that ground from the next day, Basha said. He emphasised that parents must be sensitised to keeping their children occupied to prevent them from being dragged into anti-social elements.

S Prabhakaran, a government-school teacher from Chennai, said one of his Class XI students was about to be married off last year; he stopped it by reporting to government officials. He said that many children were pushed into bonded labour too. I was supplying Covid relief materials in Kadambathur village in Thiruvallur when I saw children going hunting and wood-cutting with their parents. They had even forgotten the name of the school they were enrolled in. Thats when I decided to set up an evening tuition in the village, he said.

He said that the village neither had electricity nor public lighting infrastructure when he first visited it. With the help of an NGO, we set up solar street lamps and lights for students to study in the evening. I trained an educated girl to take classes for the children; my senior students also visit the village to take yoga lessons, he said. Prabhakaran opined that children until the age of 14 will return to school easily if the noon-meal scheme is restored. The government will have to employ innovative strategies to attract older children out of employment and back to schools, he said.

What can be done

Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), in its recent report, suggested that the State ensure that the children enrolled in government schools have access to provisions and supplementary nutrition.

The centre also said that the government should identify community-level motivators or educators in low-income and informal settlements to monitor and follow up on children enrolled in government schools. Devices like tabs designed to run specific apps could be distributed to students.

Other applications should be disabled in this device to prevent misuse, the report said. Vanessa Peter, the founder of the centre, said that children also need to just ventilate from being cooped up indoors all day long during the pandemic. They are exposed to the grim financial realities in their families. They need to socialise and engage in activities to keep themselves occupied, she said. Though Express reached out to the school education minister and the department secretary, a response could not be obtained.

*Names changed
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Working around the issue of minor forest produce becoming less available in the market, the Telangana State Girijan Cooperative Corporation Limited, a branch of Telangana's Tribal Welfare Department, has shifted its focus to value addition and creation of micro, medium and small enterprises (MSME) owned and operated by tribals in the agency areas of Telangana.

Before the pandemic, the corporation had established 14 processing units under the MSME scheme. Two glycerine soap and shampoo-making units, a detergent soap-making unit, three pulses processing units, three millet processing units, two groundnut jaggery bar-making units and three sanitary napkin-making units have been in operation in various GCC divisions.

Each of these units is being operated by 10 tribal women being empowered to become entrepreneurs. ICRISAT has been providing technical expertise for these efforts. Nine fuel bunks are also being run by the corporation in four districts, which are operated by tribal youth. The corporation is also in the process of obtaining a no-objection for establishing 18 more fuel stations in these districts.

It has also launched Giri Brand products by getting soaps and shampoos manufactured on an outsourcing basis. The brand currently supplies opaque, detergent soaps and shampoos to tribal welfare residential educational institutions and is also marketing them through its chain of retail network. As many as 17 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVK), an initiative of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) under the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, are going to be established in the agency areas.

Tribals are being trained at the Forest College and Research Institute (FCRI) on sustainable and scientific harvesting methods, value addition of forest produce through primary and post-primary processing of produce, branding, packing, marketing and other aspects.
B Satyanarayana Reddy By

Express News Service

KHAMMAM: A 19-year-old tribal girl from a remote village in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, studying in Hyderabad, has stalled her studies to single-handedly take up cultivation of cotton after her entire family was laid low by Covid-19. Karam Ramya, from Ramachandrunipet in Dummagudem mandal, is pursuing a physical education training course at AV College in Hyderabad. She is ploughing the one acre land belonging to her family with the help of oxen and is planting cotton seeds.

Ramyas efforts have been hailed by the villagers, who say she has become a role model for others. After clearing Intermediate at a tribal college in Dummagudem, Ramya joined a PET course at AV College. Recently, she was informed that both her parents Karam Laxmaiah and Nagamma and her sister had all got infected with Covid.

She immediately rushed to the village and helped her parents and sister get treatment. As her parents were not in a condition to work in the fields, the cultivation of cotton in their land had stopped. Laxmaiah owns only two acres of land and its produce is the sole source of income for the family.

The teenager understood the gravity of the situation, stepped into the field, ploughed the land and planted cotton seeds and also nurtured a paddy nursery. Speaking to Express over the phone, Ramya said, My parents are very poor. Due to Covid, all of them are bedridden. I have given up my studies temporarily as I am busy with cultivation.
Pranab Mondal By

KOLKATA: Of the nearly 2,000 complaints related to post-poll violence in West Bengal, around 69 per cent were reported from nine districts. According to the final report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) submitted to Calcutta High Court, of the 23 districts in the state, these nine bore most of the brunt.

Taking Bengals political landscape as the backdrop, an examination of these figures suggests that most of the violence took place in two kinds of places. One, districts in north Bengal where BJP did well in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and TMC was trying to wrest things back. Two, districts in southern Bengal which are TMCs strongholds, where BJP was trying to make inroads by campaigning aggressively before this years Assembly polls.

The NHRC received 1,979 complaints, of which 322 were from north Bengals Cooch Behar. Four persons were killed in firing by the Central forces on election day in this district. In south Bengal, the Commission received 314 complaints from Birbhum, 203 from South 24 Parganas, 196 from North 24 Parganas and 113 from East Burdwan districts.

A large number of complaints have been received from the administrative districts of Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Kolkata. The most affected police districts are Baruipur, Basirhat, Barrackpore and Diamond Harbour (all in south Bengal), said the report prepared following a court order.

Political analysts found that post-poll violence was a fallout of attempts to regain and retain by both the parties. In many areas in south Bengal, the ruling party saw BJP as its immediate threat which might upset its strongholds. Similarly in north Bengal, TMC tried to regain its erstwhile citadel and BJP was desperate to retain its newfound base, said political science professor Bishnupriya Dutta Gupta.

BJP, predictably, points finger at the ruling party. TMC unleashed terror after failing to re-establish its dominance in Cooch Behar. The police firing was a result of the terror unleashed by them. When they failed to deal with us in a democratic way, their supporters launched unprecedented violence on our supporters and party workers, said BJPs general secretary Sayantan Basu.

He alleged that TMC adopted the strategy of spreading terror in south Bengal districts also, like Birbhum, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas, realising that BJP was making inroads in these places. They know that in coming elections, peoples verdict will go in favour of BJP. This is why they attacked our workers, to ensure that there is no political activity of BJP, said Basu.

Districts like Murshidabad and Malda reported negligible post-poll violence because the region is dominated by minority electorates. BJP has little presence there and neither did it make a concerted effort to make inroads in those places.

Predictably again, TMC has dismissed the NHRC report as biased. Its nothing other than a body representing BJP. A few incidents of post-poll violence took place before Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as chief minister, when the model of code of conduct was in place and Election Commission was in charge of law and order in the state. The Commission transferred administrative officials appointed by the chief minister and the violence is a fallout of their inefficiency, said TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy.
Express News Service By

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: After staving off many attempts to dislodge him, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa faces an endgame. The 78-year-old CMs visit to New Delhi has more or less made it official that he will be replaced by a consensus candidate as his successor.

For now I have been asked to continue as the chief minister, Yediyurappa told reporters on Saturday after he returned to Bengaluru. The operative word is for now.

Sources in the BJP said Yediyurappa would be allowed to complete two years in office by the end of July after which he will cite health concerns and make way for a replacement.

The negotiations for a leadership change that have been going on for months now seem to have finally ended with the party assuring a future for his sons and an honourable exit for him.

ALSO READ: Party high command has asked me to continue as Karnataka CM - Yediyurappa quashes rumours of leadership change

While some in the party suggested that he might be appointed as the governor of Andhra Pradesh, Yediyurappa has been consistent in reiterating that he would help the party return to power in Karnataka with more seats in the next assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

In May this year this newspaper had reported that the BJP central leadership wanted an amicable change of guard in Karnataka. The next two weeks will see discussions on who will succeed Yediyurappa.

The CM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda in Delhi. Emerging out of Shahs residence, Yediyurappa stated that he had been asked to work hard and help the party win the next elections in the state.

ALSO READ: Its all hunky-dory for Karnataka CM Yediyurappa

The CM was accompanied by his son, BY Bijayendra, which further fueled speculation that he lobbied for passing the baton within the family.

While the BJP brass grapples with the leadership change, party insiders said the state government faces the prospect of a lame duck dispensation. There is no Lingayat leader in sight to match Yediyurappas status.

The partys attempt to promote Sadananda Gowda, a Vokkaliga, ended in failure after he couldnt come up to the expectations of Modi despite being given important ministries.
Mukesh Ranjan By

JHARKHAND: Driven by a desire to save the rural youth of his state, Jharkhand, from various forms of addiction, Ravi Shankar Sahni, a former Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable, took a resolve some five years ago  Mujhe Kuch Karna Hai (I want to do something). And what he did, gave a new direction to the lives of these youngsters. He started training and guiding them so that they could join armed/paramilitary forces and serve the country.

Sahni started the initiative from Simdega district while he was on leave. It inspired several other serving personnel to join him and now, many of them belonging to the Army, the CISF, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Indo-Tibetan border Police and the state police are providing free tips to candidates appearing in recruitment drives conducted by these forces. The initiative has expanded to other adjoining places like Kolebira in Simdega and Ranchi. A new centre in Khunti will come up soon. More than 300 youths from Jharkhand have so far been successful.

The training given by Sahni and others has

helped more than 300 youths get recruited

in the Army and various paramilitary forces

According to Sahni, who took voluntary retirement last year, youths in the rural areas are interested in joining the armed forces, but are often unable to get through in the absence of guidance. Sahni aspires to take his initiative to every village. My objective is to prepare the youths so that they can do the state and the country proud. The initiative is at a nascent stage, but very soon I will take it to a level from where my students would be able to go to any field of their choice, said Sahni.

It all started in 2016 when Sahni was still employed with the CISF. Being a teacher before joining the force, he noticed that the youths in rural areas had potential but needed serious guidance to succeed in various fields. I started training youths at Albert Ekka Stadium in Simdega whenever I came home on vacations. Within a few months of training, one of my students, Rakesh Kumar, got selected in the Indian Army. It was a big morale booster for me. I took the idea further to Kolebira and Ranchi, he said.

There are now 10 people associated with the initiative, Sahni added. The new selectees further motivate other candidates whenever they are on their vacation. Old students also volunteer to take classes. One of Sahnis students, Prem Raj Lakra, who got selected for the Army in 2018 and had come home to Ranchi on leave, said the candidates were motivated by trained personnel of the armed forces.

Currently, more than 50 candidates have registered for the training camp and more are coming every day. Classes are conducted from 5 am to 8 am every day. Apart from physical training, the youths also take free exams every Saturday and Sunday so that they do not have to face problems while appearing in recruitment drives. Last year, more than 35 youths from this camp were selected during the recruitment drive conducted at Morhabadi Ground in Ranchi, said Lakra.

Students are happy that they are getting quality training for almost free. We get all kinds of guidance for the armed forces, from physical to medical and written tests. Preparatory exams are conducted every Sunday, said Satyam Kumar, a Class XI student of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Ranchi. A registration fee of Rs 200 is taken in the beginning and one can continue the classes till he gets selected, Kumar said, adding he wanted to join the Army.

NCC Cadets celebrate kargil diWas

Ahemdabad: National Cadet Corps (NCC) from Gujarat prepared 30,000 cards highlighting the sacrifice and valour of armed forces which were dispatched to Kargil district in Laddakh ahead of the 22nd anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas to be observed on July 26. The event Ek Mai Sau Ke Liye is part of the campaigns fifth phase titled Kargil Ke Veeron Ko Gujarat Ka Aabhaar. These cards were dispatched in the presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani from Gandhinagar. They will be handed over to the soldiers deployed in the Kargil sector from July 21 to 25, as a mark of gratitude from the cadets of Gujarat.

US hands over MH-60R copters to Indian navy

Washington: The US Navy handed over the first two MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH) to the Indian Navy to strengthen the defence relations between the two countries. A ceremony was held at the Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego to mark the formal transfer of the helicopters. It was attended by Indias Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The MH-60R is designed to support multiple missions with state-of-the-art avionics. The Indian Navy is procuring 24 of these manufactured by Lockheed Martin under foreign military sales from the US government at an estimated cost of

$2.4 billion.

The morale booster success

Sahni started the initiative in 2016 when he was still a constable with the CISF. He began training youths at Albert Ekka Stadium in Simdega whenever he went home on vacations. Within a few months, one of his students got selected in the Army. It was a big morale booster for Sahni who then started training in Ranchi, too.
Pushkar Banakar By

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh have seen a spurt in bilateral engagement of late with gifts being exchanged across the border and also a series of meetings between top leaders of the two countries.

The spurt is being viewed by analysts as a way to reduce the friction seen in the ties due to Indias non-fulfilment of vaccine commitments. New Delhi has so far supplied around 103 lakh doses of Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccinescommercially and as a grant. However, as the second wave of the pandemic came, India forced the Serum Institute of India (SII), the manufacturer of vaccines in India, to defer orders.

The recent engagements are another sign that Indias engagement with Bangladesh has been one of its best in its neighbourhood. There is an all-round engagement, which is helping both countries. There has however been disappointment over vaccine supply. But, I dont think there would be any major impact on ties as Bangladesh has managed to get vaccines from other sources. But they would love to get Indian vaccines. The government will soon have to allow some shipments of vaccines to Dhaka. We have given them vaccines when possible, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty said.The two countries recently exchanged locally produced mangoes.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankars meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen, Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Dhaka for attending the centenary birth celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringlas visit to Dhaka, the first by a foreign official after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, are all signs of the importance that India attaches to ties with Bangladesh.

Chakravartys views were echoed by Ayanangsha Maitra, a research scholar at the Bangladesh-based Centre for Governance Studies, Ayanangsha Maitra. Vaccine is the main issue. Around 15 lakh Bangladeshis have taken Indian-made vaccines. They are waiting for their second dose. Our commercial engagement is yet to be fulfilled. This hits our credibility. China has sent their vaccines, so has the US. India needs to send their vaccines quickly, he said.

When asked about Dhakas growing ties with Beijing, the former envoy said Bangladesh wants to remain neutral and enjoy good relations with both. They are also careful not to get into debt traps of China like Sri Lanka. A few railway projects too have been taken away from China and India is now executing them.

The analysts also dismissed rumours that Bangladeshis are unhappy about the prospect of the Teesta river water issue not being solved as Mamata Banerjee has maintained her grip on power. While Chakravarty said that there is hope for a resolution of the Teesta River issue as theres an interim deal, Maitra was of the opinion that the issue is far from solved.
Rajesh Asnani By

RAJASTHAN: Asha Kandara, a mother of two kids, is simply extraordinary. She used to clean the streets of Jodhpur before she stunned everyone in the city a few days back when she cleared the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) exam. She is likely to be posted as a deputy collector. The Mayor and CEO of the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation, where she worked as a cleaner, felicitated her at a special function. They tied a safa (Rajasthani turban) on her head, the entire office clapped and cheered for her as media crews vied for her sound bites.

Asha has come a long way; but what makes her story remarkable is that she has singlehandedly brought up her two children after separation from her husband nine years ago and completed her graduation. What made her task tougher is the fact that she comes from the Valmiki caste, one of the most backward castes in our society which has suffered centuries of discrimination.

Barely 17, she was married off, though she had completed her school education in 1997. In 2012, she went through divorce which left her with the responsibility of looking after her two children on her own. Asha completed her graduation in 2016 with her familys support, but found no decent job.

Asha vividly recalls how the idea of getting into the state civil services stuck on with her. Everywhere I went, people would taunt me by saying Are you a collector? I had no idea what a collector is. I finally Google-searched and found out what a collector really means. From then on, I decided to get into the civil services. Since I was well above the age limit for an IAS entry, I thought I would try for RAS as the exam does not mandate an age-limit for divorcee women, says Asha.

She appeared for the RAS entrance test three years ago, but 12 days after the exam, she got a job of a cleaner with the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation. While waiting for the exam result, she took the job of keeping the city streets clean. Her main task was to keep Paota Road, one of Jodhpurs most prominent streets, free from dirt.

Under the rules of the Jodhpur civic body, Asha had to be on job from 6 am to 2 pm every day. Her salary was `12,500, the only means to feed herself and her children. I realised no work is small or big. What matters is attitude. I ignored jibes and unkind remarks and kept myself busy with the job.

With no financial or moral support that is usually critical to crack the civil services exams, Asha relied on her hard work and effective time management. She met the RAS challenge with dedication and discipline. I used to get up at 5 am. After duty hours, I studied as much as possible. From using mobile online applications to getting notes from wherever I could, I studied as hard as my circumstances permitted, she said. Asha says her two children helped her a great deal in preparing for the exams.

Her 21-year-old daughter Pallavi is a now student of final year graduation and her 19-year old son Rishabh is studying in second year of college. They kept boosting her morale whenever she had doubts about her preparation. I felt I would not be able to clear the RAS exam since others were studying all day long. But my children always encouraged me and persuaded me to believe that success was around the corner, says the proud mother.

Asha hopes her success will inspire others, especially single women, to dream big. We should never underrate ourselves. If we do not realise our own strength, if we dont respect our own self, we cant get anything. Hard work always pays, she says.

Jodhpur residents are also delighted with Ashas hard-earned success. Mayor Kunti Dewra said: We are proud that a cleaner from our municipal corporation has become an RAS officer. Asha has always been a hardworking woman. We will be really happy if in future she comes and works as a senior officer in our corporation.

Over next two years, Asha will train at the Officers Training School in Jaipur before taking up her assignment as an RAS officer. She still dreams of getting into the IAS, which she can probably achieve after 15 years experience in the RAS.


By PTI

UNITED NATIONS: The UN humanitarian chief in Afghanistan appealed for USD 850 million Thursday to help the war-torn country cope with the impact of the Taliban offensive, protracted malnutrition for a third of the country, a severe drought, and the return of 627,000 Afghans this year, most of them deported from neighbouring Iran.

Ramiz Alakbarov told reporters at UN headquarters after a virtual briefing from the capital of Kabul that at least 18 million Afghans are in need of assistance and the UN plan is to provide help for at least 15.7 million of them.

But he said the UN's USD 1.3 billion appeal is only 37 per cent funded -- USD 450 million -- with the United States the largest donor.

He said the remaining the USD 850 million being sought is desperately needed.

As American and NATO troops complete their pullout from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, the Taliban in recent weeks have gained control of many districts and key border posts with neighbours Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

In many instances, Afghan security forces and military have put up little or no resistance after often being left without supplies or reinforcements.

"Alakbarov said the second drought in three years and the Taliban's offensive have led 270,000 people to flee their homes in rural areas toward urban areas and regional centers," where they need food, water, shelter and sanitation.

The UN is also seeing very intensive movements of population in the areas when the Iranian and Pakistan borders are now largely closed, with Afghans trying to use paths away from the official crossings to try to leave the country, he said.

Alakbarov expressed hope that Afghanistan's neighbours will look at the situation in terms of human rights and their responsibility to protect people from suffering and allow Afghan refugees into their countries.

The United Nations registered 627,000 Afghans who have returned from neighboring countries so far this year, he said, and "most of them are from Iran."

Alakbarov reported a significant increase in attacks on humanitarian workers this year.

He said 35 humanitarian workers have been killed and 63 injured, which "represents a 30 per cent increase compared to last year."

He also reported threats and interference involving aid staffers, citing 1,095 incidents in the first six months of 2021, compared to 1,100 in all of 2020.

He said most difficulties faced by aid workers arise from military activity, including having to deal with mines on roads, being caught in cross-fire, and coming under attack from groups that target female health workers, women who do vaccinations and mine-clearing teams.

Alakbarov said that in the current situation, everything is a challenge" and "COVID-19 hasn't made it easier," with deaths from the coronavirus doubling in the last 2 months.

While the UN has humanitarian supplies in Afghanistan for needs through August, he said, the closure of border crossings could pose future problems.

He added the insuring security at Kabul airport is absolutely imperative.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: The diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan deepened on Sunday after Kabul announced that it will withdraw its ambassador and other senior staff from Islamabad after the abduction and torture of the daughter of its envoy to Pakistan.

Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan Najibullah Alikhil was abducted, tortured and assaulted on Friday by unknown persons in Islamabad. She was abducted while riding a rented vehicle and was held for several hours before being released.

She was found near F-9 Park area of the capital with torture marks on her body. "Following the abduction of the Afghan ambassador's daughter in Pakistan, the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan called back Afghanistan's ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of abduction," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said an Afghan delegation will visit Pakistan soon to assess and follow up on the case and "all related issues", adding that "subsequent actions will follow based on the findings".
By PTI

NAIROBI: Police said Sunday that 13 people were killed and many others seriously burned when an overturned petrol tanker exploded in western Kenya as crowds thronged to collect the spilling fuel.

The fuel truck collided with another vehicle and toppled over late Saturday near Malanga, some 315 kilometres (195 miles) northwest of Nairobi, on the busy highway between Kisumu and the border with Uganda.

Onlookers rushed to the scene with jerrycans but the cargo exploded, engulfing those around in a terrible fireball.

"It burst into flames as they scooped fuel that was flowing," said Charles Chacha, a local police chief in Siaya County where the accident occurred.

"We counted twelve bodies at the scene. Another person died in hospital from their injuries."

Fire crews arrived on the scene two hours later to douse the inferno while those injured in the blast were taken to hospital.

"Many others have been taken to hospital with serious burns and they include young children," Chacha said.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known.

Images broadcast by Kenyan media showed the blazing tanker lighting up the night sky and in the morning following, crowds gaping at the twisted, smouldering wreckage.

Deadly fuel truck accidents along perilous roads are not uncommon in Kenya and the wider East Africa region.

In 2009, more than 100 people were killed when a petrol tanker overturned northwest of Nairobi and an explosion consumed those gathering to collect leaking fuel.

More recently, at least 100 people were killed when a tanker exploded in Tanzania in 2019 while in 2015 more than 200 perished in a similar accident in South Sudan.
By AFP

CHAMAN: A key crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan partially reopened on Saturday, days after the Taliban took control of the Afghan border town in a rapid offensive across the country.

Pakistan shut off the border when the militants captured Spin Boldak from Afghan government forces on Wednesday, leaving thousands of people stranded on either side and trade at a standstill.

A Pakistani border official, who did not want to be named, told AFP that people were being allowed to enter Pakistan in small groups, while hundreds were heading into Afghanistan.

An AFP journalist witnessed people crossing in both directions.

"We have decided to let them cross over to Pakistan... after checking their travel documents, enabling them to join their families on Eid (al-Adha)," the border official said, referring to the Muslim holiday which will be celebrated next week.

ALSO READ | Taliban supremo 'favours political settlement' to Afghan conflict: Statement

Pakistani Noor Ali, who had been visiting Kabul, said it took him two attempts to reach Spin Boldak in recent days because of fighting in Kandahar province, on the border.

"I was scared, but the Taliban did not create any problems, they checked my documents and allowed me to go through," he told AFP after arriving in the nearby city of Quetta.

The Taliban's seizure of the border town follows weeks of intensifying clashes across Afghanistan, with the insurgents capitalising on the last stages of the US troop withdrawal to launch a series of lightning offensives, overrunning districts at a staggering rate.

The group have also taken other vital border crossings with neighbouring countries in the north and west.

An Afghan returning to work in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar said he passed government soldiers and Taliban fighters on his journey through Kandahar province to the Spin Boldak crossing.

"I saw tanks and guns on my way and I was stopped yesterday by Afghan soldiers who warned me about the security problems in Spin Boldak," Abdul Latif told AFP after getting to Quetta.

"I saw the Taliban moving around but they let me go over the border."

- Taliban flag flying -

The Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing is an economic lifeline for southern Afghanistan.

The landlocked country depends on the crucial commercial artery to export much of its agricultural produce, such as almonds and dried fruits. It also serves as the entry point for finished goods coming from Pakistan.

Controlling the crossing will likely provide the Taliban with an economic windfall, allowing the insurgents to tax the thousands of vehicles that pass through the frontier daily.

ALSO READ | Taliban-ISIs cross matrix a threat to India post US pull-out

On Saturday hundreds of people were heading across the border to Afghanistan.

"We have opened the Chaman border... allowing crowds of up to 4,000 Afghans including women and children to cross over to Afghanistan to celebrate Eid al-Adha with their families, purely on humanitarian grounds," said the Pakistani border official.

Muhammad Tayyab, a Pakistani paramilitary official, said the decision was taken because of "relative calm on the other side", but said the crossing would remain closed to trade.

Afghan government forces on Friday launched an operation to try and take back control of Spin Boldak.

Following fierce skirmishes, dozens of wounded Taliban fighters were brought across the border and were being treated at a Pakistan hospital, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported.

But on Saturday, the Taliban's white flags could still be seen flying over the crossing.

"We are effectively managing our border with Afghanistan," Pakistan's interior minister Sheikh Rashid told reporters on Saturday.
By Associated Press

LAFAYETTE (United States): Spectators cheered Saturday as a stone statue of a Confederate general was hoisted by a crane and removed from a pedestal where it stood for 99 years in front of a city hall in south Louisiana.



The Advertiser posted video of the work that happened a day after United Daughters of the Confederacy signed a settlement agreeing to move the statue of Gen. Alfred Mouton or let the city do so. A trial had been scheduled for July 26.



"The Confederacy has surrendered," attorney Jerome Moroux told The Advocate. Moroux represented the city and 16 city residents who wanted the statue gone.



The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 prompted new calls across the country to remove Confederate statues, many of which had been erected decades after the Civil War, during the Jim Crow era, when states imposed new segregation laws, and during the "Lost Cause" movement, when historians and others inaccurately depicted the South's rebellion as a fight to defend states' rights, not slavery.



Mouton, whose full name was Jean-Jacques-Alfred-Alexandre Mouton, was a slave owner and son of a former Louisiana governor. He died leading a cavalry charge in the Civil War Battle of Mansfield.

"It's been 99 years right now, and that's way too long for that to have remained in place," Fred Prejean, president of Move the Mindset, a group created to pushed for the statue's removal, The Advertiser reported.



In 1980, outgoing Mayor Kenny Bowen wanted to move the statue to what was then the new Lafayette city hall. Although United Daughters of the Confederacy gave the statue to the city in 1922, the group fought the move, partly because Mouton's father once had owned the statue's site.



The group delayed the move until Dud Lastrapes took office, then got a permanent court order forbidding any move unless it was needed for road work or the land was sold, The Advertiser has reported.



Residents asked the city in 2016, during a national movement to remove Confederate statues, to get Mouton's away from City Hall. But, after the United Daughters threatened a lawsuit, the City-Parish Council backed down.



That prompted the creation of Move the Mindset and other groups to raise awareness about the statue's Jim Crow-era history, the treatment of Black people during that period and the negative implications of having a Confederate statue at an entrance to Lafayette's downtown.



Sixteen members of Move the Mindset filed papers in 2019 to intervene in the 1980 injunction, arguing that the group's unconditional donation of the statue left it without any legal right to fight a move.



Mayor-President Josh Guillory asked lawyers to investigate options and in 2020 the City Council endorsed removal. The city joined Move the Mindset in the legal fight against the 1980 injunction.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: India on Sunday handed over 150 ICU (intensive care unit) beds to the Nepal government as a gesture of solidarity and close cooperation with the Himalayan nation in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical beds were handed over by Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra to Nepal Minister for Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Gyanendra Bahadur Karki at a ceremony organised here.

At the handing over event, Kwatra reiterated India's commitment to assist Nepal in comprehensively managing the pandemic, including through cooperation on the critical health infrastructure of the country. According to an official release, minister Karki appreciated the gesture and said it was an important milestone, showing "incredible goodwill enjoyed by both the countries".

Since the start of the pandemic, India has provided around USD 6.5 million worth of grant assistance to Nepal, through supply of essential medicines, RT-PCR tests, ventilators, and essential medicines. Nepal was one of the first countries to receive 1 million doses of Covishield vaccines from India in January 2021 as grant.

Besides this, the Indian Army has also supplied 1 lakh doses of vaccines to the Nepal Army as grant and medical supplies including BIPAP machines, antigen kits, PPE, Masks, Ambulances and ICU beds. The coronavirus has so far killed 9,550 people, including 667,109 confirmed cases in Nepal, according to Johns Hopkins University.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to face a vote of confidence in the reinstated lower House of parliament on Sunday, July 18, 2021, according to media reports.

Deuba, 75, the president of Nepali Congress, took the oath of office and secrecy on July 13, a day after a five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in five months.

The first meeting of the restored House will be held at 4 pm local time Sunday at the Federal Parliament Building, New Baneshwar.

The lower house was unconstitutionally dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari for the second time in five months on May 22 at the recommendation of then Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

Government spokesperson and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Gyanendra Karki registered the trust motion at the Federal Parliament Secretariat, myrepublica.com reported.

"A proposal for the vote of trust has already been registered in the Parliament Secretariat," said Shreedhar Neupane, a press advisor of Speaker Agni Sapkota, told The Kathmandu Post.

"The prime minister will go for a floor test in the second meeting of the House of Representatives today (Sunday)," he said.

In the 275-member House, where 271 votes will be counted, Deuba must garner at least 136 votes to win parliament's confidence.

A failure to win the vote of confidence will lead to the dissolution of the House, and elections will be held within six months.

In the lower house of parliament, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has 61 members while its coalition partner CPN (Maoist Center) has 48 members excluding Speaker Sapkota.

The main Opposition CPN-UML, Oli's party, has 121 members in the lower house, the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has 32 members and the other three fringe parties have a member each.

There is an independent lawmaker as well.

A total of 26 lawmakers belonging to UML, who are close to Madhav Nepal, had backed Deuba when he staked a claim for Premiership under Article 76(5) of the Constitution.

Deuba, who was appointed the prime minister as per Article 76(5) with the backing of UML's Nepal faction and JSP's Yadav faction, will have to be supported by these factions to win the confidence vote.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday comfortably won a vote of confidence in the reinstated lower House of Parliament. Deuba, the 75-year-old chief of the Nepali Congress, secured 165 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives, the Himalayan Times reported.

As many as 249 lawmakers participated in the voting process and 83 of them voted against Deuba while one lawmaker remained neutral, it said. A total of 136 votes were required for Deuba to win Parliament's confidence.

Deuba took the oath of office and secrecy on July 13 for a record fifth time, a day after a five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in five months.

The lower house was unconstitutionally dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari for the second time in five months on May 22 at the recommendation of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Deuba won the vote of confidence on the first day of the restored House session.

The President had summoned the meeting of both the Houses of the Parliament on Sunday.
By AFP

KABUL: The Taliban's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada on Sunday, July 18, 2021, said he "strenuously favours" a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan even as the hardline Islamist movement has launched a sweeping offensive across the nation.

"In spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate strenuously favors a political settlement in the country," Akhundzada said in a message released ahead of next week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

"Every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system, peace and security that presents itself will be made use of by the Islamic Emirate," he added.

The announcement comes as representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents sat down for a new round of talks in Doha over the weekend, stirring hopes that the long-stalled peace talks were being resuscitated.

For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital, but have achieved little if any notable success with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the militants made enormous gains on the battlefield.

Talks were due to resume on Sunday.

The Taliban leader said his group remained committed to forging a solution to end the war but slammed "the opposition parties" for "wasting time".

"Our message remains that instead of relying on foreigners, let us resolve our issues among ourselves and rescue our homeland from the prevailing crisis," he added.

Since early May the Taliban have launched a staggering assault across Afghanistan's rugged countryside that has seen the group capturing scores of districts, border crossings and even attack a provincial capital.

The insurgents launched their latest offensive after US-led foreign forces began their final withdrawal which is set to finish by the end of August following nearly 20 years of military involvement.
By AFP

VIENNA: The world's leading oil producers agreed on Sunday to continue to modestly boost output from August, after the United Arab Emirates blocked a deal earlier this month.

An OPEC+ meeting agreed to raise output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month from August to help fuel a global economic recovery as the pandemic eases, the Vienna-based group said in a press statement.

The grouping will "assess market developments" in December, it said. The deal also extends a deadline on capping output from April 2022 to the end of 2022.

Earlier in July, negotiations of OPEC+ members on easing production cuts became deadlocked due to a row between the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia and brash neighbour the United Arab Emirates.

Since May, the 23-member grouping, which also includes Russia, had raised oil output bit by bit, after slashing it more than a year ago when the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand.

The aim was to return to pre-pandemic production levels, with the alliance still pumping 5.8 million bpd less than it was before the pandemic.

- 'Consensus building' -

In a rare challenge to OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, the UAE rejected the proposed deal earlier this month as "unjust," leading to a stalemate.

But in a compromise, Sunday's discussions agreed to adjust output quotas next May for the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Russia and Saudi Arabia itself, meaning their actual cuts will be less.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, who chairs the OPEC group, declined to say how the quotas were set and beneficiaries chosen, saying it had been part of "consensus-building".

Observers had expected a deal.

"A flurry of talks were held on Saturday to try and close the gap," tweeted Herman Wang, an editor of S&P Global Platts, which specialises in coverage of the energy industry.

Oil prices -- which had already been sliding owing to concerns about the global economy -- plummeted in April 2020 as coronavirus spread around the world and battered global consumption, transport and supply chains.

OPEC+ last year decided to withdraw 9.7 million bpd from the market and to gradually restore supplies by the end of April 2022. Benchmark oil prices rebounded as a result.

Economic rivalry was at the heart of the feud between OPEC members as the Gulf states try to cash in on their vast oil reserves as they face the beginning of the end of the oil era.

Disagreements between Saudi Arabia and UAE -- once inseparable allies -- are usually resolved behind palace walls and rarely spill into the open.

Ministers from OPEC+ countries have gathered frequently since the spread of the new coronavirus to assess the market with the next meeting scheduled for September 1, according to Sunday's statement.
WASHINGTON  Hopelessness, isolation, and rejection  those are just some of the daily emotions felt by many young people in the LGBTQ community, according to town resident Chris Herrmann, co-founder of Pride in the Hills.

The mission of the three-year-old nonprofit is to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning people in Greater Waterbury and Litchfield County.

Toward that goal, Pride in the Hills will hold a program of activities at the first-ever SHAG, or Spring Hill Arts Gathering Festival, from 4 to 10 p.m., July 31 at Spring Hill Vineyards, 292 Bee Brook Road (Rt. 47), New Preston, Washington. The entire festival spans the weekends of July 29-Aug. 1 and Aug. 6-8. Tickets start at $45 for day passes and are available at www.springhillartsgathering.com. Admission is free for children under 12.

At SHAG, Pride in the Hills, or PITH, will feature performers including Sophie B. Hawkins, Alex Newell, Mila Jam, and Shequida Hall.

When you look at that lineup, we are trying to represent every area of our LGBTQ community, said Herrmann, owner of Mannic Media, a production company specializing in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, corporate, and education media.

Herrmann founded PITH with Southbury residents Kevin Jennings  co-founder of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities  and Deborah Fuller.

PITH supports young people in the LGBTQ community in multiple ways including providing financial support for other LGBTQ organizations in the area such as QUEST (Queer, Unity, Empowerment, Support Team), a queer youth social group; and giving college scholarships to LGBTQ high school seniors.

Additionally, PITH has awarded grants to all the high schools in the Litchfield County area for gay-straight alliances.

Gay and straight alliances bring together the gay and straight community, Herrmann said. When you have a gay-straight alliance in a high school, the bullying stops in its tracks because you have straight people supporting gay people.

Proceeds and donations from PITH will support the Pride in the Hills Fund at the Connecticut Community Foundation. In order to provide funding to support the LGBTQ community, PITH holds several events a year.

Through PITH, We want to give them hope that someday they can have a normal life and they can love people like everybody else, and they can have a successful career and family and a marriage and friends, Herrmann said. Thats ultimately what our goal is, to let them know that theyre supported and cared for and loved.

SHAG

SHAG evolved from the Five Senses Festival, according to founder Stephanie Ingrassia, of Washington. For the last three summers, we co-produced the Five Senses Festival with with Pilobolus. Ingrassia said.

While the new event is no longer a collaboration with Pilobolus, our goal has always been to bring the community together, so were just continuing what weve done, Ingrassia said.

Performers at SHAG include Ariana Debose, Sophie B. Hawkins, KT Tunstall, and Graydon Carter. Additionally, there will be a market where craftsmen of various trades sell their wares, which includes leather goods, essential oils, and baked items.

The festival also will pay tribute to town heroes  people whove gone above and beyond in the last year for the community, Ingrassia said. One of them is John VandenBosch of G.W. Tavern in Washington, who made meals for those in need on a weekly basis during the pandemic.

On another day, artists from the Art for Justice Fund, which works to bring attention to the injustices of the prison population, will show their work.

The festival has something for everyones tastes, according to Ingrassia.

Were over seven days and each evening is themed, and we always want to welcome many people into the community, Ingrassia said. Therefore, we have programs that might be of interest to lots of different people.

sfox@milfordmirror.com
The last time Aris Suharyanto saw his wife was through a hospital window. He never got to meet their newborn baby.

When Suharyanto's pregnant wife Rina Ismawati and two of their three children fell ill last month, he initially thought it was a common cold. But with Covid-19 cases rising in Indonesia, he took them to get tested.

The whole family tested positive for Covid-19, including Suharyanto -- and 43-year-old Ismawati was admitted to hospital, where she lay in bed, occasionally sending Suharyanto messages through WhatsApp. "She told me that her condition was getting worse," Suharyanto said. "She couldn't breathe."

Fearing for her baby, the doctors performed a Cesarian. But when Riski Aulia was born last month, he tested positive for Covid-19 and was struggling to breathe, too. His wife asked him to take her home, away from the intensive care unit where so many other patients had died, but her condition was too bad for her to be moved.

On June 22, Riski died in hospital. Suharyanto had only ever seen him in a photo. The following day, Ismawati died, too.

Suharyanto's wife and child are just two of the devastating and growing Covid-19 toll in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, which is fast becoming the new center of Asia's coronavirus crisis.

For weeks, Indonesia, home to about 270 million people, has been reporting thousands of daily cases and hundreds deaths as the highly contagious Delta variant ravages the country. Social media is flooded with posts from users who have lost loved ones to the virus. Hospitals are running dangerously low on supplies, excavators are frantically digging burial plots, and isolating remains impossible for the millions like Suharyanto living on a daily wage. The country is also facing the added challenge of widespread, rampant misinformation, and a vaccination rate of less than 6%.

With more than 2.7 million people infected and more than 70,000 dead, onlookers caution the country may not have reached its peak.

How did this happen

For much of last year, Indonesia managed to keep its Covid-19 outbreak largely under control. Then, as cases rose in June, overwhelming hospitals, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned Indonesia was "on the edge of a Covid-19 catastrophe."

The country had seen a "dramatic increase in confirmed cases" after the festive holidays, Indonesia's Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said earlier this month. He put the explosion in cases down to the fast-spreading Delta variant, which was first identified in India and has since spread to almost 100 countries.

Indonesia entered a lockdown on July 10, by which point the country was reporting more than 30,000 new cases each day. The government said it is "mobilizing all resources" to deal with the Covid-19 surge, including bringing in oxygen from other countries to increase the supply.

But experts say Indonesia is now bearing the cost of not locking down early enough.

And the current numbers likely don't capture the whole picture. More than 27% of tests come back positive, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, giving Indonesia one of the highest test positivity rates in the world. The numbers suggest that many cases still aren't being caught.

A survey published last Saturday showed nearly half of Jakarta's residents may have contracted Covid-19 -- more than 12 times the number of cases officially recorded in the Indonesian capital at the time when the research was carried out.

"Without appropriate testing, many provinces are unable to isolate confirmed cases on time," the World Health Organization said in its most recent situation report.

Just a common cold

Another major barrier to controlling Indonesia's outbreak is the flood of misinformation.

For months, WhatsApp messages have spread fake news about ineffective Covid-19 treatments. Hoaxes about the vaccines have circulated on social media, making some people unwilling to take the shot for fear it could cause serious disease or death. And because of misinformation, many people in Indonesia still aren't taking Covid-19 seriously, even as cases rise around them.

Amid all the noise, warnings about the severity of Covid-19 are being lost.

A few weeks ago, Karunia Sekar Kinanti, 32, noticed her two-month-old son Zhafran had a fever, but she assumed it was just a common cold.

Her mother had a flu and cough, but Kinanti didn't think it was Covid because her mother still had a sense of smell. "Her symptoms didn't seem to be Covid-19, so I was calm about responding to it," she said. "Then Zhafran, me, and my other child got sick, too."

Two weeks ago, as he became weaker and his breathing became more labored, she brought Zhafran to hospital, where scans showed Covid-19 had already damaged his right lung.

She remembers the doctor telling her to prepare for the worst. "You can be optimistic, but it all depends on God," she remembers him saying.

On July 5, Kinanti's mother died. Kinanti still doesn't know whether her mother had Covid because she wasn't tested. Kinanti didn't go to her funeral -- she was in hospital with her young son.

Aman B. Pulungan, the president of the Indonesian Pediatric Society, said it's common for parents to assume their child doesn't have Covid-19, in part because many people in Indonesia are unaware children can be infected.

Families do little to protect children from the virus, and even when they are infected, parents often think it's a common cold. Schools were closed last year, and have been closed again as part of this latest lockdown, but Indonesian children are currently on summer holidays.

"We don't protect our children. This is the problem," he said.

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The broader problem is continuing skepticism over Covid-19, according to an article published last month by Yatun Sastramidjaja, an associate fellow with the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and Amirul Adli Rosli, a research officer at the same institute.

"A more extreme type of commentary has been making its rounds on social media, questioning the legitimacy of the government's pandemic response altogether, and even dismissing any official information about Covid-19," they wrote.

Overwhelmed resources

When Kinanti and her baby Zhafran arrived at the hospital, all the intensive care unit beds were already full.

A front desk officer took pity on Zhafran and helped them get a room, and the next day, they were moved to an isolation room with other children infected with Covid-19. Zhafran was the youngest of them all, she said.

When Kinanti talked to CNN earlier this month, she said there were nine children in the hospital room with them, and many more were waiting for beds.

Indonesia's crisis is now playing out in a similar way as India's second wave, with a shortage of oxygen tanks and patients traipsing from hospital to hospital trying to find help. Sudirman Said, the secretary general of Indonesian Red Cross, said patients were traveling for hours to access vital medical care.

"Sick patients are just waiting for new deaths so they can even have a chance of making it inside a hospital," Project HOPE's Executive Director for Indonesia, Edhie Rahmat, said in a statement earlier this month, adding that many hospitals have built tents to care for patients outside the buildings. "The peak for the second Covid-19 wave in Indonesia has not been reached yet."

The outbreak and the shortage of hospital beds makes those with underlying conditions even more vulnerable. According to Pulungan, from the Indonesian Pediatric Society, many children dying of Covid-19 have underlying health conditions.

That was the case for Tantien Hermawati's baby Baswara Catra Wijaya, who was born with heart disease.

She believes he may have been infected with Covid-19 when he was in hospital in November last year having surgery for his condition. After he caught Covid-19, she could barely look at her baby's face -- it was obvious he was in pain.

He died on December 11, 2020, before he had even reached four months old. Hermawati believes she was lucky -- at least she was able to attend his funeral.

She advises other parents to be more careful and cautious than she was, and stay at home to avoid exposing children to Covid.

"It's really sad if our children get infected -- our babies can't tell us which part of their body are hurt, and we also don't know it. So please just stay at home and obey the health protocol."

The future

Indonesia's main hope in addressing the spiraling crisis are vaccines, the country's President Joko Widodo said Wednesday.

"Fair and equal access to vaccines must be guaranteed since we see there is still a wide gap in vaccine access throughout the country," he said, according to Antara News.

Earlier this month, the White House announced it would send 3 million doses of Moderna vaccine to support Indonesia against the surge. On Tuesday more than 3 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Indonesia through the global COVAX program, the eighth such shipment to arrive in the country. Indonesia has received more than 14 million vaccines through the program, according to state media.

But for the millions already affected by Covid, those vaccines will come too late.

For Kinanti and her baby Zhafran, the situation is looking up. His doctor is more optimistic about his survival, but warns that Zhafran might always have diminished lung capacity.

She says she underestimated Covid, and thought it was impossible that it could affect her child: "I was late when I reached the hospital, and I really regret it."

Suharyanto, the father of three, lives with the guilt of not knowing if he brought Covid-19 into their home. He works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Semarang City, in central Java province; he was always coming and going -- but his wife stayed at home.

"The children are already carrying on as normal. But me, I still cry on my own. I regret things but I just never imagined that this could happen," he said. "I still can't believe that she was gone that fast."

Suharyanto wants people to understand that Covid is not fake news or a conspiracy -- to him, it is painfully real.

"They've never had their family die from Covid," he said.

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(Newser)  The Biden administration is investigating multiple incidents of US diplomats in Austria suffering from a mystery illness not unlike what struck their counterparts in Cuba years earlier. Twenty officials in Vienna have reported symptoms since the president took office this year, the New Yorker first reported Friday. Per BBC, the brain condition has been reported elsewhere in the world, but the number of afflicted in Vienna--an historic hotspot for espionage--is higher than anywhere outside Havana. The problem has been labeled the Havana Syndrome, because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the US Embassy there, per the AP. US officials at the time accused Cuba of carrying out "sonic attacks." In May, officials said at least 130 cases across the government were under investigation, up from several dozen last year.

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People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms. Some believe the unexplained injuries, which include brain damage, are the result of attacks with microwave or radio wave weapons. However, despite years of study there is no consensus as to what or who might be behind the incidents or whether they are, in fact, attacks. Particularly alarming are revelations of at least two possible incidents in the Washington area, including one case near the White House in November in which an official reported dizziness.

(Read more Havana syndrome stories.)
(Newser)  The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, held for several hours, and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said Saturday. No one has been arrested in connection with Friday's assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26. The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement demanding a quick investigation, saying she was "severely tortured." A hospital medical report said she suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs, and was badly beaten, the AP reports. There was a suspicion that she had broken bones, and X-rays were ordered, the report said. The report also said that her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was brought to the hospital in Islamabad by police. There were no details about the abduction or her release. Pakistan said security at the residence of the Afghan ambassador has been reinforced.

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The Afghan foreign ministry condemned the "heinous act" and expressed concern for Afghan diplomats and their families in Pakistan. Relations between the two countries are fraught with suspicion and animosity. They routinely trade accusations, with Afghanistan claiming Pakistan is sending thousands of jihadi militants to fight in Afghanistan and providing safe haven for the Taliban. Pakistan in turn accuses Kabul of harboring the anti-Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistanthe Pakistani Talibanand the secessionist Baluchistan Liberation Army. As violence escalates in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, some Afghan officials have stepped up rhetoric against Pakistan. A Pakistani journalist who was shot in 2014 in Karachi noted that Pakistani journalists and even a police officer have been abducted in Islamabad, with few arrests ever made.

(Read more Pakistan stories.)
(Newser)  Facebook hosts a lot of good information about the COVID vaccine on its platform, and doesnt deserve to be blamed for deaths, its vice president of integrity said. Guy Rosen pushed back on President Joe Bidens claim that social media companies are killing people, CNBC reports. Rosen also testily pointed out that social media isnt the reason the Biden administration fell just short of its 70% vaccination goal, either. Facebook and other social media platforms host a lot of misinformation, to be sure.

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But 85% of users are vaccinatedapparently not swayed by sketchy claims and conspiracy theories, Rosen said in a statement. Facebook also pointed out that millions of Americans have used its vaccine finder tool, too. Bidens assertion has made his relationship with the social media company testy, Politico reports, and Facebook is not pleased. We will not be distracted by accusation which arent supported by the facts, a company statement said. (Read more Facebook stories.)
(Newser)  The waters have begun to recede in parts of Germany after historic rainfall and flooding, providing a clearer look at the extent of the damage. It's a sight that Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday is "surreal, ghostly," while in Schuld, where the Ahr river overflowed and swept away houses. Surveying the damage in Adenau, per CNN, she said, "It is shockingI can almost say that the German language doesn't have words for the devastation." As crews searched for more victims in cars, flooded homes, and debris in the streets, the death toll reached 185. Hundreds more are missing, and thousands can't go home. Many lack drinking water. People drowned in their basements trying to clear them of water, and on roads that became rivers. The surging water tore facades off houses, per the Washington Post, destroyed bridges, and lifted cars into trees. Thousands of people were rescued from rooftops, many by helicopter. An official with Merkel in Adenau called it "a place of horror and destruction."

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The flooding began in western Germany last week, then reached Belgium and the Netherlands. More storms have arrived in Germany, with downpours overnight in Bavaria and Saxony. There's flooding now in Austria and Switzerland. Evacuations have taken place in parts of the southern Netherlands, and much of the region is preparing for more floodingas are the parts of Germany already hit. Belgium said that the danger has passed in its flooded areas and that their biggest need now is drinking water. In the town of Pepinster, however, officials warn that the ground is unstable and that houses could collapse still, per the AP. Pope Francis prayed for the victims and crews Sunday in his Vatican address. "May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members," he said. In Germany, Merkel promised survivors that the government will work to "set the world right again in this beautiful region, step by step." (Read more Germany stories.)
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Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy after midnight with light rain possible. Low 58F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy after midnight with light rain possible. Low 58F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ben Simon assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, instructs during a dry-fire exercise at Tondibiah, Niger, May 25, 2021. Soldiers plan to take the skills they learned and train current and future Nigerien forces on the U.S. M224 60MM Mortar System.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Nepali mission in the Kingdom has renewed its call for undocumented Nepali workers to shed their fears of arrest and come forward to get their Covid-19 jabs offered for free.

The attempt is genuinely for vaccinating and not a trap to detain them, the embassy said, assuring that they will take no actions against workers. Padam Sundas, Nepali ambassador to Bahrain, told Tribune that even after publishing multiple notices, migrants turnout is depressingly low.

Till now, we managed to register only 50 illegal immigrants and workers for jabs, Sundas revealed. He points out that there are around 600 undocumented Nepali workers in Bahrain.

It is not an impossible number, but the embassy says they do not want to leave any stones unturned. The concern is only about the 600 undocumented workers, as nearly 95% of around 35,000 documented Nepali workers in Bahrain have received the jabs.

Repeating his appeal to undocumented workers to register for vaccination, Sundas warns that hiding away from vaccination will not help them stay safe. The Bahraini government has all the details of the undocumented Nepali workers and knows who are they and where they have been living, Sundas added.

The government knows how many of them had renewed their visas and how many had returned to Nepal. The name of each person, passport number, CPR details are all there in the government records, a notice posted on the embassys Facebook account clarifies.

The ambassador said it is not wise to turn away from vaccines for fear of getting arrested, as the government, if wanted, could do that at any moment, with them having the records of all Nepalis who had arrived in Bahrain. So, dont lose this opportunity.To register, use this link: https://bh.nepalembassy.gov.np/ covid-19-vaccine/ The ambassador told Tribune that they will organise a vaccination camp for undocumented Nepalis as the registration improves.

According to an earlier report, a total of 15 Nepalis have died of Covid-19 in Bahrain. Of them, 13 died during the ongoing second wave of the pandemic.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Plans are on the anvil to enhance the Underground Telecommunication corridors in the Kingdom. Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, in a tender, said they are looking to appoint a consultancy to study the possibility of enhancing the underground telecommunication infrastructure deployed in Bahrain.

The tender document says TRA is looking forward to preparing policies and standards for the deployment in line with best practices in the industry.

Those interested should make their bids before the 16th of next month. Bidder should produce a BD500 bond and fee of BD15 for participating.

The telecommunications sector in Bahrain is robust and progressive, and it contributes about 4% a year to the GDP. In Bahrain, the telecommunications industry has the right to a one-meter corridor on each side of public roads for telecommunication infrastructure.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Kuwait Finance House  Bahrain announced Fatima Abdulla Mohammed as the first Libshara mega prize winner of US$500,000 for 2021, as part of the Libshara investments savings scheme.

For the second time this year, 70 winners were announced as part of the Our Children special segment with exclusive Eidiya cash prizes worth $500 each, in addition to the 80 prize winners of the Libshara savings account.

The Libshara draw held virtually on July 8 selected a total of 151 random winners, the largest number of winners to date for a monthly prize draw.

Hamed Mashal, Head of Retail Banking, commented: We would like to extend our congratulations to all the winners of the Libshara investment account for June, including Fatima Abdulla Mohammed who won the mega prize of half a million US dollars. Moreover, we are proud to congratulate our one hundred and fifty winners for the June draw alone, which included the exclusive additional category of Eidiya cash prizes for Our Children special segment winners.

On behalf of his daughter, Abdulla Mohammed expressed his excitement in winning the first mega prize in the Libshara investment account for the year 2021 and commented: I never expected that she would win the mega prize, and I am glad that the investments into the Libshara scheme have paid off.

I had opened a Libshara account for her through the KFH Jazeel Banking App and started depositing her savings into the account, and Im extremely thankful that she has won this mega prize.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Hundreds of pilgrims yesterday arrived in Mecca, heralding the start of the Hajj pilgrimage, which this year will allow only a select 60,000 people. Hundreds of Muslims arrived at the al-Zaidi station in Mecca, where 1,770 buses took them to the Kaabas courtyards after checking their permits.

After being loaded on buses and brought to Meccas Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the tawaf, the circumambulation of the Kaaba.

Many carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat.

Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the tawaf of arrival, hajj ministry spokesman Hisham al-Saeed said.

After each group leaves, a sterilisation process is carried out at the sanctuary.

Ahead of their pilgrimage, the pilgrims downloaded the Shaaer Smart Card mobile app, which allows them to rate Hajj services, access transportations, and smart gates, among others.

Saudi authorities said they hope to repeat the success of last years Hajj, which allowed only 10,00 people, residing in Saudi Arabia.

Social distancing is enforced at all times to ensure the pilgrims do not contract the coronavirus. Robots are stationed around the courtyards of the Kaaba to spray sanitiser throughout the day.

Robots are also serving holy Zamzam water to pilgrims and workers.

Saudi Security officials said they fined nine people $2,666 for attempting to perform the holy pilgrimage without a permit.

The offenders were found in the Mina district of Mecca, otherwise known as the tent city, which houses pilgrims each year.

Sami al-Shuwairekh, the Hajj security spokesperson, in a statement carried by SPA, warned against attempting to reach holy sites without valid permits.


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Redding, like most Danbury-area towns, was no stranger to having a transfusion of new residents populate its neighborhoods amid the ongoing pandemic and continues to see the change.

Between 2020 and 2021, the town reported about 342 property transfers and its grand list slightly grew even as real estate prices dropped, according to data the News-Times obtained from Redding. So far in 2021, the towns experienced an additional 199 property transfers, keeping with the booming trends.

Newcomers and soon-to-be Redding-ites have shared why they chose Redding among all that Connecticut has to offer. The reason why people flocked there has become clear. Its all about location and space.

Laurie Thompson and her husband Rob Commisso were living in Larchmont, New York and searching for a new place to call home before the pandemic struck. When theyd been considering Colorado, the pandemic set in and they realized it was too drastic a change for their family. Instead, they landed in rural Vermont, falling in love with it for a short time. But even in that rustic bliss, something was still missing.

We were thinking how can we combine this with still being close to our family and close enough to New York City, she said. One weekend house hunting trip and we decided to move here.

Our current house [in Redding] couldnt even exist in Larchmont because there isnt enough land or space, she added.

Laura Cole and Emily Fernandez, who both bought Redding homes and are soon moving from Washington D.C. and Indiana, said their decision came down to similar reasons.

We wanted to live somewhere that was within distance of cities but we really just needed more yard space and room to roam, Cole said.

While both families looked in other areas, they chose Redding because of its beauty and natural landscape. Though securing a home in Redding was wild with the fierce competition thats consumed the current real estate market, Cole said. Fernandez agreed.

We had seen a good dozen homes and were interested in others but they were off the market before we could see them, she said.

Several of these newcomers noted they had to move quickly on their home purchases, throwing in offers and signing off within a day.

Rose Villani, also moving to the town soon, remembered there were 17 offers in about 26 hours for one house she was interested in. She knew it would be competitive going into the process, but she didnt imagine it to be that fast-moving.

It was a little bit stressful, she said. Its kind of a crazy time.
NEWTOWN  A national survey by a Sandy Hook nonprofit finds disappointing disparities between families and educators about school safety perceptions, but highlights resource officers as a bright spot for the new academic year in August.

School resource officers provide an additional level of safety and comfort, and thats what you want to see, said Michele Gay, executive director of Safe and Sound Schools, a nonprofit she founded with Alissa Parker after their daughters were slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School with 18 other first-graders and six educators. This is what we want to see in every community  the SROs walking the halls with administrators and teachers, playing basketball with the kids.

Gay spoke with Hearst Connecticut Media last week after the release of the nonprofits 2021 State of School Safety Report, a survey of students, parents and school officials conducted annually to identify gaps in attitudes about school safety, and to uncover effective strategies for crisis prevention, response, and recovery.

Although the study finds school officials need to do a better job explaining to families district plans for classroom security and emergency preparedness, the survey finds that parents and students are much closer in agreement with school officials about the need for school police officers.

In fact, when all groups were asked to prioritize the safety area to invest more money, school resource officers were a common top choice, after mental health, training software, and security and technology equipment.

Thisdemonstrates an opportunity for open dialogue between school resource officers, the students, teachers and administration officials they protect, the nonprofits report recommends. Students may view SROs as a visible deterrent but may not understand other ways in which they can engage to improve comprehensive crisis prevention and response. They need to see SROs as allies and trusted resources, not adversaries.

The nonprofits survey comes as school districts here and across Connecticut have completed post-pandemic plans to return to school in the fall  plans that under state guidelines were supposed to ensure strong two-way communication with partners such as families, educators, and staff.

Back to school

As schools resume on-campus education this fall, following a year of uncertainty and isolation during COVID, experts anticipate increased volatility in school environments, the survey says.

The survey also comes at a time that police departments here and across the country are adjusting to reform measures that resulted from the widespread civil unrest last summer over the slaying in police custody of George Floyd.

School resource officers were caught up in calls for reform, including a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy that would block federal money being spent on school police officers and spend it on helping districts hire more counselors and social service workers to address the root of school-based violence: poverty and untreated trauma.

Murphys bill got headlines but no traction in Connecticut because, according to leading educators and law enforcement leaders, the bill didnt recognize the benefits students, staff and families receive when local police departments and school districts devise successful SRO programs.

Nowhere in Connecticut is that school-police relationship stronger than in Newtown, Gay said. In addition to school resource officers, Newtown has nine armed school guards  all retired police officers  who are part of a larger 19-member civilian school security force.

Knowing the SROs and the level of training the security folk that report to them go through, Newtown certainly wants to see people out there keeping our schools safe, said Gay. When you get away from the narratives on TV and social media and actually ask parents and students and teachers what they want to spend (security) money on, the conversation always comes around to SROs.

The nonprofit survey, which was discussed by a panel during a broadcast Friday from the National Association of School Resources Officers school safety conference in Florida, was conducted from late March to early April by interviewing 600 parents, 600 upper-grade students, 370 public safety officials and 500 school stakeholders, including administrators, teachers and health professionals.

Raptor Technologies and Boston Universitys College of Communication helped prepare the survey of public, private and charter schools, described as urban, suburban and rural.

The survey recommends districts close any gaps between police and schools with communication.

The role of SROs can vary, by district, and unfortunately, that role isnt always communicated with clearly defined roles and responsibilities as recommended by the National Association of School Resource Officers, the survey said.

Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour agreed.

I have been involved with the SRO program for 20 years and the reason they were put in schools was to provide positive and supportive relationships. Law enforcement was just a small piece of it, and it was only for those times when an incident threatened the whole school community, Ridenhour said. It gives students the ability to see police for what they are, which is guardians of the community, and to help young people become the same.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
The heavy rainfall that hit New England washed out some roads and bridges and flooded basements.

A bridge in Brattleboro, Vermont, was completely washed out, Charles Keir III, assistant fire chief, told the Brattleboro Reformer on Sunday.

Brattleboro received about 2.5 inches of rainfall during Saturday afternoon and night, the fire department said.

In West Haven, Vermont, the Devil's Bowl Speedway canceled their racing event scheduled Sunday.

Persistent rain is expected to continue through the night," organizers said in a news release. They also pulled the plug on Saturday's event because of the rain.

In New Hampshire, southwestern areas received over 3 inches of rain on Saturday. The town of Richmond got 4.98 inches in 24-hour period, WMUR-TV reported.

Several roads were closed in the western part of the state on Sunday because of flooding, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation said.

For your safety please do not travel through flooded roadways," Commissioner Victoria Sheehan said in a statement.

New Hampshire authorities also encouraged campers along rivers and streams to evacuate if flooding is occurring.

Flooded streets and power outages also were reported in Worcester, Massachusetts, and in parts of Rhode Island.

There was no word of injuries.

The storm was moving out of the area on Sunday.
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The Toronto-based waterproofing contractors serve many cities in Canada for leaky basements, foundation crack repair, and waterproofing.

TORONTO, July 18, 2021 /CNW/ -- With July historically being Canada's rainiest month of the year, residents dealing with a leaky basement are turning to basement waterproofing services from DryShield Water Solutions. The Toronto-based contractors offer superior services in Canada that will protect your home for years to come.

DryShield is the leading contractor in Canada when it comes to waterproofing. Offering their customers dependable, competent, and cost-effective basement waterproofing services, the company is often known as the best in the region.

DryShield has set the benchmark for all other contracting companies in Canada with their wet basement waterproofing services. With over two and a half decades of providing their services in Canada, DryShield is a household name.

Dealing with leaky basements can be costly, and especially so in July when the country gets an average of 60mm of rainfall. When noticing water in your basement, there is likely some type of leak that requires an expert, which is where DryShield waterproofing leads the way with services that include foundation crack repair and waterproofing.

Located in the heart of Toronto, Canada, DryShield is the area's most trusted and reliable waterproofing contractor. Their team of contractors has combined decades of experience in the industry and can handle any waterproofing job. Contractors are constantly updating their skills to familiarize themselves with the industry's latest technologies.

"We're continuing our proud tradition of personalized care to our valued clients," said Jonathan McMahon, President of DryShield Water Solutions. "We make it our primary goal to provide you with the right expertise and solutions that you need to protect your home and its foundation, and also to provide you with state-of-the-art waterproofing solutions that are tailored to meet your demands."

DryShield offers two solutions for basement waterproofing: external solutions and internal solutions. They want to make sure homeowners never have to deal with a leaky basement again, which is why the company offers both services and provides an extra layer of protection against future leaks.

Their external solution uses geotextile filter cloth installed around a home's foundation, ensuring water from the outside cannot get in, keeping basements dry. Their internal solution is more involved than the external - the team will expose the bottom sides of the basement footings, break the concrete from the foundation walls, and build a trench around the wall footings. Water goes into the trenches and filters through that rather than standing in the basement.

DryShield is the front runner when it comes to creating innovative Toronto waterproofing solutions. They offer a free cost estimate tool that can help you determine what your leaky basement will cost you.

They pride themselves on their customer satisfaction, always ready to help Canadian homeowners waterproof their basement.

About DryShield Water Solutions

DryShield Water Solutions has an extensive array of basement waterproofing projects. In each of these services, ranging from small-scale houses to historic buildings across Toronto and Ontario, we have stamped our excellence. DryShield's basement waterproofing Toronto has served some of the largest corporate projects for waterproofing, such as the Pearson International Airport, Scotia Bank, and Wal-Mart, to name a few, within the Greater Toronto area. For more information, visit www.dryshield.ca or follow on Twitter (@Dryshield), Facebook (@DryshieldWaterproofingToronto), and LinkedIn (@dryshield-water-solutions-corp-).

Media Contact

Jonathan McMahon

[email protected]

SOURCE Dryshield Waterproofing
All-party meeting was scheduled at 11am today (i.e. on Sunday, July 18), just a day before the Parliament convenes for its monsoon session. ANI news agency reports that the meeting, called by Union Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi, was also expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The monsoon session of the Parliament is slated to start tomorrow (i.e. from Monday, July 19) and is expected to conclude on August 13, with 19 days of business. Both the houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have already issued official orders stating commencing of the Monsoon session.

The Sixth Session of the 17th Lok Sabha is likely to have around 20 sittings. Parliament will meet from 11 am to 6 pm. It will be the first session after the second wave of Covid-19 broke out in the country which will be held by following Covid protocols which include maintaining social distancing, though both houses will sit simultaneously.

Opposition parties met right after all party meet to reach to a consensus on issues to be raised in the question hour and zero hour sessions which are to be held. With the Opposition all ready to put down the ruling BJP-led NDA government on a host of issues  including the rise in petrol and diesel prices, the alleged Covid-19 mismanagement, and vaccine deficiency, the monsoon session is expected to be quite stormy. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also chair a customary meeting on Sunday with all the floor leaders of the Lower House of the Parliament to ensure its smooth proceedings.

Moreover he took stock of Covid-19 related preparations earlier this week, ahead of the Parliament beginning its monsoon session. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, all arrangements to adhere to preventive norms will be followed during the monsoon session, Birla said at a press conference. Those who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease will be requested to undergo an RT-PCR test before entering the premises of Parliament during the session, he added.

38 Bills are pending in Parliament including 9 listed for consideration and passing, while 17 others are listed for presentation, consideration, and passing. However, according to reports, the government is likely to take around 15 bills in the session including the DNA Technology Bill, Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens, Tribunal Reforms Bill and Factoring Regulation Amendment Bill. The government has listed 23 bills to be tabled in the Lower House including 17 new bills and six bills that have been introduced earlier.
Amid the ongoing tussle within the Punjab Congress between Sidhu & Capt Amarinder Singh, in a statement released today, 10 Congress MLAs urged the party high command not to let down Capt. Amarinder Singh.

Amid the ongoing tussle within the Punjab Congress between Sidhu & Capt Amarinder Singh, in a statement released today, 10 Congress MLAs urged the party high command not to let down Capt. Amarinder Singh, due to whose unrelenting efforts the party stands well entrenched in Punjab.

The MLAs said there was no doubt that the appointment of state PPCC chief was the prerogative of the party high command but at the same time washing dirty linen in public has only decreased the party graph during the last couple of months. The 10 Congress MLAs said that Capt. Amarinder Singh commanded immense respect across different sections of the society in the state, particularly the farmers for whom he even endangered his chair as CM.

Sources confirmed that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is against the Central leaders peace formula where Navjot Singh Sidhu is to be elevated as the state Congress chief. Following the turmoil now, each faction is drawing up its list of supporting MLAs, sources confirmed where Navjot Sidhu held a meeting with six MLAs, including three cabinet ministers, from the anti-Amarinder Singh camp.

Three of the ministers Sidhu met were Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Charanjit Singh Channi and Tript Rajinder Bajwa. All of the three had openly rebelled against Mr Singh. Amarinder Singh also held meetings with party MLAs and MPs at his private farmhouse in Mohali.
Disagreements over the sharing of the Krishna river water continue to shape politics in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Likewise yet another water war between Delhi and Haryana began last week.

The regional media describes the on-going fight over water resources as jala jagadam which once again drew the police forces of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana into a tense standoff last week at the common reservoirs of the two states. Even though relations between the two state administrations improved after Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy became Chief Minister in 2019, disagreements over the sharing of the Krishna river water continue to shape politics in the region.

Andhra Pradesh government alleges and has been struggling to contain Telangana since the latter unilaterally started drawing Krishna water for power generation at Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala projects two weeks ago without approvals from the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), an autonomous body that was set up after the bifurcation of the state in 2014, to manage and regulate the waters in the Krishna basin.

Hence, the ongoing dispute with Telangana over river Krishna waters and implementation of promises made to the state under the AP Reorganisation Act are some of the main issues that the YSR Congress will raise in the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament. Ahead of the Parliament session beginning on July 19, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a meeting with his party MPs to discuss the strategy to be adopted and the issues to be raised.

Talking to reporters at the end of the meeting, YSRC Parliamentary Party leader V Vijayasai Reddy said they would raise the issue of illicit utilization of Krishna water by the neighbouring Telangana government for power generation, depriving AP of water for irrigation and drinking needs. The state had already filed a petition in the Supreme Court on the issue and has scored a big victory without making much noise as the Centre issued a notification fixing the jurisdiction of river management boards without taking Telanganas objections into consideration.

YSRC legislator Malladi Vishnu said that the Centres notification on river boards jurisdiction was big relief for AP. BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao welcomed the Centres decision. He said that the notification would put an end to water wars between the two states.

Likewise yet another water war between Delhi and Haryana has come to an end. Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Raghav Chadha on Tuesday announced that Haryana had released 16,000 cusecs of water into Yamuna River, bringing an end to the inter-state water dispute. He said that the Supreme Court was approached by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and, after several discussions between officials of the two states, Haryana finally released Delhis legitimate share of water.

The current dispute between the Delhi Jal Board and the Haryana government began last week, with the DJB claiming that Haryana was withholding 120 MGD (million gallons a Day) of water which was Delhis legitimate share as per the 1996 Supreme Court Ruling. The Haryana Government responded to the allegations on Tuesday, with CM Manohar Lal Khattar stating that Haryana Govt. did not withhold even one drop of water from Delhi despite having higher demand than Delhi.
China is using questionable methods to ensure it becomes a world leader in semiconductor technology amid the crisis. Beijing has been pressuring the Dutch government to allow its companies to buy ASML Holding NVs marquee product.

Many sectors from auto industry to consumer goods and smartphone manufacturers have incurred losses despite rising demand for products due to an acute shortage of semiconductors chips  used for manufacturing several goods including electronic products, vehicles, smartphones and other gadgets. The global chip supply crunch, which started after the pandemic in 2020, has intensified over the last few months and major companies across several industries are struggling to meet the rising demand for electronic goods and components.

Some key reasons behind the global chip shortage are supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, a sharp rise in demand for electronic goods as more people are now working from home and lack of investment in chip building capacities. Patrick Armstrong, CIO of Plurimi Investment Managers, told that the chip shortage could last at least 18 months before the demand-supply equation normalises.

A U.K. lawmaker believes China is using questionable methods to ensure it becomes a world leader in semiconductor technology amid the crisis. Iain Duncan Smith, a member of parliament and the former leader of the Conservative Party, told the U.K. Parliament on Thursday that China has identified semiconductor technology as a key area it wants to dominate globally. The industry is currently led by Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S, which are home to chipmaking giants TSMC, Samsung and Intel respectively. China is busy stealing technology, getting other peoples intellectual property rights, and buying up companies, Duncan Smith said.

Chips are used to power everything from parking sensors in cars to sophisticated missile systems, but theyre currently in short supply and nations are taking steps to ensure they have enough of them. On July 5, Chinese-owned Nexperia confirmed its intensions to buy Newport Wafer Fab, the U.K.s biggest chip manufacturer. Several other European chip firms  including Britains Imagination Technologies, Frances Linxens and the Netherlands Ampleon  have been sold to state-backed Chinese firms in recent years.

The U.K. government initially said it has no plans to intervene in the Newport Wafer Fab acquisition, but last Wednesday Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the deal will be subject to a review by national security adviser Stephen Lovegrove. Duncan Smith said he thinks the government is in an unwholly mess in relation to the deal. I wonder in the course of this failure to make a decision did they look at what China thinks of semiconductors? he asked. China is the busiest exporter in the world and is busy buying up semiconductor technology everywhere it can find it.

Moreover, Beijing has been pressuring the Dutch government to allow its companies to buy ASML Holding NVs marquee product: a machine that is essential to making advanced microprocessors. China wants the machines for domestic chip makers, so smartphone giant Huawei Technologies Co. and other Chinese tech companies can be less reliant on foreign suppliers. But ASML hasnt sent a single one because the Netherlandsunder pressure from the U.S.is withholding an export license to China. The Biden administration has asked the government to restrict sales because of national-security concerns, according to U.S. officials.
Tensions escalated between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the daughter of Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks.

As Taliban reign in the southern parts of Afghanistan and tensions escalates between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in a major development the daughter of Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped. The said kidnapping was suspected to be done by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks as per officials and a hospital report. Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Ambassador Najib Alikhil, was on her way home on Friday when she was kidnapped and severely tortured, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, without giving more details of the abduction in Islamabad.

Amid widespread consternation over the case in both nations, Afghan authorities summoned Pakistans ambassador to Kabul to lodge a formal complaint. In a statement, Afghanistans foreign ministry said it that strongly condemns this heinous act. It further expressed its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan.

Afghan envoy's daughter was abducted from Blue Area in Islamabad where she went to buy a gift for younger brother. She was thrown after 5 hours with her hands & feet tied. A tissue paper & rupees 50 note with message  your turn is next  &  communist tied to her dupatta.  Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) July 17, 2021

Neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty ties. Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for Taliban insurgents, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

Last October, Afghanistan shut down its consulate in Peshawar over the removal of the Afghan national flag by Pakistani authorities from a disputer marketplace, which Kabul said belongs to Afghanistan.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  OPEC and allied nations agreed Sunday to raise the production limits imposed on five countries next year and boost their production by 2 million barrels per day by the end of this year, ending a dispute that roiled oil markets.

The disagreement, sparked by a demand by the United Arab Emirates to increase its own production, temporarily upended an earlier meeting of the cartel. In a statement Sunday, the cartel announced that Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE would see their limits rise.

What bonds us together is way much beyond what you may imagine, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said. We differ here and there but we bond.

Prince Abdulaziz declined to elaborate on how they came to that consensus, saying it would see the cartel lose our advantage of being mysterious and clever. But he clearly bristled at earlier reports on the dispute between Saudi Arabia, long the heavyweight of the Vienna-based cartel, and the UAE.

Prince Abdulaziz deferred at the beginning of a news conference afterward to al-Mazrouei in a sign of respect.

The UAE is committed to this group and will always work with it and within this group to do our best to achieve the market balance and help everyone, al-Mazrouei said. He praised the deal as a full agreement among all the parties.

Outside of OPEC, however, tensions still remain between the neighboring nations. The UAE largely has withdrawn from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, while also diplomatically recognizing Israel. Saudi Arabia also has opened its doors to Qatar again after a yearslong boycott, though relations remain icy between Abu Dhabi and Doha. Saudi Arabia also has aggressively sought international business headquarters  something that could affect the UAE's business hub Dubai.

Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the country's de facto ruler, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been close though over the years. The two leaders likely will meet Monday in Saudi Arabia.

Under the new production limits, the UAE would be able to produce up to 3.5 million barrels of crude oil a day beginning in May 2022. That's below the 3.8 million barrels a day it reportedly sought. Saudi Arabia's limit of 11 million barrels a day would rise to 11.5 million, as would Russia's. Iraq and Kuwait saw smaller increases.

In its statement, OPEC acknowledged oil prices continued to improve.

Economic recovery continued in most parts of the world with the help of accelerating vaccination programs, the cartel said.

Prince Abdulaziz also mentioned OPEC members Algeria and Nigeria had raised concerns about their production limits as well.

Oil prices collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic as demand for jet fuel and gasoline dropped amid lockdowns across the globe, briefly seeing oil futures trade in the negatives. Demand since has rebounded as vaccines, while still distributed unequally across the globe, reach arms in major world economies.

Benchmark Brent crude oil traded around $73 a barrel Friday.

Once muscular enough to grind the U.S. to a halt with its 1970s oil embargo, OPEC needed non-members like Russia to push through a production cut in 2016 after prices crashed below $30 a barrel amid rising American production. That agreement in 2016 gave birth to the so-called OPEC+, which joined the cartel in cutting production to help stimulate prices.

OPEC+ agreed in 2020 to cut a record 10 million barrels of crude a day from the market to boost prices. It's slowly added some 4.2 million barrels back over time.

Beginning this August, the cartel said it separately will increase its production by 400,000 barrels a day each month through December  a total of 2 million barrels. The cartel then will assess plans on whether to phase out its current 5.8 million barrel of oil production cut by the end of 2022 as planned by the initial agreement.

OPEC member nations include Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Venezuela. Members of the so-called OPEC+ include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Prince Abdulaziz, in praising Sundays agreement, offered a cheery assessment of the future despite the recent turmoil, suggesting at one point the enlarged group might last beyond the expiration of the cuts next year.

OPEC+ is here to stay, the prince proclaimed.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
NEW HAVEN  Menstrual pads seem like a mundane product, but the lack of them in impoverished rural parts of Africa can lead to girls dropping out school, rushing into marriages, finding themselves in domestic violence situations and even jail, according to those working for change.

Rose Mutale, who was born and raised in Zambia and is a recent graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, is passionate about changing that trajectory.

Mutale, who now is going to work toward a masters degree, founded the nonprofit For Her Pride, which supplies menstrual and hygiene products to some girls in a school in rural Zambia, as well as education. The group also seeks to give girls visits to places outside their usual space to give them something to aspire to, she said.

Contributed photo /

She knows all too well the humiliation of not having sanitary pads  and using tissues, cloth or other substandard products, even though she was raised in a more middle-class environment than the girls she serves.

In some cases they have only leaves and twigs to use during menstruation and its so embarrassing that girls end up missing five days of school a month or 15 days in a term and cant keep up with the work. They also are lacking proper facilities  there are bathrooms without doors and nowhere to dispose of sanitary products, Mutale said.

It can spell self-esteem disaster.

Grades affected by missing school erodes confidence, makes it hard to catch up and reinforces stereotypes, she said.

Raised in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, Mutale moved to the United States in 2011 the day before she turned 19.

She traveled back and forth to Zambia since 2014 doing various charity work and donating money earned at her part-time jobs here.

Contributed photo /

Then, in 2017, she realized she wanted to settle on young girls and interrupting the cycle of abuse, domestic violence, poverty and other ills that come without an education.

Education unlocks the doors, she said. In Zambia, the intergenerational poverty is staggering  Its very difficult to have that class mobility in Zambia.

Mutale, 29, hopes to make the organization her full-time endeavor after earning a masters degree in health care administration and already has her fiance, Choongo Hamoonga , by her side helping to run For Her Pride.

We hope to reach all nine provinces and improve their facilities, so they can have a better menstrual experience and be able to dispose of the products in a sustainable way, Mutale said. Our mentorship part of the organization helps the girls identify their strengths and how they can build upon their skills and talents.

Contributed photo /

Hamoonga, whom she plans to marry in the fall, is general manager at a property development firm and holds a masters degree in finance from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

He said Mutales leadership and passion for the cause are sure to lead to her objectives being met.

I have been a part of the organizations outreach programs so far and it is always heartwarming to see the hope on the faces of the young girls that we reach out to when we interact with them  that glimmer of hope, and the inspiration of being part of a wider vision keeps me motivated, Hamoonga.

Ending period poverty is a possibility and this will enable the young girls to be more confident about themselves and focus on their self-development in order to have a positive impact on their communities, he said.

The focus of For Her Pride is ages 11-18 and Mutale hopes to end the trajectory and redirect the girls in a simple way with access to literature, a day at the park and other activities to motivate them to stay in school.

Sometimes they drop out because maybe they feel the achievement gap between them and their male partners is too wide, she said.

Contributed photo /

Boys often make fun of the girls when they have their period, she said.

They leave school, end up in abusive marriages with three kids home, Mutale said.

Mutale said women can even end up being jailed as a result of the dangerous cycle, such as a woman she visited in prison who accidentally killed her drunk, abusive husband by defending herself.

Part of the education is teaching women to see the signs of an abusive partner and to even help them understand HIV and AIDS , she said. Another part of it is teaching women how to tolerate and help menstrual pain that can lead to school absences.

Through her part-time jobs, Mutale funds 30 girls monthly in Malalas Primary School, a school of 150 girls and boys. The cost is $10 per girl.

That care package includes pads, deodorant and other toiletries.

Workshops were planned to teach girls how to make their own reusable pads, but canceled due to high rates of COVID-19.

She hopes to build the girls their own bathroom facility.

Although Mutale grew up middle class in the city, through family issues, she didnt have access to menstrual products, she said, and it was very humiliating. She became more introverted and timid than she otherwise would have been, Mutale said.

It was a really, really tough period, Mutale said. I always had hope and knew I would be in a better place. These girls (in rural areas) dont have hope for that.

She said the ultimate goal is to improve education outcomes for girls in Zambia.

We hope to have more college educated girls and women, who would otherwise not be able to attain that level of education due to lack of access to basic needs, Mutale said.

Hamoonga said he did not understand the negative impact of period poverty and the challenges faced by young girls as he was growing up.

Being part of the organization has broadened my scope immensely regarding the issues surrounding period poverty. Men and boys in our communities need to be more informed about the role they can play in ending period poverty, he said. Women and girls definitely need us to step up and support them a lot more than we do.

To donate, visit the For Her Pride website or mail donations in care of Mutale to 187 English St., New Haven, CT 06513.
Students Lyla Mendoza, left, Nesha Moskowitz, second from left, Giovanni Pierre, center, and camp educator Adrian Oller, center right, examine wild sorrel during a hike at Mass Audubon's Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Bishop David Oyedepo, President and founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, has described President Muhammadu Buharis administration ...





Bishop David Oyedepo, President and founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, has described President Muhammadu Buharis administration as evil filled with wilderness.

The worlds second richest pastor made the remark on Sunday during a sermon at the churchs headquarters, Canaanland, Ota in Ogun State.

Oyedepo who was speaking on the power of prophecy, said he warned Nigerians in 2015 prior to President Buharis victory, stressing that some fellows were angered by his prophecy until they are now faced with the reality.

In his words, I am privileged to be among the few God shows things long before they happen.

Some fellows were upset with me when I was talking against this evil government.

I told this Nation, you are heading for trouble: 2015. Are they in trouble or in turbulence? Turbulence.

I saw the wickedness of the wicked being forced on the land. Now no direction, no motion.

When a Prophet speaks, he speaks the heart of God.
Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, on Saturday, reacted to the latest attack on residents of Igangan in Ibarapa area of Oyo Stat...





Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, on Saturday, reacted to the latest attack on residents of Igangan in Ibarapa area of Oyo State.

Adams warned that Yorubas can no longer lament over the killings in Yorubaland.

He spoke in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi.

Adams lamented that security agents failed to foil the attack despite alleged exposure of the gunmens plan ahead of the attack.

He, therefore, called for a synergy between local security and security agents in preventing further attacks in the area.

The statement reads: Fridays attack on residents of Igangan confirmed the alarm raised five days ago by the Oyo state coordinator of the OPC, Rotimi Olumo.

We got the information of the attack, and it was widely reported in the media that the killer herdsmen were on another mission to provoke and wreak havoc on residents of Ibarapa, especially, during the festive period, but it is sad that nothing was done by the authorities concerned.

It is on this note that I urge all the local security in the area to support the security agencies in the state to put a lid on the spate of insecurity in the area.

We cannot continue to lament the killings of innocent people in Ibarapa and its environs.

The gunmen dressed in Customs uniform had attacked the Ibarapa area of the state on Friday night.

Residents of Igangan had experienced several attacks by gunmen believed to be Fulani herders.
The children of the late business mogul and the acclaimed winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, have ...





The children of the late business mogul and the acclaimed winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, have alleged that their lives are under threat over their fathers properties.

Abdul, who spoke on behalf of the concerned Kudirat Abiola children, complained they were being denied their portion of the late MKO Abiolas assets.

Kudirat, one of the wives of Abiola, was assassinated whilst her husband was being detained by the Nigerian Government in 1996.

According to him, some of the properties also belonging to the late Kudirat Abiola were sold without her childrens consent.

Among the properties in question, Abdul said, are about 400 hectares of land in Ayobo, a large expanse of land in Taraba, and RCN  a company.

He explained that the case had been taken to court but alleged that due process is being influenced.

He said, They are using funds to manipulate the process, I have been told. Let the law take its cause without any influence from any side. I was almost arrested in Taraba State. I have the necessary documents. I should not be playing with the law and another person is influencing the process.

I have been in Nigeria since 2007 and fighting these boys and they have been threatening our lives. Even in front of Zone 2 AIG, they threatened me. They said do you want to do fire-for-fire? They believe everything belongs to them and they have not done anything with this property, which is the funny thing to me. You have not gone to the farm to farm, I want to farm and you are stopping me. So, where is the problem.

In a chat with The Punch, Abdul said many of his siblings are usually scared to return to Nigeria because their safety is not guaranteed.

Some of my siblings wont even come back when they look at the stress that I am going through. They support me but keep asking me to be careful. I understand that Nigeria is not safe for anyone especially when you are fighting people that want to use all the money that belong to everybody from themselves, he added.

Abdul, who is one of the children of Kudirat Abiola, said he was concerned about how family members and those who worked for his father will benefit from their labour.

He said, Most of the family members are in support of all that we are doing. When I took over Concord, we have over 40 of our siblings from different mothers and send money to everyone, including the extended family. When we talk about the Abiola family, we are much.

It includes people who worked with my father closely, those who worked with the concord press, farms and RCN that must be taken care of. Everybody should be a beneficiary no matter how little. That is why we did the open letter.

In the open letter, the children urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order investigation into the alleged denial to their fathers properties.

We urge you to order an objective investigation and hope that we receive justice in this criminal matter. We know that the other party would also communicate with you and we look forward to that.

However, we would urge them to commence their defense with the illegal insertion of names into the company carried out by them which is the genesis of this feud. Any other matter is more or less inconsequential as far as we are concerned.

It has never been our wish to put family matters in public but we had involved the Oba of Lagos and the Alake of Egbaland years ago and our efforts were in vain. Even the late Baba Adini Alhaji Folawiyo had looked into the matter and was unable to resolve it. As a last resort, we approached your Minister of Justice years ago but once again they refused to cooperate.

We strongly believe that it is time for criminal proceedings. Enough is enough!

We have also decided to make it public to at least try to avoid the fate of our late mother who would have being turning 70 years old next month had some ruthless individuals not decided to assassinate her. We thereby urge you to inform all agencies not to be used to intimidate any of us while this investigation is being carried out, part of the lettter signed by Children of Kudirat Abiola read.
A major drug kingpin in Anambra State, Okeke Chijioke, 44, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLE...





A major drug kingpin in Anambra State, Okeke Chijioke, 44, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, with 548,000 tablets of tramadol, branded as tarkadol, recovered from his warehouse at 3 Atunya Street, Maryland Estate, Nkwelle, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.

Okekes arrest on Saturday 10th July, 2021, followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed he stocked his warehouse with the illicit drug. After the search of his warehouse, the tablets weighing 302.5 kilograms were recovered. The suspect accepted ownership of the substance recovered.

Preliminary investigation has established that tarkadol is a brand of tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention. The substance has also tested positive to amphetamine.

The drug was equally labeled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed it is a 225mg drug. It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) number or certification.

During the search of the warehouse, a double barrel pump gun with three live cartridges, which licence expired since 2019, was also discovered and recovered.

This is even as operatives of the Benue State Command of the NDLEA on road patrol in Apir village on 14th July intercepted and seized 28,400 capsules of tramadol from one Dankawu Madaki, who hails from Misah LG, Bauchi State.

In a related development, a notorious interstate drug dealer, Godiya Linus, based in Taraba but supplies narcotics to dealers in Adamawa has been arrested in the Numan area of the state. Godiya, an ex-convict, was in jail between 2012 and 2018 following his conviction on drug related charges.

A drug dealer, Mohammed Ali, had earlier been arrested on 10th July with 1.150kg of diazepam in Numan. A follow up operation led to the arrest of Godiya who supplied Ali, while investigation has since revealed that he is based in Mayolope village in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba, from where he supplies Jambutu park in Yola and other parts of Numan, using an unregistered boxer motorcycle for distribution.

Few days after Godiyas arrest, another dealer, Emmanuel Ishiwu was nabbed with different quantities of tramadol, exol-5 and diazepam, totalling 6.103kg also in Numan on 14th July, followed by the arrest of Muhammadu Garba and Shaibu Haruna with 48.500kg of cannabis in Gurin area of the state on Friday, 16th July 2021.

Commending the officers and men of the Anambra, Benue and Adamawa state commands for sustaining the offensive action in the ongoing efforts to mop up illicit drugs from every community in all parts of Nigeria, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), charged them to remain unrelenting in the discharge of their duties.
This illustration picture taken on Nov. 23, 2020, shows a bottle of the COVID-19 vaccine and a syringe next to the Pfizer and BioNTech logo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now saying it will consider to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine for those 16 and older in January. AFP via Getty Images/TNS
People take part in a demonstration to support the government of the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Thousands of Cubans took part in rare protests Sunday against the communist government, marching through a town chanting "Down with the dictatorship" and "We want liberty." TNS
A man has been arrested and accused of driving with blood alcohol levels above the legal limit during a fatal crash earlier this month that killed his son, Louisiana State Police said Sunday.

Randolph Martin Jr., 32, was booked with vehicular homicide and two counts of DWI with child endangerment. The single-car crash killed his 10-year-old son, R'madh Mitchell of New Orleans, and injured two other children who were in the car.

Martin, who is serving time in Orleans Parish prison for unrelated charges, will be booked in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center upon his release, state police said.

At around 11 p.m. on July 3, Martin was driving east on La. 18 in Waggaman with the three children in a 2010 Infiniti EX35. State police say he was speeding and drove off the road as it curved left and went into a drainage ditch before becoming airborne and rolling over multiple times.

Mitchell and Martin were ejected from the car during the crash and taken to the hospital, which the boy later died.

The other two juveniles were "improperly restrained" and were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
With storms and heavy rain over New Orleans Sunday afternoon, city officials have lifted the neutral ground parking ban until 8 a.m. Monday.

"Heavy rain could cause street flooding in low-lying areas," NOLAReady tweeted on Sunday, asking people not to block intersections, streetcar tracks, sidewalks or bike paths with their vehicles.

According to the National Weather Service, showers and thunderstorms were forming across the area which could dump a lot of rain in a short period of time.
Although thousands of Louisiana families are still reeling financially from the coronavirus pandemic, some New Orleans-area colleges and universities are seeing climbing enrollment figures, a stark departure from the reality other colleges and universities are facing around the country.

The reason for such local success, according to several college and university leaders in New Orleans, is at least in part due to tuition freezes and increases in financial aid through more scholarships and grants.

In a report released last month, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that college enrollment fell to 16.9 million students over the spring, a one-year decrease of 3.5%, or more than 600,000 students. It marked the most precipitous decline since 2011.

But while New Orleans-area college students have been no stranger to loss of family income and economic strife, local higher education institutions seem to have bucked national enrollment trends, officials said.

Numbers right now are preliminary, since most schools' final census won't happen until September. But Michael Strecker, a spokesperson for Tulane University, said the university is on track this academic year to enroll its "largest, most diverse and academically qualified class ever" of first-year students, expecting to exceed the 1,820 first-year students that enrolled for the 2020-21 school year. The school had more than 14,400 part and full-time students enrolled last year, including about 8,600 undergraduate students, records show.

Tania Tetlow, president of Loyola University New Orleans, also reported the largest and most diverse first-year class in its history, with a 20% increase above target at 996 currently enrolled students.

Tulane credited success to its reputation and academic offerings, but also because of what officials describe as "some of the most generous financial aid of any university in the country" for its tuition of $60,814 for a freshman resident. Its newest program, Louisiana Promise, gives scholarships to students who can't pay full tuition, who live in the state, and whose families make less than $100,000 a year.

While Loyola gives some aid to 90% of its 4,500 students, officials target more financial aid for some students, according to Patricia Murret, a spokesperson for the school. The university increased its financial aid budget by 11.7% this year to approximately $80.5 million, she said. Loyola also raised $350,000 through a Student Hardship Fund, which is donor money and helps students struggling from pandemic-related woes.

"We have preferred to focus on directing assistance to those most in need, because not every family has been impacted in the same way by the crisis," Murret said, adding that the hardship fund specifically "helped keep students from having their college dreams derailed, from one student who lost his dad to the disease and has a family drowning in medical bills, to the many families whose businesses struggled or who lost crucial jobs and income."

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According to Loyola's website, cost to attend the university is $43,748, not including housing fees.

Other universities have taken a more blanket approach. Both Dillard University and University of Holy Cross announced a tuition freeze. Dillard, which has a tuition of about $17,410 a year, not including about $2,200 in mandatory fees or housing, is seeing enrollment trend slightly upward from last year's count of about 1,215 students.

Holy Cross, which boasts of having the lowest private school tuition in the area at $12,960, is expecting another enrollment increase in the fall over last year's 1,140 students as the COVID restrictions continue to be eased, officials said.

"UHC has for decades remained committed to offering quality higher education as affordable as possible for its students and their families," said Stanton McNeely, the university's president, adding that the commitment is "particularly important now with the ongoing financial challenges presented over the past year and a half with the COVID crisis."

University of New Orleans spokesperson Adam Norris said that it was too soon to speculate, but that applications for new students are up 7% and the school expects to see an overall enrollment increase from the 8,375 students reported last year. Officials had been able to use federal relief dollars and financial aid to help 77% of students, Norris said.

One of UNO's initiatives, the Privateer Pledge, was expanded to Jefferson Parish this year. It covers the full tuition, which is $9,354 with fees for Louisiana residents, for any local student who is eligible for a Pell Grant and whose family income doesn't exceed $60,000.

Tony Cook, a spokesperson for Delgado Community College, said enrollment was at 13,262 last fall, but that officials hoped to restore that number to pre-pandemic levels of 14,140 students. He said that so far, outreach and marketing had helped, along with in-person events that qualified students for a 15% discount off the tuition and fees of about $4,400 per year for a full-time, 12-credit-hour load.

He said the school had also made sure students knew about eligibility for scholarships and about the college's laptop loaner program.

"Wherever they are, we will meet them there," Cook said of students.
Smiling faces may once again be seen in New Orleans-area schools when students head back to class next month.

NOLA Public Schools announced this week that many coronavirus protocols will be rolled back at the city's public schools, including restrictions on classroom capacity and indoor dining  as well as the requirement that all students wear face coverings.

New Orleans schools join those in St. Tammany Parish in doing away with a full mask mandate. In Jefferson Parish, meanwhile, the school system has yet to settle on protocols for the upcoming school year, which begins in August.

The moves will be welcome after a school year in which administrators across the region and state grappled with a raft of new safety measures in addition to the masks, including mandating social distancing and frequent hand-washing. Thousands of other students opted for virtual-only education, adding a different layer of challenges.

But talk of no mask requirements for the upcoming school year is also happening against a backdrop of a growing COVID caseload across the state, as the new Delta strain of the contagion becomes established and state vaccine rates continue to lag. Statewide, cases have more than doubled over the past two weeks, state health officials said Thursday.

Under the new guidelines in New Orleans, public schools can permit fully-vaccinated students to go without masks, reversing what some have complained is an onerous requirement but one that health officials said was crucial to slowing the spread of the virus.

The announcement in New Orleans comes with the rollback of a number of other coronavirus protocols, including reduced capacity in classrooms and buses, daily temperature checks and indoor dining room limits, according to a news release from the school system. Masks will still be required on school buses.

+18 COVID cases down, New Orleans families face new challenge: overflowing social schedules It was a long-awaited sign of normalcy for Jessica Rigaud when a neighbor called a few weeks ago and asked if her daughter could come play, a 

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Orleans schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. said relaxing the safety requirements would be "liberating."

"Were doing everything we can to make sure its easy for our students and their families to get their shots, Orleans Parish schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. said. "Our new guidance will help our students once again enjoy being with their teachers and peers."

Guidance published by the school system instructs individual schools to verify vaccination status before allowing staff or students to remove masks.

The announcement in New Orleans comes about a month after the St. Tammany Parish School Board voted overwhelmingly to ditch the mask mandate for students and staff in its schools. At least for now, however, masks will still be required for most students on St. Tammany Parish school buses.

A Jefferson Parish public schools spokesperson said this week that the district had not settled on a firm policy for the upcoming year, which begins Aug. 9.

"We continue to work side-by-side with state health officials and health experts to ensure our mitigation measures prioritize the safety of our students and employees and are appropriate for the current health situation," administrators told employees in a message earlier this week.
Now that New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell seems a shoo-in for a second term, what do we have to look forward to?

Let us hope she is no longer seeking guidance from Cuba on how to govern. There was no advance notice when she took a 35-strong entourage there in 2019 to study the blessings of communism, so maybe she figured even then that voters would regard the idea as nuts.

When word got out what Cantrell et.al. were up to, a City Hall flack explained that Cuba's history has produced unique opportunities and challenges in the areas of economic development, trade, health care, education and other quality of life issues. Opportunities? Don't make me laugh.

The people who live there aren't laughing. In fact, they are so furious over the various miseries that grip the island that Raul Castro, 90, who retired as president in April, has been wheeled out to help quell the riots.

Food and medicine have been lacking for ages, the power supply is intermittent and COVID-19 has overwhelmed the hospitals. American sanctions and a reduction in financial aid from Venezuela, which has problems of its own, have brought further devastation, but the Cuban economy has been inherently feeble from time out of mind.

It was abundantly clear back in 2019 that we had little to learn from Cuba, although Cantrell at the time said she expected some useful pointers, particularly with regard to health care and education.

The government provides Cubans with health care free of charge, and Bernie Sanders, in his presidential run, heaped praise on the system.

Cubans who have experienced that system give it significantly less favorable reviews, but national health services are highly popular in such enlightened lands as France, Germany and the United Kingdom. That is of no relevance to Cantrell's constituents, however, for socialized medicine is widely regarded in America as the devil's own concoction.

As for education in Cuba, Google will tell you that practically everyone there is literate, as has been the case since before the 1959 revolution. Maybe we ain't no good at readin' and writin' round here, but what's the mayor gonna do about that? Schools ain't her concern nohow.

In fact, she has seemed intent on keeping our literacy rate as low as possible. First, she proposed to raid the public library budget and divert the money to her own pet causes. But that required voter approval and she got a massive thumbs-down.

Then she urged public support for Irvin Mayfield, who, along with his sidekick Ronald Markham, awaits sentencing after taking time out from playing jazz to grab control of the public library foundation and steal $1.3 million.

Crime is all around us right now and happens to be the voters' top worry, according to polls. Cantrell's police chief, Shaun Ferguson, took over a department that is generally thought to need 500 more officers than the 1,100 currently on the payroll.

Recruitment is not easy. Following the George Floyd murder and other outrages, cops know they are hated in some quarters these days, while the constraints of the consent decree under which NOPD labors can't do much for morale either.

Still, sometime in the next four years, the mayor might strike a blow for integrity in public life and finally pay what she owes the IRS.

Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com.
Inadvertently, perhaps, Gov. John Bel Edwards may have asked for whats coming next week, Louisianas first-ever legislative session dedicated specifically to overriding a governors vetoes.

In the past, Edwards often turned lawyerly when asked whether hed sign controversial bills that were not part of his agenda. That bill hasnt reached his desk, hed say to explain his dodge, so he has yet to read it in its final form.

But this year, for two distasteful bills that motivated the Republican majority in the Legislature to directly challenge him, the Democratic governor made his intentions explicit.

From the beginning, Edwards vowed to veto bills to end existing training and permitting mandates for the concealed carry of handguns and to ban transgender girls from participating in competitive school and college sports, both conservative culture war priorities being pushed in Republican-led legislatures nationwide.

He made convincing cases based on substance for both his positions. Edwards argued that his support for gun rights doesnt extend to reckless policies that many law enforcement officials deem dangerous, and touted a poll showing current precautions are popular. He talked of the transgender bill as a solution in search of a problem and openly empathized with the vulnerable students the measure targeted, while noting  perhaps not loudly enough  that intolerant policies could cost Louisiana future opportunities to host major sporting events.

But thats not what many in the Legislature heard. Instead of accepting defeat, they took the vetoes as a dare. It was as if the governor said that, yes, Im going to follow through on my promises; so what are you going to do about it?

Well, this.

The votes were tallied Friday, and as pretty much everyone expected, majorities in both houses backed returning to Baton Rouge for an unprecedented override session. The move puts not just the two bills that fueled the override drive in play, but also other measures that Edwards rejected, including restrictions on a governors emergency authority and several bills that, as he put it, contribute to the false narrative that COVID-19 vaccines are anything other than safe and incredibly effective. That false narrative is currently being touted on a daily basis on Fox News and other conservative media even as a new, more contagious variant spreads and infections among the unvaccinated rise precipitously. So put these bills into the culture war column too.

But although lawmakers won this battle, another one looms.

If the legislators behind the session, including both House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, and Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, want to really flex their muscles, theyve got to emerge with something to show for all this bluster. Thats not a given; it takes two-thirds of the vote in each house to override a gubernatorial veto.

Both of the bills at the center of the debate initially passed by veto-proof margins, but an override vote is a whole new ballgame.

Legislative leaders would have been stupid to encourage their members to support the session unless they thought they could emerge with a win. Still, the margins are tight. In the House, 69 members backed the override session, one short of the number needed to override a veto. Twenty-seven senators, one more than needed, backed the session.

Lawmakers are being heavily lobbied from constituents and interest groups for and against these bills. The governor also has some tools at his disposal, whether they be promises or threats, and at least one of his allies is talking trash.

Im bringing a dozen eggs to the Capitol next week. I want to make sure there are enough eggs for all the faces, tweeted state Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge.

The whole situation has evolved into a symbolic test of will and measure of brute strength, with political stakes that are sadly overshadowing the substance of proposals that pose real dangers to the people all these politicians represent. When its over, one side is likely to be emboldened and the other embarrassed, if not humiliated.

In hindsight, its clear that at least some and perhaps all of the players involved wanted it that way.
William "Bill" Thomas Ratliff (92) of Noble, passed away on July 19, 2021 at his home. Graveside services will be 11:00 am Friday, July 23, 2021 at the Noble IOOf Cemetery. Directed by McMahans Funeral Home of Noble.
Dave Moore has been performing computer consulting, repairs, security and networking in Oklahoma since 1984. He also teaches computer safety workshops for public and private organizations. He can be reached at 919-9901 or www.davemoorecomputers.com.
Jersey Shore, Pa.  A highly intoxicated woman greeted police after they were dispatched to Railroad Street for a physical disturbance on the Fourth of July.

After speaking with a caller regarding the complaint, police said they discovered the woman, identified as Linda McCormick, 57, of Jersey Shore, had allegedly entered the property without consent, slapped a womans phone out of her hand, hit a man in the face with her palm, and struck another man several times in the head.

After being asked to leave, McCormick allegedly flashed her breasts in clear view of children. When questioned by officers, McCormick, who was visibly intoxicated, according to officers, admitted to flashing people at the party. McCormick told officers she was upset over fireworks.

Witnesses said at approximately 11:20 p.m., McCormick could be seen and heard yelling threats at children from her porch. Officers said McCormick, who was charged with first-degree misdemeanor indecent exposure, became uncooperative during the interview.

McCormick was given $15,000 monetary bail. McCormack will meet with Judge Marc Lovecchio on Aug. 2 for a preliminary hearing.

Court records show McCormack plead guilty to a felony for fleeing officers in 2007. In 2016, she plead guilty to simple assault.
Watsontown, Pa.  A Mifflinburg man came close to getting caught in the middle of a sex act in public.

Instead, he got caught after he allegedly fell asleep in his parked vehicle with his pants down and genitals in a sex toy in the parking lot of a gas station in Delaware Township, Northumberland County, according to state police.

Cory Spriggle, 50, will now face indecent exposure charges, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Milton. Spriggle was found asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle at 6:30 a.m. Thursday with his pants opened and his genitals in a sex toy at the Citgo gas station parking lot on Main Street, according to a police press release.

Charges are being filed at the office of District Judge Michael Diehl in Milton. Trooper Colton E. Killion is investigating.
Flood Advisory National Weather Service State College PA 438 PM EDT Sat Jul 17 2021 Clinton PA-Lycoming PA- 438 PM EDT Sat Jul 17 2021 The National Weather Service in State College has issued a * Flood Advisory for... Southeastern Clinton County in north central Pennsylvania... Western Lycoming County in north central Pennsylvania... * Until 645 PM EDT. * At 438 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. Minor flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly in the advisory area. * Some locations that may experience flooding include... Williamsport, Lock Haven, Jersey Shore, Lamar, Mill Hall, Avis, Dunnstown, Flemington, Castanea, McElhattan, Waterville, Little Pine State Park, English Center, Cammal, Cogan Station, Slate Run, Mackeyville, Buttonwood, Trout Run and Ralston. Additional rainfall of 1 to 2 inches is expected over the area. This additional rain will result in minor flooding. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.

Flash Flood Warning BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Flash Flood Warning National Weather Service State College PA 317 PM EDT Sat Jul 17 2021 The National Weather Service in State College has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Northwestern Lycoming County in north central Pennsylvania... Tioga County in north central Pennsylvania... * Until 715 PM EDT. * At 317 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain moving into the warned area. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is expected to begin shortly. HAZARD...Life threatening flash flooding. Thunderstorms producing flash flooding. SOURCE...Radar. IMPACT...Life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses. * Some locations that may experience flash flooding include... Mansfield, Wellsboro, Morris, Elkland, Blossburg, Westfield, Gaines, Covington, Arnot, Millerton, Keeneyville, Leonard Harrison State Park, Ogdensburg, Leetonia, Cedar Run, Tioga, Knoxville, Roseville, Tioga Junction and Osceola. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads. FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED FLASH FLOOD DAMAGE THREAT...CONSIDERABLE




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Skylar Knox is an incoming eighth grader at Fremont Middle School in Roseburg and a contributing reporter to The News-Review.
Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Mainly clear. Low 53F. N winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 53F. N winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.
The South Shore Summer Music Festival is back! Under the direction of Kirk Muspratt, music director and conductor of the Northwest Indiana Symphony, these free concerts, performed in six communities throughout Northwest Indiana, will have something for everyone. This summers concert will feature light classical, songs from movies and Broadway, and patriotic music. Guests should bring their own blanket or chair and refreshments, sit back, relax, and enjoy beautiful music in an outdoor setting. The 2021 Festival begins in Crown Point on the Lawn at Franciscan Communities on July 24, followed by Lansing at Fox Pointe on July 28, Hammond at Wolf Lake on July 30, Schererville at Redar Park on July 31, Valparaiso at Central Park Plaza on August 4 and, finally, in Griffiths Central Park on August 7. For more information and rain locations, nisorchestra.org/pages/concerts/sssmf.php

Hot Shop Valpo is a glassblowing studio comprised of three artists working together to bring this rare and ancient artform to our region by creating unique art glass. Located just outside of downtown Valparaiso, the studio welcomes everyone to come for a visit and experience the work in progress. Hot Shop Valpo also offers private and semi-private classes ranging from beginner level to advanced. For artists who have completed glass-blowing matriculation courses, bench rental space is offered with all equipment includedsimply bring your own color and creativity and the rest is up to you. Guests are also invited to visit the gallery for one-of-a-kind art glass created in the studio, which can also be seen in various shops and galleries throughout Northwest Indiana and Michigan. These artisans are happy to create custom work to match colors and styles in objects ranging from small tabletop pieces to commercial installations. Hot Shop Valpo loves to collaborate with clients as well as other artists. 219/477-7783
MERRILLVILLE  Former Merrillville Clerk-Treasurer Eugene Guernsey wants to see some bright and sunny weather during his retirement, but it doesnt have to be in a tropical location.

Guernsey is hoping for clear skies in Northwest Indiana after 44 solar panels were installed recently on his 20-acre property in the east side of Merrillville.

Its a really good size, he said of the solar array.

Guernsey, who served as Merrillvilles clerk-treasurer from 2008 to 2020, said pursuing the project was a no-brainer because of the many advantages it creates, but theres one reason that stands out more than others.

Guernsey said he wants to do his part to help the environment so his grandchildren can have a cleaner world to live in.

I feel like the more I do, the better it is, he said.

Guernsey said the solar panels power his home, and he also sells power back to NIPSCO.

I dont pay anything on electricity in my house, he said.

Guernsey long has been interested in renewable energy, and he also explored installing a wind turbine at this property.
VALPARAISO  A new access road could pave the way for construction of a new Morgan Township Elementary School.

East Porter County School Corp. plans to build a road linking County Roads 250 South and 300 South, Porter County Engineer Michael Novotney told the countys Stormwater Management Board.

The existing access to Ind. 49 would be primarily used for firefighters whose station is just north of the school building, Novotney said. The new north-south access road would connect with the existing entrance to the campus on 250 South.

School officials needed the Stormwater Management Boards approval to reduce the drainage ditch access easement so the road can be built. The county would use the new road to get to Ahlgrim Ditch.

Plans for the property including moving the softball field and possibly constructing a new elementary school, Novotney said, although the School Board hasnt yet decided on the new school.

The new access road will face additional regulatory hurdles.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration lashed out at Iran on Saturday for accusing it of delaying a proposed prisoner swap to force a quick resumption of indirect nuclear talks.

The State Department slammed as outrageous comments made by Irans deputy foreign minister who alleged the U.S. and Britain were holding the swap hostage to the negotiations over salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

In a pair of tweets from his verified account, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said the nuclear talks in Vienna could not resume until Irans hardline president-elect is inaugurated in early August. Were in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is underway in our capital, he said.

The nuclear talks must thus obviously await our new administration. This is what every democracy demands, Aragchi said. He added that the U.S. and Britain need to understand this and stop linking a humanitarian exchange  ready to be implemented  with the JCPOA.

Keeping such an exchange hostage to political aims achieves neither, said Aragchi who is Iran's chief negotiator at the Vienna talks. TEN PRISONERS on all sides may be released TOMORROW if US&UK fulfill their part of deal.
In a major wake-up call about the dangers of importing foreign dogs from certain regions, the U.S. has begun this month banning the importation of dogs from more than 100 nations that are at high risk for rabies and other highly contagious diseases, many of which can jump species and infect humans.

This temporary action is necessary to ensure the health and safety of dogs imported into the United States and to protect the publics health against the reintroduction of canine rabies virus variant (dog rabies) into the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in a recent statement announcing the decision that went into effect Wednesday.

The measure is a pyrrhic victory for public health officials, veterinarians, animal welfare advocates, and lawmakers who have been raising the alarm for several years about the importation of potentially diseased animals that are often placed in rescues and then into the homes of well-meaning but unsuspecting Americans.
I dont have a clear memory of when my father went down to Mississippi in 1967. I was 5 years old, and my focus was on my upcoming kindergarten graduation. I only knew that daddy had taken a trip to a place that was farther south than where Id been born, in Baltimore, and that he wouldnt be back in time for my party. I remember receiving a telegram from him (for you GenZers, its like an Instagram, but on a piece of paper) congratulating me on the academic achievement, and sending a hug.

My mother had just given birth to my brother Jon a month before, and she didnt really have much time to explain what Ted Flowers was doing in that far away place called Jackson.

Years later, I found out. In fact, it wasnt until my fathers death in 1982 at the age of 43 that I discovered the true story of his trip below the Mason-Dixon line. While alive, he hadnt really given very many details about what had happened and limited any references to vague comments about helping people vote and defending some folks in jail.
Two weeks after the FDA announcement, U.S. testing capacity expanded from 7,800 to 38,000. As of August 2020, only two of 140 COVID-19 tests were recalled.

Like aducanumab, the drug remdesivir faced little prospects for FDA approval after failing to meet efficacy standards, even though it showed success in treating Ebola, SARS and MERS in clinical trials.

Remdesivirs promising results prompted many physicians to strongly request that the FDA allow patients access to the drug, although it was only experimental at the time. After becoming the standard of treatment for COVID-19, the FDA approved remdesivir in November 2020, despite its never having gone through the formal approval process.

The FDA also substantially reduced the length and size of clinical trials to develop a COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible. Far from criticizing the FDA for making a hasty decision, many medical professionals have hailed COVID-19 vaccines as Nobel Prize-worthy and have praised the FDA for granting emergency use authorizations for them.
The provision was in the final will when the Man In the Bright Nightshirt came for him on Christmas Day, 1946. Fields estranged wife and son used that clause to challenge the will in court.

Adolf Hitler was a horrible human being. So, its no surprise his final wishes contained horrible ranting.

Dictated in a Berlin bunker in the last hours of his life, with Russian soldiers literally outside the door, he left his art collection to a gallery in my hometown of Linz on the Danube (which was never established) and bequeathed items of sentimental value or necessary for the maintenance of a modest simple life to a handful of relatives and faithful co-workers in his inner circle. The rest was to be given to the Nazi Party. But since there wasnt any party after his suicide, the will was moot.

Then there was his last testament, in which he insisted World War II wasnt his fault. Nothing was ever his fault (to him, anyway). It is untrue that I or anybody else in Germany wanted war in 1939. He was a liar and lunatic right up to the very end.
Six weeks after Dr. Lauren Grossman and Glenn Kramon were introduced by mutual friends via email in November 2015, they had not yet spoken to each other, though they were undeniably smitten with one another.

She had a big mind, said Mr. Kramon, 68, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a former assistant managing editor of The New York Times.

She was also extremely bright, he said, and very, very curious.

Neither, though, seemed curious enough that first month and a half to want to hear the sound of each others voice.

Dr. Grossman, 65, who lives in Denver, and Mr. Kramon of Palo Alto, Calif., emailed each other day after day, night after night for six weeks. They never strayed from the comfort of their respective inboxes, ultimately sending a message to family and friends that the doctor and the lecturer  whom she lovingly refers to as my mad professor  were more a quirky couple than a conventional one.
METROPOLITAN

A cover article this weekend about co-working spaces misspells the surname of the chief executive of The Wing. Her name is Lauren Kassan, not Lauren Kasan.

ARTS & LEISURE

An article this weekend on Page 6 about the ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin misstates one of her distinctions. She was New York City Ballets first female Asian American soloist, not the first Asian American soloist.

SUNDAY REVIEW

An essay last Sunday on recreational drug use in the United States described Portugals and Switzerlands policies on it incorrectly. Portugal has decriminalized the use of recreational drugs, and Switzerland has done the same in some circumstances. Neither country has legalized the drugs themselves.

SUNDAY STYLES

A headline last Sunday referred incorrectly to recent fashion shows in Paris. They were part of the first post-pandemic in-person couture week, not fashion week.
WASHINGTON  Facebook and the Biden administration engaged in an increasingly rancorous back and forth over the weekend after the administration denounced the social media giant for spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccines.

On Sunday, the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, reiterated warnings that false stories about the vaccines had become a dangerous health hazard. These platforms have to recognize theyve played a major role in the increase in speed and scale with which misinformation is spreading, Mr. Murthy said Sunday on CNN.

In a blog post on Saturday, Facebook called on the administration to stop finger-pointing and laid out what it had done to encourage users to get vaccinated. The social network also detailed how it had clamped down on lies about the vaccines, which officials have said led people to refuse to be vaccinated.

The Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies, Guy Rosen, Facebooks vice president of integrity, said in the post. The fact is that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the U.S. has increased.
WASHINGTON  Military prosecutors have asked to wipe from the record information gleaned from the torture of a detainee now held at Guantanamo Bay, reversing their earlier position that the information could be used in pretrial proceedings against the man.

By law, prosecutors in a military commission trial are forbidden to submit evidence derived from torture. But in May, the judge, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr., ruled that while juries could not see that type of evidence, judges could consider it in determining pretrial matters.

Biden administration lawyers were troubled by the decision because they would be expected to defend the use of such information before appeals courts. The ruling, the first known instance in which a military judge permitted prosecutors to use information gained through torture, also carries larger implications for all cases at Guantanamo.

The chief prosecutor at Guantanamo for a decade, Brig. Gen. Mark S. Martins, had cited a statement obtained through torture, clashing with senior administration officials who questioned his authority to do so. The dispute played a part in his unexpected decision to retire from the Army 15 months early, on Sept. 30.
Twenty-six people were hospitalized with breathing problems or skin irritation after they were exposed to bleach and sulfuric acid on Saturday afternoon at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown, a water park in Spring, Texas, the authorities said.

One person was in critical condition on Saturday evening, said Rachel Neutzler, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Fire Marshals Office.

The authorities evacuated the park at about 3:30 p.m. local time.

Ms. Neutzler said investigators did not believe the exposure to the chemicals, which are used to maintain pH balance, had been the result of an intentional act. She said it had occurred in a shallow pool intended for children.

Scott Seifert, chief of the Spring Fire Department, said that the authorities had decontaminated more than 60 people by having them massage their eyes and wash off under the hose of a ladder truck.
But clearly my thirst was not quenched, because I guzzled Brown and Farrells The Cult of We the way Neumann might gulp bottled water after smoking so much pot on a private jet that flight attendants would reach for their air masks. (This actually happened, according to Brown and Farrells reporting.)

Why cant I (or we) get enough? The answer may lie in a single example of the excessive greed. Neumann and his founding partner registered a trademark on commercial use of the word We, and then charged the company $5.9 million for the word when it was used in the We Company branding.

This in no way represented the only unconventional arrangement between the company and its C.E.O. But when the disclosure was included in filings the We Company was required to make as part of a planned public stock offering, the press and potential investors zeroed in. The gig was up. Neumann capitalizing on a generic, communal pronoun  and that leading to his comeuppance  is not a mere anecdote. Its an allegory, and thus ripe for telling and retelling. Its also a microcosm of the whole WeWork debacle.

The Cult of We separates itself from Billion Dollar Loser by quickly passing over Neumanns upbringing and experiences on kibbutzim and in the Israeli military, as well as the origins and earliest days of WeWork. (Miguel McKelvey, who founded WeWork with Neumann but stood back as his partner seized control, is almost a forgotten player in Brown and Farrells telling of the story  though one can imagine McKelvey wont mind being overlooked by history.)

Instead, the book saves its firepower for the cataclysmic combination of Neumanns gift for salesmanship, addiction to fund-raising and focus on his personal wealth. We meet weak venture capitalists who kowtow to charismatic entrepreneurs as well as mutual fund directors, investment bankers and deep-pocketed benefactors like SoftBanks Masayoshi Son who enabled Neumann.

Brown and Farrell show an agility for explaining key business dynamics that are crucial both to understanding specific moments in WeWorks trajectory, and also to grasping the role of public and private investors in the companys successes and failures. They do so without slowing down the narrative or overdoing it such that readers well versed in business might find it boring or pedantic.

They lay out a brief history of economic bubbles (tulips, railroads, Beanie Babies). They give a quick primer on EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), which becomes important later in the book as Neumanns posse jimmies this accounting metric to better market the company to investors.
The abrupt change represented a significant hardship for Ms. Spaeth, who has Down syndrome and thrives on routine, her lawyers said. Ms. Spaeth repeatedly told a manager that she wanted her old schedule back, her lawyers said.

Shes afraid shes going to miss the bus, her sister and guardian, Amy Jo Stevenson, said she had told a Walmart manager, according to court records. Shes afraid shes going to miss dinner. Its upsetting to her. She gets too hot. She says she feels sick, and she cant accommodate it, so we need it switched back for her.

But the company refused to switch Ms. Spaeth back to her old schedule at the store, which was open 24 hours a day and had more than 300 employees, her lawyers said. Walmart then took disciplinary action against Ms. Spaeth twice for absenteeism and tardiness, her lawyers said.

On July 10, 2015, Walmart fired Ms. Spaeth for excessive absenteeism.

A Walmart training coordinator took Ms. Spaeths vest and walked her out of the store where she had worked for about 16 years. The training coordinator later testified that both she and Ms. Spaeth had been crying and that Ms. Spaeth had not understood what was happening, court records show.

Ms. Spaeth and her mother and sister met with Walmart managers and asked that she be rehired and allowed to return to her old schedule, her lawyers said. But Walmart refused to rehire her, even though her termination letter said she could be hired again, her lawyers said.
Later that night, she said, she woke up to the man raping her again while choking her in his room at City College in Manhattan, where he was a student. She said that she did not remember how she got there from the party, and that the man was recording her with his cellphone.

When she realized what was happening, she said, she grabbed the phone and ran into the bathroom. She then showed the video to another student, Carlos Colon, who had been in the next room. After seeing the video, Mr. Colon fought with the man, and was later charged with assault. Mr. Colon said in an interview that the woman had appeared to be unresponsive in the video.

Soon after the encounter with the woman, the man spoke by phone with one of his fraternity brothers, who recorded the call and provided it to The Times. During that call, the student admitted to filming the woman, and said that was where he had messed up. He later told his fraternity brothers that he had had sex with the woman while she was asleep, two of them said in interviews.

The woman reported the attack, but during the three-month investigation that followed, she said prosecutors seemed skeptical. They asked her how much she had had to drink, why she did not fight back and whether she had wanted to cheat on her boyfriend, she said.

Prosecutors told the woman that the intoxication she described did not constitute being physically helpless under the states law and that they could not prove that she did not consent, according to a recording of the conversation. They never found the video.

In New York and most other states, a person is considered incapacitated  and thus unable to consent to sex  if he or she is intoxicated, but only if the intoxication is involuntary, such as if it was caused by a drug surreptitiously dropped into a drink. If the drinking was voluntary, prosecutors have a more difficult path to conviction: They must prove that force was used, that the person was unconscious or that the victim said or signaled that they did not want sex.

At least 14 states  including California, Arizona, South Carolina and Maryland  have expanded the definition of incapacitation to include voluntary intoxication. Mr. Vance and womens advocacy groups have called on New York to do the same, but a proposal to do so has stalled in Albany, over concerns that such a change could criminalize a common situation  one in which both partners have been drinking, communication is impaired and memories after the fact are hazy.
Image

On Madison Avenue

Dear Diary:

The new commute started in November, a gray, sleeting month that was all the more dreary because the job in Stamford that I had enjoyed for two years had been moved to New York.

I hate commuting, but when a boss who works you hard but makes you laugh asks you to try it and pays your expenses to do so, thats just what you do.

The Madison Avenue bus had a line a block long, sometimes longer, in the morning. Early on, I decided to walk the 14 blocks north rather than waiting. Id go straight up Madison to avoid having to dodge the crowds near St. Patricks Cathedral and Rockefeller Center.

One morning, I was 10 blocks into my walk when I saw a tall man striding south with a long coat draped over his shoulder. He was tan, with great posture, a serene demeanor and a couple of men who were not quite as visually impressive walking at his side.
The case arises from Mr. Brookss appearance at the Save America rally in Washington on Jan. 6. All Americans are entitled to petition their government under the Constitution.

But in our view, Mr. Brookss instructions went beyond these protections. He urged the assembled crowd to fight for America and stop at the Capitol, where the electoral transition would take place. Today the curtain will be pulled back and American patriots will learn by their votes which Republican senators and congressmen have the courage to fight for America, Mr. Brooks said. Today Republican senators and congressmen will either vote to turn America into a godless, amoral, dictatorial, oppressed and socialist nation on the decline or they will join us and they will fight and vote against voter fraud and election theft and vote for keeping America great. He added, Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. (In response to the suit, Mr. Brooks said he was talking in his speech about the 2022 and 2024 elections.)

We all know what happened next.

Determining when arguably wrongful conduct by a federal employee nonetheless occurred within the scope of his or her employment duties often involves a difficult exercise of judgment. The issue is not whether the employee committed a wrongful act  bad things can happen on the job. At the same time, not everything an employee does is within the scope of his job  as in the case of a mail carrier who takes his delivery vehicle on a joy ride far from his route and hits a pedestrian. Because Congress has expressly made the United States directly responsible for the wrongs of employees while they are doing their jobs, the attorney general and his delegates generally construe the scope of employment concept broadly (some would say too broadly to allow real bad actors in government jobs to be held to account).

For example, the Justice Department recently certified scope of employment in a suit brought by former Ambassador Gordon Sondland against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleging that Mr. Pompeo reneged on a promise to cover Mr. Sondlands impeachment-related legal fees. Whatever the merits of Mr. Sondlands claims, the judgment whether to reimburse seems to be within the scope of Mr. Pompeos powers as secretary.

More controversially, during the last year of the Trump administration, the journalist E. Jean Carroll sued Mr. Trump in a state court in New York, alleging that Mr. Trump had defamed her in connection with allegations of rape she made in a 2019 book. The Justice Department certified that the disputed statements were made within the scope of Mr. Trumps employment as president and William Barr moved the lawsuit to federal court. The court didnt buy it, rightly holding that Mr. Trumps statements have no relationship to the official business of the United States. The Justice Department appealed that ruling, and Attorney General Merrick Garland has elected to pursue the appeal and leave the ultimate decision on this issue to the court.
The Law of Moses says: You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right (Exodus 23:6-8). The Hebrew Scriptures see the links between power, money and justice. Therefore when I read in modern scholarship depictions of the ways in which money subverts justice, I find a convergence of interests and a place for dialogue.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in his first agenda-setting sermon. He said that he had come to set the oppressed free. In Isaiahs time and ours the oppressed are the shattered ones, those who have been broken apart by a life filled with exploitation. They are those who have not been given a fair shake, the victims of bribes, land grabs and economic disenfranchisement. Oppression is both spiritual and material.

Christianity teaches that humans, left to our own devices, often pursue their own distorted interests. We call this tendency sin. When you add in political and economic power to get what you want at the expense of others, you have the recipe for systemic injustice. Systemic racism is just one form (out of many) that people use to get what they want at the expense of others. People can rob you at gunpoint and governments can rob you through eminent domain. Both are wrong.

The texts of the Old and New Testaments open up the possibility of introspection and learning. The Psalmist wonders: Who can discern their own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults (Psalm 19:12). The writer recognizes that there may be parts of themselves that they do not know. Christians should be open to the possibility that they may have hidden racial biases of which they are not aware. This is well documented, for example, in the areas of health care and medical treatment. When someone gives us a chance to finally know ourselves and heal, we should be open to the possibility. Training in potential hidden biases is not indoctrination in every case (admittedly it can be done in unhealthy ways); it can be a chance for growth.

In the struggle against systemic racism, our analysis, solutions and implications may diverge in ways as different as our perceptions, temperaments and underlying beliefs about reality. My religious beliefs will give my arguments a certain tenor. They are a part of who I am; it was the gift my grandparents and parents gave me, their weapon against anti-blackness and despair. Others have trod different paths.
By sequencing genetic samples of the plant, they found that the species had most likely been domesticated by the early Neolithic period. They said their conclusion was supported by pottery and other archaeological evidence from the same period that was discovered in present-day China, Japan and Taiwan.

But Professor Purugganan said he was skeptical about conclusions that the plant was developed for drug or fiber use 12,000 years ago since archaeological evidence show the consistent use or presence of cannabis for those purposes began about 7,500 years ago.

I would like to see a much larger study with a larger sampling, he said.

Luca Fumagalli, an author of the study and a biologist in Switzerland who specializes in conservation genetics, said the theory of a Central Asian origin was largely based on observational data of wild samples in that region.

Its easy to find feral samples, but these are not wild types, Dr. Fumagalli said. These are plants that escaped captivity and readapted to the wild environment.

By the way, thats the reason you call it weed, because it grows anywhere, he added.

The study was led by Ren Guangpeng, a botanist at Lanzhou University in the western Chinese province of Gansu. Dr. Ren said in an interview that the original site of cannabis domestication was most likely northwestern China, and that the finding could help with current efforts in the country to breed new types of hemp.

To conduct the study, Dr. Ren and his colleagues collected 82 samples, either seeds or leaves, from around the world. The samples included strains that had been selected for fiber production, and others from Europe and North America that were bred to produce high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plants most mood-altering compound.

Dr. Fumagalli and his colleagues then extracted genomic DNA from the samples and sequenced them in a lab in Switzerland. They also downloaded and reanalyzed sequencing data from 28 other samples. The results showed that the wild varieties they analyzed were in fact historical escapes from domesticated forms, and that existing strains in China  cultivated and wild  were their closest descendants of the ancestral gene pool.
For inexperienced hikers, smartphones are a multipurpose tool: a flashlight, an emergency beacon and a GPS, all in one device. But it can be ill-advised, and possibly life-threatening, for hikers to rely solely on their phones as they head into the wilderness, experts say.

Apps and online maps have disoriented hikers on both sides of the Atlantic.

In Scotland, mountaineers are warning visitors that Google Maps may direct them toward potentially fatal trails that would force them to trek over cliffs and rocky, steep terrain.

A number of visitors recently have relied on Google Maps to reach the summit of Ben Nevis, a 4,500-foot mountain, according to a joint statement on Thursday from Mountaineering Scotland, a climbing organization, and the John Muir Trust, a charity that maintains natural areas in Britain.

Ben Nevis, a popular but dangerous climbing spot in the Scottish Highlands about 70 miles northwest of Glasgow, is the highest peak in Britain.
WASHINGTON  The usually obscure Senate Rules Committee is the most insider of insider panels, typically responsible for doling out precious Capitol office space, keeping the Senate running and handling fights over arcane floor procedures.

But circumstances and the ambitions of the committees current chairwoman, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, have thrust the panel into the middle of things. In just six months, she has spearheaded a push for a sweeping voting rights bill sought by Democrats while her committee has investigated failings in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. The panel was also in charge of staging President Bidens inauguration, only two weeks after the deadly riot.

For so long people have been focused, understandably, on the inner workings of the Senate with the Rules Committee, said Ms. Klobuchar, who answered with an emphatic yes when asked if she was trying to turn the panel into a force. But the point is we have a bigger jurisdiction, and thats our democracy.

In line with that focus, the panel will convene its first field hearing in 20 years in Atlanta on Monday as it seeks to put a spotlight on the new voting restrictions being imposed by Republican state legislatures there and elsewhere, hoping to build a case for the seemingly fatally stalled voting rights measure. It is part of a rare move by the Rules Committee to try its hand at legislating  or at least agenda-setting  on a prominent policy issue.
Perhaps no one has benefited more from the arrangement than Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who recently informed lawmakers that proxy voting would be in effect for the remainder of the summer. It has allowed Ms. Pelosi, whose majority is so slim that she can afford to lose no more than four Democrats if every member is present and voting, to all but ensure that absences alone do not cost her pivotal support.

Rank-and-file lawmakers have also taken full advantage. The day before the border junket, Representative Ron Kind, a politically endangered Wisconsin Democrat, used proxy voting so that he could instead accompany President Biden on a visit through his home state.

In February, a dozen Republicans including Matt Gaetz of Florida and Devin Nunes of California were criticized for doing the same to attend the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida  after many of them had excoriated Democrats for their use of proxy voting. Around the same time, several Democrats used proxies to cast votes to attend protests in Minneapolis around the murder trial of Derek Chauvin.

And data suggests that lawmakers regularly use the system to extend their weekends back home. According to outside experts who compiled and analyzed data on proxy voting in the House, its use often ticks up on days lawmakers are scheduled to fly in and out of town. The House returns on Monday after a two-week break; on its final day in session before the recess began, 39 members used proxies instead of showing up in person to vote.

People using it are lying, said Representative Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, heaping criticism on leaders in both parties for doing little to police abuses. Congress itself, he asserted, is paying the price.
As protesters hurled rocks outside Haitis national palace and set fires on the streets to demand President Jovenel Moises resignation, President Trump invited him to Mar-a-Lago in 2019, posing cheerfully with him in one of the clubs ornate entryways.

After members of Congress warned that Mr. Moises anti-democratic abuses reminded them of the run-up to the dictatorship that terrorized Haiti in decades past, the Biden administration publicly threw its weight behind Mr. Moises claim on power.

And when American officials urged the Biden administration to change course, alarmed that Haitis democratic institutions were being stripped away, they say their pleas went unheeded  and sometimes never earned a response at all.

Through Mr. Moises time in office, the United States backed his increasingly autocratic rule, viewing it as the easiest way of maintaining stability in a troubled country that barely figured into the priorities of successive administrations in Washington, current and former officials say.
SEOUL  In the history of South Koreas fight for democracy, the 1980 uprising in Gwangju stands out as one of the proudest moments. Thousands of ordinary citizens took to the streets to protest a military dictatorship, and hundreds were shot down by security forces. The bloody incident has been sanctified in textbooks as the Gwangju Democratization Movement.

Right-wing extremists, however, have offered an alternative, highly inflammatory view of what happened: Gwangju, they say, was not a heroic sacrifice for democracy, but a riot instigated by North Korean communists who had infiltrated the protest movement.

Such conspiracy theories, which few historians take seriously, have been spreading quickly in South Korea, where a political divide  rooted in the countrys torturous and often violent modern history  is being amplified online.

President Moon Jae-ins governing party has rolled out a slate of legislation, some of which has already become law, aimed at stamping out false narratives about certain sensitive historical topics, including Gwangju. His supporters say he is protecting the truth. Free speech advocates, and Mr. Moons conservative enemies, have accused the president of using censorship and history as political weapons.
The appearance was Ms. Merkels first since the start of the disaster, and everyone she encountered appeared pleased that she was there. The chancellor, who is known for her deliberate, cautious approach to handling problems, was in Washington when the worst of the flooding struck on Thursday. She held video conferences with the leaders of the worst-affected regions after she returned on Friday. Saturday was her 67th birthday.

Despite her relative absence, Ms. Merkel has been shielded from public criticism by the sudden timing of the floods, the significance of her trip to Washington  considered an important step to restoring ties with the United States after the tumultuous Trump administration  her formidable political stature well into her fourth term as chancellor, and now her status as a lame duck.

Instead, most of the German news media have focused on how the candidates to replace her in Septembers election have responded to the tragedy. All three of the main candidates in the race visited the stricken areas last week.

Still, after 16 years of guiding Europes largest and most powerful country through one calamity after the other  including the global economic downturn in 2008, the European debt crisis that followed, the arrival of more than one million migrants six years ago and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic  Germans have become accustomed to her approach of analyzing and contemplating a situation before deciding to act.

Ms. Merkels finance minister, Olaf Scholz, said the government was working to organize several hundred million euros, or dollars, of immediate relief for those who lost their homes and their livelihoods in the floods.

On Saturday, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany visited the city of Erftstadt, where the raging waters washed away several homes and triggered a landslide; at least 16 residents there remain unaccounted for. He was accompanied by Armin Laschet, 60, the head of the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the leading contender for the chancellery, who is the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state.
Right now, money is not the problem, he said. A lot of these houses will have to be destroyed.

Maike Haberkorn, 33, went with her husband, Rouven, 46, a nightclub bouncer, to help friends in Heimersheim, a flooded town up the Ahr River.

The basement is like a dark mudhole, she said with a shudder. To be honest, after this, I wouldnt want to live there. I would always dream of this and never forget it. I would always feel insecure.

Dirk Wershofer, 48, covered in mud, came to clean out his parents home. His mother is 79 and his father, 84, with a bad case of Parkinsons. They were trapped in an upstairs bedroom, he said, and it was almost 24 hours before his sister could get through to rescue them.

Looking down the devastated street, he said, This looks more like the result of a war.

With elections in September, Mr. Wershofer is sure these floods will have an impact. People right now work, wash, sleep, work and sleep and work again. They dont think about the government. But in a week they will be very angry.

Farther upriver, in Altenahr, a pretty tourist town, the destruction is profound. The Ahr curves around the town, and so the flood hit from two directions, demolishing almost everything in its way.

Buildings like the pub and guesthouse, Zum Schwarzen Kreuz, which bears a reference to the guesthouse on the bridge, 1640, are so fully ruined that they are likely to have to be demolished.
Muhammad Nasir, 29, said he had fled the war in Yemen after his father was killed. He was trying to join his uncle in Britain. He said he had been pushed back seven times by the Greek Coast Guard; this was his eighth attempt.

For three months, I have been trying, he said, his voice cracking. I feel disappointed. I cannot stay in Turkey, I do not have a job and my family are waiting for me to help them.

An Afghan teenager with an injured leg, Reyhan Ahmedi, 16, was picked up after six hours at sea alone after being expelled by Greece. He said he had fled his home in the town of Gereshk, in southern Afghanistan, as attacks from the Taliban escalated. When he got news that his home had been bombed and was unable to reach his parents, he decided to make a bid to reach Europe.

I thought I should take myself away from Afghanistan and find a better future for myself, he said. I want to get an education.
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Canada surpasses U.S. vaccination rate, after lagging for months. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada at a vaccination site in Montreal last week. Credit... Christinne Muschi/Reuters Canadas vaccination rate is now higher than the United States rate, as the country has overcome months of production and shipping delays that had left it lagging behind its southern neighbor. Over 49 percent of Canadians are fully vaccinated, and 70 percent had received at least one dose as of Saturday, according to the most recent figures available through the Our World in Data project. The United States now trails Canada by about one percentage point among the fully vaccinated, who account for over 48 percent of its population, while only 55.5 percent have received at least one dose. The European Union has also been catching up to the United States after lagging far behind until recently, with 55.7 percent of its citizens at least partly vaccinated. The E.U. still lags in its fully vaccinated rate, at under 43 percent. As vaccinations even out in many Western countries, wealthy nations are leaving the rest of the world far behind. Only about 1 percent of people in low-income countries are even partly vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. After steady growth through the winter and spring, the pace of U.S. vaccinations has remained relatively flat. President Biden, in a renewed push, called this month for employers to set up clinics at work and to offer paid time off for workers. Vaccinations have plateaued in the United States as concerns have grown over the spread of the highly contagious Delta virus variant. Though cases remain a fraction of their peak, the average number of new daily cases across the United States has almost tripled in the past two weeks. Outbreaks have erupted in some parts of Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Canadas vaccine uptick could be welcome news for travelers on both sides of the border. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signaled that the country could be ready to accept fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents across its border for nonessential travel as of mid-August, according to a readout of his call with provincial leaders. Mr. Trudeau also said Canada could open to fully vaccinated travelers across the world by early September if conditions continue to improve. Canadas vaccination rate has revved up after supply disruptions marred the early rollout, leading to a drop in poll-based public approval ratings for Mr. Trudeau in February. After an early start, production issues at Pfizer and Moderna led to reduced shipments in winter  including some weeks in which no vaccine doses arrived at all. Experts said that Canadas start was always going to be sluggish because of several key factors, notably its decision last year to spread its 414 million orders among seven different companies to reduce risk rather than bet on a single vaccine in exchange for early delivery. And Canada faced inherent disadvantages, too: primarily the lack of an established vaccine producer with headquarters in the country and its relatively limited production capacity to make the vaccines developed by foreign companies. Canadas northern Yukon and Northwest Territories are leading the country with the highest proportion of fully vaccinated residents, at over 59 percent, with two Atlantic provinces, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, lagging behind the others at about 30 percent, according to data from Canadas public health agency. (An earlier version of this article described incorrectly the segment of Canadas population that has been vaccinated. The percentages are for the total population, not only those eligible for vaccination.) Read more

Facebook and the Biden administration trade punches over vaccine misinformation. Facebooks headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Credit... Laura Morton for The New York Times Facebook and the Biden administration engaged in an increasingly rancorous back and forth over the weekend after the administration denounced the social media giant for spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccines. On Sunday, the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, reiterated warnings that false stories about the vaccines had become a dangerous health hazard. These platforms have to recognize theyve played a major role in the increase in speed and scale with which misinformation is spreading, Mr. Murthy said on the CNN program State of the Union. In a blog post on Saturday, Facebook called on the administration to stop finger-pointing and laid out what it had done to encourage users to get vaccinated. The social network also detailed how it had clamped down on lies about the vaccines, which officials have said led people to refuse to be vaccinated. The Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies, Guy Rosen, Facebooks vice president of integrity, said in the post. The fact is that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the U.S. has increased. Mr. Rosen said that the companys data showed that 85 percent of its U.S. users had been or wanted to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The country fell short of meeting President Bidens target of having 70 percent of American adults vaccinated by July 4, but, Mr. Rosen said, Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed. Mr. Biden had forcefully condemned Facebook on Friday. Asked about the role of social media in influencing vaccinations, Mr. Biden declared in unusually strong language that the platforms were killing people. Look, he added, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and that  and theyre killing people. Misinformation and conspiracy theories about Covid treatments and vaccines is rampant across the world. Although misinformation most likely plays a role in some peoples choice not to get vaccinated, those decisions are complex and difficult to quantify. Facebook is the worlds largest social media platform, and its reach is profound. In the United States, Pew surveys show that seven out of 10 adults use the platform. On Sunday morning, Mr. Murthy also responded to accusations by a Facebook official who spoke anonymously to CNN, saying the administration was looking for scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals. The company official told CNN ahead of Mr. Murthys appearance on the news network that in private conversations, Mr. Murthy has praised our work while publicly criticizing the company. Mr. Murthy disputed the characterization. Ive been very consistent in what Ive said to the technology companies, Mr. Murthy said on CNN on Sunday morning. When we see steps that are good, we should acknowledge those, he said, adding: But what Ive also said is that its not enough. We are still seeing a proliferation of misinformation online. Read more

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Coco Gauff tests positive for the virus, another blow for the Tokyo Olympics. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:32 - 0:00 transcript Olympics Organizers Report First Virus Cases in Athletes Village Officials for the Tokyo Olympic Games defended their safety protocols after reporting three coronavirus cases within the athletes village. Other cases related to the event have been reported outside the village. There is no such thing as zero risk, and that we all agree. At the same time, the mingling and crossing of population is incredibly limited, incredibly limited. And we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. Im qualifying almost. [The] screening program, since 1st of July has already delivered more than 30,000 results. So thats how diligent we are in terms of monitoring the population which is here, and will continue to do so. This is probably the most controlled population at this point in time, anywhere in the world. We want to be really impeccable games participants and that is something we are relaying constantly. And we do that to achieve these goals of safe games for participants, safe games for the Japanese population. Officials for the Tokyo Olympic Games defended their safety protocols after reporting three coronavirus cases within the athletes village. Other cases related to the event have been reported outside the village. Credit Credit... Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times Follow our live coverage of the Olympics. The teenage American tennis star Coco Gauff said Sunday that she had tested positive for the coronavirus and would not be competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Her withdrawal was the latest sign that the pandemic would disrupt the Games with the opening ceremony just days away and the virus continuing to infect athletes and others involved. I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for Covid and wont be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Gauff, 17, wrote on Twitter. It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future.  pic.twitter.com/lT0LoEV3eO  Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) July 18, 2021 Gauff was supposed to lead an American team of 12 players. Serena Williams, another American star, had already said she would not be at the Games, because of restrictions that would prevent her from traveling with her 3-year-old daughter. It is unclear whether Gauff was vaccinated, but her busy tour schedule would have made getting jabbed a challenge. Covid vaccines were cleared in December for people ages 16 and over in the European Union and the United States. In Britain they are approved only for ages 18 and over. Public opinion polls in Japan have shown tepid support for going ahead with the Games, which were already postponed by a year, and a nationwide surge in cases has cast a further pall over the event. After barring international spectators in March, organizers said this month that domestic spectators would be barred as well. Anxiety over the Olympics has intensified as the highly contagious Delta virus variant has been spreading in Asia. The variant is driving new outbreaks in places where transmission was once kept relatively low, but where the pace of vaccination has lagged, like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia. That has led to everyday activities again being restricted in countries around the region, just as they were in the anxious, early days of the pandemic. Organizers reported more than two dozen positive coronavirus tests this weekend among people who have traveled to Japan for the event, including the first cases inside the athletes village. On Saturday, officials reported the first positive test  for an organizer  inside the village, where thousands of people will be staying. On Sunday, they reported that two athletes had tested positive inside the village. A third athlete tested positive while in quarantine. Other cases were reported outside the village this weekend, involving officials, contractors and members of the news media. In a statement on Sunday, the South African Football Association confirmed that three people associated with the mens Olympic soccer team had tested positive: one official and two players, Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi. It was unclear whether those were the cases reported by Olympic officials, who did not disclose any names or nationalities. In addition, the British Olympics Association confirmed on Sunday that six British track and field athletes and two staff members are in quarantine at the teams preparation camp after being identified as close contacts of an individual who tested positive on their flight to Japan. The group all tested negative at the airport and have continued to test negative upon arrival into the country, the association said. Olympic officials defended their safety protocols on Sunday, saying a strict testing regimen minimized the risk of outbreaks. At a news conference, Pierre Ducrey, operations director for the Olympic Games, said that since July 1, more than 18,000 participants had arrived in Japan from overseas and more than 30,000 tests had been conducted. This is probably the most controlled population at this point in time anywhere in the world, he said. Tokyo is now under its fourth state of emergency since the pandemic began, with this one set to last until after the Games end on Aug. 8. The city is seeing its highest case numbers in months, reporting more than 1,000 new cases for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday. New precautionary measures continue to be announced in the days leading up to the Games. They include changes to the medal ceremony, announced last week, that require athletes to place their gold, silver or bronze medals around their own necks rather than accept them from presenters. The podium will also be larger this year to ensure social distancing among medalists. Olympic officials had previously announced that masks would be mandatory for both medalists and presenters. Some athletes have decided to stay away from the Games. They include two Australians: the tennis player Nick Kyrgios, who cited misgivings about the lack of spectators, and the basketball player Liz Cambage, who said she worried about the effect that being confined to the Olympic bubble would have on her mental health. Jennifer Jett , Alexandra E. Petri and Read more

Boris Johnson will quarantine after being exposed to the virus, though that wasnt his initial plan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain in London last week. Credit... Daniel Leal-Olivas/Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and his top finance official, Rishi Sunak, will go into quarantine on Sunday, only hours after Downing Street said that they would not do so after having been in contact with a cabinet minister who said he had tested positive for the coronavirus a day earlier. The abrupt reversal by Mr. Johnson and Mr. Sunak, Britains top two government officials, came after a swift and ferocious public backlash over their initial plans enter a special N.H.S. program that would have allowed them to continue to work in the office with daily testing. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Sunak were notified, or pinged, by the National Health Service after face-to-face meetings with the health secretary, Sajid Javid, who said on Saturday that he had tested positive and had mild symptoms of Covid-19. The news of the testing arrangement brought immediate criticism, with some pointing out that it was only the latest example of senior officials playing by different rules. How about the school teachers, transport workers and health workers getting a chance to be part of this test pilot or is it only for the privileged few? Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, posted on Twitter. By 11 a.m. in London, three hours after the original statement, both men had backed off. The prime minister was at his country residence, Chequers, when he was notified by the N.H.S. and will now stay there. He will not be taking part in the pilot program, a spokesman said in a statement. Mr. Sunak said on Twitter that whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules arent the same for everyone is wrong. The situation has raised further questions about the governments plan to lift restrictions on Monday, even as cases have surged to more than 50,000 a day, largely because of the highly transmissible Delta variant. Read more

Los Angeles Countys mask mandate is in effect, as officials seek to blunt a sharp case spike. People danced at a bar in Los Angeles on Saturday night before the reimposed indoor mask mandate took effect. As of midnight on Saturday, masks are required indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Credit... Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images A new requirement that masks be worn indoors in Los Angeles County went into effect at midnight on Saturday, as officials try to blunt a sharp spike in new coronavirus cases. The countys daily average of new cases has more than doubled in each of the past two weeks, reaching almost 1,400 as of Saturday, and Covid hospitalizations are up by 27 percent, according to a New York Times database. Still, the numbers are far smaller than during the countys winter peak, and daily deaths have remained in the single digits. When you look back at the last seven days obviously a whole lot has changed, Hilda Solis, the chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said on Sunday on the ABC program This Week. Ms. Solis called the past weeks increase in coronavirus cases  from an average of 761 to 1,389  very disturbing. I am not pleased that we have to go back to using the mask in this manner, but its going to save lives, she said. Under the new mandate, both unvaccinated and vaccinated people will be required to wear masks. Including vaccinated people, Ms. Solis said, was not punishment, its prevention. The mask requirement was reintroduced, according to the county health department, because the areas surge of the highly infectious Delta variant presents risks that earlier versions of the virus did not. People with only one vaccine are not as well protected, and there is evidence that a very small number of fully vaccinated individuals can become infected and may be able to infect others, the department said in a statement on Thursday. County public health officials had been urging residents for weeks to wear masks indoors as the Delta variant spread in the state, as it is doing across the country. But with California fully reopened and pandemic restrictions lifted, it remains unclear how willing the public will be to pick up their masks again. On Sunday morning in Beverly Hills, hospitality workers were faced with the challenge of reinforcing the masking mandate as people streamed into cafes, patisseries and brunch spots  some compliant, but others oblivious or even resistant. Were prepared; we have extra masks, said Emmi Perez, 19, a barista at Starbucks. But a lot of people, she added, had refused to put them on, claiming they were either vaccinated or simply did not want to wear one. We did get in a couple of arguments already, she said. Giulia Heyward, Sophie Kasakove, Andrea Kannapell, Shawn Hubler and Read more

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Indonesia has become the new epicenter of the pandemic. Covid-19 patients in a tent outside Dr. Sardjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. Credit... Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times BEKASI, Indonesia  By the thousands, they sleep in hallways, tents and cars, gasping for air as they wait for beds in overcrowded hospitals that may not have oxygen to give them. Others see hospitals as hopeless, even dangerous, and take their chances at home. Wherever they lie, as Covid-19 steals their breath away, their families engage in a frantic, daily hunt for scarce supplies of life-giving oxygen. Indonesia has become the new epicenter of the pandemic, surpassing India and Brazil to become the country with the worlds highest known count of new infections.  The surge is part of a wave across Southeast Asia, where vaccination rates are low but countries had until recently contained the virus relatively well. Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand are also facing their largest outbreaks yet and have imposed new restrictions, including lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. In Indonesia, cases and deaths have skyrocketed in the past month as the highly contagious Delta variant sweeps through densely populated Java island, as well as Bali. In some regions, the coronavirus has pushed the medical system past its limits, though hospitals are taking emergency steps to expand capacity. Bekasi Regional Public Hospital, where some Covid patients have waited days for treatment, has erected large tents on its grounds, with beds for up to 150 people. Nearby in Jakarta, the capital, a long line of people waited for hours outside a small dispensary, hoping to fill their portable tanks with oxygen. Among them was Nyimas Siti Nadia, 28, who had been searching for oxygen for her aunts family, all sick with Covid. She is a doctor and she is afraid to go to a hospital because she knows the situation, Ms. Nyimas said. There are many instances where patients do not get beds or oxygen. On Thursday, the Indonesian authorities reported nearly 57,000 new cases, the highest daily total yet. On Friday, they reported a record 1,205 deaths, bringing the countrys official toll from the pandemic to more than 71,000. But some health experts say those figures vastly understate the situation. Fira Abdurachman , Richard C. Paddock and Read more

A federal appeals court ruling keeps C.D.C. rules on Floridas cruise ships in place. A legal battle continues over regulations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Florida cruise ships, created to prevent coronavirus outbreaks aboard. Credit... Joe Raedle/Getty Images ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.  Pandemic restrictions on Florida-based cruise ships will remain in place after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a previous ruling that sided with a lawsuit challenging the regulations. The one-paragraph decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit was filed at 11:50 p.m. Saturday, just minutes before a Tampa judges previous ruling on restrictions set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was set to take effect. The temporary stay keeps the C.D.C. regulations regarding Florida-based cruise ships in place while the agency appeals the earlier decision on the lawsuit. The lawsuit, championed by the states governor, Ron DeSantis, a Republican, claims that the C.D.C.s multiple-step process to allow cruising from Florida is overly burdensome, harming both a multibillion-dollar industry that provides some 159,000 jobs and revenue collected by the state. A spokeswoman for Mr. DeSantis did not immediately respond on Sunday to an email and a text message seeking comment. The C.D.C. argues that keeping the rules in place will prevent coronavirus outbreaks on ships, which are vulnerable to the spread of the virus because of their close quarters and frequent stops at foreign ports. The C.D.C. halted cruise ships from sailing in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which had affected passengers and crews on numerous ships. On Oct. 30, 2020, the agency imposed a four-phase conditional framework that it said would allow the industry to gradually resume operations if certain thresholds were met. Those included virus mitigation procedures and a simulated cruise to test them before embarking regular passengers. The earlier ruling, from U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday, concluded that the C.D.C.s rules should be considered nonbinding recommendations or guidelines. Several cruise lines have begun preliminary cruises under those guidelines, which the Tampa judge agreed with Florida are too onerous. Florida persuasively claims that the conditional sailing order will shut down most cruises through the summer and perhaps much longer, Judge Merryday wrote in his decision, adding that Florida faces an increasingly threatening and imminent prospect that the cruise industry will depart the state. The 11th Circuits brief decision did not include any opinions from the judges, which the panel said would be released later. The decision noted that one appeals judge dissented. Disney Cruise Line held its first simulated sailing under C.D.C. rules on Saturday when the Disney Dream departed from Port Canaveral in Florida. The passengers were volunteer Disney employees. Read more

Australias Liz Cambage says the thought of the Olympics Covid bubble gave her panic attacks. Liz Cambage, left, before a W.N.B.A. game in May. Credit... Ethan Miller/Getty Images Follow our live coverage of the Olympics. After announcing that she would skip the Tokyo Olympics to protect her mental health, the Australian basketball star Liz Cambage said that she had been at a breaking point for a month over the prospect of entering a Covid bubble and playing in an empty arena at the Games. In a series of videos posted to Instagram on Friday, Cambage said that once she made the decision to withdraw from Australias womens basketball team, I felt a world of anxiety and pressure and heaviness I had been carrying lift straight off me. I had been having breakdowns in the car park at Whole Foods, nonstop panic attacks, hyperventilating at the thought of going into one of the most pressure situations, which is already in a bubble, with no fans, no friends, Cambage said. Cambage, 29, who also plays for the W.N.B.A.s Las Vegas Aces, shot the videos from her hotel room in Las Vegas, where the Australian team has been practicing. The team will travel later this month to Tokyo, where the Olympics are scheduled to begin on Friday despite rising infections in the city and among people involved in the Games. With spectators barred from most events and athletes confined to the Olympic Village, training facilities and competition venues, Cambage said that after arriving in Tokyo, there would be definitely no escape. The reason she sat out last years pandemic-delayed W.N.B.A. season, she added, was that she was not OK in a bubble and did not want to play games without fans in attendance. In announcing her withdrawal from the Olympics on Thursday, she said that she was taking medication to manage her anxiety, and was a long way from the mental and physical shape needed to compete. This Olympics aint gonna be easy, and its gonna be survival of the fittest, and there aint no point dragging someone over there thats already feeling mentally weak, she said in a video. Cambages departure is a blow to the Australian teams medal hopes. She was Australias leading scorer at the 2016 Games, when the team made the quarterfinals. She also holds the W.N.B.A.s single-game scoring record, with 53 points. The head of the Australian Olympic delegation, Ian Chesterman, said in a statement: We respect her decision and wish her the best in returning to full health. Read more

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Global Roundup Thai protesters criticize the governments handling of outbreak, and other news from around the world. A protester threw a pyrotechnic device at riot police during a rally on Sunday to demand the resignation of Thailand's prime minister. Credit... Adam Dean for The New York Times Demonstrators in Thailand clashed with the police on Sunday as they defied coronavirus restrictions to protest the government and its handling of the pandemic. More than 1,000 people in Bangkok, the capital, gathered in the afternoon at the Democracy Monument, a Thai icon that has been a focus of activism for decades, and then marched or drove to Government House, which contains the offices of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. They demanded the resignation of Mr. Prayuth, who took power in a 2014 military coup, as well as more funding to fight the virus and the distribution of an mRNA vaccine, like the highly effective ones developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Smaller demonstrations took place in provinces around the country on Sunday, the one-year anniversary of the first of a wave of student-led pro-democracy protests that drew hundreds of thousands of people into the nations streets until a government crackdown and an increase in infections. The Sunday protests came two days after the government, citing the pandemic, announced a nationwide ban on public gatherings of more than five people. Violations are punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of about $1,200. After keeping virus cases to a minimum for all of last year, Thailand is now facing its worst outbreak of the pandemic, fueled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta variants of the virus. On Sunday, the country reported a record 11,397 new infections, one day after it reported 141 deaths, a national record. Protesters carried 141 mock body bags to mark the deaths, some of which were laid on a picture of Mr. Prayuth on the ground. Police officers tried to deter protesters with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. At 6 p.m., one of two times per day when the national anthem is broadcast on radio and television, some people instead sang Do You Hear the People Sing? from the musical Les Miserables. Shortly afterward, organizers announced that the protest had ended. Public frustration has grown over the economic impact of pandemic restrictions as well as the slow pace of vaccinations, with less than 5 percent of Thailands 70 million people fully inoculated, according to a New York Times database. Although Thailand has approved a number of vaccines for emergency use and is producing its own doses of the AstraZeneca shot, up to this point it has mainly administered the Sinovac vaccine developed in China, whose effectiveness against the variants appears to be weak. Officials said last week that health care workers who had received Sinovac would also be inoculated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots to give them greater protection after hundreds of them became infected despite being fully vaccinated. In other developments around the world: Vietnam s southern region, including its economic center, Ho Chi Minh City, began a two-week lockdown on Sunday because of rising coronavirus cases. About 97 million people live in Vietnam, but only around 4 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

The prime minister of South Korea said on Sunday that across the country, private gatherings would be limited to four people until Aug. 1. South Korea is seeing record numbers of coronavirus cases, and just 30 percent of its population has received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Ukraine and Bangladesh: Through the Covax program, the United States sent 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Ukraine on Friday, and planned to send 3.5 million doses to Bangladesh this weekend. Muktita Suhartono and Read more

Some parts of China are requiring vaccines not just for students but for their families as well. Waiting to be vaccinated in the Chinese region of Guangxi last month. Credit... Agence France-Presse  Getty Images Some local governments in China have begun requiring that all students  and their families  be vaccinated before the students can return to school in the fall, as part of an aggressive campaign to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by the end of the year. Notices shared by some municipalities in the southern region of Guangxi said that the requirements would apply to family members registered to the same household as any student from preschool through high school. We request that the masses of unvaccinated people hurry up and get vaccinated, and avoid affecting your childs schooling, a notice in the city of Beiliu said. School officials in various regions around the world have made vaccination a requirement for returning to in-person classes. Still, the extension of the requirement to family members underscored the urgency with which China is pressing to reach herd immunity, even as some residents  as in the rest of the world  question the concept of compulsory vaccination. In addition to the schooling requirements, local governments have said that unvaccinated people will soon be barred from nursing homes, museums, libraries and other public venues. A county in Jiangxi Province said that people without at least one shot of the vaccine would not be allowed in supermarkets. The Beiliu notice said that unvaccinated farmers would not be allowed to operate stalls. Chinas vaccination campaign got off to a slow start, partly because of skepticism about the vaccines as well as a lack of urgency, as the number of cases there remains very low. But the government, through a mix of carrot and stick measures, has greatly accelerated uptake, and the National Health Commission said last week that more than 1.4 billion doses had been administered, covering about half of the population. Still, the new requirements prompted some backlash online. A local government in the eastern province of Zhejiang retracted a ban on unvaccinated people in certain public venues after pushback; an official in Jiangxi told the state news media that the ban was only in principle and was intended to motivate people. Read more

Chiropractors are split on the vaccine. And those opposed to it are quite vocal. As the Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads in the United States and the rate of new vaccinations slows, a conflict within the chiropractic profession has become more consequential. On one side are those who have called on their peers to encourage vaccination as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical authorities. In a 2013 paper in the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, for example, four chiropractors wrote that by recommending vaccines, the chiropractic profession would promote the public good and, by doing so, would be in a better position to be embraced by the broader health care community. That paper, said one of its authors, Brian Gleberzon, a professor at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, is still relevant. On the other side are those who dismiss the overwhelming medical consensus that the vaccines are effective and safe. These chiropractors closely follow the ideas espoused more than a century ago by the professions founder, Daniel David Palmer, who believed that diseases were caused by spinal misalignments that disrupted an innate life force. Many fields of alternative medicine are home to anti-vaccination sentiment, and chiropractic is one of the most popular of those fields. More than 35 million Americans visit a chiropractor each year, according to the American Chiropractic Association. Professor Timothy Caulfield, the Canada research chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, has found that people who are attracted to alternative therapies like chiropractic are also the people who are likely to be susceptible to misinformation, he said. If youre open to alternative medicine, youre also more likely to be attracted to anti-vaccination rhetoric, so the ideas cluster. Read more

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Where every day is March 10, 2020: A dispatch from an empty newsroom. A lone employee worked in the New York Times newsroom last week. Credit... Earl Wilson/The New York Times Its quiet. Too quiet. Im in a gigantic newsroom in a 52-story tower in the busiest neighborhood of one of the busiest cities in the world and  nothing. Not a sound. A sweeping look around reveals a barren landscape of empty desks and empty seats. A glance over the railings reveals two more floors in a similar state of nothingness. Such is life on a recent Thursday night at The New York Times, where I and a few other intrepid souls have started to resurface after over a year of working from home. On most Thursdays on the fourth floor, I see a few colleagues from the Print Hub, the department responsible for producing the daily newspaper. On the third floor, there are two or three senior editors. Walking around, you spot a few faces. But not many. I found it to be a refreshing change of pace, said Alan Robertazzi, editor of print production, who has been coming in a couple of days a week since September. For me, working from home blurred the line between work life and personal life, and I like having those clear boundaries. My reasons for coming in are roughly the same, even though it sometimes feels silly to schlep all the way in from Long Island. There is something of a Macaulay Culkin Home Alone vibe here in our virtually empty tower, an intoxicating sense of having the house to yourself to run down the hallway, play loud music or, I dont know, sit in the executive editors chair and pretend youre running the place. And yet, there also is a kind of Charlton Heston Omega Man eeriness in wandering through a civilization seemingly frozen, like Pompeii, in a post-apocalyptic moment, especially when our fast-paced jobs entail keeping up with every piece of breaking news, 24/7. The entire department was a time capsule of our sudden departure, said my fellow Print Hub editor Dan Adkison. The calendar on my desk was still set to March 10, 2020, and my handwritten notes for the March 11, 2020, issue were still lying next to my keyboard. Read more
States will continue to run their traditional programs, each with its own rules, and benefit size and length vary. Some workers may be eligible for extended benefits, which typically become available during periods of high unemployment. The details depend on location, so check the unemployment website in the state where youre employed.

Student Loans

Payments for most federal student loan borrowers have been paused since March 2020, though borrowers have had the option to continue making payments. Most of them didnt: Tens of millions of people are still taking advantage of the so-called administrative forbearance offered by the Education Department. The relief also included a halt on collections for borrowers in default.

As of now, payments are scheduled to resume no earlier than Sept. 30. Many borrowers and consumer advocates have been pushing for another extension into the new year  and Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, didnt rule it out during congressional testimony last month. The pressure for an extension only increased when one of the governments largest loan servicers said it wouldnt renew its contract when it ended later this year. Accounts will have to be moved to a new servicer just as the giant task of restarting payments is getting underway.

But nothing has happened yet, so borrowers would be wise to at least begin preparing.

To start with, borrowers can expect a notice or billing statement about three weeks before their payment is due. Payments that are automatically debited are expected to resume on the first due date after payments are again required. Make sure your contact information is updated on your loan servicers website, as well as in your StudentAid.gov profile. It could save you a lot of headaches by ensuring that youre properly notified about restarting payments.

Your situation may have drastically changed since March 2020, and your payment may be a bit different, too. The best place to start is with your servicer: Find out what your payment will be. If you cannot afford that amount, use the Education Departments loan simulator to see if theres another repayment option that would better suit your situation.

For some borrowers, the best option may be an income-driven payment plan, which bases monthly payments on how much they make. If youre interested, act now. Servicers could be crushed with such requests in the months ahead, experts said.

There are still questions about how restarting payments will work for certain borrowers. For example, its unclear what borrowers who were in default before the pandemic  or those who were having their wages garnished  can expect to happen. An administration official said the Education Department was considering a range of policy options to ensure there is as clean a transition as possible once the pause ends.
The popular Birr priest Fr Pat Gilbert, who is due to retire in the next couple of weeks, has received a number of tributes, including a moving tribute from his friend and colleague of many years Fr Michael Reddan.

Fr Reddan begins his tribute with the quotation, By their fruits you will know them', and points out that the excellent fruits of Fr Pat's years of service are there for all to see.

Fr Reddan points out that to evangelise is not just saying words, and to share ones faith is to live out the conviction that we need actions as well as words.

Here is Fr Michael's tribute in full.

"The Word became Flesh and lived amongst us. For 33 years Fr Pat Gilbert lived a commitment to witness, his life a silent preaching. Long before we heard of clustering of parishes, Fr Pat was ministering to a great cluster of parishes at St Brendans Community School. Three generations know Fr Pat and all speak so highly of him, simply because Fr Pat was available, gave generously of his time, was a good listener and he always had the encouraging word. He knew people personally, early morning or late at night he was available.

"Pope Francis has a beautiful expression - a true shepherd smells of the sheep. And Fr Pat most certainly smelled of the sheep. Thus is the Gospel lived, not by pretty sermons or theatrical performance and then failing to live by them.

It would be interesting to ask, over the past 25 years what percentage of vocations emanated from St Brendans Community School?

"The influence of Fr Pat, in an education system very often directed towards a desire to have more, was how he encouraged his pupils to be more, to realise themselves through service and love . . . . the roots of a vocation. Lived example is the best witness.

"Fr Pat, I had the privilege of living and serving with you for 14 years in Birr. You embodied a true witness to the Christ who said: I have come to serve not to be served. You were gentle and kind, compassionate and sound in your advice, and your great strength, confidentiality. You never imposed yourself or never yielded authority.

"The prophetic mission is a duty to Gods people. At the Community School, as in the home we shared at Johns Mall, created for us by Ann Murphy, another true witness of loyal and faithful service, you conveyed an awareness of Gods mission in the work, a divine presence.

"We all have our own particular image of God. Mine is: God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger and rich in mercy. Fr Pat, this is the image that I hold of you as a priest of Jesus Christ. Your priesthood gives life. This is a beautiful truth and let all of us who know you give thanks to God, to Him be the glory and praise. Amen.

Farewell Fr Pat, my true friend and companion."
A once proud hotel in Banagher is now a dreadful eyesore, stated a local Councillor during the July meeting of Birr Municipal District this week.

Cllr Clare Claffey told the meeting that the Royal Shannon Hotel near the marina was once a beautiful, thriving building.

She said it was bought by a Vulture Fund, which has sat on the hotel for many years and done nothing, allowing it to fall into a bad state of dereliction.

The councillor said the building is a protected structure.

Unfortunately there are a number of buildings like this in the town, and they look horrendous.

She said the Marina is buzzing with visitors and locals each day at the moment, but the sight of the Royal Shannon's dereliction casts a shadow over everyone's enjoyment and is, quite frankly, an embarrassment."

It is a disgrace that the Vulture Fund which owns the hotel has been allowed to sit on it for so many years without doing anything. We should take on these Vulture Funds and not allow things like this to happen.

She said she had heard on the grapevine that the premises will be going up for auction. She wondered if the County Council would purchase the premises. Failing that, if it is not put up for auction, then, she argued, the Council should purchase it through a CPO. If it is put up for sale and it gets a new owner then I think it would be a good idea for the Council to engage with that new owner.

Cllr John Leahy said he wrote to the Vulture Fund a long time ago but got no reply. He praised Cllr Claffey for not giving up, continously hammering at the problem and now it looks likely it will be put on the market. He added that if it doesn't get sold on the private market then perhaps a Rural Regeneration Fund could be directed towards it.

Stephane Duclot, Director of Services, said a masterplan for Banagher Marina will be drawn up, starting in September, and the Royal Shannon will be part of that masterplan. The negative visual impact of the hotel is a problem for the town, no doubt.

Cllr John Clendennen said several properties in the town need upgrading. He cautioned against sounding too critical of vulture funds, as they weren't all bad.

Cllr Claffey replied that that was all very well but the Vulture Funds should not be allowed to sit on properties for years and do nothing, letting them go to rack and ruin. It will not take a lot of money to get Royal Shannon back to the vibrant building it once was. Cllr John Leahy said he is aware that a number of private investors wish to buy the premises.

Royal Shannon was once a handsome building. It's a terraced three-bay, three-storey former house, built about 1800, with a bowed entrance bay, and modern extensions to the rear. It's a striking feature of the town's streetscape and has been called one of the grandest structures within the town and  a prime example of a grand Irish townhouse.

Of particular architectural note are the bowed breakfront with conical roof and the finely tooled stone doorcase, with its decorative patera and fluted columns which contribute to the artistic significance of the structure. Enclosing the building is a fine cut limestone plinth with evidence of the positioning of iron railings.

It was once the home of the renowned English novelist Anthony Trollope.
BANK of Ireland customers in three Offaly towns will be able to carry out transactions at their local post offices when their banks close next October.

Customers of the branches in Clara, Edenderry, and Banagher have been receiving emails to inform them where their accounts are being transferred to when the doors close. Clara accounts will be moved to Tullamore, Edenderry to Mullingar and Banagher to Birr.

However, Bank of Ireland has agreed a new arrangement with An Post which will enable personal, business account and demand account customers to carry out a range of banking transactions at over 900 post offices across the country. Bank of Ireland say this arrangement will be in place before the banks close.

Postmaster in Clara, Deasun Baggot says the system should be in place by mid-September. He says while he has not been contacted directly, Bank of Ireland has been in touch with An Post to put arrangements in place.

Deasun says the bank in Clara has been automated for the past 18 months, but under the new agreement people will now be able to come to the counter to carry out their banking business including lodging or withdrawing cash.

Last March, Bank of Ireland announced that it had carried out a detailed review of its branch network. Following that it made a decision to close a number of branches including those in three Offaly towns.

Under the new arrangement the bank says that the post office can be used for personal and business current accounts and demand deposit accounts. If you have an ATM card or debit card youll be able to make cash lodgements and cash withdrawals. If you do not have a card you will be able to make cash lodgements and cheque lodgements using a new personalised lodgement docket.

Aoife Leonard, Director, Distribution Channels, Retail Ireland, said: ''I understand that you may be disappointed that your branch is closing and I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.''
THREE men pleaded guilty to various charges of assault, violent disorder and making threats when they were arraigned at the recent sitting of Tullamore Circuit Court.

All three had addresses at Kilcruttin halting site in Tullamore and the bulk of the guilty pleas related to an incident at Kilbrook in the town on August 26, 2019.

John Ward, 37, Patrick Ward, 33 and Callan Ward, aged 27, admitted assaulting John McDonagh, causing him harm, at Kilbrook on that date.

The three accused also pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder on the same occasion.

Callan Ward further admitted a charge of affray at William Street, Tullamore the following day, August 27, along with dangerous driving at the junction of Harbour Street and William Street.

In addition, Callan Ward was arraigned on a separate charge of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Patrick Wesley McDonagh on May 11 last year at Heffernan's filling station, O'Moore Street, Tullamore.

John Peart, SC, for John Ward, asked that a probation and welfare report be prepared for his client, saying the man's life had changed considerably since the offences were committed.

His wife had twins prematurely and they also had six other children.

Mr Peart told Judge Keenan Johnson that John Ward was still subject to a curfew and he asked that it be lifted so that he could visit the twin babies in hospital in Dublin.

Kevin White, BL, prosecuting (instructed by Sandra Mahon, Offaly state solicitor), said the curfew was not until 11pm but added that Mr Ward would be free to travel and attend at the hospital and return home once he contacted the gardai in advance.

Judge Johnson remanded John Ward on bail for sentence to December 7 next. In addition to ordering a probation and welfare report, he also ordered the preparation of a victim impact statement.

Similar orders were made in relation to Patrick Ward after his defence counsel, Gerard Groarke, BL, said the accused, a father of three who was on disability, would like sentencing to take place as soon as possible.

Callan Ward was also remanded on continuing bail to appear in court again at the next Circuit Court sessions for sentencing on December 7.

A previous court sitting was told the offence at Heffernan's filling station related to a feud between two families.

When bail was sought in 2019, John Ward, Patrick Ward and Callan Ward were granted it on condition they stay away from Kilbrook and another location in Tullamore, Church Hill; and stay away from members of the McDonagh family.

Having previously heard details of the alleged offences in the District Court, Judge Catherine Staines refused jurisdiction and the men were later sent forward to the Circuit Court.
It is set to be another glorious week according to the latest Met Eireann weather forecast for the coming week for Ireland.

Met Eireann says the week is going to be very warm or hot with plenty of sunshine.

A High Temperature Weather Advisory is in place until Friday. Met Eireann says that it will continue very warm until Friday, with day time temperatures into the high twenties and very humid at night with temperatures staying in the mid to high teens.

The full weather forecast for the coming week from Met Eireann is as follows.

Another very warm day on Monday with plenty of sunshine, albeit with patchy cloud at times. An isolated heavy shower may break out through the midlands during the afternoon or evening. Maximum temperatures generally ranging 24 to 28 or 29 degrees but slightly less warm in northern and eastern coastal areas with a moderate onshore east to northeast breeze.

Monday night: Warm and humid on Monday night with mostly clear skies but with cloudier conditions along the north coast. Temperatures dropping no lower than 14 to 17 degrees generally in light northeast breezes.

Tuesday: A very warm day on Tuesday with virtually unbroken sunshine. Maximum temperatures ranging 24 to 28 degrees generally but a few degrees less warm at the coast with sea-breezes developing. A warm and very humid night to follow on Tuesday night with temperatures overnight only falling back gradually reaching minima of 15 to 18 degrees around dawn.

High Temperature Advisory for Ireland 



All active warnings see here https://t.co/l8JdKfwZt9 pic.twitter.com/kuVPw1p3pf July 17, 2021

Wednesday: Wednesday looks set to be a hot day with top temperatures ranging 25 to 29 degrees. There'll be lots of sunshine and just scattered cloud, mainly across the western half of the country. Uncomfortably warm and humid on Wednesday night with temperatures not falling below 16 to 19 degrees with light south or variable winds.

Thursday: Another very warm day is forecast for Thursday with sunshine and scattered cloud. Maximum temperatures of 25 to 29 degrees generally but a few degrees less warm along some coasts in light southeast winds. Uncomfortably warm and humid overnight with temperatures not falling below 16 to 19 degrees once again. There'll be clear spells but with the risk of a few heavy showers breaking out during the night in the south.

Friday: Warm sunshine for many on Friday but with some scattered showers or thunderstorms possible, especially across Munster where more general rain may push in during the day. Maximum temperatures of 22 to 27 degrees in moderate southeast winds.
NEW YORK (AP)  Family and community members gathered in New York City on Saturday to remember Eric Garner on the seventh anniversary of his death in a police chokehold.

Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, gathered with others in Staten Island just a few hundred feet from where her son lost his life, the Staten Island Advance reported. She said it was important to continue to honor her son's legacy and never forget what happened.

Every year since, we have commemorated and honored the memory of my son, and we will continue to do so, Carr said. "(With) some people, it would have been swept under the rug and they would have forgotten who Eric Garner was. But because of the movement, because of the people, because of my family, hes not ever going to be forgotten.

Bystander video showed officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, wrapping his arm around the neck of Garner, who was Black, as they struggled on a sidewalk on July 17, 2014. Officers were trying to arrest Garner for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

Garners dying gasps of I cant breathe became a rallying cry among police reform activists.

Pantaleo was fired after a disciplinary trial. No other police personnel involved in Garner's death lost their jobs, and none was criminally charged.

Saturday's remembrance was held at the Healing Arch, a public art installation honoring Garner.

Bishop Victor Brown, senior pastor of the Mt. Sinai United Christian Church, said during the remembrance that it was important to hold police accountable for their actions.

On Thursday, a New York appeals court ruled that a judicial inquiry is warranted into the investigation of Garner's death, denying the citys push to cancel the proceeding.
Opalesque Industry Update - Versor Investments, a quantitative investment management firm focused on alternative investment strategies, announced the promotion of Leah Pozsgay to partner within the firm. Leah is the head of Trade Execution and Counterparty Management. Leah is responsible for trade execution and relationships with banks and other service providers. Prior to joining Versor Investments in 2017 she was a Managing Director at HazelTree, a treasury management solutions provider for the alternatives industry. Previously Leah was a Director at Deutsche Bank where she covered systematic funds for futures and equities. "We welcome Leah to our leadership team and celebrate her significant contributions as well as her commitment to the firm and its values," said Deepak Gurnani, Founding Partner. "Versor was built by a diverse group of individuals working towards a common goal of success in investment management and we could not be more proud to announce Leah's promotion." Ms. Pozsgay started her career at Credit Suisse in 2001 where she worked in execution for macro funds trading futures, treasuries and ETFs. She holds a BS with concentration in Accounting and Finance from St. John's University where she graduated with Honors.
DUBLIN , Ireland - - (Independent Irish International Press Release) - - While the Net Volume of Digital and Cashless Payments has been growing steadily over the past 20 Years , it is totally unsurprising to note that the Covid-19 Pandemic has seen this trend accelerate even further. Recent Data from a wide spectrum of Financial Regulators fundamentally appear to suggest that Global Digital Payments (Worldwide) are set to 
CAIRO (AP)  Egyptian authorities released three activists and three journalists Sunday after months in pre-trial detention, officials and lawyers said. The releases came after U.S. officials, among others, expressed concern over the arrests and harassment of rights advocates and critics of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissis government.

State security prosecutors ordered the release of the six pending ongoing investigations into charges against them, according to two judicial officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The charges rage from disseminating false news and misuse of social media platforms to joining a terrorist group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood which Egypt designated as a terrorist group in 2013.

Despite their lengthy detention, those arrested and released have yet to stand trial, according their lawyers.

Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a pro-democracy activist and writer, walked free early Sunday, her sister Shimaa wrote in a Facebook post. She was a co-founder of the April 6 movement that played a crucial role in the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Abdel-Fattah was arrested in October 2019 in a city west of Cairo, during a crackdown that followed small but rare anti-government protests. Hundreds were arrested at the time, but many were later released.

Prominent rights lawyer Mahienour el-Masry also was released Sunday, her sister Maysoon el-Masry wrote in a Facebook post that included a photo of the lawyer wearing a white uniform for jailed people and a face mask.

El-Masry, who is widely known for her activism in labor movements, and on behalf of Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Egypt, had been arrested in Sep. 2019 amid the crackdown that followed the rare protest.

Authorities also released journalist Gamal el-Gamal, said rights lawyer Nasser Amin. El-Gamal, who is widely known for his columns critical of el-Sissi's government, was arrested earlier this year upon arrival at Cairo International Airport from Turkey, where he had lived since 2017.

Also among those released Sunday were journalists Mustafa el-Aasar and Moataz Wadnan, who had been held in pre-trail detention since 2018, according to rights lawyer Malek Adly.

Abdel-Nasser Ismail, deputy head of the Socialist Peoples Alliance Party, also walked free earlier Sunday after nearly two years in pre-trail detention.

The releases came amid calls by lawmakers and public figures to release activists and rights advocates who have been detained in recent years in over what they say politically-motivated charges.

Last week, there was an outcry by rights advocates when prosecutors last week referred Hossam Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial. Bahgat said he was accused of insulting Egypt's election authority, spreading false news alleging electoral fraud, and using social media to commit crimes.

The accusations stem from a tweet Bahgat wrote last year blaming the election authoritys chairman for allegedly mishandling last year's parliamentary vote, he said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned Bahgats indictment and the detention and harassment of Egyptian civil society leaders, academics, and journalists under el-Sissi.

Weve communicated to the Egyptian government our strong belief that individuals such as Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for expressing their views peacefully, Price said last week. As a strategic partner weve raised these concerns with the Egyptian government, and we will continue to do so going forward.

Also last week, an Egyptian court began the trial of six secular activists and journalists, including former lawmaker Zyad el-Elaimy, rights lawyer Khalid Ali said. The six, who were arrested in 2019, face an array of charges including disturbing the public peace through disseminating false news about domestic affairs. The next court session is July 29, Ali said.

El-Elaimy and others were added by a court last year to a list of suspected terrorists for the next five years. The decision was upheld last week by the Court of Cassation  Egypt's highest criminal court.

Also added to the terror list was Palestinian-Egyptian activist Ramy Shaath, who helped establish Egypts branch of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel, known as BDS. Shaath, the son of a former Palestinian foreign minister, was also detained in 2019 but has not been charged or referred to court for trial. His wife, a French citizen, has been deported.

The Egyptian government has in recent years waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Journalists have also been targeted, with dozens imprisoned and some expelled. Egypt remains among the worlds top jailers of journalists, along with Turkey and China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
K.M. Chaudary/AP

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP)  Pakistan's national security advisor has accused India of orchestrating last month's deadly car bombing in the eastern city of Lahore, saying Sunday that an investigation has shown it was organized by an Indian intelligence operative.

In a news conference in Islamabad, Moeed Yousuf said the probe showed that the man was an Indian citizen living in India who works for that country's RAW intelligence agency. He did not name the alleged mastermind.
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA)  Gunmen under the control of Turji, a notorious bandit leader in Zamfara State, have gone on rampage, abducting villagers and travellers in Shinkafi Local Government Area (LGA) of the State
BLOOMINGTON  A New Mexico resident was sentenced to probation for causing thousands of dollars worth of property damage during a Bloomington burglary last year.

Cesar Rivas, 46, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property after two counts of residential burglary were dismissed.

He was sentenced to 30 months of probation and 22 days in jail, but he was already given credit for the jail time.

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A probable cause statement said Rivas had been allowed to stay temporarily in a Bloomington home, but after the homeowner told Rivas to leave, she returned home to find him outside and he quickly left.

When the homeowner entered her residence, she found more than $10,000 worth of damage, including: vehicle windows, mirrors and display screen; glass door; clothes washer; television; laptop; printer; computer monitor; microwave; refrigerator; tile floor; household items and walls.

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Seventeen men have been shot by police in the Quad-Cities in the past five years. Nine of them died.

Use of force by police officers is a national topic of conversation that gained momentum last year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In the Quad-Cities there have been riots, protests and strongly worded Facebook posts, regarding the role of police.

To look for trends in police use of force, the Quad-City Times and Dispatch/Argus reached out to police departments in Davenport, Moline, Bettendorf, Rock Island and East Moline, as well as the Rock Island County and Scott County sheriffs' offices, seeking a list of all officer-involved shootings from the past five years.

The departments responded with a total of 17 shootings, about half (nine) of which were fatal. The non-fatal shootings all resulted in criminal charges against the suspect who was shot. One set of charges has since been dropped, and the others either resulted in a sentencing or still are being adjudicated.

Seven of the shootings involved officers from the Davenport police department; Rock Island and Bettendorf police departments each had three shootings; the Scott County Sheriff's Office had two; East Moline and Moline both had one, and the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office had none.

Scott County Attorney Mike Walton, who makes the decision on whether charges should be filed against officers who use force in Scott County, said he believes that in each of the officer shootings on this list that were under his jurisdiction, the officers had a right to use reasonable force to protect themselves.

I consider the police officers victims, Walton said. In most of these, its the officers who were shot at first. So, I would consider in these cases that the officers were the actual victims.

Every shooting by a police officer must be investigated by an outside agency.

Walton said the Davenport and Bettendorf police departments are usually investigated by the Sheriffs department and the Department of Criminal investigation. The Sheriffs department is usually investigated by Davenport and the DCI. When those investigations are complete, the county attorney, Walton in Scott County and Dora Villarreal in Rock Island County, receives a copy of the report, which is used to help determine whether charges are appropriate.

A lot of people dont understand what my role is," Walton said. "People think that Im blessing the incident or approving of the incident. Thats not my role. My role is to look at it from the basis of criminal charges and whether criminal charges should be pursued."

Since the burden of proof in criminal cases is beyond a reasonable doubt, Walton said, he doesnt pursue criminal charges unless he is convinced the officer or officers committed a crime. He also said he believes that in most use-of-force cases, officers are making a decision to protect themselves or others, and it isnt affected by outside factors, such as race.

The officers, when they responded to each of these incidents, and again, they were all responding to crimes, they had no idea who they were going to encounter. They dont pick who theyre going to encounter. Its not like there was a Black guy and a white guy here and they chose the Black guy, Walton said.

White officers were involved in all 17 shootings, and white suspects were shot in nine of the cases. Black suspects were shot in eight cases. Five of the Black suspects were killed by the officers who shot them, and three of the white suspects were killed.

Davenport lawyer and civil rights activist Eric Puryear said he believes there is a racial bias when it comes to officer-involved shootings in the Quad-Cities and elsewhere.

"In my own experience as an attorney, I've had cases where my white male client is literally swinging a sword at the police and they only go for their tasers. They successfully subdue him without injuring him, and we end up resolving that case as a misdemeanor," Puryear said. "I've also had cases where my Black client was shot and was not doing anything nearly as aggressive as swinging an actual sword at a cop."

About 1,000 people are killed by police nationally each year, according to a Washington Post database. Close to half of those killed by police nationally are white people, but Black people are killed at a much higher rate when the number of deaths is compared to population. Puryear said that trend matches local numbers.

In most cases, we have white, male police officers. Theyre a lot more willing to use force than pretty much anybody else, Puryear said. Who they shoot tends to be Black males, and because Black people make up 12 or 13% of the population, you can see theyre over-represented here  If it were a proportion like wed expect, then we would have seen a lot fewer than eight Black people shot and more than nine white people shot.

According to 2019 Census data, 8% of the population of Scott County and 11% of the population of Rock Island County identifies as Black or African American. Those statistics include only those who reported Black or African American as their only race, not those who have two or more races listed.

Im convinced the local departments are just as bad as the problem is nationally, Puryear said. There are so many solutions to it; its just that implementing them would require the people in power to actually use that power to fix the problem and they choose not to  To fix this, we need the police departments to actually hold their cops accountable.

Anthony Gay, a civil rights activist in Rock Island, created a petition asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Rock Island Police Department. He gave the petition to Rock Island city council members in June and sent it to the department of justice.

Gay said the breaking point that made him write the petition was the most recent officer involved shooting in Rock Island, which resulted in the death of DeShawn Tatum.

"Some people, they think that my whole position is anti-police, and that's not my position. My position is pro-justice," Gay said. "I'm against police brutality. It doesn't matter if you're white. It doesn't matter if you're Black. It doesn't matter if you're Latino. I'm against police brutality ... I filed the petition because I feel like the abuse is ongoing."

Each of the 17 shootings in the last five years is briefly summarized below, and information is given about the result of each shooting.

Only one officer was involved in more than one shooting. Andrew Lawler, from the Rock Island police department, was involved in a shooting in October 2020 and one in April 2021. In both instances he was one of multiple officers who shot at the suspect.

A Times/Dispatch reporter reached out to the Rock Island Police Department about setting up an interview with Officer Lawler but was told he could not make public statements because the shootings are subject to civil litigation. According to Rock Island Deputy Chief Richard Landi, the city has not received formal notification of a filing as of June 28, however there are indications that civil litigation is possible.

Officer involved shootings in the Quad Cities in the last five years Police Department Date Location Officers involved Race Victim(s) Race Age Fatal? Davenport 7/19/2016 1600 Rockingham Rd, Dav Shawn Sullivan, Andrew Weingart White, White Rodricco Parks Black 19 No Bettendorf 12/19/2016 920 Middle Rd, Bett (Home Depot) Kent Keeshan White Josh Price White 19 No Davenport 11/19/2017 410 1/2 E 12th St, Dav Brenda Waline White Matthew Tobin White 26 Yes Davenport 3/13/2018 2100 Grand Ave, Dav Brandon Askey White John Hess White 42 No Scott County Sheriff's Office 4/25/2018 400 W 4th Street, Davenport Tim Hutcheson White Demarcus A Lafrentz Black 29 No Davenport 5/16/2018 9th St and Division St, Dav Robert Bytnar White Nicholas Warner White 48 No Moline 6/22/2018 3300 block Avenue of the Cities, Moline Jeremy Weeks, Brett Kopf White, White Steven Dexter Wilson White 26 No Scott County Sheriff's Office 10/23/2018 6600 Brady Street, Davenport Greg Hill White Robert R Mitchell White 23 Yes Davenport 4/25/2019 1600 W 17th Street, Dav Ryan Leabo White Brett Dennis Sr White 27 No East Moline 5/25/2019 7th St 40th Ave, EM Logan Wolfe, Ryan Clark White, White Darold Strunk White 25 No Rock Island 4/25/2020 2900 block 5th Avenue, RI Steven Mumma, Tyler Evans White, White Kelvin D. Shaw Black 37 Yes Davenport 6/1/2020 1400 Myrtle Strett, Dav Greg Behning White Marquis Tousant Black 23 Yes Bettendorf 9/3/2020 1111 16th 1/2 Street, Bett Patrick Mesick White Timothy Clevenger White 53 Yes Rock Island 10/17/2020 1200 block 21st Street, RI Anthony Zier, Randy May, Zachary Costas, Andrew Lawler White, White, White, White Akbar M. Eaddy Black 27 Yes Bettendorf 2/7/2021 1360 Kimberly Ridge Road, Bett Zachary Gish White Brian Scott Black 49 Yes Davenport 2/18/2021 1720 W Kimberly Rd, Dav Nate Missimer White Clarence Washington Black 30 No Rock Island 4/1/2021 3000 block 11th Street, RI Jacob Waddle, Paul Scully, Andrew Lawler White, White, White Deshawn L. Tatum Black 25 Yes

Date: July 19, 2016

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 1600 Rockingham Road, Davenport

Rodricco Parks, 19 at the time, was shot by Officers Shawn Sullivan and Andrew Weingart after he attempted to run over police and rammed a squad car. Parks was sentenced in March of 2017 to five years in prison for criminal mischief in the second degree and one year for assault on persons engaged in certain occupations.

Sullivan and Weingart were not charged for the shooting, but were placed on administrative leave while the department investigated the incident.

Parks was arrested again in May 2020 for attempting to run over a police officer with a car. He was sentenced in August 2020 to five years in prison for eluding, OWI, drugs or participate in felony, and assault on a peace officer.

Date: December 19, 2016

Police Department: Bettendorf

Location: 920 Middle Road, Bettendorf (Home Depot)

Joshua Price, 19 at the time, was shot by Officer Kent Keeshan in a Home Depot, after Price pointed an air soft gun, which was modified to look like a handgun, at Keeshan.

Price had used the toy gun to take the store manager hostage, but let the manager go when police arrived. He told the store manager that he wanted to commit suicide, and suicide notes were found in his pockets in which he apologized to police for "causing them to shoot him."

Price was wounded in the chin, right hand and upper right arm area, but survived the shooting. He was sentenced in May of 2020 to twelve years in prison, one year for false imprisonment, one year for assault on persons in certain occupations, and 10 years for second-degree burglary.

Scott County Attorney Mike Walton ruled that Keeshan's use of deadly force was justified in April, 2016.

Date: November 19, 2017

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 410 E 12 Street, Davenport

Matthew Tobin, 26, was shot and killed by Officer Brenda Waline during a struggle in an apartment that Tobin was reportedly burglarizing.Tobin had not complied with orders from Waline and another officer, Justin King, to remove his hands from his pockets, and he had attempted to run for the back door.

King stopped Tobin from running and a struggle ensued in which Tobin shot three times toward the officers, hitting King in the ear. King told Waline he was losing consciousness as Tobin continued to struggle, so King shot Tobin three times, killing him.

Scott County Attorney Mike Walton determined in December 2017 that the shooting was justified, stating that in his opinion the actions of the officers were "heroic."

Date: March 13, 2018

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 2100 Grand Avenue, Davenport

John Hess, 42 at the time, was shot by Officer Brandon Askey in an apparent "suicide by cop" attempt. Davenport police received a call that morning reporting that Hess had a gun and was walking toward the house of a woman who had recently filed a protective order against him.

Askew found Hess walking along the road and pulled over and got out of his squad car. Hess pointed a gun at Askey, but said later he never took it off safety and did not intend to fire. After asking him to put the gun down several time, Askew shot toward Hess twice, hitting him once in the ankle.

Askey's use of force was deemed reasonable by Scott County attorney Mike Walton in March 2018. In July 2018 Hess was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm or offensive weapon by a domestic violence offender, going armed with intent, and assault on persons engaged in certain occupations.

Date: April 25, 2018

Police Department: Scott County Sheriff's Office

Location: 400 W 4th Street, Davenport (Scott County courthouse)

Adam Demarcus Lafrentz, 29 at the time, was shot at by Bailiff Tim Hutcheson but was not hit. Hutcheson, another bailiff and a Davenport police officer responded to a report of a disturbance outside the Scott County courthouse and found Lafrentz carrying a blunt object.

Lafrentz was non-compliant with the bailiffs' and officer's instructions. The police officer fired a non-lethal device that had little affect on Lafrentz, and as the situation escalated Hutcheson fired once in Lafrentz's direction.

Lafrentz was arrested after a short foot chase and charged with assault on persons in certain occupations and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness. The case was dismissed in January 2020 after Lafrentz began mental health treatment and showed he was compliant with that treatment, according to court documents.

Scott County Attorney Mike Walton determined in May 2018 that Hutcheson's use of force was reasonable.

Date: May 16, 2018

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 9th Street and Division Street, Davenport

Nicholas Warner, 48 at the time, was shot twice in the arm by Officer Robert Bytnar after Warner reportedly rammed a car into a squad car with an officer in it.

Warner was taken to University Hospitals in Iowa City and was released without notifying the police. A warrant was put out for his arrest and he was eventually caught in September 2020. He has been charged with three felony counts of assault on a police officer while displaying a weapon, felony operating while impaired (OWI)/second offense and misdemeanor counts of eluding, interfere with official acts and possession of a controlled substance.

Warner pleaded not guilty in November 2020 and is scheduled to have a jury trial in October of this year. Scott County Attorney Mike Walton ruled Bytnar's actions justified in June 2018.

Date: June 22, 2018

Police Department: Moline

Location: 3300 block of Avenue of the Cities, Moline

Steven Dexter Wilson, 26 at the time, was shot by Officers Jeremy Weeks and Brett Kopf. Weeks and Kopf were in an alley investigating a burglary call from a nearby building when Wilson came to the front door of his house and fired a pistol, according to then State's Attorney John McGehee.

Wilson reportedly left his house yelling "shoot me" and charged at Kopf. Kopf shot toward Wilson without hitting him, but Wilson did not stop. After a struggle, Wilson pointed his gun at Kopf. Weeks shot Wilson twice and he fell to the ground.

Wilson was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated discharge of a firearm and armed violence. His case is still being processed and his next court date is set for June 18 at 8:30 a.m. McGehee determined Kopf's and Weeks' use of force to be justified in December 2018.

Date: October 23, 2018

Police Department: Scott County Sheriff's Office

Location: 6600 Brady Street, Davenport

Robert R. Mitchell, 23, was shot by Deputy Greg Hill after he tried to run from a traffic stop. Mitchell died from his wounds that night in the hospital.

Hill pulled Mitchell over for a bad brake light, and after a call to dispatch, Hill discovered Mitchell was wanted for a minor crime. Mitchell attempted to flee and Hill was dragged by the car. Hill shot Mitchell twice.

In November 2018 Scott County Attorney Mike Walton determined the use of force was justified, but in April of this year Cedar Rapids civil rights attorney Dave O'Brien filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against Hill and Walton. The lawsuit is ongoing.

Date: April 25, 2019

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 1600 W 17th Street, Davenport

Brett Dennis Sr., 27 at the time, was shot in the leg by Officer Ryan Leabo during an exchange of gunfire in which Leabo was hit in the leg and chest. Leabo had reportedly made contact with Dennis and another man who were acting suspicious. The men refused to stop when Leabo told them to, and Dennis ran.

Leabo caught up to Dennis and the two had a physical struggle, during which Dennis shot Leabo twice and Leabo shot Dennis once. The shot to Leabo's chest was blocked by a bullet proof vest, police said.

The State's Attorney's office ruled Leabo's use of force justified in May 2019, and said Dennis had admitted to police he was trying to get the officer to shoot him.

In September 2020 Dennis was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder and dominion and control of a firearm by a felon.

Date: May 25, 2019

Police Department: East Moline

Location: 7th Street and 40th Avenue, East Moline

Darold Strunk, 25 at the time, was shot by Officers Logan Wolfe and Ryan Clark after shooting at the officers during a traffic stop.

Strunk was a passenger in the car the officers attempted to pull over. The car failed to stop, but officers blocked it off after a short chase. Strunk got out of the car and fired at the officers, who returned fire.

The officers' actions were ruled justified by then-acting Rock Island County State's Attorney Patricia Castro in June 2019. In May of this year Strunk pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

Date: April 25, 2020

Police Department: Rock Island

Location: 2900 Block 5th Avenue

Kelvin D. Shaw, 37, was shot and killed by Officers Steven Mumma and Tyler Evans after he allegedly held two women hostage at gunpoint.

Mumma and Evans were part of a group of officers surrounding the apartment building where Shaw was hiding after the women were safely removed. Shaw reportedly jumped out the window of the building closest to Mumma and Evans. Shaw tried to run and struggled to climb a fence before pointing a gun at the officers, who shot five rounds between the two of them. Shaw was hit three times and died a few days later at a Peoria hospital, where he was taken for treatment.

Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal ruled the shooting justified in May 2020.

Date: June 1, 2020

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 1400 Myrtle Street, Davenport

Marquis Tousant, 23, was shot at by Officer Greg Behning during a night of unrest and violence throughout Davenport. Tousant died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen, though police were unsure whether the shot that killed Tousant came from Behning. They later said the bullet fragment from Tousants body possessed similar characteristics to the bullets fired from Behnings gun.

Behning and two other officers were on patrol that night when they were reportedly ambushed in an alley. More than a dozen shots were fired and one officer narrowly avoided being hit in the head. Behning returned fire and the suspect vehicle fled. Officers found Tousant dead when they returned to the scene later that night. A gun was found under Tousant's body that matched bullets found in the truck the officers were patrolling in.

The shooting was deemed justified by Scott County Attorney Mike Walton in September 2020.

Date: September 3, 2020

Police Department: Bettendorf

Location: 1360 Kimberly Ridge Road, Bettendorf

Timothy Clevenger, 53, was shot and killed by Officer Patrick Mesick while Clevenger was holding a knife to the throat of a four-year-old girl at a daycare.

Scott County First Assistant Attorney Amy DeVine announced the shooting was justified in October 2020, and in February of this year, Bettendorf police allowed a Quad-City Times reporter to watch the body-cam footage.

Date: October 17, 2020

Police Department: Rock Island

Location: 1200 Block of 21st Street, Rock Island

Akbar M. Eaddy, 27, was shot and killed by Officers Anthony Zier, Randy May, Zachary Costas and Andrew Lawler during an alleged gunfight after Eaddy ran from police.

Police were called to investigate an aggravated domestic battery in which Eaddy was the suspect. Eaddy had left the scene in a vehicle, and officers found the vehicle later while patrolling. Eaddy fled but was found again. He reportedly began shooting at the officers while they attempted to set up a perimeter. The officers returned fire and Eaddy was killed.

Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal determined in November 2020 that the officers' use of force was justified.

Date: February 7, 2021

Police Department: Bettendorf

Location: 1360 Kimberly Ridge Road, Bettendorf

Brian Scott, 49, was shot and killed by Officer Zachary Gish after reportedly brandishing and shooting a gun during a traffic stop.

Gish and other officers had responded to a call from a woman who said Scott had threatened to kill her. The woman was found in a car with Scott, and when the officers pulled the car over she got out. Officer asked Scott to leave the car and he refused, eventually shooting at one of the officers as the officer broke Scott's window with a baton.

Gish shot Scott four times and Scott was pronounced dead at the scene.

Scott County First Assistant Attorney Amy DeVine said Gish's use of force was justified during a press conference in May.

Date: February 18, 2021

Police Department: Davenport

Location: 1720 W Kimberly Road, Davenport

Clarence Washington, 30, was shot by Officer Nate Missimer in an exchange of gunfire after officers cornered Washington in a Walgreens parking lot. Washington was a suspect in a robbery earlier in the day.

Police said Washington fired first, and First Assistant County Attorney Amy Devine announced in a press release March that Missimer's use of force was justified. The press release also said the Scott County Attorneys Office will file a charge of attempted murder of a police officer against Washington, but no charges have yet been filed. He is currently facing unrelated federal charges and likely won't be charged for this incident until those charges are resolved.

Date: April 1, 2021

Police Department: Rock Island

Location: 3000 block of 11th Street, Rock Island

DeShawn L. Tatum, 25, was shot and killed by Officers Jacob Waddle, Paul Scully and Andrew Lawler after dragging Waddle and Scully behind a stolen vehicle.

Tatum reportedly ran from the officers when they tried to arrest him for outstanding warrents. They chased him to a gas station where he hijacked a car from a nearby woman. He backed the car up into the gas station, hitting Waddle and Scully with the door and dragging them. During this exchange he was shot.

Another officer, Officer Zachary Costas, was part of a foot chase but did not fire his weapon.

State's Attorney Dora Villarreal ruled the shooting justified in April.

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CHICAGO  Two men were wounded in city shootings Saturday afternoon on the South Side, Chicago police said.

The latest shooting occurred about 1:35 p.m. a few blocks south of CPD headquarters in the 3800 block of South Michigan Avenue. Police said a 40-year-old man was inside a residence when he heard shots and felt pain in his thigh.

He was taken in fair condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

About 30 minutes earlier, a 31-year-old man was shot while he was inside of a vehicle in the 1500 block of East 95th Street in the Calumet Heights neighborhood, police said.

The victim was approached by a vehicle and someone inside opened fire, hitting him in the abdomen. He was taken in serious condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

No one was in custody for either attack, and detectives were investigating.

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CHICAGO  A 17-year-old Chicago boy was held without bail Saturday after being charged as an adult in the fatal beating of a Vietnam War veteran during a carjacking earlier this week in Hyde Park.

The teen, whom the Tribune is not naming because he is a minor, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a victim 60 years of age or older, according to court records. Judge John Lyke Jr. denied him bail during Saturday bond court after a prosecutor detailed the attack against Keith Cooper, 73, that was allegedly carried out by the 17-year-old and 18-year-old Frank Harris.

His lawyer argues that he didnt intend for this to happen, but the law really doesnt care, Lyke said. The law says you place things in motion  all that adds up. Hes responsible, legally responsible.

Harris, who appeared in bond court Friday after being charged with first-degree murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking in Coopers death, was also held without bail.

Cooper was leaving his vehicle and walking toward a store shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 1200 block of East 53rd Street when the 17-year-old snatched his keys from behind, Cook County Assistant States Attorney Jeff Allen said. The key fob fell to the ground, and Harris allegedly picked it up.

The 73-year-old cried for help and asked for his keys back, but Harris punched him in the back of his head, causing Cooper to clutch his head and step backward, Allen said. Thats when the 17-year-old allegedly pushed his torso as Cooper continued demanding his keys.

Ultimately, the two teenagers were unable to get inside the vehicle. Before they fled, the 17-year-old held his waistband to apparently indicate he was armed, but a witness yelled out that he had no weapon, Allen said.

Cooper collapsed and stopped breathing, and an off-duty paramedic gave him chest compressions. The 73-year-old died at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and his cause of death was pending as of Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiners office.

Afterward, the 17-year-old and Harris were spotted by Chicago police at a nearby synagogue courtyard and identified as the assailants by witnesses, Allen said.

The 17-year-olds public defense attorney, James Kozlowski, argued the boy is not a real and present threat to others despite the allegation he shoved Cooper in the torso. He said it was inconclusive whether that push caused Coopers death.

There was no indication that he intended to cause harm to this individual, Kozlowski said.

Allen, meanwhile, noted the 17-year-old had a juvenile criminal history dating back at least four years, most recently with a case involving possession of a stolen motor vehicle in juvenile court, in which a judge ordered he be placed on electronic monitoring. But instead, a warrant was issued for him in December after he didnt show up to court, Allen said.

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Susan Mogerman, a Chicago native and longtime Springfield resident described as a major force behind the inception of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, was remembered as a tireless advocate for Springfield.

Mogerman, 76, died Wednesday in Springfield from Alzheimer's disease and had dealt with dementia for more than a decade, her family said.

"She was absolutely pivotal in the whole process of imagining the library and museum and selling it to the community," historian Richard Norton Smith said.

"She was perfect for that assignment," said Smith, an expert on the history of the American presidency and other political figures. He was the library and museum's first executive director from 2003 to 2006.

Smith said Mogerman was "a curator for Springfield. She was a visionary who had her feet on the ground."

Educated as a journalist at the University of Missouri, Mogerman lived in Springfield for 51 years, initially working in media relations for former Gov. James Thompson's press office in the 1980s, then at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency for more than a decade, first as deputy director in 1989 and then as its director from 1991 through 2002.

Mogerman directed Downtown Springfield Inc. before becoming chief operating officer for ALPLM's longtime fundraising arm, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, in 2004. She retired in the late 2000s.

Mogerman first met Springfield resident Julie Cellini when the two were in the Junior League of Springfield. They became close friends, according to Cellini, 79, the 2015 State Journal-Register First Citizen.

Cellini said Mogerman became interested in and joined the campaign that Cellini, a community volunteer, spearheaded to develop a library devoted to Springfield's most famous citizen and the nation's 16th president.

Cellini said Mogerman began working with her in the 1980s on the frustrating but eventually fruitful task of generating enthusiasm among state, local and national leaders for a Lincoln presidential library.

"It seems strange now, but it was very, very tough," Cellini said. "Just getting anybody to have interest in it  it took years.

"Susan was, for me, the go-to person," Cellini said.

Mogerman acted as a sounding board and was an expert writer and communicator whose roots in journalism fueled her passion for establishing a place where the whole story of "the president who saved this nation" could be told, Cellini said.

"A journalist can never resist a good story," Cellini said. "What better story was there than Abraham Lincoln? Lincoln is such a universal figure. It goes way beyond Springfield."

Cellini, who served on the Historic Preservation Agency board for almost 27 years, said Mogerman "was never the only person involved" in the effort but "was there every step of the way."

"She was not only a dear friend but a comrade in arms," Cellini said. "I don't know if I could have done it without Susan at my side."

The $145 million presidential library and museum was built mostly with federal and state funds and now is a state agency after being administered until 2017 by the Historic Preservation Agency.

The library portion, intended for use mostly by researchers, opened in 2002, and the museum, which has attracted millions of visitors, was dedicated in 2005.

Mogerman helped to choose BRC Imagination Arts to produce the museum's Disney-like displays that captivate audiences and have attracted some criticism from Lincoln scholars.

"What we sought to do was tell the Lincoln story to a broad-based audience  from scholars to school kids," Cellini said.

Smith, 67, responded within five minutes to the SJ-R's request for an interview about Mogerman while he was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to finish a biography on former President Gerald Ford. He said the creation of ALPLM was "nothing short of a miracle" that happened in large part because of Cellini and Mogerman's hard work.

"I hope people realize what a real loss they have sustained, and at the same time are grateful for what she achieved," Smith said. "It's more than a building."

Former Gov. Jim Edgar, a Springfield resident, pledged the first significant state money for the project, and Mogerman was Historic Preservation director during Edgar's two terms in the 1990s.

"She really helped get it off the ground by the time I was leaving office," Edgar said. "She was a wonderful person to work with. Very committed. She was very outgoing and a gregarious person."

While at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, she helped establish the organization's Lincoln Leadership Prize. Recipients have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and astronaut Jim Lovell.

Erin Carlson Mast, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a written statement: "We are deeply saddened by Susan Mogerman's passing. The foundation has tremendous admiration and appreciation for the essential role she played in making the museum and library a reality. Susan's work has had a positive impact on the lives of millions of people from around the world. Our thoughts are with her family."

Mogerman's husband of 54 years, Jay Mogerman, 79, said his wife was a "vivacious" woman who enjoyed laughing.

As a young person, she received a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago.

She enjoyed oil painting and needlepoint in her spare time and was active in the local Jewish community and was a member of Springfield's Temple Israel, as well as its Sisterhood and Hadassah, her husband said.

The retired clinical social worker, former banker and native of St. Louis said his wife was self-effacing and had strong feelings about issues but always willing to hear all sides.

Susan had "a remarkable career" but considered the ALPLM her "crowning achievement," he said.

The Mogermans, who met at the University of Missouri, have two sons, Josh, 50 (wife Jo-Elle), and Robert, 47, both of St. Louis, and a grandson, Isaiah, 11.

Services are being handled by Bisch & Son Funeral Home, 505 E. Allen St., Springfield, where visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, followed by a funeral service at 11:30 a.m. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Susan Mogerman's family is asking that contributions be made to the Jewish Federation of Springfield-Mogerman Family Fund, or The Alzheimer's Association.

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Wanting social studies classes to present objective, truthful accounts of history and how current events are impacted by that history, students who participated in District 87s June board meeting, then wrote letters to the Pantagraph, should make us all very proud. Unfortunately, some parents attending the meeting failed to display the same appropriate behavior and intellectual integrity.

When considering curriculum, its essential both parents and students maintain open minds. All of us should want students to learn factual information, so they can better understand todays world in order to make our country more peaceful, fair and healthy for everyone.

If were ignorant of history and science, we cant make intelligent decisions or become responsible, successful members of American society. Attraction to Trumps brand of GOP politics proves how easily uninformed or misinformed voters can be manipulated by unethical politicians and media propagating disinformation and disunity.

Fox News has claimed to be fair and balanced, but fails to keep that promise. They constantly take quotes out of context. Recently, video clips of Biden saying climate change is the worst security threat we face were shown omitting where he said thats what military officials told him. Instead, reporters ranted about China being the biggest problem. Another deceptive strategy often employed in showing videos unrelated to topics being discussed. After airing science fiction movie scenes depicting half-human, half-animal babies, commentators complained about funding for scientific research.

Uproars over critical race theory are designed to intensify the fears of those who are biased against diverse racial groups have. However, once people learn how Gen. Milley explained the theory, theyll realize theyve been duped again. Honest candidates must replace disloyal GOP white nationalists who must never again govern at any level, so our Constitution can be preserved and our country unified.

Linda L. Doenitz, Bloomington

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100 years ago

July 18, 1921: David Morgan, the Elm Street guy with a still in his house, pleaded guilty to keeping the still. For that, the judge sentenced Morgan to 90 days in jail. Police have seized the still and Morgans guns. He had threatened to use them to keep law enforcement away.

75 years ago

July 18, 1946: More than 59 rescue planes are searching for a missing Army bomber. The plane and its crew disappeared on a flight between Washington, D.C., and West Point, New York. Maj. John Catlin, formerly of Normal, is among the missing crew members.

50 years ago

July 18, 1971: An explosion and fire struck the Dairy Lane store in McLean. Ex-Marine Loren Necessary was driving by, grabbed a gas mask from a nearby garage he runs and returned to put out the fire all by himself. Dairy Lane owners are hailing him as a hero today.

25 years ago

July 18, 1996: Former Saybrook Police Chief Madeline Nickum filed a $1.1 million federal suit against the village, its mayor and several citizens. She claims they retaliated against her for the 1995 arrest of a man who severely beat her (and went to prison for it). The village had fired her.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
The Ministry of Finance has schooled top management of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority on the Public-Private Partnership Act and the Public Investment Management Regulations introduced in 2020.



It forms part of a nationwide sensitization to provide information to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on the rights, guidelines, and due processes necessary to stay within the legal boundaries for procurement and infrastructural investment.



Mr Daniel Yeboah-Forson, Lead at the Infrastructure Sector of the Public Investment and Assets Division at the Ministry of Finance, outlined some of the new modules entrenched in the regulations.



He stated that the law mandates GPHA to set up what we call the Public Investment Unit to help develop and prepare their project ahead of time.



As a government entity, they need this training to ensure that the Public Investment Unit understands the functions and roles they need to play when it is set up.



Mr. Yeboah-Forson said implementation of these laws, will help state agencies like the GPHA to adequately prepare, secure funding, cut costs, and complete projects within projected timelines.

Source: GNA









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The Ministerial Committee, probing the circumstances that led to the shooting of two civilians during a demonstration at Ejura on June 29, has ended its public hearing.



A total of 22 witnesses testified before the Committee over eight days, with three of the hearings held in camera for security reasons.



Justice George Kingsley Koomson, Chairman of the Committee, who announced this to wrap up the public hearing, said the Committee used three days to review the evidence obtained from the witnesses.



Giving a breakdown of the exhibits submitted to the Committee during the exercise, he said the committee received 117 pieces of video footage, 555 pictures, eight documentary pieces of evidence, two written statements, two physical evidence (spent cartridges) and one audio evidence.



He said the Committee would put together its report in the next few days and submit it to the Interior Minister.

He expressed gratitude to all stakeholders who supported the Committee throughout the hearing.



He, particularly, thanked the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for their immense support in setting up the secretariat for the Committee.

Justice Koomson was also grateful to the Chiefs and people of Ejura for their cooperation and audience granted the Committee when it visited the town ahead of the public hearing.



The Committee was tasked by the Interior Minister, Mr Ambrose Dery on the instruction of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of two civilians at Ejura during a violent protest on June 29, 2021.



Abdul-Nasir Yussif and Mutala Mohammed died from gunshots while four others sustained various degrees of injury.

This followed the burial of a social media activist, Ibrahim Mohammed, also known as Kaaka, who died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi after he was attacked by unknown assailants on June 26, 2021.



Other members of the Committee are Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, a Security Analyst and Ms Juliet Adima Amoah, Executive Director of Penplusbyte, a Civil Society Organisation with Ms Marie Louise Simmons, a Principal State Attorney at the Attorney General's Department as the Secretary to the Committee.

Source: GNA









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African leaders, particularly, those within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have been asked to respect the legal and constitutional terms of two mandate limits.



They should not serve beyond their second term in office, Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement of people and organizations, working for peace, justice and dignity, advocated.



The group is demanding that African presidents set great examples by choosing not to cling to power or prioritize personal interests as leaders.



Any elected official is a representative of the people, and as such, they should be responsive to the demands of those whom they represent, the Pan-African movement emphasized in a statement issued, and copied the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi.



The statement, initialed by Mr. Prince Akphar, Engagement Officer, Africans Rising, comes in the wake of the recent Second West African Summit for Democracy and Good Governance, held in Benin.



It was organized under the auspices of the UST-Togo, Tournons La Page, a civil movement, CREA (Centre de Recherche sur l'Etat en Afrique) and Africans Rising.



Highlighting the Summit, the statement said it hosted participants from nine African countries and had various researchers and activists in attendance.



The objective was to build solidarity among African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and work together for the effective implementation of democracy and good governance of ECOWAS.



As one of its cardinal agenda, the programme launched a special campaign for African Presidents not to serve beyond their second term in office.



The statement said in line with this, the President of Benin, Mr. Patrice Talon, at the final day of the Summit, was presented with a symbol, which he used to declare his intentions of not going beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms.



In the view of the Pan-African movement, as we strive to see our continent flourish, let us remember that young people are the future and the future is now.



Let us use the power of our collective voices to call on our leaders, and demand that their actions and authorities are not used for selfish aims, but that they are used to benefit the entire citizenry.



The statement said Africans Rising, in a paper delivered at the Summit, encouraged young activists and politicians to make good use of political positions to benefit their citizens when they get the opportunity to serve in one.



The speech contained messages on how Africans Rising was founded and the beliefs it holds in good governance, as well as some of its programmes such as Activism Award, Solidarity Mission, FreeThem Campaign and the commemoration of the African Liberation Day.

Source: GNA









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The Ejura/Sekyedumase Municipality in the Ashanti Region is a longstanding political hotspot for violence and there should be a military base of sort in the area.



The Ejura Traditional Council is insisting that the deployment of the military to help ensure law and order when violence broke out on June 29, 2021, following the death of Ibrahim Mohammed, aka Macho Kaaka, saved the situation.



According to the Nifahene of Ejura Traditional Council, Nana Osei Kwadwo Ansebie II, the disturbances in the town could have been worse if the soldiers had not come in.



The Nifahene made the request when he was testifying before the three-member committee at the Prempeh Assembly Hall, Kumasi, that is conducting public enquiry into the mayhem at Ejura which left two people dead and four others injured.



My Lord, we would not have been sitting here by now, looking at what the youth were bent on doing that fateful day, the chief said.



He said that almost every activity in Ejura is highly politicised and therefore, there is always tension in the area.



Responding to a question on whether the disturbances had a political undertone, Nana Ansebie II said, Even weddings and funerals are politicised depending on the person organising it.



According to the chief, Ejura has been grappling with issues of violence and the military have always been relied upon to help restore law and order, insisting that the deployment of the soldiers was good but sadly it resulted in casualties.



Ejura has been recording troubles and anytime there are violent situations in Ejura, the military are always called to the scene to help restore law and order. It was a good decision to rely on the military to help restore law and order in Ejura but it is unfortunate that it rather resulted in casualties, he said.



Nana Ansebie II stated that the youth were on a mission to destroy, so the soldiers were badly needed.



The agitated youth blocked the main Ejura-Atebubu highway, then they moved to the Central Business Area of Ejura and vandalised the police charge office and cars, he said, adding they also vandalised the Municipal Assembly Revenue Checkpoint.



The chief said prior to the violent scenes, the agitated youth had also chased a police van with stones and other offensive implements.



According to him, the angry mob did not spare New Patriotic Party (NPP) branded items, saying that the crowd destroyed NPP pavilions that are located in Ejura.



The Nifahene said the Ejurahene, Barimma Osei Hwedie II, has been mediating to help restore peace in the area and had met with the Zongo leadership.



The Ejurahene, personally visited the injured in the hospital, and he gave GH5,000 each to the severely injured and GH2,000 to those discharged, he added.

Source: Daily Guide









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A retreat by President Akufo-Addos cabinet and other appointees has stalled the work of Parliament.



All Ministers scheduled to answer questions from MPs on the floor since Thursday have been deferred to next week as a result of the cabinet retreat.



Attorney General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame who was scheduled to answer questions from North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale and other prominent Ghanaians failed to turn up.



Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation who had to answer a question from Ho West MP Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah was also absent prompting the MP to question the development.



Majority Whip Frank Annor-Dompreh explained the development is a result of the ministerial retreat. Second deputy speaker Andrew Asiamah who was presiding, disclosed the ministers have written to inform the house about their absence.







Source: kasapafmonline.com









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Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong has verbally attacked his colleague lawmaker for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini who petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to invite him before the Privileges Committee of Parliament.



Mr Agyapong said he has not achieved anything in life and therefore he wants to set Ghana ablaze.



Suhuyini had said he felt obliged to raise the issues against his colleague Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong on the floor of the House because of his background as a journalist.



This comes after the Speaker Alban Bagbin has referred Mr Agyapong to the Privileges Committee of Parliament for his utterances against a journalist with the Multimedia Group, Erastus Asare Donkor.

Mr Agyapong on Friday, July 9, is reported to have allegedly threatened to attack Mr Asare Donkor, for the journalistic work that the latter undertook during the recent shootings and killing incident at Ejura on his television station.



The Multimedia Group filed a formal complaint against Mr Agyapong.



On Wednesday July 14, the former Broadcaster raised the issue on the floor of the house and asked the Speaker to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee.



He said Mr Speaker, I think that as a former journalist I feel obliged to draw the Houses attention to this conduct of an Honorable colleague of this house which in my view, brings this house into disrepute.



Mr Speaker, I urge you to exercise your powers under 27 and refer this conduct of the Honorable which is becoming unacceptable, to the Privileges Committee to ascertain the veracity of the comments that were made and recommend sanctions if possible that will act as deterrent to other members who may be tempted to act like him.



In response to his request, the Speaker accordingly referred Mr Agyapong to the committee.



He said he cannot take a decision on Mr Agyapong over his utterances against a journalist in Ghana.



That decision to determine whether or not the conduct smacks of abuse of privileges, he said, rests with the lawmakers as a House, to take.



As it is now, I am compelled to refer it to the Privileges Committee. I want to emphasize that it is the House that will take the decision, it is not the speaker, it is not any other person apart from the House.



That will be your collective wisdom that come to the conclusion whether what is alleged is just a mere allegation or is supported by facts and whether those facts constitute contempt of the House and abuse of a privilege of members,



It is important for me to emphasize here that the privilege and immunity of free speech applies in full force in plenary session and committee sessions, not when members are outside debating issues or on radio and TV. You dont have that right, that privilege, that immunity to just say anything because you are a member of parliament.



We are not above the law. It is for good reasons because you represent a large number of people, you should be given the full immunity to be able to say what the people say they want you to say. That is why you say it here and you are covered.



That immunity doesnt extend to you in anywhere else. So pleased the committee should go into the matter, submit the report.



Reacting to this on his Radio Station Oman FM on Thursday July 15, Kennedy Agyapong said You cannot use the media to and the Police to gag me. You make a statement that I should be referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament.



I want to insult. He is a foolish MP, Suhuyini is stupid. He hasnt achieved anything in life so he wants Ghana to burn.



Im so disappointed in him. He uses everything for politics. The privileges committee is made up of human beings or they think being an MP is all I have, they think being MP is the only thing I rely on. If they remove parliament, I will continue to say the truth, no one can stop me.



He insisted that the business owner of Joy FM, told him that the workers had resolved to sabotage the government because the New Patritoic Party (NPP) administration is taking care of them, a claim the management of Joy FM denied.



I will continue to speak the truth and not anyone silence me. The truth is that Joy FM have been disgraced, they should write an apology letter to the families that lost their relatives in Ejura incident. They should also write to those injured as well.



I still repeat that they are corrupt, I dare Kwasi Twum and he claims he didnt say it, he should be ashamed of himself. He said it in my office that the staff of Joy FM are threatening to sabotage the government because we dont take care of them. If they push I will expose all the things about Joy FM.

Source: 3news.com









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THE lawyer nominated by President Akufo-Addo as Special Prosecutor will face the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, July 22, 2021.



Kissi Agyebeng, a private legal practitioner, will have his appointment considered by members of the Appointments Committee at 10:00am at the Committee Rooms 1, 2 & 3, New Administration Block, Parliament House, in Accra, a correspondence by the Clerk to the Committee indicated.



I have, accordingly, been directed by the Hon. First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Joseph Osei-Wusu, to request the office to cause for publication, a notice of the public hearing in the national newspapers and electronic media for the attention of the general public, the correspondence stated in part.



Pursuant to Section 13 (3) and (8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), President Akufo-Addo, in June this year, presented to Parliament Mr. Kissi Agyebeng for consideration for appointment as Special Prosecutor.



In accordance with Order 172 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin referred the nominee to the Appointments Committee for consideration and report to the House.



Background



President Akufo-Addo accepted the nomination of Mr. Agyebeng as Special Prosecutor following the recommendation by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame.



A statement issued from the presidency and signed by Acting Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin, said the Office of the President, by a letter dated April 29, 2021 to the Speaker of Parliament, sought Parliaments approval of the appointment.



His appointment followed the resignation of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor on November 16, 2020, which then required the President to appoint a replacement within six (6) months of the position becoming vacant, in line with the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).



AGs Letter



Mr. Dame, in his letter titled RE: Special Prosecutor Nomination Of Kissi Agyebeng, to the presidency on April 16, 2021, drew the Presidents attention to the fact that Section 13(8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) requires the President to appoint a person qualified for appointment as Special Prosecutor to that position, within six months of the Office of Special Prosecutor becoming vacant.



Respectfully, as you would recall, Mr. Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu resigned his position as Special Prosecutor on November 16, 2020, Mr. Dame is purported to have said in the letter, adding, By a letter dated November 17, 2020, the Honourable Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, communicated Your Excellencys acceptance of the resignation of Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu as Special Prosecutor.



In accordance with Section 13(3) of Act 959, I hereby nominate Kissi Agyebeng, Esq. for appointment to the position of Special Prosecutor, subject to the approval of the majority of all the Members of Parliament, the AG said in the letter.



The letter also had highlighted the track record of the nominee, saying, Kissi Agyebeng was called to the Ghana Bar in October, 2003 and holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Ghana, as well as Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada and Cornell Law School, USA. He has since 2006 been teaching Criminal Law at the University of Ghana, whilst also engaged in private law practice.



I am satisfied that Kissi Agyebeng possesses the requisite expertise on corruption and corruption-related matters, is of high moral character and proven integrity and satisfies all the other requirements stipulated in Section 13(1) and (2) of Act 959, the letter added.



In July 2019, President Akufo-Addo appointed Mr. Agyebeng, as the chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal.



His role which will end in July 2022, was to oversee the affairs and adjudication of appeals at the Tribunal as stipulated in The Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775).



According to the statement from the presidency, President Akufo-Addo deems Mr. Kissi Agyebeng as being eminently qualified to become Special Prosecutor, adding, the President is hopeful that Parliament will expedite the confirmation process of Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, so he can assume the position without delay.























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Perry Bacon Jr. is a Washington Post columnist. Before joining The Post in May 2021, Perry had stints as a government and elections writer for Time magazine, The Posts national desk, theGrio and FiveThirtyEight. He has also been been an on-air analyst at MSNBC and a fellow at New America. He grew up in Louisville and lives there now.
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Christopher M. Emanuel, an Aiken local and nonprofit founder, said the biggest lesson his grandfather taught him is "a man takes care of what he creates."

The 31-year-old, Chattahoochee Technical College graduate founded a nonprofit after his daughter, Skylar Brielle Emanuel, was put up for adoption without his consent.

"I would have never imagined being in this space," Emanuel said. "One thing that I do realize in life is that your career is what you're paid for, your calling is what you're made for."

The Sky Is The Limit Foundation aims to educate, empower and equip fathers on non-marital paternity and parental rights.

But Emanuel said he wouldn't have been able to get his daughter back if he hadn't had the mentorship of his grandfather, Thomas Lee Emanuel.

Thomas was a plumber in Aiken and owned his own business for 45 years.

"My grandfather was very instrumental in my life," Emanuel said. "He taught me to document everything."

He explained that his grandfather was very organized and taught him the importance of documentation.

"From his bills, to his receipts from his business, everything," said Emanuel. "That's why I got my daughter."

Emanuel stressed the importance of young people having leaders to look up to, the way he was able to look up to his grandfather.

"How is someone going to know what to do or how to do it if they haven't seen anyone do it?" he said.

In addition to serving as executive director of the Sky Is The Limit Foundation, Emanuel serves as the director for the Department of Juvenile Justice's Teen After School Center at Second Baptist Church, is a radio host at WNRR Gospel 93.3FM, is a national trainer at the One Circle Foundation and is CEO of NoDeadbeats Imprint LLC.

NoDeadbeats Imprint LLC is a clothing company that "paints positive energy through fashion" and funds the Sky Is The Limit Foundation.

The company's clothing features memorable and unique designs that help spread positivity.

His efforts have been highlighted in the The New York Times, The Atlantic Journal, ABC Nightline News and The Oprah Winfrey Network.

Emanuel said it is all because of Skylar.

"She's the enforcer, and she's the reason why I do everything that I do," he said.

Emanuel's biggest goal is creating an infinite amount of pipelines to create opportunities for families.

"I feel it is my responsibility to take ownership, be accountable, and promote healing not only in my community, but across the world, and to inspire the next generation of leaders under me," Emanuel said.

However, he said that he wouldn't be where he is today without the support of his hometown.

"Aiken, South Carolina, brought my daughter home," Emanuel said. "Aiken, South Carolina, is a place where I feel safe. Aiken, South Carolina, believes in me, supports me and invests in me. Aiken, South Carolina, is leading the way, in my opinion, for the whole world."
MONCKS CORNER  A Berkeley County telecommunications provider has been awarded a $2 million state grant to help provide broadband access to two rural communities.

Daniel Island-based Home Telecom put an additional $2 million of its own funds into the project that will expand internet service to about 2,000 homes in the Pineville and Jamestown areas by October 2022.

The grant is part of $30 million that the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff awarded to 22 counties across South Carolina.

Earlier this year the General Assembly approved the funding for the rural infrastructure grant program to be administered by the Office of Regulatory Staff in coordination with the S.C. Department of Commerce.

The state began accepting applications for projects on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis.

The state put up about $30 million, and the private sector matched that with another $30 million, said Will Helmly, CEO of Home Telecom. Its a pot of money thats been around for a couple of years and was targeted for rural areas like the I-95 corridor. There have been a bunch of false starts on the program, but we think when the project is done its going to have a huge impact on those communities in rural Berkeley County.

Providing high-speed internet service to places like Jamestown and other small towns across America has always been a huge challenge for telecom providers. It costs a provider an average of $40,000 a mile to bury the necessary fiber-optic lines and $28,000 a mile to install the cable on telephone poles.

For low-density areas like large parts of Berkeley County, it just doesnt make economic sense for providers to have broadband internet service, said Jim Stritzinger, the director of S.C. Broadband Office. It might take four to five miles of cable to reach five or six homes, and so very quickly that becomes overwhelming economically. Its why a lot of rural areas are so lightly connected to the internet.

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The state stepped up its efforts to help subsidize the cost in June 2020, when Gov. Henry McMaster signed S.C. Act 142 that approved $50 million in funding to help address gaps in what he called "our wireless infrastructure.

That made things a little more economically feasible to for-profit companies to invest in building broadband infrastructure, Stritzinger said.

The lack of broadband access in rural communities became evident during the pandemic when thousands of students in Berkeley County were forced to learn remotely. The school district provided more than 1,000 internet hotspots to its students but ran into problems quickly.

The reception was spotty at best in some of those rural areas of the county, said Berkeley County School District spokesman Brian Troutman. We live in an age where knowledge is right at our fingertips as long as you have cell or internet service. Learning cant stop in school, it has to continue in the homes and any improvement in internet access is only going to help our students.

The $60 million investment is just the beginning of programs that will help bring the internet to rural communities. Helmly said he expects additional federal funding from an infrastructure bill that is expected to be signed in the next year.

It sounds like a lot of money, but it only covers about 20 percent of the unserved areas in Berkeley County, Helmly said. Theres still a lot of work that needs to be done, but this is a good first step.

Stritzinger of the S.C. Broadband Office is optimistic that high-speed internet will be available to everyone in South Carolina by 2026.

We should have the money committed by 2024 and construction completed by 2026, he said.
When Perry Fant opened an email telling him he had the best ratings of any Airbnb host in South Carolina, he thought it was scam.

Though he didn't believe it at first, it was real.

"I was floored," he said.

According to Airbnb's new report that names the "most hospitable" hosts in every state, Fant is one of a select group that has never received less than a five-star rating in the cleanliness, check-in and communication categories. From more than 160 reviews total, his listing's overall rating is 4.99 out of five.

Fant and wife Paige have been operating their short-term rental since 2018. They built it themselves as a fully furnished apartment above a detached garage on their property in Mount Pleasant. She handled all of the decorating and cleans after every guests' stay.

He said the night the couple first posted the rental listing, which went live at around 10 p.m., they had two bookings before midnight. Right now, they're about booked solid through the rest of 2021.

Their place is listed as, "Newer Apt in Old Village mins to Beaches/Downtown!" on Airbnb. Images on the posting show all the amenities, including bikes for guests to borrow, an outdoor seating area and guests' parking spots at the end of the Fants' driveway.

Having built it with their own hands, he said, there's some pride in seeing how well it's worked out and how many people have genuinely enjoyed their stays.

Fant said they've met guests from all over  Scotland, Australia, Spain and all parts of the U.S. If the visitors seem interested in chatting, they'll go outside to socialize and "the next thing you know, it's like we're like neighbors and friends," he said.

They've even had guests decide to move to the Charleston area who reach out for help and recommendations.

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Especially given how the cost of living in Mount Pleasant has continued to rise, Fant said, having a successful Airbnb unit has been a big help.

"I knew I had to do something, and I didn't want to move because I was born and raised here," Fant said. "I have everything within minutes of my house."

He said that the secret to running a good Airbnb really comes down to making it convenient for the guests. If the Fants are able to accommodate an early check-in or a late check-out, they'll always reach out to the guests and offer it. And if anything goes wrong during a stay, they'll "drop everything" and try to fix it.

"It's just good old Southern hospitality," he said.

Drinks and a deal

Patrons at a new hotel bar in downtown Charleston can now opt to extend the experience and stay the night for a reduced rate.

The Ryder Hotel, which opened in the former King Charles Inn on Meeting Street this spring, started a new deal that allows customers at its bar, Little Palm, to book a room for 30 percent off.

Called the Look Before You Leap package, its only available for on-the-spot bookings, with the idea that locals or tourists who are drinking and dining at Little Palm may enjoy it enough that they decide to book a stay right then and there. Guests who take advantage of the deal will receive a collateral card for their booking.

Named for a character in a Jack Kerouac novel, the Ryder was the concept imagined for the downtown property after it sold for $43 million in late 2019. It opened to guests in May.

Gin & Luck, the hospitality firm behind the Manhattan cocktail bar Death & Co., was brought on to create The Ryder's food and beverage offerings. Little Palm serves cocktails, snacks and dishes like local oysters and house-made pasta. Seating is available indoors at tables or in booths or outdoors on lounge-style seating that wraps around a pool.
Adam Parker has covered many beats and topics for The Post and Courier, including race and history, religion, and the arts. He is the author of "Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr.," published by Hub City Press.
Families and community members can share their thoughts on how federal COVID-19 funding should be spent by the Charleston County and Dorchester District 2 school districts in a series of public meetings.

At 6 p.m. July 19, District 2 officials will host a public input meeting as part of a school board workshop.

Charleston County is hosting two town hall meetings at 6 p.m. July 20 at Ellington Elementary, and 6 p.m. July 21 at the Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies in North Charleston.

Families and community members will be able to share their thoughts on how the two districts should spend the money, which amounts to $163.1 million for Charleston County and $40.5 million in Dorchester.

The American Rescue Plan requires the districts to gather public input about the funding, 20 percent of which must be used to address learning loss.

Earlier this summer, the districts sent surveys to parents and community members asking how they would prioritize the spending. In Charleston, those surveys showed that the community would like the district to focus on mental health services and support; activities to address needs of low-income students; addressing learning loss among students; summer learning and supplemental after school; educational technology for students; and indoor air quality in schools.

Dorchester District 2 will reveal its survey results at the July 19 meeting. District staff will also present draft proposals for how the money will be used to address learning loss, and draft plans for reopening school in the fall.

The federal funding is the third in three packages of aid the districts received in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to addressing learning loss, the money can be used for COVID-19 related expenses, such as upgrading air filters in schools.

In total, the three packages are bringing nearly $250 million to Charleston County and over $62 million to Dorchester District 2.

Both districts will be live streaming the meetings for those unable to attend in person.

Charleston County livestreams its meetings on its YouTube channel. Anyone who is unable to attend the meeting and would like to submit feedback about the money can use the district's Google Form survey to do so, which can be found online at ccsdschools.com.

Dorchester District 2 streams through its website, dd2.org/live.
HOLLYWOOD  Authorities are investigating the July 17 shooting death of a man at Salters Hill Road.

Herbert Polite, 36, died of a gunshot wound at 5365 Salters Hill Road, according to the Charleston County Coroner's Office. Polite was from Hollywood.

Police arrived at the residence at 9:35 p.m. after a citizen heard several gunshots in the area, Roger Antonio, Charleston County Sheriffs Office spokesman, wrote in a July 18 press release.

The male suffered apparent gunshot wounds and subsequently died at the scene, Antonio wrote. The unknown shooter had fled the scene prior to deputies arrival.

The sheriffs office is handling the investigation. The sheriffs office did not announce any suspects and has yet to release an incident report in the case.

Anyone who may have information on the shooting can call the sheriffs office  843-743-7200.
Two months ago, we said it was smart for President Joe Biden to share our nation's surplus vaccines with the many nations that are still grappling with COVID-19. It's not only shrewd diplomacy to raise our reservoir of goodwill, but it's also in our own self interest in the long run.

Yes, our world is interconnected, but the stark, heartbreaking dichotomy was apparent even then, as the vaccine was starting to go wanting across large swaths of the United States while a COVID surge in India overwhelmed that nation's health care system and created scenes of multiple funeral pyres blackening the landscape as its death toll skyrocketed.

As the United States continues its steady return to normal, most of us probably don't want to think about the pandemic still raging in other parts of the world, but it is, and we should. And as its rapid spread made painfully clear in the late winter and spring of 2020, the virus pays little attention to national borders. So until the world reaches herd immunity, through either infections or vaccinations, COVID will continue to pose a threat and, worse still, could mutate into something no longer blocked by our existing vaccines.

We need to set aside any "Mission Accomplished" thinking.

While we had success creating vaccines under then-President Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed, we now need a broader, global partnership with nations and the private sector to get the world vaccinated.

As CEO Mark Suzman said when he announced the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's additional $250 million donation to fight COVID, the world now has much of the science it needs to end this pandemic, and the battle has spread well beyond the lab: "Its expanding to the factories that will make the drugs, tests, and vaccines; to the warehouses, planes, and refrigerator trucks that will deliver them; to the clinics and health workers that will sit at the end of the supply chain and administer them to patients."

Indeed it is, and the United States needs to play a larger role in this expanded effort because we're in a race against time, locally and globally, to make ourselves  all of us, all across the world  sufficiently immune. In the next lane is the virus itself, which continues to mutate into more contagious forms. As Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle noted, Israel's experience is showing that Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA vaccine is proving less effective in staving off COVID-19'S hyperinfectious delta variant. The fact that fewer vaccinated individuals need hospitalization does little to put a happy face on that news.

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In short, will we achieve herd immunity and tamp down COVID before it finds a way around our vaccines? Only time will tell.

The delta variant has arrived here in South Carolina. On Wednesday, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported a dozen cases of it, and DHEC's public health director, Dr. Brannon Traxler, noted that only a random sample of positive COVID-19 specimens are tested for a variant, so there could be more. Many more. Data are showing that the proportion of delta variants identified is increasing rapidly, Dr. Traxler said.

The increase already has prompted the Medical University of South Carolina to reinstate a mask mandate for doctors, nurses and staff working in clinical areas. It is time for all of us to do more, on all levels, beginning with President Biden and congressional leaders who can give other nations more help to produce and help to administer vaccines as well.

At the state and local level, we should support those working to improve South Carolina's relatively low vaccination rate. While about 50% of eligible South Carolinians had received at least one shot as of late last week, our rate still lags well behind most other states and well below the goal of having at least 70% fully vaccinated. We can't emphasize this point enough: Almost all U.S. citizens now dying from COVID-19 were not vaccinated. We respect those who have questions and concerns about the vaccines and their side effects, but they must realize that like it or not, they are balancing different risks  and the risk from getting a vaccine is looking better and better compared to the risk of contracting a serious case of COVID.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said recently the vaccine is so effective that "nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable," so such deaths are, in her words, "particularly tragic." Unfortunately, these preventable deaths will continue, particularly in low-vaccinated communities, and could surge as the weather cools later this year. According to The Associated Press, modeling by a University of Washington professor of health metrics sciences, Ali Mokdad, suggests that the nation will again hit 1,000 deaths per day next year.

It's OK to be tired, burned out and frustrated with this pandemic, but it's not OK to forget about it.
COLUMBIA  Recently fired South Carolina State University President James Clark faced opposition from the moment he was unexpectedly handed the reins five years ago.

While Clark is credited with moving the state's only public historically Black university out of the fiscal mess that threatened its very existence, the former AT&T executive never connected well with many of the alumni and faculty on campus who a few months ago voted overwhelmingly on a resolution declaring Clark "unfit."

Though board members have yet to explain their July 13 decision to immediately oust Clark, he has been widely criticized about S.C. State's stubbornly low enrollment and no public strategy to significantly boost student numbers  as professors laid out in their no-confidence vote.

"With enrollment dropping significantly, it just didn't appear we had the correct leadership in place to continue," John Funny, president of the SC State University National Alumni Association, told The Post and Courier. "We were going in the wrong direction."

Other alumni point to similarities between Clark and former University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen, who resigned two months ago. Though their departures are vastly different, both struggled from the outset following controversial hirings.

Like Caslen, Clark did not come from within academia and was viewed as an outsider. But unlike Caslen, a retired three-star general who led West Point for five years before coming to South Carolina, Clark had no experience at a college helm. And while he was a former, longtime board member at Benedict College, a private historically Black college in Columbia, his bachelor's and master's degrees come from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"You're talking about bringing a business person to an education institution and trying to get them to gel. Sometimes that takes awhile," said Sen. John Scott, D-Columbia, a graduate of S.C. State, who worries the timing of Clark's firing, weeks away from the fall semester's start, may turn more students away.

"For some reason, people believe if you dont have a Ph.D., you may not be the best fit to be a college president," Scott added, alluding to Caslen and Clark.

Clark, a Florida native living in Columbia, sat on S.C. State's board for a year  part of the transition board that legislators appointed after firing their predecessors  when his fellow trustees made him president without a formal search for anyone else.

"From the get-go I think it never set right with a lot of folks," said Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, another S.C. State graduate.

And those problems with students and faculty clearly continued, he said, referring to the March faculty vote.

Rising sophomore Miyuana Harvin, of Manning, said she's not bothered by Clark's ousting as it came as no surprise.

"I don't feel he made himself known," she told The Post and Courier on July 16, adding she saw him on campus only twice last school year.

"But I like the new president," she said, referring to Clark's newly appointed interim replacement, Alexander Conyers.

While Conyers has no prior experience leading a college either, the retired Army colonel is seen as a leader who understands the culture and needs of his alma mater.

Conyers, who returned to his home state in May as the university's vice president for strategic alliances, said he intends to be out in the community meeting frequently with local leaders and clergy, as the school's "No. 1 recruiter," starting this weekend. And the former leader of its alumni chapter in Washington, D.C., plans to collaborate with alumni across the nation in helping with recruitment  something Funny said was lacking in Clark's administration.

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Funny said Conyers' first action as president is also promising.

Two days into his presidency, Conyers announced deciding to use nearly $10 million in federal COVID aid to S.C. State to wipe out the debt of more than 2,500 students who had left school  largely due to pandemic-related financial difficulties  with balances that made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to continue their education.

"My hope is we'll be able to re-enroll as many of those students as possible," he told The Post and Courier. "We realize for this fall, it may be short notice for some of them, but well continue to push to get as many as possible enrolled in January and a year from now.

"Depending on whats happened since the pandemic, some of them may have moved," he continued. "This will allow them, without any student debt, to get their transcripts to transfer to any other school and thats OK, too."

He also reopened the enrollment period for incoming freshmen, giving them until Aug. 5 to get all of their paperwork turned in, and waiving the $160 housing application fee.

"This is big, and this is what I want to hear about my university," Funny said about Conyers' executive order.

He brushed off the contention that criticism of low enrollment amid the pandemic was unfair to Clark, saying "it was not a loss due just to COVID. We're going to have to let go of excuses and find innovative ways to increase enrollment."

Enrollment this fall could be its highest in years, though a tally won't be known until after classes start, college spokesman Sam Watson said.

Among South Carolina's public colleges, S.C. State has seen the biggest drop in enrollment over the last decade, by nearly half, to 2,100 full-time students last fall. Much of that predates Clark, who took over as the school emerged from a cloud of threatened closure due to mismanagement and spiraling debt, partly because school leaders failed to cut costs amid shrinking enrollment.

Following a $19 million bailout from the Legislature and budget slashes by the turnaround board that included Clark, the school's accreditors lifted S.C. State's probationary status, ending worries its accreditation could be revoked. That would have been a death knell, since students would have no longer qualified for federal financial aid.

Clark's successes include forming partnerships with businesses and technical schools, and restoring confidence in SC State's stability.

Legislators rewarded the college in the budget that took effect July 1 with its biggest allocation in recent memory, to include providing the $3 million state match needed to collect more than $11 million in federal money Congress set aside years ago to build a transportation center named after U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., an alumnus.

"We recognized how far they've come from where they were, and that was our way of saying 'attaboy, keep on, you're doing OK. There's still some work to do, but you're making progress,'" said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, who sits on the House Ways and Means subcommittee that oversees college budgets.

Still, full-time enrollment increased just once, and only slightly, in the five years Clark was president. His critics wanted to see a plan for growing enrollment.

Conyers said he's certain the school can "easily" add at least 1,000 students within two years.

It's a benchmark he may be judged by soon.
Writings on the Wall

In the Battle of Guam, four U.S. Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor. There were also at least 19 Navy Crosses earned here. There were sco Read more
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commentary

Which party is sane enough to win Philly's suburbs?
Reconciliation is the process through which budget bills can pass the Senate with a simple majority of the votes. The idea, I take it, is that its so important to have a budget that the quest to pass one shouldnt be subject to a veto by 41 Senators.

The Democrats intend to pass a massive spending bill via reconciliation. The bill, once its actually drafted and proposed, will be full of devices designed not just to increase spending, but to enhance the power of the federal government.

Most alarmingly, the Democrats plan to use reconciliation to grant amnesty to millions and millions of illegal immigrants. Joe Manchin, arbiter of all things, is apparently on board.

He says hes always supported this type of immigration reform, dating back to the bipartisan attempt at it years ago. I doubt he has ever supported enacting such reform with only a simple majority of Senate votes as an end-run around the filibuster. However, his comments to date suggest this isnt a problem for him.

Kyrsten Sinemas support will also be required. Because shes from a state at ground zero of the illegal immigration crisis, she may have more reservations than Manchin. However, it seems likely that, under intense pressure, she will go along with her party on this one.

Thus, the ability of Democrats to change our immigration laws with the backing of only 50 Senators will turn not on any elected official, but on the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. She will be called on to decide whether the radical change the Dems seek can be accomplished through reconciliation.

The correct answer, of course, is that it cant be. As the editors of National Review point out:

There are well-established guardrails for reconciliation, the so-called Byrd rule, to keep it from becoming an end-run around the filibuster for whatever a Senate majority wants to pass. Among other things, the Byrd rule, which is written into statute, says that provisions that dont have a budgetary impact or merely have an incidental budgetary impact cant be included in reconciliation. A provision shall be considered extraneous, it says, if it produces changes in outlays or revenues which are merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision.

The need for this limitation is obvious. Because virtually every piece of legislation has an incidental budgetary impact, without the limitation the filibuster is effectively abolished.

Equally obvious is the fact that the budgetary impact of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants is merely incidental to the grant. The editors of National Review note:

Democrats have advocated a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants for decades now, but never have they said that we must create one primarily as a budgetary matter  as if the status of illegal immigrants is a question comparable to the level of Medicare hospital reimbursements or unemployment benefits.

Rich Lowry makes additional points on the subject here.

Does this mean that the Senate parliamentarian will block the Democrats maneuver? Not necessarily. But if she doesnt, then, as NRs editors say, the position of parliamentarian might as well be abolished since it will no longer serve any purpose.
Scott has chronicled the appalling saga of Minnesota Representative John Thompson. Most recently, it came to light that Thompson has been involved in four separate instances of domestic violence, the circumstances of which are aggravated and in some cases bizarre. This shouldnt be surprising, since Thompson is best known for assaulting an effigy of the wife of the head of the Minneapolis police union with a stick.

In any event, the DFL Party has had enough. Today it called on Thompson to resign from the legislature:

I assume this will mark the end of Thompsons political career, although he may still have a bright future as a race hustler, his real vocation. If the Democrats could force Al Franken out of the U.S. Senate, I am pretty sure they can force Thompson out of the Minnesota House.
I brought the case of John Thompson up to date early yesterday morning in The mixed-up files of Rep. John Thompson. I argued for the general importance of his case in the manifestation of the motive force of the Democratic Party. Minnesota Democrats deserve him as their public face. They should be stuck with him good and hard.

By the end of the day, however, Minnesotas Democratic establishment and its principals were calling for Thompsons resignation. MPR itemizes and briefly quotes from the leading statements here. My personal favorite is that of Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, the metropolitan leftist from whose hymnbook Governor Walz has been singing since his election. Flanagan wrote:

As a mom, advocate for children, and survivor and child witness of domestic violence, I know the deeply traumatic impact of the actions outlined in reports against Representative Thompson. Someone who has allegedly demonstrated this violent pattern of behavior, especially in the presence of children, is unfit to serve in elected office. Representative Thompson must resign.

You know these are desperate times for Dems when Flanagan sacrifices the mention of her credential to speak as a light-skinned Native woman, as she always puts it.

The Walz are closing in on Thompson  literally. Governor Tim Walz called for Thompsons resignation. House DFL leadership also abandoned Thompson in a joint statement:

As leaders of the Minnesota House of Representatives we take allegations of misconduct of staff and members very seriously. The recent reports concerning Representative John Thompsons actions are deeply troublingWe are calling on Representative Thompson to resign immediately.

How could they know that Thompson has a screw loose?, as I put it yesterday morning. Or how could they not know?

Last summer Thompson led the crowd in a deranged demonstration outside the home of Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll in Hugo, Minnesota. And when I say deranged, I mean deranged. Rebecca Brannon looks back with the video below. (Full video of the Hugo festivities is posted here on Facebook.)

It was nearly a year ago when I took this infamous video of John Thompson inciting a riot in Hugo. I then became a target of BLM activists and was assaulted downtown for it. Truly unbelievable it has taken Tim Walz and other DFL leaders SO LONG to call for JT's resignation. https://t.co/c3l8bfM2kF  Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) July 17, 2021

Democrats stuck with Thompson right though his election to the legislature last November and beyond. They only abandoned him after Tom Lydens FOX 9 report this weekend on the old charges of Thompsons sexual misconduct. These were supposedly too much for the DFL. How could they have known?

MN Rep. John Thompson has TWICE been accused of demanding women perform sex acts on him in front of children during arguments with women His history of alleged domestic abuse has been public for a decade, but MN Dems just now dropped their endorsementshttps://t.co/V17v1v1dXd  Kyle Hooten (@KyleHooten2) July 17, 2021

At Alpha News Kyle Hooten comments: It is unclear why no such request was made earlier, as Thompsons pattern of alleged physical abuse has been public knowledge since he entered politics. In August 2020 Kyle reported for Alpha News: Apparent record of Dem at center of Hugo outburst shows past charges of domestic assault, terroristic threats. Those DFL stalwarts couldnt have cared less.

Lydens story filled out the picture with additional charges and graphic details giving expressive form to Thompsons inner nature. Yet what we have here is the eternal recurrence of the classic scene from Casablanca in which Captain Renault collects his winnings as he shuts down the house for gambling.

Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Star Tribune. But his attorney, Jordan Kushner, told the Star Tribune that Thompson maintains the allegations are false and he was never found guilty of them in a court. The Star Tribune further quotes Kushner: Its a shame that theres no concern about due process.

Good point! Hang in there, John.

Thompson himself is big on pretexts, as in his campaign against pretextual traffic stops. What we have here is a thin pretext for coldly pulling the plug on a DFL thug whose price has come to exceed his value by an unacceptably wide margin.

Thompson is nevertheless all theirs. He is the man of the hour leading the charge against r-a-a-a-cism. Who can take his place? Getting in the John Thompson spirit, Drew Lee deserves the last word.
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At the metaphorical level, NaAllah presents in the play, communal life  the act of helping strangers rather than only the family, working with friends, and also the idea of the home as a dynamic one. Most people in Africa believe in the idea of communalism, rather than the individualism common in the West. This idea of community affiliation has a tie with the idea of humanism

Baba Omokewu is a community drama text riddled with variations of different languages that inadvertently contribute to its different layers of meaning. On the surface level, the play is about an aged grandmother who cries about how she has been neglected and how she places much importance on the living together of the extended and nuclear family, as it has its importance to communal living. However, on the metaphorical level of interpretation, NaAllah is essentially preaching, upholding, and subverting the idea of family ties, bonding, and communal living and how they speak to his community, country, and the African continent. The major acts in the play, which are the dramatic actions of older characters who do not put priority on family bond, as opposed to the young ones who all work and roam the street together for the same purpose without disputes, is commendable. Overall, the playwright projects that through love and communal living, there would always be a shared identity holding the home, nation, and community together, and if these are largely ignored, it might be a source of disunity that could lead to the dissolution and tearing apart of families and multiethnic nations in Africa. Hence, through different dramatic elements and techniques, NaAllah has further joined other modern African and Nigerian playwrights to examine and present different ways nations can live together.

It is important to note that there is a formidable nexus between language and its propagated meaning. Most writers skillfully carry this out as they help to make the subject matters in a text more decipherable and readable to the readers and audiences. Through various language nodes, NaAllah effectively explores this in his work, which he calls a community play. The most important is how he starts the actions in the play with kids and children meandering through the community. From the play, it is evident that the language through which the children dialogue is love, cooperation, and mutual respect. Throughout the play, as the children go about, basking in the festive spirit, they do not fight, even when they share the money they have received. Also, they are instrumental to the union of the families as their actions bring delight to the grandmother, who eventually sings the song and panegyrics of the Akaje lineage centered on Opomulero.

In addition, NaAllah embellishes the play with Yoruba proverbs, songs, and praise poetry. These elements are common techniques employed by the playwright in many of his dramatic works, which help to identify the socio-cultural realities of his immediate community. In Baba Omokewu, the songs, proverbs, and praise poems used are signifiers of love, unity, and mutual respect, which help and contribute to the rising action and resolution of the play in great detail. NaAllah, therefore, explains the relationship between language and Yoruba oral elements, showing how orality amongst Africans, especially in the family system, is used to pass down customs and traditions. As a result, the playwright demonstrates the importance of African families maintaining their history, customs, and traditions.

Besides passing down Yoruba history and customs, NaAllah also attempts to incorporate Islamic values in the play. It is essential to note that the whole play revolves around the actions and inactions of adult and children characters in voicing out societal issues and proffering solutions to them. The book starts with accounts of childrens innocence in working together productively, and how they are learning and assimilating the processes of the family system, which is an important division of the society, as well as the teaching of Islamic duties, like reading the Quran and observing prayers at the appropriate times. Ironically, however, the adults do not put these into practice, as they do things differently during cooking and celebrations. Also, the narrator drifts into the praises of the girl child in the play, which is notable of NaAllahs works, as he seems to elevate the female child positively in a typical Muslim community. This is evidenced in the play as the character of Afusa, a young girl who reads the Quran more accurately than her male counterparts during the festivity and is cheered and respected, even among the boys. Invariably, this shows the amount of love, sense of unity, and appreciation that children have before they are re-orientated into hateful signifiers.

The family is the microcosm of the society. Therefore, the state of the family mirrors the state of the society at large. One of the features of Third World societies is the disintegration of the family unit. When the family is a functional, stable unit, then the society would be orderly. However, the breakdown of the family unit could lead to instability and anarchy in the society. In Baba Omokewu, NaAllah extols and reminds the readers that Africans are essentially communitarian or communalistic. In contrast to the Western way of life, the African culture is designed towards communitarian principles. Most people in the African continent believe that an individual cannot carry out his/her responsibilities alone. S/he is entirely or partially helped by the community where s/he lives, which means that existence generally depends on others in the community.

In the play, Mama Hakeem and Mama Kulu deviate from the communal way, and Saratu, the grandmother, highlights, points out and proves that the idea of community and togetherness cannot be removed from communitarianism. Saratu emphasises and frowns against how the women have neglected the traditional community life, where the whole house cooks and eats together in a pot. Also, the neglect of allowing the children to visit members of the extended family is frowned at in the play, as it is not the African way, according to NaAllah. Hence, communitarianism preaches the goal of the whole, rather than the part, as against the Western ideology that focuses on the principles of individualism. To put it right, NaAllah emphasises that the foundation of African societies is laid on the idea of togetherness, unity, and a common destiny. Rather than the I in the West, it is a theme of we in Africa. Africans move from realising that they exist to the realisation that their existence is tied to others existence, which is aptly carried out in Baba Omokewu by the actions of the children and the character of Saratu, the grandmother.

At the metaphorical level, NaAllah presents in the play, communal life  the act of helping strangers rather than only the family, working with friends, and also the idea of the home as a dynamic one. Most people in Africa believe in the idea of communalism, rather than the individualism common in the West. This idea of community affiliation has a tie with the idea of humanism, whereby the next person is as important as you, and you are not thinking about filial relations alone but, rather, affiliations in general. It is an acculturation and enculturation process, as well as a basic idea that helps in the absorption of multiple cultures, which should be the epitome of multi-ethnic nations in Africa. NaAllah tilts towards embracing the community, and through the character of Omokewu and his friends, he shows how long-lasting relationships can be built. Therefore, it is not surprising that the play Baba Omokewu was performed at the convocation ceremony in Kwara State University to an audience of multiple ethnicities. This is a colossal step towards the essence of humanism, which is to live a fulfilled life.

Toyin Falola, a professor of History and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, is Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin.

This piece was written as part of the events marking the public presentation, on June 30, of Professor NaAllahs three new books: Seriya, Baba Omokewu, and Dadakuada: Ilorin Art History.
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Following the emergence of the Delta variant of coronavirus infection in the country and the rising number of new cases and hospitalisations, the Nigerian government has put six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a red alert.

The affected states, which are spread across four of the countrys six geopolitical zones of South-west, South-south, North-West and North-central are Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the nations capital, FCT.

A statement issued early Sunday morning and signed by the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, noted that the nation has, in the recent time, continued to witness worrisome early signs of the third wave of the pandemic.

Mr Mustapha, who doubles as the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), therefore, advised the concerned states and the country as a whole against losing their guards.

The statement reads in part; The PSC, however, warns that all States of the Federation should heighten their state of preparedness and continue to enforce all protocols put in place, given the renowned greater ease of spread of the Delta variant. These steps are critical as we begin to see worrisome early signs of increasing cases in Nigeria.

The statement also announced some recommendations to avoid the spread of the infections during and after the celebration of the Islamic festival of Eid-el-Kabir which comes up on Tuesday, July 20.

On eid prayer

The committee recommends the decentralisation of the eid prayer on the day of the festival. It said rather than allowing large gatherings at community central prayer grounds, outside of the neighbourhood mosques where Friday prayers are usually said should be used for the eid prayer.

The PSC felicitates with the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. It however, urges all State Governments and Religious Leaders to be mindful of the potential for wider spread of the virus during large gatherings. The PSC, therefore, recommends the following preventive measures for a safe Eid-el-Kabir celebration: a) Decentralization of Eid Prayer to neighborhood Friday Prayer Mosques (outdoor); b) Suspension of Durbar activities; and c) Observation of limitations on all Indoor gatherings, the statement added.

On durbar activities

The durbar event, which has become a major tourist attraction, is an age long celebration organised in many northern Nigerian cities and usually involves colourful parades of the emirs and their entourage on horses, who are accompanied by musicians.

The events potential to attract large numbers of participants which may be difficult to control is said to have informed the committees recommendation.

On border posts

The committee promised that the surveillance at the nations border posts and particularly the airports will be strengthened, saying the existing quarantine protocols and restrictions shall be sustained.

The PSC shall continue to minimise the risk of importation of Variants of Concern into the country by strengthening Surveillance at all Points of Entry (POE), enforcing extant quarantine protocols and sustaining the current restrictive measures against travelers arriving from India, Brazil, Turkey andSouth Africa, it said.

FCT to shut parks

Meanwhile, the Abuja management has issued guidelines ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, announcing the closure of recreation centres within the FCT throughout the festive period.

The management, in a statement issued on Saturday night, and signed by Anthony Ogunleye, the chief press secretary to the FCT minister, Muhammad Bello, noted that the decisions were taken at the meeting of an emergency operations committee on COVID-19 in the capital city.

The statement reads in part; All Eid prayers in the FCT are to be held in the open spaces at Jumaat Mosques as well as the National Eid GroundAll open Eid grounds should have multiple entry and exit points with hand washing and temperature checking facilities; the holding capacity of Eid grounds should be reduced to 50% to ensure physical/social distancing.

Imams should ensure that sermons are short so that the entire Eid prayers do not exceed one hour; all parks and recreational grounds and facilities shall remain closed throughout the festive period, and worshippers are enjoined to adhere to all prescribed non-pharmaceutical preventive measures of facial coverings, constant hand washing and physical distancing.
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The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Osun says no fewer than 14 people lost their lives in an accident that occurred on Ipetu-Ijesa  Ilesa Highway on Saturday evening.

The Sector Commander, Paul Okpe, made this known in a statement issued by Agnes Ogungbemi, the commands spokesperson, which was made available to journalists on Sunday morning in Osogbo.

Mrs Ogungbemi explained that the accident occurred at about 5:40 p.m. at the powerline area, killing four males, four females and six children.

She said the children were two females and four males, adding that a total of 14 people died in the accident, involving 18 passengers.

The sector commander explained that four males, who survived in the accident, were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The 14 corpses have been deposited in a morgue, and the road cleared to avoid gridlock on the highway, Okpe said.

He said that an articulated vehicle ( Howo-Sinotruck) with number plate BAU 171 ZE collided with a Toyota Sienna (Gold Color) with number plate KRD 842 GY.

According to him, we received a distressed call at about 5:45 p.m. on Saturday evening about an accident on Ipetu-Ijesa  Ilesa Highway, involving two vehicles.

Our men arrived the location at 5:50 p.m and met dead bodies at the scene, which we have taken to the nearest morgue at the Wesley Hospital in Ilesa, Okpe said.

The sector commander said that the accident occurred due to disobedience to road safety ordinance by motorists.

Mr Okpe, however, cautioned road users to be safety conscious while embarking on a long journey.

According to him, safety is a shared responsibility, which must all be embraced, and not left in the hands of the safety officers alone. (NAN)
The presidency has attacked an influential Catholic cleric, Matthew Kukah, over his recent address to the U.S. Congress.

The presidency accused the cleric of spreading falsehood with the intent to discredit the administration.

Mr Kukah had in a virtual appearance before the American lawmakers criticised President Muhammadu Buharis handling of the security situation in Nigeria. He also alleged that President Buhari was nepotistic in key appointments and favoured Muslims over Christians.

The whole of the North is being invaded by armed bandits that are launching attacks at will. The President has shown nepotism in his appointments as he is appointing only people that share the same religion with him into key political offices like the security Chiefs, Daily Post newspaper reported the Catholic bishop as saying.

For the first time in Nigeria, the first three persons: the President, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representative are all Muslims.

This has never happened before. So, we require practical and measuring assistance that can help us and our children.

In its reaction, the presidency in a statement by presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said Mr Kukah was doing his best to sow discord and strife among Nigerians.

In the statement released Sunday, Mr Shehu accused Mr Kukah of falsehood, saying attacks by armed men stand condemned but are not targeted at Christians.

President Buhari has been criticised by many Nigerians for his handling of the security situation as attacks and kidnappings by armed persons have become commonplace in many parts of Nigeria.

Read the full statement by Mr Shehu below.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

RESPONSE BY THE PRESIDENCY TO THE STATEMENT MADE BY BISHOP KUKAH BEFORE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

It is unfortunate, and disappointing, for citizens of Nigeria to bear witness to one of their Churchmen castigating their country in front of representatives of a foreign parliament.

We are all too familiar with these overseas political tours that opposition politicians take  visiting foreign leaders and legislators in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. So, the argument goes, if they are heard seriously abroad, then Nigerian citizens back home should surely listen to them too.

But in order to be heard at all, and to maximise media coverage back home for their activities, inevitably these visits involve painting the worst possible picture of our country before their chosen foreign audience.

Soon enough we inescapably hear an identical list of racist tropes against northerners, how one religion dominates governance above all others, how the government is doing nothing to address herder-farmer disturbances, and how the government spends money on infrastructure to benefit everyone but the group and religion of the speaker. Of course, in order not to disappoint their western audience, regardless of fact, the list is always the same-and always slanted for whoever wishes to cross-check.

Nigerians expect this from their unimaginative opposition  but it is troubling when a so-called man of the Church copies the worst excesses of those seeking personal advancement in public office.

Only this government has put forward the first and singular plan in nearly a century to address herder-farmer challenges  a fact recognised by international NGOs, including the International Crisis Group. To declare to a foreign audience that this government does nothing is an incredible falsehood.

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To suggest that investment in infrastructure between Nigeria and Niger is wasteful and biased  when a similar infrastructure project between Lagos and Benin has revolutionised the two neighbouring economies to the advantage of both our countries  is quite disturbing.

There is no bias in this government when the president is northern and Muslim, the vice president southern and Christian, and the cabinet equally balanced between the two religions. But neither is there anything in our Constitution to state that political posts must be apportioned according to ethnicity or faith. It takes a warped frame of mind for a critic to believe ethnicity is of primary importance in public appointments. It is yet more troubling to hear a Churchman isolating one group for criticism purely on ethnic lines.

With due respect to the esteemed position he holds, the Bishops assertion that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terrorists is not supported by the facts on the ground. It is sad to say but also true that victims of crime, kidnapping, banditry and terrorism cut across all strata of the society. Sad but true that Kankara students in Katsina State were stolen by bandits of the same Islamic faith as those they took away. The same may be true of those who are still holding the 134 students of the Islamic School at Tegina in Niger State. The nation witnessed the sad incident of the female students abducted by bandits at Jangebe in Zamfara State and the over 100 predominantly Muslim students of the Federal Government Girls College Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State who are currently in captivity- and the nations security agencies are hard at work to release them unharmed.

The attack on Christian students is sad and unacceptable; so also is the abduction of students of other faiths. The claim that only Christian schools are being targeted is totally untrue.

As a nation and a people, we must together define evil as evil. We must not allow our religious differences to divide us. No one gains but the evil doers when we divide our ranks according to ethnicity and religion in confronting them. The bandit, kidnapper and terrorist are the enemies of the people who should be confronted in unison.

To be clear, The Bible is definitive on matters of ethnicity and racialism: In Romans 2:9-10, it says: There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good; And in Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Whether Christian or Muslim, we stand by these beliefs and are steadfastly committed to them in governance.

There is no place in mainstream civil discourse for those who actively, negatively, and publicly label an individual ethnic group, especially before a foreign audience. These are not the views expressed or opinions held by the vast majority of the citizens of Nigeria. For all our challenges as a nation, nearly all of us seek to live together in harmony, celebrating differences, and finding common ground as Nigerians above all. But people like Kukah are doing their best to sow discord and strife among Nigerians.

More than any other set of people, leaders  in politics or religion who preach respect for truth have a duty to practice it. It is a moral and practical responsibility.

Going by the history of the Church as is well known, it will stand up publicly for the truth.

It is time others did the same.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

July 18, 2021
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Three officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and a soldier were injured in an attack by smugglers at Igbo Ora area of Ibarapa Local Government, Oyo State on Friday.

Usman Yahaya, the acting controller of the Unit, confirmed the incident via a statement signed by Theophilus Duniya, Public Relations Officer, Federal Operations Unit, Zone A.

The statement quoted Mr Yahaya as saying that the attack took place at about 8:00 p.m.

The injured NCS officers, who are operatives of Zone A, Federal Operations Unit, sighted eight trucks carrying smuggled foreign parboiled rice.

The drivers and armed passengers of the trucks quickly launched an attack on the officers.

One of the attackers was shot and disarmed while the others retreated with their smuggled wares, he said.

He said investigation had commenced towards arresting and prosecuting the attackers, while the injured NCS officers and the soldier were receiving treatment.

Mr Yahaya condemned the attack and reiterated the uncompromising resolve of the NCS to curb smuggling.

The unit will never relent or be intimidated by this unwarranted attacks by criminal elements unlawfully bearing arms and unleashing same on officers on legitimate duties, he declared.

In an earlier report by this newspaper, the Oyo State government said operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service were responsible for the attack in Igangan and not unknown gunmen as initially reported.

The attack, according to Taiwo Adisa, chief press secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde resulted in the death of three persons  one Amotekun operative and two other persons whose identities were yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

NAN
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The Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State has given commercial sex workers 30 days to leave the area.

However, if they are indigenes of the area, they must within the ultimatum present their suitors to the council to sponsor their wedding.

The chairperson of the council, Zaharadden Abubakar, announced this on Friday when he received a delegation from Sara community, a weekly market, in his office.

Mr Abubakar decried the activities of commercial sex workers in the market.

He also directed the immediate closure of night clubs and beer parlours across the local government area.

Mr Abubakar said the decision was meant to purify the council area by tackling immorality.

He said the local government will marry off the indigenous commercial sex workers and pay the wedding expenses.

The council boss said the police and other security agencies would be directed to enforce his orders and prosecute defaulters.

Sex work is illegal in many states in Nigeria but is commonplace across the country.

Many public officials, particularly in northern Nigeria including the Nigerian capital Abuja, have repeatedly tried to clamp down on the trade; a move activists say is a violation of the rights of the women.
The police in Kano say they arrested 225 suspects for various offences between June 1 and July 16.

The police spokesperson in the state, Abdullahi Kiyawa, announced this in a statement issued on Sunday.

He said those in the net include 21 suspected of armed robbery and seven of kidnapping. The others are 23 suspected drug dealers, 18 suspected fraudsters, five suspected motor vehicle thieves, 11 suspected cattle rustlers, and 140 suspected notorious thugs (Yan Daba).

Mr Kiyawa said on July 7 one Ado Shuaibu of Malaku village in Doguwa local government area called one Yakubu Abdu of Shere village in the same area, demanding two million naira or risk being kidnapped.

On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Police Command, CP Samaila Shuaibu Dikko, fsi, raised and instructed team of policemen led by CSP Bala Shuaibu, Divisional Police Officer, Doguwa Division to expatriate (sic) action.

The team immediately swung into action and covert operation was conducted at the pickup point which eventually led to the arrest of one Ado Shuaibu, m, of 24 years old, of Maraku Village Doguwa LGA, Kano State.

Suspect was shot on his right leg in his bid to flee, and was rushed to Doguwa General Hospital and treated. Exhibit recovered from him are; wooden carving design pistol, Tecno phone with SIM card he use in threatening the complainant, one machete, and a black polythene leather (to put ransom).

The police spokesperson added that on July 2, a team of policemen while on routine patrol in Falgore forest, Tudun Wada local government area of the state, arrested one Abdulrahman Usman of Kurmi village, in Soba local government area, Kaduna State, and five others who attacked a cluster of herdsmen settlement (ruga) in the forest.

The herders repelled the attack and inflicted machete cuts on the suspect, and mopped up operation led to his capture with a locally made pistol.

Suspect was rushed to Doguwa General Hospital for medical treatment. During the course of preliminary investigation the complainant were traced as follows (1) Aliyu Abubakar (2) Shehu Abubakar and (3) Mamman Muhammad, all of Giwa LGA, Kaduna State, who reported that the hoodlums carted away with their three GSM Handsets, Cutlass and Money the sum of Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira cash (N350,000.00K).

Based on the confession of the principal suspect, on the 03/07/2021 a search operation was organized, which led to the arrest of other fleeing syndicate members; (1) Bello Alhaji Hamza alias Tsoho, m, aged 22 years old, (2) Basiru Gille, m, aged 30 years old and (3) Isah Alhaji Mallam, m, aged 22 years old, all of Yammama village, Malumfashi LGA, Katsina State.

Suspect confessed to the series of Kidnapping and armed robbery, Kiyawa said.

Arrest of armed robbery suspects

The spokesperson said the police also arrested one Rabiu Danjuma, alias Rabiu Duty; Suleiman Idris, alias Magu; Abel Patrick, Wisdom John and Stephen Sedani.

He said the suspects allegedly stormed the residence of one Sahaisu Abdullahi of Gunduwawa village in Gezawa local government area and robbed him of his car, a Honda Accord; and a plasma television set.

Other armed robbery suspects arrested, according to Mr Kiyawa, include Abdullahi Ibrahim of Gidan Kankara quarters of Kano who allegedly conspired with one Bashir Bashir, alias Sahabi; and attacked female students of Federal College of Education (FCE) Kano, Zainab Mukhtar and Fatima Abdullahi, whom they allegedly robbed of three handsets valued at N200,000.

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Team of Policemen, while on intelligence patrol along Rijiyar Lemo area Kano, arrested one Khalifa Muhammad, Ahmed Muhammad and Halifa Ahmed all m of Kurna Quarters in possession of Toy Gun (Tokarave), Military Camouflage Uniforms, mobile handsets, Money and other items.

During the course of investigation, suspects confessed to have robbed one Hajiya Umma Musa f of her money and also inflicted injury on her body. Investigation is in progress, he said.

Rescue of kidnap victims

Mr Kiyawa added that the police on July 6 rescued one Nura Auwalu of Makadi village, Garko local government who was kidnapped at his family house.

The police said they also rescued one Bahijja Faisal of Sabuwar Unguwa, Rogo local government area who was kidnapped from her matrimonial home.

He said the kidnappers also robbed Mrs Faisals husband of the sum of N1,800,000.

Suspected phone snatchers

Also arrested were 37 suspected phone snatchers operating at Kofar Danagundi.

On the 04/06/2021 at about 1900 hours, information was received that unknown hoodlums in possession of cutlasses, knives and other dangerous weapons were attacking innocent motorist, cyclist and other Road users at Kofar Danagundi robbing them of their handsets, money and other valuables items.

On receipt of this information, the Commissioner of Police Kano State Command CP Samaila Shuaibu Dikko, fsi raised and instructed teams of Policemen led by SP Bashir Gwadabe to arrest the hoodlums.

The team immediately rushed to the scene, swung into action and engages the hoodlums who are in large number, and they started brandishing cutlasses and knives in confrontation with the Police, but through police resilience they retreat abandoned their weapons, jumped into Bakar Lamba water pond at Kofar Danagundi where the pond was surrounded.

Thirty seven (37) suspects were arrested as follows (1) Mohammed Ali m 23 years of Danagundi Quarters Kano (2) Usman Rabiu m aged 20 years of Yakasai Quarters Kano (3) Adamu Ahmed m aged 25years of Gaida Quarters Kano (4) Aminu Tijjani m aged 25 years of Sharada Quarters Kano (5) Nura Yusuf m aged 21 years of Jaen Quarters Kano (6) Abdulaziz Alhassan m aged 18 years of Sabuwar Kofa Quarters (7) Salisu Yakubu m aged 53 years of Kofar Nassarawa Quarters Kano (8) Mohammad Suleiman m aged 20 years of Galadanchi Quarters (9) Naziru Mohammed m aged 22 years of Kofar Nassarawa (10) Sadiq Sale m aged 21 years of Unguwar Gini (11) Adam Isah m aged 18 years of Kofar Nassarawa (12) Abubakar Salisu m aged 18 years of Kofar Nassarawa Quarters Kano (13) Yusuf Nasiru m aged 20 years of DanAgundi Quarters (14) Nasiru Dahiru m 24 years of Kwalli Quarters (15) Zaidu Aminu m 26 years of Yar Akwa Quarters Kano, (16) Baffa Ibrahim m 17 years of Kankarofi Quarters Kano (17) Tahir Ibrhaim m aged 20 years of Kofar Nassarawa Quarters (18) Mustapha Ismail m aged 21 years of Danagundi Quarters (19) Zakari Ibrahim m aged 19 years of Indabawa Quarters Kano (20) Lawal Sani m aged 18 years of Sabuwar Gandu Quarters (21) Sani Gwadabe m aged 18 years Indabawa Quarters Kano (22) Abdullahi Abdulrasheed m aged 20 years of Indabawa Quarters Kano (23) Sadiq Adam m aged 19 years of Indabawa Quarters (24) Abubakar Aminu m aged 21 years of Indabawa Quarters (25) Usman Dahiru m aged 17 years of Indabawa Quarters Kano (26) Idris Zubairu m aged 20 years of Indabawa Quarters (27) Abdulrashid Yau m aged 21 years of Indabawa Quarters (28) Abubakar Aliyu m aged 19 years of Yakasai Quarters (29) Ahmed Mohammed m aged 19 years of Indabawa Quarters (30) Abubakar Umar m aged 19 years of Kawo Quarters (31) Abubakar Musa m aged 22 years of Sabuwar Kofa Quarters Kano (32) Adamu Mohammed m aged 20 years of Kwalli Quarters (33) Abdulsalam Mohammed m aged 20 years of Indabawa Quarters Kano (34) Mohammad Sani m aged 22 years of Alfindiki Quarters Kano (35) Kabiru Auwal m aged 21 years of Danagundi Quarters Kano (36) Abdullahi Ado m aged 20 years of Danagundi Quarters Kano (37) Aminu Muktar m aged 18 years of Yakasai Quarters Kano.

And the exhibits recovered in their possessions are; (1) Six(6) cutlasses (2) Seven(7) knives (3) Eleven(11) Parcels of Indian Hemp (4) One hundred and thirty(130) wraps of Indian Hemp, (5) and some quantity of hard drugs (Exol & Diazapharm).

All suspects were charged to court for prosecution, Mr Kiyawa said.
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Revealing too much details while reporting insecurity in Nigeria may have adverse impact on the efforts of security agencies in tackling the challenges, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC)said in a letter to broadcast stations.

The commission noted that, while bringing information on security to the doorsteps of Nigerians is a necessity, there is a need for caution.

It said this is because some of the topics also have ethnological coating thereby, pitching one section of the country against the other and leaving Nigerians in daily hysteria.

Dated July 7, the letter, which was signed by the director of broadcast monitoring, Francis Aiyetan, on behalf of the commissions director-general, enjoined the stations to join hands with the government by not glamorising the activities of insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers, bandits.

Mrs Aiyetan also said in the letter that broadcast stations should advise guests and/or analysts on programmes not to polarise the citizenry with divisive rhetoric, in drving home their point.

She also called on them not to give details of either the security issues or victims of these security challenges so as not to jeopardise the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers and other security agents.

The commission reminds you to be guided by the provisions of Sections 5.4.1(f) and 5.4.3 of the NBC Code that states: the letter read.

The broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a Sovereign state and in reporting conflict situations, the broadcaster shall perform the role of a peace agent by adhering to the principle of responsibility, accuracy and neutrality.

Buhari governments media censorship

The new directive issued by the NBC comes a blanket move to control the reporting of worsening security situation as increasingly President Muhammadu Buhari faces criticisms for not doing enough to address the problem.

The NBC code has been a major tool the Buhari government uses in its bid to control the content produced by broadcasting stations, with huge fines often awarded against broadcasters considered to have committed a breach of the code.

The development is seen as part of a broader media censorship drive by the government. This is reminiscent of the days of Mr Buhari as a military dictator between 1983 and 1984 when he used decrees to control what the press reported.

Last week, Nigerian media recently launched a campaign against the Buhari governments brazen attempt to regulate social media and censor the press through controversial media bills at the National Assembly.

The controversial bills are the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act amendment bills.

The former sought lawmakers cooperation to include all online media among the media organisations the government seeks to be able to censor.

The latter gives the president the right to appoint the chairman of the board of the Nigerian Press Council (NPC). It also empowers the president to appoint all other members of the board upon the recommendation of the information minister.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recovered 548,000 tramadol tablets branded as Tarkadol at Nkwelle, Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State.

The agencys Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs were seized at the warehouse of a major drug kingpin, Okeke Chijioke, of No. 3, Atunya street, Maryland Estate, Nkwelle.

He said Mr Okekes arrest on July 10 followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed he stocked his warehouse with the illicit drug.

According to him, after the search of his warehouse, 548,000 tablets of Tarkadol weighing 302.500 kilograms were recovered.

The suspect accepted ownership of the substance recovered. Preliminary investigation has established that Tarkadol is a brand of Tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention.

The substance has also tested positive to amphetamine. The drug was equally labeled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed its a 225mg drug.

It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without NAFDAC number or certification.

During the search on the warehouse, a double barrel pump gun with three live cartridges, which licence expired since 2019, was also discovered and recovered,  he said.

Mr Babafemi said this was even as operatives of the Benue State command of the agency on road patrol in Apir village on 14th July intercepted and seized 28,400 capsules of tramadol from one Dankawu Madaki, who hails from Misah LGA, Bauchi State.

In a related development, a notorious interstate drug dealer, Godiya Linus, based in Taraba, who supplied narcotics to dealers in Adamawa, had been arrested in Numan area of the state.

Mr Babafemi said Mr Godiya, an ex-convict, was in jail between 2012 and 2018 following his conviction on drug related charges.

He said a drug dealer, Mohammed Ali, had earlier been arrested on July 10 with 1.150kg of diazepam in Numan.

A follow up operation led to the arrest of Godiya who supplied Ali, while investigation has since revealed that he is based in Mayolope village in Lau local government area of Taraba.

This was where he suppliedJambutu park in Yola and other parts of Numan, using an unregistered boxer motorcycle for distribution.

Few days after Godiyas arrest, another dealer, Emmanuel Ishiwu was nabbed with different quantities of tramadol, exol-5 and diazepam, totalling 6.103kg also in Numan on 14th July.

This also was followed by the arrest of Muhammadu Garba and Shaibu Haruna with 48.500kg of cannabis in Gurin area of the state on Friday, 16th July 2021,  he said.

Mr Babafemi quoted the Chairman, NDLEA , Buba Marwa, as commending the officers and men of the Anambra, Benue and Adamawa state Commands.

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Mr Marwa, a retired brigadier general, applauded them for sustaining the offensive in the ongoing efforts to mop up illicit drugs from every community in all parts of Nigeria, charging them to remain unrelenting in the discharge of their duties.

(NAN)
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The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies on Sunday agreed to increase global oil production by 400,000 barrels per day.

OPEC and its Russia-led oil-producing allies, OPEC+, agreed to unleash barrels of bottled-up crude over the next two years by committing to restore all of the cuts they made at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The oil cartel announced the new development as economies pick up and crude demand recovers across the globe.

In a statement issued at the end of the 19th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting on Sunday, the oil cartel said the new adjustment will take effect from August until December 2021.

In view of current oil market fundamentals and the consensus on its outlook, the Meeting resolved to reaffirm the Framework of the Declaration of Cooperation, signed on 10 December 2016 and further endorsed in subsequent meetings, including on 12 April 2020, OPEC said.

Extend the decision of the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (April 2020) until the 31st of December 2022.

Adjust upward their overall production by 0.4 mb/d on a monthly basis starting August 2021 until phasing out the 5.8 mb/d production adjustment, and in December 2021 assess market developments and participating countries performance.

The organisation said it would continue to adhere to the mechanism to hold monthly OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meetings for the entire duration of the declaration of cooperation, in order to assess market conditions and decide on production level adjustments for the following month.

The group said it agreed to new production allocations from May 2022 after Saudi Arabia and others agreed to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) request that had threatened the plan.

It also agreed to adjust, effective 1st of May 2022, the baseline for the calculations of the production adjustments according to the attached table.

Robin Mills, chief executive of Dubai-based consulting firm Qamar Energy, told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that the deal is good for consumers in the short term.

However, there are expectations that price pressure would remain as demand builds, he added.
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Those analysts who have been trying to decipher the presidents body language should take a break. The president has spoken loud and clear. Carrying out that gangster-like raid on Igboho house, while he had long enabled Fulani provocations, is the presidents language; it is the language of complicity.

Hail, President General Buhari! Nigeria about to implode, salute to you! All dissatisfied, angry, and marginalised Nigerians thank you; the DSS, and all other official enablers and national champions of Boko Haram, terrorism, oppression, hypocrisy, banditry, and deceit, for showing your full hand (of cards) of bigotry and incompetence with your recent actions. In two, very uncharacteristic swift and decisive actions within just one week, the Buhari presidency rocked the country, and made the international world blink. First, Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, was abducted in a foreign country to face trial for terrorism in Nigeria. Next, the DSS raided and destroyed the family estate of Akoni Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho in Ibadan, based on intelligence that he was stockpiling arms.

While Justice Abubakar Malami was sparse on the details of Kanus arrest, probably because of its international implications, the Department of State Services (DSS) delighted in, no, actually gloated over their invasion of Igbohos estate around 1:30 am of July 1, so I will concentrate on the raid. At his press conference, Dr Peter Afunanya, the DSS spokesperson, paraded the eleven men and one woman, Lady K, arrested during the raid, displaying an array of assorted guns and an ancient Yoruba bullet-proof jacket he claimed were recovered from the estate, along with some Nigerian passports and other documents seized during the raid. He was proud to report that only one member of the invading party was slightly wounded, despite being met with a hail of bullets by Igbohos men, and that they killed two of them.

How remarkable! Congratulations to the president and his men! Who could have guessed this government had the intelligence, the guts and the muscle to go after those it considered a threat to the countrys security? Or that its punitive arm could stretch beyond Nigerian porous borders!

Meanwhile, for the past two years (and thats being conservative), and still on going, mind you, this same government of President Buhari has remained in comatose silence, while various acts of terrorism have been committed against law-abiding citizens across the country. Nigerians are groaning in anguish over the serial atrocities that have taken over their land and invaded their everyday lives, but the governments desperately needed intervention fails to materialise. Our school rooms and highways have become kidnapping headquarters; our forests, rape depots and centres of gory killings and mutilations. Boko Haram terrorists are accommodated like an opposition party in a democracy. The president is blind to inter-ethnic killings exploding all over the country and appears hopelessly unable to stem the state of insecurity. Mr Buhari seems unconcerned that 90 per cent of the atrocities and acts of terrorism are being committed by those who proudly and fearlessly proclaim themselves as Fulani on a mission to overrun the country. Now, some people claim these are Fulanis from neighbouring countries, and not Nigerian Fulanis, but the silence of the president, who is Fulani, and who at one time referred to Fulanis as his cousins, is suspect, and the stench of tacit approval is suffocating.

Consider the fact that graphic videos of the murderous thugs circulating everywhere are opportunities for government representatives to seek out the terrorists, not through midnight raids or covert operations, but for negotiations, and compensations. The Amotekun security outfit jointly instituted by the five western state governors was rendered ineffectual when the Federal Government denied them gun license, thus exposing Yoruba communities to hordes of vandals; Ibarapa, Igangan, and Yewa town are prime examples in this regard. The invading terrorists operate for hours, unhindered by law enforcement agencies, and when community vigilantes happen to catch any of these operators and hand them over to the police, the police free the marauders and detain the community vigilantes. Meanwhile cattle herders can carry guns to defend their cattle, and terrorist bandits openly carry AK47s to meetings with government officials to negotiate financial compensations and terms of rehabilitation. In fact, the Commander of the Special Task Force in Plateau State, Major-General Atolagbe, who dared to arrest, and publicly parade some Fulani militia in Plateau, was reportedly removed from office.

Some few weeks ago, the president finally emerged from his long silence, and deigned to speak to the country. Three major points stood out for me in his question and answer-style speech. These are, that he, President Buhari, the Commander-in-Chief, (a) is satisfied with the state of insecurity in the country, (b) has been governing constitutionally, and (c) will deal with those who disagree with his first two assertions in the language they understand.

Mr President Buharis language violently and brazenly proclaims two sets of rules operate in the country  one for the favoured, the other for the rest. This is the nothing but the language of ethnic bigotry that promotes and sustains terrorism and ensures virulent insecurity.

The president claims he has been governing constitutionally. Where does the constitution say the government can invade a residence in the dead of the night, purportedly to arrest a citizen without a search warrant? Did someone report the residence as a scene of an on-going crime? Where does the Constitution allow the Federal Government to sneak into a State like a coward or terrorist to execute such a massive operation without the knowledge of the governor, the Chief Security Officer of his state? Was Igboho summoned before the DSS, and he refused?

In this age when a child knows how to video-record a momentous event, where is the documentary evidence of the guns being retrieved inside Igbohos estate, if not of the so-called gun battle itself? As terrified as she was, Lady K, a blogger and the only female arrested by the DSS, was livestreaming audio of the ongoing invasion to alert her followers, but it took the DSS up to twelve hours to get its story straight for a press conference. Clearly, the DSS must know a video evidence would be critical to their case in court, but instead, they destroyed the CCTV in their victims home. What are they hiding? Or, perhaps, what are they trying to add illegally?

Remarkably, our men in charge of the countrys security left the scene of their crime unsecured, and for hours, and people wandered in and out freely. Well, the Igboho family members and supporters could record the wreck left behind by the DSS. Their video evidence reveals a scene of wanton destruction, deliberate vandalisation, long trail of blood of some person(s) being dragged along a corridor in the house. It looked more like a mission to kill than a constitutionally authorised arrest.

Those analysts who have been trying to decipher the presidents body language should take a break. The president has spoken loud and clear. Carrying out that gangster-like raid on Igboho house, while he had long enabled Fulani provocations, is the presidents language; it is the language of complicity.

When those in power tolerate self-identified Fulani terrorists as bandits to be coddled and rehabilitated, but unarmed community vigilantes are hunted down like terrorists, it is the language of division.

Mr President, you have justified to the whole world why the country is in uproar, why more than sixty per cent of the country is demanding self-determination, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Indigenous National Alliance for Self Determination (NINAS). They reject, completely, the false rhetoric by one nation to enslave the different nations cobbled together in 1914 under British colonialisation.

Mr President Buharis language violently and brazenly proclaims two sets of rules operate in the country  one for the favoured, the other for the rest. This is the nothing but the language of ethnic bigotry that promotes and sustains terrorism and ensures virulent insecurity.

With these actions, Mr President, you have full revealed your true intent beyond a shadow of doubt that you are not governing according to the Constitution, that you are not interested in being the president of the whole country, and that you do not hesitate one second to hold the rest of the country hostage to fulfill whatever your agenda is. One of your lieutenants in this hostage agenda stated it more explicitly, not too long ago, that, from the little corner of the northern part of the country where the Fulanis are settled, right down to the Atlantic ocean, is an extension of the Fulani heritage land. In other words, the totality of Nigeria is Fulani property, and the country, with all its resources exists at their pleasure. If he was an ignoramus pretending to be knowledgeable, I heard no one in your administration repudiate his stupidity.

Mr President, you have justified to the whole world why the country is in uproar, why more than sixty per cent of the country is demanding self-determination, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Indigenous National Alliance for Self Determination (NINAS). They reject, completely, the false rhetoric by one nation to enslave the different nations cobbled together in 1914 under British colonialisation. You could not have pleaded their case more eloquently, Mr President.

Mr President, if your body language for the past six years still confuses some, you have now broken it down for them most unequivocally, For those who heard you right all along, it is deja vu back to your draconian regime of 1983, and you have made their resolve stronger. Gone are the Emperors days of absolute power, when the Roman gladiators before their brutal fights hailed the Emperor with, Those about to die Salute you. As imperfect as it is, we are now in a democracy, we have activists, not gladiators, and the salute has been radically altered.

Those fighting for equity indict you.

Those fighting for their dignity defy you.

Those fighting for security reject your state- enabled terrorism.

No going back.

JenwiFA fr2c2b@gmail.com.
The gathering didnt fall short of expectation in any way. A healthy convergence of deep thinkers, men and women who nurse a noble vision of an improved society, driven by a focused leadership offering transparent and accountable governance, would offer no less. All through the ceremony, there were frank dissections of corruption, its harmful effects and how Akin and his wonderful team have been working from the grassroots

On Tuesday July 13, two separate events were going on at the same time in Lagos and Abuja. The Lagos event was a highly captivating media dialogue on the vexed national question, jointly convened by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) to mark the birthday of Wole Soyinka, revered Nobel laureate and a durable totem of fairness, equity, liberty and justice. The prop for the discourse was a new book of essays, Remaking Nigeria: Sixty Years, Sixty Voices, edited by Chido Onumah of AFRICMIL.

The other function in Abuja was the launch of a report by Akin Fadeyi Foundation (AFF) to draw the curtains on three years (2018-2021) of implementing Corruption Not-In-My-Country, an anti-corruption project supported by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, an immensely popular and impactful private grant-making foundation, which supports non-profit organisations in about 50 countries around the world.

It was to this latter, equally momentous occasion that one retired primarily for two reasons. First, to honour Akin Fadeyi, founder/executive director of AFF, for doing so much in concrete terms to ensure we have a country where corruption and other forms of wrongdoing that endanger the wellbeing of society are significantly reduced, even if totally wiping it out is unrealisable. Second, to mingle and meet minds with fellow citizens and duty bearers who are just as disturbed as one is by the extent to which endemic corruption continues to deplete the country and stall development.

The gathering didnt fall short of expectation in any way. A healthy convergence of deep thinkers, men and women who nurse a noble vision of an improved society, driven by a focused leadership offering transparent and accountable governance, would offer no less. All through the ceremony, there were frank dissections of corruption, its harmful effects and how Akin and his wonderful team have been working from the grassroots to change the behaviour of citizens toward corrupt practices.

To say that Akin possesses a seductively huge passion for justice is to affirm the obvious. He knows enough to understand that nothing threatens justice more than corruption. The guy wont just take his eyes off unjust or unfair action in their manifold nuances, without summoning energy and raising a limb toward attaining corrective measures or a long-lasting remedy. This, in a nutshell, seems to be the reason that AFF was set up.

For one, the open sesame to this surge of unrestrained zest for propriety was sometime in June 2017 in the case of Joy Odama, a 200-level mass communication student at the Cross River State university, who was allegedly murdered six months earlier in Karmo, a suburb of Abuja, by one Alhaji Usman Adamu. Akin and I, without having ever set eyes on each other, worked to get justice for the Odamas, but it was not to be, as the police, then led by Ibrahim Idris, frustrated all reasonable effort in that direction. It turned out that Ralph Nkem, then a chief superintendent of police and head of Karmo police station at the time, had been an enduring friend of the suspect and so, in the end, they made sure there was no justice for the victim, the offender and society.

Shettima said the relationship had been smooth and the Foundation was excited about the positive transformation of citizens behaviour brought by AFFs Corruption: Not-In-My-Country initiative. As a result, he announced that MacArthur Foundation has decide to fund the project for three more years.

But as can be seen, Akin is unrelenting and has been in that mode from the beginning, those who know him enough say. Unfortunately, he was not present at this event but who better to offer a clue to his ebullient spirit than his good friend, Azubuike (better known as Azu) Ishiekwene, editor-in-chief of LEADERSHIP and himself a remarkably perceptive columnist of intriguing fecundity.

Azu, who stood in for Akin and delivered the welcome address on his behalf, recalled with verve how, as executive director (publications) of The PUNCH, Akin had one day walked into his office at Magboro, on the outskirts of Lagos, clutching three demos. Azu said he handed them over to him and after listening to the stuff, he was instantly convinced that the bearer had a mission to accomplish. Just then he said he linked him up with Elder Folu Olamiti, a senior colleague in the journalism profession, who was then holding a top position at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). And boy, has Akin proved his worth since then!

The words of Dr Kole Shettima, Co-Director, On Nigeria and Director, MacArthur Foundation, Nigeria Office, were even more revealing of the promise Akin symbolised. Shettima, a warmhearted intellectual who is both well-known and well regarded across government, corporate and civil society circles, conveyed a goodwill message headlined by how he never knew Akin until he encountered him on Simon Kolawole Live, a weekly column in THISDAY, written by Kolawole who founded and heads The Cable newspaper. Kolawole also chairs the board of trustees of the Akin Fadeyi Foundation.

Specifically, Shettima had read about the Foundation, not even on the main column but on the margins of it, which Kolawole traditionally reserves for four other things of his interest. He was fascinated by what he read and decided that the MacArthur Foundation would work with AFF in its mission to change citizen behaviour for a better society. They began by sponsoring Akin on a one-week intensive course on behavioural science at the Kennedy School of Government in Havard, USA.

Shettima said the relationship had been smooth and the Foundation was excited about the positive t iransformation of citizens behaviour brought by AFFs Corruption: Not-In-My-Country initiative. As a result, he announced that MacArthur Foundation has decide to fund the project for three more years. And then the hall erupted in a thunderous cheer and applause.

Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, whom Shettima loves to describe as the Corps Marshal of the Federation, led a team of top officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission to the event, saying its a moment to cherish in the strategic partnership between FRSC and AFF. Commending MacArthur Foundations renewal of the project, Boboye said such gesture could only be reserved for an organisation like AFF that had done exceedingly well so far. He said FRSC would continue to work with AFF, not just to achieve their separate goals but also in the larger interest of the country.

Aptly titled The Journey, the report is a glossy 56-page document containing everything readers need to know about AFF and its work. Dr Otive Igbuzor, Executive Dir ector, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President, unveiled the report and described AFFs intervention as a rare feat in civil society work.

The keynote speech was delivered by Yusuf Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who recalled knowing Akin in Ilorin some 40 years ago. He said Akin was in the secondary school then and was Nigeria always coming to the house which his departed wife, then a member of the youth service corps, shared with another colleague of hers. Ali vividly remembered him as the boy who was always coming to the house in his school uniform looking very dirty. But conversely, he also viewed him then as a cut of diamond still covered with dust, a smart boy whose eyes glinted with future excellence. Said Ali: Akin reconnected with me just about four years ago and Im not surprised about how far he has gone and what he has done for himself and the Foundation today.

The learned silk, who in 2016 launched a book, Anatomy of Corruption in Nigeria, spoke on Anti-corruption Endeavours and Government Collaboration: A Strategic Recipe for Nation Building. The takeaway from his presentation, as he himself agreed, is that corruption in the country is worse today than it has ever been. That corruption has indeed skyrocketed under a government whose major promise on the campaign trail is to fight corruption on all fronts, under a leader reputed to be incorruptible, would undoubtedly be logged down as an irony of epic proportions.

Aptly titled The Journey, the report is a glossy 56-page document containing everything readers need to know about AFF and its work. Dr Otive Igbuzor, Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President, unveiled the report and described AFFs intervention as a rare feat in civil society work.

After three years of implementation, Corruption: Not-In-My-Country has registered as the most profound of AFFs projects. It comprises documentaries featuring one-minute video skits, Never Again radio drama series, Badt Guys TV series and capacity building programmes in some secondary schools in Abuja. The bellwether of the project is the FlagIt app, an innovative technology platform designed and deployed as a tool for reporting and flagging corruption and misconduct by public officials. It is also being deployed in schools to check corruption and other kinds of wrongdoing and has recorded tremendous success in Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, for example.

As Oluwatomi Okeowo, programme manager of AFF said, the overall goal of the Foundation is to achieve active citizen participation in the efforts to realise good governance and a better country. The Foundation is counting on the support of partners in this journey.

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Godwin Onyeacholem works with AFRICMIL.
Seventy six years after his death on April 11, 1945 and cremation at the Woking Crematorium, Woking Borough in Surrey, England, poor Frederick John Dealtry Lugard has been killed many times thereafter by Nigerians. Though he died peacefully at the age of 87, having been born on January 22, 1858, this soldier, administrator and author, born in Fort St. George, Madras, India, raised at Worcester and educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, has remained one of the most vilified colonial officers in Nigeria. His presiding over Nigerias incongruous matrimonial procedure on January 1, 1914 is perceived to be the albatross that plagues Nigeria till today. Same villainous estimation is heaped on his wife, influential Colonial Editor of The Times, Miss Flora Louise Shaw, over her choice of Nigeria as name in a piece she wrote for Times on January 8, 1897. In her preference for Nigeria ahead of other choices like Sudan, Royal Niger Company Territories, Central Sudan, as well as earlier name suggestions like Negrettia and Goldesia, many conservatives believe that Nigerias stagnation is traceable to Miss Shaws christening.

One of those who recently poured vitriol on Lugard for yoking together unequals is Head Pastor of the House on The Rock Church, Pastor Paul Adefarasin. In a sermon delivered by him and which went viral, Adefarasin labeled Lugard a devil incarnate  an expression derived from William Shakespeares Henry V  for soldering together Nigerias Northern and Southern protectorates, in spite of their disparities of mind, incongruent cultures, dissimilar beliefs and worldviews. This forced unity is perceived to be the foundation of Nigerias interminable and intractable challenges.

John Riddick, in his Masters thesis entitled Sir Fredrick Lugard, World War 1 and the Amalgamation of Nigeria 1914-1919, submitted to the Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan in August, 1966, said that, between 1886 and 1900, Britain, through its nineteenth century chartered mercantile company founded in 1879 by Tubman Goldie named the United African Company, renamed National African Company in 1881 and Royal Niger Company in 1886, explored Nigerias interior resources. In 1894, the Royal Niger Company gave Lugard the task to obtain a treaty with Borgu, on a western Nigerian border and he subsequently got another offer from the British West Charterland Company for the exploration of mineral concessions in Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland. Her Majesty, in 1897, also made him Commissioner for the Hinterland of Nigeria, with the responsibility for raising the West African Frontier Force.

By 1912, in the words of Riddick, the Colonial Office had concluded that the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates had to happen. This was because, while the Southern protectorate was recording huge budget surpluses, the north was bedeviled by deficit and crippling Britain which had to subsidize its operations to the tune of about 400 pounds. Southern Protectorates annual budget surplus was thus needed to save Britain of the northern drainpipes.

The marriage was consummated in Zungeru, present Niger State, a sparsely populated town of railwaymen and civil servants working for the colonial administration. Zungeru, then capital of colonial administration in Northern Nigeria before it was relocated to Kaduna, was not just where the documents that brought Nigeria into existence were signed, for a brief period, Zungeru served as Nigerias capital in the hands of Lugard. According to late British historian, Africanist and human rights activist, Stephen Ellis, a short ceremony consisting of a military parade was held on this day inside a shack that was then Lugards office, a place which, like anything Nigerian, is now in total ruins.

In the words of Elis, speaking in a high-pitched voice, clipped assent, and strangled vowels characteristic of British upper classes in the age of empire, Lugard announced that His Majesty the King has decided that all the country shall be one single country. Ellis however believed that His Majesty King George V, being a mere ceremonial figurehead of the British parliamentary system of government, never personally sent Lugard on this amalgamation expedition but that the soldier, who had earlier in 1907 been the Governor of Hong Kong, with the assistance of his influential journalist mistress, Miss Shaw, lobbied the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Levis Vernon Harcourt, in whose memory Port Harcourt was named, to get this amalgamation consummated. That union has since brought so much bile, prickly hurts and tears to Nigerians. Lamenting amalgamations destructive tendencies, Northern Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, had quipped that God did not create Nigeria; the British did.

For the benefit of Adefarasin and Nigerian religionists who heap expletives on Lugard, the choice of Fredrick by Britain as the only man who could successfully inaugurate the (amalgamation) policy was as a result of his competence. His ability and experience were due to the fact that he had spent the greater part of his life in various parts of Africa, especially having worked in East Africas Buganda, the principal Kingdom of Uganda and Lake Nyansa. Lugard was also born of Anglican missionary parents in Southern India. His mother, ex-Mary Jane Howard, labored in the vineyard of the Church Missionary Society while his father, Frederick Grueber Lugard, was a chaplain who served the Madras section of an East India Company. Jane was pious, devoted to Christianity and this was said to have been transposed to his son, Frederick who was reputed for affection and Christian ardor throughout most of his life. While Frederick inherited from his father the heritage of great physical strength and tenacity he would need this in his subsequent endurance of the climatic extremes and the rigors of his efforts in Africa.

I went into all the above resume of Lugards to tease out the fact that he was a damn good officer who came to Nigeria to do a job which he did satisfactorily, to the admiration of Britain, his employer. Britain obviously didnt embark on amalgamation because it loved Nigeria or with Nigerias bright future in view. In fact, if you asked Lugard while alive, he would likely tell you that Christ sent him on the mission, just like Adefarasin and other religious leaders do in claiming this as motive for their exploitation of the poverty-stricken minds of the Africans. By the way, upon retirement in 1919, Lugard left Nigeria and settled to a life of writing and contributions to the British society.

Since his exit, Nigeria has been visited by worse internal colonialist afflictions ever. This came in the form of big fat tummy soldiers in huge military epaulettes, babanriga and agbada-wearing civilians with necks like ostrich  apologies to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti  who are worse than Lugard and who gawked while Nigeria collapsed gradually. The latest among this gang is one led by Muhammadu Buhari. Were they to be as half committed to duty, half dedicated to the ideal of their offices as Lugard was, Nigeria would certainly not be in her present quagmire. So, still holding a man who left Nigeria to her fate almost a century ago, a man who didnt hide the fact that he was an emissary of a rapacious colonial behemoth, Britain in her quest to better the lot of Her Majestys England and not necessarily some conquered territory reputed not to have the ability to govern themselves, is not only escapist, it is silly.

Yes, we may argue, as Adefarasin insinuated, that what Britain bequeathed onto Nigeria was quicksand, a shell if you like, upon which she was expected to erect an edifice. However, since 1960, Nigeria has had the opportunity to dismantle the makeshift, hamstringing colonial structure, both mentally and physically and build an enduring skyscraper. For the sake of argument still, we may say that between Kaduna Nzeogwu, Aguiyi Ironsi and successive military opportunists who used a combination of their youthful exuberance and naivety to destroy the today of Nigeria, we had villains who thwarted Nigerias effort at a great country. However, the teething animosities of Nigerias civilian rulers too contributed immensely in quashing Nigerias growth. The leaders were not only shortsighted; they were corrupt, wasteful and lacked vision. It is said that, among a succession of Nigerian rulers, an estimated $20 billion was stolen from Nigerian public coffers in 30 years, more than total of aids to the country in same number of years. Did Lugard give them the stealing technique? Did he opaque their vision? Were they sub-human? Leaving all these, the most fundamental question to ask today is, what has happened in the last unbroken 22 years of civilian administration in Nigeria?

Apart from the Olusegun Obasanjo governments squandering of opportunities to set Nigeria on the path of greatness, the health failings of Umaru YarAdua, the gross lack of depth of Goodluck Jonathan and the ethnically bigoted mental constitution of the Buhari government, a major reason why Nigerians, not Lugard, should be blamed for why the country has never grown beyond its Lilliputian size, is the opera on display at the National Assembly biosphere in the last few weeks. It was at the national legislators attempt to consider the controversial section 52(3) Electoral Act via an Amendment Bill.

As I watched the grisly opera, in my mind, I thanked Waliu Ismaila, a Shaki, Oyo State-born Nigerian doctoral student who lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, who sent me two books  How To Rig An Election, by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas; This Present Darkness: A history of Nigerian organized crime by Stephen Ellis. Those two books explain the shame of the electoral act amendment, the Petroleum Industry Bill and even Lai Mohammeds remote-controlled amendments to the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act, as well as the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act.

Looking at the universe of elections in the world, Cheeseman and Klaas said that election rigging begins with rigging of election laws. In other words, elections are not rigged basically at the polls but from its fundamentals; its laws. According to the authors, there is a growing cult of counterfeit democrats, especially in Africa, who ensure that elections are incapable of delivering democracy. We now have an equation of rigged elections that dont succeed in toppling dictators but which help to keep them in power through electoral manipulations. Said the authors, Thirty years ago, the main aim of the average dictator was to avoid holding elections; today, it is to avoid losing sophisticated authoritarian regimes begin manipulating the polls well before voting begins. This is true of Section 52(3) of Nigerias Electoral Act.

The truism subsists that any nation that gets its election process right is on the path of a democratic Eldorado. However, since elections give birth to democracy, dictators of yore have moved into the maternity ward to tamper with the births. It is obvious that, for many of the Nigerian political elite, it is not in their interest for the country to get better. As a matter of fact, in free and fair elections, most of them cannot win. It is reason why Section 52(3), which says The Commission (INEC) may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable, which gives INEC total discretion on when to deploy electronic transmission of results needed to be hijacked and put in the hands of a malleable executive accomplice, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

No wonder why the Electoral Act now arrived at the dangerous juncture of an amendment that reads: the commission may consider electronic transmission provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and approved by the National Assembly. What that means is that our electoral destiny is in the hands of Mullah Isa Pantami Ali Ibrahim, also known as Sheikh Pantami, a man for whom no one else deserves to live except Mullahs and extremists. Did Lugard vote in that spurious and unconscionable amendment?

It is why, with due respect to highly revered Pastor Adefarasin, his slipping into the usual Nigerian false piety of externalizing our national problem nauseates. His religious constituency has underdeveloped Nigeria more than Lugard and his colonial clique did since the soldier-colonialist left Nigeria in 1919. On Sundays, nay, every day of the week, the church and mosque colonize the peoples minds, using the instrumentality of religion as unseen manacles. In terms of shedding of the blood of Nigeria, Nigerian religionists are not different from each of the legislators who voted against the electronic transmission of election results. They are enemies of Nigeria, worse than Lord Lugard and are united by treachery.

In saner societies, Orji Uzor Kalu, Teslim Folarin, Ajibola Basiru and all others in that category deserve to be consigned to the gallows of public disdain. What they inflicted on Nigerias electoral sanity is worse than the violence of an insurgent. Like the double-edged sword that violence is on both victim and victimizer, as they stabbed the voting process, they and us are equally dehumanized. Frantz Fanon, in his The Wretched of the Earth, puts the mutual stab and mutual dripping of blood on both of us succinctly. Aime Cesaire, Francophone and Afro-Caribbean author, politician and poet, one of Francophone founders of the Negritude movement, who in fact coined the word negritude in French, also treated same theme of our mutual dehumanization in his Discourse on Colonialism. Fannon said that, as French soldiers who tortured Algerian poor later lapsed into extreme neurosis, committing suicide thereafter, the blood that Nigerias national legislators spilled from our electoral corpus belongs to us all as a collective. Borrowing from Bukola Elemide, a.k.a. Asa, both of us  jailer and the jailed  are prisoners.

If, according to the team from NCC, led by a Ubale Maska, which briefed the legislators on deployment of electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria, only 50.3% of the 109,000 polling units surveyed by INEC in 2018 had 3G/2G network coverage, while 40% had only 2G and 10% lack network of any category and only 3G/2G combination is capable of transmission of results, why cant the legislators mandate NCC to aggressively upgrade the networks? When you add this to the naive, simplistic and superficial argument of some of the jaundiced-minded legislators who claim that electronic transmission is vulnerable to cyber-attacks and hacking as reason for their voting against it, then you will understand why Jesus wept for Nigeria last week. You will equally realize why Nigeria has been sentenced to an interminable walk in the darkness of the night, a la South African writer, Alex La Guma.
What kind of society are we building? The frightening thing about the recent spate of homicides is that they are being committed by young people who ought to have a great future ahead of them. We should be worried when our teenage children are prime suspects in homicide cases. And the frequency of the terrible happenings is heart-rending.

The soul-numbing trend is in your face. Homicide has become our everyday companion. It wasnt always like this. Life used to be sacred. It was not considered fashionable for acorns to be devoured before they became trees. Now, we are inundated with gory tales of gruesome stabbings, decapitations, gun violence and more. If you turn off the radio, the stories are waiting for you on television; if you refuse to read them in the newspapers, theyll waylay you on social media. There is no escaping the epidemic of bloodletting sweeping through the land.

What, in Gods name, is going on?

To fully appreciate the extent of the problem, lets examine a few cases which seriously traumatised the society and left our jaws agape in horror.

Story 1: Jennifer Ugadu, a 200 level student in the Faculty of Education of Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, was found dead in her room at an off-campus hostel of the institution. Her roommate named her boyfriend, James, a military officer, as the killer. He allegedly took her phone away and replied those sending him WhatsApp messages of enquiry about why he killed her: The day I killed her, I called my mom and told her; her aunt is also aware. Im also prepared to die because I wanted to commit suicide because of her. But I want her to go with me. So dont trouble yourself. Cuz, Im going to die also.

Story 2: Favour Seun Daley Oladele, a 22-year-old 400 level Theatre Arts student of Lagos State University (LASU), was murdered by her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, in collaboration with his mother. Motive: Money ritual. In his confessional statement widely published in the media, Owolabi disclosed that he took her to a hotel, drugged her and smashed her head with a pestle, while Prophet Segun Phillip, the chief ritualist, slit her throat with a knife and removed some parts of her body, including her heart, to make the ritual soup, which Owolabi and his mother ate in the belief that such cannibalism would make them rich. Owolabis mum, Bola, on her part, put all the blame on her son who she accused of conniving with Prophet Phillip to make her eat and bathe with human remains.

Story 3: 39-year-old Kabiru Oyedun assisted his herbalist friend, Akin, who strangled and killed a girl during sexual intercourse in his room. Oyedun confessed that he held the girls legs while she struggled for life. His fee for assisting in the murder was N50,000. His friend, Akin, now at large, took away the girls heart after dismembering the body. A vigilant neighbour tipped off the police, otherwise the murderers would probably have escaped detection.

Story 4: A 26-year-old youth corps member serving in Akwa Ibom State, Chidinma Pascaline Oduma, was arrested for allegedly hacking a man, Akwaowo Japhet, to death in his house. She was apprehended while trying to scale the fence of the compound where the man lived. The irate mob that caught her, beat and stripped her naked and would have lynched her but for the timely intervention of the police who are now investigating the murder.

A lady named Hannah Adesuwa Osazuwa stabbed her boyfriend, Lifeoftomson Seun, to death with a pair of scissors, for chatting with another girl on WhatsApp. She believed he was cheating on her. She challenged him. A quarrel ensued. The atmosphere became heated. She pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed him close to the heart.

Story 5: A 28-year-old lady, Ebiere Ezekiel, reportedly stabbed her boyfriend, Godgift Aboh, 21, to death in Yenagoa over an argument about a missing sum of N1,500. The suspect, a hairdresser, and the deceased had been dating for over one year. It was alleged that the deceased slapped her (Ezekiel) for daring to ask him about her missing N1, 500. She allegedly stabbed her boyfriend in the stomach during the argument. He died shortly after.

Story 6: 17-year-old prospective Law student, Esther Alex, set her 28-year-old boyfriend, Chidinma Ikechukwu Omah, ablaze in Makurdi. She alleged that the young man had been two-timing her, had made her commit abortion three times, only to ditch her in the end. Sources disclosed that Esther got wind of the plan by her boyfriend to finalise wedding plans with another woman, after promising to marry her. Indeed, he had earlier visited Esthers parents to introduce himself and declare his noble intentions when the going between both lovers was good. On the fateful night, Esther sneaked out of Ikechukwus room, where they both slept, to fetch a container of petrol, which she had hidden in the premises and returned to set her victim ablaze. He later died of his wounds.

Story 7: A lady named Hannah Adesuwa Osazuwa stabbed her boyfriend, Lifeoftomson Seun, to death with a pair of scissors, for chatting with another girl on WhatsApp. She believed he was cheating on her. She challenged him. A quarrel ensued. The atmosphere became heated. She pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed him close to the heart. It was a terrible wound. He bled internally, and died on the spot.

Story 8: A 12-year-old boy, Muhammad Sani, has allegedly killed his girlfriend at Damutawa village in Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State. Muhammad and his 15-year-old girlfriend, Habiba Junaidu, were hanging out at his uncles house. By some inexplicable twist of events, the boy was alleged to have suddenly taken his uncles loaded dane gun and shot the girl from the back. She died instantly. The police are working hard to get to the bottom of the matter.

Story 9: A 15-year-old boy allegedly beat a teenage girl to death for refusing his love advances. The boy and the deceased were students of Reverend Kuti Memorial Grammar School and Nawar-ud-Deen Grammar School respectively. The police prosecutor disclosed that the boy accosted the victim on her way home from school and asked her to be his girlfriend, but she refused. Be then assaulted her gravely. As a result of the beating, said the police, the victim was taken to the General Hospital at Ijaye for treatment and was later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta, where she died.

And of course, the famous Chidinma case is still unravelling!

What kind of society are we building? The frightening thing about the recent spate of homicides is that they are being committed by young people who ought to have a great future ahead of them. We should be worried when our teenage children are prime suspects in homicide cases. And the frequency of the terrible happenings is heart-rending. The only solace, if it could be so called, is that all suspects are presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court of law.

Perhaps we should be studying the link between hard drugs/voodoo and crime more closely, especially with regard to crimes committed by teenagers and other young people in their twenties. We need a scientific approach now more than ever before.

If you add the bad news from young killers to the insecurity casting a shadow over the nation, the resultant picture is depressing. When the bandits of Kaduna started their crime wave, we did advocate that the authorities throw everything  including the kitchen sink at the terrorists to send an unmistakable message to terrorists that they would not be allowed to profit from their crimes. See where we are now! We are at the mercy of outlaws.

Each time I review the findings of StatiSense on security in Nigeria, I have a foreboding that the worst is yet to come, unless we do our utmost to destroy the terrorists in our midst. Take a look at the local government areas with the most deaths (reported cases) in the first half of 2021:

Birnin-G, KAD: 233; Maradun, ZAM: 196; Katsina, BEN: 171; Chikin, KAD: 154; Zurmi, KAD: 152; Gusau, ZAM: 122; Marte, BOR: 119; Gwoza, BOR: 115; Ohaukwu, EBY: 114; Igabi, KAD: 107.

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Again, spare a thought for the local governments with the most kidnap incidents in the first half of 2021:

Rafi, NIG: 443; Talata-Marafa, ZAM: 317; Shiroro, NIG: 225; Maru, ZAM: 195; Kajuru, KAD: 145; Chikun, KAD: 115; Yauri, KEB: 102; Konduga, BOR: 74; Faskari, KAT: 74; Kachia, KAD: 72.

Perhaps we should be studying the link between hard drugs/voodoo and crime more closely, especially with regard to crimes committed by teenagers and other young people in their twenties. We need a scientific approach now more than ever before.

I am reminded of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan: No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Wole Olaoye can be reached through wole.olaoye@gmail.com.
within two years of Kashifus foresight and guidanceNITDA is not leaving anything to chance in its determination to drive Nigeria towards a digital world as it relentless explores the use and adoption of Blockchain Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, data management and strategy for adoption into the digital economy.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is the apex regulator of Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development in the country, the agency derives its mandate from the NITDA Development Act (2007).

This Act of Parliament empowers the agency to develop, regulate and advise on Information Technology in the country through regulatory standards, guidelines and policies.

In line with the Act of Parliament, NITDA is assiduously pursuing implementation of its wide-ranging mandate through strategic and inclusive stakeholder management, local and international partnership, and efficient utilisation of resources in the interest of Nigeria.

On August 20, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi as the Director-General of NITDA after his boss, Dr Isa Pantami was nominated as a member of the Federal Executive Council and assigned the portfolio of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.

As the fifth DG of NITDA, Kashifu has been steadily building upon the foundation laid by the previous occupants of that office, driving the agency to fulfil its core mandates in consonance with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) of the federal government.

In this position, Kashifu is responsible for leading NITDAs implementation of policy guidelines for driving ICT and developing programmes that advance IT related operations within the public and private sectors.

August remains a special month for NITDAs current management team because it marks Kashifus second year of piloting the affairs of Nigerias IT sector regulatory agency. It is expected that the agency will take advantage of this auspicious period to showcase its achievements and, where necessary the challenges, so far.

A renowned technology expert, Kashifu assumed office as DG after officially joining the agency in 2017, climbing into the position with over 15 years of experience in IT operations, and business transformation, with professional certifications in networking, telecommunications, service management and solutions design.

Kashifu is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) trained strategist and the first Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) in Nigerias public sector. He also undertook leadership and management courses at Harvard University in the USA, University of Cambridge in the U.K. and IMD Business School in Switzerland.

Prior to joining NITDA, he assumed various positions in technology engineering at the Galaxy Backbone and later went on to work as Technology Architect at the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2014. While working in the CBN, Kashifu also doubled as Technical Assistant to the then DG at NITDA, Dr Isa Pantami.

Since assuming office two years ago, Kashifu has seen to the development and expansion of the tech ecosystem into communities, schools, and innovation driven enterprises (IDEs), thereby providing opportunity for various sectors of the economy to leverage technology to transform business models, enhance productivity and efficiency, while also creating jobs and wealth for operators.

The recent introduction of the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021  2024 stands out as one of the landmark achievement of NITDA under the leadership of the current D.G.

Another programme initiated towards actualisation of the federal government Digital Nigeria project is the recent commencement of the National Public Key Infrastructure (NPKI) for Root Certification Authority (RCA) for Country Signing Certification Authority (CSCA) and Country Verification Certification Authority (CVCA) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In a nutshell, the national PKI will guarantee secure communication for all online services, provide security against unauthorised access and disclosure of stored information by addressing the fundamentals of cyber security  confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.

Furthermore, the PKI will enhance e-government and digital economy transformations through secure data exchanges and authentication for electronic transactions protection by the banking sector and its regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In the last two years, NITDA has launched several programmes, such as the Nigeria Digital Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startup Policy (NDIESP), NITDA Digital Innovation Entrepreneurship Centre, and the state-of-the-art Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR).

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The National Digital Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startup Policy (NDISEP) is made up of five priority areas, namely, Advancing Human Capital, Unlocking Access to Capital, Enabling Infrastructure, Boosting Demand, and Promoting Innovative Entrepreneurship. The policy is formulated to achieve a digital innovation and entrepreneurship driven nation that would become a norm for improvement in the areas of digital technologies.

This will be realised through automation, smart processes and ICT solutions, while applying to appropriate stakeholders in government, innovation-driven enterprises, consumers of innovation, technology start-ups, innovation hubs and labs, investors, academia, funding agencies, civil society organisations, service providers, and others into the policy.

Meanwhile, NITDA is coordinating the establishment of National Digital Innovation Entrepreneurship Centre to entrench an innovation-driven culture among citizens by serving as platform for creating value and prosperity among the teeming populace. Similar centres are to be replicated across the six geo-political zones in the country.

In what could best be described as its most ambitious programme yet, NITDA has set up the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) as a special facility for the promotion of research and development on emerging technologies and their practical application by providing solutions to Nigerias domestic problems.

The state-of-the-art facility, along with its modern digital fabrication laboratory, is a digital innovation and research facility focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Drones, Internet of Things (IoT), and other emerging technologies, targeted at transforming the Nigerian digital economy, in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

Most importantly, NCAIR is also focused on creating a thriving ecosystem for innovation-driven entrepreneurship (IDE), job creation and national development through collaborations with academic institutions and other agencies, research and development consultancy and high-tech products, and services development.

Kashifus first year in office witnessed a multitude of accomplishments, which included issuance of supplementary regulation to strengthen of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), and enhance data security and safety for all Nigerians and inauguration of the Data Breach Investigation Team, in collaboration with the office of the Inspector General of Police.

During the period, NITDA was able to address over 790 data regulation issues by tracking and reporting data infraction cases to the Police. Also NITDAs robust implementation of the NDPR under Kashifu yielded more than 2700 jobs and opened up the data security industry worth more than N2.5 billion, within a year.

Still within that, NITDA set up three IT hubs, four innovation and incubation parks, six IT community centres and three IT capacity-building centres in higher institutions of learning, as well as in unserved and underserved communities across the country.

Under Kashifu, NITDA also held capacity building programmes for over 650 artisans across four geo-political zones, and 200 IT centres managers across the country, organised periodic innovation contests such as Future-Hack, where participants receive funding and mentorship to develop marketable products and services.

Similarly, it conducted various entrepreneurship training programmes on ICT for 200 women, where they were provided with laptops pre-installed with the requisite e-resources as support for their start-ups, which generated more than 500 jobs.

The agency, through its strategic relations with tech entrepreneurs, supported 246 start-ups and 125 IT hubs and ecosystems builders were supported through Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV). In the process, NITDAs programmes within the period have resulted in the employment of about 30,000 youths.

NITDA, he said, had also set up a Virtual Startup Clinic, mostly for young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, industry specialists, business consultants and hub operators to solve problems and challenges they were facing during the pandemic.

Under the leadership and direction of Kashifu, NITDA floated the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) initiative designed by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy to take small scale farmers to commercial level using a performance-based approach. This has resulted in the empowerment of 145 farmers to utilise digital, smart and precision technology to improve farm yields.

To further expand the knowledge and skills capacity of the citizens, the agency embarked on Massive Online Open Courses initiative for Nigerias tertiary institutions to prioritise e-learning in the country.

Despite the pandemic, the agency delivered digital skills and literacy to over 25,000 Nigerians in 2020, distributed over 2000 laptops in driving this computer literacy, and tracked 6386 new jobs and roles created through its interventions.

From the foregoing, within two years of Kashifus foresight and guidance, with the support and endorsement of Dr Isa Pantami, NITDA is not leaving anything to chance in its determination to drive Nigeria towards a digital world as it relentless explores the use and adoption of Blockchain Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, data management and strategy for adoption into the digital economy.

Inyene Ibanga writes from Wuye District, Abuja.
Villagers evicted by a banditry kingpin identified simply as Turji started returning home Sunday morning after an aide of the Zamfara State governor met with the outlaw.

Bandits loyal to Turji had sacked several villages in Shinkafi Local Government Area and kidnapped more than 50 people, according to sources.

Turji was said to be angry that some residents of the area provided information to security agents that led to the arrest of his father at the Kano-Jigawa boundary.

PREMIUM TIMES reporter has listened to an audio recording of Turjis conversation with Moyi Sidi, a special assistant to Governor Bello Matawalle who is also from Shinkafi local government area.

In the clip, Turji said he was angry because two influential Hausa persons facilitated the arrest of my father, saying they were the only people in Zamfara State giving him trouble.

When the governors aide pleaded with him to release the abducted persons in his camp and allow those fleeing their villages to go back, Turji responded: You know I protect them (villagers) more than the DPO of the area. But when I started protecting people by fighting other bandits to reclaim stolen cows and give it back to people, they started envying me.

Turji told Mr Sidi how the Hausa men started blackmailing me and my father. At a time, he relocated to Katsina and started planning against me. That was how they got at my father.

But I dont understand how they would just go and arrest my father. I am the one who has issue with them, my father is innocent and they know where I am with my boys.

Why would they arrest my father? They said my father is the one keeping all the cows we stole from Kebbi. Imagine, they said my father took cows from Kebbi to Jigawa! How would my father lead cows from Kebbi to Jigawa? Where did he follow to reach Jigawa State? Just imagine the lie!

The banditry kingpin promised to release the abducted prisons in his camp, assuring that nothing would happen to them because he has no problem with the Zamfara State Government save for some five people. Two Fulanis and two Hausas.

He told the governors aide: I promise you. If Musa can bring my father to the riverside, let him just call me and hand over my father to me, Wallahi I will release all the people in my camp. What would I even do with them?

However, a source in Shinkafi local government council said those who spent the night at the secretariat have started moving back to their villages.

The source sent exclusive pictures to confirm the development.

It was not immediately clear if the development was connected to Turjis promise to the governors aide.

Commenting on the development, however, the chairman of a socio-political group, Zamfara Circle, Aminu Tsafe, lamented the state of law enforcement in the state.

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These are about 900 people with 900 guns, assuming each of them is carrying one gun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. These people cannot be hidden. It is clear that the fight against banditry is not being accorded the attention it deserves, he said.

The security adviser to Governor Matawalle, Mamman Tsafe, declined to comment on the development.

But a director in the department confirmed that the displaced residents were returning to their villages and those kidnapped have been released.

When asked whether the state government led discussion to ensure that Turjis father was released, he said Well, Im not even sure whether the guys father was arrested. But in the audio you sent to me, he didnt mention Zamfara State. He doesnt have issue with our government so, I dont know what you mean by asking whether weve released his father.

He said the state government and the security office will release statements on the issue.

Mohammed Shehu, Zamfara state police command spokesperson, didnt respond to calls and SMS sent to him.
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kaduna State, says it has deployed no fewer than 2500 personnel across the state to maintain security during the Eid-el Kabir celebrations .

The Commandant of the Corps in the state, Godwin Miebi, made the disclosure in a statement issued by the Commands Public Relations Officer, Orndiir Terzungwe, on Sunday in Kaduna.

Mr Miebi said that to ensure security of lives and properties in Kaduna, the command has deployed over 2,500 personnel, comprising officers and men, for this years Eid-el-Kabir.

The deployment, which is both covert and overt in nature, extends to all the 23 local government councils; before, during and after the festivity.

He said to achieve this, I have directed Divisional Officers through Area Commanders to mobilise all personnel in their formations and brief them on the operational strategies put in place for maximum results.

In the same vein, all heads of departments and units at the headquarters have been mobilised under operations department, briefed and posted accordingly.

In the period under consideration, maximum surveillance, foot and vehicular patrols are to be strictly maintained with the view to protecting critical national assets and infrastructure from antics of vandals.

The commandant said that operatives attached to Anti-vandal unit, Counter Terrorism Unit, Intelligence department and the recently launched Rapid Response Squad have been adequately mobilised and briefed on how to perform intra duties and partner with other agencies.

Residents of the state are required to report suspicious persons and acts which have security threats to the corps or other security agencies. he said.

Mr Miebi explained that effective collaboration from members of the public when ensured would address security threats affecting the state, rather than leaving it to only formal security agencies.

The commandant also advised residents of the state to embrace peace and harmony.

I felicitate with Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, his deputy, members of the executive, legislature and people of the state.Mr Miebi said. (NAN)
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The Zamfara State government has confirmed the killing on Sunday of many mobile police officers on special duty by bandits in Kurar Mota area of Zamfara State.

A spokesperson of Governor Bello Matawalle confirmed the incident but did not provide details.

He said the governor had cancelled his schedules in mourning of the fallen police officers.

Ibrahim Zauma, special assistant to the governor on new media, gave the confirmation of the attack on his official Facebook page.

He posted thus: Governor Bello Matawalle has just cancelled his scheduled political meeting in commiseration of the death of our gallant MOPOL officers at Kurar Mota frontline base.

The Governor is shocked over the bandits incursion which claimed the lives of the police officers. May the souls of those who fell rest in peace. 

A resident of Dangulbi also spoke about the killings but unable to say how many people died.

I heard the gunshots coming from the axis I was heading to, the resident said, adding that when some people standing by the roadside asked him to stop, he thought they were among the bandits.

ALSO READ: Bandits release Zamfara college provost as gunmen attack communities

However, a source at Yarima Bakura Specialist Hospital said the bodies of the mobile police officers had been deposited in the facility.

I counted 26 bodies and several injured others who have been taken to the emergency unit. Two suspected bandits were also brought with gunshots injuries.

The police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu, promised to respond to this reporters inquiry on the incident but had not done so at of the time of filing this report.
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Indications have emerged that the Bayelsa Government has not given up on its Oil Mining Lease (OML 46) licence which was revoked by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that Bayelsa Oil Company reapplied for the licence during the last bidding exercise conducted by the DPR.

The bid was, however, unsuccessful.

NAN recalls that the licence for OML 46 asset, located within onshore swamps in the state, was won by the Bayelsa Government in 2013 through a bidding process conducted by the DPR.

Meanwhile, the DPR on April 6, 2020 announced the revocation of 11 of the 13 marginal fields licences it issued to indigenous oil firms to build capacity and promote Nigerians participation in the oil sector.

Reacting to the development, Governor Douye Diri, on Wednesday, expressed shock over the revocation and the states unsuccessful bid to reacquire the marginal field as the Bayelsa Oil Company was excluded from the bidding exercise.

Mr Diri spoke on the oil mining licence at the weekly Executive Council Meeting at the Government House Yenagoa.

He said the marginal oil field remained a prized asset of the state to which it is sentimentally attached and called on the Federal Government to reconsider its decision on the matter.

He called on the DPR, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, to consider returning the oil field to Bayelsa.

There has been this issue of the Bayelsa State-owned Atala Oil Field. We kept a studied silence over the matter because we needed to have all the information that led to the revocation of the licence of our state-owned asset.

Part of what I have done in the last one week of my absence was to state the position of the Bayelsa State Government, which I did very clearly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

So our position on Atala Oil Field is that it is a prized asset of Bayelsa State and that revocation should be cancelled.

Bayelsa State Government might not have the financial capacity or the technical know-how but the government is ready to partner financial and technical experts to ensure that the field goes into full production, he said.

Meanwhile a Public Affairs Analyst in the state, David West, advised the state government to approach the regulators and address the issues that led to the revocation of the licence.

He noted that the state failed to utilise the potential of the marginal field by developing it to produce crude oil that could be refined locally to meet domestic energy needs.

The marginal fields were a rare opportunity wasted by the past administration that kept the licence dormant; there are terms and conditions but the state carried on as if the licence does not expire, Mr West said.

(NAN)
Residents of Ogun State have reacted to the claim by Governor Dapo Abiodun that his administration completed a total of 325 projects across the state in two years.

Mr Abiodun, in a statement made available to journalists by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, said this while addressing residents of Yewa South in the Ilaro area of Ogun West on Thursday.

According to the statement, the governor also said his administration had completed 66 projects in the Yewa South LG, in two years.

The statement, however, did not elaborate on where the projects are situated.

But some residents in the state who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said they were disappointed by the governors statement.

The Eselu of Iselu, Akintunde Akinyemi, said he is not aware of the said projects, adding that he would make findings and get back on the issue.

He, however, said the governor should do more so that his works can earn him a second term.

Well, there are few things we might not know about. My reaction to it is to thank the governor but we do not know that he has done such number of projects, Mr Akinyemi said.

But sometimes you can put it to the government that we do not know that they have done such number of projects.

We would find out and see how we would appreciate that kind gesture. Honestly, I do not know of such and projects are of different kind.

If I ask him to show us those projects, it might sound rude to him as a governor, but both stakeholders and politicians in Ogun West have heard him and at the appropriate time we would find out. At the appropriate time, we would get back.

But we must say thank you, His Excellency, but he should do more for him to earn second term from Ogun people on a platter of gold.

A factory worker at Ibese area, Rasaq Ashimiu, who said he is yet to feel the impact of any of the governors projects asked Where are the projects?

Mr Ashimiu, who lives in Abule-Oke, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Ogun State and see things for himself.

In Abule-Oke for instance, there is no singular government presence in that place, maybe the governor does not know that we are not happy. My brother, please as a journalist, you have more exposure than I do. Please where are the projects situated?

There are no passable roads in almost everywhere in Ogun State again and somebody is talking of 325 projects in Ogun. If God helps me to see the governor face to face, I will ask him again, where the projects are.

Opposition party reacts

Akin Bankole, the spokesperson of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state, called on the governor to specify where the projects are situated.

My immediate reaction to that is that it is very difficult to wake somebody that is in the voyage of slumber, Mr Bankole said.

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Unfortunately, I think the governor is dreaming and I think he should be woken up as early as possible by every right-thinking person in Ogun state. It becomes so unfortunate that the chief executive officer of the state could be speaking falsehood

Where are the 325 projects? The governor should show us. In Ogun West, the people are battling with bad roads across board?

The same governor was made to come down from his vehicle few days ago on Idiroko road for him to see the sorry situation of the roads. He also went to Ipokia and he claimed to have felt bad about the situation of the roads in Imeko, and this is the same governor claiming to have completed 325 projects in this same Ogun. Even the roads done before he came in as governor were not maintained.

I can only appeal to our people to endure this time and be patient, very soon we shall have another election where this government will be dislodged.
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The Oyo State Government says officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, not unknown gunmen, raided Igangan and other parts of Ibarapa areas of the state on Friday night.

Taiwo Adisa, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, said in a statement on Saturday in Ibadan, that this was contrary to the widely circulated report that unknown gunmen had, again, attacked the areas.

Mr Adisa said that the revelation was made known by Ibarapa community leaders during a fact-finding meeting between a team of the state government and political/traditional leaders of the affected communities on Saturday.

According to him, the state government team was led by Sunday Odukoya, the Executive Assistant on Security Matters to the governor.

The political and traditional leaders of Ibarapa extraction at the meeting, described the Friday raid on Igangan, Igbo-Ora and other communities in the area by men of the NCS, as unnecessary and not well-thought-out.

They called on the leadership of Custom Service to regulate operations of its personnel.

It will be better if the authorities restrict them to border towns to end unwarranted attacks on innocent communities, Mr Adisa said.

The governors media aide said that Mr Odukoya, who led the state government team to the meeting, called for vigilance and calm among the people.

He said that police in the areas had confirmed the death of one Amotekun operative and two other persons, following the said raid.

The team, accompanied by the traditional rulers and community leaders, visited scene of the incident at Igangan, Ayete, Tapa, and Igbo-Ora.

The leaders, included the Olu of Igbo-Ora, Jimoh Titiloye and the Chairman of Ibarapa North Local Government, Adeoye Adedoyin.

(NAN)
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Driving Carbon Offset Transparency And Accountability

woodify is set to issue up to 100k carbon offset certificates per year through Certif-ID's blockchain-based platform which acts as a carbon offset recording and verification system.

carbon offset certificates per year through Certif-ID's blockchain-based platform which acts as a carbon offset recording and verification system. Preventing Carbon Offset Fraud with Blockchain

By digitizing and linking certificates to specific reforestation projects using blockchain, woodify is removing any possibilities of bad actors selling fake or expired certificates.

Cost-Effective Way to Track & Reduce Carbon Footprint

Using the Certif-ID platform to issue digital carbon offset certificates, woodify is reducing the costs involved in verifying transactions - removing the need for third-parties

In addition to improving the biodiversity of forests and reducing global warming, woodify is also making an effort to bring back trust and transparency associated with carbon offset transactions between individuals, private companies, and public organisations.

"As we are embarking on a journey to bind CO2 and build better forest ecosystems, we wanted to adapt new technologies which would help us further our mission," said Nils Reinhardt, Chief Executive Officer, woodify GmbH. "When a piece of forest is sold, we wanted to share a CO2 certificate with geo-coordinates for that piece of forest without having to worry about it being manipulated or misplaced."

"woodify was looking for a system to issue and track details such as geo-coordinates and time stamps of pieces of forests which are sold. Choosing blockchain technology for this purpose is ideal due to its traceability, decentralization, and reliability features," said Timothy Miller, Founder & Managing Director, Certif-ID International OHG. "At Certif-ID, we focus on bringing trust and transparency to industries that rely on certification. Education, independent audit and assessment, healthcare and sustainability are all able to utilize the Certif-ID SaaS platform to issue certificates, manage and analyse data anchored to blockchain. Partnering with woodify, provided us with a great opportunity to launch into a new and important sector."

Why is There a Need for Digitisation of Carbon Credits?

In December 2015, all nations came together for a common cause, under the Paris Agreement, to combat climate change. To ensure that all parties put their best efforts forward and to recognise clean energy producers, carbon credits were created.

A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that gives the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas. So, carbon credits are purchased by companies or individuals to make sure they are within their climate targets for their current emissions. But, when it comes to trading carbon credits, there are no standardised methods to verify the same.

Several environmental groups accused the system of being corrupted, where some countries simply showed an elevation in emissions to get paid for curbing them. The carbon credits are based on projects that are either evaluated individually or are supervised as per their lifecycle.

The data collected should be tamper-free and should not have scope for false alterations. This is possible with the help of blockchain technology. The fundamental design of a blockchain is its ability to link new blocks of information/transactions to previous blocks. Thereby, creating a cryptographic chain which is hard to break, and thus offers a reliable way to issue and track carbon credits.

Certif-ID to Power Carbon Credit Certificate Transparency and Accountability

To overcome any accusations of the certificate being fake, woodify introduced the Certif-ID blockchain-based system. Through Certif-ID, a transparent ecosystem which tracks climate and emissions data, and how carbon certificates are being traded was set up.

Certif-ID is a blockchain-powered platform which allows organisations to securely issue digital certificates to all parties involved. The digital certificates issued via Certif-ID can be customised with QR codes and verifiable links. When a digital certificate is issued, it creates a permanent link between the issuer and person receiving it, making the certificate tamper-proof or fraud-proof.

"We found the solution we were looking for in Certif-ID. Now, using Certif-ID's blockchain-powered platform we're issuing digital carbon offset certificates for all our reforestation projects," said Nils Reinhardt, Chief Executive Officer, woodify GmbH. "Embracing Certif-ID's blockchain framework has helped us digitize our certification system. It offers protection from any fraudulent activities and we can rest assured that the trust and transparency our purchasers are looking for is delivered."

woodify is currently in the process of building a network of projects across Germany that will result in 1 million tons of carbon sequestration. The corresponding certificates will be sold to corporations or individuals. Along with each sale, immutable records of carbon offset, linked to specific reforestation projects will be issued.

woodify is set to issue 50 to 100k carbon offset certificates per year via Certif-ID. These immutable records of carbon offset will be encrypted, secure and instantly verifiable. With Certif-ID, woodify can ensure that no counterfeit certificates are distributed.

Additionally, as Certif-ID has no hardware dependencies, anyone with platform access can work on it from any device at any time. This makes the carbon offset certificate issuance and verification processes easier.

"Whether it is the edtech or the environment sector, we at Certif-ID believe in offering sustainable solutions. We've come a long way, and our aim still lies in enhancing the lives of all stakeholders involved and being a catalyst for edtech and environmental stewardship," said Timothy Miller, Founder & Managing Director, Certif-ID International OHG. "The Certif-ID platform has entered a new market of upholding environmental sustainability. And, we're certain that our platform will act as a dependable means to ensure that carbon credits remain accessible and tamper-free."

As woodify is digitising carbon certificates - from creation to sale to retirement on a blockchain-powered platform, anybody can unquestionably get involved in carbon offsetting without the fear of fraud

About Certif-ID in the Carbon Credit Ecosystem

Certif-ID is a blockchain-powered platform that acts as a carbon credit recording and verification system. It connects key stakeholders across organizations and various sectors while offering complete trust, transparency and accountability for all transactions. Using the Certif-ID platform, organizations can issue digital carbon credit certificates over blockchain, simplifying their certification and verification processes. The use of blockchain makes every transaction transparent and verifiable. Anyone can verify the issued digital credentials without the need of third-parties.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1274361/Certif_ID_Logo.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1571787/woodify_digital_certificates.jpg

SOURCE Certif-ID
NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) condemns the United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod resolution entitled, "Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel," adopted today by a vote of 462 to 78. The measure demonizes Israel, fails to offer a credible path to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and undermines advances in Christian-Jewish relations.

In a 3,500-word document, there is no mention of Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, is committed to Israel's destruction, opposes any peace initiatives, and, most recently, in May, fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israel's cities.

The resolution ignores inconvenient truths in the history and context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; innumerable peace proposals and initiatives rejected by Palestinians with violence; and ongoing security threats to Israel. In its accusations, the resolution uses terms like "sin" and "apartheid." The resolution dangerously describes the "oppression of the Palestinian people" and an unqualified "Israel's occupation of Palestine" as theologically motivated.

"At a time when Jews are being physically attacked worldwide for their solidarity with Israel, suffering violence that clearly crosses the line from criticism of Israeli policies into blatant antisemitism, one could rightfully expect an American Christian church to be more guarded in its judgments," said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC's Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations.

"Where in this resolution for a 'just peace' is there any mention of Israel's relentless pursuit of peace for 73 years?" Marans asked.

One of only eleven resolutions considered by the UCC General Synod, it was the only international conflict or threat addressed by the assembled.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


Bereaved Parents Partner with Social Media Companies to Alert Youth About Killer Counterfeit Pills Made of Fentanyl Tweet this

"We need to alert the kids  ASAP," said co-founder Ed Ternan. "That requires cooperation from social media platforms, because the internet is where kids are connecting -- so it has been our strategy to get them actively involved. We need to make social media our allies, not our adversaries."

Fentanyl, a cheap and powerful opioid, is the primary driver of the dramatic increase in drug deaths over the past year, according to the CDC. It is also the active ingredient in fentapills, which have now been found in all 50 States, with resulting deaths reported in 42 States, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Safe Medicines.

"We are in a race against time," said co-founder Mary Ternan. "We want to share this critical information, so no parents experience what we've been through. If we can reach the kids directly and give them the facts, we might help them make better decisions and saves some lives."

"Health promotion and education on this crisis is paramount," said Tim Mackey, PhD, CEO of S-3 Research, a company funded by the National Institutes of Health to develop technology to detect illicit online drug sale activities. "Educating kids and families about the real dangers of fentanyl is just as important as monitoring platforms for drug activity. They go hand in hand. I applaud Ed and Mary for their ability to engage the tech companies in this critical awareness effort."

Bringing Tech to the Table:

Earlier this year, Song for Charlie began working with Snap Inc. to identify ways the tech industry can help combat the growing epidemic and help educate young people about the dangers of fentanyl. Since then, the effort has gained momentum and support from other technology companies including Facebook and Google.org.

The Song for Charlie "One Pill Can Kill" advertising campaign will debut on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook and a series of ads will run over the next year. The content is targeted to each platform's demographic  e.g., teens, twenty-somethings, and parents/teachers. Snap, Facebook, and Google are contributing digital ad credits and marketing expertise to help amplify the message.

Snap's contribution to this effort is significant as its platform is most widely used by young people, reaching 90 percent of 13-to-24-year-olds in the U.S. -- the same demographic that is frequently victims of fentapills and who are often either experimenting or using pills only occasionally. Starting today, Song for Charlie PSA's will be featured on Snapchat's Discover content platform.

To extend the reach of this new campaign, Snap worked with Song for Charlie to develop a new Augmented Reality lens that shows a variety of facts on the dangers of fentanyl and links to additional resources. In addition, Snap will also run a special episode of its award-winning news show, Good Luck America (GLA), devoted to the fentanyl epidemic and featuring an interview with Ed Ternan. These efforts are the first in a longer partnership between Song for Charlie and Snap, which will include additional in-app education and public awareness initiatives.

Facebook and Google.org are contributing ad credits to run Song for Charlie national campaign advertising. Google.org is contributing credits through their Ad Grants program and is also providing the nonprofit with hands-on support to help educate the public on the dangers of fake prescription pills. Facebook is collaborating with Song For Charlie to provide resources and raise awareness through their Emotional Health Hub.

"We are honored to partner with Song for Charlie to educate young people on the dangers of counterfeit drugs and fentanyl poisoning. Ed and Mary, and the Song for Charlie community, have been at the forefront of this conversation and have been instrumental in this effort to save lives. We look forward to collaborating on additional in-app education initiatives while we continue improving our own capabilities to combat drug dealers and drug-related content online," said Jennifer Stout, VP Global Public Policy at Snap Inc.

"We're partnering with Song for Charlie to give young people more information about the danger posed by illicit and counterfeit drugs sold online. We prohibit these drugs from being sold on Facebook or Instagram and work to remove this content proactively through technology and user reports. We have a number of programs to address the opioid and addiction crisis and are now extending this work by supporting Song For Charlie to deter young people from seeking out these dangerous drugs." - Lindsay Elin, VP of Public Policy, External Affairs, Facebook.

About Song for Charlie:

Song for Charlie was co-founded by Ed and Mary Ternan after the death of their 22-year-old son Charlie, in May 2020. Charlie died after taking what he thought was a Percocet that he purchased on the internet. Instead, it was a 100% counterfeit pill made of the powerful opioid, fentanyl. Song for Charlie, Inc. creates and distributes educational programs that address the emerging dangers of self-medication and casual drug use in the fentanyl era and that encourage healthier strategies for coping with stress. We share our educational tools and curriculum content online and on campus . For more information, www.songforcharlie.org.

About Snap Inc. :

Snap Inc. is a camera company. We believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. For more information, visit snap.com or contact Kelsey Donohue, [email protected]

About Facebook:

Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook's apps and technologies to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses. To learn more, visit https://about.facebook.com/

For more information contact: Jeanne Moran, [email protected]

About Google.org:

Google.org, Google's philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity's biggest challenges combining funding, innovation, and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone. We engage nonprofits and social enterprises who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a better world, faster  and we believe in leveraging technology and applying scalable data-driven innovation to move the needle. For more information contact: [email protected]

For more information or to request an interview, please contact Tina Thomson, Tina Thomson Communications at [email protected] or 626.533.4844 or go directly to Songforcharlie.org/press-release

SOURCE Song for Charlie

Related Links

https://www.songforcharlie.org/


Oil and Gas Pipeline Safety Procurement report explains key category management objectives that should form the base for sourcing strategy, including:

Supply assurance

Scalability of inputs

Green initiatives

Cost savings

Adherence to regulatory nuances

Top-line growth

Supply base rationalization

Customer retention

Demand forecasting and governance

Minimalization of ad hoc purchases

Category innovations

Reduction of TCO

Sign Up for a Sample Oil and Gas Pipeline Safety Procurement Market Report: www.spendedge.com/report/oil-and-gas-pipeline-safety-market-procurement-research-report

This report evaluates suppliers based on provision for applicable insurance policy, real-time analysis, pipeline software solutions, and conduct pipeline surveys. In addition, suppliers are also shortlisted based on business needs, technical specifications, operational requirements, security compliance, regulatory mandates, legal requirements, quality control, change management procedures, pricing models, penalty clauses, SLA nuances, acceptance criteria, and evaluation criteria.

Related Reports on Utilities Include:

Electric Utilities - Forecast and Analysis: The electric utilities will grow at a CAGR of 7.06% during 2021-2025. Only a few regions will drive the majority of this growth. On the supply side, North America , South America , Europe , Middle East and Africa , and APAC will have the maximum influence owing to the supplier base. Oil Spill Solutions Sourcing and Procurement Report: The oil spill solutions market will register an incremental spend of about USD 17.05 billion during the forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to oil spill solutions sourcing will provide several opportunities. However, in the absence of actionable intelligence on oil spill solutions, buyers have resulted in a transaction-based approach towards the category. Crude Oil - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the Crude Oil Market expects a change of 2%-4%.

Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

About SpendEdge:

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions.

Contact

SpendEdge

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us

SOURCE SpendEdge

Related Links

https://procurement.spendedge.com/?utm_source=PRnewswire&utm_medium=Pressrelease&utm_campaign=T8_Week28_rfs6utm_content=IRCMSTR21269


NEW YORK, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Ubiquiti Inc. (NYSE: UI) between January 11, 2021 and March 30, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important July 19, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Ubiquiti securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Ubiquiti class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2069.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 19, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Ubiquiti had downplayed the data breach in January 2021; (2) the attackers had obtained administrative access to Ubiquiti's servers and obtained access to, among other things, all databases, all user database credentials, and secrets required to forge single sign-on (SSO) cookies; (3) as a result, intruders already had credentials needed to remotely access Ubiquiti's customers' systems; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Ubiquiti's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Ubiquiti class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2069.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

Related Links

www.rosenlegal.com


LONDON, July 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huobi Global, one of the world's leading digital assets exchanges, announced today that it has burned 3.797 million Huobi Token (HT) valued at approximately $48.6 million in June as a continuing part of Huobi's token burn plans.

According to the latest HT monthly operations report, the average price of HT burned this time was about 12.80 USDT and it maintained a high deflation trend as in previous months with a deflation rate reaching 1.58% in June. The number of HT holders also increased by about 3.65% from the previous month. As of July 15, 2021, the total existing HT amount is 224.65 million and the total circulation amount is 177,799,000 HT.

"The greatest value support of HT comes from the every-month burn. Alongside the more strict and severe financial supervision from countries around the world, many blockchain companies have become sluggish in this recent market. Even in such circumstances, Huobi maintains a resilient development in its global business and a relatively high token burn amount in June," stated Ciara Sun, Vice President of Huobi Global Markets.

The monthly report also points out that Huobi has made great progress in numerous global businesses. Two campaigns, the UEFA EURO 2020 Global Campaign and the NFT Prophet Campaign, were also held in June with users earning sizable USDT rewards. In addition, the Huobi P2P market has added five new payment methods for Argentine Peso users to accelerate its globalization process.

Huobi Eco Chain (HECO), a decentralized, EVM-compatible public chain developed by Huobi, has also entered into the voting stage for its global node election in June. According to the official announcement, becoming a HECO node candidate requires a pledge of 5,000 HT, and the number of votes also anchors a voter's HT staking amount. It has been reported that a total of nine nodes have surpassed one million votes as of July 14, which would further reduce the circulation amount of HT.

"The participation of institutions from all over the world also makes the election a more international and decentralized event. We've been continuing to empower HT with various application scenarios because we understand this is an essential factor that most investors will judge when choosing an asset. I am sure this will increase the confidence of our HT holders and promote the long-term development of HT," commented Ciara.

SOURCE Huobi
The unique nature of the drill and geophysical results that were generated by Venture Minerals is strong evidence that fits a Julimar style mineralisation.

( ) ( ) and Chalice Mining ( ) recently defined new EM anomalies at the Julimar lookalike magnetic feature of the Thor target within Venture's South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project south of Perth in Western Australia.

In this episode of Rooster Talk, Andrew Radonjic shares some updates since our last Coffee with Samso - Julimar's Twin Brother - The Thor Project in April 2021. As we had discussed in this Coffee with , the discovery of drill targets was always going to happen.

The unique nature of the drill and geophysical results that were generated by Venture Minerals Limited is strong evidence that fits a Julimar style mineralisation. The stage is set for the drill rigs of the project to see some rocks.

The project is actually sitting on a new frontier that is ripe for new discoveries which up till now has been neglected due to commodity pricing, funding and market appreciation of these areas.

Today, Andrew Radonjic shares with us:

Update on the Thor project What the EM anomalies mean in terms of the prospectivity of the project Why Kulin fits in well with the Thor project Thor is not a nearology play but is made of real exploration results

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:43 Updates on Thor

04:42 The Thor project is not a Nearology play

08:03 What does the term Siemens mean?

12:23 Is the northern EM anomaly a surprise anomaly?

14:33 How much comfort does Venture get from the Regional Prospectivity of the Thor and Kulin project?

19:21 The relationship between Red Wine and Geological Interpretation

23:25 The theory of the Cooking Pot

26:43 Funding and Discoveries

28:25 News flow for Thor.

29:36 Conclusion

PODCAST

About Andrew Radonjic

Mr. Radonjic is a geologist and mineral economist with over 25 years of experience in mining and exploration, with a specific focus on gold and nickel in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Mr. Radonjic began his career at the Agnew Nickel Mine before spending over 15 years in the Paddington, Mount Pleasant and Lady Bountiful Extended operations north of Kalgoorlie. He has fulfilled a variety of senior roles which gave rise to three gold discoveries, totalling in excess of 3 million ounces in resources and the development of over 1 million ounces.

About Venture Minerals Limited

Venture Minerals Limited (ASX: VMS) is entering an exciting phase as it looks to move from explorer to producer with production at the Riley Iron Ore Mine in northwest Tasmania. At the neighbouring Mount Lindsay TinTungsten Project, higher Tin prices and the recognition of Tin as a fundamental metal to the battery revolution have refocused Ventures approach to developing Mount Lindsay. Already one of the world's largest undeveloped Tin-Tungsten deposits, the Company has commissioned an Underground Scoping Study on Mount Lindsay that will leverage off the previously completed feasibility work.

In Western Australia, Chalice Mining (ASX: CHN) recently committed to spending up to $3.7m in Ventures South West Project, to advance the previous exploration completed by Venture to test a Julimar lookalike Nickel-Copper-PGE target.

At the Companys Golden Grove North Project, it has already intersected up to 7% Zinc, 1.3% Copper and 2.1g/t Gold at Orcus and has identified several strong EM conductors currently being drill tested which are situated along the 5km long VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide) Target Zone, along strike to the world class Golden Grove Zinc-Copper-Gold Mine. Venture has recently completed a maiden drill program designed to bring forward a potential new gold discovery at the Kulin Project.

Please let Samso know your thoughts and send any comments to info@Samso.com.au. Remember to Subscribe to the YouTube Channel, Samso Media and the mail list to stay informed and make comments where appropriate. Other than that, also feel free to provide a Review on Google.

For further information about Coffee with and Rooster Talks visit: www.samso.com.au

About Samso

Samso is a renowned resource among the investment community for keen market analysis and insights into the companies and business trends that matter.

Investors seek out Samso for knowledgeable evaluations of current industry developments across a variety of business sectors and considered forecasts of future performances.

With a compelling format of relaxed online video interviews, Samso provides clear answers to questions they may not have the opportunity to ask and lays out the big picture to help them complete their investment research.

And in doing so, Samso also enables companies featured in interviews to build valuable engagement with their investment communities and customers.

Headed by industry veteran Noel Ong and based in Perth, Western Australia, Samsos Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk interviews both feature friendly conversations with business figures that give insights into Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) companies, related concepts and industry trends.

Noel Ong is a geologist with nearly 30 years of industry experience and a strong background in capital markets, corporate finance and the mineral resource sector. He was founder and managing director of ASX-listed company Siburan Resources Limited from 2009-2017 and has also been involved in several other ASX listings, providing advice, procuring projects and helping to raise capital.

He brings all this experience and expertise to the Samso interviews, where his engaging conversation style creates a relaxed dialogue, revealing insights that can pique investor interest.

Noel Ong travels across Australia to record the interviews, only requiring a coffee shop environment where they can be set up. The interviews are posted on Samsos website and podcasts, YouTube and other relevant online environments where they can be shared among investment communities.

Samso also has a track record of developing successful business concepts in the Australasia region and provides bespoke research and counsel to businesses seeking to raise capital and procuring projects for ASX listings.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this article is the writers personal opinion and is provided for information only and is not intended to or nor will it create/induce the creation of any binding legal relations. Read full disclaimer.
Prayagraj : , July 18 (IANS) The Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) has supported the Yogi Adityanath government's decision to cancel the Kanwar yatra in the wake of the ongoing pandemic.

Kanwar associations, late on Saturday night, decided to call off the yatra after the Supreme Court asked the state government to cancel the event.

Uttarakhand had already cancelled the Kanwar Yatra earlier.

ABAP president, Mahant Narendra Giri said, "On behalf of the Akhara Parishad I would like to appeal to the Shiva devotees not to take out the Kanwar yatra in view of the predicted third wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Rather, the devotees should make Parthiva Shivlinga (Shivalinga made from clay) in their household and offer the water of river Ganga or for that matter even of the local pond of their village to Lord Shiva '' He further said that although the chief minister of the state wanted that Kanwar yatra should be taken out by following all the laid down Covid-19 protocols but at the same time, it is the moral responsibility of the devotees to see that their deeds should not, in any way, enhance the possibility of triggering the third wave of the pandemic.

"As such it is advisable that the puja should be done through making a Parthiv Shivalinga at their respective homes or if at all the devotees decide to visit the neighbouring Shiva temple, they must follow the laid down protocols'', said Giri.

He further said that lives of common man are equally important as are religious practices, thus the best option is, like the previous year, we should not take out the yatra this year too.

Chief patron of Juna Akhara, Mahant Hari Giri said, "Akhara Parishad has taken the right decision as while taking out the Kanwar yatra, the religious sentiments are quite high and devotees often forget to keep safe distance between themselves and the crowd and groups of devotees can enhance the risk of spreading the virus and unnecessarily invite the third wave".
Kanpur, July 18 : An Uttar Pradesh police official allegedly overpowered a woman, pulled her to the ground and hit her as he sat on top of her in Kanpur Dehat district.

Photographs of the cop sitting on top of the woman and hitting her, have gone viral on the social media. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday.

The Kanpur Dehat Police denied the allegations and said that the team was attacked by the women of the family of Shivam Yadav, who according to the police, had threatened a candidate in the panchayat elections.

According to reports, sub-inspector Mahendra Patel had an altercation with the woman in Durgadaspur village while he was looking for Yadav.

Kanpur Dehat superintendent of police (SP) Keshav Chaudhary said the videos show that Patel, who is the in-charge of the Bhognipur police post, fell on the woman but according to Yadav's family, the police officer acted in an unruly manner because they refused to obey the 'demands' made by Patel.

The official said that Yadav was gambling with a few friends and was caught by the police but his mother and wife clung to him which led to a scuffle between Patel and the women. They also said that Yadav's wife, Aarti Yadav, fell down during the scuffle. Aarti, however, denied their claims and said she was beaten badly because she wanted to know why her husband was being taken away.

"He slapped and then dragged me down to the ground. He then sat on top of me and started hitting me badly. The villagers intervened and rescued me," Aarti told reporters.

She also alleged that Patel demanded money to release Yadav and the family's refusal enraged him.
Lucknow, July 18 : UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu, other office-bearers and hundreds of party workers have been booked by the Lucknow police in connection with the silent protest led by the party's national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Lucknow on Friday.

The Congress leaders have been accused of damaging public property and holding protests at a public place without any prior permission of the administration.

Interestingly, Priyanka's name does not figure in the FIR.

Lucknow Police Commissioner, DK Thakur, said a case has been registered under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of a disease dangerous to life) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"The Epidemic Diseases Control Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act have also been invoked against the accused. The case was lodged at Hazratganj police station late Friday night," said Thakur.

The complaint, lodged by local outpost in charge Grijesh Kumar, reads, "Around 3.30 p.m., Congress state chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, leaders Dilpreet Singh and Ved Prakash came to Atal Chowk with 500-600 workers and sat near the Gandhi statue. They had not taken permission from any official for the protest. They did not follow any Covid-19 protocol while staging protest and violated Section 144 of the CrPC which is in place in the Lucknow police Commissionerate. They also obstructed traffic on the route and broke the iron mesh and the wall around the statue." The officer said that CCTV footage and photographs published in newspapers would be used to identify and trace those who violated the law.
Shimla, July 18 : A blast from the colonial past will soon greet visitors to Shimla, the erstwhile summer capital of British India. The government is reconstructing Bantony, the 129-year-old sprawling estate comprising grand structures near Scandal Point on the famous Ridge, in its original rich Gothic-style architecture with an outlay of Rs 25 crore.

The entire estate, comprising two grand wooden buildings, decaying for many decades, was purchased by the government in 2017 for Rs 27.84 crore, fearing it might be lost like other heritage structures.

The buildings are now being tastefully raised with joint funding from the Asian Development Bank and the state government under the Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism.

The complex will showcase the state's rich culture and traditions in a world-class museum, two art galleries and a cultural centre, housed in both the two-storey buildings, an official with the state Tourism Department told IANS. It will also have a tourist information centre.

The target for completing the construction work is December, but it is likely to be extended by a month or two owing to shortage of labour amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Bantony was the summer palace of the erstwhile Maharaja of Sirmaur, whose coat-of-arms can still be seen in some portions in the newly installed cast-iron railing in front of the complex.

The cast-iron railing and the original gate outside the building were cast in Nahan Foundry and were erected in 1902-03.

"In the previous structures the use of wood was more than 60 per cent and the buildings were built in the 'dhajji' style. In the upcoming structures the original character and grace have been maintained, keeping in mind their glory and history," a construction engineer, who wished not to be quoted as he is not authorised to speak to the media, told IANS.

According to him, even in the rebuilt structures the use of wood is 60 per cent and the walls are built in the 'dhajji' style of varied lath and plaster.

The buildings are being restored and conserved keeping in mind its original Gothic style architecture, he added.

Besides art galleries and a museum, the complex, ringed around by thick deodar trees, will have a cafeteria-cum-restaurant and walking trails.

After the construction, the Tourism Department will hand over the property to the state Language, Art and Culture Department to showcase Shimla's grand heritage to the visitors.

Officials told IANS that Bantony, on completion, along with the newly restored British-era Town Hall and Gaiety Theatre which all lie on the historic Ridge -- an open space just above the Mall -- extending to Grand Hotel in the west and the Lakkar Bazaar in the east will be a favourite haunt of those out for a stroll to see the town's legacy.

Like many Raj buildings in Shimla, Bantony's original architectural style was somewhat eclectic -- part mock-Tudor, part chalet and crowned with sloping roofs with mini-towers. The architect was said to be T.E.G. Cooper.

Before its construction in 1880, the place had a rickety cottage belonging to Captain A. Gordon and housing some army officers.

After 1957 the Bantony building had been the headquarters of the state police. It was vacated in 2013 after a court case.

Officials say due to inadequate repairs, lack of financial resources of the previous owners and limited understanding of heritage preservation, the building was in a dilapidated state for years.

Even the local municipal corporation had warned that if preventive measures were not taken to preserve it, Bantony would soon be just a name in the history books.

Historians and old-timers are happy with the restoration and preservation of Shimla's traditional glory, saying it will be another blast from the grand colonial past.

"Shimla's grand heritage showcases our country's rich history. The restoration of Bantony on the lines of the Gaiety Theatre and the Town Hall is a right step to protect the British heritage and its rehabilitation is very relevant and appropriate," Raaja Bhasin, co-convener of the state chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, told IANS.

Octogenarian Naresh Sud, who was born and brought up in the Queen of Hills, as Shimla was fondly called by the British colonial rulers, said most of the relics of the British era are either crumbling or being reduced to rubble.

"Now this building too will soon get back its original glory," added Sud pointing towards Bantony.

Officials say to showcase the history of Shimla over the years as the once tiny village metamorphosed to become the summer capital of the British Raj in India, the government is planning a laser light-and-sound show every evening for the tourists in Bantony.

Shimla was the summer capital of the British rulers between 1864 and 1939.

Shimla's history goes beyond British India.

Mahatma Gandhi visited Shimla several times in the days leading to the country's independence in 1947. On some occasions, leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Lala Lajpat Rai accompanied him.

"A laser light-and-sound show at the Cellular Jail (at Port Blair) in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which I once witnessed, makes a huge impact on the audience and is a tourist attraction. On similar lines, we will showcase Shimla's history and culture through the light-and-sound show," Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who holds the portfolio of tourism, has said.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Patna, July 18 : At least 16 people have died in Bihar's West Champaran district after consuming spurious liquor over the last few days, officials said, adding that more than 12 people have also been hospitalised in a serious condition.

Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly has slammed the Nitish Kumar government over this incident.

"CM Nitish Kumar is the patron of liquor mafia in Bihar. He has been allowing liquor mafia to smuggle, trade and sell in Bihar and his police used to book poor and innocent people in alleged cases of it. They are putting poor and Dalit people of Bihar in jails," Tejashwi said on Saturday.

Bhakt Charan Das, Congress leader, and in-charge of Bihar has decided to launch a "parallel investigation" into the Bettiah liquor incident.

"We will send a dedicated team in Bettiah (in West Champaran district) to investigate the incident separately and bring actual reasons and death toll. The team members will meet with families of the deceased. The local police are trying to hide facts and reasons behind the incident," Das said.

"The area belongs to deputy CM Renu Devi. She should visit affected villages in Lauria block and meet with deceased families," Das said.

The spurious liquor case was reported in Deurwa and adjoining villages after villagers consumed poisonous liquor on Tuesday evening and became ill. The first casualty was reported on Thursday.

The residents of Deurwa village alleged that liquor sales were openly taking place in the village and people from adjoining villages come there as well to purchase liquor.
Developments in Afghanistan marking a steady rise of Taliban's hold on that country -- this resulted in the evacuation of staff from the Indian Consulate at Kandahar -- confirms many readings on how the Pak-Afghan belt would shape up in the aftermath of the withdrawal of American troops from the messy theatre, the scene of an unending 'war on terror' launched by the US in Afghanistan way back in the wake of 9/11.

The date of withdrawal finally announced by President Biden had taken into account the fact of Taliban refusing to abide by its own part of the Doha agreement about eschewing violence during the run-up to the intra-Afghan dialogue that was meant to evolve the future set-up of the country. The US excessively relied on Pakistan as 'a friend in need' facilitating the interaction between the Taliban and the American Envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, and evidently ignored the deep-seated vested interest that Pakistan had in helping the Taliban to regain its stranglehold in Afghanistan. The US was also not bothered with the implications of the Sino-Pak military alliance providing a great advantage to Xi Jinping's China in a country that had always been a vital fulcrum of international politics in the historical past.

That Afghanistan could throw up a global problem for the US in future may still be a distant story but for India the likely dominance of the Taliban there creates a challenge in South Asia nearer home where developments could help Pakistan to emerge as a stronger adversary. The US President primarily focused on the rise of China as a potential superpower representing the ideological rivalry between a democratic system and a one-party dictatorship, may not quite understand the reality of the Indian subcontinent -- of how a communally based partition accompanying the Independence of India had continued to poison the politics of South Asia enabling Pakistan to play the Muslim card against India in the region on both external and internal issues. President Biden has gone by the 'comfort of distance' that the Doha Peace Agreement offered to the US against the terrorist threat from Islamic radicals -- India does not share any of it and has to plan for an enhanced danger of exposure to Pak-instigated militancy rooted in Islam.

A combination of three factors seemed to be helping Pakistan to have its way in Afghanistan -- willingness of the US President to end the American military involvement in Afghanistan on the basis of a half-baked 'peace agreement' with the Taliban, implicit endorsement by the Imran regime of Afghan Taliban that derived strength from the bases it had in Khyber Pakhtunwa (KP), the historical birthplace of this anti-US radical force, and the geopolitical advantage that Pakistan had gained from the Sino-Pak military alliance. Correspondingly, India's presence and role in assisting Afghanistan has become less tenable because of growing instability in that country.

The process of consultation between the major stake holders including US, Russia, Iran, India and the regional forces represented by the neighbouring countries did not catch up strongly enough to secure a place for India at the Afghan round table. As a consequence, the threat of faith-based terror emanating from the Pak-Afghan belt seemed to be deepening for India. India has to remain proactive about mobilising international opinion in favour of a democratic Afghanistan, prepared against a possible escalation of the threat of cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and elsewhere from an emboldened Pakistan and engaged in constantly building its capabilities of countering any aggressiveness of the two hostile neighbours on the borders.

This is the time for India to assert its role as the predominant power in South Asia and work for the security of the region by consolidating its relationship with Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the ASEAN on the one hand and actively supporting QUAD for the broad security of the Indian Ocean against any Chinese moves, on the other. Indo-US relations have to be put on a solid strategic footing since the two democracies had the same global commons. The Biden Administration's emphasis on rebuilding the bonds with NATO in pursuing the policy of countering any threats 'jointly with its allies' suits India because among other things many European nations face the ire of Islamic radicals, like India does in this part of the world. These countries have denounced Pakistan in no uncertain terms for harbouring Islamic extremists and terrorists and their friendship is valuable for India for this alone, the shared values of democracy providing a basic link in addition.

The Indian economy has been hit hard because of the pandemic -- this has been a global phenomenon -- but its 'revival from below' backed by Prime Minister Modi's perceptive policy of 'vocal for local' suits the genius of India and has already produced a visible impact. If even President Biden's Jobs Plan aims at executing a 'blue collar blueprint for building America' then India's emphasis on restoring the strength of 'the middle class' made a lot of sense. India had the advantage of having many leaders in business who had a global reach -- this would keep the top of India's economic pyramid strong while the local effort went into reviving its base.

A steady shift of the global scene towards bipolarity between the US with its allies leading the democratic world on the one hand and China with its one-party dictatorship heading, on the other, the residual Communist empire left at the end of the Cold War, affects all geographies but the play of Pakistan in this equation makes South Asia the region of prime concern for India. The strategic alliance between China and Pakistan representing the axis of a Communist dictatorship with a regime wedded to Islamic fundamentalism, adds to the security concerns of India that have to be meted out with a well-considered framework of strategic response.

First is the challenge in Jammu and Kashmir, more so in Ladakh, on account of the Chinese grip on Pakistan that had become progressively strong because of the ambitious CPEC project built by China in POK on land ceded by Pakistan for that purpose. The threat of Sino-Pak combine has to be countered in Ladakh particularly after the build-up of PLA there and it is only natural for India to seek to make its military presence there strong enough with the help of aerial power, to provide a deterrent against the adversaries. China wants an opening into the Arabian Sea but it would be aware also of the vulnerability of its economic corridor to India's prowess.

The second concern for India arises from the likely domination of Taliban in a future set-up in Afghanistan -- it could even be the restoration of the Afghan Emirate that Pakistan had installed at Kabul in 1996. Chinese support to Pakistan in Afghanistan would at least partly be in lieu of the Pak silence on the mistreatment of Muslim minorities in China. China's foreign ministry has in a fresh statement found fault with the US for forcing a rule of its ideological choice in Afghanistan in the name of 'freedom and democracy'. India can clearly see that Imran Khan's Pakistan had become recalcitrant towards US and beyond posturing as a friend of America helping the peace dialogue between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan, it had no intention of drawing down on its 'all weather friendship' with China. India had to fight another battle with Pakistan, in Afghanistan. The pullout of American troops from there, in a somewhat messy situation, leaves India only with the diplomatic turf to work on and nearer home with the only option of stepping up its effort to thwart an increased threat of Mujahideen violence in the Kashmir valley. And finally, India has to deal with the operational capability both Pakistan and China have of fishing in the troubled waters of India's domestic scene -- from Punjab to the North-East and even down South.

Prime Minister Modi's foreign policy has largely rested on bilateral relations and some multilateral associations designed to serve the economic and security interests of all sides. This has served India well by taking national security out of the ideological packaging of the past and letting go of the baggage of the Cold War. India needs to have relations with Israel, Iran and the Gulf states and keep up its defence dealings with Russia to maintain the sovereignty of its own security without hurting its other strategic partners. Our diplomacy has been able to achieve this equilibrium and must be complimented for the same. Our national security doctrine has proved to be very effective, upfront and convincing -- the response of the international community to our stand on security-related issues like Kashmir, has confirmed it. These are the times requiring close monitoring of the external threats and an equally close attention to various facets of our internal security.

(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
Srinagar: In order to decongest roads in Srinagar city and to revive the centuries old mode of water transport, Kashmir's first bus boat started its trial run in the Jhelum River on Friday.(Photo:Nissar Malik/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar: In order to decongest roads in Srinagar city and to revive the centuries old mode of water transport, Kashmir's first bus boat started its trial run in the Jhelum River on Friday.(Photo:Nissar Malik/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, July 18 : In order to decongest roads in Srinagar city and to revive the centuries old mode of water transport, Kashmir's first bus boat started its trial run in the Jhelum River on Friday.

The state of the art bus boat has a seating capacity of 35 passengers and 5 crew members.

"The crew includes a driver, and four rescuers.

"The bus boat operates from Pantha Chowk in Srinagar outskirts to Qamarwari, on the downstream Jhelum river.

"In order to revive the historical water transport and to decongest the roads in Srinagar city, the bus boat is an ideal option.

"At present we have six floating docks on Jhelum banks to pick up passengers and to deboard them", said Imran Malik, director of Sukhna Enterprises, who procured the bus boat for the local tourism department.

"There was a global tender from the J&K tourism development corporation (JKTDC) and we were successful tenderers.

"There are three components to this in this Rs 2 crore project. The bus boat which we imported from New Zealand, the rescuer boat which is from Dubai and the luxury boat which is from the US.

"Six floating docks are from Taiwan".

He said the initiative has been taken under the Prime Minister's developmental package (PMDP) called Swadesh Darshan.

Malik is presently operating the bus boat on a trial basis for the tourism department.

"From tomorrow (Monday) we will start training the staff of the tourism department to operate the bus boat and once trained, the department will operate the project on its own", he said.

Malik says at least 3 more bus boats will be brought in to run in the Jhelum river once the idea of water transport picks up with the locals.

"It is an absolutely value addition travel. You reach your destination without any hassles, you don't add to air pollution, you save fuel and you also enjoy the beauty of the river and its banks", he said.
Bengaluru, July 18 : The BJP high command, contemplating a change of leadership in Karnataka, has adopted a cautious approach in giving shape to its plans.

Party sources explain that in no way the party wants to send a wrong message to Lingayat vote base which is propelling the party to power in the state.

Presently, B.S. Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, is the unquestionable leader of the community. However, since he is 78 years old, the party wants a change of guard.

His detractors within the party maintain that Yediyurappa does not pursue aggressive Hindutva.

Unlike many other BJP leaders, Yediyurappa enjoys the support of the minorities and other community leaders and it is not easy to disturb him.

Lingayats have been powerful since the pre-independence period in the state. The community derives strength from its religious 'mutts' spread across the state and their huge public following cutting across caste lines.

The community is economically strong and after unification of the state in 1956, until the Congress party was split at the time of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1969, Lingayat CMs ruled the state one after the other.

Y.N. Goudar, senior political analyst, says, Yediyurappa enjoys Lingayat and Panchapeeta religious mutt's support. After Ramakrishna Hegde, former Chief Minister of the state who enjoyed the support of Lingayats, Yediyurappa is the one they back, says M.P. Renukacharya, BJP MLA.

His defiance of seniors has been a worrying factor, say party leaders. Yediyurappa had challenged L.K. Advani when asked to resign as chief minister in 2011. He even broke up with the party and launched his own KJP party in 2012.

By garnering 10 per cent of votes, Yediyurappa ensured the defeat of the BJP in the 2013 general elections. During the first wave of Covid, his statement that disciplinary action would be initiated against those targeting the minority communities drew criticism from hardliners in the party.

The Lingayat community, which accounts for 17 to 22 per cent of the state's population, plays a dominant role in elections. Lingayat voters hold sway in as many as 100 Assembly constituencies in north Karnataka.

Barring the coastal belt and a few districts, the presence of Lingayat voters is felt across the state. As many as 58 MLAs belonging to the community are elected in the present Assembly -- 38 MLAs among them belong to the BJP.

Political pundits say that Congress party leader and then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had unceremoniously declared the exit of then Chief Minister Veerendra Patil in 1990 from the airport before leaving for New Delhi. After this, the Lingayat vote turned towards the BJP and boosted its prospects in the state.

Veerendra Patil, a Lingayat, had led the Congress party to a big victory in the elections held a year ago by winning 184 seats in the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly. After his exit, even though the Congress party came to power twice, its attempts to woo the Lingayats back to its fold failed. The BJP does not want to make the same mistake by easing out Yediyurappa, sources said.

Basavana Gouda Patil Yatnal, BJP MLA who was at the forefront demanding the change in leadership of the state, maintained that Yediyurappa had taken the Lingayat community for a ride. The Panchamasaali sub sect has moved away from him, and they comprise a large chunk in Lingayat vote base, he adds.

C.S. Dwarakanath, an influential public intellectual, explains that after independence major castes like the Lingayats and Vokkaligas dominated the political scenario. After that, backward classes gained representation when Devaraj Urs became chief minister in 1972 and 1978. Later, the state witnessed OBC-centric politics. Now, the focus has shifted from OBC to Most Backward Classes (MBC). They are aggressively pursued by mainstream political parties.

Caste politics will hopefully end and the next generation youth will break the shackles of caste, Dwarakanath said.

Priyank Kharge, former Congress minister, hinted that the BJP would implode in the coming days following the leadership row.

The BJP Central leadership attempted to create a parallel leader in the form of Lakshman Savadi by making him a Deputy Chief Minister though he lost elections and failed. This is the case with many other detractors of the Chief Minister who are unable to take the party to victory in elections.

In sum, the BJP wants a change of guard in Karnataka but wants to ensure an honourable exit for Yediyurappa.
Damascus, July 18 : Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a fourth seven-year term, after which he emphasised on the importance of production, investment, and anti-corruption given the tough economic situation in the country.

Speaking during his inauguration ceremony on Saturday, Assad said the focus of the next phase will be on increasing production, which is the key to improving livelihood amid the tough economic hardship in Syria, reports Xinhua news agency.

Currently, 3,000 production factories are being built in Syria, according to the President.

The sanctions and siege could not entirely close the doors of investment, especially in the field of "profitable" renewable energy, Assad noted.

The reason for investing in renewable energy is to resolve the electricity problem, "which is a priority for all because of its vitality not just to our daily life but to different investments", he explained.

The Syrian leader also vowed to expand the fighting against corruption using new means to expose the corrupted.

Assad, 55, delivered his inauguration speech at the presidential palace in the capital Damascus, in a live broadcast by the state-run television.

Assad garnered 95.1 per cent of votes in the recent presidential election.

About 14 million of an estimated 18 million eligible voters inside and outside Syria cast their votes, with a turnout rate of over 78 per cent.

Assad's victory was largely anticipated as his rivals in the race were a low-profile opposition figure and a former cabinet minister.

On July 17, 2000, Assad succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad as the Syrian president.

Under the current Syrian constitution adopted in 2012, the President has the right to run for office twice, which means this would be Assad's last term in office.
Mumbai, July 18 : At least 18 persons were killed in several rain-induced tragedies as Mumbai and the surroundings were clobbered with heavy downpours early on Sunday, officials said.

As Mumbai slept the skies opened up with torrential rains measuring between 150 mm to over 200 mm in some areas, submerging many areas and playing havoc with road and rail traffic.

According to the BMC Disaster Cell and NDRF, at least 12 persons were killed when a wall collapsed after a tree fell at Vashi Naka in the Chembur area around 1 a.m.

In another incident, at least 3 people perished when a few hutments caved in Suryanagar, Vikhroli east.

Around another 7-8 persons, injured in both incidents, have been rushed to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar and are undergoing treatment.

However, the rain's repercussions were not felt much immediately as it was a Sunday, with most people remaining indoors, as the intensity dropped since daybreak.

Soon afterwards, the water levels receded from dawn on, the Western Railway and Central Railway, which had their suburban and long-distance services either paralysed or badly hit, limped back to normalcy with limited operations.

The WR was hit due to flooding at Nalla Sopara and Virar, and the CR tracks were submerged at Dadar, Sion, Kurla, Parel, Chunabhatti and Tilaknagar.

The IMD Mumbai has warned of more rains during the day, including a few very heavy spells for which the BMC, NDRF, Police, Fire Brigade and other agencies are on high alert in Mumbai and the entire coastal Konkan region.
San Francisco, July 18 : After US President Joe Biden said that social media platforms like Facebook are "killing people" with Covid-19 misinformation, the social network giant has replied saying that facts tell a very different story to the one promoted by the administration in recent days.

Guy Rosen, VP of Integrity at Facebook, said in a blog post on Saturday that at a time when Covid-19 cases are rising in the US, the Biden administration has chosen to blame a handful of American social media companies.

"While social media plays an important role in society, it is clear that we need a whole of society approach to end this pandemic. And facts,not allegations, should help inform that effort. The fact is that vaccine acceptance among Facebook users in the US has increased," Rosen argued.

In an interaction with the media on Friday, Biden had directly criticised Facebook.

Asked for a message to social media platforms like Facebook, Biden replied: "They're killing people... The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and they're killing people." Rosen said that the Biden administration is calling for a whole of society approach to this challenge.

"We agree. As a company, we have devoted unprecedented resources to the fight against the pandemic, pointing people to reliable information and helping them find and schedule vaccinations. And we will continue to do so," he posted.

According to him, since January vaccine acceptance on the part of Facebook users in the US has increased by 10-15 percentage points and racial and ethnic disparities in acceptance have shrunk considerably.

"The data shows that 85 per cent of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against Covid-19. President Biden's goal was for 70 per cent of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed," Rosen said.

The social network said that since the pandemic began, more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about Covid-19 and vaccines on Facebook. This includes more than 3.3 million Americans using the vaccine finder tool to find out where to get a Covid-19 vaccine and make an appointment to do so.

"More than 50 per cent of people in the US on Facebook have already seen someone use the Covid-19 vaccine profile frames, which we developed in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC," Rosen informed.

Last week, a report from US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on social media platforms to tame accounts that share misinformation.

"They've designed product features, such as 'Like' buttons, that reward us for sharing emotionally charged content, not accurate content. And their algorithms tend to give us more of what we click on, pulling us deeper and deeper into a well of misinformation," he told reporters.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New York, July 18 : Vaccines against Covid-19 were not detected in human milk, according to a small study, indicating vaccine safety for pregnant and lactating women and providing early evidence that the shots are not transferred to the infant.

Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) analysed the breast milk of seven women after they received the mRNA vaccines -- Pfizer and Moderna -- and found no trace of the vaccines that are known to inhibit transmission of SARS-CoV2, a virus that causes Covid-19.

The study, detailed in JAMA Pediatrics, offers the first direct data of vaccine safety during breastfeeding and could allay concerns among those who have declined vaccination or discontinued breastfeeding due to concern that vaccination might alter human milk.

The World Health Organisation recommends that breastfeeding people be vaccinated, and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has said there is a little risk of vaccine nanoparticles or mRNA entering breast tissue or being transferred to milk, which theoretically could affect infant immunity.

"The results strengthen current recommendations that the mRNA vaccines are safe in lactation, and that lactating individuals who receive the Covid vaccine should not stop breastfeeding," said Stephanie L. Gaw, Assistant Professor of Maternal-Foetal Medicine at UCSF.

"We didn't detect the vaccine associated with mRNA in any of the milk samples tested," said lead author Yarden Golan, a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF. "These findings provide experimental evidence regarding the safety of the use of mRNA-based vaccines during lactation." The study was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021. The mothers' mean age was 37.8 years and their children ranged in age from one month to three years. Milk samples were collected prior to vaccination and at various times up to 48 hours after vaccination.

Researchers found that none of the samples showed detectable levels of vaccine mRNA in any component of the milk.

However, the authors noted that the study was limited by the small sample size and said that further clinical data from larger populations were needed to better estimate the effect of the vaccines on lactation outcomes.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Dharamsala, July 18 : Moved by the news of flooding in Europe, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has written to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to express his concern.

"I am saddened to see reports of the unprecedented flooding that has wreaked havoc across western Europe, particularly affecting Belgium and Germany," he wrote.

"The loss of life, damage to property, and hardship that thousands of people are facing is most upsetting.

"I understand that every effort is being made to help those affected. I would like to express my condolences to the bereaved and my deep sympathy for those left devastated by this catastrophe. My thoughts are with everyone affected by this calamity." The death toll from devastating floods has risen to 156 in Germany, police said on Sunday, taking the toll to at least 183 from the calamity in western Europe.
Hyderabad, July 18 : Bollywood is still cagey about restarting shooting work despite restrictions easing, but the Telugu film industry has jumped back to action with gusto. Filmmakers are picking up projects where they left off before lockdown, to try and wrap up films for release without delay.

Big films such as "Ghani", "F3", "Lakshya" and "Major" have entered final schedules of shoot in the month of July.

Producer D. Suresh Babu, whose film "Narappa" is now set to release digitally, explains how the team planned shoots in a way so that everyone remained safe through the first and second wave.

"When we were shooting before the first wave, there was a village five kilometres away from where we were shooting and there was news that two people had got Covid. The whole unit left overnight. We had about four days left. If you see, Venky (the film's hero Venkatesh Daggubati) has two looks -- a bearded one and one without beard. Our idea was to finish portions with the bearded get-up first and come back. But the whole unit was so scared that we cancelled the shoot," Suresh Babu tells IANS.

He adds: "We waited through the first wave, and when normalcy was restored, we first shot portions where he had his beard. We took a break, and then started the parts where he didn't have a beard. While we were closing up, the second wave was starting and we had bits and pieces to do, so with great caution we had to work on that." "The entire post production was done in the second wave. We were scared to go for background scores because those days, the cases were on a high. Things have now become better but again, we don't know when things are going to be back to normal. One of the reasons why we decided to release it digitally is because we thought people are going to be safe at home. Why not sit and watch it at home?" Suresh Babu says.

Talking about priorities, Sharath Chandra, co-producer of the Adivi Sesh-starrer "Major", says: "The top priority of any person is to finish the film because there is a lot of dependency on actors. People have to move out of projects and do new projects. So, I think the primary focus is to finish it. Release is something that will happen once theatres open. Of course, everyone wants to release their films when there is a safe environment." Actors have multiple film commitments and sometimes it is difficult to give away long dates or continuous hours of shoot to one film. In such a case, director Ramesh Verma, who is directing Ravi Teja's next, "Khiladi", says they make do with whichever artiste is present for shooting and let editing take care of the rest.

"We want to finish our shooting before the third wave. All films shooting have started now. We want to finish films as early as possible. If we have one actor available, we shoot with that actor and when the other actor is available, we shoot him. Then we combine the scenes in editing rooms. To finish the schedule in this pandemic, we are planning things in a different way," says Ramesh, who recently announced the sequel to his film "Rakshasudu".

Actress Shruti Haasan, who will soon head to Hyderabad for the shooting of her next Telugu project "Salaar", reveals that she sped up her work at the beginning of the pandemic last year itself.

"I have been like that since Covid started. I am a producer's daughter but I never acted like a producer's daughter before and it was really during the pandemic that I was like 'chalo chalo sunset se pehle yeh shot khatam kar dete hain (come on, let's wrap up this shot before sunset)'. I just want to finish work and move on to the next thing. I want people to see my work. I have always valued my work but this phase has doubled that up in me. We've started realising the value of work, and the things we took for granted, like being on sets and having a film release on time," she sums up.
Lucknow, July 18 : Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the BJP on Sunday, over its statement that she was a 'political tourist'.

"I am not a political tourist. I have been regularly coming to UP. This is BJP's propaganda to show me and my brother Rahul as non-serious politicians and we are not going to be cowed down by it," she said.

In an informal interaction with media persons, Priyanka said that the BJP repeatedly wanted to create a narrative about she and Rahul not being serious politicians.

"They (BJP) have created a perception that I have been away from UP since the past one and a half year whereas the fact remains that I have been regularly attending kisan panchayat and other programmes," she said.

Asked about the future of the Congress in UP in view of the upcoming elections, she said, "I admit that our organization is weak compared to other parties. We have been out of power here for 32 years. But we are working on building up the organization and the journey is long. I am personally working 24X7 with all district units." About the possibility of the Congress forging an alliance or going it alone in the next assembly elections, Priyanka said, "We are not close minded on the issue. It is too early to say anything about this but we will take a decision that is not detrimental to the interests of the organization or the party." Priyanka, who is on the third day of her visit to Lucknow, said she has been trying to meet maximum number of party workers and groups. "My WhatsApp number is with everyone and it is wrong to say that I am not accessible," she said.
New Delhi, July 18 : The Talibans victory is also the Al Qaedas victory, and it has global implications, writes Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University.

Barton writes: "A Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, will be much larger and prove much more durable than the IS caliphate in Syria and Iraq could ever have been. This will be a powerful inspiration for jihadi terrorists everywhere." Barton said US President Joe Biden and political leaders in Kabul talk optimistically of a fightback to reverse the surge. But Afghan morale has collapsed along with the fabric of national security.

When the US military quietly snuck out of the Bagram Airbase in the early hours of July 2, they did not just turn off the lights, they extinguished what hope that remained.

Whether the Taliban swiftly moves to take Kabul now, or remains content with encircling the capital and other cities, it is clear, Afghanistan has fallen, Barton said.

In April, Saleem Mehsud, a CNN reporter in Pakistan, conducted an interview through intermediaries with two Al Qaeda figures. It underscores the close relationship between the Al Qaeda and the Taliban - both the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban (TTP).

Biden has justified withdrawing from Afghanistan by asserting the US military had accomplished its goal of ousting Al Qaeda from its safe haven in Afghanistan.

The report said but Robert Gates, who served as the Secretary of Defence from 2006-11, confessed in a recent New York Times op-ed: "There is little doubt the United States made strategic mistakes in Afghanistan. We vastly underestimated the challenge of changing an ancient culture and of nation building in a historically highly decentralised country. We never figured out what to do about the Taliban safe haven in Pakistan.

"Despite ongoing negotiations, I do not believe the Taliban will settle for a partial victory or for participation in a coalition government. They want total control, and they still maintain ties to Al Qaeda." Gates's comments echo a UN monitoring team report released in June that claimed Al Qaeda is already present across Afghanistan, especially along the border with Pakistan, and is led by Osama Mahmood under the group's Jabhat-al-Nasr wing.

Both Al Qaeda, which is estimated to have 400-600 fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Taliban are playing the long game. Their patience will have tragic implications for the Afghan people. But that is just the beginning of the problem." The report said Afghanistan was the birthplace of Al Qaeda in 1988.

The group gave rise to terrorist networks around the world, including Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah, formed in Afghanistan in 1993, and Al Qaeda in Iraq, which morphed into the Islamic State in Iraq in 2006.
Washington, July 18 : Two people were killed and four others injured in a shooting in Sacramento, the capital city of the US state of California, authorities said.

Police officers on patrol reported hearing shots fired in Old Town Sacramento, which is a riverfront historic section of the city, just before 11.45 p.m. Friday, Xinhua news agency quoted the authorities as saying on Saturday.

Officers from across the city as well as those from neighbouring law enforcement agencies responded to assist, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

The two people who died in the shooting were believed to be adult males.

The other four victims received treatment at local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, said the department in a news release.

Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators are still investigating the incident.

Officials said "it is believed that there was some type of altercation between two groups prior to the shooting and multiple firearms have been recovered at the scene".
Johannesburg, July 18 : South African Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola unveiled directions to fast track trials of those who were involved in the looting and public violence since July 7.

The directions demand that cases of public violence, public disorder and massive looting which took place recently be expedited, reports Xinhua news agency.

"These directions will enable our courts and the justice system to respond effectively and appropriately to deal with cases flowing from the recent unrest and public violence. We are ensuring that nothing disrupts the processing of these matters and that the public can have trust and confidence in our criminal justice system," Lamola said on Saturday.

"The directions provide for, among other things, the postponement of cases through audiovisual links and the compilation of a priority roll at each court which will enable the courts to prioritise the hearing of priority cases which include gender-based violence and sexual offences, corruption cases, cases involving children and contravention of Covid-19 regulations." Lamola said, if necessary, additional dedicated staff including from a pool of experienced retired magistrates and prosecutors will be called upon in order to fast-track these cases where hundreds of arrests have already been effected.

More than 2,500 people have been arrested in connection with the violent protests in the country in the past week over former president Jacob Zuma's imprisonment.

The death toll has increased to 212.

In the wake of the violence, the number of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployed has increased to 25,000.

The deployment will remain until August 12.

Zuma, once known for his fight against apartheid, has been imprisoned in the Estcourt Correctional Centre for 15 months for disobeying court orders.

He did not testify before the judicial commission that was investigating accusations of corruption against him between 2009-2018.
Mumbai, July 18 : At least 22 persons were killed in 11 different incidents as rains wreaked havoc on Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region since midnight, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Sunday.

As Mumbai slept the skies opened up with thunder, lightning and heavy rains measuring between 197 mm to over 235 mm in some areas in barely 3-4 hours, as per the IMD Mumbai, which submerged many areas and hit road and rail traffic badly.

According to the BMC Disaster Cell and NDRF, at least 17 persons were killed when a wall collapsed after a tree fell at Vashi Naka, New Bharat Nagar in the Chembur area around 1 a.m.

In another incident, at least 3 people perished when a few hutments caved in the Suryanagar slums in Vikhroli east.

A 16-year-old boy, Soham M. Thorat was killed when the wall of his home collapsed early on Sunday, while a 26-year-old youth Salim M. Patel was electrocuted in his sweetmeat shop in Andheri west.

Around another 12 persons, injured in all these incidents, have been rushed to various hospitals and are undergoing treatment, with their condition described as stable.

The BMC's gauges recorded rainfall of 177 mm in South Mumbai, 205 mm in Eastern Suburbs and 195 mm in Western Suburbs.

In many areas, people reported waist-deep waters with the flood waters entering the ground floor homes or shops in the vulnerable or low-lying areas.

The downpour, which started after midnight, continued virtually non-stop and led to waterlogging or flooding in most parts of the city besides the coastal Konkan districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane and Palghar.

The rains hit the suburban train services with WR lines flooding at Nalla Sopara and Virar, and the CR tracks getting submerged at Dadar, Sion, Kurla, Parel, Chunabhatti and Tilaknagar.

By 7 a.m. as the water levels receded from the railway tracks, the WR resumed services between Churchgate and Borivali and the CR started services on the mainline and Harbour Line.

The BMC said waterlogging or flooding was reported in at least 31 localities across Mumbai, including the regular hotspots and the east-west subways in the western suburbs.

However, the rain's repercussions were not felt much for the commuters as it was a Sunday, with most people remaining indoors, as the intensity dropped since daybreak.

With flood waters entering the Bhandup Water Treatment Plant, the BMC has said that there will be water shortages in some parts of the city till repairs are completed and urged people to use water sparingly.

The IMD Mumbai has warned of more rains during the day, including a few very heavy spells for which the BMC, NDRF, Police, Fire Brigade and other agencies are on high alert in Mumbai and the entire coastal Konkan region.
New Delhi, July 18 : A smart kitchen assistant app helps users with planning, shopping, and cooking. Saakshi Jain, co-founder of Zelish, suggests a meal plan with recipes can be easily prepared from home. The app understands a user's food preferences such as their likes, dislikes, allergies.

After successfully completing the Techstars programme backed by Bosch in Munich, the app was launched in April 2020. Currently, the platform has over 1,20,000 active users who are avidly following the app's recommendations and enjoying their culinary experiences from their home kitchens.

Excerpts from her interview with IANSlife: Q: Tell us about Zelish, what does it do and how does it work?

A: Based on the meal plan, a grocery cart is automatically generated with all the ingredients required for the week. In addition to this, there is a step-by-step video guide that helps users prepare their meals with ease.

The signup process is pretty easy and it takes less than 30 seconds. One just needs to answer a few questions about their preferences and voila, it works as a tailor-made cooking assistant. The AI integrated algorithm can help in creating a complete personalised menu by just selecting the number of days for a meal plan.

Q: How does it help in food wastage ? A: The meal plans are made taking into account the shelf life of the ingredients, therefore reducing the risk of spoilage of perishable items. If there are extra items stocked up in the refrigerator at the end of the meal plan, one needs to just tap on the app and feed it while the AI ensures readjusting the ingredients usage according to their perishability.

Not just that, there are over 150 recipes that help users creatively customise and reuse leftovers or any extra dishes.

Q: Did you face any challenges while launching the app? A: Initially, the app was planned to be launched by July 2020. We were in Munich as a part of BSH Techstars 2020 batch, unfortunately due to the border closing announced by the government, we had to fly back to India overnight and spend countless days and nights working to accelerate the launch of the app. The app was finally launched just a week after lockdown was announced. Since everyone was operating from different places and had to don different hats, we faced quite a challenge to fasttrack things but eventually, communication and accountability helped us turn things around in time.

Q: What is the inspiration behind this app and what was the Eureka moment? A: We are three food enthusiasts who always loved a good home cooked meal. We noticed that while technology has seeped into all aspects of our lives, the kitchen was somehow left behind. The only things people were focusing on was either ordering food from outside or dining out because a majority of meals cooked and eaten from Indian home kitchens are generally pretty mundane and staple.

People refrained from experimenting in the kitchen and preferred trying out different restaurants and cuisines, however the lockdown inspired people otherwise. Everyone wanted a change and started taking steps to enhance their culinary skills and make use of the appliances in the kitchen but no one really focused on the software part. We identified that gap after speaking to over 550 people and decided to cater to them.

Q: Who is your target audience? A: Our target audience include working women professionals/ working households where both the spouses are working but are also responsible for managing the daily meals for their families. To add to this, Zelish aims to be the go-to App for anyone who manages the kitchen -- young adults who have moved away from homes, millennials who live alone, young urban working professionals, home-makers, individuals who follow a zero-wastage regiment, and men who need assistance for everything related to their kitchens.

Q: What are your future plans? A: We realised that people love to replicate dishes made by celebrity chefs and home chefs which is why we are now making their recipes shoppable. We already have celebrity chefs like Ranveer Brar, Ajay Chopra, Meghana Kamdar and home chefs like Hebbars Kitchen, Kanak's kitchen etc on our platform.

(Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)
Kolkata, July 18 : The question raised by Congress MP in Rajya Sabaha Ripun Bora that the recently inducted Minister of Home for State in the Narendra Modi government is a Bangladeshi national, has created sharp debates in West Bengal politics.

In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Bora said, "I am writing this letter to bring to your notice a very serious and sensitive matter regarding the citizenship and birth place of Nisith Pramanik, the recently appointed union Minister of State, Home affairs".

"As per the report published in a news channel, Nisith Pramanik is a Bangladeshi National. His birth place is Harinathpur, under Palasbari P.S., District - Gaibandha of Bangladesh. He came to West Bengal for computer study and after taking degree he first joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) and later joined BJP and was elected as MP from Cooch Behar," the MP wrote.

There are further reports, Bora said quoting different channels and newspaper reports, "He showed his address as Cooch Behar in election papers by manipulation". It has also been highlighted "the jubilant scenario, including statements of his elder brother and some villagers of his native village at Bangladesh expressing their satisfaction on being appointed Nisith Pramanik as Union minister of State, MHA," the MP said.

"If it is so, this is a very serious matter for the country, that a foreign national is appointed as Union Minister," the MP said. "Therefore, I urge upon you to conduct an enquiry about the actual birth place and nationality of Nisith Pramanik in a most transparent way and clarify the whole issue as it creates confusion across the country," he added.

State minister of Higher Education, Bratya Basu supporting Bora for his concerns expressed shock. On his Twitter handle Basu said, "Several news channels have reported that @NisithPramanik is a citizen of Bangladesh. Did no background check happen before his appointment?! And let's not forget the innumerable criminal cases...".

Another state minister Indranil Sen said, "Shocked and stunned to learn that Union Minister @NisithPramanik might be a citizen of Bangladesh! This is of alarming concern to the security of India if an incumbent Union Minister is a foreign national. How could the @narendramodi Govt allow for such a security lapse?" "Why Trinamool Congress so worried about his nationality? If he is not an Indian national then from where did he get the documents," a senior BJP leader said.

At 35, BJP MP Nisith Pramanik is the youngest politician to have ever been appointed as a minister of state (MoS) in the Union government. Pramanik also became the first-ever central minister from West Bengal's Cooch Behar district. He is also the first Rajbongshi to have been appointed to the Council of Ministers.
Prayagraj, July 18 : The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail plea of Kushi Dubey, the minor widow of slain gangster Amar Dubey, who is one of the accused in the Bikru ambush in which eight policemen were killed by slain gangster Vikas Dubey and his accomplices on July 3 last year.

Dismissing the revision petition filed by Khushi, Justice J.J. Munir observed, "An overall look on the circumstances of the case brings to mind the fact that the occurrence, in which the revisionist was involved, was not of an ordinary kind. Not only the spontaneous elimination of eight policemen in action and six others left injured, is a horrendous crime that shocks the conscience of the society, but also an act that strikes at the roots of the state's authority in its territory." The court further said, "It speaks about the unfathomable extent of the lack of fear of the state in the minds of those who conceived and executed the dastardly act." According to petitioner's counsel, Khushi was about 16 years and 10 months old on the date of the incident and a few days before the incident, she was married to Amar Dubey, the relative of Vikas Dubey.

According to the petitioner, she was not a member of the gang of Vikas Dubey, rather her husband was a relative of Vikas and on the date of incident, they went to Vikas's house. She had no role in the incident.

The ambush took place on July 3, 2020 when police went to arrest Vikas Dubey from his house in the Bikru village of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Nagar. Vikas Dubey and his associates opened indiscriminate fire on the police force, which led to eight police personnel being shot dead and six others getting grievous gunshot injuries.

The state government opposed the bail plea on the ground that as per statements of the survivor policeman of that ghastly episode, the juvenile was an active participant throughout the assault. She was aiding and instigating the men not to spare any policeman.

The state government counsel further argued, "Considering that she is above 16 years of age, and the offence involved is heinous in nature, the Board have opined, on a preliminary assessment, that the revisionist has the requisite mental and physical capacity to commit the offence, as also the ability to understand the consequences.

The Board has also considered the circumstances in which she committed the dereliction and doing all this, opined that it is fit case where the petitioner deserves to be tried as an adult." The court while rejecting the bail plea observed, "Prima facie, if not at the centre stage of this diabolical act, certainly as an important player, the revisionists seem to have actively participated. In the circumstances, permitting the revisionist to walk out free on bail would shake the law-abiding citizens' faith in the rule of law and the state's authority. If that were to be done, it would certainly defeat the ends of justice."
New Delhi, July 18 : The charging of exorbitant fees by private schools has become a major contentious issue for thousands of parents across the national Capital during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of parents, who have been financially hit due to Covid-19, have discontinued their children's studies from private schools after private schools took trict action against those who could not deposit their fees.

All India Parents Association National President, Ashok Agarwal, told IANS that all such parents should consider shifting their children from unaided private schools to Delhi government schools so that they do not have to pay high fees.

At such a time the government should not deny admission to any such student based on any particular ground. Quality education should also be ensured through proper recruitment of teachers.

Poonam Kochitty, Principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, says that her school is following requisite government instructions. However, those parents who are struggling with financial problems are being given a fee discount. Parents can now pay the fees in monthly mode. On special request, parents facing financial problems can also make late payment of fees.

On the subject of paying school fees during the Covid-19 pandemic, Heritage Xperiential Learning School says, "Although most of the parents of children studying in our school have paid the fees, Covid-19 has posed financial challenges for many parents. We offer a discount in fees to parents facing financial challenges." At the same time, the Delhi government has decided that such students studying in private schools across Delhi, who now want to leave private schools and enroll in government schools will no longer need to take transfer certificates. These students will be granted admission to Delhi government schools without submitting the transfer certificate. The Education Department officials will take the transfer certificates of these students from private schools at their level.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the education minister, said due to Covid-19 several people have lost their jobs. In such a situation many parents cannot afford to pay the exorbitant fees charged by private schools and are getting their children enrolled in government schools. However, many private schools are demanding arrears according to the hiked fees for the last one year.

In case of non-payment of this amount, transfer certificate is not being issued by private schools to children. Therefore, the Delhi government has provided this relief to the students in case of a TC, he said.

The daughter of Kiran Pathak, a parent from Delhi, studies in class 7. According to her, the new decrees of the school that have come out in the past few days have increased the troubles of the parents. Many private schools are now not only charging hiked fees but also demanding fees hiked in the last one year.

According to Kiran, if the situation persists she will have no option but to send her daughter to a government school by shifting her from private school.

Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government is firmly defending the students and parents in the court over fee hike by private schools. The AAP government appeals to the parents that if they want they can enroll their children in Delhi government schools.

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Bengaluru, July 18 : The Bengaluru police on Sunday said it has arrested two inter-state drug peddlers and seized hashish oil worth nearly Rs 2 crore from them.

According to the south-east division police, the duo were arrested on Friday and have been identified as 24-year-old Mohammad Irfan and 25-year-old Tariq Azeem, both native of Kerala.

The police said the Sadduguntepalya police had arrested a drug peddler on July 14 and after a thorough inquiry, he had revealed about the duo's network and based on this input the police laid a trap and arrested them.

A Sadduguntepalya police team has recovered four kg of hashish oil from the accused duo, the police added.

"The banned substance was intended to be sold to techies and high profile college students," said the police in a statement.

Taking to Twitter, Bengaluru Commissioner of police, Kamal Pant praised the Sadduguntepalya police team in apprehending two inter-state drug peddlers and seizing four kg hashish oil.

He said the accused duo procured these banned narcotic substances from Andhra Pradesh and sold them to college students in Bengaluru.
New York, July 18 : The US researchers have discovered a class of immune cells that plays a role in miscarriage, which affects about a quarter of pregnancies.

Researchers at University of California-San Francisco found that the recently discovered subset of cells known as extrathymic Aire-expressing cells in the immune system may prevent the mother's immune system from attacking the placenta and foetus.

The researchers showed that pregnant mice who did not have this subset of cells were twice as likely to miscarry, and in many of these pregnancies foetal growth was severely restricted.

"When you're pregnant, the immune system is seeing the placenta for the first time in decades -- not since the mother made a placenta when she herself was a foetus," said Eva Gillis-Buck, from UCSF.

"Our research suggests that this subset of immune cells is carrying out a sort of 'secondary education' -- sometimes many years after the better-known population of the educator cells have carried out the primary education in the thymus -- teaching T cells not to attack the foetus, the placenta and other tissues involved in pregnancy," she added. The findings are published in the journal Science Immunology.

The immune system has to be educated not to attack one's own tissues and organs to prevent autoimmune disease. But pregnancy presents a unique challenge, since the foetus expresses proteins found in the placenta as well as proteins whose genetics are distinct from the mother.

"It was a conceptual leap to link Aire-expressing cells, which are critical for preventing autoimmune disease, to pregnancy," said Tippi Mackenzie, Professor of surgery at UCSF's Center for Maternal Foetal Precision Medicine.

In the thymus, Aire-expressing cells begin interacting with other immune cells very early in life to teach them what not to attack. The thymus begins to shrink and is nearly gone by adulthood, by which time most immune cells have been educated. But as the thymus shrinks, the population of eTACs in lymph nodes and the spleen expands, the researchers explained.

The study suggests a healthy pregnancy may depend on having these cells around, they added.
Mumbai, July 18 : Reliance Industries' (RIL) retail business is expected to grow three times in next the next three to five years at a robust CAGR of 35-40 per cent, said a Bernstein report.

Digital or new commerce continues to scale up and contributes 10 per cent of sales, it said.

It further said that, RIL's recently announced clean energy business may well be create a valuation of about $36 billion.

It said clean energy has the potential to be value accretive if Reliance can pull it off.

"Most clean energy companies are trading on 2-3x P/S. Based on capex for clean energy, we see a route to Reliance building a clean energy business, which could be worth $36bn or Rs 395/sh," it said.

Reliance recently announced a plan to invest $10 billion in a new energy business over the next 3 years in the next stage in its transformation. Under plans announced, the company will invest $10 billion capex across solar, batteries and hydrogen to create an integrated clean energy ecosystem.

Other big announcements at the AGM were the launch of the new smartphone JioPhone Next and induction of Aramco chairman to the RIL Board, which is positive for the spin-off in O2C, the report noted.

Further, it added that O2C margins continue to improve, raising hopes for the Aramco investment.

"For FY22, we expect Reliance will deliver O2C EBITDA of 522 billion (+90 per cent y-o-y). We remain otimistic that a deal will come together with Aramco albeit at a slightly lower valuation," it added.
Hyderabad, July 18 : Telangana Minister for Tribal, Women and Child welfare Satyavathi Rathod has come forward to help a farmer after Rs 2 lakh cash saved by him for his abdominal surgery was eaten away by rats.

The minister on Sunday assured farmer Redya Naik that she will arrange his surgery in whichever hospital he preferred and also render him financial assistance.

She announced the help while reacting to the report about the tragic loss of the vegetable farmer. She deputed Mandal Revenue Officer to meet the farmer and console him.

The minister said the farmer need not be depressed over either the loss of money or his illness as all required help will be rendered to him.

The farmer of Vemunur village in Mahabubabad district lost his hard-earned money to rodents. He was shocked to see the currency notes kept in an almirah in his house shredded by rats.

Redya Naik had kept the money for his abdominal surgery. He required Rs 4 lakh for the surgery to remove the lump from his abdomen. With some savings and also hand loans taken from relatives and friends, he had kept the cash in the almirah.

As he wanted to deposit the money in the hospital on Tuesday, he opened the almirah but was shocked to find shredded currency notes which were in Rs 500 denomination.

"When I opened the almirah and took out the bag, I was shocked as the entire cash was shredded," said Redya Naik, who grows vegetables and sell them on his two-wheeler.

He approached several banks in Mahabubabad with a request to exchange the destroyed currency notes with new ones but the officials made it clear this was not possible.

He was depressed over losing the money and had lost hopes of undergoing the surgery.

When the farmer's plight came to her notice, the minister hailing from the same district came forward to help him. The farmer thanked the minister for her gesture.
Canberra, July 18 : The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has been enlisted to inoculate thousands of Australians against Covid-19 in remote areas, a top official said on Sunday.

Frank Quinlan, RFDS federation executive director, said the service has administered about 5,121 coronavirus vaccines since being brought in by governments to accelerate the rollout in remote communities, reports Xinhua news agency.

Of those vaccines, it was estimated that about 45 per cent were for Indigenous Australians.

"Early on in the pandemic we identified a whole number of communities across Australia where the RFDS is either one of or the primary source of health care," he said.

"So we're now provided vaccine clinics into those often remote and often small communities.

"We're expecting on the back of the plans we've worked up to be delivering some 50,000 vaccines to some 500 vaccine clinics between now and the end of the year." As of Saturday, about 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Australia.

"At our current pace of roughly 956,674 doses a week, we can expect to reach the 40 million doses needed to fully vaccinate Australia's adult population in late February 2022," according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The RFDS, a non-profit organisation, received A$38.8 million in funding from the federal government to join the vaccine rollout.

It has been tasked with delivering doses to remote medical centres, deploying support staff and supplying health care staff to administer jabs.

"The remoteness of some communities has been both their protection but also their risk because we know that those communities are often protected by distance but at the same time they experience poorer health by distance," Quinlan said.

"We know if Covid was to get into communities the impact would be devastating." As of Sunday, there has been 31,771 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia, and the number of locally acquired cases in the last 24 hours was 131, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health.

The death toll stood at 913

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New Delhi: All Parties Leaders Meeting at Parliament Annexe in New Delhi on Sunday July 18, 2021.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: PM Modi to attend meeting of all party leaders at Parliament Annexe in New Delhi on Sunday July 18, 2021.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: PM Modi to attend meeting of all party leaders at Parliament Annexe in New Delhi on Sunday July 18, 2021.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: PM Modi to attend meeting of all party leaders at Parliament Annexe in New Delhi on Sunday July 18, 2021.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 18 : As many as 31 Bills, including two related to finance, are likely to be taken up by the Centre during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that will commence from Monday.

Of these, the government has proposed to bring 29 Bills, including six on Ordinances which were passed after the Budget Session, and two legislations related to finance during this session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed during an all-party meeting held on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the all-party meeting in Parliament premises, sought cooperation of all parties in the smooth conduct of Business and passage of these legislations, said Joshi.

Quoting the Prime Minister as saying, Joshi informed that he stressed for healthy and meaningful discussion in the 19-day Business of the Monsoon Session beginning.

Emphasising that the Parliamentarians should try to make it a peaceful session, the Prime Minister said that all issues should be discussed democratically and that all parties cooperate in running the House.

"The Prime Minister also assured that the government is ready to discuss on each issue under process," Joshi added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, DMK's Tiruchi Siva among others attended the all-party meeting.

The Monsoon Session is set to be stormy with the opposition ready with strategy to corner the government over several issues that include rising petrol and diesel prices and the infrastructure lapses during the second wave of Covid.

The Opposition is likely to raise objections to the formation of the ministry of cooperation on the grounds that cooperatives is a state subject, and this move is an infringement of the rights of states. The Congress and NCP have raised this issue and the matter is likely to be raised in the House.

The Opposition has demanded discussions on a host of issues including the Covid situation and threat of a third wave, farmers' protest, alleged threat to cooperative federalism, relations with Afghanistan and China.

This session will see the newly inducted ministers in action. Prime Minister Modi has directed them to spend more time in the House to learn.

Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will function from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday and there are 19 sittings scheduled for this session. The session will end on August 13.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the session will be held in both the Houses of Parliament with all the necessary protocols and arrangements being made to accommodate the MPs on a social distancing basis.

Parliament Sessions have been affected ever since the pandemic hit the country last year forcing early closure of last year's Budget and Monsoon Sessions and this year's Budget Session. The 2020 Winter Session was skipped completely due to the public health crisis.
Bhubaneswar, July 18 : Two hardcore Maoists carrying cash awards surrendered before Odisha police on Sunday, police said.

Rame Podiami alias Sabita, an area committee member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) & Pallachalam LOS (local organisation squad) commander, and Raidhar Dhurua, working as PM and secretary of Daldali Cell surrendered before the police. Sabita carried a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh while Raidhar had Rs 1 lakh on his head.

Both surrendered in presence of DGP Abhay at the Malkangiri SP office on Sunday morning. They have been surrounded in view of rising Covid-19 infections among the Maoists, sources said.

The Left Wing Extremism (LWE) activities have significantly come down in the Malkangiri district, especially in the cut-off area. Many security camps have been set up in the cut-off area in the last one year, DGP Abhay said.

"The State government has a good surrender and rehabilitation policy and we are putting continuous efforts to bring the Maoists to the mainstream of society," he said.

These surrenders will motivate others to surrender and join the mainstream, he further said.

The DGP has further appealed to all to shun violence and come forward to surrender. All should join hands for furthering the developmental initiatives of the government.

The DGP and other senior officers of Odisha police, BSF also visited Temurpalli BSF camp. They reviewed the LWE scenario, interacted with BSF personnel & commended their efforts for significant progress made on the anti-naxal front in recent times, sources said.
Wellington, July 18 : New Zealand reported 10 new cases of Covid-19 in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday.

Mean, while there was no new confirmed case in the wider community, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry statement as saying.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the New Zealand border was seven.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in the country was 45 and the total number of confirmed cases reached 2,814.

The death toll currently stood at 26.

New Zealand public health officials were closely monitoring the situation in Australia's Victoria where there had been a growing number of Covid-19 cases.

New Zealanders who were in Victoria since July 8 were encouraged to keep following local health measures, said the ministry.

The total number of tests processed by New Zealand laboratories to date was 2,397,849.

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Kabul, July 18 : At least 53 Taliban militants were killed and 38 others injured in multiple airstrikes and fierce battles in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.

In Kapisa province, 18 militants were killed and 24 wounded after Afghan Air Force (AAF) conducted airstrikes in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the Tagab and Nijrab districts, Xinhua news agency reported citing a Ministry statement as saying.

Among the killed militants were three Taliban's divisional commanders, said the statement.

Meanwhile, 20 Taliban militants were killed and eight others wounded during a cleanup operation conducted by ANDSF on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital city of Helmand province, according to the statement.

In Balkh province, 15 Taliban militants were killed and six others wounded following an airstrike conducted by the AAF in Kaldar district.

One vehicle belonging to the militants and a large number of weapons and ammunition were destroyed during the latest offensives, the statement said.

The Afghan security forces have recently beefed up security operations against the Taliban militants.
Chennai, July 18 : Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian has said that preference in vaccination will be given to natives of pilgrimage towns of the state. He said that Tiruvannamalai, Nagore, Velnakanni, and Rameshwaram towns have been identified for this purpose.

The state health minister was speaking after inaugurating a vaccination camp at St Xavier's School, Sidapet in Chennai on Sunday.

The minister said that by July end the vaccination of these four pilgrimage towns will be completed. Ma Subramanian said that the Christian community including the employees of the Church in the locality would be fully vaccinated as several people from other districts frequent the Church on a pilgrimage.

The state health minister lashed out at the AIADMK government and said that the then government did not take any initiative to launch the pneumococcal vaccine in the state. He said that the union government had introduced this vaccine under the National Vaccination Programme two years ago but the AIADMK government did not take any initiative to launch it in the state.

Minister said, "These vaccines prevent pneumonia and brain fever in children and experts have said that three doses of these vaccines should be given to children to prevent these diseases." Ma Subramanian said that the DMK government of Tamil Nadu has launched the drive for pneumococcal vaccine now and that the drive would cover the entire pediatric population of the state who are under five years of age.

The minister charged the former chief minister of the state, Edappadi K Palaniswami for his statement that the state has received 30 lakh doses of the vaccines even as only 3 lakh doses have been received.

Subramanian also called upon the people to be on guard on false messages being circulated on social media and called upon them to rely on information provided by the government time and again.

The health minister also said that the state is fully prepared for a third wave if it arrives and said that the state has a capacity of 10,000 beds. He said that there was no need for any panic.

He also said that the third wave affecting children is not proven and added that even the doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have also said that.
Badaun : , July 18 (IANS) A circle officer posted in Badaun district, Aniruddha Singh, is making his acting debut in the upcoming film "Bhuj-The Pride of India", which stars Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles.

The 41-year-old police officer will play the role of Sanjay Dutt's younger brother in the war drama, slated for release in August.

According to director Abhishek Dudhaiya, Singh's personality on screen captures his 'dedication' to policing in real life.

"Despite being busy with shooting at the set and off-duty, Singh was constantly checking in with his colleagues. His role could have been longer but he decided to return to duty," the director said.

Aniruddha Singh, who joined the force in 2001 as a sub-inspector, has been involved in the encounter of 26 criminals, including Naxalite Sanjay Kole who was wanted in five states.

He first caught the eye of a director, Shekhar Suri, while he was controlling the crowd during the shooting of Suri's movie in Varanasi in 2016.

Singh said, "The director was apparently impressed with my moustache, my height and my personality. He offered me the role of a police inspector in his next movie 'Dr Chakravarthy' which was released in 2017." Since then, Singh, who hails from a farmer family in Jalaun, has acted in a web series and another movie "Guns of Banaras". The release has been delayed due to the pandemic.

Badaun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma said, "Singh has come up with many unique initiatives that have been helpful in controlling crime in the area. For instance, earlier this year, he helped residents of two villages in the region quit illicit liquor manufacturing and take up handicrafts and poultry. His team also encouraged families there to send their children to school."
Mumbai, July 18 : Twinkle Khanna took to social media on Sunday to remember her late father, Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna on his 9th death anniversary.

Twinkle shared a throwback video of the late actor on Instagram where he can be seen shooting for a film scene and giving an interview on the set in between shots.

Sharing the video, Twinkle wrote: "I have his eyes, my son has his smile and the world has pieces of him embedded in their hearts. He still lives on..." Rajesh Khanna passed away in Mumbai on July 18, 2012.

Meanwhile, the hashtag #RajeshKhanna trended on Twitter as fans remembered the late superstar and discussed his films.

"Remembering late #RajeshKhanna Ji on his 9th death anniversary. Bollywood's 1st and original superstar. A legend. Anand mara nahi, Anand marte nahi," tweeted a user quoting Rajesh Khanna from his 1971 iconic film "Anand".

Mentioning another popular dialogue from the same film, another user shared: "Remembering the superstar on his death anniversary #RajeshKhanna well known for his meteoric rise to fame, the adulation he earned will forever enthral his fans and coming generation. The dialogue, 'Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi' absolutely applicable to his real life."
San Francisco, July 18 : Zoom weddings, which soared high during the Covid-19 pandemic, are now no longer legal in New York by Governor Andrew Cuomo as he has lifted his April executive order.

First reported by the New York Times, the order Cuomo signed was meant for a state of emergency and he rescinded the executive order effective June 25.

New York state law requires that a couple planning to wed "must state in the presence of an authorised public official or authorised member of the clergy and at least one other witness that each takes the other as his or her spouse", reports The Verge.

So to keep Zoom and other virtual weddings legal, the new legislation would be necessary, it added.

Zoom weddings allowed brides and grooms to keep their wedding plans somewhat intact at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, providing a way for family and friends to participate in the special day while adhering to social-distancing requirements.

Cuomo's order even allowed engaged New York couples to handle the paperwork to obtain a marriage license via video under the Project Cupid programme.

People traveled from other states to marry in New York since it was one of the first to officially allow virtual weddings, the Times reported and the change in status caught many New Yorkers, including officiants, by surprise.

The governor's office told the Times that the state wasn't stopping people "from live-streaming a safe trip to City Hall or your clergy's office".

The city's Marriage Bureau in Manhattan, which closed last March amid lockdowns, is still closed to walk-in weddings, the Times noted.

However, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on July 15 that the Marriage Bureau would be reopening on July 19 and couples will be able to schedule wedding appointments as soon as July 23.
Rio De Janeiro, July 18 : After several reports of criminals unlocking people's iPhones and managing to access users' bank accounts in Brazil, the Sao Paulo state police were able to arrest one of the gangs.

According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, four men were arrested recently and accused of integrating a specialised gang in unlocking mostly iPhones, accessing users' bank accounts and then stealing their money.

This is one of the most famous and sophisticated gangs operating in Sao Paulo city, based in the downtown region, reports 9To5Mac.

They can exploit smartphone security flaws and even bypass Face ID, Touch ID and alphanumeric passwords through specialised software, it added.

According to Police Chief Roberto Monteiro, with pirate software bought on the deep web, the gang is able to extract people's iPhones data.

"From the moment they manage to unlock the phones, the gang evaluates what's inside of them. If the people have bank account information, they use another software to take off the data and then start to steal their money," said the Police Chief.

Over 80 police officers, 38 cars and 10 specialised teams with the help of a police air unit and three teams of Metropolitan Civilian guard members were able to access a building reported to be the number one place where the criminals sent people's robbed iPhones to be unlocked.

Following the previous reports, Apple has promised the Brazilian newspaper that it will make it easier for users to delete all data from a stolen iPhone. However, the company did not give details of what exactly it will implement.

With iOS 15, users will finally be able to track a powered-off iPhone using the Find My app, which could also help.
New Delhi, July 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded retired Army Major Pramila Singh for taking care of helpless stray animals by spending her, as well as her father's, personal funds during Covid-19 crisis.

A resident of Rajasthan's Kota, Pramila, along with her father Shyamveer Singh, arranged food for and treatment of the stray animals roaming on the streets.

Praising Pramila, the Prime Minister has described her efforts as an inspiration for the society for understanding the pain of animals and coming forward to help them.

"In the last almost one and a half years, we have faced unprecedented situations with fortitude. This is such a historical period that people will not forget for the rest of their lives. This is a difficult period not only for humans but also for many creatures living in close proximity of humans.

"In such a situation, it is commendable for you to be sensitive to the pain and needs of destitute animals and to work with full potential at the individual level for their welfare," the Prime Minister wrote in a letter to her.

Modi also mentioned in his letter that in this difficult time, many such examples have been seen which have given us a cause to feel pride in humanity.

He expressed hope that Major Pramila and her father will continue to inspire people with their work by spreading awareness in the society with their initiatives.

Earlier, the former army officer had written a letter to the Prime Minister informing that the work of taking care of animals, which she started during the lockdown, is still continuing.

Expressing the pain of helpless animals in the letter, she appealed for more people to come forward to help them.
Lucknow, July 18 : The Bahujan Samaj Party is all set to woo back Brahmins and make a bid for return to power in Uttar Pradesh.

BSP President Mayawati, on Sunday, said the Brahmins will not vote for the BJP and her party will begin a campaign from Ayodhya next week to "awaken" the community.

Talking to media persons, Mayawati said she is fully assured that the Brahmin community will not get misled by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and vote for the party in the upcoming elections.

"A campaign, led by BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, will be launched from Ayodhya on July 23 to awaken the Brahmin community once again. The Brahmins will be assured that their interests will remain safe under the BSP regime," she said.

The BSP had formed a majority government in UP in 2007 with the support of Brahmins.

Mayawati also slammed the Narendra Modi-led Central government on the issue of farmers.

She said all political parties should come together and hold the Centre accountable.

"The indifferent attitude of the Centre towards farmers protesting against the three farm laws is extremely sad. It is necessary that pressure of all kinds is put on the Centre in Parliament," she stated.

Mayawati said the BSP MPs will raise issues such as rise in fuel and cooking gas prices and matters related to Covid vaccination, during the monsoon session of Parliament which begins on Monday.
Cannes, July 18 : The prestigious Cannes Film Festival culminated here on Saturday. The highlight of the event was French director Julia Ducournau's film "Titane" winning the most prestigious award of the festival - Palme d'Or.

The French and Belgian co-production tells the tale of a young female killer who indulges in sexual activity with cars after surviving a traumatic car crash in her childhood.

The award was presented to her by American filmmaker Spike Lee, who made quite a stir by giving away the winner prematurely at the beginning of the ceremony. He later apologised for the slip up.

The second-most prestigious award of the festival, the Grand Prix, was a tie between Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's film "A Hero" and "Compartment No 6" directed by Juho Kuosmanen, French film director and screenwriter.

Amongst the other winners were Leos Carax, who won best Director award for his musical "Annette".

Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve went home with the Best Actress award for her work in the film "The Worst Person In The World".

Actor Caleb Landry won the Best Male Actor award for his role in "Nitram".
Bengaluru, July 18 : A total of 8.76 lakh students across Karnataka will take the Class 10 or Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations for the current academic year on Monday and July 22.

As per the two-day scheduled timetable set by the Karnataka State Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB), on July 19, the core subject exam -- Science, Mathematics and Social Science will be held. On July 22, the examinations for languages would take place.

The duration of the Class 10 examinations will be for three hours and the examinations will be held on the OMR (Optical Mark recognition or Optical Mark Reading) sheets, where students will be asked simple and direct questions.

The OMR sheets will be of different colours so that there is no confusion among students while appearing for the examinations. The evaluation process is expected to be faster this year as there is no conventional method involved in finalizing the marks of the students.

During this academic year, a total of 8.76 lakh students have registered for the Class 10 examinations. Even though various state boards across the country have already cancelled their board examinations owing to the pandemic situation. But, Karnataka is among the few states which have agreed to conduct board examinations this year as incumbent batch SSLC students were promoted from Class 9 to Class 10 owing to the pandemic situation last academic year.

As a result of this, Karnataka Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar claimed that in absence of proper yardstick to assess the abilities of students, the state is forced to conduct this year's annual examination.

Considering the ongoing Covid situation, the state government has also arranged transportation for children to reach the examination centres.
Kathmandu, July 18 : India on Sunday gifted 150 ICU beds to Nepal as part of its commitment to Covid-19 cooperation with the Himalayan nation.

Indian Ambassador to Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over the beds to Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki at a ceremony organised at the Ministry of Health and Population on Sunday, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

At the ceremony, Kwatra reiterated India's commitment to assist Nepal in comprehensively managing the pandemic, including through cooperation in the critical health infrastructure of the country.

Karki appreciated the gesture from India, adding that it is an important milestone in Nepal's fight against Covid-19 and it shows the incredible goodwill enjoyed by both the countries.

Since the start of the pandemic, India has provided around $6.5 million worth of grant assistance to Nepal, through supply of essential medicines, RT-PCR tests, ventilators, and essential medicines, etc.

Nepal was one of the first countries to receive 1 million doses of Covishield vaccines from India in January 2021 as grant. Besides this, the Indian Army has also supplied 1 lakh doses of vaccines to the Nepal Army as grant, along with medical supplies including BIPAP machines, antigen kits, PPE, masks, ambulances and ICU beds.

India and Nepal have a robust cooperation in the health sector, that includes supply of ambulances, regular training and capacity building programmes, and development of health infrastructure including major hospitals, trauma & maternity centres, naturopathy centres, eye care centres etc.
Chennai, July 18 : The Tamil Nadu Police's Crime Branch, which is investigating the sexual abuse case against arrested 'godman' Shiv Sankar Baba, has reported that five teaching and non-teaching staff of his school are absconding.

The CB-CID had summoned the five staffers for getting more details regarding the sexual abuse case levelled by former students of the Sushil Hari International Residential School against the godman, but found that the residences of all five -- school's Principal Gayatri, teacher Praveen, and three other non-teaching staff -- were locked when they reached the premises to deliver the summons.

The police team wants to interrogate the five on the reported statement they had given to the media that "Baba is Great" and that the sexual abuse had not taken in the school premises.

Police is planning to summon all the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school and has asked the school administration to provide the full details of all the staff.

Siva Sankar Baba is lodged in Chennai's Puzhal Central Prison since last month after three cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act were filed against him.

Mamallapuram woman police station had registered three Pocso cases against the godman on June 12, the case was transferred to the CB-CID on June 13, and the Baba was arrested from his hideout at New Delhi's Chittaranjan Park on June 16.

Police in the FIR said that one of the complainants alleged that when she was a student at the Sushil Hari International School years ago, the godman had forced her to consume alcohol and forced her to watch porn.

The student had also said that the Baba had spoken to her for two hours and asked her to have regular sex with him.
Chennai, July 18 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and other senior leaders, including DMK MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran, on Sunday paid floral tributes to tribal activist Stan Swamy who recently died at a Mumbai hospital after prolonged judicial custody at Taloja jail in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Stalin and other party leaders attended the mourning at Loyola College, Chennai.

Stan Swamy, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, was a Jesuit priest and a human rights activist who worked for the tribal community in Jharkhand.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said Stan Swamy fought for the rights of tribal people in the country and often raised questions over how several aspects of the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution had not been implemented.

Swamy had urged the Union government to form a Tribal Advisory Council to ensure safety, welfare, and development of tribals, the statement added.

Stalin said the tragedy that had befallen Stan Swamy, who fought for the downtrodden and the deprived, should not happen to anyone.

State Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi, State Minorities Commission Chairperson Peter Alphonse, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Sinthanai Selvan were also present along with the Chief Minister and other senior leaders.
Chennai, July 18 : The Tamil Nadu Police has filed a case against its retired personnel Vijayabalan, against whom a woman had complained that he had ditched her after seven months of their marriage in 1975.

The victim, who is now 65, complained that after their marriage, they stayed at various places in Chennai and after seven months, Vijayabalan abandoned her. She said that he told her that he was going to Hyderabad in search of a job but never came back.

The woman who was pregnant by then, gave birth to a baby girl and after the daughter turned 10, she found that Vijayabalan had joined the Tamil Nadu Police and had married another woman. When she approached him and later the police, he claimed that he was not the father of the girl.

In 2010, the woman's daughter moved court and on the court orders, a DNA test was conducted which confirmed that she was Vijayabalan's daughter.

The retired police officer is charged with Sections 294(b) (abusing), 494 (marrying again when the wife is alive), and 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the IPC. Police said that they are on the lookout for Vijayabalan whose whereabouts are not known.

A senior police, officer investigating the case, said: "We are searching his pension records and expect to get some lead on his whereabouts. Justice will be delivered to the hapless woman."
Patna, July 18 : Doctors of Patna-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) not only treat patients from Bihar, but on Sunday they treated more than 40 patients in Delhi-NCR through telemedicine.

During this, more than 100 people got online consultation with the doctors of AIIMS.

Dr Anil Kumar, Head of Trauma and Emergency, AIIMS, Dr Svetlina Pradhan, Head of Department of Dermatology and Dr Hilbutr Sahu, Physician, interacted with the people of Delhi-NCR and listened to their problems and answered their queries.

The maximum number of questions asked were with regard to the possible third wave of Covid-19 and how to protect children.

Dr Anil Kumar called it a very good initiative. He said, during the pandemic, not only the treatment of patients was possible without visiting doctors, the awareness of the people about the virus and its different variants also increased.

Dr Svetlina Pradhan said that questions were asked regarding hair loss, post Covid. She advised people to reduce stress, talk to friends and family and get good nutrition and prescribed some medicines to avoid hair loss.

Dr Sahu urged the parents to protect children from junk food to reduce obesity in them. He advised them to pay attention to the nutrition of children to increase their immunity.

It was a new experience for the people in Delhi NCR too, a kind of 'community outreach', said many. Describing it as a great initiative of AIIMS, people suggested other doctors to do the same.
Chandigarh, July 18 : Amid hectic lobbying for appointing Congress' former Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu as the next Punjab unit chief ahead of the state Assembly polls, incumbent Sunil Jakhar has called a meeting of all 80 MLAs to pass a resolution to authorise the high command to take a call on the appointment.

All 23 district presidents and 37 Congressmen who lost the last Assembly polls have also been called for the meeting in Chandigarh.

In a statement on Sunday, Jakhar said the MLAs and district presidents would pass a resolution, saying that whatever decision the party high command will take will be acceptable to the state unit.

This resolution will then be sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he added.

Amid the 'tussle' over talks of appointing Sidhu, 'sulking' Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met Congress state in-charge Harish Rawat here on Saturday and categorically told him that he won't meet Sidhu until he apologises for his 'derogatory' tweets.
London, July 18 : The campaigns to eradicate smallpox and polio would not have succeeded if the vaccines were subject to misinformation, akin to the "false information" on Covid-19 shots, the US top scientist on infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, has said.

Smallpox was eradicated worldwide over 40 years ago and polio has been eliminated in almost every country. Fauci said such efforts would have faltered under the current climate of misinformation, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.

Fauci's comments reflected mounting frustration over the sharp drop in the Covid-19 vaccination rate in the US, even as the deadly infectious disease is rising.

He also blasted the media for spreading false information on Covid jabs.

"If we had had the pushback for vaccines the way we're seeing on certain media, I don't think it would've been possible at all to not only eradicate smallpox, we probably would still have smallpox, and we probably would still have polio in this country if we had the kind of false information that's being spread now," Fauci was quoted as saying to the CNN.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 34,067,424 and 608,881, respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University.

After an initial burst of vaccinations around the country, the pace has slowed sharply.

President Joe Biden's announced goal of having 70 per cent of adults vaccinated by July 4 fell short by about three points, and the vaccination rate has slowed further since then, even as the disease's Delta variant has spread rapidly.

Meanwhile, the White House Covid Response team has warned Americans that the US outbreak is becoming "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" and nearly all hospital admissions and deaths are now among those who have not got their shots.

The seven-day average of new cases is up nearly 70 per cent over the last week, hospital admissions have climbed about 36 per cent and deaths by 26 per cent, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The "extreme vulnerability" of people who are not vaccinated will account for infections, hospitalisations, and, ultimately, deaths, Fauci warned.

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Thane, July 18 : Displaying quick presence of mind, the loco pilots of a Mumbai-Varanasi train on Sunday immediately applied emergency brakes to save the life of a senior citizen who fell while crossing the railway tracks near Maharashtra's Kalyan station, Central Railway (CR) officials said.

The incident occurred around 1 p.m. when the senior citizen was crossing the rail tracks, apparently unaware of the train which had started from Kalyan station rolling towards him.

Even as the Kalyan station's Chief Permanent Way Inspector Santosh Kumar raised an alarm, loco pilot S.K. Pradhan and his assistant Ravi Shankar G. immediately applied the emergency brakes.

While the slow-moving train ground to a halt, the elderly person had already come under the locomotive as many people screamed and rushed down on the tracks to help him.

The loco pilots and rail staffers assisted the stunned bespectacled man slowly coming out from under the locomotive, reassuring him repeatedly that he was safe, and calming him as he crawled out of what could have been certain death.

He was helped on his feet and apparently unhurt, taken a few feet away to rest, even as the railway officials gently counselled him to refrain from such acts, though it was not immediately clear how or why he happened to be on the railway tracks.

"Uncle, you have escaped the jaws of death. Seeing you there, we were terrified... Please don't walk on tracks like this," one of the officials was heard saying.

Impressed by his staff, CR General Manager Alok Kansal announced cash rewards to the trio - Santhosh Kumar, Pradhan and Shankar - whose actions saved the man's life.

Soon afterwards, the CR authorities issued another appeal to the people not to trespass on railway tracks since it can prove to be fatal, as the city limped back to normalcy after heavy overnight rains wreaked havoc.
New Delhi, July 18 : One of Iran's most senior clerics has cautioned the Iranian government not to trust a "terrorist" group "whose evil and murderous nature is no secret to the world".

Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, one of Iran's most senior clerics, lashed out at the Islamic Republic's "softened policy" at a moment of rapid Taliban advances and widespread atrocities in Afghanistan.

Such an approach, he warned, "is a grave and irreparable mistake". He cautioned the Iranian government not to trust a "terrorist" group "whose evil and murderous nature is no secret, Al Monitor reported.

Golpaygani called on both Iran and the international community to "act with seriousness" to avert further "Taliban aggression against oppressed Afghans".

The report said the remarks were made in reaction to what has been found to be Iran's changing approach in light of the Taliban's control over swaths of territory across Afghanistan.

With the US and NATO withdrawal from the war-ravaged country and the consequent vacuum, Tehran has been increasingly seeking to redefine its presence in the new power play. Only last week, Tehran hosted a meeting between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban leaders as a sign of recognition for the latter's role in Afghanistan's political future, the report said.

The shifting stance has been more overtly laid out by the media representing the most hard-line sectors of the ruling establishment, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Most notably, the ultraconservative daily Kayhan drew criticism from both Iranians and Afghans after publishing an early July editorial on the Taliban advance, "in which there has been no sign of IS-style atrocities" and that the group "has declared that it has no intention of harming the Shiite communities".

Rival Reformist paper, Etemad, accused Kayhan of acting as the spokesperson for the militant group. Others went further, saying Kayhan was "canonizing" the militant group. Facing the mounting backlash, the paper retracted the stance in an editorial a few days later.

Shahussain Murtazavi, a senior adviser at the office of the Afghan President, has warned Iran's hard-liners about such an "absolutely false" approach. He reminded Iranians not to forget "the murder of their own diplomats by the Taliban".

The report said Murtazawi was referring to a deadly takeover of the Iranian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif as part of a Taliban offensive and the ensuing fall of the city in 1998.

Eight Iranian diplomats and a journalist were gunned down. Despite evidence, including from Human Rights Watch, the Taliban has denied responsibility for the killings.
Srinagar, July 18 : No congregational prayers would be allowed in the Kashmir Valley on Eid-ul-Zuha because of the COVID protocol that limits the number of people offering prayers in any group to 25, officials announced on Sunday.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P.K. Pole said that no congregational prayers will be allowed on Eid-ul-Zuha in Kashmir in view of the prediction of Covid's third wave.

He said that it will be difficult to limit the number to 25 if congregational prayers are allowed, and Eid prayers will be allowed in a decentralised manner like it has been allowed during the peak of Covid's second wave.

Pole appealed to the people to follow government SOPs and medical experts' instructions on the occasion of Eid and avoid the Covid-19 threat.

Considering the damage caused by the third wave of Covid in other countries, everyone should follow the guidelines and precautions strictly on the occasion of the upcoming Eid, he said.

He said that the third wave of Covid has become a reality in other countries and in view of the third wave, the government has also taken steps against it and people have to follow them.

Pole said that the coming days will be very crucial and urged people to continue their fight against the pandemic by strictly following the physical distancing norms and use of masks.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mumbai, July 18 : Actor R. Madhavan took to social media on Sunday to inform his fans that he is back to the shooting floor in Mumbai.

"Mumbai shoot... Feels great to be back on the floors," Madhavan tweeted along with a photograph of himself standing in front of a mirror.

However, the actor did not disclose which film or project he is shooting for.

On the work front, Madhavan turns director with the upcoming film "Rocketry: The Nambi Effect". The film is based on the life of framed ISRO scientist and aerospace engineer S. Nambi Narayanan.

Apart from directing the film, Madhavan also essays the protagonist. The film also stars Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in a guest appearance.

"Rocketary: The Nambi Effect" will release in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, English, and Kannada.

About the film's release date, just a day ago, Madhavan tweeted saying he is waiting for the theatres to reopen after which he will release the film.
Mandya : , July 18 (IANS) Former Lok Sabha member, Gandhian and noted farmer leader G. Made Gowda, who died of prolonged age-related illness, was cremated here on Sunday evening with full state honours.

Gowda, 93, who died on Saturday, was a native of Kalamudana Doddi (K.M. Doddi), who graduated from Maharaja's College and did a law course at the Government Law College, Bengaluru. He won from Kirugalavu Assembly constituency and entered the Vidhana Soudha along with former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda in 1962.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

The state government handed over the tricolour to his widow Padma, while his eldest son Prakash lit the pyre in accordance with Vokkliaga community rituals, to which Gowda belonged.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Gowda took part in the freedom struggle and was imprisoned for various periods between 1942 and 1947. His participation in the freedom movement laid the foundation for his political life.

He represented the seat till 1989, winning six times and contested the Parliament election from Mandya and won in 1989 and 1991. He was also Minister for Forests in Chief Minister Gundu Rao's Cabinet from 1981 to 1983.

Gowda founded the Bharathi Education Society and brought in a revolution in education by starting schools and colleges in the district. He also started a naturopathy college and also a super speciality hospital in KM Doddi.

He plunged into the Cauvery agitation and strongly opposed the interim order of the Cauvery tribunal and was the man behind the months-long stir that drew the attention of both the Central and state governments.

One of the biggest achievements of his times was to bring all farmers' organisations on board and he was the driving force behind the stir by launching an umbrella organisation - Cauvery Raitha Hitarakshana Samiti (Cauvery Farmers Rights Protection Committee). Though he was a Congressman, he did not hesitate to protest against the then Chief Minister S.M. Krishna who too is from Mandya district and his contemporary. He was always critical of governments for betraying farmers by releasing water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Gowda was president of the Cauvery Raitha Hitarakshana Samiti and staged fast unto death, demanding justice to farmers of Mandya district. Many Chief Ministers and ministers used to make a beeline to his house and seek his suggestions before formulating the state's strategies on the Cauvery issue.

Several ministers, MLAs and MPs have condoled Gowda's demise. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, in his condolence message, said Gowda imbibed the teachings of Gandhi and was at the forefront of the Cauvery water agitations.
Image Source: IANS News

Thiruvananthapuram, July 18 : Billionaire Non-Resident Keralite businessman M.A. Yusuf Ali has announced that he would settle the dues of a woman who was evicted by the Greater Cochin Development Corporation (GCDA) from her shop at Kochi for non-payment of rent.

Prasanna, 54, had to pay Rs 13,800 per month as rent but due to Covid and the footpath maintenance work, she was not able to open the shop and hence, not able to pay the rent.

The woman, who was supporting her mentally-challenged daughter using the returns from the street shop of the GCDA, had amassed rental dues following the closure of shops due to Covid-19.

Prasanna was served a notice of Rs 9 lakh as rent dues but didn't have any means to pay this amount. GCDA officials had shut down the shop on Wednesday and Prasanna had conducted a sit-in dharna before the shop for the past four days.

On hearing her misery, Yusuf Ali immediately deputed his Kochi office staff to meet the woman and promised her help.

The amount of Rs 9 lakh as rent arrears would be paid by the Lulu Group on Monday. An additional amount of Rs 2 lakh would be handed over to Prasanna to help her run the street shop where she was selling refreshments and juices.

"When notice was served on me, I did not have any means other than thinking about suicide. I don't have Rs 9,000 with me, how can I pay Rs 9 lakh. I and my family thank Yusuf Ali saheb wholeheartedly for this benevolence showered on us. He was literally God sent to us," Prasanna told IANS.

Talking to IANS, Yusuf Ali said: "I came to know of the woman's problems through media and I directed our office at Kochi to pay the arrears today itself. But being a Sunday, the GCDA office was closed, and on Monday morning itself, the amount will be paid and rent arrears settled. We will also be handing over Rs 2 lakh to her to restart her shop and buy necessary items for doing business." The Lulu group was recently in the news for paying blood money of Rs 1 crore to save a Thrissur native in Abu Dhabi where he was sentenced to death after a Sudanese child was accidentally killed after the vehicle he was driving hit him. Becks Krishnan was on the death row after the accidental killing of the Sudanese boy in 2012.

-- Syndicated from IANS
New Delhi, July 18 : Congress MPs from Punjab have sought an appointment with party chief Sonia Gandhi with sources saying that a majority of them were of the view that Navjot Singh Sidhu should not be appointed as the state party chief.

Congress MPs from both Houses met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa's residence to discuss the likely move to appoint Sidhu as the state Congress chief, sources said.

Asked about the meet, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, who is batting for a non-Sikh state chief, said: "Internal party matters will be only be discussed at party forums." Bajwa, who was the host, played down the meeting, saying: "We are with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi... whatever decision they will take, everybody will accept it." The meeting follows two key meetings on Saturday -- the first one between Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the party's state in-charge Harish Rawat in Chandigarh and the second was attended by Speaker Rana K.P. Singh, Bajwa, and the Chief Minister.

Reiterating that he would accept any decision taken by Sonia Gandhi, Amarinder Singh has termed the meeting with Rawat as fruitful, adding that the latter would take up the issues raised by him with the party chief.

Meanwhile, Sidhu is meeting MLAs in Punjab and about 10 MLAs have come out in open support of Amarinder Singh.
Mumbai, July 18 : At least 33 people were killed in different incidents as rain fury rocked Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region since midnight, hitting road, rail and air traffic for several hours, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Sunday.

As Mumbai snoozed peacefully, the skies suddenly opened up with thunder, lightning and heavy cloudburst-like rains measuring between 197 mm to over 235 mm in some areas, as per the IMD Mumbai.

The incessant downpour lasting 4-5 hours resulted in heavy waterlogging in many lowlying areas of Mumbai and MMR, besides crippling road, rail and air traffic for hours.

In the worst tragedy, a retaining wall of the BARC Complex here collapsed at Vashi Naka, New Bharat Nagar in the Chembur area around 1 a.m., crushing several homes and burying many people under the soil and rubble.

Till evening, at least 19 persons were reported dead and some more still missing with sniffer dogs deployed to trace them by the rescue teams.

In another incident, at least 10 people perished when a few hutments caved in the Suryanagar slums in Vikhroli east.

A 16-year-old boy Soham M. Thorat was killed when the wall of his home collapsed early on Sunday, while a 26-year-old youth Salim M. Patel was electrocuted in his sweetmeat shop in Andheri west, while one man drowned in a ditch in Thane.

Around another 12 persons, injured in all these incidents, have been rushed to various hospitals and are undergoing treatment, with their condition described as stable.

Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik, Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray and Leader of Opposition Pravin Darekar, senior civil and police officials rushed to these spots to supervise the rescue and relief operations.

President Ram Nath Kovind expressed grief over the tragedies while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray mourned the loss of lives and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

Speaking to the media, Malik said that a retaining wall of the BARC complex here collapsed due to heavy rains triggering the landslide on the small hillock which buried around a dozen hutments below, resulting in the massive tragedy.

Thackeray said that the government would extend all possible help to the victims and the injured, adding no politics should be played on the disasters.

Darekar accused the BMC of lapses and not being concerned about people's safety, while the Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Preeti Sharma-Menon slammed the civic body for making false claims of monsoon preparedness.

Stunned locals pointed out how rescue efforts were hampered owing to heavy flooding, muck, a narrow approach road which prevented fire brigade, police and medical vans from reaching the affected spots. This forced the rescue teams to work in groups manually shifting the mound of rubble to locate the victims.

Till this evening, the BMC's gauges recorded rainfall of 177 mm in South Mumbai, 205 mm in Eastern Suburbs and 195 mm in Western Suburbs, and the IMD has forecast heavy rains with strong winds over the next five days.

CM Thackeray ordered officials to pay special attention to hilly areas, low-lying parts prone to landslides or floods and take appropriate measure to prevent tragedies, while the BMC will work round-the-clock to monitor developments.

In many areas, people reported waist-deep water with the flood waters entering the ground floor homes or shops in the vulnerable or low-lying areas.

The downpour, which started around midnight, continued virtually non-stop with waterlogging or flooding in most parts of Mumbai, besides the coastal Konkan districts of Raigad, Thane, Palghar, parts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

Owing to inclement weather, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport operations were suspended for nearly four hours from 12.42 am to 5.24 am, resulting in 9 flights being diverted to other locations, according to a spokesperson.

The rains hit suburban train services with WR lines flooding at Nalla Sopara and Virar, and the CR tracks getting submerged at Dadar, Sion, Kurla, Parel, Chunabhatti and Tilaknagar.

By 7 a.m. as the water levels receded from the railway tracks, the WR resumed services between Churchgate and Borivali and the CR started services on the mainline and Harbour Line.

The BMC said there were 11 incidents of house/wall crashes, waterlogging or flooding was reported in at least 31 localities across Mumbai, including the regular hotspots and the east-west subways in the western suburbs.

However, being a Sunday, the rain's repercussions were not felt much for the commuters with most people remaining indoors but nature enthusiasts like Nitin Sunderji Shah cautiously ventured to the ravaged Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for his morning jog.

After muddy flood waters entered the Bhandup Water Treatment Plant, the BMC announced water shortages in some parts of the city till repairs are completed and urged people to use water sparingly.

The IMD Mumbai has warned of more rains during the nex couple of days, including a few very heavy spells for which the BMC, NDRF, Police, Fire Brigade and other agencies are on high alert in Mumbai and the entire coastal Konkan region.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
Bengaluru, July 18 : Scotching rumours about a leadership change, Karnataka Revenue Minister R. Ashoka on Sunday said that at this juncture there is no discussion about any leadership change in the state at any level.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa held a meeting with senior ministers on Sunday at his home office to review the Covid situation in the state, as Ashoka told reporters that at this juncture there is no indication from any quarters about a leadership change in Karnataka.

"I think you are reading too much into his (Yediyurappa's) visit to Delhi. From next month onwards he will be visiting Delhi every month. He could not do it all these months (last six months) due to the pandemic outbreak," he reasoned.

He said that on July 26, BJP's Legislature Party meeting is scheduled in the morning and after lunch as well.

"In my personal opinion, this (BJPLP) meeting is to celebrate two years in office and not for any leadership change per se in the state. BJP is in no way facing a leadership crisis either at the state level or at the national level. In both we have a strong leadership," he added.

Ashoka asserted that he does not think that leadership change at this juncture would crop up as the BJP in ruling will have to equip itself to face impending Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat and Bengaluru Civic Body polls, that are slated in coming months.

"In a recent Cabinet meeting, we may have postponed ZP and TP polls till December citing the pandemic. But it cannot be dragged on any further. So, in my personal opinion, leadership change may not be the agenda of BJPLP meeting," he explained.

Yediyurappa on his part every time he has spoken with the media for the last couple of months, has strongly denied reports about his resignation by asserting that he would lead the party during the Assembly polls in 2023.

Despite his several denials and admonishments from party central leaders, his detractors within the party continue to attack his younger son B.Y. Vijyendra, who is also BJP state unit vice-president. Yediyurappa's detractors openly demand change of leadership in the state citing Vijayendra's interference in the governance.

Yediyurappa's two-day visit to Delhi was also mired in controversy, though he continued to maintain that he had gone to Delhi to seek the Centre's help in taking up pending projects of the state.

But he was accompanied by his two sons - Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra and Vijayendra, besides his grandson Shashidhar Maradi, along with BJP MLC Leher Singh and two others and no officials had accompanied him during this tour that led to another round of speculation about a leadership change in the state.
Guwahati, July 18 : The Assam Police, with the help of their Kerala counterparts, have rescued nine girls who were trafficked to the south Indian state and arrested two human traffickers, a top police officer said.

Special Director General of Police G.P. Singh said that the girls belonging to five Assam districts -- Hojai, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Morigaon, and Kamrup Rural -- and the two accused -- Muffazul Haque (Hojai) and Rakbul Hussain (Nagaon) are being brought back to the state.

"Information was received by Hojai police about an illegal human trafficking racket operating from Assam, in which several girls belonging to various districts have been trafficked to Thampanoor in Kerala.

"A case was then registered in order to rescue the victims and apprehend the accused. An Assam Police team comprising eight personnel proceeded to Kerala on July 13," Singh said.

They managed to rescue the girls and apprehend two traffickers, he said.
Srinagar, July 18 : A gunfight between terrorists and security broke out in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday evening, officials said.

"Encounter has started at Check Sadiq Khan area of Shopian. Police and security forces are on the job," police said.

The firefight broke out after a joint team of the police and the army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists.

As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire and retaliated, triggering the encounter.
New Delhi, July 18 : The editor of the Financial Times is one of more than 180 editors, investigative reporters, and other journalists around the world who were selected as possible candidates for surveillance by government clients of the surveillance firm NSO Group, the Guardian reported.

Roula Khalaf, who became the first female editor in the newspaper's history last year, was selected as a potential target throughout 2018.

The Guardian said her number is included in a leaked list of mobile phone numbers selected for possible surveillance by clients of NSO, an Israeli firm that manufactures spyware and sells it to governments. Its principal product, Pegasus, is capable of compromising a phone, extracting all of the data stored on the device and activating its microphone to eavesdrop on conversations.

Other journalists who were selected as possible candidates for surveillance by NSO's clients work for some of the world's most prestigious media organisations. They include the Wall Street Journal, CNN, the New York Times, Al Jazeera, France 24, Radio Free Europe, Mediapart, El PaAs, Associated Press, Le Monde, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, the Economist, Reuters and Voice of America, The Guardian said.

Analysis of the leaked data suggests that Khalaf's phone was selected as a possible target by the UAE. At the time, Khalaf was a deputy editor at the FT.

A spokesperson for the Financial Times said: "Press freedoms are vital, and any unlawful state interference or surveillance of journalists is unacceptable." The Guardian said reporters whose numbers appear in the data range from local freelancers, such as the Mexican journalist Cecilio Pineda Birto, who was murdered by attackers armed with guns one month after his phone was selected, through to prize-winning investigative reporters, editors and executives at leading media organisations.

In addition to the UAE, detailed analysis of the data indicates that the governments of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia all selected journalists as possible surveillance targets, the report said.

Khadija Ismayilova, an award-winning Azerbaijani investigative journalist, was also confirmed by technical analysis to have been hacked with Pegasus in 2019.
New Delhi, July 18 : The Indians in the snooping database include over 40 journalists, three major opposition figures, one constitutional authority, two serving ministers in the Narendra Modi government, current and former heads and officials of security organisations and scores of businesspersons, The Wire reported.

Among the numbers in the Pegasus Project database is one that was registered in the name of a sitting Supreme Court judge. However, The Wire has not been able to confirm whether the number, which the judge gave up before it was added to the list, was still being used by him for WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps when the number was selected. "Until such time as we are able to establish the number's actual user during the period in question, we are withholding the name of the judge," it said.

The Wire and its partners said that they will also not be revealing the identity of any names that appear to be the subject of counter-terrorism.

A leaked database of thousands of telephone numbers believed to have been listed by multiple government clients of an Israeli surveillance technology firm includes over 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers, including those used by ministers, opposition leaders, journalists, the legal community, businessmen, government officials, scientists, rights activists and others, according to an investigation by The Wire and 16 media partners.

Forensic tests conducted as part of this project on a small cross-section of phones associated with these numbers revealed clear signs of targeting by Pegasus spyware in 37 phones, of which 10 are Indian. Without subjecting a phone to this technical analysis, it is not possible to conclusively state whether it witnessed an attack attempt or was successfully compromised.
New Delhi, July 18 : In India, the numbers of phones belonging to hundreds of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, government officials and business executives were on the snooping list, as were numbers in several other countries in the region, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, the Washington Post reported.

When Siddharth Varadarajan, co-founder of the Wire, an independent online outlet in India, learned that Security Lab's analysis showed that his phone had been targeted and penetrated by Pegasus, his mind immediately ran through his sensitive sources. He thought about a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government who had displayed an unusual concern about surveillance when they met.

The minister first moved the meeting from one location to another at the last moment, then switched off his phone and told Varadarajan to do the same. Then "the two phones were put in a room and music was put on in that room... and I thought: 'Boy, this guy is really paranoid. But maybe he was being sensible'," Varadarajan said in a recent interview, the report said.

Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners.

Wahington Post said the numbers on the list are unattributed, but reporters were able to identify more than 1,000 people spanning more than 50 countries through research and interviews on four continents: several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials - including cabinet ministers, diplomats, and military and security officers. The numbers of several heads of state and Prime Ministers also appeared on the list.

The phones appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to engage in surveillance of their citizens and also known to have been clients of the Israeli firm, NSO Group, a worldwide leader in the growing and largely unregulated private spyware industry, the investigation found.

The greatest number was in Mexico, where more than 15,000 numbers, including those belonging to politicians, union representatives, journalists and other government critics, were on the list.

A large share of numbers were in the Middle East, including in Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are reported to be among NSO clients, the report said.

More than 1,000 French numbers were on the list. In Hungary, numbers associated with at least two media magnates were among hundreds on the list, and the phones of two working journalists were targeted and infected, forensic analysis showed.

Pegasus is engineered to evade defences on iPhones and Android devices and to leave few traces of its attack. Familiar privacy measures like strong passwords and encryption offer little help against Pegasus, which can attack phones without any warning to users. It can read anything on a device that a user can, while also stealing photos, recordings, location records, communications, passwords, call logs and social media posts. Spyware also can activate cameras and microphones for real-time surveillance.

The attack can begin in different ways. It can come from a malicious link in an SMS text message or an iMessage. In some cases, a user must click on the link to start the infection. In recent years, spyware companies have developed what they call "zero-click" attacks, which deliver spyware simply by sending a message to a user's phone that produces no notification. Users do not even need to touch their phones for infections to begin.

Mexico was NSO's first overseas client in 2011, less than a year after the firm was founded in Israel's Silicon Valley, in northern Tel Aviv. In 2016 and 2017, more than 15,000 Mexicans appeared on the list examined by the media consortium, among them at least 25 reporters working for the country's major media outlets, according to the records and interviews.

One of them was Carmen Aristegui, one of the most prominent investigative journalists in the country and a regular contributor to CNN. Aristegui, who is routinely threatened for exposing the corruption of Mexican politicians and cartels, was previously revealed as a Pegasus Story continues below advertisement target in several media reports. At the time, she said in a recent interview, her producer was also targeted. The new records and forensics show that Pegasus links were detected on the phone of her personal assistant.

Today's thriving international spyware industry dates back decades but got a boost after the unprecedented 2013 disclosure of highly classified National Security Agency documents by contractor Edward Snowden. They revealed that the NSA could obtain the electronic communications of almost anyone because it had secret access to the transnational cables carrying Internet traffic worldwide and data from Internet companies such as Google and giant telecommunications companies such as AT&T.
New Delhi, July 18 : Amid reports of snooping of prominent citizens, the Indian government said that allegations of surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever.

In response to journalists' queries on snooping of prominent citizens, Additional Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology, Rajender Kumar said: "India is a robust democracy that is committed to ensuring the right to privacy to all its citizens as a fundamental right. In furtherance of this commitment, it has also introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to protect the personal data of individuals and to empower users of social media platforms." "The commitment to free speech as a fundamental right is the cornerstone of India's democratic system. We have always strived to attain an informed citizenry with an emphasis on a culture of open dialogue.

"Government of India's response to a Right to Information application about the use of Pegasus has been prominently reported by the media and is in itself sufficient to counter any malicious claims about the alleged association between the Government of India and Pegasus," he added.

He stated that the questionnaire sent to the Government of India indicates that "the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in preconceived conclusions".

"It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury," he wrote.

He pointed out that answers to the queries posed have already been in public domain for a long time, and it also indicates poorly conducted research and lack of due diligence by the media organisations involved.

He held that in India there is a well-established procedure through which lawful interception of electronic communication is carried out in order for the purpose of national security, particularly on the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety, by agencies at the Centre and states.

"The requests for these lawful interception of electronic communication are made as per relevant rules under the provisions of Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act ,1885 and Section 69 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2000," the official said.

He mentioned that India's Minister of Electronics & IT has also spoken in detail, including in the Parliament, that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies.

"It is important to note that government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in Central and state governments, for clear stated reasons only in national interest. The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever," he said.

He further mentioned that in the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian state and those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court.

"This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions," he said.
New Delhi, July 19 : Following the abduction of the Afghan Ambassador's daughter in Pakistan, the Afghan leadership has called back the envoy and senior diplomats from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed, including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of abduction.

An Afghan delegation will visit Pakistan soon to assess and follow up on the case and all related issues and subsequent actions will follow based on the findings.

On Saturday, the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Ambassador of Pakistan to Kabul, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, and lodged a strong protest over the abduction of the daughter of Afghanistan's Ambassador to Islamabad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Khan to convey the strong protest and deep concerns of the Government of Afghanistan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Pakistan about this grave incident.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly called on the Pakistani government to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators of this crime and ensure the full security and immunity of Afghan diplomats and their families in accordance with international conventions," a statement said.

Silsila Alikhil was abducted for several hours in Islamabad on Friday, and was released after being tortured.

Earlier, Afghanistan stated that on July 16, the daughter of the Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad Silsila Alikhil, was abducted for several hours and severely tortured by unknown individuals on her way home.

After being released from the kidnappers' captivity, Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital.

"The MoFA strongly condemns this heinous act and expresses its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan," it said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Pakistan government to take immediate necessary actions to ensure full security of the Afghan Embassy and Consulates as well as the immunity of the country's diplomats and their families in accordance with international treaties and conventions.

"While the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is following the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, we urge the Pakistani government to identify and prosecute the perpetrators at the soonest possible time," it said.
Srinagar, July 19 : One terrorist has been killed in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces at Check Sadiq area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday night, officials said.

"One terrorist killed in Shopian encounter. Operation is in progress," a police officer said.

The firefight between terrorists and security forces broke out on Sunday evening after a joint team of the police and the army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists there.

As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire and retaliated, triggering the encounter.
Kathmandu, July 19 : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his Nepal counterpart, Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday evening, minutes after he secured the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.

"Congratulations Prime Minister @DeubaSherbdr and best wishes for a successful tenure.

"I look forward to working with you to further enhance our enhance our unique partnership in all sectors, and strengthen our deep-rooted people to people ties," Modi tweeted.

Earlier, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and BJP Foreign Affairs Department chief, Vijaya Chauthaiwale congratulated Deuba in person and on telephone.

Deuba, who was appointed as the Prime Minister as per Article 76(5) of the Constitution on Tuesday following the Supreme Court's ruling, secured a total of 165 votes, as against the 138 needed.

A total of 249 lawmakers were present in the 271-member lower house on Sunday. Of them, 165, including some from his predecessor K.P. Sharma Oli's CPN-UML, voted in favour of Deuba, while 83 lawmakers voted against and one abstained, as per Speaker Agni Sapkota.
Bengaluru, July 19 : Giving prominence to the promotion of local language, professional courses, including engineering would be taught in Kannada from next academic year (2022-23) across Karnataka, said state Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Sunday.

"We have initiated translation of curriculum into the regional language to teach professional courses like engineering and medicine in also Kannada from next academic year," said Narayan at a webinar, hosted by All Language Faculty Association of Karnataka University on 'New Education Policy - Study of Indian Languages'.

Narayan, who also holds the portfolio of IT, BT, Science and Technology and Higher Education, said Kannada would be strengthened as mother tongue under the New Education Policy (NEP).

"As the NEP stresses on providing professional courses in regional languages, we are taking steps to realise its benefits," said Narayan.

Advocating that Kannada should also flourish with other languages in line with the progress being made in other spheres of learning like innovation and technology, the minister said courses and curriculum would be designed by universities and subject experts.

"The NEP does not allow outsiders to enforce other languages on the natives," he added.

State higher education council vice-chairman Timmegowda, Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara former chairman S.G. Siddaramaiah and NEP's draft committee member T.V. Kattimani participated in the webinar.
New Delhi, July 19 : After several northern states, including Uttarakhand, announced restriction on 'Kanwar Yatra, the Delhi administration too on Sunday prohibited any movement of Kanwariyas in the national capital to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in a notification on Sunday stated that Kanwar Yatra-2021 should not be permitted in order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

"The upcoming Kanwar Yatra will commence from 25.07.2021 and in spite of being banned/suspended by the Uttarakhand government, there is an apprehension of gatherings/congregations/processions during Kanwar Yatra-2021," read an order issued by Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev.

Delhi's Covid management authority has also directed the government authorities including Delhi Police and district administrations to ensure strict compliance of the directions.

"District Magistrates (DMs) in Delhi, as well as their respective district deputy commissioners of police to ensure strict compliance of the order, and to further adequately sensitise the field functionaries about these instructions for strict compliance, in letter and spirit," notification read.

The DDMA's decision comes a day after the Uttar Pradesh government, too, cancelled the yatra, despite permitting it earlier. The UP government's order came after the Supreme Court, on Friday, instructed it to reconsider its decision to allow the pilgrimage despite concerns over Covid-19, giving it time till Monday to do so.

Last week, the Supreme Court had warned that "it would cancel the Kanwar Yatra if Uttar Pradesh does not." On Tuesday, the Uttarakhand government announced it will not allow the movement of Kanwariyas this year. Rajasthan has also called off the annual pilgrimage.

The Kanwar Yatra, which was cancelled last year as well, sees thousands of Lord Shiva devotees, most of whom travel on foot and, more recently on trucks, to Haridwar in Uttarakhand to collect holy water from the Ganges river. The pilgrimage mostly begins in late July and goes on till the first week of August.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Eid Mubarak Reading fun, the Muslim way: Atlasia Kids Magazine

The Atlasia Kids magazine team is proud to be moving forward with a growing interest from Muslim families. A monthly magazine for Muslim kids aged 7 - 11, Atlasias fourth issue has just been released celebrating Eid al-Adha. We dream for Atlasia to be a source of fun and guidance that parents trust to help nurture and raise their children. We believe that this magazine will help fill the great demand that Muslim families in America and in the West have for high quality childrens literature.

Available in both digital and print formats, Atlasia invites families wishing to provide their children with educational and fun content, also rich with Islamic values, to read and explore. Each issue consists of roughly 10 recurring departments, whose content changes from issue to issue. Readers will have a new and exciting, yet dependable and reliable, experience every time. Kids will enjoy exploring the pages of each magazine brimming with engaging stories, lively and educational anecdotes, interactive board games, DIY projects, and religious stories. The content can be enjoyed by young readers on their own or be a shared experience with parents, friends, or in a group setting with teachers.

"Atlasia is the very meaning of a dream coming true. Our team has always dreamed of an inclusive magazine that embraces Muslim kids around the world and offers them the best quality content. Atlasia is the fruit of this dream and years of hard work with a dedicated team."

Dr. Hasan Ahmet, Editor-in-chief, Atlasia Kids Magazine

Behind Atlasia Magazine stands a passionately dedicated team with experience in the fields of elementary school and early childhood pedagogy, writing and editing, as well as illustrating. Our collective expertise grants us the opportunity to design an imaginatively curious, thoroughly detailed and exciting, yet cohesive project with each and every issue.

We hope you will stay tuned to hear more exciting announcements from us soon, and that you will support our goal of getting a copy of Atlasia into the hands of Muslim families across the globe!
Akins Ford is offering a $500 military appreciation discount.

Akins Ford, a dealership in Winder, GA comes forward to show support to the U.S. armed forces and first responders by offering a $500 discount to all active members, retirees, veterans and reservists of all military branches- the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Spouses and family members of the first responders and armed forces members can also take advantage of this offer by submitting relevant ID proofs.

According to the information available on the dealership website this discount is available for most 2020, 2021 or 2022 model-year Ford vehicles in stock at the dealership. But certain models are not included in this offer and they are- Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, Mustang Shelby GT350R, Mustang Shelby GT500, Mustang Mach 1, Ford GT, F-150 Raptor, Bronco, Bronco Sport, and Mustang Mach-E.

This offer is valid from January 5, 2021 to January 3, 2022. For more information on this offer, residents of the area can contact the dealership at 770-867-9136 or use their chat feature at https://www.akinsford.com. Their sales team will answer all the questions and provide all the information they need. Akins Ford is open Monday through Friday from 8:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The dealership is located at 220 W May St, in Winder, GA.
While this practitioners alleged actions are extremely disheartening, they in no way reflect the profession of Naturopathic Medicine, its mission, and the actions of our physician members. NDs have been leaders in their communities and have played a crucial role in the prevention of COVID-19

The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) is the national professional association representing licensed and licensable naturopathic physicians (NDs) in the United States.

The AANP has recently learned of a licensed naturopathic doctor in Napa, California arrested for allegedly falsifying COVID-19 vaccination cards and selling homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets.

Licensed naturopathic doctors are trained as primary care providers who emphasize personalized, preventive, whole-person healthcare. This training includes education on standards of care for immunization, and vaccines are one of many tools used by naturopathic physicians to protect against infectious diseases. This is reflected in the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges Core Competencies on Immunization Education and the AANPs previous statement on COVID-19 vaccination.

Regulation of the practice of medicine is essential to protect each individual patient and the public. Fundamental to the AANPs strategic plan is advocating for NDs to be licensed and recognized to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training throughout the US and its territories. This ensures appropriate regulation is in place and avenues are established to protect public health.

As medical professionals, licensed naturopathic physicians are held to the highest treatment and ethical standards of patient-centered care. As an organization, community, and profession, we take seriously the alleged actions for which this doctor is accused. Putting the health of patients and others at risk by fraudulently presenting any treatment as a replacement for authorized vaccines, and falsifying documents is both illegal and unethical.

Robert Kachko, ND, LAc, president of the AANP underscores, While this practitioners alleged actions are extremely disheartening, they in no way reflect the profession of Naturopathic Medicine, its mission, and the actions of our physician members. NDs have been leaders in their communities and have played a crucial role in the prevention of COVID-19 and support of patients suffering with this illness. We continue to emphasize the importance of licensing and regulation of Naturopathic Medicine.

###

About the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) is the professional association that represents licensed naturopathic physicians. AANP strives to make naturopathic medicine available to every American, and to increase recognition of naturopathic physicians as the identified authorities on natural medicine. Learn more at http://www.naturopathic.org.
California based Nissan dealership offering up to $3500 dollars Nissan cash on new vehicle purchases

Palm Springs Nissan, a California-based dealership is offering Nissan cash up to $2000 on a new Nissan Titan purchase. Similar offers are available on other models like the Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Murano and the Nissan Rogue Sport.

According to the dealership website, all qualified buyers purchasing a Nissan Maxima or a Nissan Rogue Sport can get up to $1000 Nissan cash whereas the qualified buyers of the Nissan Murano can get up to $3500 Nissan cash with the APR financing for 60 months. And for the people looking to buy a new 2021 TITAN Crew Cab S, SV, SL or Platinum trim level can get up to $5,262 Nissan Cash under this discount offer. The offer is valid from 07/07/2021 to 08/02/2021.

Interested residents of the area should visit the dealership website http://www.palmspringsnissan.com for more information or contact the dealership at 760-328-2800. Palm Springs Nissan is open Monday through Saturday from 9 AM to 8 PM and on Sunday from 10 AM to 7 PM. The dealership is located at 68177 Kyle Road, Cathedral City.
Hostage Aid Worldwide (HAW) held a virtual workshop earlier this week, bringing together former US hostages, families of current hostages, and experts and officials to discuss how to bring an end of the continuing cycle of hostage-taking in Iran and elsewhere, how to help and support families, and the legal tools governments need to use more.

Rob Malley, US State Department's Special Envoy for Iran, joined the event to stress the priority for President Biden of bringing hostages home. Mr. Malley briefed the families on the current negotiations with Iran on releasing hostages. He said some progress has been made, and the "contours" are clear for a potential deal. But he was cautious as to when. He also emphasized that the negotiations with Iran on releasing hostages will continue regardless of the status or outcome of the nuclear negotiations.

A large number of former hostages and their spouses attended this event to share with current hostage family members how they coped, and kept going through the lonely fears, and learned to recover normal lives afterwards again. HAW has launched a support network for one-on-one private sessions with families of current hostages, offered by HAW board members Barry Rosen and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, so that others in future do not have to walk alone.

Former hostages Alan Gross and his wife Judith, Barry Rosen and his wife Barbara, Xiyue Wang and his wife Hua also attended and shared their experiences. Families of current hostages joined the HAW workshop from the United States, Germany, France, the UK and other countries.

Masih Alinejad, HAW Honorary board member, stressed the need to put human rights on top of any negotiations with Iran as many non-dual detained Iranian nationals are forgotten.

Legal expert Jason Poblete, and Geoff Dive HAW board member, offered ways to legally pursue ending the business of state hostage-taking. Former hostages including Michael White, Saeed Malekpoor, and Sam Goodwin also joined the call for change. The Director of the FBI fusion cell and a SPEHA representative also attended the workshop.

Reflecting on the workshop, HAW president Nizar Zakka said, "By bringing together for the first time, families of hostages, former hostages, government and security agencies, a major step was taken in sending a firm and united message prioritizing hostages.

Also, commenting on Rob Malley's speech, Zakka noted, "We are glad that leaving hostages behind will not happen again under any circumstance."

Hostage Aid Worldwide pursues all avenues to end the cycle of hostage-taking and welcomes any support. Join us in this noble cause to terminate the hostage-taking practice.

*Hostage Aid Worldwide (HAW) (http://www.hostageaid.org) is a non profit 501(c)(3) NGO which assists hostage victims and their families. This is done by providing insight on their cases, coordination with governments and UN bodies and a strategy to disrupt the hostage business model by combining global advocacy with data driven methods.
This new facility will play a key role in making college more accessible to those who call this area home.

Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah broke ground today on a joint $57 million campus in Herriman. The Juniper Building at the Herriman Campus will provide thousands with academic and career opportunities through improved access to education and training.

The Juniper Building on the new 90-acre campus will open in 2023 and will make the pursuit of higher education more convenient for residents in the fast-growing cities of Herriman, Riverton and Draper. Students will be able to earn an associates degree from SLCC and then attend the University of Utah to earn a bachelors degree, all at one location. The campus will serve more than 2,000 students in its first year and nearly 7,000 students by 2025.

This partnership between SLCC and the University of Utah will help maintain the states high quality of life, said SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin. Education allows people to build prosperity and a bright future for themselves and their families. This new facility will play a key role in making college more accessible to those who call this area home.

The campus will offer degrees in high-demand fields, including nursing, business, computer science and information systems, social work, and teacher licensure in elementary, secondary and special education. Essential student services for both schools will also be available, including admissions, advising, disability support, financial aid, transfer support and tutoring.

The Juniper Building at the Herriman Campus is coming just in time to help meet the demand for education and employment created by the incredible growth in the southwest area of the Salt Lake Valley, said U Interim President Michael L. Good. The University of Utah and SLCC have long worked together to support student success. We look forward to this campus opening pathways for more Utahns to complete degrees.

Funding for the building was appropriated by the Utah State Legislature in 2021, with additional support from SLCC, the University of Utah, private donors and infrastructure investments from Herriman City. More information can be found at slcc.edu/juniper.

Salt Lake Community College is Utahs largest open-access college, proudly educating the states most diverse student body in eight areas of study at 11 locations and online. The majority of SLCC graduates transfer to four-year institutions, and thousands more are trained in direct-to-workforce programs. In 2023, the institution will celebrate 75 years of providing Utahns with education in fields that contribute to the states vibrant economy and high quality of life.

The University of Utah is the states flagship institution of higher education, with 18 schools and colleges, more than 100 undergraduate and 90 graduate degree programs, and an enrollment of more than 32,000 students. In 2019, the university was selected as a new member of the Association of American Universitiesan invitation-only, prestigious group of 65 leading research institutions marked by excellence in academic expertise and research impact, student success, and securing resources in support of core missions. The Us reputation for excellence draws top-tier faculty and attracts motivated students from across the country and internationally.

Contact:

Erika Shubin, SLCC (385) 489-0695

Christopher Nelson, U of U, (801) 953-3843
We are proud to have loan originators that focus on providing a world-class experience for all the families they serve.

Sun West Mortgage Company [NMLS ID 3277], a leading full-service national mortgage lender, is excited to introduce Sun Wests Mortgage Originators who have ranked among the Top 1% of Mortgage Originators by Mortgage Executive Magazine.

Sun West Mortgage Company is honored to present Eileen Mirabal [NMLS 1587467] Loan Officer, Kate Harris [NMLS 1080694] Managing Director, National Operations & Sale, Russell Kesterson [NMLS 324120] Producing Branch Manager, and Victor Ortega [NMLS 339158] Branch Manager, as Mortgage Executive Magazines Top 1% of Mortgage Originators. The devotion and amiability of Eileen, Russell, Victor, and Kate have catapulted their careers in the mortgage industry to new heights.

We are proud to have loan originators that focus on providing a world-class experience for all the families they serve. This recognition is well deserved for Eileen, Russell, Victor, and Kate, emphasizes Brian Mitchell, Managing Director. Their extreme success is attributed to strong client connections and top-tier service.

For more information on Sun West, please contact Victor Ortega, Branch Manager, (562) 501-4515, or Brian Mitchell, Managing Director, (281) 979-8908.

For Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. licensing information and disclosures please click here.

About Sun West Mortgage Company (NMLS ID 3277):

At Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc, we dedicate ourselves to offering the best service to our customers. To accomplish this, we empower our loan officers so that they can find great rates and provide the most fitting loan options for each customer  at amazing speed. Our focus on technology has given us an edge in the mortgage industry to offer some of the fastest turn times available  so the customer can get into the home of their dreams sooner!

We are committed to our core values of people, experience, technology, and product. Sun West was founded in 1980 with the perspective of customers first and the desire to make the mortgage process easy and stress-free for prospective homeowners. Since then, Sun West services a multi-billion-dollar loan portfolio and is licensed in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Our 40 years of experience has been passed down to everyone here at Sun West through excellent leadership and capabilities.

Visit http://www.swmc.com/swmc/disclaimer.php or http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org to see where Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. (NMLS ID 3277) is a licensed lender and servicer. In all jurisdictions, the principal (Main) licensed location of Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. is 6131 Orangethorpe Avenue, Suite 500, Buena Park, CA 90620, Phone: (800) 453-7884.
THE END OF SLAMMIVERSARY AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE PPV WENT OFF THE AIR

The Slammiversary PPV went off the air exactly as planned, with Jay White staring down Kenny Omega. The idea was to get everyone to want to watch Thursday to see what happened.

After they went off the air, FinJuice hit the ring and Jay White laid out David Finlay as Omega, The Good Brothers and Don Callis backed off. White vs. Finlay slated for NJPW's Resurgence iPPV event in Los Angeles next month for the NEVER Openweight title, so that footage will probably migrate its way to New Japan Strong in the weeks ahead.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Furthermore, said Jose Maria Vazquez, product and quality director of Vestel Iberica, a founding member of the UHD Project, nearly almost a million of them have been distributed over the past year.Once we have accepted the convenience of UHD, of which we all know its advantages, it is time to ask a new question: Does the installed receiver equipment in Spain allow us to watch these broadcasts in Ultra HD ? The answer is yes, and moreover, it is going to get bigger and bigger, Vazquez said in an article published in Panorama Audiovisual.The increase in television consumption experienced in the last year, caused by health restrictions and greater permanence in homes, together with the recent and upcoming sporting events, have also been key in this good evolution, generating a high demand for large format screens and consequently in the massive possibility that the receivers marketed can receive UHD. Broadcasters, as well as the whole chain of capture, encoding, broadcasting and post-production, up to the receiver itself, are making real efforts to bring this technology to end users.Since June, UHD Spain has been broadcasting quality content through Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), satellite, Internet and hybrid television, in order to promote Ultra HD in the country. In June 2021 it announced that in a bid to consolidate its commitment to develop a collaborative framework around new audiovisual technologies, and in particular Ultra HD, it had started UHD HDR and SDR demonstration broadcasts via terrestrial, satellite and Internet through streaming.


Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech in 1902, The Control of Corporations, which warned of the danger of corporate power over citizens lives. Calling corporations creatures of the state, he said they must be controlled by the representatives of the public. Roosevelt was a Republican, but his distrust of corporations (and his later faith in big government) would become a touchstone of Democratic politics for generations, from the Great Depression to the Great Society.
Why the president says Facebook is endangering Americans. And in an interview with me two weeks ago, Mr. Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, also seemed to be laying the groundwork for putting ...
There is one issue where President Joe Biden has not moved further left and in lockstep with other liberal leaders: marijuana. The oldest man to take the oath of office -- he's now 78 -- just can't bring himself to support legalization.

On the 2020 campaign trail, Biden claimed he wanted to decriminalize it and leave legal questions for states to decide.

But does Biden even want to do that?

As Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Biden was the driving force behind the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that, among other things, meted out draconian federal sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

Now that he is in the Oval Office, nothing is happening on the modest federal decriminalization front.

"He at least pledged to decriminalize marijuana possession, expunge [criminal] records, legalize medical cannabis," reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and "let the states do what they want," Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment told me. "However, since coming into office, so far the only official acts his administration has taken on marijuana were to fire White House employees for having used it" -- after Team Biden said past marijuana use would not be a disqualifier -- and include in his budget language to block the District of Columbia from legalizing and regulating the sale of weed.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon stepped into the breach. They released a "discussion draft" of their Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act that would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and allow states to set their own laws.

States effectively have forced this moment, with 18 states having legalized recreational use of pot and 36 states having legalized medical use.

The lack of clarity does not encourage compliance. It gives pro-pot people grounds to flout the law and law-and-order types cover to throw offenders behind bars.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently observed that "one can certainly understand why an ordinary person might think that the Federal Government has retreated from its once-absolute ban on marijuana" and why business owners may think that it's legal for them to sell marijuana in states like Colorado, where it is legal under state law.

I spoke with one such person today. I wrote about him years ago after he opened up a medical marijuana dispensary in California, where medical marijuana was legal, after then-President Barack Obama pledged to direct federal authorities not to waste tax dollars on marijuana prosecutions.

The Californian went to prison for more than three years because he bought the fiction that states could flout federal drug laws. That only works when politicians rewrite the laws, which Obama failed to do.

So, when Biden says he wants to decriminalize pot, ignore the rhetoric, and wait for action.

If it comes. Washington is running light-years behind public opinion. In April, the Pew Research Center reported that 60% of U.S. adults think marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use. With older Americans, that number will only grow.

I suggest anyone who thinks marijuana is all good read what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has to say.

Marijuana is harmful to developing brains and affects memory, learning, emotions and reaction time. Edible marijuana products pose an added risk of poisoning. One in six Americans who use marijuana before they turn 18 will become addicted.

Nonetheless, marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in America with 22.2 million users each month, according to the CDC. There's not enough jail space to house all those people.

On Wednesday, two reporters asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki if the president supports the Schumer bill. Psaki did not look amused. She said Biden's position hasn't changed; he's for decriminalization. She would not say if Biden endorses the measure.

"What does it mean when President Biden says he believes in decriminalizing it?" Angell asked afterward.

Or maybe the question is: Will Biden ever do anything about it?

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As the U.S. Census Bureau releases data for redistricting next month, the initial state population tallies cost several states representation within the U.S. House of Representatives. The initial apportionment of the 435 seats based upon population led to reduced members for California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. However, it would be incorrect to say that these states lost representation due to a shrinking population; with the exception of Illinois and West Virginia, each of these states grew in population size. Rather, the decision by Congress to artificially cap the House at 435 members created a zero-sum environment where states only gain representation if they grow at a greater rate than their fellow states. The cap at 435 members itself is less a choice than a historical accident from the 1920s, and flies in the face of legislative chamber size in nearly every other industrialized representative-democracy in the world. America should follow the rest of the world and finally allow the House to grow with the nations population, thereby solving a long engrained obstacle to effective representation.

There is nothing sacred about the number 435 in regards to representation. The Constitution and ensuing amendments never established a hard ceiling on the size of the House. Article 1, Section 2 sets a starting ratio of one representative for every 30,000 people within a state, with at least one representative per state. Applying this original ratio to the modern day, the size of the House would be 10,000 members, which is clearly too large. But the Constitution does allow Congress to change the ratio of members to state populations following each census via reapportionment acts.

Our current cap arose from a historical accident of procrastination and gridlocked politics, which led to a hasty and ruinous compromise. Up until 1920, the House and Senate successfully passed a new apportionment act, without fail, every decade. In 1920, rural states frustrated with the increased pivot in representation towards urban areas  in combination with House members already attempting to minimize the number of seats added following every Census  led to gridlock on the issue. The gridlock froze representation in place at 435 members, as allocated in 1911, leading to great population discrepancies between and within states.

The failure to reapportion also led to the repeal of regulations on how to draw districts, which included that districts be compact, contiguous, and as equally populous as possible. While the tension between rural and urban representatives did not diminish over the 1920s, pressure to reapportion eventually led Congress to pass the Reapportionment Act of 1929. Progressives encouraged representatives to remove politics from the equation in apportionment under the new law, which automated the process by which the national government allocated representation to states, and capped the House at 435 members. The 1929 law also failed to reintroduce federal regulations on how to draw districts, leading to some of the greatest disparities in population equality and oddly shaped districts in U.S. history, which finally forced the Supreme Court to enter into the politics of redistricting around 30 years later.

Understanding the Apportionment Act of 1929 makes evident that there is no mathematical or well-founded politically principled reason for 435 members; it was largely an accident. Due to the freeze at 435 members, the average House district now represents over 760,000 people, which is set to increase to over 800,000 by 2030. Worse yet, House members effectively represent more constituents than every other major Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development country in the world. Pakistan ranks second to the U.S. at just under 600,000 people per district, and most other countries, such as the U.K., have well under 200,000 people. What distinguishes the U.S. relative to other OECD countries is that the size of its lower legislative chamber shares more similarities with competitive oligarchical/authoritarian nations such as Russia, China, Brazil and Pakistan, than actual representative democracies, such as Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany.

There are a host of issues arising from a high ratio of constituents to representatives. The most notable one  related to the justification for creating the U.S. House in the first place  is the break in the constituent-representative link. James Madison in Federalist 56 justified the ratio of 30,000 constituents per representative on the premise that a representative ought to be acquainted with the interests and circumstances of his constituents. With a ratio of more than 750,000 constituents to one representative, it is nearly impossible for any representative to know their constituents. There are simply too many in-the-weeds local issues to keep track of given those numbers. Political scientist Brian Frederick finds through mass survey evidence that constituents in larger districts are less likely to be contacted by their representatives, and relatedly, constituents approve less of their members when in larger districts. Political scientist Robert Hogan confirms that much of the disparities in campaigning in a district system can be attributed to population size; with larger districts, it costs more to reach out to every voter during campaigns. When districts are so large that constituents and representatives feel alienated from each other, the system fails to meet the necessary conditions to ensure that representatives are acquainted with those they serve.

Increasing the size of the House therefore appears like a straightforward way to reform some obvious obstacles to representation. The question then arises: How large should it be? A House of 10,000 members is certainly too large for any business to be accomplished. As Madison noted in Federalist 55, Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob. It turns out, however, that there is a general mathematical rule, the cube-root rule, that most other industrialized democracies follow. Following the rule, 435 seats would be appropriate for a nation with a population of about 82 million. With the U.S. population around 330 million, we should now have around 691 seats. A House with that many members would result in an average district size of around 480,000 constituents, approximating the size of districts in the 1970s. While increasing the chamber to 691 might be too large of an increase for a single apportionment, it is possible to make strides to such a number over time. At this point, any marginal increase in size would be an improvement to the status quo.

While increasing the size of the House sounds contentious, it is within the realm of possibility given that only the basic passage of a law is necessary. That said, it is important to keep a few issues in mind. First, it would be necessary to increase the physical size of the U.S. Capitol to hold more members. The need for a larger building is also a strong argument to phase in the increase over time. Second, should a new law end the automatic apportionment, there is the danger for a similar gridlock arising from polarization and leading to another failure to apportion. Therefore, some type of fail-safe should be implemented if the House and Senate do not to act. That said, such a fail-safe should not automatically freeze the House at its current size, lest we end up in the same situation we are currently in.

Finally, political scientist Chris Mooney finds that larger legislative assemblies tend to be associated with party and chamber leaders taking greater power for themselves in order to get any work done within the legislature. Therefore, there is the potential for an overly large House to empower party leaders and heighten national-level polarization. There is little point in attempting to strengthen the link between constituents and their representatives, only to have their ability to pursue nonpartisan work thwarted by a leader- and party-dominated House. A balance must be struck, and the U.S. House should not be increased any larger than it needs to. The cube-root rule should almost certainly act as a ceiling, not a floor.

Its likely too late to increase the size of the House this apportionment cycle, though it is definitely a reform that needs to be seriously explored and prepared for well before the 2030 Census. Unfreezing the House size might not be a magic bullet to reforming our national political structure, but it would aid in correcting severe foundational inequities. Beyond increasing the connection between constituents and their representatives, it also makes it more difficult to gerrymander and prevents states from losing representatives should future states be added. Undoing the Apportionment Act of 1929 is not the solution to all of Americas problems. However, it is a fix that would apply the founding principles to the House while at the same time bringing it more fully into the 21st century.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/18/2021



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[ Spoiler Warning: This report includes spoilers revealing if Tiffany and Ronald are still together now or if the couple has broken up.]

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So are Ronald and Tiffany still together now or is the couple split up and divorcing?

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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Tiffany Franco and Ronald Smith can't seem to get along on Season 6 of : Happily Ever After?, so did the couple break up or are they still together? What do spoilers reveal about Tiffany and Ronald's current relationship status?Tiffany was a 27-year-old from Frederick, MD, and Ronald was a 29-year-old from South Africa when they starred on : The Other Way's first season in 2019.Tiffany accepted a marriage proposal from Ronald despite his faults and mistakes -- including Ronald having a criminal record as well as a serious gambling addiction that led to a six-month rehab stint in South Africa.Once Ronald changed his ways and sought therapy, Tiffany moved her eight-year-old son Daniel to South Africa on a Tourist Visa so they could be a family, but she wasn't convinced it was going to be a permanent move.Tiffany and Ronald got married during her trip, but due to financial constraints and Tiffany deciding South Africa was not a safe place for her kids to grow up, she decided to return to the U.S. and give birth to the couple's daughter there.Tiffany thought the best way to be with Ronald would be to file for a spousal visa so he could move to the U.S.Tiffany then gave birth to a daughter Carley in Summer 2019.She revealed on Part 1 of : The Other Way's Tell-All special -- which aired in October 2019 -- that life in the U.S. was "so much harder" than she could have ever anticipated without her husband by her side.Tiffany said Ronald had also become "very hot and cold" about their plans for him to move to the United States.Ronald had allegedly told Tiffany that he didn't want to waste money trying for another visa -- given he had already been denied a K-1 visa before due to his criminal record -- but then Tiffany revealed she went ahead and applied for a spousal CR-1 visa for Ronald."The last time Ronald and I were physically together, it was eight months ago," Tiffany explained, "and I am all alone -- left to face everything and be responsible for everything. Ronald, right now, is not emotionally supportive and he's not financially supportive."Tiffany said Ronald never offered to send money for clothes or diapers, and so she met with an attorney, Christopher Role."I have moments when I wonder if this marriage is right for me," Tiffany confessed. "Ronald doesn't know this, but I think I want a divorce."Tiffany lamented she was feeling miserable every day and had reached "a breaking point" and feared there was "no other choice but to get divorced" because things might only get worse once Ronald arrived to the U.S.But Ronald insisted he was making "small strides" and "ends meet" by doing odd jobs such as painting rooms for people. He said he was doing the best he could.Suddenly, Tiffany revealed to Ronald on Zoom she had decided to cancel her family's plane tickets to South Africa. Tiffany said it wasn't fair she was always paying for things and if Ronald wanted to see her and the kids, he'd cough up the dough.Ronald said it was "unbearable" to miss milestones in Carley's life and watch her grow up through a computer screen, and the pair got into "a huge heated" fight over the canceled tickets.Tiffany ultimately used the money as a down payment for a new apartment so she and the kids could move out of her mother Maggie's house. She was also putting her own happiness first for once.But once Tiffany and Ronald fell back into a good place in their relationship after a lot of arguing, Tiffany received an email she had been waiting on "for years" informing her that Ronald's visa application to come to the United States had been approved and they'd be able to move on to the interview phase of the process.Ronald gushed over videochat about being "overwhelmed" -- happy and scared at the same time -- but Tiffany fell just under the income requirement to be able to completely take care of Ronald financially upon his entrance into America.Tiffany therefore asked her father Carlos to be Ronald's co-sponsor because she said she was "not willing to do this long-distance thing anymore."Carlos agreed to co-sponsor Ronald even though Ronald has a record, including a drug possession charge. Ronald, however, had his charges withdrawn and was never convicted of anything.Tiffany later met with an immigration lawyer to discuss Ronald's upcoming interview at the Embassy in South Africa for the spousal visa, which was in the approval stage.Ronald was told he only had one chance to get it right or else he and Tiffany would have to wait years to go through with this process again. While Ronald videochatted with the lawyer, he was sitting back on a couch and vaping.Ronald also made light of having been arrested five or six times.Tiffany watched Ronald essentially bomb the interview during a practice round with the lawyer. Tiffany explained that Ronald rambled on when asked "yes" or "no" questions and didn't seem to take things seriously.Tiffany left the meeting more worried than ever, and the lawyer predicted Ronald would have a 50/50 chance of getting his spousal visa approved.Tiffany called Ronald after the meeting and reminded him that he needed to shape up and take things seriously, but Ronald pointed out how Tiffany and the kids could always move to South Africa and live with him."I don't know if Ronald is purposely sabotaging the visa, but I do think that he's a little more careless with it because in his mind, if it doesn't work out, we can still move over there -- which is his backup plan and so he's not that scared," Tiffany explained."For me, I'm terrified because I know I'm not going there. So for me, if he fails that interview, that's it and there's no backup plan. He still thinks he has a safety net, and he doesn't."Ronald then asked Tiffany to visit him in South Africa with the kids for the Christmas holiday and stay for three months. Maggie was disappointed when she discovered Ronald had grunted about being asked to pay half of his family's plane tickets.Maggie laughed about Ronald being "a joke," and she told Tiffany to use her trip to South Africa as a test run to figure out whether she really wanted to be with Ronald forever and have him move to the United States permanently.Tiffany wanted to see that Ronald was saving money, working, prioritizing his family, and being responsible in South Africa.Tiffany had set high expectations for Ronald and their future together, but she still apparently purchased open-ended plane tickets.As Tiffany and the kids traveled, Ronald was working on turning his garage into a room just for Daniel so he would have some privacy and space. Ronald didn't want Daniel to have to sleep on the couch and be uncomfortable.Ronald planned for Tiffany and the kids to file an extension on Tiffany's Tourist Visa after three months so that they could stay in South Africa an additional three months. The other option was for Ronald's visa to get approved so he could fly back to the United States with his family."The fact of the matter is, if Tiffany doesn't want to move to South Africa, I will force her to. I'm not going to be away from my kids again that long," Ronald admitted.Ronald ultimately had an emotional reunion with his family, especially when Daniel jumped into his arms.Tiffany was used to staying with Ronald's mother, so she didn't know what to expect from Ronald's own place. She worried about walking into a total "bachelor pad," but Tiffany was actually very impressed and said it was so much better than what she had expected.Daniel also seemed thrilled to walk into his own room that was painted royal blue and had a TV. Tiffany could see Ronald's effort and love "for sure" since he had built a room just for his son."My family is on the line, possibly spending Christmas with me in South Africa -- and maybe staying longer," Ronald said in a confessional with Tiffany by his side."So if that's what it's going to cost, I will do it. At the end of the day, I don't think you're going to stay, I KNOW you're going to stay. You just don't know it yet."But during Tiffany's first day in South Africa, Tiffany noticed Ronald had nothing to eat in his refrigerator. Tiffany said Ronald had six eggs, a bottle of hot sauce and one beer in his apartment.Tiffany complained that Ronald had spent all of his money on building Ronald his own room instead of buying groceries to be able to feed his wife and children.Ronald said he was going to do whatever it takes to make Tiffany and his family happy and comfortable in South Africa, but he ended up being $50 short when it came to the $250 grocery bill -- and Tiffany seemed frustrated and upset to have to step in and save the day once again.Tiffany was exhausted from her travels and also hoped Ronald would step up and help her out more with the kids. She thought it was "annoying and upsetting" how Ronald wasn't offering to assist her.Tiffany threatened Ronald by saying if he didn't make her stay easy and enjoyable, she'd be taking the kids back to America for the Christmas holiday.Ronald felt Tiffany was dangling a carrot in front of his face like he's a donkey and said Tiffany's words really hurt his heart.But the couple eventually got over their fight and Ronald told Tiffany that he'd give her whatever she needed from him.In order to make his kids feel at home, Ronald took his family to a Christmas warehouse to purchase home decor and a Christmas tree.Since Tiffany hadn't even decided on staying in South Africa for the holidays, she felt Ronald was trying to bribe her son Daniel in order to get to her."If Daniel gets excited about celebrating Christmas in South Africa, then I kind of have to stay so I don't disappoint my son. And it pisses me off that he's doing that! It's just not fair," Tiffany lamented.Tiffany wanted to see if Ronald could be responsible with money since he had been short on their grocery bill the previous day, but then Ronald picked out a $320 tree.Ronald ended up spending almost $700 in the Christmas store and put it on a credit card.Tiffany determined Ronald's spending habits were not good and he continued to make "stupid decisions." She said his wasteful spending was not going to convince her to stay in South Africa longer.Ronald then got angry when Tiffany vented out her frustrations to his mother, Ria.Tiffany was still set on returning to America, but Ria tried to convince Tiffany to give Ronald a chance and some time to adapt to hands-on fatherhood in a small period of time.Tiffany and Ronald therefore attempted to enjoy a nice date night and dinner out, but it ended in a fight. Ronald said he was tired of Tiffany complaining and "giving [him] sh-t" about something all the time, and Tiffany complained about needing to see more effort from Ronald.Ronald felt judged and believed Tiffany liked to feel in control every situation and make him feel less than."It's because she can't let go of the past," Ronald said.Tiffany said she needed to be able to talk to Ronald without him shutting her down, but Ronald wanted Tiffany to approach him with their issues instead of confiding in someone else.With that being said, Ronald left the dinner, and Tiffany said, "You just ruined my night."Tiffany and Ronald apparently broke up again in early July 2021 and are heading towards divorce after Ronald lashed out at Tiffany for allegedly lying about his spousal visa and Tiffany in turn accused her husband of emotional abuse.It appears the couple got into a fight on their daughter Carley's July 3, 2021 birthday based on cryptic social-media activity -- including Tiffany cropping Ronald out of a family photo in one of her uploads -- and then everything came to a head on July 6.Tiffany began a stream of posts on Instagram Stories on Tuesday by writing, "You think things are messy? They are about to get a whole lot messier."Tiffany, a mom of two, went on to share alleged emails and Instagram DMs from Ronald in which the South Africa native insisted he's "done" with his marriage to Tiffany and threatened to expose her on social media.Ronald allegedly told Tiffany that he could find someone "better" who will treat him "right" and "won't lie.""F-ck you for that... I'm gonna block you again... I already threw everything out of the house... [I] hope you find pleasure in what you did. I'm literally nauseous thinking about you now lol... I'm free now, thank you [for] lying... I won't respect you for sh-t again," he allegedly wrote to his wife."If I see my kids ever again [that's] up to you. Are you going to visit me with them? F-ck no, stay away from my place. You're just like your mom now! Single, have kids, no dads, and likes to lie but demands respect. Get real, Tiffany. Watch social media, [going to] hit you hard!"Tiffany wrote on the alleged screenshot that she "won't stay quiet anymore."Ronald allegedly continued, "I do not want to know nothing about you. I don't want to hear about you; all I want is my kids. I'm done with you, you can move on. I move on. Let's do that. You can say I'm cheating [but] you are the one lying about the visa."Ronald seemingly suggested Tiffany had yet to follow through with the visa paperwork to move him from South Africa to the United States.Ronald allegedly continued in his messages to Tiffany, "You are worthless, you are not worth being loved. You are useless as a woman, as a wife."Tiffany called Ronald's messages "more abuse" and wrote on Instagram Stories, "Emotional abuse leaves scars that you'll never see. I've gone through enough for a whole life together and I've had to stay quiet."Tiffany also posted an alleged email from Ronald that read in part, "You wouldn't have felt lonely... if you did the visa or if you move to South Africa, but no, you decided you wanted to lie to me about the visa and same time you refused to move to South Africa just so that I can be with my family."He allegedly wrote, "You took me for a big, big ride. You made me change my life. You made me put things on hold... I got rid of people for you and I regret it so much. I regret everything I did for you... The only thing that I'm happy about from you [is] my kids, nothing else. I'm sorry, it is what it is.""I'm glad you moved on," he allegedly added. "I'm happy for you. I hope you get someone... that can love you again because from my eyes, sorry, I literally can't wait for sunrise only [to[ get this divorce thing done. But until then, you are free. I promise you, you are free."Ronald allegedly complained that he'd probably lose his children from this situation and hopes Tiffany is "delighted" about that."In my eyes, you are nothing... You never, never, never, never have the opportunity to be in my arms again... It's here where we draw the line," Ronald allegedly lashed out.Ronald appeared to threaten Tiffany by saying he'd "exploit" her "like never before" and show her "lies and manipulation" and the way she allegedly played him.For Ronald's part, he fired away at Tiffany by sharing a post on his own Instagram Stories, asking his followers for a "lawyer in the [United States]" so he could receive "advice and costing on [a] few things," according to In Touch Weekly.Ronald also reportedly said on Instagram Live of Tiffany, "She basically told me everything is submitted, everything is done, I'm going to be with my family soon.""I found out she lied. I lost my sh-t and you know what? She says I treated her bad," he claimed."Let me just calm down for a second because I'm so upset thinking she played me for a fool and she literally made me believe I'm going to be with my family soon. She's complaining she's alone and she's doing everything by herself, but she lied about the visa. Literally, she lied."Tiffany went on to write to her followers on Instagram Stories that she doesn't regret any decisions in her past because she acted with an open heart."Not everyone has the same heart. Some people choose to take advantage of those they see as [weak]. I cannot see where everything stands at the moment, but what I will say is, if anyone speaks to you this way, it is a reflection of who they are, not who you are," Tiffany explained."Don't ever be silent. You can survive it and get out of it. Love should NOT HURT. I am not perfect and I have made mistakes, but I will never again allow anyone to make me feel this way again."However, Tiffany has confused her followers by hinting she and Ronald may have reconciled after their explosive fight.Tiffany posted a video of Carley celebrating her second birthday and one Instagram user commented, "Too bad her father doesn't get to See her for birthdays christmas. Any important days. What a shame."Tiffany replied, "Lol he was on video call I include him every thing. And the visa takes forever it's not my fault heas not here."The couple's relationship seemed to be thriving in June 2021.Tiffany wished Ronald a Happy Father's Day on social media in a super sweet post."For almost 5 years now you've been Papa bear, through the ups and downs A constant reminder of why are you are the love of my life is the amazing love you have for our kids," Tiffany captioned a slideshow of family."You embraced Daniel in a way that I can't actually explain... I love you have for him makes me so proud. The kids adore you. I adore you. Today is entirely your day, to celebrate the amazing dad you are and how even more amazing you are becoming every day."Tiffany continued, "I love seeing the man who once was the center of attention and the party animal turn into the guy who lets everyone go have their parties so you can walk off to the side and play toys with the kids. I am grateful, I am blessed, I am proud. You are truly a blessing to us.""From the bottom of all of our hearts we love you with all of us and we wish you the best Father's Day! Sidenote..." she concluded.And Ronald commented on the post, "Thank you my love. Love it its beautiful thank you thank you thank you love you sooo much youre my everything and you and the kids complete my life."At the time, Tiffany also confirmed she had gone under the knife for weight loss surgery and said Ronald had been supporting her emotionally, according to In Touch.And in a May 24 Instagram Live session, Tiffany conducted a makeup tutorial and dropped a sly quick comment about how she had just traveled to see Ronald again in South Africa."It's from when I was on the airplane coming here from South Africa. My skin got super dry and it just got really messed up," Tiffany said, before flashing a big know-it-all smile.Tiffany also said during the video, "I wish Ronald was on here so he could help me [answer questions] while I'm doing my makeup, but he is busy!"And on May 18, Tiffany and Ronald went Instagram Live together, with Tiffany posting their conversation on her account's page.Tiffany captioned their session, "Definitely getting a divorce. Definitely getting a divorce," but she added a crying-laughing emoticon to her post to suggest she's joking.Tiffany jokingly asked Ronald when he'd be signing the divorce papers, and Ronald explained with a big smile that he didn't have a pen.Tiffany was all giggles as she and Ronald sang love songs to each other and teased one another.And on April 4, 2021, Tiffany confirmed she still loved Ronald.Ronald posted a beautiful tribute to Tiffany's son Daniel, whom Ronald also considers and calls his son.In addition to complimenting the young boy on his maturity, cleverness and being well-mannered, Ronald wrote, "I just really hope that the connection we have I hope it never dies as you get older now I'm proud to have you as my son but also I'm a bit sad not being able to be there to celebrate it with you."Ronald added of Tiffany, "Tell your mom @tiffanyfrancosmith its your yes day and make the best of it... you know what i mean my boy! love your dad."Tiffany actually commented on Ronald's post, "Aw love you. I'm showing him."However, Tiffany and Ronald have broken up and gotten back together before.Ronald and Tiffany announced they were "separating" in January 2020 and seemed to be headed for a divorce.Tiffany accused Ronald of "adultery" and manipulation and claimed he had suffered multiple relapses of the gambling addiction he had once sought treatment for before in a rehab facility.On January 28, 2020, Tiffany told her Instagram followers in regards to her marriage "some things are just irreparable," and Ronald claimed on social media at the time he'd be "filing for divorce in South Africa" after a year-and-a-half of marriage."Tiff only tried to do good, not really control me but more protect me from wrong [people], places and temptations, and the more I think about it now, it makes sense..." Ronald wrote on Instagram during."She was more the victim and I'll admit here I was a dick to her at times, worrying about me, me, me and not looking after her feelings or needs."But rumors of a reconciliation began to swirl on March 5, 2020 when Ronald posted adorable snapshots of Tiffany and himself seemingly in South Africa together.In March 11, 2020 Ronald uploaded a selfie of the couple as well as a photo in which they were embracing in front of a fountain during a date night at Monte in Gauteng, South Africa.Ronald then flat out confirmed the next day his marriage to Tiffany was back on and thriving in the comments section of his Instagram post."Hope the rumors are true and y'all found your way back to one another!!" one person wrote."Yes," Ronald replied.When an Instagram user asked Ronald to "please work it out" with Tiffany, Ronald responded with, "We are good."One person mentioned, "I thought they got divorced," and Ronald wrote back, "Guess not," with a smiley face.And finally, one fan wrote, "Happy you're back together," to which Ronald replied, "Yes."Tiffany revealed on a May 2020 episode of : Self-Quarantined that she was waiting for Ronald to get approved for a spousal visa so he could move to the United States."We got married over a year ago, but we only applied for his spousal visa four months ago. The coronavirus has affected the whole process of the visa. This virus is stopping everything, including my family being together," Tiffany told the cameras.On top of the distance and coronavirus "craziness," Tiffany said there were trust issues in her relationship but she and Ronald were working with a counselor to get past them.Tiffany and Ronald then reunited for the holidays in December 2020 after a tumultuous year.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
The Disney Dream sails out of Port Canaveral, Fla. on a two night test sailing, also known as a simulation cruise, Saturday, July 17, 2021. The cruise included about 300 Disney cruise employees and their guests. This is the first cruise activity out of Port Canaveral since March of 2020 when cruising was shut down due to COVID-19.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

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Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

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Mostly cloudy this evening with showers developing after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
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...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT... The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources in Raleigh NC has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates, until midnight EDT tonight. Air quality is expected to reach code orange, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and means individuals with respiratory and/or heart ailments, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion. An Air Quality Action Day means that Fine Particulates concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. For additional information, please visit the North Carolina Division of Air Quality Web site at: https://xapps.ncdenr.org/aq/ForecastCenterEnvista
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
Glass, stones, and wood are left throughout the playground at Academy School on Thursday, July 22, 2021, after the creek overflowed and debris was caught in the filter from the storms over the weekend.
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2020, file photo, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, attends a hearing of the Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Policy Committee in Gettysburg, Pa. Former President Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts. Mastriano, bolstered by support from top Republican candidates, has launched a push for a forensic investigation of the presidential election results, a review modeled on the widely-discredited process underway in Arizona.
PARIS (AP)  Over 100,000 people protested across France on Saturday against the governments latest measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections by the delta variant of the coronavirus.

In Paris, separate protest marches by the far-right and the far-left wound through different parts of the city. Demonstrations were also held in Strasbourg in the east, Lille in the north, Montpellier in the south and elsewhere.

Thousands of people answered calls to take to the streets by Florian Philippot, a fringe far-right politician and former right hand of Marine Le Pen who announced earlier this month that he would run in the 2022 presidential election. Gathered a stones throw away from the Louvre Museum, protesters chanted Macron, clear off!, Freedom," and banged metal spoons on saucepans.

While Philippot has organized small but regular protests against the governments handling of the coronavirus crisis, Saturday's demonstration drew a larger and more diverse crowd of people broadly disaffected with politics: yellow vest activists angry over perceived economic injustice, far-right supporters, medical staff and royalists.

They denounced the governments decision on Monday to make vaccines compulsory for all health care workers, and to require a health pass proving people are fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative or recovered from the virus in order to access restaurants and other public venues. President Emmanuel Macrons government is presenting a draft law Monday to enshrine the measures.

I will never get vaccinated, Bruno Auquier, a 53-year-old town councilor who lives on the outskirts of Paris. People need to wake up, he said, questioning the safety of the vaccine.

While France already requires several vaccinations to enter public school, Auquier pledged to take his two children out of school if the coronavirus vaccine became mandatory. These new measures are the last straw, Auquier said.

The government warned of the continued spread of the delta variant, which authorities fear could again put pressure on hospitals if not enough people are vaccinated against the virus. The pandemic has cost France more than 111,000 lives and deeply damaged the economy.

During a visit to a pop-up vaccination center in the southwest, Prime Minister Jean Castex exhorted the French to stick together in order to overcome the crisis.

There is only one solution: vaccination, he said, stressing it protects us, and will make us freer.

At the Paris protest, a manual worker in his sixties expressed bitterness about jobs in his sector sent offshore. A 24-year-old royalist said he was there to demand the return of God and the King."

Lucien, a 28-year-old retail shop manager, said he wasnt anti-vaccine, but thought that everyone should be able to do as they please with their own body. The government is going too far," he said. His 26-year-old friend Elise said, I am vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and polio. But the COVID vaccine is just too experimental."

While a majority of French health care workers have had at least one vaccine dose, some are resisting the governments decision to make vaccination compulsory for all staff in medical facilities.

At Saturday's Paris protest, a 39-year-old green party supporter and hospital laboratory worker said she might resort to buying a fake vaccination certificate to avoid losing her job. A health care worker dressed as the Statue of Liberty called it act of violence to force people to get vaccinated.

In Montpellier, more than 1,000 people marched to the train station, chanting Liberty! and carrying signs reading Our kids aren't Guinea pigs. Security officials closed the main entrance to travelers and a dozen police officers took posts in front.

The Interior Ministry said 114,000 people took part in protests nationwide.

Overnight on Friday, vandals ransacked a vaccination center in the southeast. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asked prefects and police chiefs to reinforce security for elected officials, after several complained they had received threats in recent days over the latest anti-COVID measures.

Vaccine hesitancy is considered widespread in France, though appears to have faded somewhat as 36 million French people have gotten coronavirus vaccine doses in recent months. Millions more have gotten injected or signed up for vaccinations since Mondays announcement.

French health care workers have until Sept. 15 to get vaccinated. The requirement for COVID passes for all restaurants, bars, hospitals, shopping malls, trains, planes and other venues is being introduced in stages starting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the French government announced tightened border controls starting Sunday, but also said it would allow in travelers from anywhere in the world who have been fully vaccinated.

That now includes people who received AstraZenecas Indian-manufactured vaccine. The move came after a global outcry over the fact that the European Unions COVID-19 certificate only recognizes AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.

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Elaine Ganley in Montpellier and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

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https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
TORRINGTON  Liz Patterson recently joined the Unmask Our Kids CT movement, which brings together parents and other residents who dont believe wearing masks prevents COVID-19 from spreading.

Patterson, a mother of two whose daughter is about to start third grade, said the mask rule should be dropped completely. She wants more people to know that if theyre against the mask rules, theyre not alone. I think there are people who agree with us, but they dont know others feel the way they do, she said.

The more people who get into this movement, the better, Patterson said.

Danielle Costa, a Torrington parent and friend of Patterson, also supports Unmask Our Kids. Costa, an EMT and massage therapist, has been vaccinated, but she doesnt agree with the idea of children wearing masks every day.

Its ridiculous, she said. It should have stopped a long time ago.

Since she joined Unmask Our Kids, Patterson has attended rallies, put up lawn signs, written letters and made phone calls to garner more support. She said about 100 people from Torrington have joined the local group.

All the groups from different towns communicate with each other, and join protests, Patterson said. Theres one next weekend in Newington on the Berlin Turnpike. Everyone spreads the word, and get people to show up.

In June, Patterson appealed to the Board of Education to let children return to school in the fall without the mask rule in place.

I then sent a letter, saying we will not comply with the mask rules, that its our choice and that without parental consent, we wont send our kids back to school with masks, she said. (School board leader) Fiona Cappabianca wrote back and said, dont say Torrington families because not everyone agrees. I knew that, the letter was signed by about ten families. The superintendent wrote back and said, Were waiting to get better guidance.

But the governors executive order powers have been extended, and now were in a sick situation, she said. Our group is going to send their children to school without masks, and were not going to be OK with people giving our kids masks every day, or sending them home every day because theyre not wearing them. If thats what has to happen, then well send them again without masks.

We have to take a stand, at some point, Patterson said.

A state mask mandate has been a requirement since schools were allowed to reopen last fall in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Children under age 12 are not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine and social distancing in classrooms can be difficult. Universal and correct use of masks is among the state Department of Educations five key prevention strategies it lists as essential to safe delivery of in-person instruction and help to prevent COVID-19 transmission in schools.

On July 12, three days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated students and teachers do not need to wear masks, Gov. Ned Lamont said he needed more time to decide whether to lift the mandate when schools reopen in the fall, according to a Hearst Connecticut Media story. Until the governor makes up his mind, school officials in Torrington are not dropping the requirement.

Costa claims that when cases of COVID-19 started showing up in city schools, it was the teachers who had the virus, not children. Theres no reason to keep the kids masked up, she said. Half the time, theyre wearing them wrong, anyway. Its been hard for them.

She also thinks school districts are requiring masks to receive the COVID-19 funding being provided by the federal government and the state. They have to comply, or theyll lose their funding, she said.

Both Patterson and Costa say wearing a mask all day at school is stressful for children. Patterson, who has conducted research on the CDCs findings on mask-wearing and how it can prevent the virus from spreading, and has read studies that say there is no benefit to prolonged use of masks, said she complied with the rules last year. She also read a study from the U.S. National Library of Medicine that examined the idea that masks were a proper preventative measure for children.

A year ago I didnt want the masks, either, she said. I went back and forth with the superintendent, and she said, Our hands are tied. So I complied. But now I have information, I have studies. Wearing them is not worth the risk.

On the Connecticut Unmask Our Kids Facebook page, parents share information about vaccines and masks. Call Ned, Unmask Our Kids! with the governors phone number is posted. Another post reads, Emergency Powers: What Emergency? and calls Lamont a benevolent dictator of health & safety.

Torrington Superintendent of Schools Susan Lubomski said the district will follow the governors rules.

Were still waiting for more clarification from the governor at this point, she said. Theres nothing much to report.

Patterson, however, said its up to the school district to make its own decisions. These mandates, these executive orders, are not quite the same thing as the school board saying theyre going to follow guidance from state agencies, she said. To say they have to is misleading; they dont. If the governor doesnt extend his mandates, it doesnt mean masks or nothing else. The state Department of Education says its up to the (individual) district.
LEDYARD, Conn. (AP)  Connecticut state police have placed a trooper assigned to Gov. Ned Lamont's security detail on administrative suspension pending the outcome of criminal and internal investigations of an alleged domestic dispute.

Ledyard police charged Trooper Ryan Luther with misdemeanor disorderly conduct Wednesday. He was released on $500 bond and arraigned in New London Superior Court on Thursday.
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I have fond memories of Route 61. During my childhood summers, it was a yellow brick road to the paradise that was Knoebels Amusement Park. The lush mountain scenery and small towns my family and I passed through, along with the increasingly elaborate billboards advertising the park (a 3-D ferris wheel!), made the journey as exciting as the destination. Last winter, I had the idea to do a column about interesting places people can visit on the way to Knoebels. During my research, I found that Knoebels is surrounded by an unusually large number of religious sites. Route 61 is a sort of pilgrimage route, probably the only one on Earth that ends with roller coasters and baked potatoes. You can call it El Camino de Kozmo. In this column, I seek to reveal the histories of these holy places and what they mean to the people who worship there. From great churches to one mans passion, these sites tell diverse stories of faith, love and humanitys relationship with the divine in Northeast Pennsylvania.  Wes Cipolla

HAMBURG  It is the Fourth of July. There is silence in the Maidencreek Friends Meetinghouse, save for chirping birds and the thick buzzing of flies.

Members of the Religious Society of Friends, colloquially known as Quakers, have worshipped here since before there was an America to celebrate the independence of. There is no pulpit  Quakers have no clergy, believing that all are equal before God. The pews in the meetinghouse face each other for the same reason.

Every summer Sunday, the Quakers sit silently in this sacred space near the banks of Lake Ontelaunee. But this Sunday is different. Jessy Schaffer stood up and broke the silence.

Thomas Jefferson gave us the immortal words that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, she told her fellow Quakers. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And here we are, 245 years later, and we still have groups, people of color, LGBTQ, who are still fighting for those God-given, unalienable rights.

She sat back down and started to knit.

Quakers worship in silence because they believe that silence brings them closer to the divine.

It is a quiet space where we are all connected, said Jeanne Elberfeld. The Quakers call it the light moving through everyone, which is the divine spirit.

Elberfeld, 59, of Orwigsburg, wonders if she is the only Quaker in Schuylkill County. She was raised Catholic, but was not feeling at home in the churchs male-dominated hierarchy. The Quaker emphasis on equality appealed to her, as did the meetinghouses natural setting.

When you come here, you sit and you hear nature all around you, she said. Its peaceful, its powerful. I find that I get in the right mental space when Im in this setting. You dont come to preach, you dont lobby or advocate, you sit until the spirit moves you out of the silence.

A little nudge

Any child whos heard the name William Penn knows that Quakers have had a massive impact on the countrys history. Quakers campaigned for gender equality and the abolition of slavery. Their commitment to progressive politics has not changed.

The June 2021 events by the Reading Friends Meeting, which uses the Maidencreek Meetinghouse, included a vigil for racial justice, conscientious objector training and a screening of the environmentalist animated movie Dr. Seuss The Lorax starring Danny DeVito. A social justice workshop was scheduled for July 6.

In 2020, Elberfeld was part of a nonprofit that did listening sessions about race and racism in Schuylkill County using the Quaker method. Participants were silent until they felt the need to speak. Schaffer, 40, of Laureldale, is a Quaker newbie who has attended meetings for a year. Raised Lutheran, she was looking for a faith that valued equality, acceptance and pacifism.

There are times when the spirit just gives you a little nudge, she said. With this country being founded on everyone being equal, which is something that Quakers always believed in, we needed a reminder.

Quaker myths

The first thing that the Quakers of Route 61 want you to know is that they still exist. Second, they want you to know that they have nothing to do with the Amish and the Mennonites. The Quakers share the Amish and Mennonite respect for plain living and humility, but do not forbid their members from anything that the ordinary Christian is allowed to do. Third, they want you to know that despite what some bizarre Google search results might lead you to believe, they do not bury their dead standing up. The Quakers in the Maidencreek Meetinghouse Cemetery are buried just like everyone else. The biggest controversy about the cemetery is the military veteran markers at some of the graves  unusual for a faith renowned for its pacifism.

Jim Lanborn, 54, tells me a common Quaker joke: ask 10 Quakers their opinion on something and youll get 11 answers.

It is expected that each Quaker views God in their manner, said Jim Lanborns father, Taylor Lanborn, 87. Taylor Lanborn calls himself a pure-bred Quaker and can trace his ancestry back 12 generations. The last of his ancestors to come to America arrived in 1710.

There is no official Quaker doctrine, only the Book of Discipline that gives broad guidelines on how a Quaker is expected to live and behave.

In more recent decades, he said, I think there are more and more Quakers who do not look upon God in the traditional manner. Quakerism and science are very similar in that we look for answers; we dont start with the answer. The other religions pretty much start with the answers and then work very hard to explain them, whereas Quakers start with the questions and search for the answers.

Oh, and one more thing  Taylor Lanborn wants you to know that the so-called Quaker Oats does not exist. They make good cereal, he admits, but their venerable mascot is a relic of the past. The Quakers of today have managed to keep their humble traditions alive while embracing the modern world. Taylor Lanborn is the bridge between Quaker past and Quaker present.

This guy is a walking encyclopedia, Schaffer said about Taylor Lanborn. He could tell you more than you would want to know about anything, and I say that out of love.

Architectural masterpiece

The Quaker faith was founded in the mid-1600s, not by William Penn but by George Fox. In the next 100 years, Quakers seeking religious tolerance would come to America in droves, including the ones who constructed the Maidencreek Meetinghouse in 1759.

Due to the construction of the Lake Ontelaunee reservoir in 1926, the meetinghouse was dismantled, moved to a new location and reconstructed brick by brick. All of the graves were moved as well.

The meetinghouse is one of the few remaining masterpieces of Quaker architecture. Taylor pointed out the upping block, which allowed riders to get on their horses without scandalously revealing their ankles. Inside, the meetinghouse has two rooms, meant to separate men and women. Quakers always worshipped together, but once a month they did business. Quakers believed that men and women were equal, and enforced that equality by making men and women do business separately. Quaker leaders found that despite the tenets of their faith, men still dominated women in conversation. They blamed this on the influence of the world. While doing business, men would discuss business and property while women would discuss education and the welfare of the children.

Thats the reason our congregations are called meetings, Taylor Lanborn said.

The human consequences

Eventually, the spirit moved Taylor Lanborn out of the silence.

Our actions can have consequences, he said. Some of those consequences occur much later. Other actions can be rather dramatic, and you realize them immediately.

He recalled the meetinghouse where he grew up, the one founded by his ancestors. Recently, he was mowing the meetinghouse cemetery when he disturbed a hornets nest under the tree. The telling of the tale was interrupted when Tyler Ernst got a text message  his ringtone is the sound of Chewbacca roaring. It was he and his girlfriend, Anastasia McGoughs, first time at the meetinghouse. Both are 27 and from Leesport.

I like being outdoors because it helps me connect to my faith, said McGough, herself the descendant of Quakers. It allows you to find strength within yourself and also gives you a community.

It allows the time to self-ground, it doesnt force you to think anything, Ernst said. It allows for free thought, which in this day and age is very important. When people are too attached to material things, they lose sight of peace and natural harmony.

Taylor Lanborn continued his story. His encounter with the hornets reminded him of when he was a teenager mowing his ancestral farm in southern Lancaster County and he hit a nest of yellow jackets. His father did the same thing.

Coming this Fourth of July more than any other (we must think of) the human consequences of what was decided 240-some years ago. We as Quakers like to praise ourselves that we were ahead of the curve because of these consequences. I like to think thats correct.

Both Taylor Lanborn and his wifes great-grandparents were imprisoned for housing fugitive slaves.

We may be a little bit prouder than we should be about what our ancestors did, he said. I hope that we in the Society of Friends can be ahead of the curve of these considerations.

He sat back down.
I have good news and bad news about the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. The good news is that its truly one of the few constellations that resembles what its supposed to be. The bad news is that in these northern latitudes it can be tough to see the great celestial scorpion. Thats because its a low rider in the Pottsville southern sky. In the early evening this time of year,

Scorpius is at its highest point in the southern sky, but thats not saying much because its barely above the horizon. If you have any tree line above the southern horizon you may not see Scorpius stinger. You may have to position yourself so that the southern horizon is as low as possible. Viewing from a hilltop usually takes care of that problem.

The brightest star in Scorpius is Antares, marking the heart of the beast. Antares has a definite reddish hue, demonstrating that stars come in different colors. Theyre not just little white lights. A stars color tells a lot about its nature. Bluish-tinged white stars are the hottest; some have surface temperatures of more than 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Reddish stars like Antares are cooler. Antares surface temperature is around 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, about 4,000 degrees cooler than the sun.

Antares reddish hue is reflected in its name. Antares is a Greek name that translates to rival of Mars. You can easily confuse Mars and Antares with each other if youre new to stargazing.

Theres no confusion between Mars and Antares when it comes to size. Mars is only about 4,000 miles in diameter, while Antares is well more than 800 million miles across! If we replaced the sun as the center of our solar system with Antares, its outer edge would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. Earth would be living inside Antares!

There are many stories in lore and mythology as to how Scorpius ended up as a constellation. One comes from Greek mythology. Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, dispatched a giant Scorpion to kill the mighty hunter Orion to break up an affair with Zeus daughter, Diana, the goddess of the moon. Orion hunted by night and slept by day. While he was on his nocturnal hunting adventures, Diana oogled over Orion as she dutifully led the moon across the sky. She would call down to the hunky hunter and they would have really long-distance conversations. They must have had giant megaphones. As time went on, Diana eventually joined Orion in his hunting excursions, ignoring her lunar duties.

Zeus learned of his daughters negligence and put a contract out on Orion. He had his staff send a giant scorpion to sting and kill Orion during his daytime slumber. When the fateful day arrived and the giant scorpion approached Orion, the ever-alert hunter awoke as the beast steered his way. Orion shot up from his slumber and valiantly fought the overgrown scorpion with all his might, but eventually he was stung and died instantly.

That night, Diana discovered the body of her dead boyfriend and was filled with tremendous grief. She managed to compose herself and lift Orions body to the sky and transform it into the famous constellation we see during the winter evenings. Diana also saw the giant scorpion fleeing from the scene. She put two and two together and sought revenge. She leapt at the steroid-enhanced scorpion and grabbed it, avoiding the deadly stinger, and flung it up into the opposite end of the sky from where her dead boyfriend was. Thats why Orion and Scorpius are never seen in the sky at the same time. Orion prowls the winter skies, and Scorpius trolls the summer heavens. Orion wont ever get stung again!

(Lynch, an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast

meteorologist, can be reached at mikelynch@comcast.net)
POTTSVILLE  A Mahanoy City woman will spend time confined to her home instead of a prison cell after a Schuylkill County judge sentenced her Thursday in a driving under the influence case.

Jill A. Fehr, 44, must spend 60 days to six months on house arrest with electronic monitoring, Judge Charles M. Miller decided.

Miller also sentenced Fehr to pay costs, $2,000 in fines and $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, and perform 10 hours community service.

Were very strict about following this, Miller told Fehr.

Fehr originally pleaded guilty on June 1 to DUI and driving under suspension. Prosecutors withdrew charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, driving without a license, disregarding traffic lane and no rear lights.

State police at Frackville alleged Fehr was driving under the influence of drugs and with a suspended license on Dec. 24, 2019, in Mahanoy Township.

On Wednesday, President Judge William E. Baldwin sentenced Kristen M. Arrigo, 24, of Pottsville, to serve four to 24 months in a state correctional institution, pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Arrigo originally pleaded guilty on May 14 to escape. Schuylkill County detectives charged her with escaping from custody on Nov. 9, 2020, in Pottsville.

Arrigo already is an inmate at the county prison, and Baldwin conducted Wednesdays hearing by videoconference.

Also on Wednesday, Miller revoked the probation of Vincent A. Ryan, 33, of Pottsville, and sentenced him to serve three to six months in prison.

Ryan, who admitted violating his probation by failing to report to his supervising officer, moving without permission and not making payments on his court-ordered costs and fees, originally pleaded guilty on Aug. 10, 2020, before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, to possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of public drunkenness.

At that time, Reiley placed Ryan on probation for six months, and also sentenced him to pay costs, a $100 fine and a $100 SAEF payment.

Ryan already is an inmate at the county prison, and Miller conducted Wednesdays hearing by videoconference.

In another Wednesday case, Ian Lin, 42, of Tamaqua, failed to appear for his hearing before Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin, who revoked his probation and sentenced him to serve three to six months in prison.

Lin originally pleaded guilty on Oct. 1, 2020, to simple assault. Prosecutors withdrew a charge of recklessly endangering another person.

At that time, Dolbin placed Lin on probation for 18 months, and also sentenced him to pay costs and a $50 CJEA payment and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

Tamaqua police charged Lin with assaulting a person on Feb. 5, 2020, in the borough.
VALLEY FORGE  Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody was sworn in Friday night as the 98th president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association, marking the first time a Schuylkill County sheriff has held the position.

With about 300 members of law enforcement from throughout the state in attendance, Groody took his oath of office from Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas President Judge William E. Baldwin.

With his wife, Ann Marie Fertig Groody, standing by his side, and his children, Faith and Joey, holding a Bible, Groody swore to continue the mission of the association and to work with sheriffs throughout the state to make improvements in law enforcement and legislative areas.

Baldwin then gave the oath to the associations executive committee and board of trustees members.

Following the ceremony, Baldwin said he has worked with Groody for more than a decade and commended his work in providing security for county buildings and in his other duties.

We depend on our sheriffs office for safety and security; he and his staff do a fantastic job, the judge said. This is recognition for all the hard work Joe has put in over the years.

Groody at one point choked up, saying he wished his late mother and father and late father-in-law were able to see him sworn to lead an association he holds dear to his heart.

This association is the best association in the state of Pennsylvania, he said.

Dignitaries from Schuylkill County making the trip to Montgomery County were Commissioner Gary Hess, former sheriff and former congressman T. Timothy Holden, former state representative Tim Seip and James Goodman, former head of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Hess said Schuylkill County should be proud.

Joe deserves this, he said. The things he has done for Schuylkill County over the years while serving as sheriff cannot be overlooked.

Holden, who once held the office of sheriff, said he knows the hard work needed to make the sheriffs office operate. He compared Groody to the late Sheriff Francis Angie McAndrew.

These two men are the best sheriffs Schuylkill County has ever had, Holden said.

Goodman said Fridays swearing in was an important event for county residents.

This is the first time we have a sheriff lead the state association; it is an historic event for the county, he said.

Groody, a 43-year veteran of law enforcement in Schuylkill County, was elected sheriff in 2009 after serving two years in an appointed role. He is seeking reelection in the November election.

Serving in law enforcement is a calling, Groody said prior to his swearing in. The sheriffs office often provides that sweeping additional level of protection our citizens deserve, and that first line of defense our courthouse needs.

This isnt just a job to me, he continued. Its a responsibility to reign in lawbreakers, to keep residents safe and to administrate the important civic services the sheriffs office traditionally has provided.

He praised his staff of dedicated deputy sheriffs.

The job they do day in and day out is remarkable, he said.

Many of Groodys deputies and staff attended Fridays ceremony to wish their boss well.

Groody said he and his staff have pursued undocumented workers illegally working in the area and assisted the district attorneys office and municipal police departments in tracking down and apprehending fugitives. They provide assistance to the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force and conduct community awareness programs such as fingerprinting children at safety events.

Being sheriff is about more than catching criminals, moving prisoners and issuing civil complaints; its about serving residents and being there to help them when problems surface that most never expected to have, he said.

For example, Groody last year said he implemented an online license-to-carry application system because of the pandemic.

An Ashland native and 1976 graduate of North Schuylkill High School and North Vocational Technical School, Groody joined the Ashland Police Department in 1977 and graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey in 1978 with his Act 120 certification.

He is certified by the Office of the Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics in training and drug control in drug law enforcement; certified through a Dickerson Public Safety class in poly-testing, narcotics screening and drug identification; and certified by the Office of the Attorney General in Drug Interdiction training and drug prosecution and forfeiture.

Groody said the county has implemented deputy sheriff training in proper handling of naloxone and Taser, Blackhawk force-on-force, tactical breach and marksmanship training.

He serves on the boards of Schuylkill County Drug & Alcohol, Schuylkill Community Action, the Washington Fire Company Community Ambulance and others in the county.

Groody and his wife and their children, Faith and Joey, live in Ashland.

With my familys and staffs backing, and because of the never-ending need for justice, I will endeavor as sheriff  and with the help of God  to do all in my power to keep Schuylkill County safe, Groody said.
100 years ago  1921

Frank Baker on Saturday took out papers at the courthouse for G. Frank Brumm of Minersville for the judge. A meeting of the school board will be held Monday evening for the purpose of considering the bids for alteration and repair of the school buildings.

75 years ago  1946

Pottsvilles Third Brigade Band played to a record-breaking crowd last evening, when it presented its fourth open air concert. The concert was given at the Arch of Honor Roll.

50 years ago  1971

Saigon (AP)  The South Vietnamese government today proposed a cease fire and the reunification elections with North Vietnam that President Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold 16 years ago.

25 years ago  1996

Substation Sue slept safe and sound in her cage at the Hillside SPCA Wednesday afternoon. But that was in stark contrast to the 12-hour ordeal the tiny tiger-striped kitten endured earlier in the day. Sue, named by her rescuers, was trapped underneath a ground-level transformer at the Saint Clair Light Departments substation on North Second Street until borough crews could get her free. Barbara Umlauf, manager of the Hillside SPCA, Pottsville, said a community-like effort helped rescue Sue.
POTTSVILLE  Although they came from different states, Monsignor Charles J. Parry said he and his friend Monsignor Edward J. OConnors paths in ministry mirrored each other.

We were ordained on the same day, May 23, 1981, the Maryland native said.

More than 100 people gathered at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian Burial to celebrate the life and ministry of OConnor, the churchs longtime pastor, who died July 10. It was also livestreamed on the churchs Facebook page.

Those in attendance included priests, deacons and seminarians from across the diocese, as well as St. Patrick parishioners. They were greeted as they arrived by black curtains over the churchs entrance.

It was celebrated by the Most Rev. Alfred A. Schlert, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, and included more than 30 concelebrants from across the five-county diocese, eight of whom were principal concelebrants. Among them was the churchs pastor, the Rev. Philip F. Rodgers, and parochial vicar, the Rev. Barnabas Shayo, A.J.; along with Monsignor William F. Glosser, V.F., dean of Schuylkill County and pastor of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Saint Clair and Holy Cross Parish in New Philadelphia; and Monsignor Edward S. Zemanik, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Schuylkill Haven.

OConnor, 65, died as he was about to concelebrate a funeral at the church on Mahantongo Street, where he was pastor for 19 years. He retired last month and became pastor emeritus.

Schlert said during the Mass, which he used OConnors chalice, that OConnor died ready to perform yet another priestly act of mercy.

While not in attendance, Schlert said he received calls of sympathy about his passing from Mahanoy City native Joseph Kurtz, archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky; Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg Bishop and Pottsville native Ronald Gainer; and his predecessors, John Barres and Edward Cullen.

In his homily, Parry, the pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Rockville, Maryland, recalled their friendship, which began when they both entered St. Pius X Seminary outside Dalton, Lackawanna County, at 18 years old. They would later go on to attend Mount St. Marys Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, where they were roommates. Some of OConnors classmates were among those in attendance.

The then-seminarians would frequently visit each others homes on free weekends, with OConnors family embracing him and Parry welcoming him into his southern family, he said.

We made quite a pair, Parry told the crowd.

He called his late friend, whom he would visit often at his Pottsville church, a good priest and man who served the people of God to the best of his ability, accepting them without judgement. OConnor also had a quiet and calming disposition, Parry recalled.

Despite health issues, he said OConnors faith flourished and he never complained about the problems.

He said one of OConnors last lessons was to never underestimate the power of human suffering under almighty God, adding he was a gift to the church.

Schlert said during the Mass that St. Patrick lost a very good friend.

The bishop recalled his dedication to youth and through his work with Catholic Charities, the plight of the marginalized and poor.

During the Mass, Schlert extended his prayers and condolences to OConnors family members in attendance and thanked the parish for nourishing OConnors vocation, adding that through his example, more vocations would flourish.

We are very grateful to OConnors life, he said. I pray that monsignor will always influence the life of the church.
POTTSVILLE  Members of the LGBTQ+ community were celebrated Saturday at the citys PrideFest.

Mayor James T. Muldowney kicked off the festival, which was held Saturday in the Lions Club amphitheater at Gen. George Joulwan East Side Park. It included performances by drag kings and queens, some of whom participated in the inaugural PrideFest pageant, as well as speakers.

One of them was Jayne Eckley, a city native who is pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology with a focus on the transgender community.

She told the crowd that it is important for the trans community to understand that identifying as transgender is not a bad thing, adding there has been more representation of transgender people in state and local governments.

Change is coming, Eckley, who identifies as queer, said.

Hundreds of people attended, many of whom wore rainbow-colored attire. Some also had rainbow and transgender rights flags draped over their shoulders.

Charley Brode, 14, and her sister, Aiyana Brode, 17, of Pottsville, were among those in attendance. Aiyana Brode, who is bisexual, said this years festival was fun.

I honestly love drag queens and being around others that are accepting, she said, wearing a rainbow flag, face paint and bandana.

Her sister, who wrote ally on her cheek with an eye liner pencil, added it was great to see everyone come out and support each other.

Kathi Conahan-Baltzelle, of Pottsville, came to PrideFest, her first time attending such an event, with her friend, Melvin Spearman, also of Pottsville.

She said she came to support not only her friend, who is bisexual, but also the LGBTQ+ community.

We shouldnt be judgmental, we should accept each other, she said. You dont have to be a part of the community to appreciate an event like this.

Spearman said this years event was really lovely and speaks to acceptance and diversity, which he said are needed in 2021.

Organizer and festival director Mikaela Gavaletz said the turnout this year was wonderful and thanked residents of Pottsville and Schuylkill County for their outpouring of love and desire to learn more about the LGTBQ+ community.

Food was provided by the Washington Hotel in Minersville and the BlendLife food truck.

Organizations with booths at the festival included Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center, the Pennsylvania Equality Project, Scream Queens flat track roller derby team, Schuylkill Wellness Services, the countys Office of Senior Services, Schuylkill County Democratic Committee, HOPE Center for Victims of Domestic Violence and Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Gavaletz also acknowledged the sponsors of this years festival, which included D.G. Yuengling & Son Brewery, Lehigh Valley Health Network, SARCC, Schuylkill Wellness, Pottsville Pizzeria and Kelly Printing of Pottsville.

She said there are plans for next years festival to be taken to a higher level, adding organizers are looking to hold it at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds outside Summit Station.

The Powered and Protected by Rainbows social media channels filmed Saturdays PrideFest and plan to broadcast it at a later date.

(Updated to reflect greater attendance numbers.)
POTTSVILLE  Two of the highest-profile candidates running on the Democratic ticket for Senate next year emphasized their support for members of the LGBTQ+ community but stressed the need for more inclusive policies for all residents.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta were among the speakers at Saturdays Pottsville PrideFest, which took place at the Lions Club amphitheater at Gen. George Joulwan East Side Park.

Kenyatta, a Democrat who represents part of Philadelphia, is the first openly gay Black man elected to the state legislature, while Fetterman actively supports the community.

They were introduced by Schuylkill County Democratic Committee Secretary Todd Zimmerman, who is gay.

Fetterman, who wore a rainbow flag, lei and cowboy hat, told the crowd he has been to a lot of Pride events in counties that lean red in the state and they have been loud and boisterous. In Schuylkill County, voters overwhelmingly supported former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, with 47,863 registered Republican voters and 28,981 registered Democrats before the May primary election.

He said he was proud of the work being done in the state to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community, but more needs to be done. He criticized Republican lawmakers for quashing a bill guaranteeing full equality to residents and instead passing a law banning him from flying rainbow and transgender rights flags from his office balcony in Harrisburg.

I have unflinching support for the LGBTQ community, he said, noting that he performed weddings for LGBTQ+ couples as mayor of Braddock in Allegheny County before it was legal to do so.

Fetterman, who leads in fundraising efforts in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who declined to run for a third term, was joined at the event by second lady Gisele Fetterman, who said events such as the one in Pottsville were joyful and she was glad to tag along.

Before speaking, the couple walked around the amphitheater grounds, talking to attendees. Kenyatta also chatted with those who came to the festival.

Addressing the young attendees at Saturdays PrideFest, Kenyatta said they were blowing his mind with their activism. He added that seeing rainbow and transgender pride flags is beautiful, but there is still work to be done.

He urged them to run for office and change the world.

What you are doing is changing the course of history, Kenyatta said. You matter.

He noted his work as a sponsor of House Bill 300, or the PA Fairness Act, which would prohibit discrimination against residents based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Dan Frankel and Jessica Benham, both of Allegheny, and Brian Sims, also of Philadelphia.

Fetterman and Kenyatta are among 13 Democratic candidates who are running for Senate next year. There are also 11 Republicans that have announced they are running in the race, which is expected to be competitive.
In a boost to Serum Institute of India (SII), 16 European nations have allowed travellers inoculated with Covishield to enter their countries. Sharing a news report on Saturday, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted that vaccinated travellers must read the entry guidelines as it may from country to country. SII is yet to apply for formal marketing authorisation in the EU.

Covishield accepted in sixteen European nations

"It is indeed good news for travelers, as we see 16 European countries recognising COVISHIELD as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However, despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country," tweeted Adar Poonawalla. As of date, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and France have accepted Covishield.

EMA: SII yet to apply for distribution in EU

On Thursday, the European Union's Medicines agency (EMA) clarified that Serum Institute of India (SII) is yet apply for formal marketing authorisation in the EU. EMA stated that only after SII applies can Covishield be evaluated for use in the EU. If accepted by the EU, Covishield will be included in the EU Green Pass which allows unrestricted movement in all EU member states for business and tourism purposes.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said that he was in touch with EU regulators and at a diplomatic level with different countries to resolve Covishield's exclusion, while its British version -Vaxzevria was approved. In response, the EU pointed out that the European Medical Agency (EMA) has not received a request for Covishield to be approved. EU added that EMA does not investigate any drugs unless they are asked to do so by the companies and said that the member states of the EU have the option to accept vaccinations authorised by the WHO.

Covishield excluded from EU Green Pass

As European states started unlocking amid reduced COVID cases, the EU created the European COVID-19 travel certificate to restore the freedom of travel, removing entry bans, quarantine obligation, and testing, according to EU's official visa portal (schengenvisainfo.com). Though the member states are not legally obliged to implement the certificate, all EU member states have agreed to a 'Green Pass' to travel across the continent from July 1. Furthermore, three types of EUs COVID-19 passport has been launched - Vaccination passport, Test certificate and Recovery certificate, based on the travellers status.

However, only four vaccines have been approved by the European Medicine Agency - namely Comirnaty (BioNTech, Pfizer), Moderna, Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, Oxford) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). Covishield - which is produced by SII in partnership with AstraZeneca, has not been specifically mentioned, leading to confusion as to whether Indians vaccinated on Covishield can travel to EU or not. As Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and SII's Covishield has been excluded, India said that it will recognise the EU digital Covid certificate in reciprocation for acceptance of both vaccines.
India, as part of its commitment to COVID-19 cooperation with the Himalayan nation, handed over 150 ICU beds to Nepal. As per the Indian Embassy's statement in Kathmandu, the ICU beds were handed over by the Ambassador of India, Vinay Mohan Kwatra to the Minister for Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs in Nepal, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki. This handover took place at a ceremony organised at the Ministry of Health & Population, on Sunday.

What transpired at the Ministry of Health & Population's ceremony?

At the handing over ceremony, the Indian Ambassador reiterated India's commitment to assist Nepal in comprehensively managing the pandemic. These commitments included thorough cooperation on the critical health infrastructure of the country. Gyanendra Bahadur Karki appreciated the gesture from the Government of India and added that it is an important milestone in their fight against COVID-19 and it shows the incredible goodwill enjoyed by both countries.

India's endless assistance and support to Nepal

As stated in a release, since the start of the pandemic, India had contributed around USD 6.5 million worth of grant assistance to Nepal. This took place through the supply of essential medicines, RT-PCR tests, and ventilators. It further stated that Nepal was one of the first countries to receive 1 million doses of Covishield vaccines from India in January 2021 as a grant. Besides this, the Indian Army has also supplied 1 lakh doses of vaccines to the Nepal Army as grant and medical supplies including BIPAP machines, antigen kits, PPE, Masks, Ambulances, and ICU beds.

India and Nepal have robust cooperation in the health sector, which includes the supply of ambulances, regular training & capacity-building programs in the health sector, and development of health infrastructure including major hospitals, trauma & maternity centers, naturopathy centers, eye care centers, etc.

With inputs from ANI

Image Credits - Twitter
Slain Indian photojournalist and Pulitzer prize winner Danish Siddiqui will be laid to rest at the Jamia Milia Islamia graveyard, JMI University said on July 18. According to the statement, JMI Vice Chancellor accepted the request of the family of the late photojournalist to bury his body at the JMI graveyard meant exclusively for university employees, their spouses and minor child. It is worth mentioning that Siddiqui had done his masters from the university and his father, Akhtar Siddiqui, was the Dean of Faculty of Education there.

According to PTI, Siddiqui had studied at AJK Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC) from 2005 -2007. The Jamia Teachers' Association (JTA) expressed condolences at the death of Danish Siddiqui. The Officiating Director of AJK MCRC also called Siddiqui one of the brightest stars and said that he will be missed deeply.

Danish was one of the brightest stars in our hall of fame and a proactive alumnus who kept returning to his alma mater to share with students his work and experiences. We will miss him deeply but are determined to keep his memory alive, the Officiating Director said.

She added, Professor Sabeena Gadihoke said his photographs were hard-hitting but he never compromised on the dignity of those within his frames. Danish had the unique ability to bestow a journalistic picture with empathy and to give dignity and grace to his subjects.

Siddiqui, who was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by MCRC, worked for the Reuters news agency. Amid the ongoing Afghanistan war, celebrated Indian photojournalist and Pulitzer prize winner Danish Siddiqui was killed in Kandahar. The Indian journalist was covering the ongoing clashes in Afghanistan over the last few days and was embedded with the Afghan security forces who are currently fighting the Taliban. As per sources, the incident occurred in Afghanistan's Spin Boldak district in Kandahar.

UN, US condemn Siddiquis killing

Following his death, the United Nations (UN) on Friday extended condolences to the family of the deceased. Taking to Twitter, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that the Afgan authorities must investigate this and all killing of reporters. The killing of the photojournalists was a painful reminder of mounting dangers faced by media in Afghanistan, it added.

Besides the United Nations, the US said that it is "deeply saddened" by the death of Indian photojournalists Danish Siddiqui during clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban in Kandahar. Calling for an end to the violence in Afghanistan, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price took to Twitter and argued that a political settlement is the only way forward to end the current political crisis in Afghanistan.

(With inputs from PTI)




Ahead of Kargil Vijay Diwas that will be observed on July 26, President Ram Nath Kovind is likely to visit the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the day. According to sources, the police department of the valley has been directed to make necessary arrangements for the likely visit of President Kovind. Moreover, leaves of Security forces of Jammu and Kashmir have been canceled in view of the expected visit.

Republic Media Network has additionally learned that it will be a three-day visit to UT of Kashmir, Ladak. The visit will also witness President's presence in various functions including convocation events in the Kashmir valley. This year the valley will mark the 22nd anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Kargil War

During the winter of 19981999, some elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces were covertly training and sending Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces, some allegedly in the guise of mujahideen terrorists, into territory on the Indian side of the LoC. It was on July 26, 1999, when the Indian Army recaptured all the Indian posts in Kargil which had been occupied by the Pakistani Army. The war that took place between May and July of 1999 in Jammu and Kashmir's Kargil district, was orchestrated by the then Pakistan army chief General Pervez Musharraf.

The Pakistan Army infiltrated into Indian territory in remote locations using subterfuge and captured several mountain tops overlooking the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway, after which the Indian Army launched "Operation Vijay", based on the information from local shepherds about they alleged positions.

Even as the Pakistani Army had positioned itself at higher altitudes due to its first-move infiltration, the Indian Army was quick to respond. Amid the war, Pakistan had asked the US to intervene, however, the then US President Bill Clinton refused to help until Pakistani forces withdrew from the Line of Control. The Indian Army attacked and defeated Pakistan, recapturing all positions by July 26, 1999. Since then, July 26 has been annually observed to commemorate the sacrifices of the soldiers in the Kargil War - the Kargil Vijay Diwas.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the Narendra Modi government ensured Pakistans inclusion in Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list. The EAM also credited the government's efforts on global forums for imposing sanctions on terrorists from Jaish and LeT. Jaishankar was virtually addressing BJP leaders' training program on the foreign policy of the Modi government when he made the comments.

PM Modi ensured Pakistan's inclusion in FATF's grey list: EAM

During the virtual address, Jaishankar lauded the efforts of PM Modi to ensure threats pertaining to terrorism is highlighted in global platforms through the G7 or G20 . According to ANI, the EAM went on to add that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led India to make constant efforts to form healthy relations with neighbouring countries.

"FATF as all of you know keep a check on fundings for terrorism and deals with black money supporting terrorism. Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept on the grey list. We have been successful in pressurizing Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan's behaviour has changed is because of pressure put by India by various measures. Also terrorists from LeT and Jaish, India's efforts through UN, have come under sanctions," Jaishankar reportedly told during the meeting.

Sources close to ANI quoted the minister as saying, "PM's personal efforts made on forums like G20 or G7 made nations realise that terrorism is everyone's problem.''

Jaishankar further stated, India ensured that the world should be concerned about terrorism and that other countries should stop seeing terrorism as a domestic problem of certain nations or law and order problem of particular nations."

'India will not bow down to China': EAM

Briefing the BJP leaders on the issue of diplomatic importance and foreign policy, the EAM added that the government faced some challenges and overcame them. Jaishankar claimed that Chinas movement in trying to infringe LAC in Ladakh was a major challenge that happened during the pandemic period. The EAM went on to say that India had given an appropriate reply on the grounds. He added, now the world knows, India will not bow down to pressure from China."

IMAGE: PTI
National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), on July 17, celebrated the 100th birthday of astronaut John Glenn. Born in Ohio, US, he was the first American to orbit the earth and eventually alter the history of human spaceflight. According to the US space agency, Glenns flight in 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union wrote NASA in a statement.

Glenn will always be remembered as the first American to orbit the Earth during those tentative, challenging, daring days when humans were just beginning to venture beyond the atmosphere that had nurtured them since the species began, NASA said adding that his orbiting trip made him an instant hero.

According to NASA, Glenn was selected as one of the Mercury Seven, the first group of astronauts in the newly-formed NASA Manned Space Programme in 1959. The other six astronauts were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Donald "Deke" Slayton. Three years later, on February 20, 1962, piloting the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He circled the planet three times.

Glenn and linguistics

In addendum, it was Glenn who popularized the term glitch, which is derived from the Yiddish term glitsh meaning slippery place. He wasn't by training a wordsmith like Shakespeare or a musician (who often change the way in which language is used through song) but change it he did," NASA said in a statement. Other words including Chutzpah. Kibitz. Klutz. Maven. Schmooze. Tush," worked their way to the English lexicon because of Glenn.

Apart from being an astronaut, Glenn was also the United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, businessman and politician. He also served as a fighter pilot during the world war, in Korea and China. The multi-talented personality passed away on December 8, 2016, at an age of 95 years.

Glenn was described as "humble, funny, and generous" by Trevor Brown, dean of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University, in a statement joined by the Glenn family. "Even after leaving public life, he loved to meet with citizens, school children in particular. He thrilled to music and had a weakness for chocolate."

All Images: NASA
Tourists flocked to swimming pools and beaches in Morocco Sunday as temperatures continued to soar as high as 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.

In Marakesh, tourists and local residents cooled off in the Oasiria swimming pool, the largest swimming pool in the city.

Other tourists headed to coffee shops or restaurants with air conditioning to avoid the sizzling heat.

The Morocco Meteorological Department said the country will experience a heat wave will continue through to next weekend, with temperatures ranging from 44 to 47 degrees Celsius (111.2 - 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Since Friday, several Moroccan regions have recorded a rise in temperatures, which is considered an exceptional case in Morocco, due to the effect of hot and dry air masses coming from the Sahara towards Morocco.

During the past week, temperatures in the city of Sidi Slimane reached as high as 49.6 degrees Celsius (121.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

This rise will continue in the center, south and southeast of the country, and a gradual decrease in temperatures will begin in the north, starting next Tuesday, the Meteorological Department said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The European Union supports international efforts to ease tensions between Caucasus neighbours of Armenia and Azerbaijan following their war late last year, EU council Chief Charles Michel said on July 17. Speaking on his visit to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Michel expressed the blocs support to the Minsk Group, a group of countries aimed aT negotiating a resolution to the conflict over the contested region.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan commenced in September last year and soon escalated in what experts labelled as a regional war. As attacks and ambushes escalated, it drew involvement from Turkey and Russia. The dispute claimed over 6,500 lives, mostly civilians from the warring sides, before a Russia brokered peace pact, led to Armenia ceding areas it had controlled for decades.

The EU is a loyal partner for stability and security to #Armenia.



The EU  too overcame past conflicts to build a unique political project based on mutual respect.@NikolPashinyan pic.twitter.com/pAk9rf1kOF  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) July 17, 2021

However, the peace was short-lived and in May, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of crossing its southern boundaries. Since then, tensions have escalated with both countries reporting occasional shootouts along their shared border. Pertaining to the same, the EU Council chief called on the now dormant Minsk group to assume its responsibilities and address different topics.

At the Martyr's Alley in Baku I paid homage to the victims of Soviet aggression against Azerbaijan



A secure, stable & prosperous South Caucasus region is in the interest of the #EU and an integral part of our #EasternPartnership #Azerbaijan celebrates 30 years of independence pic.twitter.com/kwrkpsNrmm  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) July 18, 2021

Yerevan was the first leg of Michels tour which aims at rekindling the European Unions relationship with the South Caucasus region. In Armenia, he met Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and later attended a press conference. Speaking to media reporters, Michel said that the EU has the ambition to have a loyal, engaged and active relationship with the region that would contribute to its stability, prosperity and security.

India expresses concern over conflict

As tensions escalated in May, India expressed concern over the situation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as the country called for peaceful resolution of the disputes between the two countries. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi said that peace in the South Caucasus region is important for regional security.

He said, We have been following, with concern, the situation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Border incursions through military movements can destabilise the situation and lead to renewed hostilities. We call upon the transgressing side to pull back forces immediately and cease any further provocation.

Image: AP
Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit western Germany on Sunday, as floodwaters continue to sweep through the Western European country. More than 150 people have been killed across Germany after rainfall triggered floods last week. On Saturday, a tabloid, Bild am Sonntag, reported that the chancellor will tour the province of Rhineland-Palatinate, where gushing streams have obliterated houses, bridges and highways.

Later, a spokesperson of the interior ministry of the province disclosed that the visit will take place in the afternoon. Merkel, who recently returned from the US after holding a meeting with President Joe Biden, announced full support for those affected. As the Bundestag continues to call for permanent assistance for the affected states, the leader reckoned that all the victims will receive short and long-form financial support.

On Saturday, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, toured the town of Erftstadt in the province of North-Rhine Westphalia to survey damage by a massive landslide. Additionally, Armin Laschet, who is a candidate to replace Merkel, also visited several affected areas. However, he received massive flak after videos of him joking with his colleagues was flashed on several news channels.

More than 1300 people missing

According to Associated Press, over 1300 people are reportedly missing due to the floods across western Germany. About 850 troops of the German military have been deployed in the affected areas. More than 700 people were evacuated late Friday after a dam broke near the town of Wassenberg, close to the Dutch border, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

German weather service spokesman Andreas Friedrich told CNN that some of the areas have not witnessed this much rainfall in the last 100 years. According to the German Weather department, the rains are said to continue until Thursday, causing severe hindrances to rescue operations.

The footage aired, on Thursday, of the devastation caused by the heavy rainfall showed that the rescue operations team and first responders efforts were hampered due to the water-clogged roads. The floods in Germany have also wreaked havoc in the countries of Luxembourg, the Netherland and Belgium.

We have ignored science for way too long.



Last week London was flooding, then New York and now it's Germany, who knows what's next!!



And leaders still act like it's normal?#germanyfloods #Floods #Germany pic.twitter.com/SwzGAMRuJF  Nakabuye Hilda F. (@NakabuyeHildaF) July 15, 2021

Image: AP
Volunteers and rescue workers on Sunday continued to clear away the mud and debris in Schuld, one of the German villages most affected by the flash floods in recent days.

Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in the village on Sunday to see the damage for herself.

Her visit comes after Germany's president went to the area on Saturday and made clear that it will need long-term support.

The death toll from flooding in Western Europe climbed above 180 after rescue workers dug deeper into debris left by receding waters.

Heavy rain fueled new floods in southeastern Germany and Austria, though not on the scale of last week's devastating onslaught.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Germany's Center-right Union bloc candidate Armin Laschet apologised after he was spotted giggling while the country's President delivered a speech expressing solidarity and sympathy with Germany's flood victims.

On July 17, Saturday, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had toured the town of Erftstadt in the province of North-Rhine Westphalia to survey damage caused by a massive landslide. Additionally, Armin Laschet also accompanied the leaders during the tour and visited several affected areas. However, Laschet received massive flak after videos of him joking with his colleagues were flashed on several news channels. Armin Laschet is the candidate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union block

Laschet was heavily criticized across Twitter for his "inappropriate" behaviour at the event. General Secretary of the center-left Social Democrats party, Lars Klingbeil took a sharp jibe at Laschet's presence and called his behaviour "lacking in decency and appalling." He also added that Laschet's character was shown "in times of crisis." On July 17, Saturday, he took Twitter to apologise for his behaviour and regretted the "impression that was created during the conversation."

Over 1300 still missing

Over 1300 people are reportedly missing due to the floods across western Germany. About 850 troops of the German military have been deployed in the affected areas, Associated Press reported. More than 700 people were evacuated late Friday after a dam broke near the town of Wassenberg, close to the Dutch border, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Residents of the assisted living facility for disabled people and firefighters involved with rescue operations were declared dead after flooding turned streams and streets into raging torrents, reported AP.

German weather service spokesman Andreas Friedrich told CNN that some of the areas have not witnessed this much rainfall in the last 100 years. According to the German Weather department, the rains are said to continue until Thursday, causing severe hindrances to rescue operations.

(Input: AP)
Despite international condemnation and even after the Saudi killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Israel reportedly authorised a group of cyber-surveillance firms to work for the government of Saudi Arabia. According to a New York Times report, after the murder of Khashoggi in 2018, one of the firms, NSO Group, had cancelled its contracts with the kingdom amid accusations that its hacking tools were being misused to abet heinous crimes. However, the Israeli government encouraged the intelligence company and two other firms to keep working with the Saudis, and even reportedly issued a new license for a fourth to do similar work.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has continued to use spyware to monitor dissidents and political opponents. According to NYT, one of the firms given permission by the Defense Ministry to work with Saudi Arabia was Candiru, which Microsoft accused earlier this week of helping its government clients spy on more than 100 journalists, politicians, dissidents and human rights advocates around the world. Microsoft said that Candiru had used malware to exploit a vulnerability in Microsoft products, enabling its government clients to spy on perceived enemies.

According to the report, the other two firms that have licenses to work with Saudi Arabia are Verint and Quadream. While Verint was licensed before the Khashoggi killing, Quadream signed a contract with the kingdom after the killing. A fifth company, Cellebrite, which manufactures physical hacking systems for mobile phones, has also sold its services to the Saudi government, but without ministry approval.

In a statement to the media outlet, the Israeli Defence Ministry said that it will revoke the license of any company whose wares are used to violate human rights, while declining to discuss specific licenses it has issued. However, the ministry added that a wide range of security, diplomatic and strategic considerations are taken into account when considering whether to grant a license to export offensive cyber technology.

NSOs Pegasus software

It is worth noting that NSO is by far the best known of the Israeli firms, largely because of revelations in the past few years that its Pegasus program was used by numerous governments to spy on human rights activists. NSO sold Pegasus to the kingdom in 2017, but it is still not clear whether Saudi Arabia used the spyware in the plot to kill Khashoggi. NSO has denied that its software was used.

The Pegasus software infects individuals phones by sending them text messages that tempt them to click an attached link. If the target clicks on the link, the company then gains full control over the phone, including its contents and history. It also gains the ability to activate its microphone and camera at will.

It is clear that Saudi Arabia has continued to use NSO software to spy on perceived opponents abroad. According to NYT, in a case that has come to light, dozens of journalists at Al Jazeera, a Qatari state-owned media company, were targeted by advanced spyware, in an attack likely linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. as per reports, iMessages were infecting targeted cellphones without the users taking any action. Through push notifications alone, the malware instructed the phones to upload their content to servers linked to the NSO Group turning journalists iPhones into powerful surveillance tools.

(Image: AP)
Yemeni army backed by tribesmen took control of the Rahba District in Marib, east of Yemen, over the last week.

According to a military source, the internationally recognised Yemeni government forces launched an attack on areas controlled by the Houthi militia with the support of tribal fighters.

TheRahba District in the southwest of the Marib Governorate became one of the Yemeni army's major victories.

The attack was reportedly launched by the Yemeni army and tribal fighters from their positions on the Morad Mountain front.

The source confirmed that the operation resulted in the liberation of large parts of the the district and some strategic mountains, including the centre of the district, after Houthi groups fled the areas targeted by the attack.

The source added that the troops were now advancing south from the Rahba District, towards Jabal Hawth, Al-Kola and the outskirts of Wadi Al-Mashreef on the Al-Bayda Governorate.

"The fighters are steadfast," Marib tribal fighter Mohamed Al-Qardei told The Associated Press.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Pakistans Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on July 18 said that the kidnapping case of Afghan ambassadors daughter is expected to be solved in 72 hours. While addressing a news conference, Rasheed said that the government has already registered an FIR against the kidnapping at 2am. He added that the authorities will investigate as to how the envoys daughter reached Daman-e-Koh from Rawalpindi and hopefully by today evening, there will be a clearer picture.

The Pakistani interior minister further delved into details of the case and said that the Afghan ambassadors daughter had left her home on foot and arrived at a market. "From the market, she took a taxi to Khadda Market for shopping," he disclosed. "We were able to know about this with the help of the Safe City Cameras," the minister added. Further, Rasheed said that from Khadda Market, the ambassador's daughter took another taxi to Rawalpindi.

"We also have a footage of her getting out of a taxi at a Rawalpindi shopping mall," Rasheed said, further adding that she then took a third taxi to arrive at Daman-e-Koh. "The only gap [in the investigation] that we are facing is that how was she able to arrive at Daman-e-Koh from Rawalpindi," the minister said.

During the press briefing, Rasheed even informed that authorities have interviewed the driver of the third taxi that the ambassador's daughter used to commute. Meanwhile, Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan on July 17, in a series of tweets stated that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a 'thorough' probe into the matter. Khan has ordered Rasheed to utilise all resources to apprehend the persons involved in the kidnapping of the daughter of the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad.

Daughter of Afghans envoy to Pakistan abducted

On July 16, Afghanistan's envoy to Pakistan Najib Alikhail's 26-year-old daughter Silsila Alikhail was kidnapped and released after 6 hours from the capital city of Islamabad. The official statement released by Afghanistan stated that the envoy's daughter, Silsila Alikhail, was allegedly severely tortured by kidnappers before she was released. The perpetrators remain unknown to local police and officials.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in their press release, stated that Silsila Alikhail was currently in the hospital recuperating from physical assault and multiple injuries that were inflicted upon her. Purportedly, the complaint letter enumerated the Afghanistan Ambassador's daughter suffered injuries and grave physical hurt. The incident has escalated fear among Afghan families residing in Pakistan.

(Image: AP)


Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz recently warned Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that any attempt to stop her party in the upcoming Kashmir elections would be dealt with severely. While addressing a rally in Islamgarh, Maryam, who is the daughter of party supremo Nawaz Sharif, said that people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have already ruled in favour of PML-N. She even went on to say that her party candidates have already won the election.

The clear evidence of this is that by holding a rally here in such heat, my throat has dehydrated and you are standing for me in a temperature of 40 degrees [Celsius], Maryam added.

Further, the PML-N vice president said that the opponents were watching the election campaign of the party in PoK and were distressed about it. "The PTI is greeted with rotten eggs and shoes [wherever it goes]," Maryam said, adding that the PML-N was no longer the party that it was in 2018. She maintained that PML-N is a party that catches vote thieves and finds votes in the fog.

This is not 2018 in which you blocked the Result Transmission System (RTS). If you steal the PoK elections from us, Kashmiris will not spare you, Maryam said.

PoK elections

Maryams comments come as several major parties in Pakistan are rallying to emerge victorious in the Kashmir polls. The PML-N supremo had decided to put Maryam at the forefront of the election campaign instead of his brother and party president Shehbaz Sharif. It is worth noting that the Kashmir elections will be held on July 25 in a bid to elect 45 representatives of the legislative assembly.

Meanwhile, During a rally of the PTI in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said, No country can become a dignified nation when it keeps relying on aid. Galvanizing support ahead of the general elections in the region, Imran Khan said that Pakistan was on a path that would one day help it support other nations than 'begging for financial assistance" itself. He added that the country had become accustomed to seeking financial aid since it never thought of becoming self-reliant.

(With inputs from ANI)


In further trouble for Pakistan, China stopped the work on the Dasu Hydropower Project after 9 Chinese nationals were killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) was constructing a hydroelectric plant on a river near Dasu as a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. While lauding the efforts of everyone who participated in the rescue efforts, the CGGC announced that it will retain the bare minimum Pakistani staff for maintenance.

In a statement, the CGGC stated, "CGGC Dasu HPP Management has regretfully decided to terminate employment with all Pakistani personnel, complying with the Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Ordinances, other than some necessary personnel to maintain on-site maintenance and operation. 14-days half-month wages (from July 15th to July 28th, 2021) and Gratuity will be paid in line with the stipulations as specified in the above ordinances, and the salary of this month will be paid until July 14th, 2021. The aforesaid money will be paid at one time."

Termination of employment contracts of Pakistani personnel by DASU HPP Management (Chinese) is extremely worrying development. Imran Niazi Govts handling of national affairs has landed Pakistan in seriously sad state of affairs. Time to get rid of this incompetent &corrupt Govt! pic.twitter.com/unkfpb06gg  Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) July 17, 2021

Bus blast rocks Pakistan

At least 12 persons including 9 Chinese citizens were killed at around 7 am on July 14 when a shuttle bus carrying working staff on the Dasu Hydropower Project fell into a ravine following an explosion. Initially, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a "mechanical failure" resulted in leakage of gas that caused the blast. However, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece Global Times asserted that the explosion was clearly an act of terrorism that is both carefully planned and supported by information."

A day later, Pakistan changed its stance citing the trace of explosives, and admitted that terrorism cannot be ruled out. On Friday, Chinese premier Li Keqiang raised the issue with Imran Khan during a phone call where he stressed the need for Pakistan to use "all necessary measures" to probe the incident and hold the culprits accountable. Addressing the media on Saturday, the country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed revealed that 15 Chinese officials had arrived in Pakistan for the investigation and added that the injured are being treated at the Pakistan Army Hospital.

Assuring that the security of Chinese nationals will be strengthened further, he also mentioned that Pakistan PM Imran Khan had told him and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to visit China. Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan visited the site of the shuttle bus explosion to investigate the cause, together with the Pakistani military and a Chinese team. In the briefing, Pakistani officials claimed that terrorists used homemade explosives with no ball bearings.

CPEC's importance in Pakistan-China ties

Launched in 2015, the CPEC is the flagship project of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It was expected to bring in massive investment from China, creating thousands of job opportunities for the people of Pakistan. When Nawaz Sharif was the PM, several projects were close to completion. However, Imran Khans regime has witnessed the stalling of the CPEC projects owing to the dire economic situation and non-cooperation of the bureaucracy due to the prevailing fear of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Political instability has also hindered progress as the NAB has been regularly arresting leading opposition leaders in Pakistan. On his part, Khan has repeatedly assured that the timely completion of CPEC projects is a top priority for the Pakistan government. Recently, debt-ridden Pakistan requested Beijing to forgive debt liabilities owed to China-funded energy projects established under the CPEC.
"No country can become a dignified nation when it keeps relying on aid," said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as he addressed a rally of the PTI in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday. Galvanizing support ahead of the general elections in the region, Imran Khan said that Pakistan was on a path that would one day help it support other nations than 'begging for financial assistance" itself. He added that the country had become accustomed to seeking financial aid since it never thought of becoming self-reliant.

Unfortunately, we have been seeking aid from foreign countries and never thought of becoming self-sufficient [ourselves]," he said. "No country can become a dignified nation when it keeps relying on aid," Dawn quoted him as saying.

Pakistan's debt rises

Pakistan's economy has become crippled under its mounting debts and loans from international organizations and friendly nations. In March 2021, the World Bank signed agreements with Islamabad to provide a loan of USD 1.336 billion, just days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to release a tranche of USD 500 million loan. Last year, the World Bank had sanctioned a loan amount of USD 500 million to help Pakistan mitigate the adverse impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

While presenting the Fiscal Policy and Debt Policy Statement to parliament, Finance minister Dr. Hafeez Sheikh revealed that Pakistans total debt is Rs 36.5 trillion with Rs 11.5 trillion borrowed during the past two years. Islamabad's debt grew from PKR 32.1 trillion in November 2019 to PKR 35.8 trillion in November 2020, excluding the IMF loans and liabilities owed by the Imran Khan government indirectly.

Apart from international organisations, Pakistan has also been regularly borrowing from United Arab Emirates (UAE) which earlier this year demanded its USD 1 billion back from the debt-ridden economy. Last year, Pakistan had managed to pay back part of a loan secured from Saudi Arabia after its all-weather friend - China - had come to Imran Khan's rescue. Islamabad had sought Beijing's help to return USD 1 Billion to avoid any adverse impact of the partial withdrawal of the Saudi's $6.2 billion worth of financial package to Pakistan for three years.
The daughter of Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, held for several hours and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said Saturday.

No one has been arrested in connection with Friday's assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26. The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement demanding a quick investigation, saying she was severely tortured.

A hospital medical report, seen by The Associated Press, said she suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs and was badly beaten. There was a suspicion that she had several broken bones and X-rays were ordered, the report said.

The report also said her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was brought to the hospital in Islamabad by police. There were no details about the abduction itself or the circumstances of her release.

Pakistan called the attack disturbing and said that security at the residence of the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad has been reinforced. The Afghan foreign ministry said it strongly condemns this heinous act" and expressed concern for Afghan diplomats and their families in Pakistan.

Relations between the two countries are fraught with suspicion and animosity. They routinely trade accusations, with Afghanistan claiming Pakistan is sending thousands of jihadi militants to fight in Afghanistan and providing safe haven for the Taliban. Pakistan in turn accuses Kabul of harboring the anti-Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  the Pakistani Taliban  and also the secessionist Baluchistan Liberation Army.

As violence escalates in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, some within the Afghan government have stepped up verbal assaults on Pakistan.

A leading female senator in Pakistan, Sherry Rahman, condemned Friday's attack and tweeted that the Afghanistan Ambassadors daughter is a young woman, and should not face ANY obstacle in walking about in central Islamabad, plus more importantly, she is entitled to diplomatic protection in Pakistan.

Hamid Mir, a well-known Pakistani journalist who survived a 2014 shooting in the southern port city of Karachi asked in a tweet how something like this could happen in Islamabad. What is the use of expensive safe city cameras?

He also noted that Pakistani journalists and even a police officer have been abducted in Islamabad, with few culprits ever arrested.

Most of Islamabad neighborhoods are upscale, with wide tree-lined boulevards. The Pakistani capital is home to all the diplomatic missions in the country, the majority of them located inside a heavily fortified enclave. The Afghan mission, however, is outside that enclave.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that the safety and security of the diplomatic missions, as well as the diplomats and their families, is of utmost importance. Such incidents can and will not be tolerated.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, held for several hours and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said on Saturday.

No one has been arrested in connection with Friday's assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26.

The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement demanding a quick investigation, saying she was "severely tortured."

A hospital medical report, seen by The Associated Press, said she suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs and was badly beaten. There was a suspicion that she had several broken bones and X-rays were ordered, the report said.

The report also said her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was brought to the hospital in Islamabad by police.

There were no details about the abduction itself or the circumstances of her release.

Pakistan called the attack "disturbing" and said that security at the residence of the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad has been reinforced.

The Afghan foreign ministry said it strongly condemns this "heinous act" and expressed concern for Afghan diplomats and their families in Pakistan.

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A round of talks took place in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday between representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents.

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was present as the two sides were set to meet.

Former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah with high-ranking officials from the Afghani government were among the government delegation.

Former President Hamid Karazai was expected to join the meeting as well.

Taliban insurgents launched a series of offensives across the country as foreign troops began the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Thousands of Afghans have fled the country in recent days as Taliban forces have surged through northern Afghanistan.

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A senior delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Taliban are meeting in Doha for the second day for the high-stake negotiations as violence rages in the country. Former Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah was also present in the government delegation.

"The high-level meetings between the Republic & the Taliban negotiation teams continue in Doha for the second day. We are looking forward for a positive & constructive outcome," Abdullah tweeted.

The high-level meetings between the Republic & the Taliban negotiation teams continues in Doha for the second day. We are looking forward for a positive & constructive outcome. pic.twitter.com/8QHNuUHgcT  Dr. Abdullah Abdullah (@DrabdullahCE) July 18, 2021

The two sides have met several times over months but the negotiations lost momentum with the Taliban gaining control and foreign forces withdrawing their troops.

Taliban insurgents, thrusted by the withdrawal of foreign troops, have lost a series of offensives across the country. Thousands have fled the Islamic country in recent days as the armed group surged through northern Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Taliban had proposed a three-month ceasefire in return for 7,000 insurgent prisoners. Senior government official Nader Nadery had termed it a "big demand". The armed group had also demanded the removal of their leaders' names from the UN blacklist.

The Taliban also issued a statement to local religious leaders to prepare a list of all girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to their fighters. "All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters," the letter issued by the insurgent group read.

Thousands of Afghans, fearing violence, have fled the country amid the reemergence of the Taliban. Former United States President George Bush has called President Joe Biden's order to American troops from the Islamic nation a "mistake". He said that the civilians were left behind to be "slaughtered" by the insurgents' group.
In a shocking incident, the daughter of an Afghan ambassador in Pakistan was kidnapped while she was on her way home from Jinnah supermarket on July 16 and was released after being tortured. Afghanistan former Prime Minister Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the horrific act and called upon on Pakistan government to bring perpetrators to justice. "The Afghan foreign ministry has asked Pakistan PM Imran Khan to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators and ensure full security and immunity of Afghan diplomats and their families in accordance with international conventions," read the statement issued by Afghanistan.

Abductors severely tortured Silsila Alikhil

26-year-old Silsila Alikhil was abducted in Pakistan for several hours and severely tortured by unknown individuals on her way home. She has been admitted to a hospital and is under medical care after being released from captivity.

The incident has escalated fear among Afghan families residing in Pakistan. On July 17, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry issued a notice and strongly condemned this heinous act and expressed its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan.

pic.twitter.com/G7aKuaw1Ef  Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan  (@mfa_afghanistan) July 17, 2021

The Afghanistan former PM took to Twitter and criticized Islamabad. He called this event "unfortunate and condemnable".

The kidnapping and torture of the daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan is unfortunate and condemnable. I call on the Government of Pakistan to investigate the atrocity and bring the perpetrators to justice.  Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) July 17, 2021

MoFA Summons Pakistani Ambassador to Kabul

July 17, 2021

------------------------https://t.co/9g3ofi1dcT pic.twitter.com/7H1t4hdM6y  Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan  (@mfa_afghanistan) July 17, 2021

Meanwhile, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheik Rasid Ahmed confirmed that he has been directed by Prime Minister Imran khan to keep the matter on "top priority" and to utilize all resources to detain those involved in the "Kidnapping" of the Afghan ambassador's daughter. He said the Islamabad Police and other security forces are investigating the matter thoroughly and will make all the possible efforts to bring forward the facts and apprehend the culprits within 2 days.

10,000 terrorists from Pakistan have entered Afghanistan

Earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, at the conference, said that Pakistan was supporting the Taliban. Ghani claimed that despite repeated assurances by Prime Minister Khan and his generals, networks, and organizations in favor of the country are openly supporting the Taliban. Ghani claimed that intelligence estimates indicated an influx of over 10,000 Jihadi fighters from Pakistan and other places had joined in support of the transnational terrorist organizations in the past month. Ghanis critical remarks came following an increased movement of Taliban in Afghan regions.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE
The people of Cuba on Saturday took to the streets to support the government in response to the ongoing protests against the Communist Party President Miguel Diaz Canel-led administration. Protests in the country began from July 11 against shortage of food, restrictions on civil liberties, and handling of the pandemic situation.

Protests in Cuba

The country's foreign ministry took to its official Twitter handle and shared images from the march taken out by supporters. The tweet roughly translates, "Over 100,000 people gathered together in the early morning, motivated by the desire to protect their country from foreign meddling as well as turmoil that is created on the island to cause a social uproar that will lead to the political instability in the nation."

The protests started on July 11, Sunday in the town of San Antonio De Los Banos, when people suffering from blackouts and food shortages took over the street and started protesting against the administration. Also, they were blaming the government for curbing their liberties and improper handling of the COVID-19 situation in the country.

People were also seen throwing stones at police vehicles followed by which the police had to intervene using pepper spray and much more. Later, several people were taken away by police vehicles who were present in civil uniforms. It is being said that one of the AP photographers was also hit by the police.

Talking to the news agency Associated Press, one of the protesters said, "We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That's why I'm here." People were seen chanting "Freedom", "Enough", and "Unite."

The government on protests against the Communist Party

The Cuba Government has reportedly blamed the U.S. for the unrest in the country. According to government officials, the protesters were manipulated by the US government through several social media campaigns. The manipulation instigated the supporters to protest against the government.

One of the biggest anti-government protests in Cuba has also gained the support of the US government. US President Joe Biden extended full support to the people protesting for their freedom.

Cuba has been going through an economic crisis that has gone worse in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, several people were seen protesting against shortages in high prices earlier in the month of July. Demonstrations were witnessed in Miami's Little Havana neighbourhood, San Antonio De Los Banos, and many other places.

(With agency inputs)
A key group of international diplomats on Saturday signaled support for Haitis designated prime minister in the first such statement of its kind following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise  a move that surprised many because it does not mention the interim prime minister who has actually been running the country.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has been leading Haiti with the backing of police and the military, and has pledged to work with everyone  including designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Joseph Lambert, the head of Haitis inactive Senate.

The statement was issued by the Core Group, which is composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

The group called for the creation of a consensual and inclusive government.

To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government, the group said.

Moise designated Henry as prime minister to replace Joseph a day before he was killed  but Joseph and his allies argue that Henry was never sworn in. Supporters of Lambert recently issued a statement supporting him as the country's provisional president.

U.S. and U.N. officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Henry and spokespeople for Joseph and the OAS did not immediately return messages for comment.

The group also asked that all political, economic and civil society actors in the country fully support authorities in their efforts to restore security.

The statement comes more than a week after Moise was killed by gunmen who raided his private home in an attack that authorities say involved Haitians, Haitian-Americans and former Colombian soldiers.

IMAGE: AP

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With the world grappling under the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, a UK based expert has claimed that the Beta variant---which was first discovered in South Africa-- is equally contagious. The expert has also warned that the South African variant has the capability to dodge the coronavirus vaccine. Professor John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of Sage during a local radio programme said that the South African variant has remained a threat for the UK government and added that it is probably less infectious than the Delta variant which is responsible for the devastating wave in the UK.

Experts defend UK government's 10 days quarantine norm

The announcement came just days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson lead government planned to continue the provision of quarantine for fully vaccinated people arriving from 'amber list' countries for at least 10 days. While defending the government's call regarding quarantine, Professor John said that the population of the UK are immunised as per the earlier COVID versions, including the delta variant. Therefore, it would be challenging for the government to deal with the new variant if it begins to infect the larger population.

"So, it can be possible that the Beta variant can evade the immunity developed by the AstraZeneca vaccine," said Professor John adding that the COVID virus is repeatedly remodelling its version resulted in the reduction of vaccine efficacy.

The announcement also comes at a crucial time when the country is about to lift the COVID restrictions, with summer holidays for most school children scheduled to begin Friday. The government is hoping that the rapid rollout of vaccines will keep a lid on the number of people becoming seriously ill  a stance that some leading international scientists at an emergency international summit critiqued as reckless.

EU predicts a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases by August 1

The world would witness a surge in COVID-19 cases, nearly five times severe than what we are witnessing today, said a weekly report of the European Union (EU) on Friday. The report has predicted the threshold of the deadly surge would start around August 1. The report noted that the highly transmissible Delta variant and the relaxation plan of European countries would be held responsible for the upcoming surge. However, it has noted that the pace would be slow as compared to the second wave of the COVID pandemic.

(Image credit: AP/Pixabay)
Greece has imposed a five hour night curfew and other restrictions on its most popular island-Mykonos-because of a worrying spike in local COVID-19 infections, officials said on July 8. The country which has been reeling with months of start-stop restrictions finally opened its borders for foreign tourists earlier in May. However, as activities and parties multiplied, the coronavirus caseload also saw a dramatic surge on the Hellenic island.

As of July 18, 457,312 cases have been reported in the European country with over 12,826 deaths. Mykonos, complete with its summer party atmosphere and picturesque beaches attract thousands of visitors every year, include top celebrities and DJs. But Greek authorities have been lately alarmed by the number of clandestine parties held in the island's numerous villas.

What are the new restrictions?

According to deputy civil protection minister Nikos Hardalias, the new rules include a five-hour-long curfew from 1:00 am to 6:00 am. Additionally, there has been a ban on bars, clubs and restaurants from playing music. All the restrictions, which aim to bring Mykonos back to normal, are effective immediately and would be in place till July 26.

"We call on the residents, visitors and business owners of our beautiful island to follow the measures faithfully...so that the spread of the virus can be swiftly checked and Mykonos can return to normal," Hardalias said.

Greece has already confirmed cases of double mutant Delta strain infection that was first detected in India. According to a Greek City Times, the national public Health Organisation (NPHO) said in a statement that the positive sample of strain B.1.617 is from a male inhabitant of Patras in Western Greece. The man developed symptoms from March 16 and was finally detected in the testing by National Genomic Surveillance Network on March 22. As per the statement, the preliminary investigation revealed that the man had no travel history or even contact with any confirmed case of Indias double mutant variant.

Image: AP
Haiti on Saturday started the public rollout of the first batch of the vaccines on Saturday, after the first health workers and senior citizens were vaccinated one day before.

Haiti recently received 500,000 doses from the United Nations.

Hospital University of Peace is heading the vaccination campaing under the supervision of Haiti's Health Ministry, the Pan American Health Organization told The Associated Press.

They have been also training other hospitals on how to treat COVID-19 patients.

Earlier this week, Haiti received the first vaccine doses as part of a US donations to the COVAX program. All are Moderna vaccines.

Haiti has reported more than 19,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 480 deaths amid the biggest wave of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

Experts believe those numbers are widely underreported since there is scant testing in Haiti, which has more than 11 million people.

PAHO said this week that it was worried about the thousands of Haitians who have lost their homes amid a recent spike in gang violence and are now crammed into crowded shelters it said could become "active hot spots" for COVID-19 transmission.

Haiti also is now grappling with the aftermath of the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

The vaccinations began nearly two months after the government announced a health emergency and imposed a curfew and safety measures.

Face masks are required to enter some businesses, but few Haitians are following the measures despite crowded buses and marketplaces.

In addition, health experts have warned that authorities need to step up educational campaigns amid widespread distrust of the vaccine and of government officials.

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After a disturbing development of Afghanistan's envoy to Pakistan Najib Alikhail's daughter, Silsila Alikhai's abduction and torture in Islamabad came forward, protests erupted in Kabul resulting in escalated tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Sunday, demonstrators raised their voice against the alleged crime against a woman by staging a protest outside the Pakistan embassy in Kabul. The envoy is also expected to take the matter to the UN.

The horrifying development comes as both Pakistan and Afghanistan are in the midst of turmoil where the latter has blamed the former for aiding the Taliban. In the latest update, Afghanistan's former Prime Minister Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the horrific act and called upon the Pakistan government to bring perpetrators to justice.

Afghan's Foreign Ministry has also demanded immediate action into the matter.

"The Afghan foreign ministry has asked Pakistan PM Imran Khan to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators and ensure full security and immunity of Afghan diplomats and their families in accordance with international conventions," read the statement issued by Afghanistan.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan orders investigation

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan on July 17, in a series of tweets stated that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a 'thorough' probe into the matter and has directed the Islamabad Police to apprehend the people involved in the kidnapping within 48 hours.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to utilise all resources to apprehend the persons involved in the kidnapping of the daughter of Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad.  Mansoor Ahmad Khan (@ambmansoorkhan) July 17, 2021

Daughter Of Afghanistan's Envoy To Pakistan Abducted

On July 16, Afghanistan's envoy to Pakistan Najib Alikhail's 26-year-old daughter Silsila Alikhail was kidnapped and released after 6 hours from the capital city of Islamabad. The official statement released by Afghanistan stated that the envoy's daughter, Silsila Alikhail, was allegedly severely tortured by kidnappers before she was released. The perpetrators remain unknown to local police and officials.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in their press release, stated that Silsila Alikhail was currently in the hospital recuperating from physical assault and multiple injuries that were inflicted upon her. Purportedly, the complaint letter enumerated the Afghanistan Ambassador's daughter suffered injuries and grave physical hurt. The incident has escalated fear among Afghan families residing in Pakistan. Pakistan Interior Minister Sheik Rasid Ahmed also confirmed that he has been directed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to keep the matter on "top priority" and to utilize all resources to detain those involved in the "kidnapping" of the Afghan ambassador's daughter.
Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has directed its fighters who joined with the Taliban in Afghanistan, to target the infrastructure built by India in the war-torn country, ANI reported. The forces are now ordered to target the assets, built by India over the last many years, in the Taliban controlled areas. According to estimates, more than 10,000 Pakistanis have entered the war zone in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani fighters entered the Afghan war zone in support of the Taliban. The forces have openly announced their agreement with the Taliban's offensive against the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghanistan government. Now, the forces will target and destroy Indian assets spread across the war zone, government sources monitoring Afghanistan told ANI.

The direction has been given in order to remove any signs of Indian goodwill work in the country. Apart from the newly arrived forces, the various Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorist groups including the Haqqani network have been highly active for years against India in the region. Indias contribution in the region has been spread from its infrastructure development to the betterment of the Afghan education system.

The Indian government has invested over USD 3 billion in the Afghanistan reconstruction effort in the last two decades. Infrastructure built with Indias in the region includes the 218-km road between Delaram and Zaranj Salma dam and the Afghan Parliament building which was inaugurated in 2015. The assets that stand as the countrys biggest symbols of contribution to the Afghan people has now been ordered to destroy by the Pakistan intelligence agency. The orders come after the US military forces announced their withdrawal from the region following an increased Taliban presence in the region.

Afghan envoy's daughter abducted in Islamabad

Afghanistan on Saturday had demanded full security for its diplomats in Pakistan after the daughter of Afghan ambassador Najibullah Alikhel was abducted and tortured in Islamabad. The abduction was done by unidentified persons in the context of the ongoing clashes in Afghanistan. The development rose to significance as followed Afghanistans harsh accusation of the Pakistan governments stand position with the Taliban. The Afghan officials claimed that the Pakistani government was not doing enough to nudge the Taliban to join peace talks with the government.

Indian agencies now monitoring Kabul

Indian agencies are currently monitoring the situation closely. The agencies are now watching movement at the Kabul airport which is not going to be under American guard for very long now. Currently, the Indian side is also in a fix regarding the Talibans presence in Kabul. Earlier on Friday, celebrated Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed while covering the ongoing clashes in Afghanistan.

India is now considering whether to allow forces to retain its presence in Kabul as so far no assurance or indication has been given by the ultra-radical Islamist group which has been seen as opposed to India. Meanwhile, the Indian workers involved in civil works in the region have also been asked to move out. India had recently announced projects worth around USD 350 million including the Shahtoot dam for providing drinking water to the city of Kabul.

IMAGE: AP
Thousands of Haitians on Friday made a pilgrimage to bathe in sacred waterfalls amid political instability in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.

Scrubbing their bodies with aromatic leaves and soap, a mix of Voodoo and Christian faithful gathered in the rushing waters of Sautd'Eau.

Haiti is simmering with tension over the July 7 assassination of Moise and grappling with a reported 19,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 480 deaths amid the biggest wave of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

The annual pilgrimage is part of a three-day festival that attracts Voodoo and Christian faithful alike who believe in a 19th-century legend that the image of a virgin appeared in the waterfalls.

Crowds also flocked to the local church for an annual pilgrimage made in honour of Haiti's most celebrated Catholic patron saint, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

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Parents of Argentine children with disabilities and underlying medical conditions are demanding that the government vaccinate their children with the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus.

Dozens of parents of the minors protested outside the main gates of the government house in Buenos Aires on Saturday to call for the vaccine to be brought into the country for their children.

Since the pandemic began, many of these children have not left their homes or received adequate therapy for fear of being infected with the virus.

A petition on Change.org has already registered almost 200,000 signatures.

Parents of affected children have formed the VacunaMe network, comprising some 400 families who want authorities to provide their children with the Pfizer vaccine, the only one recommended for children and adolescents.

Argentina is one of the few countries in the region where children under 18 are unable to receive it.

The country received on Saturday a batch of 3.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, donated by the US government.

Chief of staff Santiago Cafiero said that the Argentine government is awaiting authorization from the FDA (Foods and Drugs Administration), the regulatory body for medicines in the USA, to vaccinate minors between 12 and 17 years of age.

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The UK has decided against mass COVID-19 vaccinations for all children and teenagers and instead, the British lawmakers are preparing to offer doses to vulnerable 12 to 15-year-olds and others who are about to turn 18, reported The Telegraph newspaper on July 17. As per the report, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is believed to have suggested the UK ministers to opt against the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to all children until further evidence on the associated risks is available.

The report stated that under JCVI guidance, the jabs will be administered to children between the age of 12 and 15 and to kids who are deemed vulnerable to COVID-19 or who live with adults who are immunosuppressed among other reasons. The coronavirus vaccines will also be offered to all 17-year-olds within three months of their 18th birthday, stated the media outlet while adding that the committee would review the possibility of vaccinating all children.

UK Health Dept responds to the report

Responding to The Telegraph report, UKs Health Department reportedly said that no decisions have been made by ministers on whether people aged 12 to 17 should be routinely offered COVID-19 vaccines." Meanwhile, on Saturday, the country registered at least 54,674 new COVID-19 cases which was a surge from the infections recorded on Friday. Further, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government has also drawn flack for deciding to remove all COVID-19 restrictions in England from July 19 noting that a rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has majorly disrupted the connection between coronavirus cases and serious illness or death.

International experts have warned as per The Guardian report that Johnsons governments plans to lift all COVID-19 restrictions in England on July 19 is not only a threat to the world but would also pave way for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants. In an emergency summit, scientists and physicians have flagged concerns with Britains position as a global transport hub that would imply that any new variant in the country would swiftly spread across the globe. The international experts also expressed grave concerns about the plans that Downing Street has.

IMAGE: AP/Unsplash
A high level US delegation led by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at an international conference in Uzbekistan to discuss the ongoing security crisis in Afghanistan. With US and NATO forces nearly at the completion of their pullout, Talibani miscreants have recaptured more than two-thirds of the central Asian country. Despite the escalating crisis in a country of more than 33 million, US president Joe Biden is adamant on a swift withdrawal arguing that a delay in the same could lead to an indefinite fight.

In the statement, the White House said that an Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall led delegation, consisting of representatives from the White House National Security Council, Department of Defense and Department of State landed in Tashkent to promote security, prosperity and regional connectivity between Central and South Asia and to bolster the continent's ties with the US. Apart from the peace in Afghanistan, issues like the COVID pandemic and the challenges it has posed in the region were also brought to the negotiation table.

Dr. Sherwood-Randall delivered opening remarks recognizing 30 years of partnership between the United States and the countries of Central Asia, as well as the U.S. Governments commitment to realizing the regions potential as a transit, trade, and energy hub," an online statement read.

In addendum to holding talks with the Afghan leader, the delegation also met Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to discuss the regional tension that has arisen in the aftermath of the US pullout and cooperation on counter-terrorism measures. Later, Sherwood Randall held talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and other high ranking officials from Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to enhance security cooperation in the region.

C5+1 summit

On Friday, US officials and Central Asian foreign ministers met in Uzbekistan, to conclude the C5+1 summit, which was primarily focused on Afghanistan. The two-day event took place in Tashkent on July 15-16 focused on exploring ways to enhance connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia through trade, transportation, and energy. Among the many leaders that attended the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov, just to name a few.

Image: AP
The United States on July 17 lashed out at Iran for accusing it of delaying a proposed prisoner swap to force a quick resumption of indirect nuclear talks. The US State Department slammed outrageous comments made by Irans deputy foreign minister who alleged that the US and the UK were holding the swap hostage to the negotiations over salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In a series of tweets, Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the nuclear talks in Vienna could not resume until Iran's hardline president-elect is inaugurated in early August.

We're in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is underway in our capital. #Vienna_talks must thus obviously await our new administration. This is what every democracy demands, Araghchi said.

US & UK need to understand this and stop linking a humanitarian exchangeready to be implementedwith the JCPOA.



Keeping such an exchange hostage to political aims achieves neither.



TEN PRISONERS on all sides may be released TOMORROW if US&UK fulfill their part of deal. 2/2  Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 17, 2021

Iran's 'outrageous effort' to deflect blame

While responding to Araghchis comments, US State Department spokesman Ned Price then categorically rejected the claim, denied there was already an agreement on a swap, and said the US was prepared to continue talks on prisoners even while waiting for the resumption of the nuclear negotiations. According to AP, Price said that these comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse on a potential mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. He added the US stands ready to return to Vienna to complete work on a mutual return to the JCPOA once Iran has made the necessary decisions.

Further, the US official called Aragchi's reference to the possible imminent release of 10 prisoners on all sides just another cruel effort to raise the hopes of their families. If Iran were truly interested in making a humanitarian gesture, it would simply release the detainees immediately," he said. Price did not address Aragchi's claim that Iran is in the midst of a democratic transfer of power but he did decry his reference to the US and Britain holding the prisoner exchange hostage.

He said, It is the Iranian government that has been unjustly detaining four innocent Americans for years.

The US official went on to say that indirect talks on the detainees had been progressing in the context of the Vienna nuclear negotiations and the delay in restarting that process is not helping. However, he added that while the US believed the prisoner talks would be more effective in that context, he added that we are also prepared to continue with talks on detainees during the current hiatus. It is worth noting that the Biden administration has been trying to reverse former US President Donald Trumps 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal and has offered sanctions relief in exchange for Iran returning to full compliance with its obligations.

(With inputs from AP)




Iran and the US volleyed tweeted criticisms of each other into Sunday over the fate of prisoners in both countries, underlining that separate negotiations outside of Tehran's tattered nuclear deal continue between the nations.

The tweets from two Iranian Foreign Ministry officials also signaled the waning influence of outgoing President Hassan Rouhani's administration, which in August will cede power to hard-line President-elect Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The spat began on Saturday with Abbas Araghchi, Iran's head negotiator in nuclear talks in Vienna, writing that those discussions must "obviously await our new administration."

However, Araghchi added that America and Britain must "stop linking a humanitarian exchange  ready to be implemented  with the" nuclear deal.

"Keeping such an exchange hostage to political aims achieves neither," he wrote on Twitter.

"TEN PRISONERS on all sides may be released TOMORROW if US & UK fulfill their part of deal."

He did not elaborate.

Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran for President Joe Biden, then tweeted that "there is no agreed deal yet on the matter of the detainees."

He acknowledged there had been "indirect talks on the detainees in the context of the Vienna process," prisoners whom he described as being "unjustly" held by Tehran.

"These comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse on a potential mutual return" to the nuclear deal, he wrote.

Then Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh responded to Malley.

"'Outrageous' = the US denying simple fact that 'there IS an agreed deal on the matter of the detainees,'" he wrote.

Neither Iran nor the US has offered any details on the talks so far.

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A new report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alleges Azerbaijan has been spying on hundreds of local activists and journalists, including RFE/RL reporters, using sophisticated software that gave the government access to their phones.

Azerbaijan appears to have acquired Pegasus -- spyware that can record phone calls and read text messages, access photographs and passwords, track GPS data, and secretly make audio and video recordings -- from Israeli cybersurveillance company NSO Group, OCCRP said in the report, released on July 18.

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The report on Azerbaijan came as part of sweeping research the OCCRP did on the NSO Group showing a leaked database of up to 50,000 phone numbers believed to have been identified as people of interest by clients of NSO since 2016.

Based on the geographical clustering of the numbers on the leaked list, reporters identified potential NSO Group clients from more than 10 countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.

The OCCRP project made its assessment on Azerbaijan based on the hundreds of phone numbers of local reporters, activists, and opposition members that appeared in the leaked database of phone numbers that are believed to have been targeted by the Pegasus software.

While there is no definitive proof that Baku is an NSO client or that the leaked numbers represent people selected for targeting, OCCRP said a preponderance of evidence suggests that this is the case.

President Ilham Aliyev has turned Azerbaijan into one of the most repressive former Soviet states, cracking down hard on free media and the opposition during his nearly 20-year rule.

Critics have accused his authoritarian government of using a growing array of sophisticated surveillance technology to track members of the opposition and media.

The OCCRP, a consortium of investigative centers, media, and journalists operating in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Central America, said that forensic analysis confirmed that the phones of two Azerbaijani citizens on the list were infected with Pegasus software.

Furthermore, several other Azerbaijani citizens on the list, including prominent opposition members, had personal information from their phones leaked to the public.

In response to a question about whether Azerbaijan acquired its software, NSO Group told OCCRP it could not confirm or deny the identity of government customers due to contractual and national-security considerations.

However, it claimed that it does not allow its clients to abuse its software, which it said is only meant to surveil criminals and terrorists. The NSO Group also claimed that OCCRPs conclusions were based on a misleading interpretation of the leaked data.

'Deliberate Campaign'

The OCCRP said that all but a few of the 245 Azerbaijani numbers identified belonged to journalists, activists, lawyers, and members of the countrys opposition.

Among them were five current and former reporters for RFE/RL, including Khadija Ismayilova, the broadcasters former Baku bureau chief and one of the nations most renowned investigative journalists.

Forensic analysis determined that Ismayilova's phone was ridden with traces of Pegasus software, OCCRP said.

Included in the broader leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers were those of journalists for media organizations around the world including Agence France-Presse, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, France 24, Mediapart, El Pais, the Associated Press, Le Monde, Bloomberg, The Economist, Reuters, and Voice of America, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Azerbaijan raided and closed RFE/RLs Baku bureau in 2014 while its local website has been blocked inside the country since 2017.

RFE/RL has said the blockage of the site was "part of a deliberate campaign" aimed at silencing its reporting in the tightly controlled country.

In addition to journalists, OCCRP said it identified more than 40 Azerbaijani activists and their family members on the leaked list of supposed Pegasus targets.

The Azerbaijani activists first appeared on the list in 2019 when mass protests were held in Baku.

President Aliyev has ruled the oil-producing former Soviet republic with an iron fist since shortly before his father, Heydar Aliyev, died in 2003 after a decade in power.

He has repeatedly rejected criticism from rights groups and Western governments that accuse him of jailing his opponents on trumped-up accusations and abusing power to stifle dissent.
SOFIA -- Bulgaria's interim government has accused Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev, who was the target of mass protests last year, of wrongdoing as it seeks to oust the controversial official.

In an interview with BNR Radio on July 18, Interim Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov accused Geshev of illegally publishing transcripts of politicians phone conversations that were wiretapped.

Rashkov told BNR Radio that Geshevs act is considered a crime under the Criminal Code and stipulates years of imprisonment."

Geshev in 2020 published two transcripts of wiretapped calls, including one involving President Rumen Radev.

Rashkovs comments to the radio station come as the interim government digs deep into the work of the previous GERB governments led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for most of the past 12 years.

The interim government was appointed by Radev, an opponent of Borisov, in May following the inconclusive April parliamentary elections.

New elections held July 11 have yet to produce a government, meaning the interim government could continue its work for weeks if not months.

The interim government has already accused Borisovs GERB government of mismanaging billions of dollars in procurement and quickly moved to replace many officials.

It is now seeking to oust Geshev, who is believed to be close to the former powerful prime minister.

In the first step in that process, Rashkov on July 16 published his report of Geshev's alleged violations and submitted it to the Justice Ministry.

Interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev and Radev on July 17 backed Rashkov's move.

Now it is up to the Supreme Judicial Council to decide whether to remove Geshev. It will next meet on July 21 though it is unclear if a vote will be taken that day.

Opposition parties have accused Geshev of abusing his power of office and targeting people for political reasons.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, last year to demand Geshev and Borisovs government resign.
An extraordinary session of the Georgian parliament on July 18 in Tbilisi, where Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri was scheduled to address the July 5 violent attacks in the Georgian capital, was interrupted by a number of opposition deputies. They surrounded the tribune, holding photographs of Pirveli television cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, who died several days after he was severely beaten on July 5 by an anti-LGBT mob that had taken to the streets of the capital to block a planned LGBT parade, and demanded the resignation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his government. Journalists in parliament also held photographs of Lashkarava and hung out a banner reading "Punish The Offenders."
An association of Russian human rights lawyers linked to jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalnys group says it has suspended its work to protect its members and supporters from criminal prosecution amid a government pressure campaign.

Komanda 29 announced on July 18 that it was liquidating, the latest independent civil-society organization to fold under new, repressive "foreign agent" laws.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to quash growing opposition to his two-decade-long tenure running the country, including four years as prime minister, with draconian laws that make it all but impossible for opposition groups to function.

Russias prosecutor-general on July 15 accused Komanda 29 of having ties to Spolecnost Svobody Informace, a Czech-based nongovernmental organization, and of distributing its material.

The Kremlin has declared Spolecnost Svobody Informace an undesirable organization, putting any Russian individual or entity that cooperates with it at risk of administrative or criminal penalties.

On the basis of the prosecutors determination, state media monitor Roskomnadzor shut down Komanda 29s website on July 16.

Komanda 29 has denied any link to the Czech organization or spreading its material. Darya Sukhykh, who headed Spolecnost Svobody Informace five years ago, is now a senior lawyer with Komanda 29.

Roskomnadzor did not respond to a request from Russian daily Kommersant to identify the alleged Spolecnost Svobody Informace material on Komanda 29s website.

The association said it intended to "challenge" the prosecutor-general's allegations but could "not ignore the position" of the nation's hard-liners from the security services.

Komanda 29 said "the next step in the attack" by the authorities could be the criminal prosecution of both members and supporters, including anyone "who supported us, cooperated with us, and participated in humanitarian and media projects."

"In these circumstances, the continuation of Komanda 29's activities poses a direct and clear threat to the safety of a large number of people, and we cannot ignore this risk," it said.

The association has represented supporters of Navalny, the nation's most-vocal critic of Putin.

Komanda 29 has been led by Ivan Pavlov, who is representing Ivan Safronov, the former Russian military industry journalist accused of treason.

Pavlov himself is under investigation for allegedly disseminating classified material pertaining to Safronovs case. Pavlov rejects the governments claims.

Komanda 29 said its lawyers will continue to work the cases of their clients "exclusively in their personal capacity if the clients do not refuse their help in this situation."

With reporting by Kommersant
Ernie Roberts, a U.S. Army veteran from West Warwick, holds up a copy of "The Rifle," a book by Andrew Biggio that recounts the combat stories of several World War II veterans. Roberts has his own story told in Chapter 2.
MOUNT VERNON -- Not a lot of people know that one of the founding fathers of Mount Vernon was a black man.

Enoch Harris, better known as 'Knuck,' was a pioneer of the town  and quite a dealer in real estate. At one point in Mount Vernon's early history, Harris owned about one-sixth of the entire village. That's a remarkable achievement for a free black on the Ohio frontier in the early 1800s.

Harris first came to my attention in 2008, when I covered a library talk by Dr. Lorle Porter for the Mount Vernon News. Porter, an emeritus history professor at Muskingum College, had been researching the famous musician Daniel Decatur Emmett in early paperwork for a biography she was writing, when she came across references to Knuck Harris.

Porter said that due to the scarcity of records, she wasn't able to find out much information about Harris' early years. He was born in 1784 in Virginia, then married a woman from Pennsylvania, suggesting that he might have moved north into that state. Around 1805, he came west to the Ohio frontier and settled in Mount Vernon.

According to Porter, the state of Ohio had laws on the books in those days requiring free blacks to pay a bond of $500 to settle in the state. There are no surviving records of Harris paying this bond, and he became quickly established as a respected mover and shaker in the growing community, so it seems likely that the bond law was quietly ignored in his case.

Harris' first purchase was a property at the corner of North Main and Hamtramck Streets for which he paid $8. As new settlers streamed into the county, land values skyrocketed, and just one year later, Harris was able to sell the property for $50.

Through such transactions, he was able to profit over 265 percent on his real estate deals, according to Porter's research.

Over the next two decades, Harris bought and sold land, opened a store, fought in the War of 1812, invested in a failed bank project, then moved out of town to a farm near Sparta. Somewhere around 1830, he decided to head further out on the frontier and moved to Kalamazoo County, Michigan, where he became one of the founding fathers there.

Harris and his wife Deborah lived on a 200-acre farm there for the next 40 years, becoming so highly regarded that his obituary in the Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph described Harris as being esteemed as an upright and industrious man by his neighbors, perhaps none the less so because he was a colored man. He was fully equal to his neighbors, superior to many of them ...

Harris is remembered as the first person to plant an apple orchard in Kalamazoo County. Was that an idea Harris gleaned from another one of Mount Vernon's early figures, John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed?

Anything is possible. What seems impossible at this late date is to figure out Knuck Harris' roots. Official paperwork from throughout his 85-year life varies between calling him a colored man and a mulatto, the latter term suggesting mixed-race parentage. He was described as being tall, with bright blue eyes.

It is unknown if Harris was born free or as a slave in Virginia, but it was clear that he had enough money to deal in real estate when he came to Ohio, making over $1,000 in land purchases in his time in Knox County. Since we lack paperwork records from Virginia or Pennsylvania, perhaps someday DNA testing of his descendants will turn up new leads.

Enoch Harris passed away in Oshmeto Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on March 21, 1870, and is buried just a quarter of a mile away from his farmhouse, in Genessee Prairie Cemetery.
MANSFIELD  St. Peters Parish and School announced Sunday the hiring of Laurie McKeon as the institutions first Head of School. McKeon will work alongside Father John Miller, the new pastor for St. Peters Parish.

In a press release issued by St. Peter's, it stated that both leaders are committed to the schools mission of graduating students who achieve academic excellence, practice Christian spirituality, and are prepared to be of service to the world.

McKeon previously served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at St. Joseph Catholic Academy, a spiritually, academically, and financially thriving school she helped form in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She will begin her tenure at St. Peters in August. McKeon holds an MA in Nonprofit Administration from the Mendoza Graduate Business School at Notre Dame, a Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School, and a BA of Arts from Notre Dame University.

Father Gregory Hite, pastor and local superintendent of St. Peters Parish and School, retired from his decade of leadership by offering the position to McKeon after a five-month search conducted by St. Peters newly-formed school governing board.

McKeons commitment to and experience with Catholic education as both an administrator and a consultant, her background in non-profit administration and as an attorney, and her continuing connection to the local community made her an excellent candidate for the position," said board president, Dr. Cassandra Parente. "Her clear vision for fostering St. Peters mission and growth will have an enduring impact.

McKeons local ties to St. Peters Parish and School began over twenty years ago when her family joined the parish, and her children attended St. Peters School from 1993-2003.

During her time in Mansfield, McKeon served as Board Chairperson for Richland County Childrens Services, helping to found and grow the Richland County Childrens Services Auxiliary in 1996. Today, the organization continues to provide services such as the Christmas Project, the New Store, and the Backpack Project to support Richland County youth.

She also served as a Richland County Foundation board member from 1999-2002.

Im delighted and humbled to be named the new Head of School for St. Peters in Mansfield, McKeon said. To serve the school, parish, and community that was so instrumental in forming my own family is more than serendipity or a happy coincidence.

"I truly believe that God puts us where we are meant to be, to do His will, live our purpose, and work for the greater good.

McKeon will join St. Peters new pastor Father John Miller in shepherding in a new era of leadership at the 175-year-old parish and school. According to McKeon, the schools leadership will be based on transformative collaboration.

I will do my very best to honor this opportunity, working closely with Fr. Miller, school leadership, and the entire school community to ensure that every St. Peters student becomes his or her very best self, academically, spiritually, socially and morally," McKeon said. "As a part of St. Peters past, with first-hand knowledge of St. Peters strong legacy, I look forward to being a part of St. Peters bright and vibrant future.

The Head of School position was created as part of the St. Peters Strategic Plan, which also included forming a Governing Board to support and oversee the schools administration. This plan also focuses on building long-term financial stability for the school, improving academic opportunities, and focusing on traditional Catholic/Christian values.

St. Peters Parish and School invites the community to meet our new pastor and Head of School at AugustFest, a 21+ evening of live music, games of chance, food, and adult beverages at Spartan Fields on Saturday, August 7, from 4-9 p.m. Presale tickets are $10 and are available at mansfieldstpeters.org/august.

St. Peters School was founded in 1868 as a ministry of St. Peters Parish. The Catholic school provides educational opportunities for students from Montessori Pre-K through high school. It currently serves approximately 300 students from multiple faith and socioeconomic backgrounds.
LOUDONVILLE -- Cleo Redd Fisher Museum hosted its first post-pandemic event earlier this week when author Mark Sebastian Jordan held a book signing for his latest story, "The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm."

The meet-and-greet saw more than 50 community members visit the historical treasury eager to catch a glimpse into the minds of Ceely Rose and Jordan.

Rose was a troubled adult woman with the mind of a child, according to Jordan, most likely the result of a mental or genetic disability. After being tormented by her father for embarrassing the family due to the crush she developed on a local teenager, she murdered her family members by lacing their food with rat poison.

She also attempted to murder the family of the boy she was attracted to, which contributed to her eventual admission into a psychiatric ward.

Jordan, who has spent years researching the killer, claimed that Ceely Rose fell into the gray area between a cold-blooded murderer and an innocent girl who did not realize she was committing any wrongdoing.

"Ceely Rose cant be easily filed away," Jordan said. "This case remains so fascinating to us because Ceely Rose hits that point right in the center of the gray where we cant answer the question of responsibility and sanity.

"Our whole construct of society depends on being able to answer that question, and with Ceely Rose we really cant. That is why the case remains so fascinating; thats why I wrote this book.

Rose lived with her family in the late 1800s near Perrysville.

The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm was published by The History Press in late June. Community members lined the museum's convention hall to get a signed copy of the book.

Jordan is a writer and historian based in Loudonville. He writes the weekly column, "History Knox" for KnoxPages.com and is also known for his classical music reviews for Seen & Heard International and MusicWeb International.

These endeavors have recently amounted to Jordan becoming a regular contributor to the programs of The Cleveland Orchestra. He has also won awards from the Ohio Arts Council, the Associated Press, the Jesse Stuart Memorial Award and the Richland County Foundation.

Jordan stated that if this latest release finds success, he has several other stories that he is working on waiting to see the light of day.

Im always working on things," Jordan said. I told The History Press that I hope this book does well, because I have at least five other stories like this waiting in the wings that need written.' 

The Cleo Redd Fisher Museum is located at 203 E. Main Street in Loudonville. For more information on Loudonville's history or future events, visit www.crfmuseum.com.
This story is part of the SoJo Exchange from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. Click here to read the original story.

When the sun rises over the Cumberland Mountains of southwest Virginia in mid-spring, its hard to imagine alls not well in this world. Saturated in mountain laurel and flowering dogwood, this is picture-postcard central Appalachia.

But for a good many people in these rural, remote counties, each days a challenge. All four of the Virginia counties that make up the states border with Kentucky and Tennessee are classified as distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission, meaning they have substantially higher poverty or lower income levels than national averages. The local economy was once driven by coal and tobacco. Both have been in steady decline for more than a decade.

I love southwest Virginia with all my heart. I will die here, says Wendy Welch, director of the Graduate Medical Education Consortium and Area Health Education Center of Southwest Virginia, which identifies and addresses health care workforce issues. But southwest Virginia is not a prize very many people want to fight over.

Providing health care services here presents enormous challenges. Those four distressed counties  Buchanon, Dickenson, Lee and Wise  all rank near the bottom in the state in health outcomes, including higher instances of asthma, COPD and emphysema.

Though coal industry jobs are few in the area today, coals legacy looms large in the health of the community. Pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, is prevalent. A 2018 study of three clinics in the region found what was believed to be the biggest cluster ever recorded of an advanced stage of the disease: progressive massive fibrosis. Young men still arrive at the Stone Mountain Health Services black lung clinic in Lee County in wheelchairs.

It makes old men out of young men, says Teresa Tyson, executive director of the Health Wagon, based in the town of Wise, a legend in this region for its care of the most neglected.

Mounting these challenges today is a relatively new health care provider: Ballad Health. Ballad is the product of a 2018 merger of two hospital systems, Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System, and has a monopoly on hospital care in southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee.

Mountain States and Wellmont were competitors, an arrangement most health care observers here agree was impractical. Dennis Barry, who monitors the merger that created Ballad for the Southwest Virginia Health Authority, said in March that had the merger not occurred, the two systems likely would have been forced to close facilities, most probably rural hospitals.

But a recurrent concern with any hospital merger or acquisition in a region with both rural and urban populations is that this is exactly what will happen  that hospitals and other health care facilities in rural communities will be shuttered, that the most difficult to serve, those most in need, will be forgotten.

In 2013, Lee County lost its hospital, in the town of Pennington Gap; it has now reopened. On July 1, Ballad Health tweeted, This morning we unveiled the sign on Lee County Community Hospital  Americas newest rural hospital.

Civic leaders and health care providers agree the reopening of Lee County Community Hospital is a critical step in restoring trust in a community thats felt abandoned. The previous hospital was owned by Wellmont; its closure took the community by surprise.

It was very abrupt, says Greg Edwards, born and raised in Lee County, a lawyer and chair of the council that operates Stone Mountain Health Services. Wellmont had invested in upgrading its emergency room, and, Edwards says, had told the districts congressman they had no intention of closing. But soon after, They just took off, shut it down; closed.

At the time of the 2018 merger, Ballad stated on its website: By creating Ballad Health, well be able to generate savings and reinvest those savings to preserve access to care in rural areas.

Its a daunting task. For eight years, folks in Lee County drove a half hour or more to neighboring Wise County, or beyond, to reach a hospital. They now welcome the return of their own, but are still awaiting further reassurance that Ballads decision-makers have their best interests at heart.

An Industry That Chewed Them Up Left Distrust in Its Wake

Lee is Virginias westernmost county  70 scenic miles east to west, with limited access. Its a very long way, literally and figuratively, from Pennington Gap to Richmond, the state capital  in fact, eight other state capitals are closer. Residents of the region are certain this distance has consequences. Take for example the distribution of vaccines in a pandemic. Those vaccines arrived pretty quickly in the northern, relatively affluent counties of the state, the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It took some noisemaking to get them here.

Were stuck down here in the far end, where people consider us hillbillies and uneducated, Edwards says.

These people have built this country, says Ross Isaacs, whos been volunteering as a health care provider with the nonprofit Health Wagon for 22 years. The roads, the fuel in our houses all come from these people who busted their butts. Then what do we do to say thank you? Theyre ignored.

Trust is a big issue here, Isaacs says. The owners of the mines kind of chewed them up until theres nothing left and then theyre let go, and theres no health insurance or anything long term.

Merger agreements with the states of Tennessee and Virginia stipulated that Ballad Health must keep all hospitals formerly operated by the two merging health systems open as health care institutions for at least five years and that it must maintain essential services in every county.

Enforceable price controls were also put in place, ensuring that the rate of growth in prices for health care services at Ballad facilities would stay lower than the national average. Last year, Ballad announced it would institute an average 17 percent price reduction for all physician practices and urgent care, and it increased its discount for the uninsured to 77 percent.

Ballad also committed to addressing persistent public health concerns. It selected as its primary areas of focus substance misuse, tobacco use, obesity and childhood trauma.

Tony Keck, Ballads vice president for system innovation and chief population health officer, says the previous hospital systems were spending $2 billion a year in the region and by all demonstrable measures, nobody was getting any healthier.

The mandate, he says, is to turn the battleship from being a hospital-based system to being a community health-improvement organization. Thats not just a promise, Keck says, we actually had to commit to a $308 million investment in community-health improvement over the next decade, as part of the merger agreement regulated by the two states.

To address the challenges presented by providing health care in a region roughly the size of New Jersey with considerable health disparities, Ballad has formed an accountable care organization, AnewCare Collaborative. This group of area hospitals and doctors screens Medicare patients for needs related to food, housing, transportation and more, and connects them with resources in their community. Its the largest of its kind in a rural setting in the country.

East Tennessee State Universitys Center for Rural Health Research is working with Ballad on initiatives that include early-childhood interventions, whereby theyll be following mothers and their children over the next 10 years to monitor outcomes. Ballad is further addressing early-childhood issues with evidence-based community health worker initiatives.

And it recently launched a program to provide residential and outpatient addiction treatment and other behavioral services for pregnant women and mothers of young children.

All of these services are part of the hospital systems efforts to rebuild trust in the communities it now serves. And as Ballard works to rebuild those bonds, there are community-focused health care providers in southwest Virginia that can serve as models.

Models of Care Based on Intergenerational Bonds

The Health Wagon is the medical home to 5,600 patients in southwest Virginia and neighboring rural counties in Kentucky and Tennessee. It runs three clinics and four mobile units that provide acute care and specialty services, including a new dental unit. Dental is one of the greatest health care needs across rural America.

But Executive Director Teresa Tyson, a native of Wise County and a coal miners daughter, says their primary focus is on chronic-disease management. And when emergencies arise, they do whatevers necessary. In the past months, Health Wagon providers have driven the backroads administering COVID-19 vaccines door to door.

The Health Wagon relies on telehealth to reach many of its most remote patients. When the internets working, thats how Joyce Baker communicates with Clinical Director Paula Hill.

Baker, 68, lives in Stinking Branch Holler, in Letcher County, Kentucky, where she was born. She worked in the coal mines for 15 years, much of the time as a control room operator. Baker sometimes has trouble breathing. She was hurt on the job and has had neck and lower-back surgeries.

Hill asks how shes doing. Im okay, honey, she replies, its just my backs hurtin so bad.

In addition to their telehealth visits, Baker messages Hill on Facebook or texts or calls when she needs her. Shes always available to me.

Likewise at Stone Mountain Health Servicess Black Lung Program, the children of coal miners now treat patients who suffer from conditions as a result of working in the industry. Jody Willis, a family nurse practitioner and medical provider for Stone Mountain, grew up in Lee County; her father was a coal miner

Theyve worked all of these tremendous amounts of hours to get to the point that they can enjoy some of their hobbies, enjoy their grandkids, Willis says of the miners in her care, and now they just dont have the physical capacity to do what they wanted to do.

Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, says its been borne out time and again that the most essential element of a successful relationship between a community and its health system is a deep understanding of the community and its needs. These community-based providers in southwest Virginia are exemplars of such partnerships.

Better Equipped? COVID Tested the Large, Rural System of Care

Any conversation about health care must be put in the context of the pandemic. Though many in rural communities initially believed the coronavirus would largely be an urban concern, it ultimately overwhelmed them. By September, the death rate in rural America had surpassed that of urban centers.

Kathie Kegley, who lives in Wise, was a nurse in a COVID-19 ward in Ballads Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tennessee. An aunt and an uncle died 16 days apart in her unit. Friends and friends family members also passed away there.

Ive seen some amazing nurses and doctors that fought so hard to save these people, Kegley says. I put more people in body bags this past year than I have my whole career.

The financial strain that also came with the pandemic only intensified the challenges rural hospitals were already facing. The University of North Carolinas Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research documents 138 rural hospital closures since 2010. A study released in spring of 2020 found that one in five rural hospitals were at risk of closure due to financial stress. The merger of two hospital systems to create the larger Ballad Health may have been a benefit for these isolated communities.

Ill be honest, Kegley says of the Ballad merger, at first, I did not like it, didnt like the idea of a monopoly. But she believes Ballad really stepped it up during the pandemic, with protective equipment, additional pay and behavioral health support for staff.

She, like many others in the region, believes that, as a large entity, Ballad was better prepared than the previous smaller hospital systems would have been to address the pandemic  greater purchasing power, for example, and a more unified infrastructure.

Stephanie Stanley, a nurse and the director of the Dickenson County Public Schools nursing program, stresses that the pandemic has worsened a challenge Ballad was already facing: a workforce shortage  something hospital systems across the country, especially rural ones, must address. Stanley says many older nurses, at higher risk of contracting the virus, retired early over the past year.

Ballad acknowledged the nursing shortage prior to the pandemic as an imminent and growing issue. One measure it took then was to reduce low-acuity hospital admissions  those in which theres an acceptable outpatient alternative. Whether a system the size of Ballad Health is better equipped to tackle the health care worker shortage into the future remains to be seen.

Rebuilding Bonds

On its website, Ballad Health explains the source of its name: A ballad is a song that tells a story. Ballads help us understand each other. They celebrate our past, give meaning to the present, and help us build a stronger future.

For some, its the obstacles on the path to that stronger, healthier future that have thus far defined Ballads tenure  decisions that are perceived as heedless of those most in need.

Ballad is headquartered in Johnson City, Tennessee, and its administrators made decisions early on regarding access that didnt sit well with many non-Johnson City residents  decisions specifically around the merging of services. Top-level neonatal ICU care was moved from Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport to Johnson City Medical Center, 25 miles away; top-level trauma units at the two hospitals were consolidated in Johnson City. For folks in Pennington Gap, in Lee County, that can be an hour-plus drive.

The risk of death increases by 25 percent if a person isnt receiving definitive care in a Level I trauma center in the first 60 minutes. Thats the Golden Hour, Mickey Spivey, a former Holston Valley ER physician, told The Tennessean. Rural trauma accounts for some 60 percent of all trauma deaths.

Another issue is that Ballad has shifted some services from freestanding clinics to hospitals, which means patients must pay an additional facility fee.

And in December 2019, The New York Times reported that Ballad had filed more than 6,700 medical debt lawsuits against patients the previous year. Its working to address these concerns. Last month, Ballad announced an agreement with RIP Medical Debt to erase almost $278 million in medical debt for some 82,000 people across its service area.

Weve started this journey together as a community, and were going to work together as one region to write the next chapter of our story together, Ballads website reads. Its your story. Were listening.

Lee County Community Hospital is now reopened as a 10-bed critical access hospital with an emergency room, diagnostic radiology and lab services, some specialty care and telehealth access. Its much welcomed.

But theres mending yet to be done. When Wellmont Health System pulled out of Lee County, it left a lot of resentment in its wake.

So then you have Ballad come in, and say, Well put these broken pieces back together, Wendy Welch says, but the decision to close the hospital was made by the same men who are now going to be taking up senior leadership in the new system.

Ballad Health, Welch says, needs to step up its game with listening to community members, but I think they can.

The people of southwest Virginia certainly hope so. The prevailing attitude is too soon to tell.

This story was funded by the National Geographic Society. It also had financial support from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP)  Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a protest Saturday after a third venue in California canceled their event.

Instead, they held a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.

Heres what they need to understand, Greene told the crowd, according to the Press-Enterprise. Were going to put America first, we will not back down.

Gaetz spoke next, saying, Do you know why theyre so afraid of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Because we fight for you, not them," according to the newspaper.

Shouts and arguments broke out between the lawmakers' supporters and counterprotesters who gathered nearby.

Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns, the Press-Enterprise reported.

We respect free speech and we are capable of holding events, Lyster said. But it was the lack of advance notice for an event that would attract the attention at the level this one would that has raised issues for our city.

Lyster also said city officials had concerns about the nature of the event and that it does not reflect the city of Anaheim and the values we share.

Two venues in nearby cities previously canceled plans to host the event.

The two far-right members of Congress billed the event as an America First rally, part of a series they have spoken at this year.
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP)  Spectators cheered Saturday as a stone statue of a Confederate general was hoisted by a crane and removed from a pedestal where it stood for 99 years in front of a city hall in south Louisiana.

The Advertiser posted video of the work that happened a day after United Daughters of the Confederacy signed a settlement agreeing to move the statue of Gen. Alfred Mouton or let the city do so. A trial had been scheduled for July 26.

"The Confederacy has surrendered, attorney Jerome Moroux told The Advocate. Moroux represented the city and 16 city residents who wanted the statue gone.

The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 prompted new calls across the country to remove Confederate statues, many of which had been erected decades after the Civil War, during the Jim Crow era, when states imposed new segregation laws, and during the Lost Cause movement, when historians and others inaccurately depicted the Souths rebellion as a fight to defend states rights, not slavery.

Mouton, whose full name was Jean-Jacques-Alfred-Alexandre Mouton, was a slave owner and son of a former Louisiana governor. He died leading a cavalry charge in the Civil War Battle of Mansfield.

Its been 99 years right now, and thats way too long for that to have remained in place, Fred Prejean, president of Move the Mindset, a group created to pushed for the statue's removal, The Advertiser reported.

In 1980, outgoing Mayor Kenny Bowen wanted to move the statue to what was then the new Lafayette city hall. Although United Daughters of the Confederacy gave the statue to the city in 1922, the group fought the move, partly because Mouton's father once had owned the statue's site.

The group delayed the move until Dud Lastrapes took office, then got a permanent court order forbidding any move unless it was needed for road work or the land was sold, The Advertiser has reported.

Residents asked the city in 2016, during a national movement to remove Confederate statues, to get Mouton's away from City Hall. But, after the United Daughters threatened a lawsuit, the City-Parish Council backed down.

That prompted the creation of Move the Mindset and other groups to raise awareness about the statues Jim Crow-era history, the treatment of Black people during that period and the negative implications of having a Confederate statue at an entrance to Lafayette's downtown.

Sixteen members of Move the Mindset filed papers in 2019 to intervene in the 1980 injunction, arguing that the groups unconditional donation of the statue left it without any legal right to fight a move.

Mayor-President Josh Guillory asked lawyers to investigate options and in 2020 the City Council endorsed removal. The city joined Move the Mindset in the legal fight against the 1980 injunction.
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Local residents and businesses were adjusting to the latest turnabout in the pandemic Saturday as seven Bay Area counties recommended that everyone  vaccinated or not  mask up indoors once more.

The emotions were all over the place as vaccination rates stall and the highly contagious delta variant sends the number of new coronavirus cases sharply upward.

Asking a vaccinated person to wear a mask is like asking Superman to wear a bulletproof vest, complained Mark Richardson, a Pleasanton resident who added that hes fully vaccinated and was a dutiful mask wearer.

The Bay Area has some of the highest vaccinated rates in the country, but our region, along with L.A. County, is unique across the country in recommending masks, Richardson continued. I thought we were the Follow the science state?

The shift in guidance from seven Bay Area counties  Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Sonoma  comes just a month after California triumphantly reopened and was spurred by concerns that its impossible to tell unvaccinated from vaccinated residents in a mask-free situation.

At a Safeway in Menlo Park  where staff never stopped wearing masks  a little over three-quarters of shoppers had donned face coverings. Some said they never stopped wearing them, some didnt mind putting them back on, and some said they really wear masks only because of the social pressure.

Those not wearing masks either hadnt heard about the new guidance or said they felt safe because they were vaccinated. Some had simply fallen out of the habit.

The dissonance between feeling that the worst of the pandemic is over and the reinstatement of preventive measures might lead to confusion and frustration, according to Ashley Virtue, a spokesperson for the National Conflict Resolution Center.

I think that with the rules changing, just as has happened throughout the pandemic, you will see some people in conflict because they feel like theyve adjusted to one set of rules and then they found out that something different has happened, she said.

Or, as Bay Area resident and Public Policy Institute of California President Mark Baldassare put it, its that feeling of here we go again.

Baldassare said he thinks that most vaccinated Californians will be willing to wear masks again, especially because so many interact with the unvaccinated every day, whether its children, people with compromised immune systems or those who arent comfortable with vaccines.

Nonetheless, it will seem to many that things are going backward, he said. In a May public opinion survey, Baldassares institute found that 86% of Californians believed that when it comes to the United States and the pandemic, the worst is behind us.

As of last week, six Bay Area counties had fully vaccinated at least 70% of residents 12 and older  more than Los Angeles County, which had vaccinated just under 60% of that same group. Only Solano County  which, along with Napa County, did not join the rest of the Bay Area in recommending indoor masks for all  lags behind Los Angeles, with 56% of residents over 12 vaccinated.

Some also feared that the change in recommendations could signal that the vaccines do not work well  when the opposite is true. Health experts stress that vaccines are hugely effective, and indeed the Bay Areas relatively high vaccination rates are helping keep the virus in check.

Even though its possible for vaccinated people to experience breakthrough coronavirus infections on rare occasions, they are much less likely to contract severe disease than the unvaccinated, who are at enormous risk from the delta variant, which Los Angeles County public health officials blamed for a rapid spike in new infections and deaths since the July Fourth holiday.

Outside the Bay Area, some shrugged off the new-old directives.

Davis resident Jill Hosseini, 35, said the new mask recommendations  which were also issued by Yolo, Sacramento and Fresno counties  dont change much for her family. She and her husband continue to wear masks, despite being vaccinated, as an example for her daughters, ages 5 and 6, who cannot yet be vaccinated.

It feels safer for my kids because I cant trust knowing if people are vaccinated indoors, she said. To me, its such an easy thing to do.

At Avid Reader bookstore in Davis, employees have continued to wear masks, and so have the majority of their customers, said co-owner Erin Arnold. The priority, she said, has been doing things the right way, doing things according to science, and providing a safe place for our community.

In other parts of the state, masking requirements were more controversial. Los Angeles County went further than the Bay Area, enacting an indoor mask mandate for everyone that took effect Saturday night. But L.A.s sheriff said Friday that his department would not enforce the countys mandate and instead asked for voluntary compliance.

Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Sheriff Alex Villanueva wrote in a statement.

In May, the CDC said that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most indoor settings. Californias Department of Public Health followed suit a month later. Both maintain those guidelines.

Angela Drake, a clinical psychologist at UC Davis, said shes worried that the roller coaster of emotions brought out by the different phases of the pandemic  from depression during its peak to elation when things started to reopen  will cause increased conflict with the latest backtrack.

Im a little worried that peoples nerves are so frayed, theyre so fatigued, she said. Im worried about people getting really upset with each other.

She urged people to summon empathy for each other.

This isnt the time to go up to somebody and scream at them about whether they have a mask on, she said. If you see somebody without a mask, its not your business.

Public feelings about masks could also spill into Septembers recall election, one political consultant said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has not yet commented on counties changing mask rules or guidance. But he made himself the face of Californias pandemic response, said Robin Swanson, a Democratic political consultant. Many voters may not draw a distinction between local actions and those taken by the governor, she said, which could pose a problem for Newsom if there is widespread backlash.

Several of the top Republican candidates running to replace him are already trying to make the Los Angeles County mandate an issue in the race. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer called on Newsom to overrule the order, and Assembly Member Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin (Placer County), said he would immediately terminate Californias coronavirus state of emergency, the legal basis for many pandemic restrictions, if elected.

Swanson counseled Newsom to stay the course through choppy waters. She said another surge in deaths from the coronavirus  especially if it necessitates a third round of lockdowns  would have far more dire political consequences than a mask requirement.

John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert UC Berkeley, said he hopes the new guidance will persuade vaccine holdouts to finally get inoculated against COVID.

Ive been dismayed by seeing the really dramatic drop-off in the number of people getting vaccinated, he said, adding that going unvaccinated also creates the potential for new variants to develop.

He said that if the new mask guidance doesnt work and cases continue to rise, a mask mandate could be on the horizon.

I know the public health officers, he said. Theyre going to be waking up every morning, looking at the data, talking to each other and trying to make the best decision possible for safety.

If there is a mandate, Richardson, the Pleasanton resident, says hell go back to wearing a mask. But hes not sure its doing anything.

It just seems like virtue signaling, he said.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Kellie Hwang, Julie Johnson and Alexei Koseff contributed to this report.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
Community activists are demanding that Siskiyou County law enforcement agencies explain why their officers fatally shot a farmer last month during a wildfire evacuation, saying they are concerned that the killing is part of a pattern of racial discrimination against Hmong people.

On Saturday, activists held a vigil outside the county courthouse to draw attention to the case.

On June 28 during an evacuation caused by the Lava Fire, officers from several agencies  the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Etna Police Department  shot and killed Soobleej Kaub Hawj, 35, at a roadblock.

The Sheriffs Office said Hawj was from Kansas City, Kansas, but community activists said he was living in California as a farmer.

According to the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office, Hawj was driving a GMC pickup truck when he approached firefighters and law enforcement officers helping motorists during the evacuation. Officers directed Hawj to go north on County Road A-12 in the Big Springs area, but Hawj attempted to drive around the roadblock and head south toward the evacuation zone, according to the sheriffs office. Hawj pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the officers, who opened fire, killing him, sheriffs officials said.

Initial reports from investigators indicated Hawj may have fired several rounds from the gun at the officers during incident, according to the sheriffs office.

Community activists say witnesses dispute the police account of the shooting, and they are demanding that the agencies involved explain what happened.

Hawjs wife and three children, ages 5 to 15, were in a separate car behind him when he was shot, vigil organizers said.

Sacramento City Council Member Mai Vang as well as Hmong activists and leaders were among those participating in the Saturday event, which called for an independent investigation into the incident. The Siskiyou County District Attorneys office is investigating the killing.

Local media reported at least 300 people attended the vigil outside the county courthouse.

Community activist Zurg Xiong, 33 years old, also attended the event. Xiong has been on a hunger strike since July 9 to protest the killing and what he called the lack of police transparency.

The shooting has heightened ongoing tensions between local law enforcement and Hmong cannabis growers, vigil organizers said, including an emergency ordinance restricting water trucks on certain roads without a permit. Hawj was Hmong and it was not clear whether he was farming cannabis.

Activists say the roads chosen for permits are commonly used by Hmong farmers and limit bathing and drinking waters for those families.

Calls for accountability came from as far away as St. Paul, Minn., where this week, two Hmong elected officials called for justice in the incident.

Siskiyou County has a history of racially discriminating against communities of color, said St. Paul City Council member Nelsie Yang. Its deplorable that the Sheriffs Office refuses to release body cam videos and information about the Hmong man who was killed. We need justice, and we need it now.

On Wednesday, the Sheriffs Office asked those with questions or information to contact the Siskyou County District Attorney.

Officer involved shootings are complex investigations that take time to thoroughly investigate, according to the statement. There are certain details surrounding this incident that have not been made public as the investigation is ongoing; however, in the future, once the investigation is completed, a thorough report of the incident will be made public. We ask for your patience and understanding as this investigation is being completed.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
The risk of dry lightning and gusty winds pitched a large swath of the Bay Area into a red flag warning scheduled to start Sunday morning and last until Monday evening.

The forecast and warning, announced by the National Weather Service, centered on the higher elevations, including the North Bay and Santa Cruz mountains as well as the East Bay hills and Diablo Range.

The warning indicates critical fire weather conditions, with a combination of low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds.

Just under a year ago, thunderstorms with dramatic dry lightning strikes ignited a series of fires across the Bay Area and Northern California.

The wildfire clusters drew more than 19,000 firefighters to the region, with the blazes charring nearly 2 million aces and destroying more than 2,000 structures.

Current conditions, however, are lacking the influence of a tropical storm, which fueled the lightning siege last year, said Drew Peterson, National Weather Service meteorologist.

We dont have that this time around, he said. That is the most important distinction.

And in August 2020, there was record heat before the lightning storms, so it was extremely hot, extremely dry, which dried out all the fuels, he added.

Peterson said the forecast showed a one in four to one in eight chance the Bay Area would see any lightning strikes this time.

That said, the system spurring the red flag warning was over San Diego Saturday evening and residents there were seeing lightning strikes, he said.

Residents across the region were urged to be aware of the weather and have a fire plan.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
For most of the past year and a half, San Franciscos famously lively and colorful Chinatown has been an unusually quiet place. First, the coronavirus pandemic, then the wave of anti-Asian hate crimes kept many of the districts residents hunkered down inside their homes, sapping one of the citys most vibrant communities of much of its life.

A bit of vibrancy returned Saturday afternoon with dancing lions, booming hip-hop and Latin music and, most noticeably, smiling faces at Chinatowns first public street fair since the pandemic started.

The Summer Block Party, held on Pacific Avenue in front of the neighborhoods historic Ping Yuen public housing complex, drew more than 100 residents, elected officials including Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin, and community leaders.

First and foremost, this is a celebration, Malcolm Yeung, executive director of the Chinatown Community Development Center, said after giving away a mountain bike in a free raffle. We get to do an event again, get our community together, get the residents out here.

The event also had a deeper mission  to help bring together communities of color, particularly the Asian and Black communities, to combat violent attacks, many of them against elders.

Part of what weve doing is trying to build racial solidarity between the Chinese community and the Black community, Breed said in an interview. Its a block party, but its really to bring people together and to make sure we get to know each other, spend time with each other. We uplift the community, and we make it clear that were here to take care of our seniors. It doesnt matter what race they are.

Nick Otto/Special to The Chronicle

With its ornate arch, its myriad gift shops and restaurants and its historic buildings, Chinatown is among the citys top tourist attractions. But its also the center of Chinese culture in San Francisco as well as the nations oldest Chinese neighborhood.

The community was hit hard, early and often, during the pandemic. Even before the lockdown, xenophobia caused people to avoid Chinatown restaurants and businesses. Then came the stay-home orders and business closures and the series of attacks on Asian Americans, many of them seniors with some occurring in Chinatown.

The event was organized by the public housing complex, whose buildings in the heart of Chinatown are known as the Pings, along with the Chinatown Community Development Center, United Playaz, the citys Street Violence Intervention Program, tenants groups and the Community Youth Center of San Francisco.

Nick Otto/Special to The Chronicle

While the mayor, Peskin and other dignitaries gave speeches from a stage in the middle of the blocked-off street, the event also featured the traditional lion dance, contemporary music from a variety of musical genres and even some dancing in the streets.

Attendees, including Bonnie Lim, who grew up in the Pings, said it was a welcome positive event aimed at improving the community and the city.

Im really happy to see this, said Bonnie Lim, who is now retired and living in the South Bay. Its a step in the right direction after more than a year of too many negative things.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
At a police-organized rally last weekend, I watched Black Oaklanders talk about the lives of loved ones cut short by gun violence. But their stories were briefly interrupted when a group of anti-police counterprotesters crashed the event at Lake Merritt and began shouting the names of people killed by law enforcement.

One of those names was Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old father killed by BART police in Oakland in 2009.

I dont think the protesters realized Grants mom, Wanda Johnson, was standing nearby. The longtime police reform activist was taking part in the police-sponsored rally to lend emotional support and hear what the police planned to do to prevent more casualties to the citys escalating violence.

We know the police arent going anywhere, Johnson told me a few days later. I dont agree with everything the police do. I also dont have a problem separating the two issues of police violence and community violence.

These are strange, scary times in Oakland. With the number of homicides steadily increasing to levels we havent seen in years, everyone is grasping for immediate solutions. The situation is even forcing some of the citys leading critics of police brutality into an unusual position: pleading for peace alongside a Police Department they dont trust.

Or as longtime East Oakland activist John Jones put it: Its better to go with the devil you know than the devil you dont.

The problem is that this devil isnt good at its job, statistically speaking.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

From 2011 to 2020, the Oakland Police Departments clearance rate for homicides  meaning how often arrests were made following a murder  was 50% or better in only four years, according to California Department of Justice data. The statewide average over those years is close to 60%, which still isnt great.

While struggling to solve crimes, Oaklands police force also hasnt been good at preventing them. Between 2011 and 2020, there were only three years when the city had fewer than 80 homicides, according to state justice data. This year, were on track for the most homicides since 2012, when there were 126.

A much larger city, San Francisco, never had more than 60 homicides a year during that same stretch.

This data is scattered across years when the Oakland Police Department had robust staffing and budgets, meaning the defund debate does not apply.

Crime rates are influenced by a number of social and economic factors  including a massively destabilizing pandemic that attacked neglected communities more forcefully than privileged ones  but we have a system that says only one institution can respond to them. And the cold, hard numeric fact is that institution cant do it on its own.

Daryle Allums knows this. The director of Adamika Village, a violence-intervention nonprofit, spoke at the Stand Up for a Safe Oakland rally that the Police Department put on. He purposely avoided taking the stage with police officers but told the crowd We need all hands on deck and that he didnt care who we have to partner with if it meant stopping violence in the Black community.

Nina Riggio/The Chronicle

On the flip side of that message, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told the crowd that the public should work more closely with his department and local violence prevention groups to combat gun violence.

Pausing our distrust of police so we can see them as allies isnt a comfortable choice. It also shouldnt be the only choice.

But Allums, Jones and Johnson are putting their own credibility, their own pain, on the line because of how unprecedented this moment feels.

Were doing our part in our neighborhoods by showing up and showing love. Thats how were addressing violence in our communities, Allums said a few days later. Ive been busting the police for a long time about them doing their jobs better.

I get the sense of desperation. As a Black man living in Oakland, I hear about a new shooting, a new funeral, a new mourning family seemingly every week. I dont see any quick solutions that could stop these homicides tomorrow or a week from now. This isnt a situation the city can legislate its way out of before another person is killed by gunfire.

But something has to give  doesnt it?

When that shouting match broke out last week, I recognized a couple of the people who were involved. I went over to pull one out of the commotion because police officers were nearby. At an event sponsored by cops, I didnt want them to come over and escalate the situation.

It took me a second to realize where my head was at. In a tense moment, I didnt look to the police for help. I considered them a potential threat.

Police havent shown us that they can consistently solve or stop violent crime in Oakland. But last weekend they asked for help from the only people who can  us.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
Crime is personal, and statistics are scant consolation to its victims, whether their loss is as small as a car window or as incalculable as a loved one. Its one reason visceral anecdotes drive crime news and perceptions: the viral video of a man brazenly loading goods into a garbage bag at a San Francisco Walgreens; the attempted robbery interrupting a television interview of Oaklands head of violence prevention.

Its also why we have a huge, costly system dedicated to punishing the perpetrators. The trouble is that perceptions of crime can be harnessed for political advantage and policy changes, most of which have tended to further expand that criminal justice system whether or not it has the desired effect of preventing crime. Given the political realities of the Bay Area, high-profile crimes can also be leveraged to counter nascent efforts to shrink police departments in favor of services that might do more to stem law-breaking and violence.

To inform such decisions, however, we should have more than a headline-grabbing homicide, a troublingly violent weekend or an ephemeral uptick in one category of crime.

So is the Bay Area in the midst of any statistically identifiable crime wave? In a word, no.

Crime fell slightly across Californias largest cities last year compared with the year before, remaining near a half-century low, according to a study by the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley. Violent crime changed little in San Francisco and Oakland last year, while property crime fell.

Preliminary statistics for the first half of this year are more mixed but not much more striking. Through June, violent and property crimes have fallen slightly in San Francisco compared with last year; in Oakland, violent crime is up 13% over the first half of last year, while property crimes are down substantially, for an overall decrease of 15%.

The most disturbing facet of the data over the past year and a half concerns homicides, which increased 30% last year over the year before across Californias largest cities, in keeping with a nationwide trend. San Francisco has seen a small increase in homicides since 2019; Oakland saw killings increase more substantially last year, followed by a steeper rise of more than 80% through mid-June compared with the first half of 2020. Cities in the Bay Area and California have also seen anomalous increases in vehicle theft since 2019 even as total property crime has declined.

The higher homicide rate is alarming, and devastating to the families affected, but difficult to assess beyond that. Homicides are relatively rare, making up less than 2% of violent crimes in Oakland, for example, and an unreliable measure of overall crime. The latest figures are also in the context of long-term lows in the homicide rate as well as the disruptions of the pandemic and nationwide protests over police violence. Last years lockdowns appear to have diminished opportunities for some crimes, such as burglary, and boosted others, such as auto theft. Homicides and assaults appear to have dropped with the shelter-in-place orders but rebounded as they were lifted.

That was before any reductions in police spending were underway and while the law-and-order Trump administration was still in place. While the widespread increase in homicides and a few other crimes over the last two years deserves attention, its difficult to draw any broad conclusions from such complex trends in an unprecedented era. We should be wary of anyone who does.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Only half of the candidates who filed their intention to challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall election are eligible to run, according to a new list released by the Secretary of States Office late Saturday.

More than 80 people filed statements of intent to run for governor as of late Friday, but only 41 were included on a notice to candidates released the next day. Participants must meet a number of qualifying criteria, including being a U.S. citizen, being registered to vote in California and never having been convicted of certain felonies related to public corruption.

They are also required to submit between 65 and 100 nomination signatures, a $4,194.94 filing fee (or 7,000 signatures in lieu of paying that) and five years of federal income tax returns, among other requirements.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Shirley Weber is expected to release a final certified list of the names that will appear on the September ballot. Jenna Dresner, a spokesperson for the Secretary of States Office, said that not everyone who filed a statement of intent followed through on the remaining steps, including submitting all the necessary paperwork in time. Any candidate who did not make Saturdays list did not meet the requirements and qualifications to do so by the deadline.

Any changes to the list at this point would be through court order, she said. For example, during the notification period, candidates may challenge an opponents ballot designation in Sacramento County Superior Court.

The biggest surprise in the Saturday notice was the omission of conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder, who threw his hat into the ring four days before the filing deadline. Elder spokeswoman Stephanie Marshall said his campaign submitted all required documents to the secretary of state and the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters late Friday afternoon, shortly before the two offices closed.

We fully expect to be on the final certified list of candidates, she said.

A letter to Elder provided by the Secretary of States Office on Sunday indicated that he did not qualify for the ballot because he filed incomplete tax returns. A spokesperson for the office declined to provide additional details about what was missing from Elders tax forms.

Elder released a statement on Twitter Sunday night claiming that he had complied with all requirements to be a candidate and he was being unfairly blocked from the ballot to help Newsom. He said he would sue if the Secretary of States Office did not reverse course.

Saturdays list included 21 Republicans, eight Democrats and 12 with other or no party preference. Newsom himself wont be on the ballot because he cant run to replace himself. Instead, voters will be asked two questions on Sept. 14: Should Newsom be recalled? And if so, who should replace him?

If a majority votes yes on the first question, whoever receives the most votes on the second question will replace Newsom for the rest of his term, which ends in January 2023, even if the winning candidate doesnt obtain a majority.

The field is much smaller than for the 2003 special election, in which 135 people ran to replace Gov. Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged victorious.

Emma Talley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: emma.talley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EmmaT332
Get information and maps for the Tamarack Fire from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Find road closure updates at Caltrans District 10's Twitter feed.

Find the latest evacuation information here.

Live camera feeds can be seen here.

A wildfire burning in California's Alpine County ballooned Saturday, ripping through 6,600 acres in a day and threatening the county seat, Markleeville.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, went from 500 acres to 6,600 acres on Saturday, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It's now burned 18,299 total acres, or about 30 square miles, and jumped Highway 89. There is 0% containment. The Forest Service said Saturday the fire had burned 21,000 acres but revised that total down early Sunday morning; this usually happens when they get better satellite mapping.

The fire has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said, and is burning toward the Alpine County Airport, about a 30-mile drive down Highway 89 from South Lake Tahoe.

"There are thunderstorms predicted today in the afternoon that may cause erratic winds in the fire area," Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest said in its most recent incident report. "Today, firefighters will continue to actively suppress the fire where they can do so safely. Crews will be focusing on preserving life and property with point protection of structures and putting in containment lines where possible."

The fire was burning in remote territory for weeks before gusting winds Saturday exploded it into a dangerous conflagration. On July 10, when the fire was a quarter-acre wide, the Forest Service said it made a "tactical management decision is not to insert fire crews due to safety concerns, however, this is not an unresponsive approach. [The fire] is surrounded by granite rocks, a small lake and sparse fuels. Fire poses no threat to the public, infrastructure or resource values."

Courtesy Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

But that all changed Saturday. High winds, low relative humidity and incredibly dry timber and brush created dire conditions along the fire lines. A huge column of smoke can be seen all throughout the region, creating smoky conditions in the Tahoe and Carson Valley areas. The National Weather Service is warning new fire starts are likely over the next two days with dry lightning in the forecast throughout California.

This weekend was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year during the coronavirus outbreak. A notice posted on the 103-mile Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Noah Berger/AP

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.

It happened so fast, Pennington said. We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left."

Alpine is California's least-populous county with just about 1,200 residents. Hundreds of them are now under mandatory evacuations.

Current evacuation zones include: Grover Hot Springs, Shay Creek, MarkleeVillage, Markleeville, Carson River Resort, & Poor Boy Road area, Wolf Creek Campground, Silver Creek Campground, Sierra Pines, Upper and Lower Manzanita, Crystal Springs, Alpine Village, Diamond Valley Road and Hung-a-lel-ti.

Noah Berger/AP

Noah Berger/AP

Noah Berger/AP

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
There are two types of Disneyland people: those who have never heard of Trader Sams Enchanted Tiki Bar, and those who can recite the entire menu (even the secret parts) by heart. The fact that I can tell you exactly which cocktails trigger which magic to happen  spoiler alert, a volcano erupts if you order a specific one  should tell you about the camp Im in. But even as a committed fan who has, on two separate occasions, waited for two hours to get inside Trader Sams since it reopened earlier this month, Im still discovering its secrets.

For Disneyland, though, thats a good thing. They designed it that way.

If you are lucky enough to score a table at Trader Sams Enchanted Tiki Bar, cleverly tucked away between the pools in the central courtyard of the Disneyland Hotel, youll get a warning from the skipper before you walk through the doors. One, the person will tell you, theres no jumping to anyone elses boat (read: table) while youre inside. Two, youve got 90 minutes to enjoy your adventure, at which point youll be given a life raft in the form of a check presenter to make your way back to shore. Three, rules one and two arent meant to be taken that seriously, but if theres a problem, theyll let you know about it.

Sure, its kitschy, but if your tolerance for kitsch is low, Disneyland probably isnt the place for you anyway.

Julie Tremaine

Inside, youll find a tiny space that is filled, top to bottom, with photos, memorabilia, windows that look out onto a serene Krakatoa that definitely isnt about to erupt if someone orders the Krakatoa Punch, and bartenders cranking out some of the best tiki drinks in California. The whole space only seats 47 people, but the place is in such high demand that there is constant turnover at the bar and tables, and those servers are busy.

Not too busy, though, to unleash their signature quips that guests have come to expect  nay, love  that are juuust this side of snarky.

Ladies and gentlemen, a bartender shouted last time I was there, as the darkened room filled with ominous red light, for the first time in nearly three minutes, Mount Krakatoa is erupting! Run for your liiiiiiives. Those serene vistas turned dark, as what were once windows looking at a sunny day on Krakatoa filled with violently spewing lava against darkened skies. Everyone in the room clapped and cheered, or mimed fake surprise and fear, except for the newbies who didnt know it was coming and were genuinely surprised and delighted.

After a moment, everything returned to normal, and Krakatoa once again went dormant, waiting for the next drink order to trigger the effects all over again.

Youd have to imagine it might get exhausting to have to muster enthusiasm for the same three special effects several times an hour  there are two other drinks that make things happen when you order them, but Im not going to tell you what they are  but it doesnt feel that way to me or to the other guests eagerly waiting for the next thing to happen. The bartenders are performers in the theatre of Trader Sams, and we are there to watch their show.

Julie Tremaine

Im always surprised when someone hasnt heard of Trader Sams, or hasnt been there since it opened in 2011, but its diminutive size, relative lack of signage, no-reservations policy and location in the same building as Tangaroa Terrace, the Disneyland Hotels quick service walk-up restaurant, all work against the bar being too well-known.

Before the pandemic closure, it was easy to get a seat without a wait pretty much any time except weekend nights. Right now, Trader Sams is only serving inside after 4 p.m., and all three times I tried to get inside this month (once I didnt make it, but twice I did) there was a two-hour wait. The same cocktails are available at a walk-up bar outside and on the terrace, but without all of the kitsch and fanfare, the outdoor Trader Sams experience falls short for me.

Julie Tremaine

The thing is, even without the cocktails, the decor is so fascinating that you could spend hours inside and not see it all. Trust me, Ive tried, but the place is so jam-packed with storytelling and Easter eggs that you can only get a little piece every time. The interior of Trader Sams looks a lot like the Enchanted Tiki Room inside Disneyland Park, but the theming is mostly Jungle Cruise.

Until recently, Trader Sam played a large part in the storyline of that ride. Now, on the reopened ride that has removed some racially insensitive stereotypes, Sam is no longer a visually featured character. According to the rides revised storyline, the head salesman of the jungle once portrayed with shrunken heads is out collecting new items for his Trader Sams Lost and Found Gift Shop.

Inside the tiki bar, there are the same items all over the walls that Trader Sam has collected in his travels, and notes from Sam himself explaining where he got them in the Jungle Cruises signature punny style. Next to a figurine of the Orange Bird, originally designed as a mascot for the Florida Orange Commission who is a deep-cut favorite character for Disney fans, theres a note from Sam saying, Traded for this because I thought it had appeal. An orange had a peel. Get it? (While you dont have to have a cocktail to go to Trader Sams  there are non-alcoholic drinks and plenty of food  the jokes definitely get funnier if you do.)

Julie Tremaine

There are also references all around to Disney lore, especially to the Adventurers Club, a deeply beloved and now-obscure part of Disney mythology, which was once a restaurant in what is now Disney Springs (the Walt Disney World equivalent of Downtown Disney) in Orlando. References to members of the Adventurers Club, who all have detailed backstories, are at Disney resorts around the world, especially in Tokyo Disney Sea and the Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen restaurant in Magic Kingdom, and are also in the revamped Jungle Cruise ride. At Trader Sams, there are postcards and photos from Adventurers all over, and you can learn more about their travels.

Some of the inside jokes are about Imagineers, Disneys term for its designers. Theres a tiki effigy of Joe Rohde, who designed Disneys Animal Kingdom among many other things, complete with Rohdes signature earrings. A postcard signed from Yale  ostensibly Yale Gracey, who famously created the Haunted Mansion  says he looks forward to passing through the bar. Gracey died in 1983, 28 years before Trader Sams opened.

References to other Disney IP are everywhere, especially Indiana Jones, whose whip is on display, and who gave Sam a statue that, as Sam explains in a note nearby, is a gift from Professor Jones. I enjoy looking at it in my idol hours. It sits on a shelf behind the bar next to the empty Paradise Falls savings jug from Up. Theres also a reference to Trader Sams Grog Grotto, the Walt Disney World counterpart that opened in 2015 in Disneys Polynesian Village Resort, in the form of an old photo of that hotels sign.

Julie Tremaine

The best secrets, though, are off the menu. To me, what separates Trader Sams from Disneys other themed bars like Ogas Cantina is that the bartenders at Sams are passionate tiki aficionados who came up in the Los Angeles tiki scene, so they arent just going off the official Disney drink recipes. Ask them in a not-busy moment, and any one of them can make you a cocktail thats not on the menu but came out of the citys classic tiki recipes. Last time, I asked the bartender for a less sweet drink similar to the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum (their version of a painkiller) and he flipped through his own recipe notes to produce something straight from a 1930s recipe.

Those bartenders have always got a secret or two up their sleeve. Theres even a constantly changing but ever present secret cocktail menu. When The Mandalorian came out early in late 2019, you could order The Cargo or The Child or a Baby Yoda and get a green cocktail that looked just like little Grogu, down to a napkin wrapped around the stem of the glass meant to evoke his clothing.

Dont be surprised, though, if whatever secret cocktail you heard about isnt there when you visit. Youve got to catch Sam while you can  and if not, theres always next time.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  A fuel tanker exploded in western Kenya while people were siphoning fuel from it, killing 13 people, police said Sunday.

Residents started siphoning fuel from the tanker after it was involved in a crash late Saturday with a trailer near the Malanga Village in Siaya county, Gem subcounty Police commander Charles Chacha said.

The trailer which was ferrying 20 tons of milk hit the fuel tanker which was heading to Busia, he said.

The tanker hit the vehicle on the right rear side. As a result of the impact, it overturned on the extreme left side of the road, he said.

He said that members of the public, rushed to the crash scene to siphon fuel.

Moments later, the fuel tanker burst into flames," he said.

Despite warnings from authorities of the dangers of siphoning after the deaths of hundreds in previous incidents, many Kenyans continue to do it because they are pressed by poverty.

In 2009, at least 120 people were killed after a huge crowd descended on an overturned gasoline tanker, which then blew up. But poverty-stricken families say they have little choice: spiraling food and fuel prices mean many can't feed their children.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Four hunters from Indiana have pled guilty and paid fines in a southern Illinois poaching case, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The four hunters were accused of deer hunting with rifles without required permits or hunting licenses and had two untagged, harvested deer with them. They pled guilty in Williamson County to unlawful use of a rifle.
PHOENIX (AP)  Former President Donald Trump issued three statements in two days falsely claiming that voting fraud and irregularities cost him Arizona's electoral votes.

Trump relied on comments made Thursday by contractors hired by state Senate Republicans to oversee a partisan review of the 2020 vote count in Maricopa County, which includes metro Phoenix.

The forensic audit, as Senate GOP leaders are calling their review, is overseen by Cyber Ninjas, a small computer security firm with no election experience before Trump began questioning the 2020 results. Its CEO, Doug Logan, spread false conspiracy theories about the election before he was hired to lead the Arizona review.

Logan and Ben Cotton, a digital forensics analyst working on the audit, described issues they say need further review. Trump has parroted them as evidence the election results are tainted.

County officials and elections experts say the claims are false and based on a misunderstanding of election materials, which they say creates an appearance of irregularities where none exists.

Trump laid out his claims most specifically in a statement Friday night. A look at the irregularities he alleges in that statement:

TRUMP: 168,000 fraudulent ballots printed on illegal paper (unofficial ballots)

THE FACTS: All of that is false. The ballots were not unofficial or printed on illegal paper, and even Logan never alleged they were fraudulent.

Logan pointed to ballots with the printing slightly offset between the front and back. He claimed this could cause votes to be counted for the wrong candidate if ink from one side bleeds through to another. He said the alignment issues were mostly from polling-place ballots, which are printed onsite, and said about 168,000 ballots were cast that way. The overwhelming majority of Arizona voters cast ballots by mail.

We are seeing a lot of very thin paper stock being used especially on Election Day, Logan added.

The allegation harkens back to the debunked Sharpiegate conspiracy theory that arose in the days after the election. Election experts say bleed-through doesnt affect the vote count because bubbles on one side of a ballot dont align with those on the other. Ballots that can't be read are flagged and duplicated by a bipartisan team.

Arizonas election procedures manual says only that ballots must be printed with black ink on white paper of sufficient thickness to prevent the printing from being discernible on the reverse side the ballot. Maricopa County uses 80 pound Votesecur paper from Rolland, which is among the papers approved by Dominion Voting Systems, which makes the county's tabulation equipment, said Fields Moseley, a county spokesman.

Logan did not provide any evidence that alignment problems affected the vote count and said the issue needs more analysis.

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TRUMP, citing 74,000 mail in ballots received that were never mailed (magically appearing ballots)."

THE FACTS: No, there were no magically appearing ballots. He is alleging that the number of filled-out ballots received in the mail by election officials exceeded the number of people who had asked earlier for mail-in ballots, by 74,000. But that's not at all what happened.

The claim mischaracterizes reports created for political parties to track who has voted early so they can target their get-out-the-vote efforts.

One report tracks all requests that voters make for early ballots, either by mail or in person, up to 11 days before the election. The other report tracks all ballots received through the day before the election. That leaves a 10-day window during which people who vote in-person but don't request a mail ballot would appear on one report but not the other.

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TRUMP, claiming 11,000 voters were added to the voter rolls AFTER the election and still voted."

THE FACTS: There's nothing untoward about voters rolls growing after Election Day. The rolls are simply updated to reflect people whose provisional ballots are added to the tally after election officials verify that they were eligible to vote.

The allegation that the updated tally was the result of electoral wrongdoing first came from Logan this past week, when he told state lawmakers of 11,326 people that did not show up on the Nov. 7 version of the voter rolls, after votes were cast, but then appeared on the Dec. 4 voter rolls.

Maricopa County officials said Logan is probably referring to provisional ballots, which are cast by people who do not appear on the voter rolls or don't have the proper identification on Election Day. They're only counted if the voter later shows he or she was eligible to vote. To be eligible, such voters must have registered before the deadline.

These go through a rigorous verification process to make sure that the provisional ballots cast are only counted if the voter is eligible to vote in the election, Maricopa County officials wrote on Twitter. This happens after Election Day. Only eligible voters are added to the voter rolls.

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TRUMP, alleging all the access logs to the machines were wiped, and the election server was hacked during the election.

THE FACTS: That flies in the face of the evidence. Maricopa County's election server is not connected to the internet and independent auditors found no evidence the election server was hacked.

Trump's hacking allegation refers to the unauthorized download of public data from the county's voter registration system. That system, which is connected to the internet and broadly accessible to political parties and election workers, is not linked to the election management system, the web of ballot counters, computers and servers that tallies votes.

The election management system is air gapped," or kept disconnected from the rest of the county's computer network and the wider internet. Two firms certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to test voting systems found Maricopa County's machines were not connected to the internet and did not have malicious hardware or software installed.

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TRUMP: Arizona shows Fraud and Voting Irregularities many times more than would be needed to change the outcome of the Election.

THE FACTS: Not so. The number of potential fraud cases is far smaller than President Joe Biden's margin of victory in Arizona.

County election officials identified 182 cases where voting problems were clear enough that they referred them to investigators for further review, according to an Associated Press investigation. So far, only four cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. No one has been convicted. No persons vote was counted twice.

Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes out of 3.4 million cast. Of the four cases that have resulted in criminal charges, two involved Democratic voters and two involved Republicans.

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EDITOR'S NOTE  A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.

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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in Seattle contributed to this report.

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck
ASHLAND, Ky. (AP)  Making connections with others has been difficult for the last year or so, especially for those in assisted living and nursing homes.

So Laney Orndorff got an idea to make connecting a little easier.

Orndorff, a certified nurse aide at The Lantern at Morning Pointe, thought the loss of socialization affected the elderly and teens.

I was just thinking about how our residents and students are going through the same things we are, the struggle with COVID-19 and not seeing family as much, so I thought we should kind of relate those two struggles and bring a positive outlook to it, she said. (Residents) tend to connect to young people, teens and children. Its a good way to connect to their youthfulness. I reminisce with residents every day. Most of them have huge photo binders from their youth, and its interesting to the young people to learn about them.

Orndorff spoke to her high school visual art teacher, Jennifer Spade, about a project to involve students and residents.

Laney wanted to make a difference and had the idea to reach out to me, where she was just a senior in my classroom last year, to see if I would be willing to have my students collaborate in a partnership with her elderly patients and a beautiful project has begun, Spade said. Laney interviewed 28 patients and put together a slideshow biography of each person. For example, Katie is 86 years old; she loves cats, chocolate and her favorite color is blue. She enjoys walking, shes a very talented pianist and worked at Armco steel.

I asked Laney to photograph each individual so my students could put a face with their name and, in turn, my students created their own bio for their senior partner, as well as drawing a personalized coloring page based on their interests.

The students thought the project was a good idea.

This was a great experience. Making art for yourself is one thing, but making art for others in need is such an amazing feeling, Ollie Merge, 17-year-old junior and son of Florian Merget, said. I chose to do this project because I like making a change, even if its a little one. Most people feel lonely during the times right now; I couldnt imagine how they feel in the nursing homes. I hope I made a difference and made someone happy and felt less lonely.

Hannah Laney, 16-year-old sophomore and daughter of Lonnie and Anita Laney, said: Doing this project is so important because it helps remind these people that they are loved and appreciated even when circumstances prevent others from directly telling them so.

Freshman Levi Joseph said he appreciates what seniors have to offer.

The best thing to do is be nice to the elderly because they are wise and you might just learn something useful, the 15-year-old son of Sonya Joseph and Randy Joseph, said.

After creation of the coloring pages, Blazer students sent their works, and the slideshow, to Morning Pointe.

Orndorff said her patients light up when they see young people, so they will virtually meet via Google slides to learn about each other since strict visiting rules prevent students from being able to hand deliver their pictures.

Once the residents color their pages, students will receive a copy.

Orndorff said residents like to color.

Its universally relaxing, she said. It brings a lot of focus to our residents. It occupies their time and calms them down and its something they can really be proud of.

Britni Canfield, Lantern program director, said it was great timing.

We had been talking about trying to find something to get the schools involved and working with kids, Canfield said. Visitations are tricky, so weve been trying to find a way to have a partnership. Any time a resident moves in, we have the families fill out the resident profile and keep it in a binder and we can tailor projects to them.

Some patients are unable to color due to loss of fine motor skills, so those patients will receive a picture/sensory bag created from various objects placed in gel, sand, and other small objects that they can manipulate while stimulating their senses.

Spade said her students were excited to help the elderly in their community, and she said shes proud of her former student for thinking of it.

I love that Laney has such a big heart and that she thought of me to help her implement this wonderful idea of joining old and young in our community using art as a mechanism to bring people together, Spade said.
A chemical leak at a Houston-area water park left dozens suffering from minor skin irritation and respiratory issues Saturday, authorities said.

Twenty-nine people were taken to local hospitals following the incident at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring, the Harris County Fire Marshals Office tweeted. Thirty-nine others declined to be taken to a hospital after undergoing decontamination procedures.

KPRC-TV reports that some of those who became sick were children, including a 3-year-old who was hospitalized in stable condition.

The chemicals involved included hypochlorite solution and 35% sulfuric acid, officials said.

The safety of our guests and team member is always our highest priority and the park was immediately cleared as we try to determine a cause, Hurricane Harbor Splashtown spokesperson Rosie Shepard said in a statement, according to news outlets. "Out of an abundance of caution, the park has been closed for the day.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident, which they said was contained to one attraction at the park.

Grateful for the swift action from first responders today at Splashtown, Houstons chief elected official, Lina Hidalgo, tweeted. Weve issued a closure order to investigate and ensure the park meets all requirements before reopening again.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP)  During the course of more than seven decades, a family-owned Dubuque business has established itself as a reputable designer of industrial manufacturing tools and producer of individual parts.

Uelner Precision Tools & Dies, 4545 Futuro Court, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

We have customers throughout the United States, and we are shipping parts all around the world, said company President Thomas Uelner. We have some local business, but a lot of it is outside of the area.

There are two major facets to the operation of the company. First, it designs and creates the tools needed to manufacture specific mechanical parts, whether interior automotive components or agricultural parts.

Thomas Uelner said these tools are complex and require a precise design in order to work properly.

These can take six months to build and have 500 components that go into it, Uelner told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. A lot of skill goes into making that kind of tool.

Secondly, the company uses its metal stamping presses to manufacture a variety of parts for customers, such as automotive parts.

Brad Kueter, head of continuous improvement and sales and marketing, said Uelners 55,000-square-foot facility produces from 9 million to 14 million parts per year for companies that include the General Motors Co., Tesla and Magna International.

For one customer, I am making 25,000 parts a week, Kueter said. When you add up all the customers we serve, that is a lot of parts.

The company was founded in Dubuque by Thomas Uelners grandfather Felix in 1946.

Initially, Felix ran the company out of a rented garage near Flora Park. At the time, the company specifically focused on tool and die production. It eventually moved to a more permanent location on Washington Street.

Early on, Thomas Uelner said, the company primarily created the tools needed for toy production.

In 1986, the company moved to the Dubuque Industrial Center West in a new facility.

In 1997, the company, by then under the leadership of Thomas, invested in adding production stamping to its operations. Today, the company has evolved from a small tool shop with a handful of employees to a major tool and die provider in the Midwest region that employs nearly 50 people.

Jayne Uelner, the wife of Thomas and the director of human resources for the company, said Uelner Precision Tools & Dies has made a name for itself through its commitment to creating quality parts, something that is particularly important during a time when some companies are turning to having their tools produced overseas.

Its all about the quality and the skill of the people that you hire and are working with, she said.

Thomas said many companies often experience issues with delivery and quality when outsourcing their tool production, which, in turn, gives his company the opportunity to make things right.

With Ford and GM, we kept them from shutting down because of a poorly made part offshore, Thomas said. We were able to improve the tool enough that we could take it to their facility and run it in their presses.

However, Thomas also attributed the companys continued success to its investment in quality employees. The company participates in promoting trade school education, and those that it hires are given competitive pay and workplace flexibility.

Its the people that you hire, and the people that grow every day that make the company better, Thomas said. This is a family business. Its not just about pushing numbers.

Though the company faces challenges, ranging from workforce shortages to a transition from in-person to online sales methods, Thomas said he feels confident in the future of his now-historic family business.

Its really rewarding, he said. Seeing our employees and our company grow is a rewarding thing to see.
ESSEX, Vt. (AP)  The village of Essex Junction is seeking to improve its Amtrak station.

The chair of the board of trustees told WCAX-TV that the board has requested $3 million in federal funding to renovate the train station and give it a modern look.

We really want to make sure that when people come and see the train station its something that they feel comfortable stopping at and not something they feel scared or intimidated (by)," said Andrew Brown, village president and chairman of the board.

The station is the most used Amtrak hub in Vermont and renovations are needed to make it accessible and to upgrade bathrooms and the waiting area, the board said.

Amtrak is expected to resume service next week after it was shut down during the pandemic.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP)  Jean Dean, the first woman to serve as mayor of Huntington, West Virginia, has died.

Dean died Saturday morning, her son Justin Gibson told the Herald-Dispatch. Her health had been deteriorating, he said.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Elise Winter, the wife of former Mississippi Gov. William Winter, was surrounded by loved ones when she died Saturday at her home in Jackson, said Dick Molpus, a longtime family friend who served on Winter's gubernatorial staff. She was 95.

The family did not release a cause of death.

Born Elise Varner, she grew up in the north Mississippi town of Senatobia, sometimes working in her father's pharmacy. She started dating William Winter while they were both students at the University of Mississippi in the late 1940s. They married in 1950.

William Winter was 97 when he died Dec. 19.

William Winter was a Democrat and served as governor from 1980 to 1984. He was best known for pushing Mississippi lawmakers to enact the Education Reform Act of 1982, which set rules for compulsory school attendance, established free public kindergartens and set quality standards for schools and teachers in a state that had long struggled with the intertwined problems of poverty, racial strife and poor academic performance. Elise Winter joined her husband's key staff members in traveling the state to persuade people to accept the changes he was proposing.

William and Elise Winter hosted social gatherings at the Mississippi Governor's Mansion for people prominent in politics and the arts, including many who grew up or lived in Mississippi, such as authors Eudora Welty, Margaret Walker Alexander and Willie Morris, blues legend B.B King and opera soprano Leontyne Price.

In 2015, Elise Winter published a book, Once in a Lifetime: Reflections of a Mississippi First Lady. She told Elbert Hilliard, director emeritus of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, during an interview in front of an audience in May 2015 that she had used a recorder to dictate her thoughts for what she what she intended only a historical record, usually after her husband was asleep. After she was persuaded to publish those recorded journals as a memoir, she worked with one of her friends, author and editor Joanne Prichard Morris, to put the book into shape.

I found that ... in recording, that you could say what you felt, Elise Winter said.

Elise Winter told Hilliard that as first lady, she became interested in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. She said she walked with her husband as he stuck his hands between bars of prison cells and introduced himself to inmates. She said he always said, 'Tell me who you are, how far you got in school.'

A number of these young people had not had any opportunity or had not had taken what opportunities they had to go to school, Elise Winter said.

She said she became interested in the need for a visitors' center where families could see their imprisoned loved ones.

It was dreadful that they didn't have a place that they could come, said Elise Winter, who worked with a prominent Mississippi businessman to ensure that the center was built.

Elise Winter said during the interview that she learned, as a politician's wife, that campaigning was just part of life. She recalled meeting a man who peered over his glasses and asked if she was William Winter's wife. When she said yes, she said the man told her, 'Well, I guess if you can stand him, we can.'

I often thought that if you didn't have a sense of humor, you might as well just get out of the way in politics, because without a sense of humor you couldn't make it," she said.

When William Winter was in office, Mississippi governors were banned from seeking back-to-back terms. That prohibition was repealed in the late 1980s.

She is survived by three daughters, Anne Winter, Lele Gillespie and Eleanor Winter; five grandchildren, Dr. Winter Williams, Dr. Zach Williams, Ty Gillespie, Caroline Gillespie, and Grace Gillespie; and five great-grandchildren.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Gov. Tim Walz and top state Democratic lawmakers are calling on state Rep. John Thompson to resign following reports of domestic violence allegations in his past.

The four domestic assault cases, spanning a period between 2003 and 2009, included allegations that Thompson punched and choked women, sometimes in the presence of children, the Star Tribune reports. FOX 9 first reported the allegations Friday night.

The alleged acts of violence against multiple women outlined in these reports are serious and deeply disturbing, Walz said in a statement. Minnesotans deserve representatives of the highest moral character, who uphold our shared values. Rep. Thompson can no longer effectively be that leader and he should immediately resign.

Neither Thompson nor his attorney, Bruce Nestor, could be reached for comment on Saturday.

The first-term Democrat represents a district on the east side of St. Paul and has been in the spotlight since he was stopped by police while driving July 4.

The St. Paul Police Department said an officer pulled over Thompson, who is Black, because his car did not have a front license plate, and cited him for driving under suspension. Thompson, a longtime activist who is now pushing as a legislator to change laws around police encounters, said he was being profiled by law enforcement.

The stop prompted more attention to Thompsons past record, which also includes a 2019 misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process after he got in an argument with law enforcement over their treatment of the family and friends of a patient at North Memorial Health Hospital.

The stop also raised questions about Thompsons residency after he presented a Wisconsin license to the officer. He later revealed that he has never had a Minnesota license. Republicans have called into question the process for verifying his residency at the time he filed to run for office.

An October 2003 domestic abuse report, according to FOX 9, was filed in Superior, Wisconsin, when Thompson was accused of striking his girlfriend in the face in a supermarket parking lot in front of her 5-year-old daughter. Thompson fled police but eventually pleaded guilty to a lower charge of disorderly conduct.

A year later, Thompson was accused of attacking the same woman in her Eagan apartment, hitting her, choking and threatening her because she dialed 911. Children were present, according to FOX 9. In 2009, police were called after an argument broke out between Thompson and two women over a cellphone, during which Thompson allegedly took out his penis in front of one woman and her children, FOX 9 reported. He has not been charged with domestic assault in any of these instances.

In addition to Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent and state DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin all called for Thompsons immediate resignation Saturday, sending out releases within minutes of one another. Also calling for Thompsons resignation was U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a former state legislator whose Congressional district includes St. Paul.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Haiti's political future on Sunday grew murkier after the surprise return of first lady Martine Moise, who was released from a hospital in Miami where she was treated for injuries following an attack in which the president was assassinated.

Martine Moise did not make any public statements after she descended a private jet wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof vest, a black face mask and her right arm in a black sling as she mourned for President Jovenel Moise, who was killed July 7 at their private home.

Some experts  like many in this country of more than 11 million people  were surprised at how quickly she reappeared in Haiti and questioned whether she plans to become involved in the country's politics.

The fact that she returned could suggest she intends to play some role, said Laurent Dubois, a Haiti expert and Duke University professor. She may intervene in one way or another.

Martine Moise arrived just hours after a prominent group of international diplomats issued a statement that appeared to shun interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the man currently running the country with the backing of police and the military.

Joseph's name was never mentioned in the statement made by the Core Group, composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

The group called for the creation of a consensual and inclusive government, adding, To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government.

Henry was designated prime minister a day before Jovenel Moise was killed. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.N., OAS and U.S. State Department did not offer further explanation when contacted.

Given the current state of Haitian politics, Dubois said he believes the arrival of Martine Moise could have an impact.

Shes obviously in a position to play a role ... given how wide open things are, he said, adding that the Core Group's statement is striking because it makes no reference to Joseph. One has to wonder whether the developments in the investigation have anything to do with this. Theyre all these puzzle pieces that are just changing moment to moment. Right now it seems very hard to figure out how to put these together.

Authorities in Haiti and Colombia say at least 18 suspects directly linked to the killing have been arrested, the majority of them former Colombian soldiers. At least three suspects were killed and police say they are looking for numerous others. Colombian officials have said that the majority of former soldiers were duped and did not know of the assassination plot.

Police in Haiti on Sunday identified another suspect in the case: Pierre Joseph Ashkard. Online records show he is a Canadian-based businessman who runs a medical business in Texas with Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian physician and pastor whom local authorities recently arrested and consider a key suspect.

A day after the killing, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price had said Joseph was the incumbent in the position and was serving as acting prime minister before the assassination: We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such, he said.

On July 11, a delegation of representatives from various U.S. agencies traveled to Haiti to review critical infrastructure, talk with Haitian National Police and meet with Joseph, Henry and Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert in a joint meeting.

The deepening political turmoil has prompted dozens of Haitians to visit the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince in recent days to seek a visa or political asylum.

We can't stay anymore in the country, said Jim Kenneth, a 19-year-old who would like to study medicine in the U.S. We feel very insecure.
MUNCIE, Ind. (AP)  A former Muncie police officer is expected to plead guilty next month in connection with a federal investigation of excessive force allegations against other officers.

Former police officer Dalton Kurtz, 31, is expected to plead guilty to misprision of felony" on Aug. 4 in federal court in Indianapolis, according to The (Muncie) Star Press.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Louisiana's new legislative auditor, whose office reviews the financial books of state and local government agencies, is getting a higher pay package than his predecessor, under a salary agreement negotiated with lawmakers behind closed doors.

The Legislative Audit Advisory Council set a $195,000 salary for Mike Waguespack, a former Assumption Parish sheriff who was elected by lawmakers to the position in April. He'll also receive a $22,800 annual housing allowance and an $18,000 yearly car allowance.
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP)  A group at Homestead National Historical Park is continuing efforts to boost the population of two species of mussels in Gage County.

The project began last July when 1,000 mussels  500 fatmucket and 500 plain pocketbook mussels  were distributed in Cub Creek at Homestead.

A second round was completed Tuesday when another 500 plain pocket and 450 fatmucket mussels were placed in the creek, according to the Beatrice Daily Sun.

Before we stocked them last year we did a complete study of the stream to see what species were present, said Jesse Bolli, Homesteads natural resource management specialist. We found several different species in the stream, but there were no fatmuckets and there were no plain pocketbooks. We felt it was appropriate to introduce those mussels.

The mussels were provided by Nebraska Game and Parks, and 100 of each species were tagged with tracers so officials can check on them next year.

The same amount were tagged last year, and While the survey numbers seem low, they showed enough promise to continue the program for a second time.

Game and Parks put PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags on 100 of each species, Bolli said. This year we redid the census and were able to search for those mussels we stocked. With the PIT tag reader we were able to find 29 mussels of the 200 we stocked with tags. We were pretty happy with that. Mussels are kind of at the bottom of the food chain. A lot of things like to eat them. We felt like even though that seems like a low number, the creek is healthy enough to support them.

In addition to tracking the mussels with a PIT tag, a complete survey was done on a one-mile stretch of the creek. The survey required workers on their hands and knees to search for mussels and took eight days to complete. The results were 508 live mussels found. That figure is higher than the 311 found last year, which Bolli suspects was in part due to lower water levels in 2021.

Last year we had a lot of high water, but this year the stream is at a nice steady flow, he said. It was really good for the survey. I think thats the reason we found more mussels this year.

The survey was conducted by members of the Youth Conservation Corps., a group of high school workers, as well as two interns at Homestead.

Bolli added its important to maintain the mussel population, as they provide many benefits for the ecosystem.

Freshwater mussels filter food like phytoplankton and other microorganism out of the water. Freshwater mussel numbers are declining in many areas and some species are disappearing altogether. In Nebraska historically there were 30 species, today only 12 of those species are doing well, the rest have been extirpated from the state or they are in danger of being extirpated.

You just want to maintain biodiversity, Bolli said. Mussels, they are filtering waters. A mussel as small as 6 cm can filter one liter of water per hour. You get enough mussels out there and that does make a difference.

Its rather concerning that the diversity of mussels is decreasing. 300 species present in North America, 72% of those are of conservation concern. Scientists are concerned about a lot of mussels disappearing.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation  of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history  is fueling straight-up delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6.

Hate is love. Violence is peace. The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots.

Months after the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol that winter day, Trump and his acolytes are taking this revisionism to a new and dangerous place  one of martyrs and warlike heroes, and of revenge. It's a place where cries of blue lives matter have transformed into shouts of f--- the blue.

The fact inversion about the siege is the latest in Trump's contorted oeuvre of the "big lie compendium, the most specious of which is that the election was stolen from him, when it was not.

It is rooted in the basic formula of potent propaganda through the ages: Say it loud, say it often, say it with the heft of political power behind you, and people will believe. Once spread by pamphlets, posters and word of mouth, now spread by swipe of finger, the result is the same: a passionate, unquestioning following.

Techniques of glorifying your side and demonizing the other with skewed information, if not outright lies, have been in play at least since World War I, when the U.S. government roused sentiment for the cause with posters depicting the German soldier as an ape-human with an American maiden in his clutches. That paled next to what followed years later with Nazi Germany's terrifying use of propaganda for the slaughter and subjugation of millions.

Whether the deception feeds warmongering or merely a defeated president's ego, some of the methods are the same, like telling the same fabrication over and over until it sticks.

Trump perfected the art of repetition  about the election hoax, the rigged election and massive voter fraud, with none of those accusations substantiated but engrained nonetheless among his supporters.

Four years ago, Trump appeared to equate white supremacists and racial justice protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his comment that there were very fine people, on both sides.

This time, in this telling, the very fine people on Jan. 6 were on one side: his.

For the other side  the police, overwhelmed for hours and beaten in the insurrection  Trump only has an in-your-face question that doubles as a four-word conspiracy theory: Who killed Ashli Babbitt?

Those words have become a viral mantra meant to elevate Babbitt as a righteous martyr. They ricochet around the mainline social media platforms where Trump is banned for spreading misinformation but his followers still commiserate. The woman died from a police officer's bullet fired as she tried to climb through the jagged glass of a smashed window toward the House chamber.

Trump and many Republicans have cycled through various characterizations of the insurrection, each wholly unlike the previous one. The attackers were said to be leftist antifa followers in disguise. Then were said to be overexcited tourists. Now they are heralded as foot soldiers for freedom.

Each iteration has required Americans to ignore the rage they saw on their screens, and some lawmakers to ignore that they were among the shocked targets of the attackers that day.

The revisionists and their believers are swimming in a vast sea of nonsense," said Brendan Buck, a former top aide to House Speaker Paul Ryan.

That sea's currents are familiar to historians.

Once people buy into the lies, there can be no convincing them they aren't true, said Dolores Albarracin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of a coming book, Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts are Shaped.

Believers often dismiss anyone who tries to set them straight by claiming they are either duped or part of the conspiracy, Albarracin said.

The belief contains a device that protects it, she said. Nothing can invalidate the conspiracy theory. Trying to refute the theory proves the theory and signals you as a conspirator.

Recent polls illustrate the country's divide over Trump and his post-election histrionics. In essence, two-thirds of the population is against him; two-thirds of Republicans for him. In one of the latest, Quinnipiac found that 66% of Republicans consider President Joe Biden to have been illegitimately elected.

That number and others like it in multiple polls represent tens of millions of people who were hoodwinked into believing allegations of election fraud that have been thoroughly investigated and refuted. Trump's fabrications have stuck and now undergird the attempts by him and those closest to him to glorify the Jan. 6 mob.

The consequence of lying is you kind of never get back to where you were before," said Harvard historian Jill Lepore, whose podcast, The Last Archive, explores hoaxes, deceptions and what has happened to truth. Thats whats pernicious about our particular moment.

Of Trump, she said: His method is generally to just create chaos so that people really dont know which way to look.

In the case of the insurrection, his followers looked away. An aggressive amnesia seems to have taken hold over how ugly it was.

Swarming to the Capitol after a staging rally where Trump told them to fight like hell, the attackers injured scores of the outnumbered law enforcement officers.

Babbitt was part of the group that was trying to beat down the doors of the House chamber as Capitol Police officers were evacuating the House floor and as some members were still trapped in the upper gallery. The officers used furniture to barricade the glass doors separating the hallway from the Speakers Lobby to try to stave off the attackers, who were breaking glass with their fists, flagpoles and other objects.

Only three police officers were guarding the doors against at least 20 attackers. A Capitol Police lieutenant pointed his gun as hysteria reached a fever pitch. Attackers started to lift Babbitt up to climb through the jagged window. The officer fired one round.

Babbitt was struck in the shoulder. She later died.

Trump now states falsely, and repeatedly, that she was shot right in the head.

___

Klepper reported from Providence, R.I.
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. (AP)  A northwest Indiana community is looking for proposals to redevelop the historic Illiana Motor Speedway site into a business park.

The Schererville Town Council voted unanimously last week to work with the Lake County Economic Alliance to request proposals for the 50-acre site off U.S. 30, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for shooting a passenger on a bus in northeast Kansas City last year.

The Jackson County Prosecutor's office said Sunday that 52-year-old Larry Harris Jr. has been sentenced for shooting a passenger on a bus at a bus stop on March 30, 2020. A jury convicted Harris of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in May.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Kentucky State University's board of regents has called a special meeting to address financial concerns as the historically Black college prepares for a $50 million campus project.

The regents called a special meeting for Tuesday to hire an outside auditor to review the current financial status of Kentucky State University, according to the boards agenda.
ATLANTA (AP)  Congressional Democrats are exploring ways to include financial incentives for states to expand voting access as part of a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure bill, a key senator said Sunday.

Democrats have been struggling to get their marquee election reform bill passed in an evenly split Senate, where Republicans remain unified in their opposition and rules require 60 votes to advance most pieces of legislation.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota who chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee, said in an interview that the priority continues to be passing the legislation known as the For the People Act, which would usher in minimum voting standards in the U.S. such as automatic and same-day voter registration, early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.

But Klobuchar noted that Democrats could also use the process known as reconciliation to advance financial incentives for states to adopt certain reforms. Election systems have been designated critical infrastructure on par with the nations power plants, banks and dams.

You can do election infrastructure in there because that is part of infrastructure, Klobuchar said. Its no substitute for the For the People Act, but it is something we can start working on immediately and are working on right now.

Pushing election-related measures into the infrastructure bill would be a high-stakes gambit with no guarantee of success.

Under the congressional budget process, certain measures regarding revenues, spending and the debt can be approved with a 51-vote threshold, which is why Democrats are pursuing it. The process allows them to bypass a near-certain filibuster from Republicans.

But theres a catch: The Senates nonpartisan parliamentarian can rule for the removal of any provision not directly related to the budget, or items whose budget impact is merely incidental to their intended policy changes.

In the end, Democrats would not achieve their goal of federal standards through the infrastructure bill alone but could incentivize some states to move in that direction.

Money with incentives has passed before. So lets see what we can get approved, Klobuchar said. But again, that is only part of it. Look, its not the whole thing, right? But its a tool you dont want to let go.

President Joe Bidens big infrastructure proposals are moving through Congress on various tracks  each potentially complementing or torpedoing the other. A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion package of traditional infrastructure for roads, bridges, broadband and some climate change investments. The rest of Bidens ideas are being collected into the much broader multitrillion-dollar package that Democrats could approve on their own.

Republicans are unified against the larger infrastructure package and the election bill. The say the latter represents a Democratic power grab that amounts to a federal takeover of elections, which are administered at the state and local levels.

Republicans last month blocked an effort to debate the bill, and Democrats will have to decide whether they want to change Senate rules to ultimately pass the bill. At least two Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have said they oppose eliminating the filibuster rule.

Klobuchar was in Georgia ahead of a rare field hearing of the Senate Rules Committee, which will be held Monday at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The hearing is part of a sustained push by Klobuchar and fellow Democrats to pass their election bill. They say federal voting standards are needed to counter a raft of new laws pushed by GOP lawmakers in several states, including Georgia, to tighten voting rules.

Her visit also included a Sunday event with voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams. The two were scheduled to meet at a polling place in suburban Atlanta, where voters waited in long lines during early voting last year.

Georgia Republicans have pushed back against claims that their bill, known as SB 202, suppresses voters, noting that the state offers many of the measures Democrats are seeking in the federal bill, such as early voting, no-excuse absentee voting and automatic registration.

A campaign spokesperson for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is up for reelection next year, called Sundays event and Mondays hearing nothing more than political theatre.

After failing spectacularly to pass an unconstitutional federal takeover of elections in Washington, Democrats are now using one P.R. stunt after another to rally support for their far-left and grossly unpopular agenda, said Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell. SB 202 led the country on enacting common-sense election reforms, and any honest look at the bill reveals that.

While some of the more controversial aspects of the Georgia bill were scrapped during the legislative process, what passed is notable in its scope and for newly expansive powers granted to the state over local election offices.

The bill also adds a voter ID requirement for mail ballots, shortens the time period for requesting a mailed ballot, results in fewer ballot drop boxes available in metro Atlanta and bans the distribution of food and water by various groups and organizations to voters standing in line to cast a ballot. Several lawsuits have been filed over the law, including one by the U.S. Department of Justice.
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP)  Kosovos interior minister said Sunday that 11 Kosovar citizens have been repatriated from Syria.

Minister Xhelal Svecla tweeted that the 11 arrived Saturday from conflict zones in Syria, without giving details on where they were taken from or how many men, women or children were in the group.

Kosovo remains a proud and fully dedicated member of the global coalition against Daesh. We shall continue our strong fight against extremism and terrorism, he wrote.

In the past, Kosovar authorities had said that less than 90 citizens still remained in Syria, some men as fighters but most of them widows of Islamic State fighters or other terrorist groups, and a few children.

The United States embassy in Pristina commended the repatriation, tweeting that these returns demonstrate Kosovos willingness to take responsibility for its citizens while setting an example for others. Kosovo is a leader in the fight against terrorism & extremism.

Two years ago, Kosovo became the first country in Europe to repatriate from Syria 110 Kosovar citizens, mostly women and children, with the assistance of the United States. Many of the adults have already been charged for terrorism-linked activities and are serving jail terms.

More than 400 Kosovars initially joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, but none has left during the last few years, according to Kosovo authorities.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  The attorney for a Minnesota Democratic state representative facing calls to step down over allegations of domestic violence said Sunday the reports are not true and could be part of smear campaign by law enforcement.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and top state Democratic lawmakers want Rep. John Thompson to resign following reports of domestic violence allegations in his past.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  Police in Little Rock have arrested a man accused of fatally shooting an employee of a liquor store at the drive-through.

The suspect, Patrick Brown, 34, surrendered to officers early Sunday after barricading himself in an apartment. Police say he's been charged with capital murder.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Police in Albuquerque are investigating the death of a man seen dressed in a hospital gown whose body was later found in a campus police car.

Albuquerque TV station KOB reports that surveillance video Saturday showed the man wandering over to the University of New Mexico campus before getting into the back of the patrol car.
MILFORD, N.H. (AP)  Hitchiner Manufacturing has installed a 510-kilowatt solar array at one of its facilities in Milford, New Hampshire.

The array will produce more than 625,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy every year at a cost of less than $0.04 per kilowatt-hour, the company said in news release Friday. This will save Hitchiner more than $3.5 million over the arrays lifespan, and reduce Hitchiners carbon footprint by more than 665,000 pounds annually, the company said.
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP)  Inside a little office in downtown Gulfport, Tonisha Kimble is writing a new chapter in Mississippis history of Black-owned book stores.

Kimble opened the Wonders of the World Book and Toy Store space earlier this month, after years in business as an online vendor. The shop displays comics, picture books like Freedom We Sing, and notebooks Kimble designed herself, including one with the Audre Lorde quote Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.

Her shop joins a handful of Black-owned book stores in Mississippi.

A non-exclusive list: In Biloxi, theres the shop and publishing company Black Authors Rock. In Pearl, theres Milestone Christian Bookstore. And in Jackson, theres Marshalls Music & Bookstore, the oldest continuously operated Black-owned book shop in the country, according to its current owner.

These shops are bucking a national trend: From 2000 to 2012, the number of Black-owned book stores in the United States fell from 325 to 54.

And theyre doing it in Mississippi, the home state of some of Americas most influential authors, from Richard Wright and Anne Moody in the 20th century to Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon today.

Thats the legacy that Kimble hopes to carry forward on the Coast.

Its a weird combination  we have such a rich arts and literary history that people dont think about, she said. The first thing you think is something racist. It definitely takes work to have people know that were here.

A SINK OR SWIM MOMENT

This is how Kimble describes the COVID-19 pandemic: It was a sink or swim moment for me.

Before the pandemic, she relied on events to sell products and build relationships with potential customers. With events canceled or scaled back, it was hard to make enough money selling only online.

So she found the space in downtown Gulfport and decided to make the leap to open a brick-and-mortar store for the first time. Shes hoping the store will allow for serendipitous interactions with customers, conversations about books and toys for kids, book signings and author talks and even birthday parties.

As a kid, Kimble was a reader, and fortunate enough to always have books around. She loved mysteries (Agatha Christie, Anne Rice), flipping through encyclopedias, and books by Eric Jerome Dickey.

When her son was born, she wanted to help him love books, too. But she realized it was difficult to find books that represented her family.

I was like, if Im facing that problem, Im sure my friends and other people that I know who love books also and want to pass it on to their children are as well, she said. Why not start a business?

She started WoW while living in Florida a few years ago, as an online shop selling books, toys and puzzles. The logo, which she designed herself, depicts her and her son.

THE MEANING OF A BLACK-OWNED BOOK STORE

Owning a bookstore runs in Maati Jone Primms family. Her grandmother Ora Page Marshall founded Marshalls Music and Bookstore in Jackson 83 years ago.

It kind of makes us the unicorn of book stores, that we could go through three generations and five owners and still come out successful, Primm said.

Primm says Marshalls is the countrys oldest Black-owned bookstore. Its more than two decades older than Marcus Books, the Oakland, California, store often described as the oldest Black-owned bookstore in the U.S.

After emancipation, Primms great-grandmother founded a church and a school. Ora Page Marshall, the first member of her family born after slavery, carried on that family tradition of community involvement by opening her Christian bookstore in Jackson during the Great Depression.

Today, Primm carries on that tradition through the family business. As owner for the past 15 years, Primm expanded the stores offerings to include more books on Black history and culture. Marshalls teaches history programs in Jackson schools and at the store, and has contributed to advocacy campaigns

Life becomes a mission, because thats the roots that (Marshall) planted, the seeds that she planted, Primm said. We would understand that it is necessary to not live selfishly, but to live in a way that the world is a better place that we lived here.

I CANT WAIT TO SEE EVERYBODY

Tommye Morris said it was a revelation from that led her and her husband James Morris to open their store, Milestone Christian Bookstore, in Pearl in 1995. It was an extension of ministry: James Morris is the pastor of Christ-Anointed Church in Jackson.

We could provide information, a place for resources, for people who were curious about the word, wanting to know more, Tommye Morris said. The only way you can do that is study. Theres gotta be somewhere for people to get study materials. We wanted to provide that place.

The Bible, the most widely read book in the world, is of course their best seller, but prayer books and greeting cards are popular as well.

Their customers know that when they come to shop, they can pray, too, either with the Morrises or by dropping a note in the prayer request box.

Along with providing general resources for people to study Gods word or to have a way to understand His word better, we serve another purpose, and that is to be a loving Black presence in the community, Tommye Morris said.

WoW is a secular bookstore with a similar dedication to the community. Kimble envisions it as a place where kids can find something to do.

Even before opening her physical space, Kimble participated in events like a community baby shower focused on addressing health disparities that affect Black mothers.

Kimble doesnt worry much about Amazon, she said, because she has something they cant offer. She just wants to make sure people know where to find her.

I love my home state, Ive been a lot of places, and I really just want people to know that this type of culture is here, Kimble said. I cant wait to see everybody.

WONDERS OF THE WORLD BOOK AND TOY STORE

Where: 1520 29th Ave., Suite 3, Gulfport MS 39501

Hours: Hours vary so check the stores Facebook page for the latest information.

Other information

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wowbookandtoy

Website: https://wowbookandtoy.com/
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP)  New York environmental officers and local police are investigating fox attacks in Saratoga Springs and urging people in the area to be cautious outdoors.

Melissa Thompson-Flynn told the Times Union of Albany that she was attacked by a fox Wednesday while jogging. She said the animal came up behind her and bit her leg.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A baby found dead Saturday evening in New Orleans had been stabbed, police said.

A woman was also taken away from the scene for further evaluation, according to a New Orleans police news release. Police said no other details about what happened were immediately available.
BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP)  Police are investigating after four people were shot Sunday in a central North Carolina city.

Burlington Police said they responded around 2 a.m. to a call about a shooting. An investigation revealed an altercation inside a building preceded the shooting, according to a news release.

Officers found four victims who were being treated for injuries not considered life-threatening.

At this time, no suspect information has been provided to law enforcement, the news release said.

No further details were immediately released, and the victims were not identified.
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP)  A 23-year-old Sioux Falls man accused of abducting a woman at a South Dakota state park early Sunday morning and leading police on an extended chase remains at large, authorities said.

The victim was sitting in a vehicle at Oakwood State Park near the town of Bruce when the suspect allegedly started striking the vehicle with a machete. The man forcefully removed the woman and left the scene with her in another vehicle, according to the Brookings County Sheriff's Office.
BOSTON (AP)  An investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provides further evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents.

From a list of more than 50,000 cellphone numbers obtained by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories and the human rights group Amnesty International and shared with 16 news organizations, journalists were able to identify more than 1,000 individuals in 50 countries who were allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance.

They include 189 journalists, more than 600 politicians and government officials, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists and several heads of state, according to The Washington Post, a consortium member. The journalists work for organizations including The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde and The Financial Times.

Amnesty also reported that its forensic researchers had determined that NSO Group's flagship Pegasus spyware was successfully installed on the phone of Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, just four days after he was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The company had previously been implicated in other spying on Khashoggi.

NSO Group denied in an emailed response to AP questions that it has ever maintained a list of potential, past or existing targets. In a separate statement, it called the Forbidden Stories report full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories.

The company reiterated its claims that it only sells to vetted government agencies for use against terrorists and major criminals and that it has no visibility into its customers data. Critics call those claims dishonest  and have provided evidence that NSO directly manages the high-tech spying. They say the repeated abuse of Pegasus spyware highlights the nearly complete lack of regulation of the private global surveillance industry.

The source of the leak  and how it was authenticated -- was not disclosed. While a phone number's presence in the data does not mean an attempt was made to hack a device, the consortium said it believed the data indicated potential targets of NSO's government clients. The Post said it identified 37 hacked smartphones on the list. The Guardian, another consortium member, reported that Amnesty had found traces of Pegasus infections on the cellphones of 15 journalists who let their phones be examined after discovering their number was in the leaked data.

The most numbers on the list, 15,000, were for Mexican phones, with a large share in the Middle East. NSO Group's spyware has been implicated in targeted surveillance chiefly in the Middle East and Mexico. Saudi Arabia is reported to be among NSO clients. Also on the lists were phones in countries including France, Hungary, India, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

The number of journalists identified as targets vividly illustrates how Pegasus is used as a tool to intimidate critical media. It is about controlling public narrative, resisting scrutiny, and suppressing any dissenting voice, Amnesty quoted its secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, as saying.

In one case highlighted by the Guardian, Mexican reporter Cecilio Pineda Birto was assassinated in 2017 a few weeks after his cell phone number appeared on the leaked list.

AP's director of media relations, Lauren Easton, said the company is deeply troubled to learn that two AP journalists, along with journalists from many news organizations are on the list of the 1,000 potential targets for Pegasus infection. She said the AP was investigating to try to determine if its two staffers' devices were compromised by the spyware.

The consortium's findings build on extensive work by cybersecurity researchers, primarily from the University of Toronto-based watchdog Citizen Lab. NSO targets identified by researchers beginning in 2016 include dozens of Al-Jazeera journalists and executives, New York Times Beirut bureau chief Ben Hubbard, Moroccan journalist and activist Omar Radi and prominent Mexican anti-corruption reporter Carmen Aristegui. Her phone number was on the list, the Post reported. The Times said Hubbard and its former Mexico City bureau chief, Azam Ahmed, were on the list.

Two Hungarian investigative journalists, Andras Szabo and Szabolcs Panyi, were among journalists on the list whose phones were successfully infected with Pegasus, the Guardian reported.

Among more than two dozen previously documented Mexican targets are proponents of a soda tax, opposition politicians, human rights activists investigating a mass disappearance and the widow of a slain journalist. In the Middle East, the victims have mostly been journalists and dissidents, allegedly targeted by the Saudi and United Arab Emirates governments.

The consortium's Pegasus Project reporting bolsters accusations that not just autocratic regimes but democratic governments, including India and Mexico, have used NSO Group's Pegasus spyware for political ends. Its members, who include Le Monde and Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Germany, are promising a series of stories based on the leak.

Pegasus infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously control the smartphones microphones and cameras. In the case of journalists, that lets hackers spy on reporters communications with sources.

The program is designed to bypass detection and mask its activity. NSO Groups methods to infect its victims have grown so sophisticated that researchers say it can now do so without any user interaction, the so-called zero-click option.

In 2019, WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook sued NSO Group in U.S. federal court in San Francisco, accusing it of exploiting a flaw in the popular encrypted messaging service to target  with missed calls alone  some 1,400 users. NSO Group denies the accusations.

The Israeli company was sued the previous year in Israel and Cyprus, both countries from which it exports products. The plaintiffs include Al-Jazeera journalists, as well as other Qatari, Mexican and Saudi journalists and activists who say the companys spyware was used to hack them.

Several of the suits draw heavily on leaked material provided to Abdullah Al-Athbah, editor of the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab and one of the alleged victims. The material appears to show officials in the United Arab Emirates discussing whether to hack into the phones of senior figures in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, including members of the Qatari royal family.

NSO Group does not disclose its clients and says it sells its technology to Israeli-approved governments to help them target terrorists and break up pedophile rings and sex- and drug-trafficking rings. It claims its software has helped save thousands of lives and denies its technology was in any way associated with Khashoggi's murder.

NSO Group also denies involvement in elaborate undercover operations uncovered by The AP in 2019 in which shadowy operatives targeted NSO critics including a Citizen Lab researcher to try to discredit them.

Last year, an Israeli court dismissed an Amnesty International lawsuit seeking to strip NSO of its export license, citing insufficient evidence.

NSO Group is far from the only merchant of commercial spyware. But its behavior has drawn the most attention, and critics say that is with good reason.

Last month, it published its first transparency report, in which it says it has rejected more than $300 million in sales opportunities as a result of its human rights review processes. Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a strident critic, tweeted: If this report was printed, it would not be worth the paper it was printed on.

A new, interactive online data platform created by the group Forensic Architecture with support from Citizen Lab and Amnesty International catalogs NSO Groups activities by country and target. The group partnered with filmmaker Laura Poitras, best known for her 2014 documentary Citzenfour about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who offers video narrations.

Stop what you're doing and read this, Snowden tweeted Sunday, referencing the consortium's findings. This leak is going to be the story of the year.

Since 2019, the U.K. private equity firm Novalpina Capital has controlled a majority stake in NSO Group. Earlier this year, Israeli media reported the company was considering an initial public offering, most likely on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  Las Vegas resident Lyubov Abato broke down crying as she explained the more than one-year fight to reclaim her property near North Las Vegas from tenants who stopped paying rent last year.

Its hopeless  the depression  it will kill me, absolutely kill me, Abato told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Las Vegas-area renter Kimberley Ireland is recently back at The Mirage working full-time after being laid off in March 2020. Shes trying to catch up on the thousands owed in rental payments but is scared her landlord will still evict her after July 31, when the federal moratorium ends.

I send in whatever I can, Ireland said of payments to her landlord. She doesnt want to file (an eviction) if she doesnt have to because she knows thats not going to help me  (but) I dont want to assume that shes going to continue working with me.

The coronavirus pandemic wreaked emotional and financial havoc on landlords and renters for more than a year. Both sides will face continued headwinds after the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions eviction moratorium ends July 31.

Experts have warned of a pending eviction crisis in states across the country, and data indicates Clark County will be faced with one as well.

To gauge the severity in the Las Vegas area, the Review-Journal partnered with the Eviction Lab at Princeton University to analyze eviction filings from 2016 through May 2021. The data compares monthly average filings, covering 2016 to 2019, with monthly number of evictions filed from January 2020 to May 2021.

The data will be updated monthly on Eviction Labs website and marks the first time data on Clark Countys residential eviction filings have been tracked in real time and made publicly accessible.

Jacob Haas, research specialist at the Eviction Lab, said the county experienced a significant spike in eviction filings in November, with 4,559 filings.

The fact that in November filings were 50% above what they are normally  thats not the case in really any of the other cities we track, said Haas, who is responsible for processing Clark Countys data. And that corresponds to when there was no local moratorium in place in Nevada.

He noted the county had an estimated 22,400 eviction filings from March 15, 2020, to May 27, 2021, more than any other similar-sized area it collects data on.

In Dallas County, Texas, with a population slightly larger than Clark County, there were an estimated 18,600 filings for the same period. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, saw around 5,200 eviction filings, but that area is somewhat smaller in population, Haas said.

A BREWING STORM

Nevadas economy shut down overnight on March 15 of last year when Gov. Steve Sisolak mandated the closure of casinos, restaurants, bars and other nonessential businesses.

The states unemployment rate soared from 6.4% in March 2020 to 29.5% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By then, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which included a 120-day moratorium on eviction filings. Two months after that eviction ban expired, the CDC began its federal moratorium on Sept. 4.

Meanwhile, Sisolak bolstered the federal protection for Nevadans by implementing a series of statewide eviction moratoriums starting in March 2020 until May 31, 2021. The one period of time renters were not protected at the state level was between Oct. 15 and Dec. 14  when the number of Clark County eviction filings leaped to its highest level during the pandemic, even though the federal moratorium was also in effect.

Since March 2020, a total of 11 overlapping extensions have been put in place with various guidelines at the state and federal level protecting eligible renters from an eviction for nonpayment of rent.

Jim Berchtold, Legal Aid Centers directing attorney of the Consumer Rights Project, said the more complicated the moratorium became the less effective it was at stemming eviction filings.

The jump in November was pretty high, but I think it was tempered by just overall confusion, which is kind of the hallmark of the whole last year and a half, he said. Landlords dont know whats going on. Tenants certainly dont know whats going on, so I think the November numbers could have absolutely been worse.

Clark Countys monthly eviction filings, averages covering 2016 to 2019, hovers around 3,000 filings each month with slight dips from February to April.

During the pandemic, data shows eviction filings dropped significantly, with April reporting only 65 filings, compared with a typical month of 2,799.

Filings slowly rose but remained under 800 until October, when filings hit 3,000 or about 4% less than what is typically filed in October.

MIXED SIGNALS

Abato tried filing an eviction notice against her tenants for nonpayment of rent last year but was unable to because of the CDC moratorium.

Her tenants stopped paying their monthly rent of $1,200 by August and then provided her with a CDC declaration form in October.

Abato said she has tried selling her condo, near Rainbow and Lake Mead boulevards, so she could move back home to Russia and be near her children and grandchildren. But two separate deals fell through.

Her first buyer, an investor, pulled out after learning the tenants were not paying rent. A second deal was supposed to close this year, but that buyer pulled out because her tenants did not move by the Jan. 7 deadline, after already receiving three move-out extensions.

Im not an institutional investor with deep pockets who can weather this, Abato said.

While data analyzed by the Eviction Lab shows thousands of evictions were being filed by landlords during the pandemic, it doesnt offer a complete picture. Many landlords like Abato could not file an eviction for nonpayment of rent because of state and federal eviction moratoriums.

The tsunami of evictions is going to happen, said Nevada State Apartment Association Executive Director Susy Vasquez. I know Im bleeding $17 million a month just from my members (since April).

Ireland, who lives west of the Las Vegas Strip, was laid off in March 2020 from The Mirage. She returned to work in the fall as an on-call employee. The handful of hours she was able to work affected her weekly unemployment benefits because those hours must be reported to Nevadas employment office and resulted in her making less money each month than if she were to stop working and remain on unemployment.

It was rough, Ireland said.

She considered looking for a new job instead of remaining temporarily on-call but said it wasnt worth the risk, especially because she has been an employee at The Mirage for 12 years.

It was high-wage pay, but I would have to sacrifice not having any medical insurance, which for me is more important than any high-wage salary, she said. I know most people think when youre working in hospitality its just a job. Its actually more than that; its an investment that many of us workers make because of the benefits, the wage and other incentives. Do I let my investment go down the drain or do I continue to fight for it?

She learned about Clark Countys rental aid program in December through Culinary Local 226 and quickly applied. After nearly four months, her application was denied.

If I were to reapply, which is what the email stated, theyre going to go by the income since Ive been back to work full-time, which would disqualify me. Its a mess, she said.

Irelands landlord hasnt indicated any plans to serve an eviction notice but does want to sell the property.

I hit another roadblock because if you look at any rentals, the amounts are astronomical  even the east side of Las Vegas, she said. If I were to catch up with rent that is owed, she might be willing to let my family and I stay a bit longer until we can find a place thats decent and affordable.

SHELTERING IN PLACE

Nevada has taken steps since last year to slow the potential surge of evictions anticipated next month.

It created a temporary mediation program for landlords and tenants to resolve nonpayment of rent disputes and most recently the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 486, which provides stronger renter protections such as pausing an eviction proceeding if a tenant has a pending rental aid application.

Peter Hepburn, research fellow at the Eviction Lab and assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers University-Newark, said the key to understanding the scale of the countrys eviction problem is having access to data such as eviction filings.

At the height of the Great Recession, there were 2.8 million mortgage foreclosure starts. In a typical year, in a good year, in America theres 3.7 million eviction filings, he said. Keep in mind theres twice as many homeowners as there are renters, so youre dealing with a much smaller population and many more of them facing this threat of displacement every year.

He cited a recent study by a graduate student associated with Eviction Lab, who was able to drill down to the city block on eviction filings in 17 cities.

Hepburn cited the studys data on Tucson, Arizona, where 295 buildings were found to be responsible for two-thirds of the citys evictions with the remaining one-third of evicting filings occurring across 9,000 buildings.

If you were to target interventions and solutions at those 295 buildings, you could prevent an enormous number of eviction cases, Hepburn said. Without the data, how do you know where to focus your resources or where to intervene? Being able to see the problem is the first step in solving it, and at this point, were still operating in the dark.

BEHIND THE DATA

The U.S. government and most states including Nevada dont collect or track eviction data, although a new bill was introduced last week by House Democrats to create a national database on filings.

While eviction records can be found through county court systems, such records can sometimes be difficult to access.

The Eviction Lab created the first dataset on evictions in the U.S., going back to 2000, and makes its research and interactive tools publicly accessible.

It also has an Eviction Tracking System for weekly eviction filings in six states and 31 cities, including all of Clark County, starting from 2020.

Clark County data was collected from Las Vegas Justice Court, North Las Vegas Justice Court and Henderson Justice Court from 2016 through May 2021.

The courts in Clark County do not separate residential and commercial eviction cases, but Eviction Lab has removed commercial cases and duplicates from the Clark County dataset.

While Eviction Lab has a robust filtering process, some commercial eviction cases could have slipped through and be included in the eviction filing figures.
MOSCOW (AP)  A rights group in Russia announced Sunday that it was shutting down, citing fear of prosecution of its members and supporters after Russian authorities blocked its website for allegedly publishing content from an undesirable organization.

The Team 29 association of lawyers and journalists specializing in treason and espionage cases and freedom of information issues said Sunday that Russian authorities accused it of spreading content from a Czech non-governmental organization that had been declared undesirable in Russia.

The group's website was blocked Friday, even though it rejected the accusations, and its lawyers said they believed the government's next step could be to prosecute members and supporters.

In these conditions, continuation of Team 29's activities creates direct and clear threat to the safety of a large number of people, and we can't ignore that risk, the group said, adding that it would take down all of its online content in order to avoid any risks and that its lawyers would continue representing their clients in a personal capacity.

Team 29 shutting down comes as pressure mounts on opposition supporters, independent journalists and human rights activists in Russia ahead of Septembers parliamentary election. The vote is widely seen as an important part of President Vladimir Putins efforts to cement his rule ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The 68-year-old Russian leader, who has been in power for more than two decades, pushed through constitutional changes last year that would potentially allow him to hold onto power until 2036.

In recent months, Russian authorities have increased the pressure on independent news media, designating two popular independent outlets, Meduza and VTimes, as foreign agents and outlawing the publisher of the Proekt investigative media outlet, while also listing its journalists as foreign agents. VTimes shut down shortly after that.

Last month, a Moscow court outlawed organizations founded by imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny by labeling them extremist. The ruling barred people associated with Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his sprawling regional network from seeking public office. Many of Navalnys allies had planned to run for parliamentary seats in Russia's Sept. 19 election.

Team 29, including its prominent lawyer Ivan Pavlov, was involved in defending Navalny's foundation in court. In April, Russian authorities launched a criminal case against Pavlov, who is also representing a former Russian journalist accused of treason in a high-profile case, accusing him of disclosing information related to a police investigation.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Some legislators on a committee studying the economic impact of raising and racing horses in South Carolina said the group should also consider legalizing betting on horse racing.

The Equine Industry Support Measures Study Committee made up of two House members and two senators as well as two people in the horse industry and a representative from the state Agriculture Department is spending the next eight months studying what horses do for the state's economy.

They first met last month and plan more meetings in places where horses are popular, like Aiken, Clemson and Camden, committee chairman Rep. Russell Ott told The State newspaper.

The state law creating the committee was passed by the General Assembly in April. It tells the group to study how the state can grow the horse industry or reduce the barriers to its growth as well as compare the incentives offered by South Carolina to other states and whether South Carolina should cooperate with horse facilities in other states.

But at that first meeting, the committee also brought up allowing betting on horse races as the law also allows the group to take up any other issues that the committee determines are of interest and benefit."

State Sen. Dick Harpootlian said any study should include how to make the state more attractive to out-of-state people who like horses and races.

Im interested in bringing horses here, tourists here, people here to participate and be entertained by the horse industry, the Columbia Democrat said.. And if having tracks where people can bet, ... I want the money to be here.

But bills allowing betting on horses face an uphill climb both directly and indirectly in the General Assembly.

The state constitution must be changed, requiring a two-thirds vote on an amendment by the House and Senate. The amendment then would have to be approved by a majority of voters.

And one of the state's worst political scandals last century involved a gambling bill. Operation Lost Trust started as an undercover sting to pay cash for support for a bill allowing horse betting. Around 18 lawmakers would end up facing charges when the investigation ended about 30 years ago.

Ott said a discussion about gambling is needed as a part of the broad discussion on the horse industry.

Its very important to South Carolina. I think it can be even more important," the Democrat from St. Matthews said.
ST. HELENA, Calif.  Last September, a wildfire tore through one of Dario Sattuis Napa Valley wineries, destroying millions of dollars in property and equipment, along with 9,000 cases of wine.

November brought a second disaster: Sattui realized the precious crop of cabernet grapes that survived the fire had been ruined by the smoke. There would be no 2020 vintage.

A freakishly dry winter led to a third calamity: By spring, the reservoir at another of Sattuis vineyards was all but empty, meaning little water to irrigate the new crop.

Finally, in March, came a fourth blow: Sattuis insurers said they would no longer cover the winery that had burned down. Neither would any other company. In the patois of insurance, the winery will go bare into this years burning season, which experts predict to be especially fierce.

We got hit every which way we could, Sattui said. We cant keep going like this.

In Napa Valley, the lush heartland of Americas high-end wine industry, climate change is spelling calamity. Not outwardly: On the main road running through the small town of St. Helena, California, tourists still stream into wineries with exquisitely appointed tasting rooms. At the Goose & Gander, where the lamb chops are $63, the line for a table still tumbles out onto the sidewalk.

But drive off the main road, and the vineyards that made this valley famous  where the mix of soil, temperature patterns and rainfall used to be just right  are now surrounded by burned-out landscapes, dwindling water supplies and increasingly nervous winemakers bracing for things to get worse.

Desperation has pushed some growers to spray sunscreen on grapes, to try to prevent roasting, while others are irrigating with treated wastewater from toilets and sinks because reservoirs are dry.

JIM WILSON/NYT

Their fate matters even for those who cannot tell a merlot from a malbec. Napa boasts some of the countrys most expensive farmland, selling for as much as $1 million per acre; a ton of grapes fetches two to four times as much as anywhere else in California. If there is any nook of U.S. agriculture with both the means and incentive to outwit climate change, it is here.

But so far, the experience of winemakers here demonstrates the limits of adapting to a warming planet.

If the heat and drought trends worsen, were probably out of business, said Cyril Chappellet, president of Chappellet Winery, which has been operating for more than a half-century. All of us are out business.

I Dont Like the Way the Reds Are Tasting

Stu Smiths winery is at the end of a two-lane road that winds up the side of Spring Mountain, west of St. Helena. The drive requires some concentration: The 2020 Glass fire incinerated the wooden posts that held up the guardrails, which now lie like discarded ribbons at the edge of the cliff.

In 1971, after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Smith bought 165 acres of land here. He named his winery Smith Madrone, after the orange-red hardwoods with waxy leaves that surround the vineyards he planted. For almost three decades, those vineyards  14 acres of cabernet, 7 acres each of chardonnay and riesling, plus a smattering of cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot  were untouched by wildfires.

Then, in 2008, smoke from nearby fires reached his grapes for the first time. The harvest went on as usual. Months later, after the wine had aged but before it was bottled, Smiths brother, Charlie, noticed something was wrong. He said, I just dont like the way the reds are tasting, Stu Smith said.

At first, Smith resisted the idea anything was amiss, but he eventually brought the wine to a laboratory in Sonoma County, which determined that smoke had penetrated the skin of the grapes to affect the taste.

What winemakers came to call smoke taint now menaces Napas wine industry.

The problem with the fires is that it doesnt have be anywhere near us, Smith said. Smoke from distant fires can waft long distances, and there is no way a grower can prevent it.

MIKE KAI CHEN/NYT

Smoke is a threat primarily to reds, whose skins provide the wines color. (The skins of white grapes, by contrast, are discarded, and with them the smoke residue.) Reds must also stay on the vine longer, often into October, leaving them more exposed to fires that usually peak in early fall.

Vintners could switch from red grapes to white, but that solution collides with the demands of the market. White grapes from Napa typically sell for around $2,750 per ton, on average. Reds, by contrast, fetch an average of about $5,000 per ton in the valley, and more for cabernet sauvignon. In Napa, there is a saying: Cabernet is king.

The damage in 2008 turned out to be a precursor of far worse to come. Haze from the Glass fire filled the valley; so many wine growers sought to test their grapes for smoke taint that the turnaround time at the nearest laboratory, once three days, became two months.

The losses have been stunning. In 2019, growers in the county sold $829 million worth of red grapes. In 2020, that figure plummeted to $384 million.

Among the casualties were Smith, whose entire crop was affected. Now the most visible legacy of the fire is the trees: The flames scorched not just the madrones that gave Smiths winery its name but also the Douglas firs, the tan oaks and the bay trees.

Trees burned by wildfires do not die immediately; some linger for years. One afternoon in June, Smith surveyed the damage to his forest, stopping at a madrone he especially liked but whose odds were not good. Its dead, Smith said. It just doesnt know it yet.

Sunscreen for Grapes

Across the valley, Aaron Whitlatch, head of winemaking at Green & Red Vineyards, climbed into a dust-colored jeep for a trip up the mountain to demonstrate what heat does to grapes.

After navigating steep switchbacks, Whitlatch reached a row of vines growing petite sirah grapes that were coated with a thin layer of white.

The week before, temperatures had topped 100 degrees, and staff sprayed the vines with sunscreen.

Keeps them from burning, Whitlatch said.

The strategy had not worked perfectly. He pointed to a bunch of grapes at the very top of the peak exposed to sun during the hottest hours of the day. Some of the fruit had turned black and shrunken  becoming, effectively, absurdly high-cost raisins.

The temperature of this cluster probably reached 120, Whitlatch said. We got torched.

As the days get hotter and the sun more dangerous in Napa, wine growers are trying to adjust. A more expensive option than sunscreen is to cover the vines with shade cloth, Whitlatch said. Another tactic, even more costly, is to replant rows of vines so they are parallel to the sun in the warmest part of the day, catching less of its heat.

At 43, Whitlatch is a veteran of the wine fires. In 2017, he was an assistant winemaker at Mayacamas Vineyards, another Napa winery, when it was burned by a series of wildfires. This is his first season at Green & Red, which lost its entire crop of reds to smoke from the Glass fire.

After that fire, the winerys insurer wrote to the owners, Raymond Hannigan and Tobin Heminway, listing the changes needed to reduce its fire risk, including updating circuit breaker panels and adding fire extinguishers. We spent thousands and thousands of dollars upgrading the property, Hannigan said.

A month later, Philadelphia Insurance Cos. sent the couple another letter, canceling their insurance anyway. The explanation was brief: Ineligible risk  wildfire exposure does not meet current underwriting guidelines. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Heminway and Hannigan have been unable to find coverage from any other carrier. The California Legislature is considering a bill that would allow wineries to get insurance through a state-run high-risk pool.

But even if that passes, Hannigan said, its not going to help us during this harvest season.

Half the Insurance, Five Times the Cost

Just south of Green & Red, Chappellet stood amid the bustle of wine being bottled and trucks unloading. Chappellet Winery is the picture of commercial-scale efficiency, producing some 70,000 cases of wine a year. The main building, which his parents built after buying the property in 1967, resembles a cathedral; gargantuan wooden beams soar upward, sheltering row after row of oak barrels aging a fortunes worth of cabernet.

After the Glass fire, Chappellet is one of the lucky ones; he still has insurance. It just costs five times as much as it did last year.

His winery now pays more than $1 million a year, up from $200,000 before the fire. At the same time, his insurers cut by half the amount of coverage they were willing to provide.

Its insane, Chappellet said. Its not something that we can withstand for the long term.

There are other problems. Chappellet pointed to his vineyards, where workers were cutting grapes from the vines  not because they were ready to harvest but because there was not enough water to keep them growing. He estimated it would reduce his crop this year by one-third.

We dont have the luxury of giving them the normal amount that it would take them to be really healthy, Chappellet said.

To demonstrate why, he drove up a dirt road, stopping at what used to be the pair of reservoirs that fed his vineyards. The first was one-third full; the other, just above it, had become a barren pit. A pipe that once pumped out water instead lay on the dusty lake bed.

This is the disaster, Chappellet said.

Water by the Truckload

When spring came this year, and the reservoir on Sattuis vineyard was empty, his colleague Tom Davies, president of V. Sattui Winery, crafted a backup plan. Davies found Joe Brown.

Eight times a day, Brown pulls into a loading dock at the city of Napas sanitation department, fills a tanker truck with 3,500 gallons of treated wastewater and drives 10 miles to the vineyard, then turns around and does it again.

The water, which comes from household toilets and drains and is sifted, filtered and disinfected, is a bargain at $6.76 a truckload. The problem is transportation: Each load costs Davies about $140, which he guesses will add $60,000 or more to the cost of running the vineyard this season.

And that is assuming Napa officials keep selling wastewater, which in theory could be made potable. As the drought worsens, the city may decide its residents need it more. Were nervous that at some point, Napa sanitation says, 'No more water,' Davies said.

After driving past the empty reservoir, Davies stopped at a hilltop overlooking the vineyard.

If Napa can go another year or two without major wildfires, Davies thinks insurers will return. Harder to solve are the smoke taint and water shortages.

Its still kind of early on to talk about the demise of our industry, Davies said, looking out across the valley. But its certainly a concern.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Shootings and stabbings around the city of Philadelphia over the weekend claimed at least four lives and sent a couple of dozen people to hospitals, including a 1-year-old boy hit by gunfire in his mother's arms in a convenience store during a gunbattle.

Police said the occupants of a vehicle driving by fired into the west Philadelphia store at about 8 p.m. Saturday, and two people inside returned fire. One of them was injured. The boy was taken to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and listed in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  South Africa's leader went to Johannesburg's Soweto township Sunday to view badly damaged shopping centers where people were trampled to death in rioting sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

President Cyril Ramaphosa toured the Ndofaya Mall in the Meadowlands part of Soweto, where at least 10 people died in the ransacking.

South Africas unrest erupted earlier this month when Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He had defied a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The protests quickly escalated to a weeklong spree of violence, South Africa's worst rioting since the country achieved majority rule democracy in 1994. The unrest hit the KwaZulu-Natal province, which is Zuma's home area, and Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province, which includes Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Trucks were burned, strategic highways blocked and thousands of rioters ransacked malls and shopping centers in the two provinces.

In the eastern port of Durban, rioters attacked industrial areas, where they emptied warehouses and factories and arsonists set them alight.

At least 212 people died in the unrest, many trampled to death when shops were looted, said police. More than 2,500 people have been arrested for theft and vandalism.

Looking at the shattered glass entrance to a cellphone shop Sunday in Soweto, Ramaphosa was told several people died there.

We are all really concerned about what happened here," Ramaphosa said. "But we are also saying we have learned valuable lessons. The most important lesson is, in the end, that we must tighten up our security forces.

Thanking the community volunteer groups helping to clear up the debris, Ramaphosa, speaking in the Zulu language, reiterated his pledge that those who plotted the rioting would be brought to justice.

Theyll be arrested, all those who are behind this damage, he vowed sternly. "We are going to make sure that they are arrested and sent to prison for a long time.

He thanked law-abiding South Africans for standing together against the lawlessness.

We shall never be defeated because a united people will never be defeated, said Ramaphosa, to cheers from a small group that had gathered. Whether they like it or not, theyll never defeat us. We will be victorious.

Ramaphosa spoke on the anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, the country's first Black president, whose election in 1994 marked the end of South Africa's brutal apartheid regime of white-minority rule. To honor Mandela, many South Africans on Sunday did acts of community service.

___

AP journalist Nqobile Ntshangase in Johannesburg contributed.
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP)  Drew Williams admits hes tired.

Like many in his chosen field of nursing, the RN who works nights caring for intensive care patients at SIH Herrin Hospital, Williams has worked a lot of hours during the past 15 months and he has seen a lot of suffering.

Hes not alone.

All across Southern Illinois and the U.S., nurses have carried an enormous burden and they are tired  physically, mentally and emotionally  leading to widespread nurse burnout.

Researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale set out to study nursing burnout more than a year ago and what they discovered not only showed nurse burnout to be significant even before COVID-19, but even more relevant since the beginning of the pandemic.

The interdisciplinary study, called Emotional Exhaustion as a Predictor for Burnout among Nurses, looked at what causes burnout and offered suggestions to prevent it.

Kelli Whittington, who led the research team and is director of SIUs nursing program, said the study showed several factors contribute to the burnout.

First, theres a really strong relationship between workload and emotional exhaustion, she explained. Its not that nurses dont handle a heavy workload, its how they are able to handle it and feel as though they can manage their time, interact with each other, how they can take a break and that the workload is equitably distributed. Its about having the flexibility to handle that workload in the way that they feel is best.

Additionally, she said nurses can become emotionally exhausted when they dont have a sense of control and that nurses need a sense of community within the workplace.

She said emotional exhaustion may not be apparent within the nursing unit, but can manifest itself in a variety of ways.

There are emotional aspects, such as not wanting to do anything with our friends and family. We just want to go home, stay home and not interact with people and our tempers become short. We also can see it with things like depression or stomach aches, she explained.

Williams said it is the very nature of nursing  the call to care for others  that makes the job challenging, especially when patients suffer or pass.

In this job you take things personally, Williams said. We get to know these patients and their families and we make connections. It can be really difficult.

Steve Marlow, administrator of The Voyage, an assisted living facility in Murphysboro, said more has been asked of nurses during the pandemic.

With all of the extra hours, all of the extra precautions in all environments, its really been a strain on the nursing staffs, he said. Burnout is the real deal.

Like many colleagues, Marlow said his organization is working to combat or prevent emotional exhaustion in nurses.

We try to make sure that they get an appropriate amount of time off  at least two days in a row, maybe three, he said. We also try to make sure to make sure our facility is somewhere they want to be.

He said leaders also must show compassion  such as assisting nurses with duties and picking up nursing or housekeeping rounds themselves.

Rolling up their sleeves and showing that they care, he called it.

The SIU study used the widely accepted Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to measure the prevalence of burnout among nurses across the nation. An MBI score of 27 indicates burnout. Nearly half of the study participants reported a total score of 27 or higher.

Whittington said length of nursing career, ages and area of nursing did not seem to impact the level of burnout.

We saw it all over the place, which tells me that if nurses are working as nurses, they are experiencing emotional exhaustion, she said.

She said the study also offered suggestions to combat or prevent burnout.

First of all, there is acknowledging it and finding ways to care for ourselves, she offered. Additionally, as nurse managers and leaders, we have to be equitable in assigning workload and in fostering ways to develop a sense of community, not only among nurses, but within the whole medical community.

For leaders such as Johnna Smith, nurse executive at SIH St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, caring for those who care for patients is a top priority especially because burnout can ultimately impact patient care.

I think historically, we have always talked about nurse burnout, but I think the pandemic really brought it to light because it wasnt just affecting one hospital or one unit. It is nationwide, she said. There are things we can do to help our staff and then it is a matter of convincing ourselves to take care of ourselves so we can continue to give ourselves.

One example is a relaxation room on the hospitals second floor. Its a place where medical personnel can take a breather. Staff can use a massage chair, envelope themselves in environmental sounds or simply rest for a while.

Its a place that they can use to have a moment to get their mind off of something or if they just need a moment to themselves, Smith said.

Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, like many other providers, offers an employee assistance plan to help battle job fatigue.

We work to ensure our nurses have the resources they need to avoid burnout and that starts with mental, physical and emotional support, said Heartland Chief Nursing Officer Barrie Questelle.

Questelle stressed the role of communication in avoiding burnout as well.

Staff-to-staff communication is also key. Our nurse leaders hold daily safety huddles. We share information on work hour needs, work processes, and more. That helps make certain that nurses have input about important hospital decisions, she said.

For many in nursing, simply talking about things  especially among peers  is a huge help. Williams said debriefing with his co-workers after a shift is beneficial in helping him deal with the challenges of nursing.

Privacy laws prevent us from going home and talking with our families about these situations, so we really only have our coworkers and leadership to talk with. Theres a lot of leaning on each other. Were like a family, he said.

For Whittington, a nurse herself, battling burnout is something she said those who train nurses must teach.

Nursing students and providers must become mindful of the things that impact their emotional health and set up a plan for success from the very beginning so that we dont get to the point where we are exhausted and where we have a positive place and culture, she said.

___

Source: The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan, https://bit.ly/3xjJcs5
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  A breakaway Palestinian faction that carried out headline-grabbing attacks against Israel in the 1970s and 1980s has named a veteran new leader after its longtime founder died, the group said Sunday.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said Talal Naji, was elected during a meeting in Damascus. He will replace Ahmed Jibril, who died on July 7 after being sick for months.

Naji was born in Nazareth in British-ruled Palestine in 1946. He studied in Syrian schools and joined the ranks of the Palestinian Liberation Front faction in 1962 before later joining the PFLP-GC.

Naji, who had lost an arm and an eye in a grenade explosion reportedly while training, had been the deputy chief of the PFLP-GC since 1973. He obtained a doctorate in political science from Moscow in 1984.

Khaled Jibril, the son of the late leader, was named as his deputy.

The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard.

The Damascus-based group also carried out attacks against Israel from its bases in Lebanon.

During Israels invasion of Lebanon, the PFLP-GC captured three Israeli soldiers and negotiated their release in exchange for more than 1,100 mostly Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian prisoners in 1985.

Among those released in the exchange was Kozo Okamoto, a member of the Japanese Red Army who took part in the 1972 shooting at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, that killed 24 people. Okamoto lives in Lebanon where he was granted political asylum decades ago.

One dramatic attack in 1987 was carried out by two of his fighters who crossed from Lebanon into Israel on hang-gliders and killed six Israeli soldiers. The attack was considered as one of the triggers for the first intifada.

The group is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western countries.
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters who held a rally in Bangkok despite coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of more than five people.

The demonstrators were demanding Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas government step down, insisting the budget of the monarchy and the military be cut during the pandemic, and calling for the importing mRNA coronavirus vaccines that have yet to be brought to Thailand on a large scale to fight a growing surge of the virus.

The rally came as Thailand recorded its largest single-day jump in virus infections  nearly 11,400  and as fresh restrictions were announced such as the shut down of most domestic flights. Many parts of the country, including Bangkok, are already under some form of lockdown that includes restrictions on gatherings and business operations as well as a nighttime curfew.

As infections and deaths climb and as more people face economic suffering, disapproval of the government's handling of the pandemic has grown.

Criticism of Prayuths government for failing to secure early and adequate vaccine supplies is widespread. Thailand mostly relies on two vaccines, including Chinas Sinovac shot, which some studies indicate is less effective against the delta variant, which is currently wrecking havoc across Southeast Asia.

Thailand's other main vaccine is AstraZeneca, which a Thai company owned by the countrys king has been producing, but only since June and in smaller than expected quantities.

Sunday's rally was led by Free Youth, a student protest group that drew tens of thousands to its protests last year, when it had three main demands: that Prayuth's government step down, the constitution be amended to make it more democratic and the nation's monarchy become more accountable.

Jutatip Sirikhan, one of Free Youths main activists, charged in a phone interview with The Associated Press that many people have died from COVID-19 because of the lack of transparency and mismanagement of Prayuth and his Cabinet.

Thailand has recorded a total of 403,386 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,341 related deaths since the pandemic started. More than 90% of cases and deaths have occurred since April this year. This weekend daily virus deaths rose above 100 for the first time.

If we dont come out now, we dont know how long we shall survive and whether we will have a chance to do it again, she said of the virus and the protests.

The protesters started gathered at the capital's Democracy Monument in the early afternoon, where organizers distributed N95 masks, medical gloves, sanitizer spray and raincoats to them before attempting to go to Government House, which hosts the prime minister's offices.

Organizers also handed out mock corpses in white burial shrouds representing COVID-19 victims, which were later placed on the ground atop an image of Prayuth at an intersection near Government House and set alight. The eerie figures also evoked images of the bodies of several Thai activists who had apparently been kidnapped in 2019 from where they lived in exile in neighboring Laos.

In an effort at avoiding the spread of infection, many of the protesters drove cars or rode motorbikes, instead of marching as they had in previous protests.

Around 1,500 riot police were deployed, along with water cannon trucks. Deputy National Police Spokesman Kissana Pattanacharoen acknowledged that the authorities used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters after several warnings were given.

Reports of injuries were not complete, but the city's Erawan Medical Center emergency services said two people were sent to the hospital from the protests, which the organizers called an end to before nightfall.
KESRA, Tunisia (AP)  Soldiers hold rifles to guard the health center in the traditional Tunisian village of Kesra, while inside, military medics use other weapons to combat COVID-19: vaccines.

Tunisia is facing its worst coronavirus surge since the pandemic began, further stressing the North African country's already crowded hospitals and health system. That has forced some regions to go back into lockdown and prompted waves of donations of vaccines or medical aid from China, France, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.

Tunisias government decided to deploy the armed forces to vaccinate people in the regions with the worst infection rates and in areas with particularly low vaccination rates.

At the Kesra medical center this week, military doctor Riadh Allani said the turnout for shots is satisfactory, but it is weak compared to the big cities where the news spreads quickly and people come.

Here, many citizens face difficulties to reach the vaccination center, so we are ready to extend our stay to give an opportunity for everyone to come, Allani told The Associated Press. He said the medics would with local authorities to vaccinate people at home, if necessary,

Over the past month, confirmed cases in Tunisia have reached their highest daily numbers of the pandemic, but the nationwide vaccination rate remains low, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Tunisia has reported Africas highest per-capita pandemic death toll and is currently recording one of the world's highest daily per-capita infection rates, the data indicate.

Military health workers vaccinated thousands of people in Kesra and other sites in the Siliana region in central inland Tunisia, mainly individuals over age 60 with underlying health conditions. The campaign in Kesra used Sinovac vaccines from China.

The military said the medical deployment could be extended to other areas in the coming days. Tunisia's president said the military would send helicopters to mountainous areas to bring vaccines to remote villages.

Kesra resident Rafika Achour said she was summoned twice to get a vaccine, but had been skeptical about submitting to a shot.

When I heard of the arrival of the army, I decided to come for the vaccine because ... for me, (the army) is more honest than others," Achour said at the vaccination site.

To encourage vaccination and build awareness, Tunisian President Kaies Saied got his first dose of the vaccine on Monday.

Meanwhile, aid is arriving from near and far.

The United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Algeria have sent hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses and medical supplies to Tunisia. A shipment of medical aid came in by sea from Italy on Friday. France this week promised another 800,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and China promised 400,000, according to Tunisia's TAP news agency.

As of Saturday, Tunisia had reported more than 17,000 deaths and more than 533,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins data.

___

Yesica Fisch in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans spokesman on Sunday condemned a European Union court decision to allow employers to ban staff wearing Muslim headscarves as appeasing Islamophobia.

The decision by the European Court of Justice on headscarf in the workplace is another blow to the rights of Muslim women with headscarf and will play right into the hands of those warmongers against Islam in Europe, Ibrahim Kalin tweeted.

Does the concept of religious freedom now exclude Muslims?!

The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that companies can ban employees wearing religious or political symbols if firms desire to pursue a policy of political, philosophical and religious neutrality with regard to its customers or users."

The ruling applies to any symbols where there is a genuine need for a ban.

The Luxembourg-based courts ruling reaffirms a 2017 decision. The case has been seen as contradicting a European Court of Human Rights decision from 2013 that allowed Christian crosses to be worn at work.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that the latest decision came as Islamophobia, racism and hatred that have taken Europe hostage are rising, disregards religious freedom and creates a basis and legal cover for discrimination.

Erdogans government often criticizes Western institutions for what it says are attacks on Muslim citizens rights.
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP)  Gladys Saucedo and her sons said goodbye to their father, Pedro Espinoza, for the second time in February.

Espinoza, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was leaving the Permian Basin for the second time as an operator in the busy oil and gas region. Lower pay and poor conditions, Saucedo said, meant her husband would travel from their home in Hobbs to another prolific oil-producing area thousands of miles north in the Bakken of North Dakota.

She said Espinoza left the family and headed north when the Permian Basin last busted in 2016 but was able to return when the industry boomed again a year later.

This time, Saucedo told the Carlsbad Current-Argus that her family is divided not by the boom and bust cycle of the oil and gas industry in the Permian, but rather the treatment he received from his employer as an undocumented laborer.

He came back when there were more jobs available in Hobbs, but then he noticed the big pay difference, she said in an interview facilitated by a translator. In North Dakota they pay way more and when he came, he noticed the drop in pay he was getting in Hobbs working the same jobs in the oilfield.

Saucedo expressed concern for worker conditions in New Mexico to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, during a recent meeting in Roswell where he met with members of Somos Un Pueblo Unido  a statewide organization dedicated to racial and worker issues.

Aside from a lack of adequate pay, Saucedo said her husband was not provided safety equipment or housing during his time in the Permian. She said she believed this treatment was because of his citizenship status.

This is because companies are choosing to hire undocumented workers and treat them this way, Saucedo said. If he was a U.S. citizen, companies wouldnt be treating him this way.

There are lower standards for undocumented workers in southeast New Mexico because there are more of them, Saucedo said, and companies can hire from a larger pool of undocumented workers.

Lea County is experiencing a lot of Hispanic and Latino people moving to the region, she said. Theyre hearing about great paying jobs, but they dont know the dangerous conditions they have to work in. Its very shocking to people.

Those conditions were why Felix Rodriguez, 23, of Artesia left his job in the oilfield last year.

He chose a salary cut from $75,000 to $30,000 to work a safer job for a local telecommunications company, but said he now has insurance benefits, paid vacation time and time to spend with his family: a fiance, two sons and another son due to be born in November.

Rodriguez came to the U.S. as an infant and is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which allows undocumented people who came as children to stay in the U.S. and defer actions like deportation.

Right now, I have a much better job. I have insurance. I have paid time off, vacation time, a 401K. I see my kids every, single day. We have plans to go out, he said. I have time to actually take time off to be with our newborn and help raise them. As a dad figure were missing out on their lives.

When he was working in oil and gas, Rodriguez said he was gone for days at a time, worked long hours, and drove for hours down dangerous roads to work near Pecos, Texas.

The safety of the workers in the oilfield is a big concern. Yes, they get paid a pretty good amount of money, but the safety concern is very high up, he said. A lot of them who are undocumented dont have insurance. If they die on the job, theres almost never any compensation.

Rodriguez spoke to Heinrich about diversifying the economy in New Mexico.

He said more support should be granted to the states growing renewable energy sectors like wind and solar power.

I think most of us, even immigrants down here, were pro-oil. Its sustainability for our families. Renewable resources can be done. If he (Heinrich) is planning to do that, there needs to be a transition, so people are not laid off from their jobs.

Earlier this year, Heinrich introduced the Schools and State Budgets Certainty Act to provide funds to local, oil-dependent communities like Artesia and Hobbs during what he predicted would be a transition away from fossil fuels.

The legislation would set a mineral revenue baseline for local governments based on historical averages, and then for the next five years provide federal dollars to the local governments to make up the difference when oil and gas revenue falls below that baseline.

We need to make sure we have a managed transition, Heinrich said during an interview with the Carlsbad Current-Argus. There are some of my colleagues who dont want to admit that there is an energy transition going on. If you talk to the workers, they get it.

They know things are changing and theyre changing rapidly. There are others that dont want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Heinrich said the shift away from fossil fuels was imminent based on market trends and the need to mitigate the effects of climate change believed to be caused by industrial pollution such as from the oil and gas industry.

Theres no question its an important part of New Mexicos economy. At the same time, weve got to recognize that were going to have to do things different in the future, Heinrich said. The kinds of climate impacts were seeing are dramatic and theyre costing us trillions of dollars.

We have to figure out how to get from how weve always done things to how we need to do them in the future and do them in a way that respects the workers.
BEIJING (AP)  The Chinese host of this year's meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee has defended the body's proposal to label the Great Barrier Reef as in danger against Australian government suspicion that China influenced the finding for political reasons.

The committee, which is meeting both virtually and in the Chinese city of Fuzhou for the next two weeks, will consider the draft decision on Friday.

Australia, as a member state of the World Heritage Committee, should ... attach importance to the opinions of the advisory bodies and earnestly fulfill the duty of World Heritage protection instead of making groundless accusations against other states, said Tian Xuejun, the Chinese vice minister of education and the president of this year's session, on Sunday.

The UNESCO committee will consider adding new sites to the World Heritage list, taking some off and adding others to the in-danger category. A draft decision to put Venice on the in-danger list prompted the Italian government to ban cruise ships from the lagoon city in a bid to avoid the designation.

Tian, speaking at the first news conference since the meetings opened last Friday, said the Great Barrier Reef proposal was based on data from Australia and recommendations from an advisory body.

Australian Environment Minister Susan Ley, who is in Europe lobbying UNESCO delegates against supporting the in-danger listing, did not immediately comment on the Chinese criticism.

She had held constructive and cordial discussions with China's Ambassador to UNESCO Yang Jin, the minister's office said in a statement on Monday.

The government looks forward to working with China and all members of the World Heritage Committee in discussions on the draft listing later this week, the statement said.

Her office also released a report by the government-funded Australian Institute of Marine Science that indicated widespread recovery of the reef's coral. Monitoring by the institute found coral cover had increased during the respite from severe weather over the last year.

The release of the full report underlines our view that the World Heritage Committee proposed listing had not been based on the latest information, Ley said.

Australia reacted angrily when the draft was released last month.

This decision was flawed. Clearly there were politics behind it, Ley said, without mentioning China by name.

Relations between the two nations have soured in recent years, with Australia blocking Chinese technology and investment in key infrastructure, and China using tariffs and other measures to reduce its imports from Australia.

Australia was warned in 2014 that an in-danger listing was being considered for the Great Barrier Reef, which was designated a world heritage site in 1981.

The draft decision said that Australia's long-term plan for the reef, a network of 2,500 reefs covering 348,000 square kilometers (134,000 square miles), requires stronger and clearer commitments, in particular towards urgently countering the effects of climate change.

We acknowledge very much the work which has been done in Australia, but our text in the draft decision ... is a proposal for putting the site on the list of world heritage in danger because of the threats which were identified, said Mechtild Roessler, the director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center.

Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, the assistant director-general for culture at UNESCO, said that an in-danger listing should be viewed as a collective call for action from all the member states.

Its something that should be seen as something positive and not, as what we heard from some of the authorities in other countries, as a punishment, he said, joining the news conference from Paris. Its how we preserve our heritage for future generations."

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This story was first published on July 19, 2021. It was updated on July 22, 2021, to correct the title of Mechtild Roessler. She is director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, not of the World Heritage Committee.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP)  The University of Virginia recently received a massive donation of Mormon memorabilia, books and other materials that officials say could make the university a leading site east of the Rockies for studying the religion.

Gregory A. Prince, a researcher, businessman and historian of the Latter-Day Saints faith, donated more than 10,000 items to the Charlottesville university, The Daily Progress reported.
What's in a name? How tightly can a song, minutes made of just words and rhythm, bind members of a community together? What is revealed in a dance honed by tradition?

Mexican American singer Linda Ronstadt was born in Arizona with a German surname, but she embraced and found refuge, never mind immense international success, by embracing her Mexican identity. Her grandfather was born in the town of Banamichi in Sonora, Mexico, and it is an international trip to this ancestral home that drives the on-the-road documentary known as "Linda and the Mockingbirds," interspersed with performances and personal stories that tie into national stories of gentrification, immigration and identity.

On Sunday, "Linda and the Mockingbirds" will screen at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, the first live screening since its October 2020 release online thanks to the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts.

An emergency alert and warning exercise scheduled for Tuesday in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County has been cancelled due to fire weather concerns in the North Bay mountains during the next 48 to 72 hours.

It was cancelled by the city, the county and the National Weather Service, the latter of which has called for a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and upper elevations of Sonoma County from 5 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday. The warning is based on a chance of dry thunderstorms with the potential for what is called cloud-to-ground lightning, according to the most recent weather forecast for the region.

The test of both systems will be rescheduled.

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Humboldt County in northern California, late Saturday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake hit at 11:46 p.m., and was centered about 22 miles southwest of Ferndale.

There are no reports of damage or injury at this time.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for parts of the San Francisco and Monterey bay areas and the Central Coast due to high fire danger.

The red flag warning will be in effect from 5 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday in the North Bay mountains, the East Bay hills, the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

An extended red flag warning between 11 a.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday will be in effect for the Santa Lucia Mountains and mountain ranges in San Benito County.

Meteorologists said Saturday that there is a slight chance for thunderstorms in the region, and that cloud-to-ground lightning may spark new wildfires.

In addition to extreme temperature conditions, the forecast also calls for gusty outflow winds and increased risk of new wildfire starts and rapid spread.

A mountain lion has likely been visiting a neighborhood in Fairfield that is not far from Travis Air Force Base, according to officials at the Solano County Sheriff's Department.

The sheriff's office has issued a warning to residents after a resident in eastern Fairfield found some of their animals dead early Saturday morning.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife was contacted about the animal attacks.

A suspicious device that appeared to be a pipe bomb was found near a parking lot in Brentwood Saturday afternoon.

Brentwood police officers found the device and flagged down an East Contra Costa Fire Protection District fire engine for inspection and investigation. The device was found in tan bark near a parking lot at 5451 Lone Tree Way.

Firefighters established a safe perimeter around the area and requested assistance from the Walnut Creek Police Department's Bomb Squad. Upon arrival, the bomb squad team rendered the device safe.

The incident is under investigation.

The Bon Air Bridge in Larkspur is scheduled to reopen at midnight Sunday, barring unforeseen developments, city officials said.

The bridge closed Monday to accommodate workers installing girders as part of a major replacement project on the bridge, which serves as one of the main entrances to the city, spanning Corte Madera Creek and connecting Larkspur with Kentfield and Greenbrae.

The sidewalk has remained open for pedestrians and cyclists walking their bikes.

The work closed Bon Air Road to vehicles from the medical offices on the west side of the bridge to South Eliseo Drive on the east side of the bridge. Drivers are currently detoured onto Magnolia and College avenues to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The temporary closure is the second of three planned full bridge closures for the project.

Police arrested a 61-year-old Hollister man Friday on suspicion of annoying a minor one day after receiving a report of a man trying to entice children into his vehicle with candy at a Monterey playground, police said.

Police arrested Charles Trembley at his home in the 300 block of Haydon Street in Hollister around 11:45 p.m. Friday and booked him into the Monterey City Jail, according to Monterey police. His bail was initially set at $3,500, but officers requested a bail enhancement and Trembley's bail was then set at $100,000, police said.

Emergency crews rescued an injured hiker at Alum Rock Park in San Jose Wednesday.

San Jose park rangers, the San Jose Fire Department and Cal Fire participated in the rescue.

At about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, an Alum Rock Park ranger was alerted to a trapped person in the North Falls area of the park.

The hiker was in a hazardous and closed area of the park, city officials said. Rangers located the man about 30 minutes later. He had suffered injuries that were considered serious.

Due to the difficult terrain and the man's injuries, a Cal Fire helicopter was called to the scene to airlift the hiker out of the area.

The hiker was taken by ambulance to a trauma center.

The National Weather Service forecast for Sunday for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for sunny skies with a chance of dry thunderstorms occurring later in the day in some of the region's higher elevations, including the East Bay hills, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the North Bay mountains. Overnight lows Sunday will be in the 50s to low 60s. Highs Sunday will range from the 60s along the coast to the 70s and low 80s around the Bay, and reaching the upper 80s to mid 90s in the inland valley regions.

Copyright  2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright  2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Page Content

More than 100,000 U.S. veterans and military spouses will be hired by Amazon over the next three years, the e-retail giant announced July 13. It expects more than 16,000 of that number will be military spouses.



"Amazon is focused on recruiting and developing military talent with training programs specifically designed to help veterans transition into roles in the private sector," said John Quintas, Amazon's director of global military affairs.



The announcement comes as employers struggle to fill vacancies: Baby Boomers are retiring in record numbers, mothers remain out of the workforce as they deal with a lack of child care, and resignations have hit a record high.



The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the unemployment rate for military spouses, according to Stars and Stripes, which reported that 40 percent of this population lost their jobs during the height of the pandemic. Military spouses, it reported, already faced an unemployment rate six times higher than the national average.



Many employers are stepping up to helpand fill open positions. In 2021, 500 employers committed to recruiting, hiring, promoting and retaining military spouses by joining the U.S. Department of Labor's Military Spouse Employment Partnership, according to the Military Times.



Amazon currently employs more than 40,000 veterans and military spouses, surpassing its 2016 Joining Forces pledge to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by 2021, according to the company. Its affinity group, Warriors@Amazon, has more than 10,000 former service members and military spouses.



SHRM Online collected the following news stories and resources on employing military veterans and spouses.



In a Pandemic, Smart Companies Are Hiring Unflappable Military Veterans



It's hard to throw Luis Penichet for a loop. The 27-year-old Marine Corps veteran acclimates to unusual situations quicklyhe spent weeks sleeping in a 7-by-10-foot box in the African heat of Djibouti and led a logistical team in the freezing cold, snowy terrain of Norway during NATO exercises.

(New York Post)

Why HR Can Be a Good Fit for Veterans



Although no two military careers are exactly alike, soldiers often take on responsibilities that could translate well to HR, should that be where their interests lie. From the beginning of their service, many active military members are put in charge of large numbers of people.

(SHRM Online)





[Want to learn more about a career in HR? Join us at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2021, taking place Sept. 9-12 in Las Vegas and virtually.]



Hiring Veterans



Many veterans agonize about finding post-service employment. They worry about whether their skills are transferable. They're concerned about adapting to a new culture after serving in a unique institution that's a largely transparent, hierarchical organization with a well-defined purpose and strict rules.

In recent years, however, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, nonprofits and private companies have worked to provide a smoother transition for those leaving the military.



(All Things Work)

Employer Guide to Hiring Veterans

This guide, updated May 2021, includes information about service member and veteran demographics; resources employers can use to facilitate veteran employment; and recommendations on how to attract, train, and retain veterans.



(U.S. Department of Labor)



SHRM Resources



The Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Military Employment Resource Page provides a toolkit and other information for HR professionals on employing individuals with military backgrounds. Another SHRM resource is HireVets, which helps employers identify candidates that best match their job descriptions.

Additionally, the SHRM Foundation launched the Veterans at Work Certificate Program, sponsored by Comcast NBC Universal, in November 2020. It is free and open to all HR professionals. SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential-holders who complete the program may receive 10 professional development credits toward recertification.



More Companies Commit to Hiring Military Spouses



As many military spouses struggle to maintain a meaningful career amid repeated moves, defense and service officials and private organizations have attacked the decades-old problem of spouse unemployment from various sides. One of those solutions is to enter into partnerships with private employers that actively seek to hire military spouses.



(Military Times)



Employers Share Veteran Hiring, Retention Strategies



At the SHRM INCLUSION 2020 virtual conference, HR and business leaders shared what their companies are doing to attract, hire and retain military veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses.

Chris Cortez, vice president of military affairs at Microsoft, said that to help veterans succeed, companies must shift from a veteran-friendly to a veteran-ready approach.



(SHRM Online)




New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) In India, the numbers of phones belonging to hundreds of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, government officials and business executives were on the snooping list, as were numbers in several other countries in the region, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, the Washington Post reported.

When Siddharth Varadarajan, co-founder of the Wire, an independent online outlet in India, learned that Security Lab's analysis showed that his phone had been targeted and penetrated by Pegasus, his mind immediately ran through his sensitive sources. He thought about a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government who had displayed an unusual concern about surveillance when they met.

The minister first moved the meeting from one location to another at the last moment, then switched off his phone and told Varadarajan to do the same. Then "the two phones were put in a room and music was put on in that room... and I thought: 'Boy, this guy is really paranoid. But maybe he was being sensible'," Varadarajan said in a recent interview, the report said.

Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners.

Wahington Post said the numbers on the list are unattributed, but reporters were able to identify more than 1,000 people spanning more than 50 countries through research and interviews on four continents: several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and more than 600 politicians and government officials  including cabinet ministers, diplomats, and military and security officers. The numbers of several heads of state and Prime Ministers also appeared on the list.

The phones appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to engage in surveillance of their citizens and also known to have been clients of the Israeli firm, NSO Group, a worldwide leader in the growing and largely unregulated private spyware industry, the investigation found.

The greatest number was in Mexico, where more than 15,000 numbers, including those belonging to politicians, union representatives, journalists and other government critics, were on the list.

A large share of numbers were in the Middle East, including in Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are reported to be among NSO clients, the report said.

More than 1,000 French numbers were on the list. In Hungary, numbers associated with at least two media magnates were among hundreds on the list, and the phones of two working journalists were targeted and infected, forensic analysis showed.

Pegasus is engineered to evade defences on iPhones and Android devices and to leave few traces of its attack. Familiar privacy measures like strong passwords and encryption offer little help against Pegasus, which can attack phones without any warning to users. It can read anything on a device that a user can, while also stealing photos, recordings, location records, communications, passwords, call logs and social media posts. Spyware also can activate cameras and microphones for real-time surveillance.

The attack can begin in different ways. It can come from a malicious link in an SMS text message or an iMessage. In some cases, a user must click on the link to start the infection. In recent years, spyware companies have developed what they call "zero-click" attacks, which deliver spyware simply by sending a message to a user's phone that produces no notification. Users do not even need to touch their phones for infections to begin.

Mexico was NSO's first overseas client in 2011, less than a year after the firm was founded in Israel's Silicon Valley, in northern Tel Aviv. In 2016 and 2017, more than 15,000 Mexicans appeared on the list examined by the media consortium, among them at least 25 reporters working for the country's major media outlets, according to the records and interviews.

One of them was Carmen Aristegui, one of the most prominent investigative journalists in the country and a regular contributor to CNN. Aristegui, who is routinely threatened for exposing the corruption of Mexican politicians and cartels, was previously revealed as a Pegasus Story continues below advertisement target in several media reports. At the time, she said in a recent interview, her producer was also targeted. The new records and forensics show that Pegasus links were detected on the phone of her personal assistant.

Today's thriving international spyware industry dates back decades but got a boost after the unprecedented 2013 disclosure of highly classified National Security Agency documents by contractor Edward Snowden. They revealed that the NSA could obtain the electronic communications of almost anyone because it had secret access to the transnational cables carrying Internet traffic worldwide and data from Internet companies such as Google and giant telecommunications companies such as AT&T.

--IANS

san/vd
House Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota read out the results of the vote, in which Deuba received 165 votes while 84 parliamentarians voted against him. While the lower house currently has 271 members, only 249 lawmakers were present for voting as some boycotted the voting and some were absent.

Kathmandu, July 18 (IANS) Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday won the vote of confidence in Parliament on Sunday.

Deuba was supported by his own Nepali Congress, the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre), the Janata Samajbadi Party, as well as some lawmakers from main opposition Nepal Communist Party-UML whose chair is his predecessor, K.P. Sharma Oli.

The Nepali Congress has 61 seats while coalition partner Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has 49 seats. Similarly, the Rastriya Janamorcha, with one seat, also decided to vote for Deuba.

But half of the lawmakers of the Janata Samajbadi Party, which has a total of 32 members, also made a volte face on Sunday and suddenly decided to vote for Deuba.

A faction of the party had earlier supported Oli while half of them remained in tge opposition.

After the Supreme Court overturned Oli's decision to dissolve the house, the party came together and decided to vote for Deuba.

Oli's own party, Nepal Communist Party-UML remained divided. out of its 127 lawmakers, 22 party lawmakers voted in favour of Deuba and 10 lawmakers were absent.

Deuba was appointed Prime Minister last Tuesday after the Supreme Court overturned Oli's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives on May 21, and reinstated the house.

The Constitution makes it mandatory that a Prime Minister appointed under Article 76(5) secures a vote of confidence within 30 days of appointment.

--IANS

giri/vd
KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Sin Chew Daily) -- Chinese nationals residing in Malaysia are urged to support local food banks in a campaign organized by the Malaysia-China Welfare Advisory Society.



Huang Bin, secretary-general of the society who is also the executive director of Minan Overseas Assistance, urged Chinese nationals in Malaysia to join the campaign to lend a hand supporting Malaysians who are facing a tough time.

The campaign started on July 15 and will end on August 31.

Huang Bin said he decided to support local food banks and urged other Chinese nationals to do the same by donating a minimum of RM50 in cash or food stuff equivalent to RM50 to food banks near to them.

Participants are required to take a picture of their contributions and send to campaign coordinator Huang Hai (012-344 2456) through WhatsApp to verify that they have joined the campaign.

They are also required to name the food bank they have contributed and name the next challenger with a phone number.

Participants are allowed to challenge up to two friends where more people would be invited to join the campaign, he said.

The food bank a participant chooses to support will have to comply with the standard operating procedures set by the government that the food banks must be located within a radius of 10km, he added.

Participants are also encouraged to contact the food banks in advance for arrangements.

Huang Bin took the lead by donating 40 bags of rice to a food bank run by Nasi Kerabu Ma Desa Pandan.

Participants are encouraged to challenge their friends on Facebook or WeChat by naming them to join the campaign so that more Chinese nationals will join in to help.
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Sydneysiders fortunate enough to be near the coast during these tight times of COVID-19 curbs can at least get some solace from scanning the horizon for whales.

And if they get really lucky, they might even spy a pygmy blue whale  if they know what to look for.

A pygmy blue whale tracked off Maroubra in 2020. Credit:Sean Keenan

Blue whales are elusive, said Vanessa Pirotta, from Macquarie Universitys marine predator research group, who spotted one of the giant mammals off Maroubra in July 2013 and has written up sightings of two others in August and September last year in the Australian Zoologist journal. Were literally able to see the biggest animal in the world on Sydneys back doorstep.

Australia has two of the five blue whale species in its waters  the so-called true or Antarctic blue and the pygmy blue. Relatively little is known of the pygmy blue, which is why confirmed sightings like those last year warrant research reports.
Victorias exposure site list blew out to 253 cases on Sunday night with new tier 1 sites added including Coles Richmond, Calder Park BP and a host of locations in Mildura.

Check the full list on the governments exposure site page.

Calder Park

BP Calder Park - Outbound

937 Calder Hwy, Cnr Holden Rd Calder Park VIC 3037

11/07/2021 11:30am - 1:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Mister Bun Mi852

Fifteenth Street Mildura VIC 3500

13/07/2021 5:00pm - 7:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Blk mlk Specialty Coffee

51 Deakin Avenue Mildura VIC 3500

14/07/2021 7:00am - 9:00am Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Yo Yo Joes Mildura

264-266 Etiwanda Avenue Mildura VIC 3500

13/07/2021 12:30pm - 2:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Mildura Waves Aquatic and Leisure Centre

180-190 Deakin AvenueMildura VIC 3500

12/07/2021 11:30am - 4:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Mildura Waves Aquatic and Leisure Centre

180-190 Deakin Avenue Mildura VIC 3500

12/07/2021 5:00pm - 9:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Noodle World Mildura

4/832 Fifteenth Street Mildura VIC 3500

12/07/2021 11:30am - 1:15pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

Coles Mildura

Cnr Sanmateo Avenue & Fifteenth StMildura VIC 3500

12/07/2021 11:15am - 12:45pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Mildura

The Alfred Deakin Centre

190 Deakin AvenueMildura VIC 3500

12/07/2021 11:30am - 4:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 2 - Get tested urgently and isolate until you have a negative result Anyone who has visited this location during these times should urgently get tested, then isolate until confirmation of a negative result. Continue to monitor for symptoms, get tested again if symptoms appear.

Ravenswood

Caltex Ravenswood

4633 Calder Hwy Ravenswood VIC 3453

11/07/2021 12:45pm - 2:15pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Wycheproof

Bakery on Broadway

317 Broadway Wycheproof VIC 3527

11/07/2021 2:00pm - 3:00pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Brighton East

Dan Murphys Brighton East

479 Nepean Hwy Brighton East VIC 318714/07/2021 4:25pm - 4:45pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Pakenham

The Great Australian Bakehouse

137-145 Main Street Pakenham VIC 3810

15/07/2021 11:20am - 11:40am Case attended venue

Tier 2 - Get tested urgently and isolate until you have a negative result Anyone who has visited this location during these times should urgently get tested, then isolate until confirmation of a negative result. Continue to monitor for symptoms, get tested again if symptoms appear.

Cowes

Caltex Woolworths Cowes

124-128 Thompson Avenue Cowes VIC 3922

14/07/2021 6:00pm - 6:20pm Case attended venue

Tier 2 - Get tested urgently and isolate until you have a negative result Anyone who has visited this location during these times should urgently get tested, then isolate until confirmation of a negative result. Continue to monitor for symptoms, get tested again if symptoms appear.

Richmond

Coles Richmond Icon

150/160 Swan Street Richmond VIC 3121

15/07/2021 1:06pm - 1:50pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure. Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Richmond

Coles Richmond Icon

150/160 Swan Street Richmond VIC 3121

16/07/2021 3:30pm - 4:15pm Case attended venue

Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure. Anyone who has visited this location during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.
The Hubble Space Telescope completes a full lap of the Earth in a little over half an hour. It has been quietly and almost faultlessly doing this for more than 30 years, all the while sending images back to the ground: of distant galaxies, of stars dying and being born.

Last month, for reasons space agency NASA still does not understand, Hubble suddenly clicked off. The camera shutter snapped shut and the system flicked into safe-mode. The 13.2-metre craft, capable of capturing data from more than 13 billion light years away, became a hunk of metal in orbit.

The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit above Earth. Credit:Courtesy of NASA

On Thursday, after weeks of rigorous testing, a team of engineers at NASA started a revival process, attempting to bring the 31-year-old telescope back to life  from 550 kilometres below. Over the weekend, they fixed it.

Glen Nagle, education and outreach manager at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, said Hubble did exactly what it should have when faced with a glitch  it shut down, displayed a blue screen of death and called home.
In the uncertainty of this world is it unfair to ask our national leaders to give us something more than vague political showmanship when we ask about plans for the future?

As a high school student, in particular, it feels disorientating. In maths, there is always one obvious answer to x and y. In science, there are a few possible answers depending on your interpretation and your knowledge.

High school student Ahelee Rahman remote learning at home in 2020. Credit:Joe Armao

In English there are no questions with black-and-white answers, but thoughts and ideas to put down on paper within the set parameters that can be thought of as a response.

However, in politics, and especially when it comes to the next step in Australias pandemic response, there is no answer, and it doesnt seem like our national leaders are interested in finding x and y either.
Chances are youre one of millions of Australians in lockdown. But imagine if, in the middle of a health crisis, you suddenly found yourself expelled from your home and it was demolished. It may have disappeared from the headlines here, but that is what is happening in Jerusalem as you read. It doesnt happen to Jewish families in the holy city, only Palestinian ones.

So its peculiar, to say the least, that Labor leader Anthony Albanese chose this moment to get on a Zoom call with leaders of Australias Jewish community and assure them he was on their side. To compare Israel to apartheid South Africa, he told them, was simplistic and ahistorical and cheapens, to be frank, the struggle against apartheid ... led by Mandela.

A elelction looming ... Labor leader Anthony Albanese. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Lets put aside for a moment that Albanese appears to think he knows better than Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former South African politician and military commander Ronnie Kasrils, who actually fought apartheid; or the assessments of leading international and Israeli human rights organisations; or that this ahistorical view has been taken by two former Israeli ambassadors to South Africa.

Instead Id like to tell you about a woman called Khalida Jarrar. Dr Jarrar, a Palestinian MP, has spent much of the past seven years in administrative detention in Israel. Eventually charges of encouraging terrorism and being a member of an illegal organisation were laid against her. (Students of South African history will be familiar with the pattern.) A leading Israeli newspaper suggested the state was seeking revenge for Dr Jarrars role in helping Palestine win access to the International Criminal Court  access that Australia, in case you didnt know, went out of its way to oppose.
A convicted fraudster, Brendan Gaffney, and his administrative assistant Lisa Luca have been suspended from their jobs at a truck-leasing company over a fraudulent invoice they submitted to Club Marconi for work that was never done.

A Herald investigation has previously revealed the clubs then CEO Tony Zappia, a close friend of Mr Gaffneys, authorised payment to Rentfleet Operations for $13,750 for relocation of machinery last year. Not only did the Bossley Park club have no machinery to move but the club was shut down during the pandemic, said club sources familiar with the situation.

Tony Zappia, former CEO of Club Club Marconi. Credit:Nick Moir

Mr Zappia has shares in Rentfleet, as does Marconi director Frank Oliveri, club president Vince Foti and members of his family. Both men said that Mr Zappia had introduced them to Mr Gaffney.

A Marconi club board meeting was held on Thursday via Zoom to discuss the Heralds revelations about the invoice. The meeting disintegrated into a screaming match with calls for Mr Foti and Mr Oliveri to resign for failing to disclose an interest in the company when the payment was approved in October last year, sources told the Herald.
Parents across Sydney will be given stronger advice to keep their children home, while no more than five teachers will be allowed at schools in the three hotspot local government areas (LGAs) without special permission under new advice issued to principals.

Schools must staff schools within the Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas with teachers residing in those areas if possible, said directives from the NSW Department sent to schools on Sunday and seen by the Herald.

The children of essential workers attend Clemton Park Public School in Earlwood on Tuesday. Credit:Louise Kennerley

All parents  not just those in the hotspot areas  will be more strongly encouraged to keep children at home. Last week, only about five per cent of students attended school, but there were up to 80 on some primary school campuses.

After discussions between education and health officials overnight, schools were on Sunday told to tell parents: Parents must keep children  of all ages, across primary and secondary schooling and early childcare  home if they can, a strengthening of the message to keep kids at home.
NSW Police will ask citizens to produce identification as part of their compliance regime of the latest health orders to control the spread of COVID-19.

Deputy Commissioner Malcolm Lanyon said police visibility would be ramped up to ensure compliance with the health orders.

NSW Police can now ask people to show their ID to enforce health orders, police say. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Thats important, so we know people are complying with the nature of the health orders, he told reporters. Can I ask people to carry ID and be prepared to present it?

Latest health orders restrict people from three Sydney metropolitan areas  Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool  from leaving their local areas. All residents of Greater Sydney are under stay-at-home orders unless they have to go out for supplies or are work exempt.
I think if we get to below five cases per day, all linked to a chain of transmission, that would be a comfortable number to open. This is what we used last year to start easing restrictions, but you dont drop them all at once, he said. He said masks would be the last restriction to be dropped and it was possible Victorians would be wearing masks indoors until the end of the year. As health authorities scrambled to trace the Mildura mans movements, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was proof the virus could move to the furthest point of our state very, very fast. Regional towns had hoped to be released from lockdown before Tuesday night but concern over the Mildura case and a growing number of exposure sites near Phillip Island and Bacchus Marsh means regional areas are unlikely to be offered an early reprieve.

I know it is incredibly frustrating for people who are a long way from Melbourne, but this virus can reach you, Mr Andrews said. He said while the outbreak was unfolding as we had hoped it would, he would not rule out extending the lockdown beyond five days. University of South Australia epidemiologist Adrian Esterman said the case in Mildura made it less likely the state would emerge from lockdown after five days, though it was too early to determine. Although there was a slight drop in case numbers today, the moving average is still going up and the [effective reproduction number] is still too high. We are starting to see it spread out of metro Melbourne. Its very early days. I would be surprised if they came out on Tuesday. But I think they went so fast and so hard there is a good chance they can bring this under control, unlike NSW.

The NSW government on Sunday announced it would ban all construction work, cut public transport services by up to 50 per cent and have schools running on a skeleton staff in an effort to slow the spread of the Delta strain across Sydney. NSW reported another death and a further 105 local COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total for the outbreak to 1242 and the death toll to four. Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said she was not giving up hope of Victorias lockdown being eased if potential cases and contacts presented for testing immediately. Queues at the testing clinic in Mildura on Sunday afternoon. Its really stretching us. Every exposure site with reasonable exposure is translating to a number of cases, she said.

Its critical everyone comes forward for testing and we identify every case in this next ring of exposures. If we do that then we can still do it. If we cant contain it by Tuesday, we might only have to extend lockdown by a few days. Triple the effort now will save 100 times the effort later. COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed the Mildura case had attended the Carlton-Geelong match at the MCG last Saturday, where he is believed to have contracted the virus in the MCC Members Reserve. The MCG remains one of the four transmission sites of concern for health authorities, along with AAMI Park, the Young & Jackson pub and the Ms Frankie restaurant in Cremorne, where almost one-third of the new cases acquired the virus. Mr Weimar said the four sites were responsible for significant community transmission and had forced thousands of Victorians into 14 days of quarantine.

Loading At least six schools have been affected by the outbreak, including Bacchus Marsh Grammar, Barwon Heads Primary School, St Patricks Primary School in Murrumbeena, and Trinity Grammar in Kew. A teacher from Trinity Grammar who was at the MCG is believed to have transmitted the virus at the rugby match and at the Ms Frankie restaurant. He also attended The Crafty Squire on Russell Street, where he watched the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy. Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton urged people who attended the rugby match to check which gate they entered and where they sat, and get tested if necessary. He also called on those who supplied tickets to the Euro 2020 final event at The Crafty Squire to contact anyone who may have attended. On Sunday health authorities updated the exposure information for both AAMI Park and the Ms Frankie restaurant, raising concerns a sick employee at the restaurant continued to work without knowing they were infected.

There were 60 cases connected to the Victorian outbreak on Sunday, with 14,000 primary close contacts in isolation across the state. Mr Andrews said the states contact tracers were finding people very fast but Victoria was not in a position to help NSW. The greatest contribution that we can make is getting this under control in our state, he said. We help others when we can. At the moment we cant, but hopefully in the future we will be able to. Concerns are also mounting about a COVID-19 cluster developing at the Tokyo Olympic Games athletes village, after two athletes tested positive ahead of Fridays Opening Ceremony.

Loading Globally, health authorities are increasingly concerned about the risk the Delta variant poses to younger people, particularly in Australia, where those aged under 40 have lower rates of vaccination due to the delayed rollout. In Melbourne the latest list of tier 1 exposure sites includes a number of popular CBD bars such as the Emerald Peacock on Lonsdale Street and Cookie on Swanston Street. Professor Sutton said the pattern was an indication that many older Australians had already received one or two vaccinations. That will remain a vulnerability in Australia until we have rolled out our vaccination program more fully, he said.

Supply remains the primary constraint. You could open it up to everybody but then you would be preventing other individuals from being able to finish their course or even start. Loading Professor Toole said the trend of young people driving the Delta outbreak was happening all over the world. Because more than 75 per cent of over-70s in Australia have been vaccinated, they are more or less protected, leaving the more infectious strain of COVID-19 to latch on to younger people in higher numbers, he said. Young people are just out and about more, both for work and leisure. And because its so infectious, it will just spread wherever most people are gathering.
Loading While Cr Modica, along with other border communities, has been pushing for a more nuanced version of lockdown for regional areas, he said he understood restrictions needed to be in place when there was a case in the community. Jacki Turfrey, the chief executive of Mallee District Aboriginal Services, said an outbreak would have serious consequences for the local Aboriginal community. At 6702, the Loddon Mallee regions Aboriginal population of 6702 is about 14 per cent of Victorias total. Im very concerned for the Aboriginal community, Ms Turfrey said. We have much higher levels of chronic health issues ... its not just elders who have chronic health issues.

We do have a high percentage of people up here who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, so it means we have a fairly vulnerable population more generally. Im really concerned about Aboriginal community members who have not been vaccinated yet and the risk it puts them in. The vaccine uptake increased during the most recent lockdown, and Ms Turfrey said she wouldnt be surprised to see the new case drive another rise in jabs. But she said the changing advice for the AstraZeneca vaccine had created uncertainty. We had a really good uptake with AstraZeneca, a massive uptake, which is great, she said. The only issue was with conflicting messages about AstraZeneca ... its just died off completely. People are really scared to come and get that vaccine. Mildura resident Nikkita, who did not want to give her surname, said the case could act as a wake-up call to many people in the community.

I think there was a sense of complacency here in Mildura, but now I think this will be a big wake-up call to the community that obviously we are not immune to this sort of thing because we are so far away from Melbourne, she said. Queues at the testing clinic in Mildura on Sunday afternoon. She said most people had been wearing masks, but many had not been checking in with QR codes as often as they should. She said a testing centre had been set up near her home on Sunday and there was already a long line. A lot of people in the community are going to get tested, which is so good to see, she said. Mildura has such a strong sense of community; everyone is going out and getting tested and doing the right thing. Three Mildura exposure sites were added to the official list on Sunday evening. Two were tier 1 sites: Caffeine Extraction in Mildura Shopping Centre on July 13 between 9am and 11am, and Kaffenio in Mildura on July 12 between 8.30am and 9.30am. Mildura Shopping Centre has been classified as a tier 2 site on July 13 between 9am and 11am.

On Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews cast doubt on an early end to lockdown for regional areas and said the Mildura case had shown how quickly the virus could spread. It is not the day for us to be announcing parts of regional Victoria being let out of this lockdown  that just confirms I think for all of us, if we needed any, that this moves quick and a problem anywhere becomes a problem everywhere, he said. I know it is incredibly frustrating for people who are a long way from Melbourne, but that virus can reach you, as we can see with this Mildura case ... From a virus point of view, the state is a lot smaller than it might seem. Phillip Island local Faye Redmond said on Sunday there was an eerie feeling in town. On Saturday, men in hazmat suits went in and out of shops on the main street of Cowes, as traffic backed up for kilometres, with locals waiting to be tested.

It is a bit scary, Ms Redmond said. I have been feeling perfectly fine until now. Yesterday I got a touch of nerves  its got a bit real. So far we havent seen any cases, but we do think that there probably will be considering those people were here for a number of days ... Hopefully, we wont get an outbreak, but thats obviously what everyones worried about. The 65-year-old, who has lived on the island for 25 years, has a compromised immune system and lives alone. She said she had been heartened by the support she had received from the community. A walk-in testing clinic has been set up in Cowes on Phillip Island. Credit:Wayne Taylor Geoff Moed, owner of A MazeN Things fun park on Phillip Island, said the community was on edge.

There has been a huge contrast  the two weeks of school holidays for A MazeN Things was the best July school holidays we have ever had. We were getting great local support and lots of people coming, he said. From that perspective it was a positive outlook, but when you bring this in, its particularly hard on business owners and staff. Every time we are locked down the sense of despondency gets a little bit deeper. Barwon Heads Primary School, on the Bellarine Peninsula, closed several days ago after a teacher tested positive. Forty-nine staff and 527 students at the school have been identified as either primary or secondary close contacts. Greater Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said on Sunday the situation was different compared with the most recent lockdown because there were active cases in the region and exposure sites in Barwon Heads and Waurn Ponds. The next couple of days will be critical for our region, she said. The best scenario is that the outbreak is brought under control statewide, including in Melbourne, and we can all move out of lockdown together.
As the class of 2021 log on at home this week for their third stint of remote learning this year, it is conceivable many will seek special consideration. The trials VCE students endured last year might be less of an outlier after all. We have chosen to run the Schools that Excel series in 2021 because it is an opportunity to recognise schools that have shown sustained improvement over the past 10 years, as well as celebrating students resilience during 2020. Of course, improved results are worth celebrating not on their own but because they signify more students achieving their ambitions. Thats what teachers care about, says Andrew McNeil, principal of Reservoir High School (another winner this year). They dont care about kids median scores; they care about their pathways.

Recognising schools that improve The Schools that Excel interactive brings together detailed results from Victorian government, independent and Catholic schools. The Age has gathered VCE results data going back 10 years for every secondary school in the state and turned it into an easy-to-use dashboard. Simply type in the name of your school to find out how it has fared over the past decade, what its graduates do after finishing and more:

What can I learn from this interactive? The interactive lets you gauge a school's VCE performance over 10 years, so you can see whether it has improved or maintained its results over time. When VCE results are released in December, only the current year's figures are provided. That information is useful, but it doesn't tell you anything about how representative the results are of the school's typical performance. By threading together data from the past decade, a much clearer picture emerges. Casey Grammar principal Fiona Williams with year 12 students. Casey Grammar was named the Schools that Excel winner among non-government schools in Melbournes south. Credit:Joe Armao You can also see how students enrolled in VET or VCAL programs fare and whether they continue on to vocational education or apprenticeships. Not all schools cater to students who are predominantly after a place at university, and the Schools that Excel dashboard reflects this.

With so much information about the vital final years of secondary education in one place, the dashboard helps you research the schools in your area and could help you select one that is a good fit for you or your child. What does the dashboard show? The information about your school is divided into multiple panels. Here is a guide to interpreting the data: Average student performance shows the median VCE subject study score for the school since 2011, which is a good indicator of typical student achievement. Study scores are out of 50, and a 30 is the average. The horizontal line at 30 on the graph is the yardstick that shows how the typical student at this school fares against the statewide average. High achievers shows the percentage of the schools VCE subject scores that were among the best in the state. These are scores of 40 or above, which put students within the top 10 per cent of all those who completed a VCE subject. This panel also shows the subjects in which students obtained the best results.

Completion rates shows the enrolment numbers in VCE, VET and VCAL over the past five years, as well as the satisfactory completion rates among year 12s. Student pathways shows what 2019s year 12 graduates were doing midway through last year  whether they had gone on to further study at university or TAFE, or whether they had taken on an apprenticeship or joined the workforce. This panel does not show up if a high percentage of a schools year 12 graduates did not complete the survey. The survey has not been conducted for 2020s graduates yet, so 2019 is the latest year for which data is available. School awards shows the 10 high-gain schools that The Age judged as having shown the best improvement in their results over the past decade. Keilor Downs College principal Linda Maxwell with some of her students, who thrived despite COVID disruptions. Keilor Downs was named a Schools that Excel winner among western Melbourne government schools. Credit:Jason South Which schools are featured in the dashboard?

The interactive dashboard features data on more than 500 Victorian schools that offered VCE, VET or VCAL programs in 2020. It also includes schools that were classified by the VCAA as small for having enrolments below a certain threshold. A dialogue box will pop up in the interactive if you enter the name of a small school to flag that its performance may not be comparable with larger schools and that it may not be possible to observe a trend in results over the 10-year time frame. If a school has few students, it means the median can fluctuate greatly year on year depending on the cohort. Unfortunately, schools for which there is insufficient data, schools that exclusively offer the International Baccalaureate and adult education institutions do not show up in the interactive. There might also be gaps in the data for years in which student enrolments did not reach a certain threshold. A whole-school photo of Tyrrell College, which was the winner among rural/regional government schools.

How were the Schools that Excel awards decided? We used Department of Health boundaries to categorise schools as metropolitan or regional and divided the metropolitan region into west, north, east and south Melbourne. One government school and one non-government (Catholic or independent) school was chosen for each area based on their records of improvement. Of course, there are many qualities in schools that cant be measured. These include a schools culture, its inclusiveness, the dedication of teachers, extracurricular activities and that feeling you get when you walk through the school gates. [Follow The Age Education on Facebook]
Countries that can afford to vaccinate a high proportion of the population face a difficult trade-off between waiting to open up society when the vaccination program is completed and opening up when enough people have been vaccinated to mitigate the epidemic. But the virus can still rip through the unvaccinated. The British government, by lifting all remaining legal restrictions on Monday, has decided, like some US states, to let it rip.

Having been accused last year of not having a plan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a sensible four-step plan in March predicated on the idea that in a race between the virus and the vaccines, the vaccines would win.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons freedom day is viewed as an act of reckless adventurism across Europe. Credit:AFP

Unfortunately, the rapid emergence of the more infectious Delta strain in May gave the virus a huge advantage in the race. The Prime Minister said he would be governed by data not dates and the initial date of June 21 for what has been dubbed freedom day was postponed. Now the government appears to have run out of patience and will proceed to open up on Monday despite the virus being resurgent, and against the advice of most of the public health community.

The governments gamble appears to be  after a spectacularly successful vaccine rollout with 70 per cent of the population having had at least one vaccine dose, and 54 per cent having had two, including over 90 per cent of those over 55  that the people most vulnerable to COVID hospitalisation and death are sufficiently protected and that rapid spread of the virus among the young will not cause the National Health Service hospital wards and intensive care units to be overwhelmed.
Energy giant Woodside has criticised a levy slapped on all offshore oil and gas producers to recoup costs of cleaning up a rig formerly owned by the company, widening the rift between the federal government and industry over the decommissioning process.

Ownership of the now defunct Northern Endeavour production vessel, permanently moored 550 kilometres offshore from Darwin in the Timor Sea, fell to the Commonwealth in 2019.

A levy has been imposed across the offshore oil and gas industry after a minor production company entered liquidation, creating a risk that taxpayers would foot the clean-up bill. Credit:Rob Homer

Northern Endeavours new owner, Northern Oil and Gas Australia (NOGA), entered liquidation after the industry regulator shut down production in February 2020 owing to unacceptable risks of worker deaths on the rusting vessel.

Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt has said taxpayers would not foot the clean-up bill, and he imposed a levy on the entire industry of 48 a barrel, payable from July 1.
Singapore: As governor of West Java, Indonesias most populated province, Ridwan Kamil runs a territory with twice as many people as Australia.

Amid a devastating surge of COVID-19 over the past six weeks, he has taken matters into his own hands.

Ridwan Kamil became governor of West Java in 2018 and his term runs until 2023.

The issue now is about people die because of a lack of oxygen supplies, he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an interview from his office in the provincial capital Bandung.

We are deficient around 200 tonnes [of oxygen] a day. So I use my own resources, my own network to supply oxygen. There is a [governor to governor] kind of network, but I cannot wait.
More than 54,000 new cases were confirmed on Saturday (British time), the highest daily number since January, although reported virus deaths have stayed comparatively low so far. On Sunday there were 48,161 new cases. Nightclubs have been closed in London for 17 months. Credit:AP Officials have repeatedly expressed confidence the UKs vaccine rollout  68.3 per cent of adults, or just over half of the total population, has received two doses  will keep the threat to public health at bay. Daily deaths, currently at around 40, are just a fraction of a peak of above 1800 seen in January. But leading international scientists on Friday described Englands Freedom Day as a threat to the whole world, and 1200 scientists backed a letter to British medical journal The Lancet that criticised the Conservative governments decision. I cant think of any realistic good scenario to come out of this strategy, Im afraid, said Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester. I think its really a degree of how bad its going to be.

Loading One worry, Tang said, is of super variants that could surface after people are allowed to mix without precautions over the summer. Add a flu resurgence in the colder months and that spells a winter of very serious proportions, he said. Even Prime Minister Boris Johnsons chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, warned that we could get into trouble again surprisingly fast. Johnson himself played down talk of freedom and stressed that life wouldnt instantly revert to how it was pre-pandemic. If we dont do it now weve got to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it? he said in a video message filmed on Sunday. This is the right moment but weve got to do it cautiously. Weve got to remember that this virus is sadly still out there.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are both self-isolating for 10 days after contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday despite being fully vaccinated. They are among hundreds of thousands of Britons who have been told to quarantine because they have been near someone who tested positive. The situation is causing staff shortages in restaurants, car manufacturers and public transport. The London Telegraph reported on Monday that ministers were urging Johnson to ditch the requirement for fully-vaccinated people to self-isolate entirely. Nightclubs in particular are potent spreading grounds, Tang said, because their core customer base  people 18 to 25  only became eligible for a first vaccine dose last month and havent yet been offered the second shots needed to boost immunity.

Loading That population is not fully vaccinated. Theyre not masking. Theyre in very close contact, heavily breathing, shouting very loudly to the music, dancing with different people, he said. Thats the perfect mixing vessel for the virus to spread and to even generate new variants. Johnson has highlighted the risk of new variants and urged citizens to complete the vaccine program. Above all, please, please, please, when youre asked to get that second jab ... please come forward and do it, Johnson said. The Prime Minister urged the public on Sunday to exercise prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present. He wants nightclubs and other crowded venues to use COVID-19 status certification as a matter of social responsibility and only to admit patrons who can show they are double-jabbed, have a negative test result or have recovered from the disease.

There is no legal requirement for them to do so, however. In a flash poll of 250 late-night bars and clubs by the Night Time Industries Association last week, 83 per cent said they wouldnt be asking people about their COVID-19 status, according to Michael Kill, the trade bodys chief executive. Many owners see the passes as a huge turn-off for customers and accuse the government of passing the buck to businesses. Weve heard people will boycott businesses that adopt this, Kill said. The last thing we want after months of closure is to be again hindered in terms of capacity to trade. Either mandate it or dont mandate it. This is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on us. Johnsons decision to scrap the legal requirement for face masks in indoor public spaces has also sowed confusion. Days after he said masks would still be expected and recommended in crowded indoor places but not compulsory, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that passengers on the capitals Tube and buses must continue to wear them. Some retailers, such as the bookstore chain Waterstones, said they would encourage customers to keep their masks on. But many believe implementing such policies will be tricky without the backing of the law. The end of restrictions in England on Monday was a critical moment in Britains handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 128,000 people nationwide, the highest death toll in Europe after Russia. Other parts of the UK  Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  are taking slightly more cautious steps out of lockdown.
When explaining how he was able to capture the spirit of Anthony Bourdain in his haunting new documentary, filmmaker Morgan Neville said he felt it was vital to have the whole film in the voice of the acclaimed chef, who died by suicide in 2018.

To do so, the director and the crew for Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain used artificial intelligence to create three sound bites with Bourdains voice - a process, Neville said, that was approved by the late celebrity chefs widow and literary executor just to make sure people were cool with that.

Anthony Bourdain in Morgan Nevilles documentary Roadrunner.

But the editorial decision to deepfake Bourdains voice has come under fire from critics who have questioned the ethics behind using AI for the film, which opened on Friday. Among those critics is Ottavia Bourdain, his widow, who disputed that Neville approached her about recreating her husbands voice through AI in the documentary.

I certainly was NOT the one who said Tony would have been cool with that, she tweeted early Friday.
PHILIPSBURG:--- As of July 17th, there were five (5) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however, six (6) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to twenty-nine (29). The total number of confirmed cases is now two thousand six hundred sixty-four (2664).

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring twenty-five (25) people in home isolation. Four (4) patients are hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at thirty-four (34).

The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to two thousand six hundred one (2601). Twenty-nine (29) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS.



The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 3, 333 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 35, 043 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures.

Minister Ottley would like to thank everyone who came out to the vaccination pop-up drives this weekend. Together we can achieve herd immunity.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Considering the increase in cases in several countries, the now rapidly spreading dominant Delta COVID-19 strain in those countries along with the amount of breakthrough cases; the entry requirements for Sint Maarten will be updated as of 18 July at 12:00 A.M.

The travel requirements that will be updated due to the rapid surge of the New Variant are as follows:

Curacao, the British Virgin Islands, Morocco, and Australia will be placed on the High-Risk list.

St. Kitts and Nevis will be updated to Low-Risk.

All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, coming from high-risk countries are required to be in the possession of a negative rt-PCR test within 72 hours before departure. No Antigen test will be accepted from travelers from these countries.

Travelers from the United States and Canada are required to do an rt-PCR test within 72 hours or they can alternatively do an Antigen test within 48 hrs before departure.
Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM CDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Heat index values of 98 to 103 expected. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Wisconsin and central, east central, south central, southwest and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...From noon to 8 PM CDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
Ogden jazz icon Joe McQueen may be gone, but his memory and legacy live on. One physical reminder of his life, McQueen's lifelong home at 3158 Grant Ave., has now become available for sale. The house received extensive remodeling, but as investor Richard Casperson has said, "Joe's energy is 
Most of the cases newly confirmed by COVID-19 compared to the last report were registered in Bucharest - 15 and in the counties of southeastern Constanta - 6, northwestern Satu Mare - 5 and western Timis - 4, the Strategic Communication Group informed on Sunday.

No new cases of COVID-19 were registered in 23 counties.

All counties and the municipality of Bucharest remain in the green scenario in terms of infections with the novel coronavirus, the highest incidence per thousand inhabitants being in central-western Cluj County - 0.06.
On Sunday, after meeting with the mayors of the communes from Alba County, the most affected by the recent floods, the Prime Minister Florin Citu declared that the people whose households were flooded will receive fixed amounts of money for reconstruction, agerpres reports.

"A month and a half ago, we have created the legal framework through which we can give help without the need for a Government meeting, which means that after we receive the evaluation report, people will be able to get financial, material support, everything they need. There is a fixed amount, but if needed, it can be supplemented. At this moment, we have to make sure that people can recover and restore their households as soon as possible," Citu said.

He added that the fact that there were no casualties is a good thing, while the people have warned each other about the floods' danger."Now comes the hard part, in the short term, to restore everything that has broken down. First of all, we start with people's households, where needed, we have already discussed whether (drinking) water is needed, we will bring containers of 1,000 liters of water as to have drinking water in the area, if there is a need for housing, mattresses, equipment, the Army, I spoke with the general (Nicolae Ciuca, Minister of Defense, ed.n.) for staff, but also heavy equipment to help. All resources will be handled to quickly solve (the situation). First of all, the citizens' households to be able to return to normal as soon as possible, then we will start with the main roads, as well," Citu added.The Prime Minister specified that he assured the mayors from Ocolis, Rosia Montana, Campeni and Abrud of all the support from the Government.On Sunday, the Prime Minister Florin Citu paid a visit to Ocolis locality of central-western Alba County, together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Lucian Bode, and the Minister of National Defense, Nicolae Ciuca.
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) accuses the current rulers of being concerned "only with the internal struggle in the National Liberal Party" (PNL), while floods and havoc have affected several areas of the country, especially the central-western Alba County. agerpres reports.

"While dozens of localities are hit by floods that destroy the destinies of Romanians and drive away the belongings of a lifetime, the current rulers are only concerned with the internal struggle in the PNL. The images with the dramatic interventions of the firemen, in the localities severely affected by the floods from Alba county show the size of the disaster that, however, (PM) Citu and his people do not have time to see," say the representatives of PSD Hunedoara, in a post on the party's Facebook page.

The Social-Democrats express their disapproval of the fact that the Minister of Internal Affairs, Lucian Bode, was at the election conference of PNL Salaj, an organization he was appointed to continue to lead, while "his subordinates were fighting the effects of the torrential rains"."The Minister of Interior, Lucian Bode, was elected president in Salaj, exactly on the day when his subordinates were fighting the effects of torrential rains. On the one part, the ball, on the other ... abandoned Romanians. The eternal weekend attitude of the current PNL leaders proves that, for them, there are two Romanias: their Romania, in which they are preoccupied with their own interests, and Romania of the common people, who are abandoned in the face of natural disasters," says the PSD Hunedoara release.
The heads of state and government of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) approved Romania's accession to the organization, as an observer-associate, during the meeting that took place in Luanda (Angola), on Saturday, July 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informed.

Romania's accession to the CPLP was initiated in 2019 and involved completing all stages required by the organization's regulations. Based on the contributions of the partner institutions and the consultations with the CPLP Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs elaborated and transmitted, on February 4, 2021, the Action Plan and the Activity Plan that formed the basis for the candidacy for obtaining the status of observer-associate. They detail how Romania will contribute and benefit from the activity of the CPLP dedicated to intensifying political and economic ties between its members, developing sectoral cooperation and promoting the Portuguese language as a vector of cultural and educational cooperation, according to a statement sent on Sunday by MAE.

According to the quoted source, the decision of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP in Luanda, which finalizes the process of Romania's accession as an observer-associate, offers new opportunities to capitalize on Romania's membership in the family of states whose official languages are Latin languages. strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Member States and those with observer-associate status in the CPLP, agerpres reports.Also, Romania's traditional vocation for dialogue, mediation and cultural integration recommends our country as an important partner for the CPLP in supporting the organization's objectives, including increasing the international profile and strengthening its economic dimension, the MAE emphasizes.
The second employee of Rompetrol Rafinare who was injured in the Petromidia explosion and transferred to a specialized medical unit in Germany died last night, despite all the efforts of the medical staff, the company reported on Sunday.

"All our support goes to the family of the deceased colleague," Rompetrol Rafinare representatives said.

The other employee who was injured in the Petromidia explosion and was also transferred to Germany had lost his life on Tuesday, 13 July.The two wounded were transferred to Offenbach, Germany, on 5 July.An explosion followed by a fire occurred on 2 July at the southeastern Petromidia refinery. Following the incident, which resulted in the death of one person and the injury of five others, prosecutors opened a criminal case for culpable homicide, culpable bodily harm and culpable destruction, agerpres reports.
Johnson & Johnson is exploring a plan to offload liabilities from widespread Baby Powder litigation into a newly created business that would then seek bankruptcy protection, according to seven people familiar with the matter.

During settlement discussions, one of the health care conglomerates attorneys has told plaintiffs lawyers that Johnson & Johnson could pursue the bankruptcy plan, which could result in lower payouts for cases that do not settle beforehand, some of the people said. Plaintiffs lawyers would initially be unable to stop Johnson & Johnson from taking such a step, though could pursue legal avenues to challenge it later.

Johnson & Johnson has not yet decided whether to pursue the bankruptcy plan and could ultimately abandon the idea, some of the people said. Reuters could not determine whether Johnson & Johnson has retained restructuring lawyers to help the company explore the bankruptcy plan.

Johnson & Johnson faces legal actions from tens of thousands of plaintiffs alleging its Baby Powder and other talc products contained asbestos and caused cancer. The plaintiffs include women suffering from ovarian cancer and others battling mesothelioma.
Thats the first key sentence. Here are the other two:

This is particularly true for members of the minority party, as circumventing the Missouri Houses process signals to Missourians that unless they are represented by a member of the majority party, their voice does not matter. That is not how our democratic republic is meant to function.

Indeed, this entire debate is about whether voters voices matter; whether the constitution matters. What Republicans in the Legislature did by refusing to expand Medicaid, as called for in the constitution, is determine that those two things  voters and the state constitution  dont matter to them. What they did, further, by filing a brief and claiming it speaks for the entire House, is decide that Democrats dont matter.

Some Republicans might find these sentiments to be just fine in our particularly divided political times. But imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. Take, for instance, the debate over the filibuster in the U.S. Senate. There, Democrats have a slim majority. Many of their priorities  protecting voting rights, passing an infrastructure bill, fixing the nations immigration system  are stymied by the filibuster.
Were calling on people of faith to help us, to manifest the spirit of John Lewis and get in the way of filibusters and spiritual wickedness in high places, said the Rev. Cassandra Gould of Missouri Faith Voices. All of Gods children must get together so that we can get in good trouble. ... Help us get in the way of all these problems that are plaguing us for too long.

The Rev. Linden Bowie, president of the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri, said Lewis lived his life in an effort to see that which is right, done who refused to let the country ignore its oppressive beginnings.

And America began to call him a troublemaker, Bowie said. I stand here today grateful for the life of John Lewis, a man and a model for us to emulate today. John Lewis gave his living for this cause and we should honor his life and not stop until grace is extended to every form.

Joining Saturdays event was Margaret Haun, 85, of Webster Groves, who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for voting rights in 1965.
NSO Group denied in an emailed response to AP questions that it has ever maintained a list of potential, past or existing targets. In a separate statement, it called the Forbidden Stories report full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories.

The company reiterated its claims that it only sells to vetted government agencies for use against terrorists and major criminals and that it has no visibility into its customers data. Critics call those claims dishonest  and have provided evidence that NSO directly manages the high-tech spying. They say the repeated abuse of Pegasus spyware highlights the nearly complete lack of regulation of the private global surveillance industry.

The source of the leak  and how it was authenticated -- was not disclosed. While a phone number's presence in the data does not mean an attempt was made to hack a device, the consortium said it believed the data indicated potential targets of NSO's government clients. The Post said it identified 37 hacked smartphones on the list. The Guardian, another consortium member, reported that Amnesty had found traces of Pegasus infections on the cellphones of 15 journalists who let their phones be examined after discovering their number was in the leaked data.
She said the Catalan public health system is already under a lot of strain due to a surge in infections blamed on the Delta variant.

Craywinckel said authorities had failed to convey to local people the danger that the Delta variant represented. She also criticized people who have confronted police officers enforcing a night-time curfew.



PARIS  The European Unions vaccination campaign is catching up with the United States.

European officials vaunted figures from Our World in Data showing that 55.6% of EU citizens have had at least one dose, compared to 55.4% in the U.S. It was the first time the EU figures outpaced those across the Atlantic.

Our World in Data says the U.S. still has a higher proportion of fully vaccinated people. The figures are 48% in the U.S. versus 42% in the EU. Britain and some other countries are moving faster than either.

The EU took a more cautious approach to vaccines initially and got off to a slower start than the U.S.
In mid-June the first of the new American Ford class CVN (nuclear-powered aircraft carrier) finally carried out the three required FSST (Full Ship Shock Trials) test explosions. These were conducted 160 kilometers off the Florida coast using 18 tons of TNT. The last such tests for a CVN were in 1987 for the Nimitz class CVN Roosevelt.

The larger the ship the larger the quantity of explosives used. This was noted by civilians in the nearby Big Bend region of Florida which experienced a 3.9 magnitude earthquake at the time of the FSST trial. The military always issues a NOTAM (notice to airmen and mariners and often civilians) when a military missile, electronic or explosives test is being conducted offshore or in a nearby military land reservation. NOTAMs serve to warn pilots or ships to stay out of an area where artillery shells or a ballistic missile test warhead is landing or, more frequently where a new EW (Electronic Warfare) device is being tested. On land you want to warn civilians that all those distant explosions are not a disaster but military tests of large scale live-fire exercises. Sometimes EW tests cause civilian devices to temporarily malfunction.

The FSST NOTAM was more for local fishermen than people along the coast. This is the first time anyone can remember experiencing a small earthquake because of an offshore FSST. The Ford has a reputation for being the cause of unwanted firsts. This applies to the frequent delays in carrying out the Ford FSST.

In early 2020 the navy asked for another delay in performing mandated shock tests for the Ford, because it was feared that, while most of the ship could probably handle the explosion that produces at least 66 percent of the amount of force the ship was designed to handle, this would damage some of the equipment with problems that were still being fixed. An FSST was supposed to reveal what equipment was not sufficiently built or installed to handle shock as well as confirming that the hull and ship can handle the stress. One of those sensitive systems was the new high-speed elevators that were more sensitive to shock damage. The navy wanted to delay shock tests until the second Ford-class carrier entered service in the mid-2020s because, it admitted, it was unsure how badly shock tests would damage new systems and design features unique to the Ford class.

That was unacceptable to the president and Congress, which told the navy to get the elevators working, or face problems getting money to build any more Fords. Five of the seven elevators were fixed by the time the first shock test took place. Work was still under way with one of the radar systems that was not at risk because of FSST. The results of the first shock test are still being analyzed, but nothing dramatic happened to the ship because of the first test.

A ship, especially a warship that has a lot of problems, is often referred to as a cursed ship. The USS Ford, the first of the class, has become a major disaster rather than a more effective new ship design. The number and severity of problems are certainly cursed at often enough by those who built or now serve on the Ford. It was not supposed to be that way.

Several innovative new technologies were supposed to have made the Fords more effective and cheaper to operate than the previous Nimitz class. Two of those new technologies; EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System) catapults and other landing equipment, as well as the high-speed electromagnetic ammunition elevators for getting explosive items to the deck more quickly, failed multiple times. There are lesser problems with the nuclear propulsion system, the new dual (X and S) band radar and several other systems have all combined to make the Ford unable to do the job it was designed for.

The Ford flaws also caused some unexpected modifications to the new F-35C stealth fighter. This made it possible for the F-35C, the model designed for carrier operations on the existing Nimitz class CVNs, to survive using the cranky landing equipment unique to the Fords. Eventually the navy compiled a list of 60,000 lessons learned while building and trying to get the Ford ready for service. So far that has put Ford more than three years behind schedule.

As of early 2020 the navy believed the EMALS problems were solved. Just to be sure the Ford underwent months of intensive use to confirm that the capability and reliability problems EMALS suffered from were indeed fixed. Many EMALS problems were fixed but some major ones remained. The worst of these is the fact that if one EMALS catapult develops problems all four EMALS catapults are out of service until the malfunctioning one is fixed. That was not a problem with steam catapults.

Fixing the weapons elevators is still underway. At the time of the FSST all eleven of these elevators are moving and that is progress but several of them are still not certified for regular use. By the end of 2021, all elevators should be available for service. Should be has come to be a code word for we hope.

The nuclear reactor problems are fixed but there are still problems with the dual-band radar. These will be fixed but, in the meantime, the next Ford class carrier will revert to the two separate radar systems instead of the theoretically more efficient and less-expensive new design.

The equipment failure currently attracting the most attention has to do with the new weapons elevator design. The older elevator design, used successfully for decades on existing Nimitz class carriers, moves up to 2.3 tons of ammo from the magazines to the deck at a speed of 30 meters (100 feet) a minute. The new elevators each move 10.9 tons to the deck at 45 meters a minute. The new elevators were meant to increase the number of combat sorties by 30 percent over 24 hours. At the end of 2018, the navy said all the elevators would be working by July 2019. That did not happen because it turned out the elevators were not built to spec and major repairs were still underway to fix that. This was a problem that could have been avoided if the navy had built an elevator ashore to test the design before proceeding with the construction of the carrier. Many of the problems with the current errors are because construction was sloppy and not caught by quality control personnel.

The nuclear propulsion system problems were the kind that only get discovered once the ship is at sea. To a certain extent that is also true with the new dual-band radar. The EMALS problems were more fundamental and even though a test EMALS was installed on land first and tested, it was not tested thoroughly enough. The landing arrestor system also used new technology similar to EMALS and performed poorly at sea for the same reasons; sloppy design and testing.

Some of the F-35C problems were minor in comparison. Sturdier jet blast deflectors had to be installed to deal with much higher heat levels generated. It was necessary to rearrange space on the hangar deck to provide secure limited access areas for work on highly classified F-35 components. The needed F-35C mods have already been made, tested and approved on one Nimitz class carrier. This problem was mainly allocating enough time and money to do it for the first Ford class carrier and all subsequent ones.

The Ford is already four years late. Much of those delays could have been avoided if many of these new technologies were not installed on the first of the Ford class. Originally these new technologies were to be introduced separately in the first three Fords. Those early CVNs could have the new tech installed during the major refurbishment/upgrade periods that take carriers out of service for a year or more every decade.

Before construction began on the USS Ford it was decided to try and save some money by introducing all this new tech in the first ship. That may still produce cost savings in the long run but in the short run, it exposed the navy and the shipyards that build its ships to more criticism for poor management and shoddy construction and testing practices. That is nothing new, its been happening more and more since the 1970s. That is a key problem that is not getting tended to and keeps getting worse.

It wasnt until February 2018 that the navy confirmed that it was having major problems with the design and construction of its new EMALS catapults, then installed only in the newly completed USS Ford (CVN 78) and eventually the three other Ford-class carriers under construction. During the first sea trials, the Ford used EMALS heavily, as would be the case in combat and training operations and found EMALS less reliable than the older steam catapult. EMALS was also more labor-intense to operate and put more stress on launched aircraft than expected. Worse, due to a basic design flaw, if one EMALS catapult became inoperable, the other three catapults could not be used in the meantime as was the case with steam catapults. This meant that the older practice of taking one or more steam catapults offline for maintenance or repairs while at sea was not practical with the EMALs design. The navy admitted that in combat if one or more catapults were rendered unusable, they remained that way until it was possible to shut down all four catapults for repairs.

The landing and recovery system also failed far more frequently than with steam catapults. In effect, these problems with launching and recovering aircraft made the Fords much less effective than the older CVNs. The navy has long had a growing problem with developing new ships and technology and the Ford is the worst example to date.

Some of the problems with EMALS were of the sort that could be fixed while the new ship was in service. That included tweaking EMALS operation to generate less stress on aircraft and modifying the design of EMALS and reorganizing how sailors use the system to attain the smaller number of personnel required for catapult operations. But the fatal flaws involved basic reliability. An EMALS catapult was supposed to have a breakdown every 4,100 launches but even after some initial fixes, in heavy use, EMALS actually failed every 400 launches. By the end of 2017, the Navy concluded that an EMALS equipped carrier had only a seven percent chance of successfully completing a typical four-day surge; which involves maximum aircraft launches for a major combat operation. Ford had only a 70 percent chance of completing a one-day surge operation. That was mainly because when one EMALS catapult went down all four were inoperable. In effect, the Ford-class carriers are much less capable of performing in combat than their predecessors. The navy said it would come up with solutions soon. Until that is done and validated the new Ford carrier is much less useful than older CVNs.

There were no easy solutions. For example, it would cost over half a billion dollars to remove EMALS and install the older steam catapults. This would also take up to several years and lead to many other internal changes. The navy even considered bringing a recently retired (because of age) carrier back to active service as a stopgap because, whatever the fix is, it was not going to be quick or cheap. The most worrisome part of this is the apparent inability of Navy shipbuilding and design experts to come up with a solution for the problem they created. This EMALS catastrophe was avoidable and the problems should have been detected and taken care of before the Ford was on sea trials.

The EMALS disaster calls into question the ability of the navy to handle new, untried, technologies. That is not a new problem and has been around since World War II. In retrospect, not enough was done to test and address what are now obvious problems. The current solution was to delay the moment of truth as long as possible and then conclude that it was unclear exactly how it happened but that measures would be taken to see that it never happens again. That approach is wearing thin because more people are well aware that is just a cover for the corruption and mismanagement that has been developing within the industries that build warships. The navy has been having a growing number of similar problems with the design of the LCS, the DDG 1000 and a lot of smaller systems.

Meanwhile, there is a critical need for new carriers. The first ship of the new class of carriers, the Ford is about the same length (333 meters/1,092 feet) and displacement (100,000 tons) as the previous Nimitz class, but looks different. The most noticeable difference was the island set closer to the stern (rear) of the ship. The internal differences are much more obvious, including the power generation and electrical system. The Nimitz ships are rapidly wearing out and with the EMALS disaster, the Navy will have to improvise and do without for a decade or more.

The Fords were not just replacements for the aging Nimitz class; they were designed to be cheaper to operate. There is a lot more automation and smaller crews. The Ford will be the first modern American warship built without urinals. There are several reasons for this. The Ford will have a smaller, by at least 20 percent, crew and more of them will be women. Currently, about ten percent of American warship crews are women, but the Ford crew will be at least 15 percent female. Since women sleep in all-female dormitories ("berthing areas"), a toilet ("head") will now be attached to each berthing area instead of being down the hall. Moreover, berthing areas will be more spacious because of the smaller crew and hold a third to half as many bunks as previous carriers. Finally, drain pipes for urinals more frequently get clogged than those coming from toilets. Eliminating the urinals means less work for the plumbers. There are a lot of other visible changes to enhance habitability and make long voyages more tolerable.

Before the EMALS crisis, the Ford was expected to cost nearly $14 billion. About 40 percent of that is for designing the first ship of the class, so the actual cost of the first ship (CVN 78) itself will be at least $9 billion and about the same for subsequent ships of the class. Except, that is, for the additional cost of fixing unexpected crises like the EMALS and high-speed ammo elevators. Against this, the navy expects to reduce the carrier's lifetime operating expenses by several billion dollars because of greatly reduced crew size. Compared to the current Nimitz class carriers, which cost over $5 billion each, the Fords will feel, well, kind of empty because of the automation and smaller crews. There will also be more computer networking, and robots, reducing the number of people (6,000) constantly moving around inside a Nimitz class carrier. The most recent Nimitz class ships have a lot of this automation already but adding EMALS was considered too expensive because of the major engineer changes to the power plant and electrical systems.

As early as 2018 the navy realized it needed a plan to deal with major delays in getting the USS Ford, and the other three Fords under construction, into service before older CVNs were scheduled to retire. In mid-2019 the U.S. announced that it was not going to retire the aircraft carrier Truman (CVN-75), which entered service in 1998. Two months earlier the decision had been made to retire the Truman to save the cost of its mid-life upgrade and refueling (of the nuclear reactors). The mid-life upgrade costs $3.5 billion and takes five years to complete. At that point, Truman would be able to operate another 25 years. That would come to $20 billion in operating costs. By retiring the Truman the navy would save about $24 billion over 30 years and that money would be used to build new, smaller, ships and buy new weapons. Retiring Truman early also allowed the navy to order and build two new Ford class CVNs at once, which would save time and money. The decision to keep Truman in service was not about money, but the fact that the new Ford class CVNs are facing major problems that delayed these ships from entering service. Keeping the Truman was also about the seemingly intractable problems the navy has building ships and developing new designs. Keeping the Truman is seen as a positive move towards fixing some fundamental management problems. As of 2021, the plan to keep Truman in service stands.
In mid-2021 India announced the dissolution of the state-owned OFB (Ordnance Factories Board) and instantly boosted morale in the military. Eliminating the OFB is a key part of an effort to develop more local firms that can develop and manufacture quality weapons for the Indian military and export. India is also sharply reducing its decades-long dependence on Russian weapons, usually arranged by the OFB and resulting in less reliable and effective weapons being imported. The latest example of this was the April 2021 partnership deal OFB arranged with the Russian JSC Kalashnikov Concern and the Russian government to jointly build a factory in India to produce at least 700,000 Russian designed AK-203 7.62/39mm rifles under license. The new IRRPL (Indo-Russia Rifles Private) firm would be 50.5 percent owned by the OFB, 42 percent by Kalashnikov and the rest by the Russian government. The first 100,000 AK-203s were imported from Russia and the new IRRPL plant will assemble Indian-made and Russian-made components until Indian suppliers for all the components can be found. IRRPL currently has orders from the Indian Army and other Indian security agencies to keep the factory operational into the early 2030s. If IRRPL can maintain quality standards, their AK-203 will find more customers inside India and elsewhere.

The AK-203, along with a smaller number of imported German SIG716 sniper rifles, will replace the locally designed and built INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifles, another OFB project that proved to be a disaster when actually used in combat. There are also still a lot of elderly AK-47s in user by Indian police and other security agencies that need to be replaced by something at least as good as the AK-47 and preferably similar. The INSAS was also similar to the AK-47 but less reliable. The AK-203 is similar to the AK-47 but with additional capabilities users have already reported as satisfactory.

The OFB delays in working out the AK-203 deal forced Indian military leaders to improvise. In 2019 India ordered 72,400 German designed, American built SIG716 7.62/61mm rifles for snipers, or designated marksmen in infantry units. These have been delivered and the Indian Army is trying to get money to buy more.

The demise of the OFB was not a surprise because in 2016 India was forced to eliminate the monopoly the OFB long had for producing ammunition. This change has been long sought. Decades earlier local civilian firms demonstrated that the ammo can be made cheaper, of higher quality and faster if state owned manufacturing is not involved.

The OFB has been around since 1775 when the British East India Company, which was key in industrializing India, sought to create a local source of gunpowder and other munitions while also controlling who had access to it. When British India became independent in 1947 it inherited the OFB, along with a nationwide bureaucracy, a common language (English) for government and commerce and a preference for socialism in the form of state-controlled monopolies. Britain got rid of its state-owned firms in the 1980s and India, for much the same reasons, followed suit in the 1990s. There was one major exception with India and that was the long-established use of government jobs as a form of patronage to help politicians stay in office. This exists in many other democracies but India had a particularly nasty addiction to this sort of thing. For example, Indian primary education is still a shambles because teaching jobs often go to incompetent or non-existent people and state-owned defense industries were perpetually overstaffed and inefficient with military veterans generally excluded as potential troublemakers.

Maintaining a credible military in the face of threats from China and, to a lesser extent, nuclear-armed Pakistan meant the largest, in terms of population, nation on the planet would never be self-sufficient in ammunition manufacturing unless it allowed privately owned Indian firms to participate. The elimination of the OFB monopoly meant politicians lost control over more than 100,000 jobs. But the other 99.99 percent of Indians will benefit from a more effective national defense plus fewer jobs for the politically connected. The private ammo manufacturers can export, which state owned firms have been ineffective at. The private industry offers fewer but better quality jobs in terms of pay skills and opportunities. It has not gone unnoticed that India has fallen behind China in defense matters largely because China allows private firms to design, manufacture and sell military equipment to the Chinese military and a growing list of export customers.

Initial ammo needs were mostly for Russian designed items like unguided rockets, 125mm tank shells, 23mm and 30mm autocannon shells as well as a growing number of Western designs items like 40mm grenades and 155mm artillery shells. The government allows Indian firms to make deals with foreign manufacturers in order to obtain needed design and manufacturing technology. Indian firms have already been doing this since the 1990s for non-military items and that led to innovations and efficiency conspicuously absent in state owned firms.

The major failures of the OFB had to do with early efforts to develop and manufacture basic weapons locally. This began in the 1980s when there was growing clamor for India to design and build something as basic as the standard infantry rifle. At that time soldiers and paramilitary-police units were equipped with a mixture of old, but still quite effective British Lee-Enfield bolt-action 7.62mm rifles and newer Belgian FALs, sort of a semi-automatic Lee-Enfield, plus a growing number of Russian AK-47s. The rugged and reliable Russian assault rifle was most popular with its users and by far the cheapest to buy.

In the late 1980s India began developing a family of 5.56mm infantry weapons that included a rifle, light machine-gun and carbine. This was the INSAS and the OFB factories were unable to produce the quantities required and agreed to. Worse, the rifles proved fragile and unreliable. The design was poorly thought out and it is believed corruption played a part because the INSAS had more parts than it needed and cost over twice as much to produce as the AK-47.

In 1999 the INSAS rifles got their first real combat workout in the Kargil campaign against Pakistan. While not a complete failure, the nasty weather that characterized that battlezone high in the frigid mountains saw many failures as metal parts sometimes cracked from the extreme cold. Troops complained that they were at a disadvantage because their Pakistani foes could fire on full-automatic with their AK-47s while the INSAS rifles had only three bullet burst mode which, fortunately, sometimes failed and fired more than three bullets for each trigger pull. What was most irksome about this was that the INSAS rifles were the same weight, size and shape as the AK-47 but cost about $300 each, while AK-47s could be had for less than half that. The INSAS looked like the AK-47 because its design was based on the AK-47 and was a less effective and more expensive version. This was typical of OFB work.

The Indians persevered, tweaking the design and improving the manufacturing process. Because of that, after nearly two decades the INSAS weapons were gaining some acceptance. Compared to most 5.56mm rifles on the market, INSAS had a price advantage and India was looking for export customers. No one was really interested. Only three small nations showed interest, and that was more for political reasons than for military ones. The major export customer (Nepal) got them at a huge discount and quickly found Nepalese troops demanding a replacement rifle because the INSAS was fatally unreliable.

In the decade following the Kargil debacle, INSAS rifles also malfunctioned in several highly publicized incidents involving the leftist (Maoist) rebels increasingly active in eastern India. Responding to the continuing performance and reliability problems, some changes were made but most Indian users wanted a better rifle, not an improved failure like INSAS.

The Israeli an edge in combat experience helped them sell more weapons to India than anyone else but Russia and was a major reason their Tavor prevailed when it came to obtaining relatively small orders from Indian special operations forces. Politics intervened again and superior American and Israeli rifles were ignored in favor of the AK-203. Fortunately, the AK-203 was a decent design which, if manufactured competently in India, would satisfy Indian users still armed with the INSAS.

Failures with INSAS, artillery ammunition, a 155mm howitzer design, a new tank and many more embarrassments contributed to the demise of the OFB and the recognition that Indian firms could do a better job if allowed to. Without the OFB, a major obstacle to obtaining effective Indian-made weapons was achieved. This leaves only the state-owned DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) as the major obstacle to Indian self-sufficiency.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2021) - Central African Gold Inc. (TSXV: CAGR) (FSE: BC21) (OTCQB: NDENF) (the "Corporation" or "Central African Gold") is pleased to announce the Corporation has appointed Mr. Yves Kabongo as CEO replacing Stephen Barley who will remain as Executive Chairman.

Yves Kabongo is a seasoned businessman with experience in all aspects of mining in the DRC and has an intimate knowledge of the business practices and laws of the DRC. Mr. Kabongo has held management roles with a major Canadian bank and with numerous mining companies with operations in the DRC. He was born in the DRC, educated in Canada, and holds a degree in Financial Management from HEC Business School in Montreal, a mini-Executive MBA from McGill University, and a Certificate in Treasury Management from the Treasury Management Association of Canada. Mr. Kabongo has a vast network of strong relationships spanning all aspects of DRC business and politics. Yves Kabongo is currently based in Kinshasa, the capital city and key business and political centre. He formerly held the role of Chairman of a DRC subsidiary of Central African Gold.

Mr. Kevin Torudag, Senior Advisor stated: "We are extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Yves as CEO of the Corporation. There are very few individuals possessing the knowledge and skill set he has and the ability to fully understand and bridge the gap between the DRC and the international financial and mining community. Central African Gold has an extremely ambitious expansion plan involving the acquisition of multiple projects in the base and precious metals space in the DRC. To meet the Corporation's goals, we needed a permanent and reputable presence in Kinshasa and Yves Kabongo is a well-known and respected member of the business and mining sector in this city. The addition of Yves completes our already impressive DRC team and will enable Central African Gold to compete at the highest level in this complex environment which is essential to success in this country."

About Central African Gold Inc.

Central African Gold is a natural resource company with a primary focus on the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of mineral projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"). Central African Gold currently holds rights to multiple mineral projects with base and precious metal potential strategically located in the southern DRC. Central African Gold has the intention to acquire interests in additional concessions or relinquish concessions in the normal course of business. Central African Gold has an experienced management team located in the DRC.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen Barley, Executive Chairman

Phone: (604-834-2968)

Email: info@centralafricangold.com

Website: www.centralafricangold.com

Reader Advisory

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although the Corporation believes considering the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Corporation its securities, or its financial or operating results.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/89934
Crew members of the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) line the rail of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer as it returned to its homeport of Naval Station Mayport on Saturday morning after its maiden deployment. It supported operations in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. (Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union)

Hugs, kisses, cheers and seven new babies greeted the officers and crew of the USS Thomas Hudner on Saturday as they returned home to Naval Station Mayport from the ship's maiden deployment.

The Thomas Hudner was the first of a trio of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers scheduled to arrive over three days at the Navy base.

Shavon Echols drove from Athens, Ga., to welcome home her daughter, Shatoya Echols, a culinary specialist returning from her third deployment since joining the Navy in 2008.

Echols and her sister Yvette Mathis held up a homemade brightly colored banner reading "Welcome Home We Missed You, Shatoya!!!" that was decorated with a hand-drawn house. The sign was made by Mathis' young daughter who stayed up till 2 a.m. to finish it, Echols said.

"The welcome homes never get old," Shavon Echols said.

It's hard though, she said, not to worry about her daughter and shipmates.

"Especially this last time. It just felt like we were almost at war a lot," she said. "It seemed like we weren't at peace with other countries and that just made me nervous."

Mother and daughter already had a homecoming plan worked out before the ship tied up at the dock.

"The first thing she's going to do is move into her new apartment," Echols said. "The movers are already getting everything out of storage and set up. When she gets here, we'll go to the new place, get everything unpacked and take a nap. She'll get to sleep in her own bed tonight."

Sunday the USS Donald Cook is scheduled to arrive. Mayport is the warship's new homeport. Until now, the Donald Cook has been based in Rota, Spain, Navy officials said. Then the USS Winston S. Churchill is slated to arrive Monday. Mayport also is the warship's new homeport after being stationed at Norfolk, Va.

The Hudner, Cook and Churchill bring to a total of eight Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers currently calling Mayport home.

Alex Souter sprints down the dock to wife Daniela Souter as she holds their newborn son, George. He was among seven fathers who got to meet their new babies for the first time as the crew disembarked from the ship. (Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union)

The vessels each have about 300 to 330 sailors, Navy officials said.

The Cook and Churchill are the most recent destroyers involved in a series of homeport changes resulting in a buildup of those warships at Mayport  replacing the amphibious vessels at the Navy base.

The Hudner was on its first six-month deployment but also spent another month at sea for a total of seven away from its Mayport homeport.

"The resiliency of this crew with everything that they endured in the COVID-19 pre-deployment, then be able to get underway and go overseas in the next few missions is nothing short of amazing," Cmdr. Bo Mancuso, commanding officer of the ship, told reporters at the base.

The Hudner took part in multiple maritime security exercises involving vessels from the United States and its allies, the Navy said.

The destroyer supported 5th and 6th Fleet operations. It worked with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group as well as the French Navy performing exercises with the Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group. That assignment supported Operation Inherent Resolve, the Navy said.

Operation Inherent Resolve is a joint military task force against ISIS, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Hudner also participated in counter-narcotic and counter-smuggling operations. The vessel recovered weapons intended to support violent extremist organizations such as ISIS, Navy officials also said.

Mancuso said the Hudner is a flexible warship capable of carrying out multiple missions.

The 2 1/2-year-old warship is "primarily an air defense platform but fully capable of land attacks, surface attack and anti-submarine attack as well," the commander said.

Families weathered the sweltering heat and humidity on the dock without complaint as they waited for the ship. Many held up homemade signs including "Here to Kiss AD2 Chang," " Welcome Home Sailor, You're Our Hero" and "Welcome Home Dad The Family Got Bigger."

Sailor Jonathan Harder was welcomed by his sons 2-week-old Ezekiel and 1-year-old Jupiter along with their mother, Paige Harder, and her mother, Kristi Gambrell.

"I'm ready to see him. It's been a while," his wife said. After the hugs and kisses, she said the first thing they are going to do is have a "welcome-home" meal together.

The destroyer homeport reassignments began last November when the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York left Mayport for Norfolk.

The destroyer reassignments will result in Mayport getting five of the vessels by the end of next year, according to the Norfolk-based Naval Surface Force, Atlantic.

The command said it is balancing the reassignment between the two ports so it will have "a negligible economic impact on either community."

The destroyer USS Jason Dunham arrived at Mayport in February as part of the changes.

The Cook has spent seven years supporting 5th Fleet operations. It was a Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe unit. It departed Rota en route to Mayport on June 30, the Navy said.

The ship recently has been in the Aegean Sea where it performed exercises with the USS Roosevelt, another destroyer previously was based at Mayport.

Sunday will be the first time the Cook arrives at its new homeport in Mayport.

Then Monday it will be the Churchill, the first destroyer and fourth Navy warship named after a British citizen, Navy officials said.

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An MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to the Longhorns of Helicopter Search and Rescue Squadron lands during a Last Final Flight on April 9, 2021. (Shannon Renfroe/U.S. Navy)

(Tribune News Service)  A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Friday while searching for a lost hiker in the White Mountains in California, stranding the crew overnight.

The MH-60 Knighthawk helicopter crashed about 5 p.m. near Mount Hogue on the California-Nevada border east of Yosemite National Park, the Navy said.

The helicopter, based in Fallon, Nevada, crashed at 11,700 feet above sea level in rugged terrain, stranding the four-person crew, Navy officials said.

A second helicopter also based at Fallon tried to rescue the crew Friday night but could only drop supplies for an overnight stay on the mountain.

Another attempt Saturday was thwarted by the high altitude, the Navy said. A CH-47 Chinook from Sacramento Mather Airport dropped a search-and-rescue team on the mountain, then returned after refueling to pick up the stranded crew.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the Navy said.

The lost hiker, Ronald Bolen of Norman, Oklahoma, had gone missing Wednesday on a trip to climb Boundary Peak in Nevada, KOCO reported. He sent his family a photo from the summit Tuesday but had not been heard from since.

At this point, his phone is dead and we have not had contact with him in three and a half days, daughter Meredith Bolen told the station Friday.

Bolen, a University of Oklahoma professor, was later found safe, KOKH reported. He had gotten lost and spent four days awaiting rescue by a creek.

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The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returns to Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday, July 18, 2021, after a five-month deployment. (Trent Sprague, Daily Press/TNS)

NORFOLK, Va. (Tribune News Service)  Up on the bridge of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as Boatswains Mate 3rd class Kateri Alvarenga-Gomez piped 2nd fleet commander Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis abroad, you could just make out the top of the tallest hotels at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

At the Eisenhowers top speed of more than 30 knots, it would have taken about 90 minutes to pull beside its pier at Naval Station Norfolk. But the carrier, at the end of its second deployment in a year, wouldnt actually make it for another 18 hours.

Looking forward to getting home? Lewis asked Boatswains Mate of the Watch Jamia Sanders, in charge of the enlisted sailors on the bridge, and helmsman Andrea Aguirre.

Aguirre cracked a big grin for just a few seconds, then snapped her attention back to the screen in front of her, holding course at 305 degrees.

Lewis was there to tell the crew that the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, after sailing more than 190,000 miles, operating in waters from the Norwegian and Black seas to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf, had earned the Navy Unit Commendation, one of the highest honors the Secretary of the Navy can grant a crew.

And while Capt. Paul Campagna said everyone in the crew is eager to see family and friends again, everyone knows the job isnt over until the last line is tied at the pier.

We had back-to-back deployments, been at sea for most of the last two years, and my husband has had the kids for years, said Petty Officer 1st Class Jamice Wood, a 13-year veteran. I think hes ready for me to be home ... and I want to spend time with him and the kids.

I was this close, said Petty Officer 1st Class Jack Bozeman, holding up two fingers just an inch apart and saying his son was born just four days ago. The baby is his fourth child, but the first to be born while he was at sea.

She gets it, she knows why I have to be here, Bozeman said of his wife. Shes got the kids helping, theyre a lot older, and we live in military housing and lot of the families help out.

Id swim if they let us, Petty Officer 1st Class Harvey Goodwin joked, saying his big priority now that the Eisenhower was just a few hours from docking at pier 14 at Naval Station Norfolk was to bond with his 5-month-old son, born while the Eisenhower was in the Mediterranean.

On the carriers final full day at sea, circling off the Virginia shore to run a series of tests on its radar and combat systems, Aguirres smile and focus on course 305 was the order of the day.

Thereve been repairs to do, she said, even after the carrier air wings planes had returned to Naval Air Station Oceana.

We want to leave our pod the way we found it, said Petty Officer 1st Class Alyssa Lopez. Theres lots of little things to do, the pace isnt as intense ... it can be hard to focus when were so close, but with my friends here and the jobs to do, that helps.

The Eisenhower barely had a break after returning from its 2020 deployment in August. Within weeks it was back for a series of underways, training for its next deployment. Returning just after Christmas, it had barely arrived in Norfolk when the Navys restriction of movement order came and a few weeks after that was in a final exercise before deploying in mid-February.

I think the challenges we had, COVID, and the feeling that we came through them together are keeping everyone focused, Campagna said.

We were tested and tried and we came through together  I think theres a real feeling of connectedness now and it makes it easier to maintain our focus, Campagna said.

The carrier, air wing and destroyers and cruisers deployed Feb. 18 and launched in a three-day joint exercise near the approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar with sailors and aviators from Morocco.

Keeping shipping chokepoints like Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb and Hormuz open and practicing operations with allies was a key assignment for the deployment, which often saw the strike groups ships ranging thousands of miles from one another.

But three months in, the Eisenhower had to shift gears  an assignment for its Carrier Air Wing 3 to fly in support of the continuing campaign against Islamic State remnants in Syria and Iraq.

In what was to be its final weeks in the Middle East came another new challenge: providing air support for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Those orders meant staying out a bit longer, as between April and June, the air wings pilots provided close-air support.

I remember, I went on the loudspeaker to tell sailors we were going to extend our deployment and why, Rear Adm. Scott Robertson said.

I remember one sailor in particular, a young machinists mate from the engineering department, who came up afterward for a quick word, Roberston said.

He said: Dont worry, Admiral, were going to get this done.

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previous coverage USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returns from deployment Sunday
CAIRO  A dramatic coronavirus surge in Tunisia has prompted other Arab countries to step in with supplies of vaccines and medical aid, as regional leaders flex their diplomatic muscles and try to earn goodwill.

The response, which comes as Tunisia's health system shows signs of collapse, reflects a rare degree of regional solidarity but also allows some Middle Eastern powers to show off their capabilities, analysts said.

"You have the proxy battle of the Arab world playing out within vaccine diplomacy but also in the general arena of foreign assistance in Tunisia," said Sarah Yerkes, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

No country in the region has responded with more vaccines than Saudi Arabia, which announced this past week that it would send 1 million doses to Tunisia, in addition to medical supplies. The United Arab Emirates, which started manufacturing vaccines earlier this year, has sent 500,000 doses, and Tunisia's neighbor Algeria has sent aid and 250,000 doses. Turkey also stepped in with 50,000 doses. Several other countries in the region, including Egypt, Morocco and Qatar, are sending medical supplies, including field hospitals.

The full array of vaccines pledged have not been announced, but they probably will come from several manufacturers, depending on each donor country's supply.

Until recently, countries that have developed their own vaccines  including China, Russia and the United States  were the ones most easily able to use vaccines as a diplomatic tool.

"Now the problem is not producing the vaccine, it's having the ability to buy the vaccine. And Saudi Arabia is able to do that," said Oussama Helal, an independent Tunisian analyst. "It's kind of to show off."

For Saudi Arabia, the crisis in Tunisia offers an opportunity "to reassert its role, particularly in the charity aid sector, which it always has been traditionally proud of," said Elham Fakhro, a senior analyst on Persian Gulf states at the International Crisis Group. Now that Saudi Arabia has made progress vaccinating its own population, "I think we can see it expanding its aid into more COVID diplomacy," she said.

Youssef Cherif, a political analyst and director of Columbia Global Centers in Tunis, said Saudi Arabia's significant aid in the midst of Tunisia's crisis could also help the kingdom repaint its image abroad. Saudi Arabia has been sharply criticized in recent years for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents and for the human toll of its involvement in the war in Yemen.

"Now there is this massive vaccine diplomacy that is actually making all of a sudden the Saudis and Emiratis quite popular in Tunisia, which is not always the case," Cherif said, adding that it is too early to tell what kind of long-term impact the vaccine donations will have on public opinion or relations with Tunisia. Regardless, he said, "It's a great PR move by the Saudis."

The kingdom is sending the doses although most of its own population has not yet received two doses of vaccine. The UAE, by contrast, has fully vaccinated two-thirds of its population.

Tunisia has been recording one of the highest mortality rates in Africa and illustrates the enormous threat countries face when they cannot provide enough vaccine doses, especially as the delta variant continues to spread. Just 6 percent of Tunisia's more than 11 million people had been fully inoculated as of mid-July.

But as of last week, Tunisia had been promised a total of nearly 4 million doses of vaccine, "thanks to international solidarity and aid from friendly and brotherly countries," Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi told parliament.

Tunisia has also secured vaccine doses from its former colonial ruler France, with which it still maintains close ties. France has pledged to deliver about 800,000 doses, plus more than 300,000 AstraZeneca doses secured through Covax, a World Health Organization-backed initiative. The United States will also deliver 500,000 doses through Covax, a White House official confirmed.

The World Bank approved $100 million in financing in March to support Tunisia's efforts to acquire and administer vaccines. Tunisia said earlier this month that it would buy 3.5 million doses directly from Johnson & Johnson; it has also purchased some doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The country is seeing "a whole solidarity movement" from across the region, said Tunisia analyst Mohamed-Dhia Hammami.

"None of the Arab countries have an important strategic interest in Tunisia, but they don't want to be seen as the ones that aren't helping," he said.

Tunisia is currently embroiled in a political crisis  with the country's president and prime minister "basically at war with each other," said Yerkes  and the rival camps have typically turned to different foreign powers for help.

Tunisia's main Islamist party, Ennahda, which backs the prime minister and makes up the largest bloc in parliament, has sought support from Qatar and its ally, Turkey. Anti-Islamist factions, meanwhile, have previously worked to block Qatari assistance in other realms.

Tunisia's non-Islamist presidents have been more willing to pursue support from Saudi Arabia, Qatar's regional rival, which granted Tunisia a $500 million loan in 2019.

In addition to confronting challenges shared across much of the developing world, including a weak health system and widespread vaccine hesitancy, the Tunisian government has "basically failed to operate effectively" in managing the pandemic, Yerkes added.

Even as life is returning to normal in some parts of the world where vaccines are easily available, doctors in Tunisia are describing nightmarish conditions in recent weeks.

One 26-year-old doctor working in the Mongi Slim hospital in the capital, Tunis, said dozens of people have at times been waiting in the emergency room, sitting in chairs they brought from home. At one point, a patient's daughter flagged down the doctor to say she thought her dad had died while lying among several other patients. He had.

"It's traumatic for patients but also for doctors too," said the doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation from health officials.

A 25-year-old doctor treating coronavirus patients at another hospital said his hospital had to turn some sick people away on a recent weekend because of a shortage of oxygen and ration the supply among admitted patients. He expects the outbreak will get even worse. Even with large vaccine donations, he said, it will take time for the population to feel the impact.

With the country in crisis and medical systems overwhelmed, any political motivations behind vaccine donations are irrelevant to him. "Where the vaccines are coming from is the least of our concerns," he said.

Parker reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Massinissa Benlakehal contributed to this report from Tunis.

A healthcare worker prepares a vaccine in Boston on June 17, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg)
In this Jan. 11, 1961 photo, then-Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn reaches for controls inside a Mercury capsule trainer as he shows how the first U.S. astronaut will ride through space during a demonstration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Center in Langley Field, Va. Glenn's birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio celebrated what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator's 100th birthday with a three-day festival, July 16 through July 18, 2021. (AP)

NEW CONCORD, Ohio  John Glenn was honored with a three-day festival Friday through Sunday in Ohio marking what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senators 100th birthday.

Glenn, who died in 2016, was the first American to orbit Earth, making him a national hero in 1962. Before that, he served as a military fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War and set a transcontinental air speed record. In 1998, he became the oldest person ever to go into space at 77. He spent 24 years as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

The John Glenn Centennial Celebration Friday to Sunday was a collaboration between Cambridge, where Glenn was born on July 18, 1921, and nearby New Concord, where he grew up and met his late wife, Annie, who died last year at 100 of complications from COVID-19.

Lyn Glenn, the late senators daughter, watched parade floats go by Saturday from the front porch of her fathers boyhood home, a place she felt at home, too.

We moved around a lot as a family, and so they always brought us back here for holidays because this is the most consistent place in my life, she told the Zanesville Times Recorder. Coming back here is so familiar, and its so personal as well.

In this Jan. 2, 1962, photo, astronaut John Glenn climbs into the "Friendship 7" Mercury capsule at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP) In this Feb. 20, 2012, photo, U.S. Sen. John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite in Columbus, Ohio. (Jay LaPrete/AP)

The paper reports that one admirer after the other approached Lyn Glenn throughout the day to share their memories, and they included Glenn Schuck, a reporter from New York City named for her father a few years after his orbit of the planet.

Edward and Jill Schuck wrote to John Glenn letting him know theyd be naming their son after him, not expecting a response. Instead, they got a letter from NASA with photos signed by Glenn for his namesake in New Jersey and a letter to the boys parents saying he was honored by their gesture.

Those correspondences would continue throughout Schucks childhood. In 1969, when Schuck was 5, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. John Glenn made sure to have signed photos sent to Schuck to commemorate the historic occasion.

I would get stuff from him like all the time in the mail without even asking, Schuck said.

The weekends festivities were also to include a presentation by ex-shuttle astronaut and fellow Ohioan Don Thomas, rocket car rides, space movies and rides in the type of biplane a young Glenn flew over Cambridge. Other commemorations of Glenns birth a century ago are planned in the area all month.
Buy Photo (Scott Schonauer/Stars and Stripes)

Moron Air Base, Spain, December 2003: Air Force Tech Sgt. Ernest Pena works on a C-5 cargo aircraft at Moron Air Base in Spain. The base is bracing for an influx of planes and personnel due to the rotation of forces in Kuwait and Iraq in the next several months.
Michelle Cummings, mother of Midshipman Candidate Leonard Cummings III. (GoFundme)

(Tribune News Service)  An Annapolis man charged with killing Naval Academy mother Michelle Cummings while wanted for fleeing house arrest had previously escaped home confinement four years earlier, court records show.

Angelo Harrod, then 25 years old, escaped from an Obery Court home where he was placed on house arrest as part of a three-year sentence for a 2016 handgun charge.

Harrod escaped around 1:30 a.m. Jan. 23, 2017, and was arrested by police eight hours later. He was returned to custody at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center in Baltimore and charged with second-degree escape, court documents show. It is unclear whether he returned to state prison or house arrest. He was released nine months later.

This spring, Harrod, now 29, had been on the run since May 3 after he cut off an ankle bracelet he had been wearing while on house arrest for assault, firearm and drug charges. All charges, except for one drug offense, are misdemeanors.

This time after escaping house arrest, police say he shot and killed Cummings, 57, who was sitting on a raised patio of the Graduate Hotel in the early hours of July 29.

Cummings was visiting Annapolis from Houston with her husband and son Leonard Trey Cummings III who was set to attend Induction Day the following day.

It wasnt until hours after her death Harrod was picked up on the warrant for leaving house arrest and that police say they connected him to the shooting.

After an investigation, he was charged Wednesday by Annapolis police with first and second-degree murder and a raft of other charges in the shooting death of Cummings.

At a bail review Thursday, District Court Associate Judge Danielle Mosley ordered Harrod held without bond.

Assistant States Attorney Jason Miller argued that Harrod should not be released because he has shown a brazen and reckless disregard to human life and has shown time and time again he is dangerous.

Harrods mother, Angela Ragin and another family member attended the hearing. While Miller spoke, Ragin could be heard saying prove it several times in response to Millers claims that Harrod sought to kill the two victims inside the parked car.

Ragin declined to comment after the hearing.

Kathleen Kirchner, Harrods attorney, said her client maintains his innocence. She declined to comment further following the hearing.

Releasing people on house arrest is fairly common and depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the case, the persons background and the evidence against them, said John Robinson, a veteran defense attorney and former Anne Arundel County prosecutor.

Its fairly common to put people on house arrest pending trial, pending a violation of probation, he said. If its a murder case, no youre not going to be put on house arrest.

A state corrections spokesperson could not discuss Harrods criminal history, including why he was placed on house arrest or for how long, because Harrod is no longer under the supervision of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Harrod was released to mandatory supervision in September of 2017, meaning by law he had completed his sentence and earned credits to be released at that time, state prisons spokesperson Mark Vernarelli said.

Harrod had one parole hearing during his 2017 incarceration and was refused parole by the Parole Commission, Vernarelli said.

During his second stint on house arrest starting April 22 of this year, Harrod was staying at his mothers Annapolis home following two separate incidents in February and April, according to court documents.

In February, Harrod was accused of pistol-whipping a man in a car during a disagreement over $2 while the mans child was present, and was charged with misdemeanor assault and handgun charges, court documents show. Two months later, he was picked up again and charged with possession of a handgun, a misdemeanor, and felony marijuana possession, according to the documents.

County prosecutors asked the court that Harrod be held without bond. Instead, a judge opted to place him on home confinement, said Tia Lewis, a spokesperson with the Anne Arundel States Attorneys Office.

On May 3, a house arrest case manager told Harrod he had four hours to return to detention facilities because he did not have a viable home plan, according to police charging documents.

Ragin told correctional authorities she wanted her son out of her home because he was drinking, combative and very disrespectful, court records show.

Around 1 p.m. Harrod cut off the ankle bracelet and fled, police said.

Nearly two months after escaping, Harrod was identified as the primary suspect in Cummings shooting after investigators reviewed video and photographic evidence from the crime scene, police said.

The evidence shows a man walking in the area of Pleasant Street holding a gun. The man then pulled out the gun to shoot at two people in a parked car, police said. Police later identified the man as Harrod, who goes by the nickname Jello.

The mans shots were in direct line with the patio where Cummings was standing, police wrote in charging documents.

Several bullets struck the parked minivan, missing the occupants; one bullet soared over a brick wall and struck Michelle Cummings, police wrote.

Afterward, police say the shooter got into a car and left the area. Police have since interviewed the driver of the vehicle that was targeted, they said, which led to several sealed search warrants seeking additional evidence that implicates the suspect.

Harrod has been charged with two counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder.

Hours later, Harrod was identified by patrol officers at a 24-hour gas station at the intersection of Forest Drive and Tyler Avenue. An officer attempted to stop Harrod, who fled on foot and assaulted an officer before being arrested a short distance away, police said.

In addition to charges he faces in Cummings death, Harrod is facing counts of assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and other charges in that incident, online court records show.

Harrod has been prohibited from possessing a gun since about May 2010, six months after he turned 18. He was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and served nine months behind bars, according to court documents.

In December 2010, and again in January 2011, he was arrested twice more on handgun charges. He served nine months in jail.

Drug possession charges followed in 2014 that included a 20-day jail term.

In 2016, he was arrested again for possessing a gun and posted a $150,000 bail. Court records show Ragin established a payment plan through a bail bondsman to pay the requisite $15,000, 10% of the bail.

___

(c)2021 The Capital (Annapolis, Md.)

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), right, stands with civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), left, during a rally in Los Angeles on April 9, 2017. (MARK RALSTON/AFP)

The U.S. Navy christened the USNS John Lewis on Saturday, honoring the late congressman on the one-year anniversary of his death.

Family and friends of the civil rights icon joined senior lawmakers for the christening ceremony in San Diego.

Its fitting that we honor John Lewis with this formidable ship, because John Lewis was a warrior. One of the mottos of the Navy is Semper Fortis  Always Courageous  and John Lewis was indeed always courageous, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said at the event.

This ship will be a beacon to the world reminding all who see it of the persistence and courage of John Lewis, she added.

Actress and activist Alfre Woodard, the ships sponsor, christened the John Lewis with champagne saying, May God bless this ship and all who sail in her.

We miss him on this platform but we will never be without him. I am honored. I am fortunate. I am eternally grateful to have lived in the time of John Lewis, she said.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who was also at the ceremony, later tweeted that, John was a warrior for peace and justice, and today reminded us that he passed the baton to us in our fight for liberty and justice for all in his honor, she wrote. I miss him deeply.

On behalf of my beloved uncle, the entire Lewis family, were humbled and grateful for the christening of the USNS John Lewis, said Marcus Tyner, a nephew of Lewis.

We all agree that what is most important at this critical time, and what will please my uncle most is the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill, he added.

Lewis, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, representing Georgias 5th Congressional District. He held the seat until his death, exactly one year ago.

He survived a brutal beating while leading a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in March1965, and for decades after that he remained a leading voice in nonviolent protests and a towering force in U.S. politics.

The USNS John Lewis is a 742-foot-long vessel designed to transfer fuel to Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the Navy said.

It is the first replenishment oil ship in its class, and it will be operated by the Navys Military Sealift Command. The rest of the six ships in its class will also be named after civil rights leaders.

2021 New York Daily News.

Visit at nydailynews.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Martine Moise, wearing a bullet proof vest and her right arm in a sling, arrives at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, July 17, 2021. (Haitis Secretary of State for Communication Photo/AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti  Haiti's political future on Sunday grew murkier after the surprise return of first lady Martine Moise, who was released from a hospital in Miami where she was treated for injuries following an attack in which the president was assassinated.

Martine Moise did not make any public statements after she descended a private jet wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof vest, a black face mask and her right arm in a black sling as she mourned for President Jovenel Moise, who was killed July 7 at their private home.

Some experts  like many in this country of more than 11 million people  were surprised at how quickly she reappeared in Haiti and questioned whether she plans to become involved in the country's politics.

"The fact that she returned could suggest she intends to play some role," said Laurent Dubois, a Haiti expert and Duke University professor. "She may intervene in one way or another."

Martine Moise arrived just hours after a prominent group of international diplomats issued a statement that appeared to shun interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the man currently running the country with the backing of police and the military.

Joseph's name was never mentioned in the statement made by the Core Group, composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

The group called for the creation of "a consensual and inclusive government," adding, "To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government."

Henry was designated prime minister a day before Jovenel Moise was killed. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.N., OAS and U.S. State Department did not offer further explanation when contacted.

Given the current state of Haitian politics, Dubois said he believes the arrival of Martine Moise could have an impact.

"She's obviously in a position to play a role ... given how wide open things are," he said, adding that the Core Group's statement is striking because it makes no reference to Joseph. "One has to wonder whether the developments in the investigation have anything to do with this. They're all these puzzle pieces that are just changing moment to moment. Right now it seems very hard to figure out how to put these together."

Authorities in Haiti and Colombia say at least 18 suspects directly linked to the killing have been arrested, the majority of them former Colombian soldiers. At least three suspects were killed and police say they are looking for numerous others. Colombian officials have said that the majority of former soldiers were duped and did not know of the assassination plot.

Police in Haiti on Sunday identified another suspect in the case: Pierre Joseph Ashkard. Online records show he is a Canadian-based businessman who runs a medical business in Texas with Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian physician and pastor whom local authorities recently arrested and consider a key suspect.

A day after the killing, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price had said Joseph was the incumbent in the position and was serving as acting prime minister before the assassination: "We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such," he said.

On July 11, a delegation of representatives from various U.S. agencies traveled to Haiti to review critical infrastructure, talk with Haitian National Police and meet with Joseph, Henry and Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert in a joint meeting.

The deepening political turmoil has prompted dozens of Haitians to visit the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince in recent days to seek a visa or political asylum.

"We can't stay anymore in the country," said Jim Kenneth, a 19-year-old who would like to study medicine in the U.S. "We feel very insecure."
Before the pandemic, many North Koreans worked at this construction site in the center of Vladivostok, Russia. (Arthur Bondar/For The Washington Post)

On a popular advertising site in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, there's a separate page with listings devoted to North Korean workers available for home construction jobs.

The contact information on one post led to a North Korean man who told The Washington Post he has worked in Russia for "many years." He said he can earn significantly more money here than in North Korea, even as about half of his earnings are earmarked for Kim Jong Un's regime in Pyongyang.

"The amount you pay is set" by the North Korean government, he said. "If you earn a lot, you can keep a lot yourself. If you earn little, you can keep only a little yourself."

More than a year after U.N. Security Council sanctions banned countries from hosting North Korea's regime-directed workforce, North Korean workers remain in Vladivostok, a port city of about 600,000 near the Russia-North Korea border. It's one of the main footholds in the world for North Koreans to work outside the country and provide Pyongyang with a stream of foreign currency that helps back Kim and his rule.

Several Russian construction managers in Vladivostok said that they continue to work with North Koreans, though there are fewer of them in the city since the U.N. sanctions took effect in December 2019. The coronavirus pandemic shuttered the border between the countries a month later.

The sun sets in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, Russia, on May 30, 2021. (Arthur Bondar/For The Washington Post) A waitress works at a Korean restaurant in Vladivostok, Russia, on May 28, 2021. (Arthur Bondar/For The Washington Post)

Russia has been critical of the sanctions, but said it would adhere to them. Moscow acknowledged last year that it missed the U.N. deadline to repatriate North Korean workers due to what Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said were "objective difficulties" from limited transportation options.

The North Koreans are in-demand laborers, the construction managers said, because they are cheap but with a reputation for quality work. Though they tend to be private and limit their interactions with people outside of the job, they also don't fear operating in the open by posting ads for renovation gigs on a Russian version of Craigslist.

The influx of foreign cash from North Koreans working abroad is vital as North Korea last year faced its worst economic slump in more than two decades, analysts said. There were reports of acute power cuts and factory closures, and Kim called the country's food situation "tense" last month, amid mounting reports of shortages.

The United States has said it believed the North Korean government was earning more than $500 million a year before the U.N. sanctions from nearly 100,000 workers abroad, of which some 50,000 were in China and 30,000 in Russia.

Zakharova told reporters in January 2020 that around 1,000 North Korean workers remained in Russia but they "are in reality no longer workers since their work permits have expired and they don't receive income in Russia."

In a March 2020 report submitted by the Russian mission to the United Nations, the country said 511 North Korean nationals who previously held work permits remained because "in view of the novel coronavirus disease pandemic, Pyongyang has unilaterally halted transport links" with other countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the current status of the more-than 500 North Koreans who remained in Russia after the border closure.

Russia issued more than 16,000 tourist visas and more than 10,000 student visas to North Koreans in 2019. Fewer than 5,000 North Koreans were granted a tourist or student visa in 2018, according to Russian Interior Ministry statistics. Analysts said the surge suggested North Koreans were continuing to work in Russia but illegally.

Artyom Lukin, an international relations scholar at Vladivostok's Far Eastern Federal University, said Russia has a stake in propping up Kim's rule. If the Koreas were ever reunified, it would mean a key U.S. ally on Russia's border, Lukin said.

Turning something of a blind eye to the North Korean workers still in the country, he added, is a way for Moscow to maintain its outreach to Pyongyang.

"It's an open secret that many North Koreans continue to work," Lukin said. "But a few years ago, if you walked the streets of Vladivostok, you would see quite a lot of North Koreans. Now, I do see them from time to time, but not as many as before."

When contacted by The Post, one North Korean man who posted an online ad to work construction, said he was in Russia on a student visa. The number of North Korean migrants to Russia dropped to fewer than 4,000 last year amid coronavirus travel restrictions, according to Interior Ministry statistics. About 2,600 came on a student visa.

Being selected to work abroad is a prestigious and rare opportunity for North Koreans to boost the lives of their families back home. But working conditions are notoriously poor, experts said, with potentially long hours, low pay and poor safety. Now that they are working undocumented, it's even harder for external labor watchers to reach them.

The coronavirus risks make their situation even more precarious because they are unlikely to have access to personal protective equipment, let alone vaccines.

Svetlana, a Russian hostess at a Korean restaurant in Vladivostok, said the North Korean servers there work long hours seven days a week. But she assumed the young women pocket a decent portion of their pay because she's observed them shopping for expensive cosmetics and clothing.

Svetlana declined to provide her surname because she feared retribution from her employer. Approached by The Post, the North Korean servers said they couldn't comment without the permission of their North Korean manager, who refused. Svetlana said the servers are typically not permitted to communicate with anyone outside of the restaurant staff.

Svetlana said the women often ask her about the differences between their cultures. For example, she said they were "shocked" that she lives with her boyfriend.

"I'm interested in how they lived there and what the rules were or weren't," Svetlana said. "But when I ask them, they just say, 'Everything is good.' So despite the fact that we're in Russia and they should feel really safe here, there's still no conversation. They're really private."

Kang Dong-wan, a North Korea expert at Dong-A University in Busan, South Korea, traveled to Vladivostok in late December 2019 to check what happened to North Korean workers after the repatriation deadline.

"There were North Koreans newly flying into Russia from North Korea," Kang said. "I saw them myself."

"North Korea and Russia have built a strong relationship over many years," he added. "It is hard for Russia to say no when North Korea wants to send workers there."

Kim reported from Seoul.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (back, third from left) surveys flood damage from a bridge in Schuld, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. (Christof Stache/AP)

BERLIN  German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a surreal, ghostly scene in a devastated village on Sunday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

Merkel toured Schuld, a village on a tight curve of the Ahr River in western Germany where many buildings were damaged or destroyed by rapidly rising floodwaters Wednesday night.

Although the mayor of Schuld said no one was killed or injured there, many other places werent so lucky. The death toll in the Ahrweiler area, where Schuld is located, stood at 112. Authorities said some people are still missing and they fear the toll may still rise.

In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germanys most populous, 46 people were killed, including four firefighters. Belgium confirmed 27 deaths.

Merkel said she came away from Schuld, still partly strewn with rubble and mud in bright sunshine, with a real picture of, I must say, the surreal, ghostly situation.

It is shocking  I would almost say that the German language barely has words for the devastation that has been wreaked, she said at a news conference in a nearby town.

Merkel said authorities will work to set the world right again in this beautiful region, step by step, and her Cabinet will approve an immediate and medium-term financial aid program on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros ($354 million) will be needed immediately. And he said officials must set up a longer-term rebuilding program which, from experience with previous flooding, will be in the billions of euros.

Thankfully, Germany is a country that can manage this financially, said Merkel, who is stepping down as chancellor following an election in September. Germany is a strong country and we will stand up to this force of nature in the short term  but also in the medium and long term, through policy that pays more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years. That will be necessary too.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.

Scientists cant yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather disasters on display around the world.

We must get faster in the battle against climate change, Merkel said, pointing to policies already set in motion by Germany and the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions. And nevertheless, the second lesson is that we must pay great attention to adaptation to climate change.

Investing in fighting climate change is expensive, she said, but failing to do so is even more costly.

One flood isnt the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously  so we must make a great effort, Merkel said.

Although the rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted elsewhere in western and central Europe. There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, in Germanys southeastern corner, and over the border in Austria.

About 130 people were evacuated in Germanys Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed and the rail line to Berchtesgaden was closed.

The Berchtesgaden area also is the home of the sliding track in Koenigssee, the site of major international bobsled, skeleton and luge events for more than 50 years. Large segments of that track were destroyed, parts of the concrete chute turned into rubble by the rushing water.

A flash flood hit the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties. Farther west, flooding struck parts of the town of Kufstein. Heavy rain and storms caused serious damage in several parts of Austria.

In the eastern Belgian town of Pepinster, soldiers and firefighters on Sunday searched the wreckage for any remaining survivors or bodies, according to public broadcaster RTBF. All the houses still standing have been searched, so the effort focused on those that collapsed and in a valley downstream for anyone possibly swept away by the raging torrent.

The ground in the town remains unstable and several more houses could collapse. We have to be careful with every step we take, fire officer Olivier Jiust was quoted as saying.

Pope Francis prayed for the flood victims and in support of the efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage.

I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding, he said Sunday in his first public appearance to the faithful in St. Peters Square after major surgery. May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members.

Residents in the devastated areas will be needing support and comfort for a long time yet.

This flood will leave scars on the people of Schuld  scars that you dont forget, that cant be overcome, because our lives changed from one day to the next, Mayor Helmut Lussi said, breaking into sobs as he spoke.

Meanwhile, a cow swept 60 miles along a flooded Dutch river will live out its days in a meadow, according to its owner. Farmer Har Smeets told local broadcaster 1Limburg that he lost 10 other cows to high water in the southern part of the Netherlands, but one was found by a cyclist outside the town of Escharen and rescued by firefighters.

The cow, originally from the town of Echt, was seen Saturday standing with only its nose poking out of the muddy water of the Maas River, unable to free itself. Fire brigades managed to pull the animal onto dry land, and authorities traced the owner via an ear tag. Smeets says the cow has eaten and is resting comfortably.

It is unbelievable that such an animal can swim or float for so long and then still have the strength to come ashore, he said.

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Frances DEmilio in Rome contributed.
Hossam Bahgat sits for a photograph in December 2011 in his office at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt announced the release of journalists and activists on Sunday, July 18, 2021, after they spent months in pre-trial detention. The releases came amid an outcry by rights advocates after prosecutors last week referred Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial over accusations of insulting the election authority; spreading false news alleging electoral fraud; and using social media to commit crimes. (Sarah Rafea/AP)

CAIRO  Egyptian authorities released three activists and three journalists Sunday after months in pre-trial detention, officials and lawyers said. The releases came after U.S. officials, among others, expressed concern over the arrests and harassment of rights advocates and critics of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissis government.

State security prosecutors ordered the release of the six pending ongoing investigations into charges against them, according to two judicial officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The charges rage from disseminating false news and misuse of social media platforms to joining a terrorist group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood which Egypt designated as a terrorist group in 2013.

Despite their lengthy detention, those arrested and released have yet to stand trial, according to their lawyers.

Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a pro-democracy activist and writer, walked free early Sunday, her sister Shimaa wrote in a Facebook post. She was a co-founder of the April 6 movement that played a crucial role in the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Abdel-Fattah was arrested in October 2019 in a city west of Cairo, during a crackdown that followed small but rare anti-government protests. Hundreds were arrested at the time, but many were later released.

Prominent rights lawyer Mahienour el-Masry also was released Sunday, her sister Maysoon el-Masry wrote in a Facebook post that included a photo of the lawyer wearing a white uniform for jailed people and a face mask.

El-Masry, who is widely known for her activism in labor movements, and on behalf of Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Egypt, had been arrested in Sep. 2019 amid the crackdown that followed the rare protest.

Authorities also released journalist Gamal el-Gamal, said rights lawyer Nasser Amin. El-Gamal, who is widely known for his columns critical of el-Sissis government, was arrested earlier this year upon arrival at Cairo International Airport from Turkey, where he had lived since 2017.

Also among those released Sunday were journalists Mustafa el-Aasar and Moataz Wadnan, who had been held in pre-trail detention since 2018, according to rights lawyer Malek Adly.

Abdel-Nasser Ismail, deputy head of the Socialist Peoples Alliance Party, also walked free earlier Sunday after nearly two years in pre-trail detention.

The releases came amid calls by lawmakers and public figures to release activists and rights advocates who have been detained in recent years in over what they say politically motivated charges.

There was an outcry by rights advocates when prosecutors last week referred Hossam Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial. Bahgat said he was accused of insulting Egypts election authority, spreading false news alleging electoral fraud, and using social media to commit crimes.

The accusations stem from a tweet Bahgat wrote last year blaming the election authoritys chairman for allegedly mishandling last years parliamentary vote, he said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned Bahgats indictment and the detention and harassment of Egyptian civil society leaders, academics, and journalists under el-Sissi.

Weve communicated to the Egyptian government our strong belief that individuals such as Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for expressing their views peacefully, Price said last week. As a strategic partner weve raised these concerns with the Egyptian government, and we will continue to do so going forward.

Also last week, an Egyptian court began the trial of six secular activists and journalists, including former lawmaker Zyad el-Elaimy, rights lawyer Khalid Ali said. The six, who were arrested in 2019, face an array of charges including disturbing the public peace through disseminating false news about domestic affairs. The next court session is July 29, Ali said.

El-Elaimy and others were added by a court last year to a list of suspected terrorists for the next five years. The decision was upheld last week by the Court of Cassation  Egypts highest criminal court. Among the six jailed was Palestinian-Egyptian activist Ramy Shaath, who helped establish Egypts branch of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel, known as BDS.

Shaath, the son of a former Palestinian foreign minister, was detained in 2019 but has not been charged. His wife, a French citizen, was deported.

The Egyptian government has in recent years waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Journalists have also been targeted, with dozens imprisoned and some expelled. Egypt remains among the worlds top jailers of journalists, along with Turkey and China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Hanan Elatr, the widow of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, holds a shirt of his in July 2021 at a friend's Washington-area apartment. Her phone was secretly targeted before his 2018 murder. (Allison Shelley/For The Washington Post)

ANKARA, Turkey  NSO Group's Pegasus spyware was used to secretly target the smartphones of the two women closest to murdered Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to digital forensic analysis.

The Android phone of his wife, Hanan Elatr, was targeted by a Pegasus user six months before his killing, but the analysis could not determine whether the hack was successful. The iPhone of his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, was penetrated by spyware days after the murder, the forensics showed.

Their cellphone numbers appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to spy on their citizens and also known to have been NSO clients.

Another of Khashoggi's close associates was successfully hacked after the journalist's murder. Two other associates and two senior Turkish officials involved in his homicide investigation appear on the list.

NSO executives have asserted that its spyware was not used to monitor Khashoggi or his family.

But a Pegasus user sent texts to Elatr, an Egyptian flight attendant Khashoggi fell in love with and eventually married, with links that could have implanted spyware; the user twice masqueraded as her sister. The texts were sent November 2017 and again in April 2018, six months before Khashoggi's murder on Oct. 2, 2018, according to a digital forensic examination conducted by Amnesty International's Security Lab.

She has no memory of clicking on the links. Because she was using an Android phone, Amnesty's researcher was unable to determine whether the device was successfully penetrated. Unlike iPhones, Androids do not log the kinds of information required for Amnesty's detective work.

During the months when the targeting occurred, Elatr and Khashoggi were talking and texting multiple times a week, she said in recent interviews. They also met in person three times in various locations. Khashoggi taught her to use various apps because he thought switching among them would help thwart surveillance, she said.

"Jamal warned me before that this might happen," said Elatr, who married Khashoggi in an Islamic wedding in June 2018 in Alexandria, Va., near where he lived in self-imposed exile. "It makes me believe they are aware of everything that happened to Jamal through me." Elatr said she kept her phone on the tea table in their living room in Virginia while he talked to colleagues overseas. Pegasus can steal a phone's content and turn on its microphone for real-time monitoring, according to cybersecurity experts.

After Khashoggi's murder, someone using Pegasus targeted Cengiz's iPhone. She had accompanied him to the gates of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul as he went to pick up documents in October 2018.

Her cellphone was breached just four days after Khashoggi's murder and then five times in the days following that, according to the Amnesty analysis. The analysis could not determine what was taken from the phone or whether any audio surveillance took place.

At the time, the two women did not know about each other.

When Cengiz was told of the breach in an interview in Istanbul, she replied: "I was expecting that, but I am upset. I want to be a normal person, as anyone. All these things make me sad and scared. My phone could be attacked again in the future, and I feel I don't have any way to protect myself from this."

Whether Khashoggi's cellphone was also hacked is not known. He left his phone with Cengiz when he entered the consulate. She gave it to Turkish authorities. Authorities have kept it and have declined to say whether it had been hacked, citing the ongoing homicide investigation.

Agnes Callamard, the former United Nations rapporteur who investigated the murder and is now secretary general of Amnesty International, said the use of Pegasus against Khashoggi's inner circle and investigators "indicates an attempt to be on top of what may be revealed [by the Turkish investigation]."

This article is part of a global investigation, organized by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories, into the use of NSO's Pegasus spyware against journalists, civic activists, business executives and political opponents. The Israeli firm says it licenses its spyware only to vetted governments and does not operate the software that its clients use under license. NSO says its spyware is supposed to be deployed against terrorists and criminals. It says it operates ethically and monitors its clients for human rights abuses.

The investigation by 17 media organizations, including The Post, relied on interviews and digital analysis of 67 iPhones that appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to spy on their citizens and also known to have been NSO clients. The list does not name the clients nor does it indicate whether the phones were targeted or surveilled. Amnesty and Forbidden Stories had access to those records, which were subjected to further analysis by the media partners.

The company denied that its technology was used against Khashoggi or his associates.

"As NSO has previously stated, our technology was not associated in any way with the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi," NSO said in a statement. "This includes listening, monitoring, tracking, or collecting information. We previously investigated this claim, immediately after the heinous murder, which again, is being made without validation."

The second Khashoggi associate whose phone was penetrated with Pegasus, according to the forensics, was Wadah Khanfar, a former Al Jazeera journalist.

"I felt my phone or Hatice's phone might have been hacked because some of the conversations we had about Jamal's disappearance came out [in public] during the first days," Khanfar said.

The Khashoggi associates whose phone numbers appear on the list, but whose smartphones were not forensically examined, are Turkish journalist Turan Kislakci and an exiled human rights defender in London who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety.

Two Turkish officials deeply involved in the Khashoggi homicide investigation also appear on the list that contained the numbers of the two women closest to Khashoggi: Irfan Fidan, then the prosecutor, and Yasin Aktay, an influential member of the ruling conservative Islamist party and adviser to the president. They declined to submit their phones to forensic analysis.

Only one of the Turkish officials, Aktay, agreed to be interviewed.

Aktay said that shortly after Khashoggi's murder, Turkish intelligence officials informed him that they had discovered that his new iPhone had been hacked and that he had been under surveillance.

"I was warned by someone from the Turkish security authorities that they had detected someone trying to hack into my phones back then," he said. "They didn't say who tried to hack my phone. However, they said that there are many such attempts. They also said that the simplest precaution I should take in this regard would be to change my phone device. So I changed my phone device. But I always saw the possibility of such a leak."

Aktay said he was not told who did the hacking. The intelligence officials declined to comment for this article.

Aktay said authorities then gave him special security protections, including a bodyguard and a car equipped with police lights and a handheld, remote-controlled siren. They also gave Cengiz a bodyguard and car for her protection after she began receiving death threats on social media, she said.

Aktay still has a bodyguard, who recently drove him and two journalists at 120 mph to the Ankara airport. As the car barreled down the highway, he was asked about the excessive speed and danger. "It's the best way," Aktay said. "It's very hard to assassination, to have an assassination plan, when you go fast."

Khashoggi gave Aktay's name to Cengiz and others as his emergency contact. Aktay believes that when he became a vocal critic of the Saudi government after the murder, the monarchy became interested in what they believed he was planning against them.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded that the murder could not have taken place without the prior knowledge of Saudi Arabia's young iron-fisted leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Aktay said he believes he was targeted because he continues to write about Khashoggi and to send his writings to thousands of readers. "They are trying to kill even the ghost of Jamal Khashoggi," he said, referring to the Saudi government.

Callamard said the Saudi government "saw Turkey as the heart of what they needed to control."

In the current cold war power struggle in the Middle East, Turkey, Qatar and Iran are aligned against Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, himself a frequent jailer of journalists and bloggers critical of his rule, nonetheless befriended Khashoggi.

The disruption in the lives of the two women in Khashoggi's life shows the impact that even the fear of spying can have. Both of them had fulfilling, independent lives before they began a romantic relationship with him; both now live in hiding and have been forsaken by friends who fear for their own safety because they know authorities can link them via their phones and through social media, texts and other communications.

Elatr's life was endangered after she began dating the columnist in March 2018. In April, authorities in the UAE stopped her at the airport, where they confiscated her phone, detained her and interrogated her several times. Later, they twice placed her under house arrest for weeks. She said they wrongly portrayed his efforts to create an independent media organization as the formation of a secret network to overthrow autocrats in the Middle East.

Elatr lives in hiding in the Washington area and has applied for political asylum. She said she fears most for family members, some of whom have been interrogated by UAE and Egyptian authorities. "I just want them to leave me in peace, please leave me in peace," she said.

Cengiz was a scholar who conducted field work in the Middle East before she met Khashoggi. "Before I met him, I was living a really rich life," she said. "I had many things to do every day. I became a working person." Now she says she can't return to her scholarship as a Persian Gulf expert. "Now I cannot travel to any Arab country. Can you imagine that?"

"I'm paying a price, but for what?" she asked.

Priest and Bouvart reported from Ankara and Istanbul. Mekhennet reported from Washington and Berlin. Bouvart is an investigative reporter and videographer at Forbidden Stories.

Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based journalism nonprofit, and Amnesty International had access to a list of phone numbers concentrated in countries known to surveil their citizens and also known as clients of NSO Group. The two nonprofits shared the information with The Post and 15 other news organizations worldwide that have worked collaboratively to conduct further analysis and reporting over several months. Forbidden Stories oversaw the Pegasus Project, and Amnesty International provided forensic analysis but had no editorial input.

More than 80 journalists from Forbidden Stories, The Washington Post, Le Monde, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, the Guardian, Daraj, Direkt36, Le Soir, Knack, Radio France, the Wire, Proceso, Aristegui Noticias, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Haaretz and PBS Frontline joined the effort.
In this undated photo from an unknown location, released in 2016, the leader of the Afghanistan Taliban Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada poses for a portrait. Akhundzada, on Sunday, July 18, 2021, issued a statement saying the insurgent movement wants a political settlement to Afghanistans decades of war. (Afghan Islamic Press/AP)

ISLAMABAD  The leader of the Taliban said Sunday that his movement is committed to a political settlement to end decades of war in Afghanistan, even as the insurgents battle in dozens of districts across to country to gain territory.

The statement by Maulawi Hibatullah Alhundzada came as Taliban leaders were meeting with a high-level Afghan government delegation in the Gulf state of Qatar to jump-start stalled peace talks. The Kabul delegation includes the No. 2 in the government, Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistans national reconciliation council.

The talks resumed Saturday, ahead of the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which in many parts of the world is expected to start Tuesday. A second session was to take place Sunday afternoon.

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is in Qatar, previously expressed hopes for a reduction in violence and possibly a cease-fire over Eid al-Adha.

Akhundzada said that in spite of the military gains and advances, the Islamic Emirate strenuously favors a political settlement in the country, and every opportunity for the establishment of an Islamic system.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is what the Taliban called their government when they ruled the country for five years, until their ouster by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.

Still, there are few signs of a political agreement on the horizon. Battles between the Taliban and government forces are continuing in dozens of provinces, and thousands of Afghans are seeking visas in hopes of leaving the country. Most are frightened that the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops after nearly 20 years will plunge their war-ravaged nation into deeper chaos. With the U.S. withdrawal more than 95% complete, Afghanistans future seems mired in uncertainty.

Militias with a brutal history have been resurrected to fight the Taliban but their loyalties are to their commanders, many of them U.S.-allied warlords with ethnic-based support.

This has raised the specter of deepening divisions between Afghanistans many ethnic groups. Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns and in the past there have been brutal reprisal killings by one ethnic group against another.

In a sign of how little progress has been made in negotiations, both sides are still haggling over terminology, unable to even agree on the name for the war-tortured nation. The Taliban are insisting on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kabul wants the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Akhunzadas statement demanded an Islamic system without explaining what that meant.

He promised to support education, but for girls he said the Islamic Emirate will ... strive to create an appropriate environment for female education within the framework of sublime Islamic law.

He didnt say how that differed from the educational institutions that have been created over the last 20 years and whether women would be allowed the freedom to work outside their home and move freely without being accompanied by a male relative.

He said the Taliban have ordered their commanders to treat civilians with care and to protect institutions and infrastructure. Yet, reports have emerged from areas coming under Taliban control that schools have been burned, women have been restricted to their homes and some government buildings have been blown up.

The Taliban have denied reports of such destruction, saying that the footage being shown is old and accused the government of being engaged in disinformation and propaganda.
BAGHDAD  A U.S. drone attack targeted a truck for an Iran-backed militia in eastern Syria on Sunday, destroying the vehicle without causing any casualties, two Iraqi militia officials said.

The attack came amid increasing tensions in the region between the U.S. military and Iran-backed Iraqi militias in recent weeks. The Americans have targeted militants who used drones and rockets to hit bases housing U.S. troops.

The Iraqi militia officials refused to say what the truck was carrying. They said the U.S. drone first fired a warning shot, after which the driver jumped out, and a missile hit the vehicle shortly afterward. They said the truck belonged to Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which is active along the Iraq-Syria border.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military.

Syrian state TV reported the attack saying it was carried out by American drones. It said the truck was carrying food and there were no human losses.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the truck was carrying weapons and ammunition for an Iraqi militia and was hit shortly after crossing the border from Iraq. It claimed that the driver was killed.

On June 27, U.S. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Four militiamen were killed.

Days later, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhadas commander vowed to retaliate and since then several rockets attacks have been reported against bases housing U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of the war against the Islamic State group. Thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed in different parts of Syria to help President Bashar Assads forces in the 10-year conflict that killed half a million people.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on July 15, 2021. (Susan Walsh/AP)

The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly.

Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven't received shots, despite widespread vaccine availability, Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of what the future could hold.

"I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated," Murthy said on CNN's "State of the Union."

U.S. cases of COVID-19 last week increased by 17,000 nationwide over a 14-day period for the first time since late fall, and an increase in death historically follows a spike in illness. Much of the worsening problem is being driven by the Delta variant first identified in India, that has since hit the United Kingdom and other countries, Murthy said.

While U.S. case numbers and hospitalizations are still far below levels from the worst of the pandemic early this year, Murthy said the worsening situation shows the need to convince more people to get inoculations.

"It is our fastest, most effective way out of this pandemic," he said.

About 186 million Americans have received at least one shot, but another 90 million eligible Americans haven't. Officials are trying to overcome a stubborn refusal among some  particularly conservative, rural white people  to get vaccinated, but it's unclear how to do that. So, for the meantime at least, some places have reverted to health precautions that had been cast aside.

In Las Vegas, some resorts and casinos are again requiring employees to wear masks in response to a recommendation issued by health officials amid rising COVID-19 case rates in Nevada; it ranks fifth among U.S. states for the most new cases per capita over the last two weeks.

Around San Francisco's Bay Area, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in California, health officials have recommended that everyone again wear masks inside public buildings, regardless of their vaccination status.

But in conservative Alabama, where COVID-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled in a month and only about a third of the population is fully vaccinated, officials have refused to reinstitute statewide health rules or use gimmicks such as lotteries to boost immunizations.

"I think the best thing for us to do is just encourage everyone to use their common sense and practice personal responsibility and make themselves and their families safe," Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters last week.

Cases also are on the rise in Springfield, Missouri, where Mayor Ken McClure told CBS-TV's "Face the Nation" that false information about the pandemic was hampering the fight to get people vaccinated.

"I think we are seeing a lot spread through social media as people are talking about fears which they have, health related fears, what it might do to them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccinations," he said.

Murthy, the surgeon general, said "not nearly enough" progress was being made in the fight against misinformation spread through social media about COVID-19 and vaccines. Individuals, not just platforms such as Facebook, need to combat the problem, he said.

"Each of us has a decision that we make every time we post something on social media, and I'm asking people to pause and to see, is a source accurate? Is it coming from a scientifically credible authority? And if it's not, or if you're not sure, don't share," he said.

Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report. Reeves reported from Newnan, Ga.
(Tribune News Service)  Aerospace technology company Northrop Grumman has named its NG-16 Cygnus spacecraft in honor of Hawaii astronaut Ellison Onizuka, who was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on Jan, 28, 1986.

The spacecraft is used for NASA's cargo resupply missions, delivering over 8, 000 pounds of supplies, equipment and experiments to the International Space Station.

"For each Cygnus mission, we take the opportunity to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of individuals who have had a significant impact on human spaceflight, " said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, Tactical Space Systems, at Northrop Grumman. "For NG-16, we're honored to name our Cygnus spacecraft after Ellison Onizuka, who made history as the first Asian American astronaut, who lost his life in support of the advancement of the human exploration of space, and whose inspiring words continue to motivate us to chase new discoveries each day."

Onizuka was born in Kealakekua, Kona, in 1946, and received bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, where he was a member of the U.S. Air Force ROTC.

Onizuka went on to work as a flight test engineer and test pilot at McClellan Air Force Base in California before training at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base. He then led engineering support for the training resources division.

In January 1978, Onizuka was selected for NASA's astronaut program. In January 1985, Onizuka flew as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS 51-C, the first space shuttle mission for the Department of Defense. The crew completed 48 orbits of Earth, and at the mission's completion, he had logged 74 hours in space.

Onizuka undertook his second space shuttle mission aboard the Challenger, which exploded 73 seconds after launch.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the space program, " Northrop Grumman said in a news release last week. "His legacy lives on in his fellow astronauts and all who he has inspired and taught to fly."

(c)2021 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Seven people aboard the Challenger were lost on the morning of January 28, 1986, when a booster engine failed, causing the shuttle to break apart just 73 seconds after launch. The crew: Front row from left, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair. Back row from left, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik. (Courtesy of NASA)
New University of Otago research has been examining how alpine-based hedgehogs hibernate from a different perspective  their backs.

Dr Nick Foster from the Department of Zoology has been involved with the Te Manahuna Aoraki project and has been attaching small transmitting backpacks onto hedgehogs in the Mackenzie Basins alpine zones.

The goal of this study, which has just been published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology, was to find out whether hedgehogs, which can be found up to 2000 metres in summer, travel to lower elevations when winter threatens.

We thought that hedgehogs could be making short distance movements downhill, which would extend their foraging and breeding season and avoid the harsh winter conditions of the high alpine zone, says Nick.

However instead of moving to lower and warmer areas, Foster found hedgehogs stayed put and hibernated in the colder areas in the elevated alpine areas, which are up to 1800 metres above sea level. Some of the females were found rearing young, too.

Dr Nick Foster holding a hedgehog in its hibernaculum which is the place that it hibernates  in this case, a lot of tightly-wound tussock grass. Photo: Kim Miller.

They entered hibernation in the same areas they used in the summer, and while we only tracked a small sample of females, they all did the same thing, says Nick.

This is pretty convincing evidence that hedgehogs arent just visitors in these zones: theyre residents.

While imagining a hedgehog with a backpack going on an adventure is a cute idea, Dr Foster says the mammals need to be seen as harmful to our environment.

When we think of predators, we think of stoats, possums and rats. In dryland environments, hedgehogs and feral cats are among the worst.

A hedgehog found hibernating in the alpine zone after the arrival of winter. Photo: Supplied.

At the centre of the research are the GPS transmitters that were fixed onto the back of the hedgehogs as they hibernated.

While a little prickly to handle and quite thin on the ground in the alpine zone, Nick says hedgehogs are very easy animals to work with.

You can attach a transmitter directly to their spines. There is no collar, no contact with the skin, and there is no feeling in their spines, which are a similar material to our fingernails. Spines regrow after they are clipped and devices fall off as they naturally shed.

Hedgehogs carry devices well, too. This is a species that piles on fat every year to hibernate, so their bodies can deal with fluctuations in weight.

Dr Nick Foster. Photo: Supplied.

Dr Foster says the devices had to be up to the task.

Its very cold in that area, and theres a lot of wear and tear. However, once we got started it was pretty smooth going.

He says there are some important conclusions that can be drawn from this relatively simple study.

Finding that hedgehogs persist in alpine zones means that if we want to remove hedgehogs from areas, we have to factor in populations living high in the mountains. Otherwise theyll be around forever and act as a source of reinvasion for lower areas.

On a positive note, once removed, it may be some time for hedgehog populations to spread up to these areas again.

This is good news for our strategy of using mountain ranges to keep them out.
Bay of Plenty

We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift...



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Japan researchers pushed the internet speed limit via optical fiber connection, beating the former world record of 178 terabits per second or Tbps.

Just when you thought that an internet seamlessly streaming an ultra high definition video and letting you play video games uninterrupted is the ideal speed, engineers in Japan attempted to go faster than the previous record-holder -- which is still far from the connection that most have at their homes.

The new record that Japan has achieved is far from the average internet speed in the United States.

A High Speed Internet published research revealed that the median connection performance in American households is only 42.86 Mpbs.

It is worth noting that states such as Maryland and Delaware have average speeds of 84.1 Mbps and 80.9 Mbps, respectively.

Nevertheless, the median data for the whole country slightly became lower due to states like Alaska and Montana, which only averaged at 20.6 and 30.1 Mbps.

Nonetheless, their numbers are still distant from the whopping speeds that Japan recently recorded.

Japanese Researchers and Internet Speed Record

As per Yahoo, a group of engineers from the National Institute of Information Communication Technology (NICT) in Japan broke the internet speed record after achieving a whopping 319 Tbps.

The Japanese researchers maintained impressive speeds, albeit the long distance of up to 1,865 or 3.001 km, which means that the internet was stable at 319 Tbps.

Internet Speed Record: Previous Holder

To be specific, the Japanese engineers toppled the internet speeds of another group of engineers from the University College London (UCL).

It is to note that the UCL broke the previous record that the NICT of Japan also achieved, which only boasted 172 Tbps.

So, the recent achievement of the Japanese engineers paved the way for them to redeem the record they once prided as theirs.

Read Also: SpaceX Starlink Broadband Internet Service To Go Global This August? It Could Fill the Gap Between 5G and Fiber

Japan Internet Speed Record: How Did They Do It?

PCMag wrote that such marvelous achievement is not possible without the impressive engineering behind it.

That said, the Japanese engineers had to utilize an optical fiber that has a four-core.

The researchers also unveiled that aside from that, they also paired it with "552 PDM-16QAM and wavelength-division multiplexed channels." Not to mention that the engineers thought of including "erbium and thulium doped-fiber amplifiers and distributed Raman amplification."

Additionally, aside from the typical inclusion of C and L bands for long-haul communication networks, the fastest internet connection sported an S band.

All these technicalities helped the engineers from Japan achieve the fastest internet speed on Earth.

Notably, the technology that the Japanese researchers used for this project is compatible with the equipment that is currently being used. As such, deploying the same technology will not require an overhaul of the existing infrastructure. Thus, it will not be significantly expensive and labor-intensive to implement.

However, even though the current record is an impressive achievement already, the NICT engineers floated that they are meant to make it even faster, which they will work on.

Elsewhere, Starlink's update vows to reduce the internet delay of up to 20ms, which is best for competitive gaming online.

Meahwhile, if your internet still feel sluggish, here are some remedies you could try.

Related Article: Sparklight Cable, Internet is Down; Now Investigating Service Outage Says its Twitter Support

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Depression has been one of the biggest problems that people face even in the past.

This disorder is often viewed as something that requires a "simple" solution, but modernity made us more aware that it could be monitored in some ways.

Through the use of health technology, experts can now present another form of solution for the disorder. Moreover, the use of machine learning and other applications are seen to be more effective than the conventional method that we know for depression.

Experts Find Health Tech as Effective 'Depression' Killer

According to a report by Very Well Health, researchers are now exploring options to incorporate health technology as a treatment for depression. They have been thinking if using health apps, such as one that relies on voice tracking, might alleviate the patient's depression.

The solution in the form of artificial intelligence, wearable technology, and certain apps are seen to be potential alternatives for old depression treatments.

In an interview with the online health outlet, University of California San Diego psychiatry instructor Dr. Jyoti Mishra said that the data that they will gather can teach them more about health tech.

What the Data Says About Depression

The UCSD experts, together with Mishr, can have a clear view of an individual's mental health during depression through a series of wearables and tech apps.

They have tested that a smartwatch can amass substantial information about the patient's vitals and brain activity.

Moreover, machine learning can assist them to formulate possibilities that could take place in their mental health.

Mishra believed that the adoption of health technology was an advanced step to monitor depression. In addition, the data can provide more meaning to what patients need to achieve to lower their depression levels.

Read Also: Yoga Could Ease Symptoms Of Depression, New Studies Reveal

Health Technology in Assessing Depression

A study entitled "Health Information Technology in the Service of Depression Treatment" has paved the way for experts to devise self-assessment tools for clinically depressed patients. This means that those who suffer from a depressive disorder can use apps that aid their mental health improvement.

According to the University of Maryland's engineering professor, Carol Espy-Wilson, the patient's condition can be monitored through health-focused apps, which show the speech patterns of the people.

Espy-Wilson said that one common thing that clinically depressed individuals have is a declining psychomotor, which contributes to slow-decision-making and talking.

Based on the three studies, the scientists observed the variables in the form of vocal track variables.

Throughout a particular period, they witnessed the changes in the patient's health.

With merely basing on speech, the experts were able to assess the patient's mental health. This helped them conclude how depressed a person is. The application of artificial intelligence was also seen as a big help in monitoring depression among patients.

Although the health technology tools will take some time before being called a reliable tool for depression, Mishra said tech can yield more information backed up by science. This will also guarantee that what they're doing is ethical in nature.

For instance, a study revealed that smartphones can someday be helpful in diagnosing depression for patients back in 2015.

Related Article: Elon Musk's 'Terrifying' MINI Brain Chip Cures Depression and Addiction?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CDC is easing the mask mandate in the US, but one expert says it's too early and very dangerous to do so.

The aforementioned expert is former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who worked under the Trump administration. In a report by NBC News, Adams claimed that the CDC's decision to ease up on the mask mandate is premature in the wake of rising cases caused by the COVID Delta variant.

Furthermore, Adams said that he regretted not having campaigned for mask-wearing a lot more with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the current leading infectious disease expert in the US, during the early days of the pandemic. He states that the CDC is repeating the same mistake that the two of them did.

Alas, Adams' claims do have merit. According to a report by Yahoo, there has been a jump in COVID cases due to Delta: a week-high average of 69% (over 26,300) cases. Aside from this, the average death toll has also increased to 26% (211 deaths) as well as hospitalizations (36%, or 2,794 cases).

Adams made his thoughts known on his Twitter account:

Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it.



Im worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of  delta variant.  Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) July 17, 2021

These claims come after the CDC recently said that fully vaccinated individuals don't need to wear masks or physically distance themselves anymore. They made this pronouncement after it's been confirmed that about a third of the US population is now fully vaccinated.

Read also: COVID-19 Vaccine Can't Be Given to Children Yet, Here's Why

CDC's Race In Time Against the Delta Variant

The so-called Delta COVID variant, which was first detected in India, is making a lot of headway into the world's vaccination efforts. And that's because it's considered the most contagious out of all mutated COVID-19 strains.

Not only is the Delta variant a lot easier to transmit, it's also far more lethal to people of all ages, writes Forbes. Couple that with the transmission so fickle (it's been reported that simply passing close by a Delta-infected patient will get you infected,) and it's got the world's health experts locked in a race against time.

Finding Answers to Delta

For now, the latest CDC decision should still be accepted because all approved vaccines do offer a good amount of protection from symptomatic (visible symptoms) infection, hospitalization, and death. Plus, there's also news about a certain antibody treatment that could actually neutralize the Delta variant, alongside Lambda (another dangerous mutated COVID strain).

There's also a new anti-COVID X-ray technique being developed, which experts say could help create new medicines by identifying the coronavirus's weak points. The team behind the special X-ray tech is currently working on refining it, and they do hope that it will get used against the pandemic in a short amount of time.

Looking Forward

Since getting herd immunity requires 60-70% of the global population to get fully vaccinated, the pandemic is far from over. There aren't enough vaccinated people in the world right now, so it would still be best to be vigilant and keep yourself protected.

Related: Indonesia Considered as New COVID Epicenter in Asia: Cases Soar Past India's

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tehachapi, CA (93561)

Today

Mostly clear. Low 63F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 63F. WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.
Tehachapi, CA (93561)

Today

Mostly clear. Low 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
After standing nearly 100 years in downtown Lafayette, and serving as a flashpoint for local discussions around racial equity and justice for years, the statue of Confederate Gen. Alfred Mouton was whisked from its pedestal to the sound of spectators cheers and applause Saturday.

A path to the statues removal was cleared Friday when the United Daughters of the Confederacy signed a settlement with the city allowing for the statues removal.

The parties agreed the city will bear the cost of removing the statue and transporting it to a new location secured by the Daughters, as well as costs to design and construct a new statue base and cover some insurance. The Daughters have 45 days to make the arrangements and notify the city.

+22 Photos: Statue of Gen. Alfred Mouton removed The statue of Confederate General Alfred Mouton was removed from downtown Lafayette on Saturday after spending nearly one-hundred years at the

Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory said the statues removal creates an opportunity for healing in the community. He said hes never been more proud to be the mayor-president and praised the community for having trust in the legal process rather than forcibly removing the statue. Once the legal hurdles were clear, he said it was important to him to act quickly to remove the statue from its place of prominence.

The statue has to come down anyway so waiting 40 days, 45 days  Im more of a 45-minute guy, Guillory said. If I couldve done it yesterday, I would have.

A group of residents led by Move the Mindset leader Fred Prejean launched a lawsuit in 2019 seeking to undo a 1980 permanent injunction that prevented the city from moving the statue except if the land was sold or road work was impeded by the statues location. Guillory instructed Lafayette Consolidated Government to fight to remove the statue in July 2020.

The statue was placed at the corner of Lee Avenue and Jefferson Street in 1922, when the United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned the statue and donated it to the city. Mouton was a member of one of Lafayettes founding families and a slave owner who died while fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War. His statue was erected in the Jim Crow era, a time of racial segregation, Black oppression and violence toward Black people.

This was put up 60 years after Alfred Mouton died and it wasnt put up to honor his fight for the Confederacy or his service. It was put up to intimidate an entire class of people, Guillory said.

Prejean said he was thankful the city government warmed to his groups activism and recognized the hurt the statue caused, especially for the citys Black residents. He said seeing the statue come down Saturday was especially sweet because of the timing: Saturday was the first anniversary of civil rights activist U.S. Rep. John Lewis death.

Prejean posed for a photo before the statue as it lay on a truck bed, his fist raised in victory. He said the moment felt just as sweet as he imagined.

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Its been a long road to walk, sometimes tiring and sometimes very lonely, but we have gone the distance and Im very proud to be here today to see the conclusion of our efforts, Prejean said.

Guillory said the city contracted with CDH Crane Rentals in Scott to transfer the statue to a secure storage facility, whose location was not released, until the Daughters solidify plans for the statues future. There was little talk of what might take its place, but Guillory said theyll be looking to make drainage improvements at the oft-flooded corner. Prejean said hes excited for people to pass the street and be able to enjoy the statues absence.

I think people are going to say to themselves at one time there was something evil there that represented the division in our community and now it represents freedom, Prejean said.

There was a bevy of local religious leaders on hand to celebrate the statues removal and offer prayers for reconciliation and growth. Diocese of Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, who supported the citys intervention in the lawsuit, prayed the statues former site can be a place of peace for the community.

+2 United Daughters of the Confederacy member fired her attorney before statue removal trial The woman behind a group fighting efforts to remove a Confederate statue from downtown Lafayette fired her attorney over a rejected settlement

The statue removed today, only made of marble and stone, represents issues and challenges of another day. We ask that you move our stony hearts and make them hearts of flesh to address issues and challenges of our day and time: peaceful harmony among our citizens, racial equality, economic opportunity for all, Deshotel said.

Deshotel and the Bishops of Gethsemane Church of God in Christ Alton Gatlin and Vanessa Gatlin spoke on themes in the First Letter of John, recognizing that Christian teachings say no one can love God who hates their brother.

Weve come today to renew that thinking that weve all been created by Him and that we may walk together hand in hand, Vanessa Gatlin said.

Help us today to stand as one, to walk as one, to believe and stand united as one, Alton Gatlin said in prayer.

+5 Lafayette's Mouton statue missing prominent facial feature -- who nose what happened? Questions are swirling around the statue of Confederate Gen. Alfred Mouton, not because of the ongoing court case surrounding the statues rem

Alex PoeticSoul Johnson, a local spoken word artist and activist, said seeing the Mouton statues removal reaffirmed her belief that Lafayette is a place of diversity and diverse people who come together as family. The statues removal is a jumping off point for future conversations probing issues of equality in Lafayette. The poet said conversation is the tool to find common ground and heal historical divisions and turmoil seeping into the present.

We can see where our weak areas are and where we need to strengthen our foundation...Its supposed to be uncomfortable. Healing is not always a comfortable feeling. Youre going through the moments of what it takes to get to a point where you feel better, Johnson said.
A legal case involving the potential euthanasia of a Lafayette man in a vegetative state is gaining national attention.

At odds are the mans wife and mother, who have been arguing in court, via social media, and on "Dr. Phil" over who should have legal authority over Joshua Barras' life and death. The situation has also piqued the interest of a nonprofit started by the brother of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose case captured the nation in 2005 as her husband was granted the right to remove the woman's feeding tube against her parents' wishes.

On the surface, the Lafayette conflict appears to be between a wife who is ready to let go and a mother who refuses to give up hope. Those who have followed the story closely, however, are raising flags about who truly has Joshua Barras' best interests at heart.

Social media following

Broussard resident Maegan Adkins Barras gained an instant online following in February 2019 after she was wrongfully arrested and jailed for posting a video of a high school fight on social media. The district attorney's office did not prosecute the case, and Maegan Barras later sued the Scott Police Department and Lafayette Parish School System in federal court for infringing on her rights and causing mental anguish. After all, she spent time in the same jail where her husband, Joshua Barras, had attempted to kill himself a few months earlier in November 2018. Maegan Barras said at the time that she only posted the video because she was concerned the student may have suffered head trauma. She said the fight concerned her because her husband had suffered brain damage months earlier when he used a shoelace to hang himself in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.

Maegan Barras received a $70,000 settlement  $50,000 from the city of Scott and $20,000 from the school system  in August 2020 as a result of the federal lawsuit.

She also sued the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office and jail in October 2019 in federal court over her husband's injuries from his suicide attempt. The lawsuit alleged that jail employees acted against policy when they left Joshua Barras alone for 20 minutes in a bathroom. It also alleged that they knew Joshua Barras had a history of suicidal behavior when he attempted to kill himself inside the jail bathroom. That case is still open and appears to hinge on the outcome of the state court case that's gaining national attention.

+5 Mom arrested for posting video of Acadiana High School fight breaks silence; here's her story When Maegan Adkins-Barras watched a video of a fight that happened at Acadiana High School, she instantly felt sick to her stomach.

The case unfolding in the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette concerns the guardianship of Joshua Barras. Initially, Judge Jules Edwards granted Maegan Barras' request as tutor over her husband in June 2019. His mother, Kelly Barras, was named undertutor.

In April 2020, Maegan Barras filed an amended petition through her attorney to designate herself as curator instead of tutor, a legal technicality that appears to have been spurred by the federal lawsuit over Joshua Barras' suicide attempt.

Tutorships and curatorships are essentially the same thing: the legal appointment of a guardian to manage the financial affairs and day-to-day life of someone who is unable to do so because of age or mental limitations. A tutorship is granted when the person in question is a minor, and a curatorship is granted for an adult.

Maegan Barras was designated as the curator of Joshua Barras in May 2020, but Kelly Barras was not designated as the undercurator.

Upon learning of the case a few months ago, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network connected Kelly Barras to the Life Legal Defense Foundation, which is paying for her attorneys.

Schiavo's 2005 case is similar to the one currently unfolding in Lafayette. The woman's parents fought in Florida courts to keep their daughter alive in a persistent vegetative state while Schiavos husband pushed to remove the feeding tube that had sustained his wife for seven years. In 2005, her husband won the legal battle and Schiavo died.

I have to say this case is very, very much like the Terri Schiavo case and other cases that weve handled," said Alexandra Snyder, CEO of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, in a May video about Joshua Barras' situation. "And I dont know what it is, but in most of these cases, its the spouse who wants to kill the patient, and the family, either the parents or siblings, or both, who want to keep that patient alive.

Through her attorneys, Kelly Barras on March 18 filed a motion that challenged Maegan Barras as Joshua Barras legal caretaker along with a preliminary injunction asking that a restraining order be issued to prevent Maegan Barras from taking any actions that would end Joshua Barras life.

"This is an extremely urgent matter requiring the judge's immediate attention," Felix Sternfels, Kelly Barras' former attorney, wrote in a letter to the court.

'Thoughts and prayers'

Maegan Barras had been candid on social media about her plans prior to her mother-in-law's motion, collecting more than 500,000 followers on TikTok along the way. Maegan Barras intended to move her husband from a nursing home facility to her house to let him die.

Presented as evidence in the case are screenshots from Maegan Barras' Facebook posts.

Thoughts and prayers for our Joshua Barras as he comes home to spend his last days in the comfort of his home, with his loved ones by his side, one Facebook post said. We watched him suffer, day by day. To see him slowly fade away, and could not give relief. His weary hours and days of pain. His troubled days and nights are past. And in our aching hearts we know. He will finally rest at last.

Judge Valerie Gotch Garrett, who took Edwards' seat this year, issued a temporary restraining order on March 30 that prohibits Maegan Barras from taking Joshua Barras out of a nursing home, removing his feeding tube or altering life-sustaining measures.

The case hasn't progressed much since then after multiple hearings were rescheduled  once when Maegan Barras replaced her attorney, once when Joshua Barras was exposed to others with COVID-19 and, most recently, on Friday when Kelly Barras replaced her attorneys.

Maegan Barras previous attorney, L. Clayton Burgess withdrew from the case in early April. Burgess wrote in his note to the court he was withdrawing because this has become a right to life matter instead of a personal injury lawsuit.

Burgess, who represented Barras in the other two lawsuits, declined to comment for this story. Maegan Barras' new attorney, Sean Stockstill, did not return phone calls and emails.

Those in support of Kelly Barras had been counting down the days to the next hearing, which was scheduled to happen Monday.

On Friday, they learned the hearing was postponed yet again after Kelly Barras notified the court that she would replace her previous attorneys, Felix Sternfels and Amos Cormier III, with Todd Gaudin.

Gaudin declined to comment for this story, and Sternfels did not respond to requests for comment.

Cormier said in a July 8 interview prior to his replacement that the court should respond favorably to Kelly Barras' request for guardianship over her son.

"The court should take into consideration who really has the best interest of Joshua at heart because the curator has power when it comes to administering the state of his assets," Cormier said. "Of course, this isn't as much money as Britney Spears, but it could be a good chunk of change."

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Questioning motivation

Money. That's what a group of online amateur investigators allege is driving Maegan Barras to end her husband's life. It's also what Joshua Barras' mother alleged on a March episode of "Dr. Phil."

Joshua Barras, 37, attempted to hang himself with a shoelace in November 2018 in a Lafayette Parish Correctional Center bathroom during the booking process after he was arrested on drug charges, according to court and police records. The man was discovered unconscious about 20 minutes later and taken to a local hospital, where his family learned he had suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen.

Prior to the suicide attempt, Maegan and Joshua Barras had a rocky relationship that's documented in arrest and court records. They first married in 2015 and would later accuse each other of domestic abuse before filing for divorce the same year. They remarried in 2016. Maegan Barras filed for divorce again in March 2018 but withdrew the request in a November 2018 letter to the court a few days after Joshua Barras attempted to kill himself.

Maegan Barras posted regularly on social media about her husband's brain injury and even hosted at least one online fundraiser in his name before her February 2019 arrest that made national headlines.

After her arrest, Maegan Barras began posting more regularly about Joshua Barras and started hosting more fundraisers through websites such as GoFundMe and asking for donations through apps such as Venmo. Initially, she was asking for money to pay for treatments not covered by health insurance, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In recent months, however, she said she was raising money for Joshua Barras' funeral expenses.

Kelly Barras said on a March episode of "Dr. Phil" that Maegan Barras is exploiting Joshua Barras on social media for her own financial gain.

"Just putting this out on social media, she's had a venue where she could raise more money," Kelly Barras said on the talk show. "His care is completely paid for through Medicaid. There's really nothing that we need to purchase. Her followers do attack me. She has convinced them that he is in decline, which he is not. Some of her followers are saying I'm selfish for wanting my son to stay alive. I would like her followers to know everything that they believe about the story is a lie."

Maegan Barras said on "Dr. Phil" in March that Joshua Barras can only cough, breathe and blink; hes having daily seizures and contractions; and his muscles and joints are tightening. She said his body is literally shutting down and like a newborn. Kelly Barras said her son is minimally conscious and responds with aggravation when his mustache is shaved or his nose is wiped and he could improve with the appropriate care.

"It's the brain that was damaged," Maegan Barras said on the talk show. "So, basically, if Kelly says that his body is healthy, why let him go? That's just keeping his body there when he's not there mentally. So why is that fair or OK for him when that's no quality of life? That would be for her comfort to see him, like I've discussed with her before. This would be us being selfish."

Patient progress reports shown on "Dr. Phil" indicated Joshua Barras was in a persistent vegetative state with little change from February 2020 to February 2021. Videos that Maegan Barras has posted online show Joshua Barras in a vegetative state, although he occasionally appears to smile or grunt in response to others.

Kelly Barras did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.

Maegan Barras, who reached out to a reporter earlier this month to cover the story, did not answer multiple phone calls or return calls . Instead, she sent brief text messages to a reporter over the course of more than a week.

"I just know whatever I say its still going to look wrong because my previous lawyers misfiled so much," Maegan Barras wrote in a July 11 text. Two days later, she wrote: "I'm just overwhelmed."

Facebook followers

Although Maegan Barras has attracted more than half a million followers on TikTok, Kelly Barras has gained a loyal following in recent months on Facebook.

There are more than 2,000 members of a Facebook group called Justice for Josh Barras. Many of the members were initially influenced by Maegan Barras' TikTok videos.

Laura Clark and Sara Evens are among those.

Clark, who lives in Georgia, said she was moved by Maegan Barras' story on TikTok about six months ago because her nephew suffered from a brain injury after a 2002 car crash. After years of intensive therapy, Clark's nephew learned how to walk and talk again. He now lives independently, works two jobs and gives motivational speeches.

Clark said she reached out to Maegan Barras to let her know about what treatments worked for her nephew and offered to help schedule appointments for Joshua Barras. Clark said she told Maegan Barras not to get her hopes up, but at least she would know whether there was a chance for her husband's recovery and could show his mother the lack of results before removing his feeding tube.

"After days and days of trying to help her, she turned on me on a dime. She said she felt pressured by me and she wished people on the internet would just leave her alone. It was weird," Clark said in a phone interview.

Evens, of Indiana, also initially learned about the case through Maegan Barras' TikTok videos. Evens said Joshua Barras appeared to be trying to communicate in the videos she watched on TikTok.

"The more she posted on TikTok, the more something just didn't sit right with me," Evens said in a phone interview. "It wasn't just me that felt like this. She was saying that Josh has never had any treatment and that she couldn't get him any treatment. We started seeing more about it and learning more, and we questioned what she was saying and started looking into it on our own."

Clark and Evens allege Maegan Barras is motivated by the pending federal lawsuit against the jail and hasn't used money raised as stated in fundraisers  for treatment for Joshua Barras.

To support those claims, Clark provided screenshots from more than a dozen fundraisers that raised a combined $15,000 and shared screenshots from a recent private message in which Maegan Barras asked someone for money and shared a photo of a negative balance in a bank account.

The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Information office gives recommendations to people who believe someone is using a crowdfunding website to scam others out of money. Among those include warning others by commenting on the crowdfunding profile and reporting concerns to the state attorney general and FTC.

Clark said she isn't interested in pursing criminal charges against Maegan Barras. She said she's just gathering documentation to help Kelly Barras win legal authority over her son.

Evens said nobody, including Kelly Barras, wants to see Joshua Barras continue to live in his current condition. She said the primary goal is to get Joshua Barras treatment to see if he responds before choosing whether or not to end his life.

"His mother is absolutely not wanting to leave him like this," Evens said. "Her sole purpose of wanting to get guardianship is so that he will get the treatment, the therapy that Maegan isn't getting him."
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Well-known for his wit, charm, and devil-may-care approach to both politics and life, many remember former Gov. Edwin Edwards as a character whose presence permeated Louisiana politics for the better half of a century.

But during Edwards memorial at the capitol building Saturday, his four adult children remembered him simply as a concerned and caring father whose ability to make others feel cared for extended just as fully to his home life.

Tina Turner wrote a song: Simply the Best. My dad was simply the best, said Victoria Edwards, the second-eldest of Edwards five children. The only thing he wasnt good at was lifting weights. He wasnt the best at that, but thats all thats been going through my head since he passed: Simply the best.

Edwards eldest son, Stephen, recalled his fathers brilliant, almost encyclopedic knowledge of the law.

It was his ability to draw on that vast knowledge and practically apply it that made him an anomaly, his son said.

Not only was he able to garner information and retain it, but he knew how to use it, Stephen Edwards said. I admired that a lot, and also tried to do that in my life.

A family man until the end, the bond that Edwards  who welcomed his fifth child, Eli, with his third wife Trina in 2013  had with his children was unmatched, Victoria said, noting that each sibling inherited a distinct trait from their father.

Stephen was a lawyer and daddy was a lawyer. David flew airplanes and daddy flew airplanes. I rode horses and daddy and I rode horses together. Anna could always discuss politics, she said.

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I also did a lot of musical theater, Victoria added, and he came to see every (show).

For several years, a tumultuous adolescence and early adulthood put a strain on the relationship Edwards had with his second daughter, but Victoria said her father never lost his temper.

He had my back. Nobody else really had my back. He was my go-to in times of trouble and distress, she said. A lot of years I didnt know that he was, but he was.

Former Louisiana State Police lieutenant Henry Reed, who served as Edwards body guard during the politicians last four years in office, was one of many mourners Saturday who also recalled witnessing that warmth first-hand.

He was so kind and thoughtful, Reed said, recounting a time the four-term governor went out of his way to show appreciation for a former capitol employee.

The guy used to shine shoes here at the capitol, and they ran an article on him in The Advocate. (Edwards) saw it, and he told me the next day he wanted to go and surprise the guy, and we did. We walked up, he jumped up on the stand, and the guy turned around and said Governor? (Edwards) said I thought Id just come by and say hello, Reed said. Thats how thoughtful he was.

Though Edwards faced many controversies during his six-plus decades in public service, mourner Ivan Allen said Edwards legacy should be a reminder that above all, he was human.

Louisiana was like his wife. He wanted to take care of her, said Allen  who said he met Edwards twice before his death  as he stood on the steps of the capitol Saturday. We may have lost a silver fox, but we still got his style and charisma.
Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General are changing their visitation policies amid a surge of COVID-19 patients.

Both hospitals announced the policy changes Sunday, noting the spread of the coronavirus' delta variant has led to increased hospitalizations.

We are troubled by the trend in cases and hospitalizations throughout our community, said Dr. Catherine ONeal, the chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake. We know how important the support of family and loved ones are to our patients while we care for them, but limiting visitation is important to protect our patients and our medical teams.

Sunday night, the Lake would limit visitors to COVID-19 patients to one person for one hour per day, except in end-of-life situations where extended times of visitation may be coordinated.

Non-COVID-19 patients are limited to one visitor, 18 years or older, who are allowed to remain at the bedside throughout the patient's hospital stay.

Prior to the new restrictions, the hospital was generally allowing two visitors per patient.

+3 A 'statewide outbreak' in Louisiana: COVID cases soar as vaccination rates stall COVID-19 is again on the rise in Louisiana as state officials urge residents to get vaccinated to stave off the rapidly spreading delta variant.

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Masks are required, and visitors will be screened with a temperature check and questionnaire. They should either be the patients spouse or a close relative and must remain bedside. Visiting hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., though visitors to non-COVID-19 patients can stay overnight.

At Baton Rouge General, the hospital's updated visitation policy will allow one visitor per patient on most nursing units, including labor and delivery and the emergency room.

Designated visiting hours in the ICU and behavioral health unit will remain the same, with one visitor per patient. Overnight visitors will not be allowed in the ICU.

For surgery patients, one visitor will be allowed in the surgery waiting area.

Visiting hours run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Until the new restrictions were put in place, Baton Rouge General was allowing two visitors per patient in most areas, with no limits in the birth center unless the mother was COVID-positive.
After 23 years of lending school books and other instructional materials to teachers, the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators is selling off its entire inventory with a final closeout later this month.

LRCE will continue as an organization, however. But its mission will focus on working with teachers  particularly through LRCE Teach!, the alternative certification program it launched in 2003.

The final bag sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 24 at the center, which is located at 5550 Florida Blvd.

The library portion of LRCE went dark at the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and will stay closed for good. The LRCE board decided that same month to stay closed, but it was hard to schedule an in-person sale until now, as pandemic restrictions finally ease up.

Executive Director Kyle Finke said closing the library allows LRCE to zero in on training and supporting teachers throughout the state.

It was, more than anything, a decision by myself and the board on how we see ourselves, Finke said, to focus more on what we see as the greatest need in this state, which is human capital.

For its second executive director, LRCE promotes from within Louisiana Resource Center for Educators, an education library and teacher training center based in Baton Rouge, is announcing only the second 

Before becoming executive director in 2017, Finke led LRCEs alternative teaching program. He replaced its founding leader, Nancy Roberts, who retired after 19 years at the helm.

At its peak, the LRCE library counted more than 100,000 items in its circulation. As its final days approach, however, the collection  which includes books, of course, but also manipulatives, scopes, globes and skeletons  has dwindled some.

Finke said the place remained popular with many educators in the capitol region, but overall interest was flat.

We had our big users, he said. We seemed to struggle in getting new people to use it like they were.

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The bag sale on July 24 is the 21st and last such event, known as the $10 Bag Sale, which have been part of a long tradition for LRCE and have attracted educators near and far.

You buy a grocery bag for $10 and whatever you want to fill in it you can get, Finke explained. Items too big for the bag are individually priced.

Unlike in years past, everything is for sale.

Finke took to Facebook earlier this month to promote the event, which he likened to an estate sale and expects to draw a sizable crowd.

I would expect it to be pretty busy, he said. I plan to be there all day.

The sale comes as the LRCE Teach! finishes training a cohort of more than 100 teachers who will head into classrooms across the state this coming school year. Finke said interest in the program has stayed strong through the pandemic.

In addition to shifting its focus, LRCE is also downsizing. A for-sale sign stands in front of the building.

We dont need as much space as we used to, Finke said, noting that some staff work in other parts of the state where the organization places teachers.

LRCE could end up moving to a new, smaller location, he said, or it could opt to share its existing space with another organization.

Finke said hes unsure if LRCE will sell its entire stock at the upcoming bag sale, but hed like to get close.

We dont want this in the dumpster somewhere, he said. We want to make sure they are in the hands of educators and in the classroom.
National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan says the bank has seen a rise in calls for help from customers facing financial stress, as he emphasised the need for a fast vaccination rollout to avoid the threat of rolling lockdowns.

After banks on the weekend pledged to support lockdown-affected customers, Mr McEwan said as of late last week there had been a 10 per cent rise in calls to the bank from consumers and businesses needing financial help. Until then, it had seen virtually no increase in calls from struggling customers, he said.

[There has been] about a 10 per cent increase so far, and lets see what this week brings, Mr McEwan said.

NAB chief executive Ross McEwan: If we want to get out of this and get back to the freedoms that we used to have, lets get vaccinated. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

It was too early to determine the economic impact of the countrys two biggest cities being locked down, he said, while also highlighting the need for Australia to lift its vaccination rate very quickly to avoid the need to lock down in response to COVID-19 outbreaks.
The brutal, fickle music industry has left scars on Jakob Dylan, the son of a man who has sold over 125 million records worldwide  Bob Dylan, of course.

Those metaphorical marks are bared, tenderly, on his first Wallflowers album in nearly a decade, and seventh since 1989, Exit Wounds. His lyrical themes address the personal and the profound. And Dylan, 51  in his Buddha-meets-rockstar verbal meandering  likes to talk in profound terms.

Jakob Dylan has put out a new Wallflowers album. Credit:Andrew Slater

If you have exit wounds, it suggests to me youve survived, he explains from his Los Angeles home. Its not like a wound site, but it sounds like surviving to me, and it sounds like change. These songs are vignettes that discuss change, and evolution. Wherever youre going, whether its a better place or a worse place, you take exit wounds with you and you hand them out, too. That is your life, you are just an accumulated pile of exit wounds and gifts that you give and take.

Evolution and change have defined The Wallflowers. The rotating lineup of band members from one album to the next has failed to strike critical or commercial success since Bringing Down The Horse in 1996, featuring the catchy hook-filled singles One Headlight and 6th Avenue Heartache.
ELYSIAN FIELDS



Concourse Theatre, July 15

A year on, and whod have thought wed be back reviewing live streams rather than flesh-and-blood concerts? The row of empty seats just visible in the foreground at Chatswood Concourse carried something of the gloom of a hat on a coffin. Were there any silver lining, it was that in the intervening year the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall series has come along to hoist production values above most of last years streaming efforts. The sound was exceptionally clear (if slightly brittle) and the vision good.

Its hard to imagine a more apt band to capture the prevailing sombre mood than Elysian Fields, especially when concentrating on material from its Fika album, subtitled The Scandinavian Project, with all the dark foreboding that implies. The genre-crossing, epoch-bridging ensemble began with the elegiac Lat till Far (Tune to My Father), performed by a trio of Matt McMahons piano, Jenny Erikssons electric viola da gamba and Susie Bishops violin, the stringed instruments startlingly like tenor and soprano voices sharing an aria as they circled the piano.
Lockdowns are grabbing the headlines here in Australia, but the disastrous floods, droughts and bushfires of the northern hemispheres summer should be a reminder that climate change poses an even more serious threat than COVID-19.

In Germany and Belgium, unprecedented rainfall has caused flooding that has killed at least 170 people and devastated ancient towns that have stood untouched for centuries. Meanwhile, last month the town of Lytton, in British Columbia, Canada, recorded a freakishly high temperature of 49.6 degrees shortly before it was burnt to the ground by wildfires. Along the west coast of the United States, wildfires of extraordinary extent and ferocity are still raging out of control. Californians have been asked to cut water use by 15 per cent because of a historic drought.

A train sits in floodwaters in Kordel, Germany. Credit:AP

Of course in the developing world the disasters are at least as severe, if less widely reported here.

These tragedies are all consistent with decades of scientific predictions of the likely impacts of human-induced climate change. It is actually happening. Global temperatures are already 1.2 degrees higher on average than a century ago, and they are predicted to rise 5 degrees this century on the current trajectory.
A West Australian great-grandmother spent 17 days in hospital and now suffers debilitating symptoms after having a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Maureen Deboick, 80, almost died, with bleeding on the brain and a blood platelet count close to zero, which meant her blood could not clot. She was diagnosed with a rare bleeding disorder called immune thrombocytopenia, which her doctor attributed to the vaccine.

Maureen Deboick says older Australians should be offered the Pfizer vaccination after having a severe reaction to AstraZeneca. Credit:Nine News Perth

The Therapeutic Goods Administration estimates one person in every 100,000 AstraZeneca doses may contract the rare bleeding disorder.

Weeks after Mrs Deboick had her first jab on March 24 she developed headaches, which she still suffers from, and black blisters inside her mouth.

At one point she told her daughter: I dont feel like Im in my body.

The following day she went to Albany Hospital in WAs Great Southern region and was flown to a Perth hospital. She had numerous small bleeds on the brain during her stay.

It took a few days before it set in, the sort of predicament I was in. And then I was scared, really scared, she said.

I was getting really bad headaches, well, I still do, and it suddenly struck me then; it could be fatal.

Mrs Deboick was put on a high dose of steroids and takes 20 pills a day for the side effects.

She shakes, has hearing and sight loss, diabetes and headaches that have put her in hospital.

Mrs Deboick says shes not telling people to boycott the jab, but wants them to be aware of the potential side effects.

She believes the Pfizer vaccination should be an option for all Australians.

Read the full story here.
As people in the citys south-west begin hard lockdown this week - unable to leave their council areas unless they are on a government list of authorised workers - there are growing calls from state and federal politicians to ease restrictions in areas of Greater Sydney and surrounds less afflicted by COVID-19 such as the northern beaches, the Central Coast and Shellharbour.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant last week said locking down areas around Sydney with few COVID-19 cases was justified because residents worked across the city. So until we reduce the burden of the disease in Greater Sydney, we are really concerned about the mobility, the way workers move around, she said.

Federal MP Jason Falinski (right) pictured with Forest Brunch Bar owners Stephen and Frances Armatas. Credit:Nick Moir

But Jason Falinski, federal Liberal member for Mackellar, said there were too many locked down local government areas with no active cases or exposure sites. He said the northern beaches lockdown over Christmas and New Year showed that localised lockdowns worked.

How does it make sense to lock down areas with virtually no cases and few exposure sites? he asked. When you add the cost to children, people and businesses, this calculus becomes difficult to add up. In NSW, we should remain focused on suppressing the virus, not people.
Freight drivers will be required to be tested for COVID-19 every seven days after almost half of heavy vehicles stopped at the Queensland border were caught without a pass or documentation to enter the state.

Queensland police stopped 226 heavy vehicles at Coomera, Wallangarra and Goondiwindi at the weekend.

Of those, 83 drivers were fined or cautioned and 29 had come from a hotspot without appropriate passes.

One driver who falsified records had come from the Chinderah truck stop hotspot and was unco-operative with police was forced into quarantine, police said.
Health experts say the federal government should reconsider ongoing stricter restrictions for travel to and from India, where new COVID-19 infections have dropped to about 40,000 a day from more than 400,000 at their peak in May.

At the end of April, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly declared India the first country to meet the threshold of a high-risk country, prompting a pause in flights and chaos for Indian-Australians.

While government-facilitated repatriation flights from India and indirect commercial flights resumed on May 15, India remains on the high-risk list, along with Papua New Guinea, and more restrictive travel arrangements apply both inbound and outbound.

An Indian relative sits with a patient being treated for coronavirus in a hospital in Rajasthan. Credit:Getty

This is in addition to national cabinet lowering arrival caps from all countries from about 6000 to 3000 a week, as of last Wednesday, as NSW, Victoria and Queensland all fight outbreaks.
The comprehensive reform of planning systems went hand-in-hand, employing a formula that remained remarkably consistent through the years: simplicity, division of strategic (goal-setting) and statutory (implementation) functions, independent planning panels, openness, ethicality, permitting legitimate challenges by third parties to counter corruption, and harnessing the efficiency of digitisation. Mants decades of exhortations, submissions, recommendations, counselling and decisions within the corridors of power saw him influence numerous initiatives and reforms in virtually every Australian state and territory. He was awarded an AM in 2016 for significant service to urban planning and public administration as an advisor and consultant to local and state governments. John Hayward Mant was born in Sydney in 1936 - a good year, hed quip: Too young for the Korean War, too old for Vietnam. After attending Cranbrook School and Sydney University (consorting with the Sydney Push) he followed his father into the legal profession but was grafted to the idealism of his mothers Christian socialism. While John Mant Sr was a founding member of the Liberal Party, Mant Jr took a more left-of-centre course. He ran for federal parliament in 1966, one of 22 candidates for Gordon Bartons Liberal Reform Group (he was the last survivor), the forerunner to the Australia Party (later integrated with the Australian Democrats) whose preferences helped Labor win in 1972 and 1974. Re-aligning with Labor he headed to Canberra to work for the National Capital Development Commission, a sobering immersion in traditional bureaucracy that shaped much of his later planning work. He was seconded as an adviser to Whitlams Minister for Urban and Regional Development, Tom Uren, and he held a senior position in the reformist Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD).

John Mant, acting commissioner of ICAC during doorstop at Redfern, May 11, 1994. Credit:Fairfax His political and administrative nous were recognised with his 1975 appointment to the Prime Ministers staff where he served for the tumultuous last five months prior to the Whitlam Governments dismissal by the governor-general. Regarding himself as more spectator than player, John broke the news to ALP Secretary David Combe on 11 November 1975 with his usual mischievous grin: Weve been sacked. Thereafter Mant had a successful trajectory in planning administration and local government law, commencing as director-general of South Australias Department of Housing, Urban and Regional Affairs (1977-80) and pursuing a DURD-like reorganisation for Premier Don Dunstan. Returning to his Sydney legal practice, a steady procession of client and consultancy briefs ranged across planning, organisational and regulation reviews, land management, health and transport policy. Most notably, he completed a game-changing review of the NSW Department of Housing (1992), acted as interim commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (1994), chaired Paul Keatings Urban Design Task Force (1994), pioneered place-based zoning in a new Local Environmental Plan for Warringah Shire (2000), comprehensively rewrote the NSW Local Government Act (2003) with Julie Walton, and, in so-called retirement, served as a Sydney City Councillor on Clover Moores team (2012-16).

John Mant elected to the City of Sydney Council with the town crier, 2012. In a life dedicated to fashioning public processes and policy toward quality and socially inclusive outcomes, he found time to lend expertise, skills and leadership to other causes, including two terms as president of the Paddington Society and deputy chair of Common Equity, the peak body for cooperative housing organisations in NSW. He had told the Herald back in 2008 that whenever he complained about things, his father would say: Well, what are you doing about it? Right up until his death he worked with Michael Neustein of the Australian Institute of Urban Studies on a new state planning system embodying all the far-reaching reforms he had long advocated. Their Better Places Act envisages a place management approach to planning, involving greater community participation, appeal rights, and digital dexterity. As recently as June he was still doing something about it, meeting with NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes to discuss how to advance the Better Places mission. Encouragement came from many quarters with the proposal gaining traction. Mant did not live to see the increasing acceptance of his ideas but the momentum he helped create for a better planning system will not falter for his passing. Mates like Richard Broinowski shared Johns love of sailing as both a burden and great fun. Whether on the Adriatic, Sydney Harbour or in the Whitsundays, like Captain Queeg rolling his marbles, John was always at the helm, master and commander. We did his bidding. No rope uncoiled. No anchor left to drag. There were early morning swims at Bondi, where birthdays were celebrated at 6.30am with champagne around the boot of the car, and in earlier years, parties at his fashion-statement, Pettit and Sevitt house in Canberra, his cynical sense of humour an antidote to the greyness outside.
The lead-up last Thursday to Melbournes fifth lockdown had a familiar feel for Barb Dight, co-owner of St Kilda restaurant Cicciolina, and her staff.

Theres no official notice, we just watch the news like everybody else, she said.

We just have to weather it: Barb Dight, co-owner of Cicciolina in St Kilda. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Were pretty used to the routine now  its like during a war, you tune into the tele at a certain time, and Gladys gives her presser and Dan gives his.

Were all over it now. Were pretty good at it.
A little over two months ago I pointed out that both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese had each begun describing their own actions as cautious. They meant this, of course, as a positive. Morrison, defending his India flight ban, said cautious decisions have proved very effective for us.

So it was interesting to hear him use the word last week with quite a different sentiment. The immunisation advisory body, ATAGI, had put us behind on the vaccination rollout, Morrison said, skipping lightly over his own role in the affair. The doctors had been very cautious and that had a massive impact on the rollout of the vaccine program. It really did.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:

This was a transparent effort to do what Morrison often does, which is to create another villain in order to tell a different story about what has happened. But the more interesting fact here is how quickly the politics have shifted. In May, patience was a virtue. July is all about impatience. Morrison knows we want to get on with things. Caution is no longer king.

Here is another dramatic turnaround: not long ago, the federal government was being criticised for not having released persuasive vaccination ads. When we finally saw its new efforts a week ago they were criticised on various reasonable grounds. But one of the reasons given seemed to contradict the earlier criticism: why was the government bothering to advertise? After all, the problem wasnt convincing people to get vaccinated, these critics said  it was that we didnt have enough vaccines.
MPs from across the political divide, including the Nationals, Labor, Greens and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, have confirmed they will support a voluntary assisted dying bill when it is introduced to NSW Parliament.

The Animal Justice Party will also co-sponsor the bill, which has been circulated to all MPs and key stakeholders in preparation for it to be introduced to Parliament late next month, ahead of debate in September.

Independent MP Alex Greenwich has released his voluntary assisted dying bill to NSW MPs. Credit:James Brickwood

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said his draft legislation had also received the endorsement of the Health Service Union, the Paramedics Association, Council on the Ageing, The Older Womens Network and Cancer Voices.

A survey taken over the past two months of 2344 Health Services Union members found 2087 respondents (89 per cent) supported the union joining the voluntary assisted dying alliance to help advance the draft laws.
Berchtesgaden, Germany: German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the flooding that has devastated parts of Europe as terrifying on Sunday after the death toll across the region rose to 184.

Merkel promised swift financial aid after visiting one of the areas affected by the floods, which have killed at least 157 in Germanys worst natural disaster in almost six decades.

The clean up is under way following severe flash flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany. Credit:Getty Images

It is terrifying, she told residents of the small town of Adenau in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The German language can barely describe the devastation thats taken place.

The devastation continued on Sunday when a district of Bavaria, southern Germany, was hit by flash floods that killed at least one person.
Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrap Up - July 18, 2021

















AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO July 18, 2021 Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, condensed into easy to digest new>s Nuggets.

LEARN MORE:The Auto Channel Automotive News Library can be found by just copying and then inserting the main headline into the News Library Search Box.

Want more automotive content than our million plus pages?, TV viewers can watch The Auto Channel-TV Network on Hulu, Google, You Tube and of course TUNA Digital Network and Old Fashioned "Free and Clear" OTA (Over the air) TV in Boston and South Florida as well as local cable systems.

Below are the past week's important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy to digest news nuggets.

Nutson's Automotive News Wrap-up - Week Ending July 17, 2021; Below are the past week's important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy to digest news nuggets.

* The 2021 Chicago Auto Show Special Edition opened its doors this week. Due to covid restrictions, last year the 2020 show in February was the only major auto show held in the U.S. Now the 2021 show, although not at its usual February date, is the first major auto show for 2021. With warm summer weather this year's show includes outdoor drive events for car shoppers to experience a number of new vehicles.

* Electrify America announced its Boost Plan to more than double its current electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the United States and Canada, with plans to have more than 1,800 fast charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers installed by the end of 2025. The expansion will increase the deployment of 150 and 350 kilowatt chargers  the fastest speed available today  and help pave the way for more electric vehicles in North America.

* European officials are preparing to introduce ambitious legislation designed to wean one of the worlds biggest and most polluting economies off fossil fuels far more quickly than other nations have pledged to do. A controversial part of the plan is imposing tariffs on imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules...an idea with the potential to set off global trade disputes. The 27-nation bloc has said it will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Efforts to phase out the sales of new internal combustion engine cars are likely to face objections from some European carmakers.

* In a similar move, top American Democrats plan to include a tax on imports from nations that lack aggressive climate change policies. This carbon border tax is a way to protect domestic manufacturing while also simultaneously pressuring other countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

* Joe White for Reuters reports a Paris court now has Stellantis under investigation for possible diesel emissions cheating by Fiat - an accusation the company denies. And Volkswagen is fighting a Dutch court that has ordered the automaker to pay owners of vehicles with rigged diesel emissions systems up to 3,000 euros compensation.

* Germany hopes to get the edge in driverless technology through a new law that allows autonomous vehicles in everyday use and provides legal consistency lacking in the United States. A fleet of electric vans will operate by a ride-hailing company and pick up and drop off passengers. The vans will drive themselves operating in a defined space with technicians working from a remote control center able to take over control if anything goes wrong.

* Moneyshake analysed 8.5 million EV sales from 20 leading manufacturers to see which brand will sell 1 million electric cars first, based on exponential trends. Despite a global pandemic, electric vehicle (EV) sales were up by 40% in 2020, with a record 3 million sales. Were getting closer to a zero-emissions future, but no manufacturer has reached the 1 million EV sales mark - yet. Key Findings: Tesla will make 1 million EV sales by April 2022  long before any other manufacturer. Volkswagens EV sales are growing twice as fast as Teslas and will overtake by 2025. Mercedes EV sales are increasing at an average rate of 109% each year, meaning Mercedes could hit the 1 million mark just a month after VW. While China is the worlds largest automotive manufacturer, sales figures indicate the countrys top brands like SAIC wont lead the EV market. Out of all manufacturers analysed, Nissan is the only manufacturer with dwindling EV sales, decreasing by 20% each year. https://www.moneyshake.com/shaking-news/miscellaneous/1-million-electric-car-sales-race

* In the UK, Ford has created a petrol-infused scent for petrolheads who want the performance of their all-electric Mach-E GT but will yearn for the gasoline aroma theyve grown to associate with the iconic Mustang marque. Research showed that 70% of drivers would miss the smell of petrol when switching to electric. Judging by our survey findings, the sensory appeal of petrol cars is still something drivers are reluctant to give up. The Mach Eau fragrance is designed to give them a hint of that fuel-fragrance they still crave, said Jay Ward, director, Ford of Europe Product Communications. The scent, which is not yet available to buy, was revealed at Goodwoods Festival of Speed, where petrolheads got to sample the scent and gave it the thumbs up.

* Rivian Automotive Inc., the electric pickup maker backed by Amazon.com Inc., is pushing back plans to start production of its debut vehicle, which was supposed to begin this month, until September. The startup also shifted the timeline for its second planned model, an electric sports-utility vehicle, from August until an unspecified time in the fall, Rivian said in a letter to customers. It cited a shortage of component supplies for the delay.

* Reuters reports that market research firm J.D. Power says 49% of all vehicle shoppers are ready to buy a new car, SUV or truck online - up 11 percentage points from 18 months ago, aka, the Before Time. Shoppers are increasingly using more sophisticated online shopping tools, such as 360 degree views, JDPA found. JDPA surveyed more than 11,000 people in April and May who said they intended to buy a new vehicle within 24 months.

* General Motors Co. will no longer offer wireless phone charging on certain 2021 full-size SUVs due to the global semiconductor shortage yet again affecting supply. GM will eliminate the feature starting on or after July 12 for certain 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, the automaker said. The feature will also not be included on certain 2022 Cadillac XT5, XT6, Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles starting on or after Aug. 2, 2021.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is urging owners of select Model Year 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt vehicles to park their cars outside and away from homes due to the risk of fire. Owners of these vehicles should park their vehicles outside away from homes and other structures immediately after charging and should not leave their vehicles charging overnight, according to General Motors. The Bolt vehicles can still be driven.

* Ford is recalling nearly 775,000 Explorer utility vehicles for an issue with the cross-axis ball joint that may cause a fractured rear suspension toe link, which could affect steering control and increase the risk of a crash. The recall affects Ford Explorers from the 2013-17 model years and affect approximately 676,152 vehicles in North America, 59,935 in China, 13,162 in Europe, 190 in South America and 25,257 in other international markets.

* In NASCAR, the Busch brothers are nearing the Allisons' for the top spot on the list of NASCAR Cup Series wins by siblings. Bobby Allison has 84 wins and Donnie Allison has 10 for a total of 94. Kyle Busch has 59 wins and Kurt has 33 for a total of 92.

Stay safe. Be Well.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, of Florida, watches the foursome matches during the Walker Cup golf tournament at the Seminole Golf Club on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Juno Beach, Fla.
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Exclusive: $2.3 Trillion of US Investments in China Are Dragging Down America

Commentary

U.S. investors have pumped more than $2.3 trillion into China since 1992, according to an unpublished U.S. government document that tracks more than 180,000 U.S. investments in equity positions in China and Hong Kong.

The 2021 document, recently obtained by The Epoch Times, tracks more than 6,000 U.S.-based corporate and institutional investors. Its based on publicly available information from November 2020 compiled from SEC filings.

As a proxy for measuring the extent to which U.S. investors are subsidizing Chinese capital markets with dollar inflows and contributing to the advancement of the Chinese state through domestic corporate growth, we measure the sum of the market value for all investor holdings aggregated by year, according to the document. From this statistic, we can also derive a dollar representation of the extent to which U.S. investor capital, including from state pension funds, is subject to China country risk, and the extent to which the U.S. institutional investor class overlaps with Chinese state assets.

According to the governments financial analysis, the sum of U.S. holdings in China from the top 6,000 investors is more than $2.3 trillion. Approximately $2 trillion of this is invested in publicly listed Chinese entities, with $276 billion invested in privately owned entities (figures dont always match due to rounding). More than $48 billion of these investments are on U.S. government entity blacklists.

More than $152 billion of U.S. investment is in Chinas state-owned enterprises. More than $47.8 billion of U.S. investments are in Communist Chinese Military Companies (CCMC), and more than $6 billion has a military end-user. CCMC is a U.S. Department of Defense designation.

The CCPs opening of their financial markets is designed to fuel the strength of the Party and the countrys military-industrial complex, to underwrite the surveillance and repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and support other policies antithetical to U.S. national and economic security and moral interests, Michael Wessel, commissioner of the U.S.China Economic & Security Review Commission, wrote in an email.

U.S. investments in China include $646 billion into companies that have banned applications, such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Ant Group, according to the document. Other U.S. investments in Chinas technology sector include more than $220.9 billion in artificial intelligence, $88.9 billion in banking, $50.4 billion in biotechnology, $44.8 billion in data companies, $42.7 billion in telecommunications, $31 billion in pharmaceuticals, $20.8 billion in semiconductors, $6.1 billion in IT, $3.8 billion in surveillance, $1.3 billion in robotics, and $1.2 billion in aerospace and defense.

The Biden administration must stop the greed and FOMO [fear of missing out] that governs investment into China on Wall Street, at State Pensions, and University endowments and force divestment from a regime that has been formally labeled as genocidal by the United States State Department, wrote investor Kyle Bass, who has shorted Chinese and Hong Kong currencies.

It is this schism that lies at the heart of the divide between the US Defense Department, the National Security Council, and ill-informed investors chasing the latest offering in Chinese markets.

The top 20 U.S. investors in China (including Hong Kong) entities are shown in Table 1. BlackRock is the biggest investor according to the government analysis, including more than $155 billion invested in more than 1,500 securities. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has more than $140 billion invested in Chinese entities, and Vanguard Group has more than $130 billion invested. Other household names on the top-20 list include Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

Table 1: Top 20 U.S. Investors in China and Hong Kong.

It makes absolutely no sense to invest in China, where there are no distinctions between commercial enterprises and the military sector, under the governments military-civilian fusion strategy, especially when the government has made amply clear that China is our adversary and intends to take military action against the U.S. and our allies, according to a Washington source.

It is utterly absurd to invest in a country where the capital markets are not based on fundamentals but rather operate like casinos, and where investment gains are less than gains derived from the U.S. markets in the medium- to long-term. We need to re-examine who is driving our investment decisions and what those motivations might be. Economic viability and resiliency do not appear to be part of the calculus for these institutional investors.

Christopher Moritz, who worked in Shanghai for a major investment bank and currently runs an investment consulting firm, raised issues that imply a potential conflict of interest among some officials in Washington. He wrote that Blackrocks position in Chinese equities is simply staggering, and all the more troubling in lieu of Blackrocks deep ties to the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.

Blackrocks former Global Head of Sustainable Investing leads Bidens National Economic Council. [The] former Chief of Staff to Larry Fink, is Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Department. Blackrocks former Global Investment Strategist is the chief economic advisor to Kamala Harris. And yet, while Blackrocks Larry Fink has prioritized ESG investing and social causes, Blackrock has nonetheless made massive investments in nefarious Chinese entities including China Merchant Bank and Hikvision.

Moritz said that both of these investments are on government blacklists.

Other big investors in Chinese securities include states and pension funds, as shown in Table 2. The biggest such investors are the state of California, with more than $8.4 billion invested, along with Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. with more than $2 billion, and the Teacher Retirement System Texas with more than $1.1 billion. Other U.S. states with major investments in China, in order of magnitude, include New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Utah, Oregon, and Illinois.

Table 2: Top State and Pension Fund Holdings in China and Hong Kong.

CalPERS offers another disturbing example of U.S. financial institutions and indeed governmental institutions underwriting Chinese hegemonic ambitions from pension dollars, Moritz wrote. Out of the $8.4 billion in holdings of Chinese entities by the State of California, more than $850 million is in State-Owned Enterprises, especially banks involved in underwriting Chinas BRI [Belt & Road Initiative] and also in telecommunications companies, which are at the forefront of Chinas surveillance state.

Until 2019, CalPERSs chief investment officer was Yu Ben Meng, who had previously held the post of deputy chief investment officer of Chinas State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Wessel wrote: The pace of U.S. investor funds going into China is expected to increase[,] undermining our ability to counter the threats the CCPs policies pose to our country and values. Its time to impose comprehensive restraints on the flow of funds and rein in the mercenary activities of Wall Street, private equity, and other investment interests.

Americans arent selling the rope to China, with which it plans to hang us. We are paying them to make it. The U.S. government, including U.S. congressional leaders, should long ago have prioritized an end to any further U.S. and international investment in China, while recouping whatever possible despite Chinas draconian capital controls.

Why havent our political leaders done so already? Are they too beholden to Americas most powerful investors, their campaign donations, and lobbying largesse? In that case, China would be paying Wall Street in the form of profit, and those investors would in turn be using that profit to influence the government to turn a blind eye to the continued bleeding of America.

Anders Corr has a bachelors and masters in political science from Yale University (2001) and a doctorate in government from Harvard University (2008). Hes a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and has conducted extensive research in North America, Europe, and Asia. He authored The Concentration of Power (forthcoming in 2021) and No Trespassing, and edited Great Powers, Grand Strategies.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A notice with a $60,000 reward offered by the police after a 6-year-old girl was killed in a shooting in Washington on July 16, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department)

$60,000 Reward Offered After Child Killed, 5 Others Shot in DC

WASHINGTONA 6-year-old girl was killed and five other people were wounded when a gunman opened fire Friday night in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood, just feet from where police officers were stationed.

The gunfire erupted shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday in the Congress Heights section of southeast Washington.

Police officers who were nearby responded to the scene about 34 seconds after the first gunshot was heard and rushed the girl to a local hospital in a police car, where she was pronounced dead, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said.

Police identified the girl as Nyiah Courtney. Three men and two women suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Nyiah Courtney was killed in a shooting in Washington, on July 16, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department)

We will do whatever it takes to close this case in a swift and professional manner, Contee said at a news conference on Saturday.

Officials believe the gunshotsin what Contee called a brazen shootingcame from a passing vehicle. Police released video of the vehicle later Saturday and were offering a reward of up to $60,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

The vehicle of interest in the shooting of a 6-year-old girl in Washington on July 17, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

She was starting the first grade this fall and now that wont happen and frankly that is unacceptable to me and it should be to every resident, Contee said of the child.

Community members confronted Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city officials at the news conference, demanding they take immediate action against nearby liquor stores they claim are attracting violence in the area. They described several other recent shootings in the same area.

Bowser and Contee said the community also needs to help police try to drive down violence in the neighborhood.

The cowards who committed this crime came into this community, without any regard for human life, without regard for Nyiahs life and opened fire, Contee said. That cannot and will not be tolerated. It is time for us to say enough is enough.
A Good Sign: Fewer People File for Unemployment in States Cutting Federal Bonus, Data Shows

States that withdrew from the federal pandemic unemployment bonus in June saw improving jobs numbers and fewer individuals filing for benefits compared to other states, Department of Labor data analyzed by the Daily Caller News Foundation showed.

I continued to see increases in the number of unemployed and, in some weeks, increases in the new regular claims that were coming in, Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who was among the first governors to cancel the benefit, told the DCNF in an interview. So I felt we had to make a decision because if we wanted to experience a full economic recovery, we had to get our people back to work.

The states that stopped offering residents the federal benefit in early June experienced a 33 percent drop in new jobless claims filed compared to the roughly 4 percent decline seen in states that didnt withdraw from the program, according to the data.

States that withdrew from the federal pandemic unemployment bonus in June saw improving jobs numbers and fewer individuals filing for benefits compared to other states, according the Daily Caller News Foundations analysis of federal data.

The states, most of which are Republican-led, that stopped offering residents the federal benefit in early June experienced a 33 percent drop in new jobless claims filed compared to the roughly 4 percent decline seen in states that didnt withdraw from the program, Department of Labor data analyzed by the DCNF showed. Governors pulled out of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, a weekly $300 bonus given to out-of-work Americans on top of state benefits, due to stagnating job growth and a worsening nationwide labor shortage.

I continued to see increases in the number of unemployed and, in some weeks, increases in the new regular claims that were coming in, Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told the DCNF in an interview. So I felt we had to make a decision because if we wanted to experience a full economic recovery, we had to get our people back to work.

On May 10, following an underwhelming April jobs report, Reeves became one of the first governors to announce that his state would no longer participate in FPUC beginning June 12, citing the high number of job vacancies. His decision was influenced by conversations with Mississippi small business owners and workers who were severely understaffed and overworked as business activity picked up, he told the DCNF.

In addition to Mississippi, Alaska, Iowa and Missouri were the first to officially stop offering the bonus on June 12.

The number of individuals filing for weekly jobless claims in those four states has declined more than 33 percent in the four weeks since June 12 compared the four weeks prior, according to Labor Department data. In that same period, new claims dropped 12 percent in states that withdrew from FPUC later in June, 10 percent in states pulling out in July and just under 4 percent in states that will remain in the program through September when it expires.

Altogether, 25 states either pulled out in June or earlier this month. Louisiana will withdraw on July 31.

A Good Sign For Labor Participation

The average labor force sizethe total number of individuals employed or actively looking for workincreased 0.25 percent last month in states that withdrew from the program at any point in June, the analyzed labor data showed. In states that will remain enrolled in FPUC until September, the average labor force ticked up 0.13 percent.

It is a good sign to see more Iowans enter the labor force after leaving federal unemployment programs mid-June, Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) Director Beth Townsend said in a statement shared with the DCNF.

Foot traffic in IWD facilities that assist unemployed residents with their job search skyrocketed from 1,903 in May to 5,220 in June, Pat Garrett, a spokesperson for Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, told the DCNF. Iowas unemployment rate increased slightly from 3.9 percent to 4 percent last month, but its labor force participation rate increased to the ninth-highest in the U.S., Garrett said.

The average unemployment rate in states that withdrew from FPUC in June was unchanged at 4.3 percent while it decreased slightly from 5.9 percent to 5.8 percent in states that havent withdrawn, according to Labor Department data. Before the pandemic, the national unemployment rate was 3.5 percent.

Over the past several months employers across the state have reported worker shortages in all industries, Catherine Munoz, deputy commissioner of Alaskas Department of Labor, told the DCNF. Its too early to assess the full impacts of ending the $300 weekly payment, but the trend seems to indicate that the economy is opening up and people are successfully finding employment.

The FPUC program, which was first introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, had been set to expire on March 14 before President Joe Biden and Democrats extended it through Sept. 6 via the American Rescue Plan. Since then, job openings have steadily increased even as the economy has continued to recover.

If You Pay For Unemployment, Youll Get More Unemployment

Total U.S. job vacancies hit a record 9.21 million in May, according to a recent Labor Department report. Like Reeves, Republicans and business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce have blamed the labor shortage on the $300 weekly benefit.

A recent Morning Consult poll appeared to support the theory, showing that 13 percent of the more than 14 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits recently turned down job offers because they earned enough in government assistance.

If you pay for something, youre going to get more of it, Casey Mulligan, former White House Council of Economic Advisers chief economist and a University of Chicago economics professor, told the DCNF in an interview. If you pay for unemployment, youll get more unemployment.

There are really no surprises in whats happening here, he continued. I know the Biden people act surprised, but this is something we predicted as a quantitative matter and all the different patterns were known and predicted over a year ago.

Mulligan published two reports last year which projected that continuing the federal unemployment bonus would lead to higher job openings. In August 2020, after the first pandemic bonus ended, job vacancies rapidly declined, according to one of the reports.

A Congressional Budget Office report published in February supported the prediction.

Theres simply no other explanation for the very unique situation we have right now where we have a record high number of job openings and yet a relatively high unemployment rate, Heritage Foundation research fellow Rachel Greszler told the DCNF. The last time that we had a similar unemployment rate as we do today, we had 4.7 million job openings. So, just a little more than half the level that are there today.

The main culprit is these unemployment insurance benefits, she said.

The U.S. economy has added more than 3 million jobs since January, but the national unemployment rate has remained elevated, hovering near 6 percent for consecutive months. The national labor force participation rate held at 61.6 percent in June, significantly lower than its pre-pandemic level, according to additional data.

Biden Administration Denies Measurable Impact On Joblessness

The Biden administration, though, has pushed back on criticism of FPUC, arguing that fear of coronavirus and continued child care needs are driving the labor shortage, not the bonus. The president said the $300 weekly benefit wasnt having a measurable effect on stagnant job hirings and increasing job vacancies during a press conference in May.

However, child care needs arent the main cause of the shortage of workers in the U.S., according to a June Peterson Institute study from Jason Furman, who served as former President Barack Obamas top economist. In addition, the amount of Americans who fear contracting coronavirus while working recently hit a pandemic low.

The virus has very clearly receded, it doesnt mean every single person feels that way, but the vast majority of people see it that way, Mulligan told the DCNF. Thats why the businesses have all these vacancies because their customers see it that way.

The former senior White House official added that the Biden administration has attempted to argue customers know more about the occupational risks of a workplace than workers. Historical evidence has shown the opposite, according to Mulligan.

It defies really any kind of common sense or analytical reasoning, Mulligan said.

By Thomas Catenacci. Madeline Dovi contributed to this report.

From The Daily Caller News Foundation

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
A Really Happy Stingray Photobombs 3-Year-Old Boy During a Trip to the Zoo

A stingray didnt waste a moment to photobomb a little boy who was enjoying his trip to the zoo.

Three-year-old Gene Harris-Mussard, from Winchester, was visiting Chessington World of Adventures Resort in London with his family and was enthralled with the aquarium section of the zoo.

Beaming for the camera, little Gene was delighted when a smiling stingray swam over to quickly photobomb him in the picture on June 8.

Cousin Jolie Dickinson, 18, who took the photo, said: Im well chuffed with my photography skills. Im proud that I managed to get Gene to stand still and smile long enough to get a good picture.

The sweet photo will serve as a fun memory of Genes first trip out of lockdown with his cousin Jolie and their grandfather Stanley Mussard, 66.

Genes mother, Helen Mussard, 41, said: Gene loves the picture.

It was his first outing after lockdown and Gene said that the stingray was really happy to see everyone again since restrictions had lifted.

Its a lovely picturewell probably get it framed!

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

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Afghan Ambassadors Daughter Severely Assaulted in Pakistan

ISLAMABADThe daughter of Afghanistans ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad by unknown assailants, held for several hours and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said Saturday.

No one has been arrested in connection with Fridays assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26. The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement demanding a quick investigation, saying she was severely tortured.

A hospital medical report, seen by The Associated Press, said she suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs, and was badly beaten. There was a suspicion that she had several broken bones and X-rays were ordered, the report said.

The report also said her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was brought to the hospital in Islamabad by police. According to Pakistans Foreign Ministry, the Afghan embassy said that Alikhils assault occurred as she was a passenger in a rented vehicle.

Pakistan called the attack disturbing and said that security at the residence of the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad has been reinforced. The Afghan foreign ministry said it strongly condemns this heinous act and expressed concern for Afghan diplomats and their families in Pakistan.

Violence has been escalating in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. Some within the Afghan government have urged Pakistan to do more to combat extremist violence in the border regions.

In Kabul, the Afghan foreign ministry summoned Pakistani Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan on Saturday to lodge a strong protest over the attack on the ambassadors daughter. The ministry said it explicitly called on the Pakistani government to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators of this crime.

A leading female senator in Pakistan, Sherry Rahman, condemned Fridays attack and tweeted that the Afghanistan Ambassadors daughter is a young woman, and should not face ANY obstacle in walking about in central Islamabad, plus more importantly, she is entitled to diplomatic protection in Pakistan.

Hamid Mir, a well-known Pakistani journalist who survived a 2014 shooting in the southern port city of Karachi asked in a tweet how something like this could happen in Islamabad. What is the use of expensive safe city cameras?

He also noted that Pakistani journalists and even a police officer have been abducted in Islamabad, with few culprits ever arrested.

Most of Islamabad neighborhoods are upscale, with wide tree-lined boulevards. The Pakistani capital is home to all the diplomatic missions in the country, the majority of them located inside a heavily fortified enclave. The Afghan mission, however, is outside that enclave.

Pakistans foreign ministry said in a statement that the safety and security of the diplomatic missions, as well as the diplomats and their families, is of utmost importance. Such incidents can and will not be tolerated.

By Kathy Gannon. The Epoch Times contributed to this article.
Aligning With the Will of Heaven: The Virgin With Angels

Reaching Within: What traditional art offers the heart

What is heavens will? We may have heard that we should follow the will of heaven, but what does that mean? To me, the question feels a little blasphemous since my human thoughts about heaven might be unintentionally disrespectful to its actual grandeur.

This is not to say that we should not be considering what it means to behave as if we are beings of or on our way to heaven. But I do suggest that the thought should come with a high level of sincere piety and respect.

With that in mind, I was thinking about a painting Ive seen repeatedly over the past decade or so. William Bouguereaus The Virgin With Angels has caused me to reflect on heavens will.

Bouguereau Exhibits at the Salon of 1881

In the early 1880s, Bouguereaus technical ability to compose and paint pictures catapulted him to the heights of the Parisian art world. He was elected as vice chairman of the Society of French Artists, which was a newly established committee of artists that set the rules for and organized future Salons.

A Salon was the official, annual art exhibition of the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. According to the book William Bouguereau: His Life and Works by Damien Bartoli and Frederick C. Ross, the Salon was the most significant Parisian event of the year. The first Salon produced by the Society of French Artists was the Salon of 1881 and exhibit Bouguereaus painting The Virgin With Angels.

At the time that Bouguereau painted the religiously themed The Virgin With Angels, impressionist painters were gaining popularity, and many of them had a distaste for Bouguereau and his art. An online biography of Bouguereau states that Degas along with his close connections, for instance, coined the term Bouguereaute in a deprecating context, to describe any artistic style dependent on smooth and unnatural surfaces, meaning that impressionists were more interested in expressing natures impressions on their senses rather than Bouguereaus pursuit of perfection and idealism.

With that said, Bouguereau maintained popularity with the general public and artistic elite during his lifetime. Bartoli and Ross share art critic Edouard Thierrys reaction to The Virgin With Angels at the Salon of 1881:

The entire scene is bathed in tenderness. What can I say? Look elsewhere and you will not find such charm as that which springs from the veneration and love of this divine being, in what is most human in such holiness, in what is most simple and most modest.

The Virgin With Angels is a painting that is still popular today. According to Bartoli and Ross, this astounding religious work singlehandedly broke a number of attendance and popularity records when exhibited in 2006 at the Getty Museum in Malibu, CA.

The Virgin With Angels (Song of Angels), 1881, by William Bouguereau. Oil, 84 inches by 60 inches. Forest Lawn Museum, California. (Public Domain)

The Virgin With Angels

The Virgin With Angels depicts the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus at the left of the composition. Mary sits on a bench that appears to be of Corinthian design, which was the most ornate and last design style of classical Greco-Roman architecture. She holds Jesus on her lap, and they both are sound asleep.

The Virgin Mary is dressed in her typical colors of red, white, and blue. The white may represent her purity, the blue her connection to heaven, and the red her love for as well as the sacrifice of her son.

Accompanying the Virgin Mary and Jesus are three angels dressed in white and gold, which, along with their wings, indicates that they are heavenly beings. The three angels look lovingly at the Christ child while they play music for the sleeping pair.

The group of figures is alone in a quiet, natural setting. The Virgin Mary rests her back against a tree, and foliage in the background partly obscures a calm body of water at the upper right of the composition.

We are left with the impression that these angels serenade a sleeping Virgin Mary and baby Jesus in a relaxing, calm, beautiful, earthly setting.

The Celebration and Will of Heaven

So, what does this painting suggest about the will of heaven?

First, the Virgin Mary wears white on her head and shoulders, with blue covering her body, and we see red at the hem and covering her forearms. The white on her head and shoulders suggests to me that her mind and heart must be pure. The blue on her body indicates that her virgin body, also being pure, is connected to heaven.

However, the red on her forearms suggests that her love must correspond to what shes able to sacrifice, that is, what she can give away. She holds on to Jesus now, but at some point, she is destined to let go of the one thing to which she is most attached: her son. Their positioning resembles that of the Pieta, an image in which the Virgin Mary will later hold her lifeless son.

In relation to Jesus, the Virgin Mary is turned more toward the angels, suggesting that she has directed her mind, heart, and body toward heaven. In other words, the Virgin Mary represents purity of mind, heart, and body, which, in their innocence, are connected to heaven. Her mind, heart, and body are not occupied by lust for earthly pleasure and power.

Interestingly enough, the two figures rest upon a bench made in the Greco-Roman architectural style of the Corinthian order, which would have been the last architectural order before the birth of Jesus. The city of Corinth, after which the architectural style is named, would also become a center for early Christianity. The fact that the two rest here suggests the coming change that Jesus will bring to Rome.

Jesus is painted turned toward us, and he is nude, with his hands clasped in front of his chest. This depiction suggests that he has come to earth with nothing: He is presented in his bare truth. Is this also a representation of puritythat our bare truth is separate from our earthly possessions?

But why are they asleep? The body language of the Virgin Mary and Jesus complements the serenity of the natural setting around them. Everything is depicted as serene, calm, and pure. Are the sleeping figures representative of a peaceful and quiet disposition? Are the states of purity and compassion represented by the Virgin Mary and Jesus precursors to this calm serenity?

The angels play music for them while they are asleep. Are the angels celebrating this mother and child who, in their purity, have obtained a calm and serene mind and heart? Or do they represent the will of heaven, which may truly direct our lives only when we stop forcing our own intentions upon our lives and the lives of others (a state also characterized by sleep, since in sleep we do not engage in intentional actions to secure our desires or interfere with the lives of others)? Or both?

This painting has made me consider the importance of a pure mind, body, and heart in obtaining the calm serenity celebrated by heaven. And perhaps this calm serenity is not achieved by intentional force but through sacrificing what we may think is important and instead being guided by the will of heaven. Perhaps, its in such calm that we can hear the music of heaven and thus be guided by it.

The traditional arts often contain spiritual representations and symbols the meanings of which can be lost to our modern minds. In our series Reaching Within: What Traditional Art Offers the Heart, we interpret visual arts in ways that may be morally insightful for us today. We do not assume to provide absolute answers to questions generations have wrestled with, but hope that our questions will inspire a reflective journey toward our becoming more authentic, compassionate, and courageous human beings.

Eric Bess is a practicing representational artist and is a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA).
SURFSIDE, Fla.Another victim was identified in the collapse of a 12-story Florida condominium that killed at least 97 people, authorities said Saturday.

The Miami-Dade Police Department said in a news release that Theresa Velasquez, 36, was a confirmed fatality in the June 24 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo. Her body was recovered July 8.

She becomes the 95th fatality identified in the collapse, police said.

Velasquez was a Los Angeles-based executive for the Live Nation event promotion company. She had flown into Miami to visit her parents at the Surfside condo, both of whom also died in the collapse.

The bodies of Julio and Angela Velasquez were recovered and identified earlier.

The recovery effort at the condo site is slowly winding down, with perhaps one more body still buried in the rubble. Work is now shifting toward determining what caused the oceanfront condo to come down.

A judge is also considering what should be done with the building site. An outright property sale, government purchase for construction of a memorial or a combination of both are among the suggestions.
The US Court of Appeals building in New York on July 10, 2012 (Bjoertvedt via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Appeals Court Agrees to Review Decision on Big Techs Section 230 Immunity

A little-watched civil rights case that threatens Silicon Valleys Section 230 immunity moved forward on July 16, as an appeals court agreed to review a lower courts decision.

The U.S. Appeals Court for the 2nd Circuit in New York agreed to review a lower courts ruling that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) protects big tech companies such as Vimeo from civil rights liability in censorship cases.

Big tech censorship became a hot button issue during the 2020 presidential campaign when then-President Donald Trump was selectively censored by Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The controversy became especially heated late in the campaign when a New York Post series of news articles regarding the allegedly corrupt business dealings of President Joe Bidens son Hunter was banned by the big tech giants.

Trump has filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the firms that censored him. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has also been the most vocal among a group of congressional conservative critics of Section 230 immunity.

The case of Domen v. Vimeo came about after Vimeo, an internet video-hosting company, terminated Church Uniteds video streaming activities after it featured videos of five men and women who left the gay lifestyle to pursue their Christian faith. Vimeo claimed that its terms of service bar streaming videos that promote sexual orientation change therapy. Church United is led by pastor Jim Domen.

A federal district court had previously held that Section 230 exempted firms such as Vimeo from civil liability and a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit upheld the lower courts ruling.

However, as a result of the July 16 decision, the panels ruling will be reheard before the entire 2nd Circuit. The 2nd Circuit covers six federal district courts in three states, including New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.

There currently are 10 active judges on the 2nd Circuit, as well as 13 semi-retired senior judges.

This ruling puts Section 230 immunity in the crosshairs of judicial review. We suspect that the en banc court recognizes that Big Tech is not exempt from state and federal civil rights laws, said attorney Robert Tyler, general counsel for the California-based Advocates for Faith & Freedom. His law firm, Tyler & Bursch, represents Domen and the California-based Church United.

Section 230 was not intended to give Big Tech the right to exclude persons from their platform just because the customer is black, Muslim, white, Christian, homosexual, or formerly homosexual. That is plain invidious discrimination.

Church United is a nonprofit that claims to have more than 750 pastors affiliated with its efforts to positively impact the political and moral cultures of their communities.

Tylers firm claimed in a statement made public on July 16 that the courts decision is even more remarkable given the Second Circuits notable reputation for shunning rehearings.

The statement cited an August 2016 article in the New York Law Journal that stated the court had granted fewer rehearing petitions than any other federal appeals court since 1979.

I never thought Id see the day that it would be legal in America to discriminate against my faith and the fact that I was previously engaged in the gay lifestyle, Domen said in the statement. As a pastor and former homosexual, Im encouraged by the rehearing of our sexual orientation and religious discrimination lawsuit.

In its appeal from the lower courts decision for the rehearing by the 2nd Circuit, Church United argued that the lower courts rulings allow for discrimination, in contrast to the intent of the CDA.

The outcome of this case will determine whether websites have blanket immunity to discriminate against customers, including outright banning customers from their website based on race, sexual orientation, religion and other protected classes, the appeal reads.

Under the District Courts ruling, discrimination that is unconscionable in any other business or consumer context is allowed if it is committed by an interactive computer service.

The free ticket for internet platforms to discriminate is erroneously based on the Communications Decency Act.  The legislature created this immunity to ensure that providers of an interactive computer service would not be treated as publishers of third-party content and therefore liable for the content of others.

However  applying the CDA to shield websites from liability for banning protected classes of customers based on discriminatory intent goes far beyond both the plain language of the CDA and the legislative purpose.

A Vimeo spokesperson declined a request for comment.
L.G.B.T. activists from the National Center for Transgender Equality rally in front of the White House in Washington on Oct. 22, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

California Appeals Court Overturns Anti-Misgendering Law on First Amendment Grounds

A California appeals court struck down as unconstitutional a state law that penalized elder-care workers for using pronouns inconsistent with elderly long-term care patients claimed gender identity.

Gender identity is a disputed concept. A lack of linguistic clarity has clouded the issue in recent years as the concepts of sex and sexual identity, or gender, a politically and scientifically contentious concept whose definition isnt universally agreed upon, have become difficult to separate. Despite the distinct meanings of the two words, many institutions and individuals use gender to mean biological sex, especially on fillable forms and documents.

Failing to use gender in its new meaning can be costly nowadays.

A New York human rights law banning gender identity discrimination imposes fines of up to $250,000 for failing to use a persons preferred personal pronouns.

Social media giant Twitter bans users for misgendering or deadnaming transgender people, categorizing it as harassment and abuse. Deadnaming is referring to people by names they used before they changed their gender identityfor example, calling Caitlyn Jenner by that persons birth name, Bruce Jenner.

Facebook reportedly recognizes at least 58 genders, allowing users to select which gender to use in their profile self-descriptions. Among them are Androgynous, Bigender, Cisgender, Gender Fluid, Genderqueer, Non-binary, Pangender, Trans, and Two-Spirit.

But in a rare legal defeat for the transgenderism movement, a ruling by the Court of Appeal of the State of California, 3rd Appellate District, sided with First Amendment speech protections over activists. The ruling by the three-judge panel was unanimous.

The court decision in Taking Offense v. State of California, came on July 16. Taking Offense is an informal group of state taxpayers.

The court decision affects the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Long-Term Care Facility Residents Bill of Rights, which the California Legislature added to the states Health and Safety Code in 2017.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, said in 2017 that he wrote the bill because LGBT seniors face special challenges that werent covered by existing nursing home laws, local media reported.

Wiener said he had received reports of LGBT seniors being mistreated.

We have a number of advocacy organizations that are very excited about the bill, that helped us get it passed, and they are definitely putting the word out that people living in long-term care facilities have these protections and should be aware of them, he said.

Health and Safety Code section 1439.51, subdivision (a)(5), prohibits staff members of long-term care facilities from willfully and repeatedly referring to a facility resident by other than the residents preferred name or pronoun when clearly informed of the name and pronoun, according to court documents.

Taking Offense challenged that provision, arguing that it violates care facility staff members rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and freedoms of thought and belief, and is vague and overbroad.

The court said it recognized the Legislatures legitimate and laudable goal of rooting out discrimination against LGBT residents of long-term care facilities, but stated that we agree with Taking Offense that  the pronoun provision, is a content-based restriction of speech that does not survive strict scrutiny.

The pronoun provisionwhether enforced through criminal or civil penaltiesis overinclusive in that it restricts more speech than is necessary to achieve the governments compelling interest in eliminating discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of sex. Rather than prohibiting conduct and speech amounting to actionable harassment or discrimination as those terms are legally defined, the law criminalizes even occasional, isolated, off-hand instances of willful misgenderingprovided there has been at least one prior instancewithout requiring that such occasional instances of misgendering amount to harassing or discriminatory conduct.

Using the workplace context as an analogy, the statute prohibits the kind of isolated remarks not sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an objectively hostile work environment.

There is no requirement in the statute that the misgendering at issue here negatively affect any residents access to care or course of treatment. Indeed, there is no requirement that the resident even be aware of the misgendering.

In this case, the attorney general has not shown that criminalizing occasional, off-hand, or isolated instances of misgendering, that need not occur in the residents presence and need not have a harassing or discriminatory effect on the residents treatment or access to care, is necessary to advance that goal.

The Epoch Times requested comment from Californias attorney general, Rob Bonta, a Democrat, over the weekend, but didnt receive a reply by press time.
Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors working for Florida-based company Cyber Ninjas, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, on May 6, 2021. (Matt York, Pool/AP Photo)

Arizona Senate President: States 11 Electors Cannot Be Recalled After Maricopa Audit

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, a Republican, said the state Senate doesnt have the ability to recall electors for the Nov. 3, 2020, election, after a fellow Republican lawmaker called for new elections.

Fann told One America News Network (OANN), which has been covering the audit of Maricopa County, that the upper chamber has the ability to provide auditors with the materials they needincluding through the use of subpoenasbut the certification of electors is a different matter.

The Senate bodywe do not have the authority to do that. So, this is what we have said, and I want to make this very clear on the record, the Republican state leader said on July 16.

Fanns comments came as former President Donald Trump issued a statement declaring that the audit revealed there were irregularities and fraud that would have swayed the election in his favor last year. On July 15, the Senate held a hearing in the midst of a months-long review carried out by Florida-based tech firm Cyber Ninjas and teams told lawmakers they discovered discrepancies.

Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, told senators that auditors couldnt find any record of Maricopa County sending more than 74,000 mail-in ballots and also discovered that around 18,000 people voted, but were taken off voter rolls soon after the election. He also noted that there were 11,326 people who were not on the voter rolls on Nov. 7, 2020, but appeared on the rolls on Dec. 4, 2020, and 3,981 people who voted after registering after Oct. 15, 2020.

After the hearing, some Republican senators called for Arizonas 11 electorswho went for Bidento be recalled.

A new election must be conducted. Arizonas electors must not be awarded fraudulently & we need to get this right, Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican, wrote in a pair of Twitter posts last week.

But Fann, in her OANN interview, said that the Senate in this situation only has the ability to subpoena information because we make laws, noting that theyre entitled to have the information to determine how to write those laws.

Thats why we are successful in court, and thats what were doing. Its all about election integrity. Its not about the TrumpBiden race. Its not about the KellyMartha McSally race, Fann remarked, referring to the 2020 presidential election that saw the inauguration of President Joe Biden, as well as the U.S. Senate race that was won by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

Following the hearing, Maricopa County officials and Democrats such as Secretary of State Katie Hobbs claimed that the audit team and Senate Republicans are incompetent and said their findings shouldnt be taken seriously.

For months, Maricopa County executives and Republican senators were embroiled in a legal tug-of-war over the countys ballots and election equipment. Ultimately, a judge ruled that the Senate does indeed have the subpoena power to carry out the audit, which began in April.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, a Republican, said in a statement after the hearing that what we heard today represents an alternate reality that has veered out of control since the November General Election and Senate leadership should be ashamed they broadcast the half-baked theories of the Deep Rig crowd to the world today.

Rogers office didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.

Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately described Sen. Fanns position. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has likened agreeing to a policy of net zero emissions by 2050 to going into a restaurant and ordering a meal without knowing what you are getting and how much it will cost.

The coalition government has yet to formally agree to a 2050 target, but talks about being on a path to one.

But Joyce, who recently returned to the leadership of the Nationals party, has yet to be convinced.

Joyce was asked on the ABCs Insiders program on Sunday whether he supports a 2050 emissions target.

Generally how restaurants work is you go in and have a menu and they have whats on the menu for lunch and what the price is, Joyce said in reply.

That is how a competent decision is made and thats what were looking for. Whats on the menu and what the price is.

He said that is the rational process and how you go about anything, but he said the Labor partys approach is that they dont care whats on the menu.

They dont care what is the price and when what turns up is sauteed gherkins and sashimi tadpoles, theyll accept anything for lunch, he said.

Asked again by Insiders host David Speers whether he is in favour of net zero by 2050, Joyce said he couldnt be clearer.

Im quite happy to consider the menu when you tell me whats on it and what it costs. Tell me what it costs. Tell me how we do it, he said.

Related Coverage Climate Change Activism Will Benefit Heavy Emissions Producers Overseas: Mining Industry

Last week the European Union announced a proposal to introduce a tax on energy-intensive imports from countries without a carbon price.

It would mean Australian exporters would have to pay more to sell into the EU compared with producers from countries that have more ambitious climate policies.

Joyce was unimpressed, saying the EU is bringing in arbitrary tariff barriers which will impede the economic recovery from COVID if the world goes down that path.

Whats happening to Europe with the so-called carbon tariff is just a tariff. Forget about the adjective, its just a noun. Its a tax, he said.

By Colin Brinsden

Watch Next:

Climate Change Narrative Driven by Agenda of Political Control
Bill Gates and the Chinese Regime

Commentary

At a recent summer camp for billionaires, Bill Gates discussed his much-publicized divorce from Melinda. According to one witness, when the billionaire started to open up about his numerous betrayals, he looked to be on the verge of tears. And why wouldnt he? 27 years of marriage gone, just like that.

With the divorce, Gates, one of the wealthiest individuals on the planet, is not the only one with tears in his eyes. Members of the Gates Foundation, according to the Financial Times, are also on the verge of tears. Staff, were told, are freaking out about the nonprofits future. Employees are really worried about the credibility and standing of the foundation, which appears to be in jeopardy now, especially in areas like gender empowerment.

Yes, okay, but what about Beijing empowerment? Although Gates has separated from Melinda, his love affair with Beijing is as strong as ever. The question, though, is why?

What are we to think?

When we think of Bill Gates, our minds automatically wander to thoughts of a bespectacled oracle combatting deadly viruses and ending world hunger. He is, after all, a philanthropist, a humanitarian, a benevolent billionaire with a heart of gold, or so were led to believe.

How is it possible to be both a kind, considerate, altruistic soul and also maintain close ties with the Chinese regime? Its not. As you will see in this short piece, with Gates, behind the calls for equality and justice, lies a real master of spin. Dont be fooled by the placid voice and knitted sweaters. If in doubt, ask yourself the following questions:

Why is Facebook blocked in China, but LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, the company Gates founded, not? Why is Google banned, but Bing, the Microsoft search engine, not? Yes, Bing is a rubbish search engine, but thats not the point. Skype, another Microsoft creation, can also be accessed in mainland China. Its clear that Microsoft has the blessing of Xi Jinping, a man who appears to be quite fond of Gates. In 2015, the head of the Chinese regime met with Gates and his then-wife, Melinda. Last year, Xi wrote a gushing letter to Gates, thanking him for his efforts in combating the virus that started in the country Xi presides over. One imagines the letter started with the line, Thank you for offering to help clean up the mess we created, Bill. The feelings of love are clearly mutual. As Laura He writes, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation set up its Beijing office in 2007 and has since then worked with the Chinese government on several domestic projects in the country. Over the past three decades, Gates has visited China at least a dozen times, cultivating friendly relations with top leaders.

A Mysterious Man?

On one hand, we have Bill Gates, the avuncular, lets feed the world guy; on the other, we have Bill Gates, the friend of Xi Jinping, a murderous dictator. How is this possible?

Microsoft founder Bill Gates attends a forum of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Nov. 5, 2018. (Matthew Knight/Pool via Reuters)

Remember, Gates is a man who said the following: Humanitys greatest advances are not in its discoveries but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity, reducing inequity is the highest human achievement. Yet he is friendly with the leader of a country who does all in his power to make sure democracy never sees the light of day, where opportunities for the masses are non-existent, where inequalities are rampant, and where health care leaves a lot to be desired.

Another quote of Gates that hasnt aged well is this: If you believe that every life has equal value, its revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. Yes, Bill, perhaps you should tell this to the Chinese regime who are busy committing acts of genocide in Xinjiang.

Talk, as we all know, is cheap; actions speak far louder than words. With Gates, his actions are clear for all to see. Remember, this is a man who maintained a long-time friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious sex offender. Viewing the disgraced criminal as his ticket to a Nobel Peace Prize, Gates, as The Daily Beast reported, enjoyed holding court at Epsteins Manhattan mansion. There, were told, he allegedly sought refuge from his marriage. Yes, he sought refuge from his marriage in a convicted sex offenders home.

Is Bill Gates a decent man? Ill let you answer that question yourself. I reached out to the Gates Foundation for comment on its founders links with the CCP; a response, however, never arrived. Judging by Mr. Gates close relationship with Xi Jinping, the unwillingness to provide comment is understandable. This is not the first time questions have been raised about Gates or his so-called benevolence. In April, the billionaire refused to share vaccine technology with India, a country that has been absolutely decimated by the pandemic. Why did the philanthropist refuse to share the technology? The excuses he provided simply failed to add up. When one considers Gates ties to Beijing and his relationship with Xi, his refusal makes more sense. The Chinese regime is, after all, no fan of India. Maybe, just maybe, Xi had a word with Gates.

This is not beyond the realm of belief. After all, it is important to remember who Bill Gates is: a man who the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) called an old friend just a few years ago. An old friend of the CCP is no friend of justice.

John Mac Ghlionn is a researcher and essayist. His work has been published by the likes of the New York Post, Sydney Morning Herald, The American Conservative, National Review, The Public Discourse, and other respectable outlets. He is also a columnist at Cointelegraph.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Produces 10 Times More Antibodies Than Chinas Sinovac: Study

A new study by researchers in Hong Kong has found that recipients of BioNTechs Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine generate 10 times more antibodies than those who receive the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine made by Sinovac.

The study showed that even after receiving their first BioNTech dose, recipients antibody levels were higher than those who had received two doses of Sinovac.

The study also found that Sinovac recipients had produced similar or lower levels of antibodies to recovered COVID-19 patients.

The research was conducted by the University of Hong Kong, based on 1,442 samples collected in Hong Kong hospitals and clinics. The findings were published in Lancet Microbe on July 15.

The research found that the average antibody levels in the first month after receiving two doses of BioNTech stood at 269 neutralizing antibody titers, which is almost 10 times the readings found in those who had received the two doses of Sinovac27 antibody titers. Those receiving their first dose of the BioNTech vaccine had readings of around 49, while the average reading after the first dose of Sinovac was only around 7.

According to the researchers, the results indicate that alternative strategies are needed for Sinovac recipients, such as booster shots.

The Chinese-developed CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine uses inactivated virus technology, while BioNTechs Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine, made in partnership with Fosun Pharma, uses mRNA technology.

The low antibody level and low efficacy of the Chinese-developed vaccines have been reported all over the world. In early June, a clinical study in Serbia showed that 30 percent of those aged 65 or above produced no antibodies after receiving another Chinese-made inactivated virus vaccineVero Cell by Sinopharm.

Countries that chose to inoculate their populations with Sinovac have seen surges of COVID-19 infections in recent months. Bahrain, Chile, Mongolia, and the Seychelles, which have about 50 to 68 percent of their populations fully inoculated with Chinese vaccines, are among the top 10 countries with the worst COVID-19 outbreaks.

It was reported in June that in Indonesia, more than 350 health workers who were fully vaccinated with Sinovac became infected with COVID-19.

Many countries have started to offer additional BioNTech vaccines as booster shots to those who have been fully vaccinated with Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia has started to offer Moderna shots as boosters, while Thailand is offering UK-developed AstraZeneca shots.

A woman receives the AstraZeneca COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a makeshift mass vaccination clinic in Denpasar on Indonesias resort island of Bali on July 6, 2021. (Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images)

Thailand has also started to mix vaccines, offering AstraZeneca vaccines as the second dose for those who have received their first shot of the Sinovac vaccine.

Gao Fu, the director of Chinas Center for Disease Prevention and Control, told Chinese media in March that a third booster shot of Sinovac might be needed. In April, Gao admitted that Chinas vaccines provide low protection against infections and that their effectiveness might be improved by mixing different types of vaccines made with different technologies, such as mRNA used in Western vaccines.

Despite the low efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines, the Chinese communist regime has been actively pushing vaccine diplomacy that has seen it expand its political influence in countries urgently seeking COVID-19 vaccines.

In late June, Ukraine was pressured to withdraw its support for a joint statement calling for a U.N. investigation into human rights abuses in Chinas western region of Xinjiang, as Beijing threatened to withhold Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines if it didnt comply.

Hungary, which bought a large amount of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines, also vetoed EU resolutions to condemn the Chinese regimes human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
The Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Fire Prompts Evacuations; Oregon Blaze Balloons

SAN FRANCISCOA rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 32 square miles as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said and was burning toward the Alpine County Airport after jumping a highway.

A notice posted on the 103-mile Death Rides website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fires quick spread.

Firefighters battle the Tamarack Fire in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on July 17, 2021. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)

It happened so fast, Pennington said. We left our tents, hammock, and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car, and left.

Saturdays ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.

The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank. The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.

The fire was 453 square miles in size, or more than 100 square miles larger than the area of New York City.

A scorched car rests on a roadside as the Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on July 17, 2021. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)

This fire is large and moving so fast, every day it progresses 4 to 5 miles, said Incident Commander Joe Hassel. One of the many challenges that our firefighters face every day is working in new country that can present new hazards all the time.

Extremely dry conditions and heatwaves have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight.

In southern Oregon, fire crews have dealt with dangerous and extreme fire conditions, including massive fire clouds that rise up to 6 miles above the blaze. The Bootleg Fire has destroyed at least 67 homes and 117 outbuildings.

The conflagration has forced 2,000 people to evacuate and is threatening 5,000 buildings, including homes and smaller structures in a rural area just north of the California border.

The Tamarack Fire sent heavy smoke over Lake Tahoe and into Nevada.

The National Weather Service warned of possible thunderstorms stretching from the California coast to northern Montana on Sunday and that new lightning ignitions are likely because of extremely dry fuels across the West.

Firefighters said in July they were facing conditions more typical of late summer or fall.

The fires were just two of numerous fires burning across the drought-stricken U.S. West, as new fires popped up or grew rapidly in Oregon and California.

There were 70 active large fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles in the U.S., the National Interagency Fire Center said. The U.S. Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.

A fire in the mountains of northeast Oregon was also growing rapidly and was 17 square miles in size on Saturday. The Elbow Creek fire started Thursday and has prompted evacuations in several small, rural communities around the Grande Ronde River about 30 miles southeast of Walla Walla, Washington.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to mobilize more firefighters and equipment to help fight that fire.

Smoke rises from the Dixie Fire burning along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on July 16, 2021. (Noah Berger/AP Photo)

The Dixie Fire, near the 2018 site of the deadliest fire in the U.S. in recent memory, was 5 percent contained and covered 39 square miles Saturday. The fire was in the Feather River Canyon, northeast of the town of Paradise, California, and survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched warily as the new blaze burned.

Officials ordered the evacuation of a wilderness recreation area and kept in place a warning for residents of the tiny communities of Pulga and east Concow to be ready to leave.

Were prepared, said Mike Garappo, a retired military veteran. Weve dealt with fires living in the mountains forever. We know theres a chance it may not hit here, but were ready to go in case.

By Daisy Nguyen and Gillian Flaccus
The giant Hubble Space Telescope can be seen as it is suspended in space by Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) following the deployment of part of its solar panels and antennae on April 25, 1990. (NASA via AP)

Congrats Team: Hubble Space Telescope Fixed in Tricky Repair Job

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.The Hubble Space Telescope should be back in action soon, following a tricky, remote repair job by NASA.

The orbiting observatory went dark in mid-June, with all astronomical viewing halted.

NASA initially suspected a 1980s-era computer as the source of the problem. But after the backup payload computer also failed, flight controllers at Marylands Goddard Space Flight Center focused on the science instruments bigger and more encompassing command and data unit, installed by spacewalking astronauts in 2009.

Engineers successfully switched to the backup equipment Thursday, and the crucial payload computer kicked in. NASA said Friday that science observations should resume quickly, if everything goes well.

A similar switch took place in 2008 after part of the older system failed.

Congrats to the team! NASAs science mission chief Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted.

Launched in 1990, Hubble has made more than 1.5 million observations of the universe. NASA launched five repair missions to the telescope during the space shuttle program. The final tuneup was in 2009.

NASA plans to launch Hubbles successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, by years end.

By Marcia Dunn
The LAPD said dozens of people were arrested amid protests and counter-protests at a Korean spa in Los Angeles on July 17. (LAPD HQ Twitter/ Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Antifa Clashes With Police Outside Los Angeles Spa Amid Protests; Dozens Arrested

Protesters and counter-protesters clashed outside a Korean spa in Los Angeles after a customer complained in a viral video about a transgender woman who allegedly was allowed to disrobe in the womens section of the upscale facility.

Demonstrators wearing all-black Antifa-like garb were also seen clashing with Los Angeles Police Department officers near the Wi Spa in Los Angeless Koreatown on July 17, according to video footage posted online by an independent journalist.

In a tweet at around 3 p.m. on July 17, the department confirmed that several dozen people were arrested after failing to leave the area. Numerous weapons were also found at the scene, the LAPD wrote, including knives and mace.

LAPD officers were also spotted pushing back pro-LGBT counter-protesters and declared the scene an unlawful assembly, the footage showed.

Los Angeles: Police beat back antifa after they hurled projectiles at the officers. Antifa gathered today to again oppose a group of conservatives protesting the WiSpa where a person allegedly exposed their penis to women & girls. pic.twitter.com/xGmPAPTkSh  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 17, 2021

Smoke bombs and other projectiles were also thrown at officers, department officials said in a tweet. The department included images of the alleged weapons, including a stun gun, and other objects that were thrown.

This morning, LAPD was in the area of Wilshire and Rampart, LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told news outlets on July 17 about the situation. We were there to facilitate areas for two different protest groups. Around 11:10 [a.m.], there were clashes between the groups, and smoke bombs and projectiles were thrown at police officers. That prompted there to be an unlawful assembly declared. Everyone in the vicinity was told to leave the area. Most people did follow the instructions, although there were several dozen who ultimately ended up being arrested.

During the incident, the LAPD apparently sent out an emergency alert telling people nearby to disperse.

At a protest near Wilshire Bl & Rampart Bl, 2 groups clashed. Smoke bombs/projectiles were thrown at ofcrs & a dispersal order was issued. Several dozen people were arrested. Numerous items in violation of 55.07 LAMC were found discarded including a stungun, knives, pepper spray pic.twitter.com/exk7vvTfRm  LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 17, 2021

An Unlawful Assembly was declared, the text message read. Leave Wilshire & Rampart or be arrested. Immediately go Westbound Wilshire and disperse or you will be arrested. This is an Unlawful Assembly and the LAPD will arrest you if you do not leave the area immediately.

The Wi Spa has been the site of a prior protest and clashes after the viral video was uploaded several weeks ago. In the clip, a woman, who some said is African American, is heard complaining to the Wi Spas staff that a biological male walked into the womens section and exposed himself to girls. The customer reportedly identified himself as a transgender woman.

He is a man, the woman is heard saying. He is not a female. There are girls down there, other women who are highly offended by what they just saw and you did nothing. You sided with him.

At the time, the spa appeared to confirm the incident and defended its policy of allowing biological males who identify as female to use the womens bathroom.
Gunmen Kidnap Dozens of Villagers in Northwestern Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, NigeriaGunmen abducted at least 60 people and killed one person in northwestern Nigeria after riding motorbikes into five villages and firing sporadically into the air, a police official and several residents said on Saturday.

Nigeria is battling an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, mainly in northwestern areas, where thinly stretched security forces often fail to stop the abductions.

The latest kidnapping took place in Zamfara state overnight on Friday and gunmen shot and killed a village head, a police official and council member for the area said.

Four resident told Reuters armed men had attacked villages in the Shinkafi area, causing panic and abducting at least 60 villagers before escaping into the nearby forest.

The gunmen, who are known locally as bandits and have increasingly targeted schools, also fired a rocket that hit the house of the senior district head of the local council, said one resident, asking not to be named.

The armed bandits rode on over 70 motorbikes and each motorbike was (carrying) three people with weapons destroying properties and abducting people, Junaidu Badarawa, one of five people who were kidnapped but later released, said by phone.
Haiti's First Lady Martine Moise, wearing a bullet proof vest and her right arm in a sling, arrives at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 17, 2021. (Haiti's Secretary of State for Communication Photo/via AP)

Haiti Faces Uncertain Future as Mourning First Lady Returns

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HaitiHaitis political future on Sunday grew murkier after the surprise return of First Lady Martine Moise, who was released from a hospital in Miami where she was treated for injuries following an attack in which the president was assassinated.

Martine Moise did not make any public statements after she descended a private jet wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof vest, a black mask, and her right arm in a black sling as she mourned for President Jovenel Moise, who was killed July 7 at their private home.

Some expertslike many in this country of more than 11 million peoplewere surprised at how quickly she reappeared in Haiti and questioned whether she plans to become involved in the countrys politics.

The fact that she returned could suggest she intends to play some role, said Laurent Dubois, a Haiti expert and Duke University professor. She may intervene in one way or another.

Haitis First Lady Martine Moise, wearing a bullet proof vest and her right arm in a sling, arrives at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 17, 2021. (Haitis Secretary of State for Communication Photo/via AP)

Martine Moise arrived just hours after a prominent group of international diplomats issued a statement that appeared to shun interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the man currently running the country with the backing of police and the military.

Josephs name was never mentioned in the statement made by the Core Group, composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, the European Union, and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS).

The group called for the creation of a consensual and inclusive government, adding, To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government.

Henry was designated prime minister a day before Jovenel Moise was killed. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.N., OAS, and U.S. State Department did not offer further explanation when contacted.

Given the current state of Haitian politics, Dubois said he believes the arrival of Martine Moise could have an impact.

Shes obviously in a position to play a role  given how wide open things are, he said, adding that the Core Groups statement is striking because it makes no reference to Joseph. One has to wonder whether the developments in the investigation have anything to do with this. Theyre all these puzzle pieces that are just changing moment to moment. Right now it seems very hard to figure out how to put these together.

The late president of Haiti Jovenel Moise (R) arrives with the First Lady Martine Moise (L) for the official ceremony of Haitis 10th earthquake anniversary in Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12, 2020. (Chandan Khann/AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities in Haiti and Colombia say at least 18 suspects directly linked to the killing have been arrested, the majority of them former Colombian soldiers. At least three suspects were killed and police say they are looking for numerous others. Colombian officials have said that the majority of former soldiers were duped and did not know of the assassination plot.

A day after the killing, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price had said Joseph was the incumbent in the position and was serving as acting prime minister before the assassination: We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such, he said.

On July 11, a delegation of representatives from various U.S. agencies traveled to Haiti to review critical infrastructure, talk with Haitian National Police, and meet with Joseph, Henry, and Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert in a joint meeting.

The deepening political turmoil has prompted dozens of Haitians to visit the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince in recent days to seek a visa or political asylum.

We cant stay anymore in the country, said Jim Kenneth, a 19-year-old who would like to study medicine in the United States. We feel very insecure.

By Danica Coto
Harris Wont Quarantine After Meeting Texas Democrats Infected With COVID-19: Spokesperson

Vice President Kamala Harris office said she will not quarantine after meeting with Texas Democrat lawmakers who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement on late Saturday, Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined.

Harris met with some Texas state legislators on July 13 after they fled the state to deny Republican state lawmakers quorum to start a special legislative session. The Democrats said they had no other choice but to leave Texas to stop the passage of an election overhaul bill thats favored by the GOP, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other senior Republicans have said that they will be arrested and detained when they return to the Lone Star State.

The Texas State House Democratic Caucus confirmed Saturday that three Democrat members tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. It came after they traveled to Washington via a chartered flight and provided a photo of themselvesmasklesson the plane.

The House Democratic Caucus is following all [Centers for Disease Control] guidance and protocols. This is a sober reminder that COVID is still with us, and though vaccinations offer tremendous protection, we still must take necessary precautions, Caucus Chairman Chris Turner said in a statement on Saturday.

Sanders furthermore said that the Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated and dont appear to be fearful of contracting the virus.

Harris on Wednesday appeared alongside President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an event at the White House.

Over the weekend, unnamed White House officials said Harris had a scheduled medical appointment at a Washington-area hospital on Sunday, which they said was unrelated to the COVID-19 diagnoses. The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, told Newsmax on Saturday that the Democrats could be arrested as soon as they step back on Texas soil.

We have a minority of Democrats who decided that they are not going to let any other legislator vote, so theyre not even going let other legislators do their duty, he added. Its clearly a violation of the law.

But Texas Democrats said their move was necessary to prevent the passage of the GOP-backed election bill.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-Texas) told CNN: The message is very clear: America, we need to wake up, we need to preserve our democracy, we need a federal voting rights solution, and we need it now.

This is a now or never moment. Were holding the line in Texas, and were going to fight with all our might. But even if we were to fix this problem in Texas, it doesnt solve the problem for the rest of the nation, he said.

Republicans, meanwhile, said the bill is needed to protect future elections and restore the publics confidence in them.
Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit addresses the media following the company's annual shareholders meeting in Chicago on April 28, 2003. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Icon Investors File Lawsuit Against Major Shareholder Linked to Chinese Communist Party

On June 1, Icon Aircraft founder Kirk Hawkins and other minority shareholders of the company filed a lawsuit against the companys majority shareholder Pudong Science and Technology Investment Inc. (PDSTI) in Delaware Chancery Court (Docket No. 2021-0475). The minority group also includes a former Icon board member and former Boeing CEO Phil Condit.

According to Aviation International News, the minority shareholders are accusing PDSTI of seizing control of the management of the company, breaching their fiduciary duty to shareholders, removing minority American board members, and blocking the companys takeover negotiations with Yamaha. The moves are all in support of its goal to expropriate Icons intellectual property to China, reported AV Web, a global aviation news portal, on June 8, 2021.

Icon Aircraft, based in Vacaville, California, is the manufacturer of the A5 amphibious light-sport aircraft (LSA) and has its composite technology base in Tijuana, Mexico.

Kirk Hawkins, founder and former CEO, was placed on sabbatical leave in 2018 and subsequently replaced by PDSTI.

The lawsuit brings to light PDSTIs connection with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese money which is masquerading as venture capital to gain access to U.S. technology, former Boeing CEO and board member of Icon Phil Condit wrote in a statement, according to AV Web.

PDSTIs Connections to the CCP

According to PDSTIs website, the company is dedicated to the growth of high-tech enterprises and carrying out inbound and outbound investment and integration.

Its main focus is on the field of high-tech industry, and its strategic sectors include semiconductors, new materials, general aviation, and healthcare, according to its website.

What the company does not say on its official website is that it is a wholly state-owned venture capital firm, founded in June 1999 in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. The Science and Technology Commission and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Pudong New Area jointly exercise the functions of PDSTIs shareholders meetings.

According to a mainland Chinese public information source, PDSTIs primary goals include promoting the construction of Pudong New Areas venture capital system and the growth of technology-based enterprises.

Two pieces of news on PDSTIs Chinese website, which are not included in its English website, also demonstrate the companys close links with the CCP. One of the news is brief, titled Our Branch Participated in the Civilized Financial City, Party Members in Action Road Guidance Volunteer Work. The piece described how its Party member comrades, under the scorching sun, assisted traffic police and guided pedestrians and riders of non-motorized vehicles to cross the roads in a civilized way, and that they were greatly encouraged by two secretaries of local CCP committees who came to visit them at the traffic control site.

The other news is dated Nov. 14, 2019, bragging about the visit of Li Lecheng, the Secretary of Municipal Party Committee of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, who led a team of managers from The Yangtze Economic Belt Industrial Funds Management Company of Hubei Province and expressed his appreciation of the achievements of PDSTI and his expectation of in-depth cooperation with PDSTI to develop Xiangyang Citys high-tech industries.

Xudong Zhu, chairman of the board of PDSTI and included in the lawsuit filed by Icons minority shareholders, is a CCP member and chairman of the board of Shanghai Wanye Enterprises Co., Ltd (Wanye), specializing in integrated circuit (IC), as disclosed in Wanyes website.

Wanye, according to its disclosure of information, is an affiliated company of PDSTI. It was a real estate company, but Zhu personally turned it into a high-tech chip company through mergers and acquisitions.

Yongjun Li, founding partner and former general manager of PDSTI, is also a director at Wanye. He is also a CCP member, according to Wanyes website.

With complex corporate structures and opaque information, it is difficult to trace how many other affiliates and investments PDSTI has. It currently invests in 18 projects and has two affiliates, according to its official website.

On Oct. 17, 2019, China Venture Capital & Private Equity Annual Forum and the 8th Golden Finance Award Ceremony hosted by Shanghai Securities Journal was held in Pudong, Shanghai, during which Xudong Zhu was awarded the title of Outstanding Investor. A Chinese media report says that Zhus successful overseas merging and acquisition projects include Montage Technology Co., Ltd, Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation Limited, LPTH, and Icon.

Is PDSTI Here to Help?

As stated on its website, PDSTI provides support to the companies it has invested in or acquired to enhance their intrinsic value and fuel the overall development of the industry.

What is happening, in reality, is that, according to the lawsuit, PDSTI has scuttled negotiations with Yamaha that would have given the Japanese company a controlling interest in Icon, reported AV web.

The investments by PDSTI in Icon were never intended to make the company successful. Rather they were part of a plan to gain technology and defraud minority shareholders, said Condit on June 8.

Since becoming the controlling stockholder of Icon in 2017, PDSTI has disregarded its duties to minority shareholders, seized control of the management of the company, operated Icon as its own property, and systematically dismantled the company, thereby destroying the value of Icon and its shares, all in support of its goal to expropriate Icons intellectual property to China, according to the lawsuit.

Coincidentally, Shanghai is home to an amphibious LSA manufacturerOxai Aircraft. The M2 Skywave amphibious LSA, which Oxai claims to have designed and developed independently is the first of its kind in China and was granted a certificate by Chinas aviation authorities in March 2021.

CCPs Societal Approach to IP Theft

At the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on April 26, 2019, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation any way it can, from a wide array of businesses, universities, and organizations.

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 2, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters)

Wray said that the CCPs intelligence services use every tool at their disposalincluding state-owned businesses, students, researchers, and ostensibly private companiesto systematically steal information and intellectual property.

Put plainly, China seems determined to steal its way up the economic ladder, at our expense, Wray added.

The Epoch Times reached out to Icon for comments and had not received a response at the time of publication.
Mongolians protest at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, against China's plan to introduce Mandarin-only classes at schools in the neighboring Chinese region of Inner Mongolia on Aug. 31, 2020. (Byambasuren Byamba-Ochir/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Inner Mongolia the Next Setback in Chinas Attempt at Extra-territorial Policing?

Commentary

Mere weeks ago, the Swedish migration board decided to put the deportation to China of an Inner Mongolian human rights defender on hold. They also ordered a new hearing to take an in-depth look into recent developments in Inner Mongolia and the wave of mass detentions and increased repression in the autonomous region since last year.

It was just a few years ago that the same body decided to offer extended protection to Uyghurs after an investigation concluded that being a Uyghur was enough to place a person at high risk of human rights violations if returned to China. Several other countries followed suit, expanding available safe havens for Uyghurs who, against all odds, manage to flee China. The situation for Tibetans has long been similar.

With each of these developments, Chinas ability to exert influence over these key groups abroad diminishes, in direct contravention of the central governments concerted effort to significantly expand its power over Chinese nationals, dissidents, and ethnic minority groups abroad.

Over the last few years, in the shadow of the Beijing-imposed Hong Kong National Security Law, which includes extraterritorial rights, i.e., the right to police and punish anyone, anywhere, China has made changes to their own laws to provide itself with similar legal tools. The changes, with more to come, simply mirror the reality on the ground: the Chinese police thinks it has the right to investigate and mete out punishment for any actions or uttered words, even when such things occur outside of China. Just look at the case of teenage dissident Wang Jinyu, who, while traveling from his home in Turkey to the United States, was detained at Dubai airport and nearly deported back to China for merely writing some criticism regarding the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army or Chinese military) while living in Europe. He escaped deportation and certain imprisonment only because of international media attention and U.S. diplomatic intervention.

Wang Jingyu in an undisclosed location in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Wang Jingyu)

At the same time, China has greatly expanded its operations to have criminals returned to the mainland through a myriad of ways. Extraditions are what comes to mind, but they are very rare and difficult to achieve for China due to its politically controlled legal system and institutionalized use of torture. Instead, most of those returned are via so-called voluntary returns: targets are approached by Chinese agents in their new homeland and intimidated to return, or local police in China harass, detain, or intimidate family members or loved ones back in China for the same purpose.

The moratorium on deporting Uyghurs, and before that Tibetans, by Sweden and other countries, represented significant setbacks to Chinas policy of increasing control over such groups and ultimately, their ability to force their return. Now the hearing on Inner Mongolia and the successful case of a lone man in his mid-30s can lead to another such setback.

Baolige Wurina came to Sweden over 10 years ago. He met a Mongolian, settled down, got married, and had two children. With the deterioration of the situation in Inner Mongolia, his longstanding activism became more vocal and public, including leading demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Stockholm, holding speeches at protest rallies, and often appearing in solidarity at protests for Tibetans or Uyghurs. Despite Swedens famously open immigration policy, he was denied asylum and his subsequent appeal was rejected. When Safeguard Defenders (SafeguardDefenders.com), the NGO I run and that works extensively on these issues, last reported on the case, his deportation was imminent.

Since his initial rejection, more and more evidence has been forthcoming about the clampdown in Inner Mongolia and the thousands of people detained. Many of them are not activists, but regular people who simply want their kids to learn their own language in school. The protests that followed led to further deterioration. In some cases, not only are those who refuse to send their kids to school as a form of protest detained, the lawyers hired to represent them are also detained.

Baolige Wurina and his family. (Courtesy of Safeguard Defenders)

The situation does not yet appear to be as bad as the treatment the Uyghurs or Tibetans suffer, but the developments bear many similarities, and continued resistance against this attempt to wipe out Mongolian culture and language in the supposedly autonomous region of Inner Mongolia could lead to further repression.

It is against this backdrop and Baoliges ever more public role as a leader in the small Swedish Inner Mongolian diaspora, that the Swedish migration board will start a new review of his case. As the decision says, the extensive reporting, internationally, as well as in key Swedish media, and his resistance to returning to China via voluntary return because Chinese police have already tried to have him returned by threatening his family back home, puts him in potentially significant danger. His case has even been raised in the Swedish parliament.

With a new hearing and in-depth review of the developments in Inner Mongolia, another group may be one step closer to gaining safe haven, thus throwing yet another wrench into the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) attempt to police, monitor, and forcibly return another group the CCP considers dangerous.

Peter Dahlin is the founder of the NGO Safeguard Defenders and the co-founder of the Beijing-based Chinese NGO China Action (20072016). He is the author of Trial By Media, and contributor to The Peoples Republic of the Disappeared. He lived in Beijing from 2007, until detained and placed in a secret jail in 2016, subsequently deported and banned. Prior to living in China, he worked for the Swedish government with gender equality issues, and now lives in Madrid, Spain.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks at the White House on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Alaska Supreme Court Approves Recall Process Against Governor

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled on July 16 that the recall campaign against Gov. Mike Dunleavy can go forward.

A recall committee filed an application to remove the governor, alleging that hes abused his power, neglected his duties, and is unfit for office. The Alaska Division of Elections had denied the application, stating that it wasnt legally or factually sufficient.

The committee challenged the divisions decision in Superior Court in Anchorage, which ruled the recall application was valid. The state appealed the ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court, which decided that the allegations in the recall petition are legally sufficient and satisfy the particularity requirement.

Dunleavy, a Republican, has 17 months remaining in his term.

Whether Dunleavys detractors have made their case that his alleged shortcomingsthat he is incompetent and corruptjustify his removal from office is up to the voters, the court said.

The people asked to sign petitions must decide whether the allegations are serious enough to warrant a recall election; each voter in the voting booth must decide whether the allegations are serious enough to warrant removal from office, the court opinion reads.

Dunleavy blasted the decision in a statement released on July 16.

The Alaska Supreme Court today issued an opinion that creates a standardless recall process, subjecting elected officials at every level, and across the political spectrum, to baseless, expensive, and distracting recall elections by their political opponents, the governor said, according to Alaska Daily News.

The court has made it clear that even plainly false allegations of wrongdoing can trigger this process, undermining our election process, and prevents our elected officials from focusing on the many serious issues facing Alaskans.

To qualify a gubernatorial recall for the Alaska ballot, campaigners must satisfy a two-phase test, gathering petition signatures totaling 10 percent of votes cast in the previous statewide election and, subsequently, gathering signatures totaling 25 percent of the votes cast. The Recall Dunleavy campaign reported that it had 81 percent of the required second-phase signatures as of April.

Reuters contributed to this report.
People wear masks as they walk in a shopping district in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on July 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

LA County Supervisor Defends New Mask Mandate: Its Not Punishment, Its Prevention

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis spoke in defense of the newly reinstated countywide mask mandate on July 18, calling it unpleasant but necessary.

The new mandate, which went into effect one minute before midnight on July 17, requires all residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of whether theyve been vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

According to the countys public health department, the mandate is meant to counter a rising transmission rate from the Delta variant of the virus, as well as an intermingling of unmasked individuals where vaccination status is unknown.

I would say that its not punishment, its prevention, Solis said on ABCs This Week.

Im not pleased that we have to go back to using the masks in this matter, but, nonetheless, its going to save lives. And right now, that to me, is whats most important. And really getting more people to understand that they have to get vaccinated.

The reimposed mask mandate was met with criticism, as many question whether its necessary to require vaccinated people to wear masks in indoor settings. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LASD) announced on July 16 that while the agency expects the community to voluntarily comply with the order, its deputies wont enforce it.

Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear face masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a statement. The underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance.

When asked about the LASDs response, Solis replied that she doesnt understand why the department chose to weigh in on the matter.

Our public health department is typically the individuals that go out and do inspections. So I dont see where the sheriff really has to come in and weigh in on the matter that he might have thought, she said.

And besides, hes just saying that hes going to allow people to do what they need to do. Im not concerned about that. I think the public overall is smart enough to understand what is being said and how to protect themselves.

On July 17, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 1,827 new positive cases, 462 hospitalizations, and 11 new deaths from COVID-19. The number marks an eight-fold jump in cases since June 15, when the state of California lifted capacity limits and physical distancing requirements in businesses and most other locations. The daily transmission rate, however, only increased by 0.5 percent over the past month.
OPEC+ Agrees Oil Supply Boost After UAE, Saudi Reach Compromise

MOSCOW/DUBAI/LONDONOPEC+ ministers agreed on Sunday to boost oil supply from August to cool prices which have climbed to 2-1/2 year highs as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The group, which includes OPEC countries and allies like Russia, crucially agreed new production allocations from May 2022 after Saudi Arabia and others agreed to a request from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that had threatened the plan.

We are happy with the deal, UAEs Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui told a news conference. Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman declined to answer questions on how the compromise was reached.

OPEC+ last year cut production by a record 10 million barrels per day (bpd) amid a pandemic-induced slump in demand and collapsing prices. It has gradually reinstated some supply to leave it with a reduction of about 5.8 million bpd.

From August until December 2021 the group will increase supply by a further 2 million bpd or 0.4 million bpd a month, OPEC said in a statement.[O/R] It aims to fully phase out cuts by around September 2022.

The group had agreed to extend their overall pact until the end of 2022 from an earlier planned date of April 2022, to leave more room for maneuver in case global recovery stalls due to new virus variants.

Whilst both Riyadh and the UAE had been supportive of an immediate output boost, the UAE had objected to the Saudi idea to extend the pact to December 2022 without getting a higher production quota.

To overcome the disagreement, OPEC+ agreed new output quotas for several members from May 2022, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, and Iraq.

The UAE will see its baseline production, from which cuts are being calculated, increase to 3.5 million bpd from May 2022 from todays 3.168 million.

Saudi and Russia will see their baselines rise to 11.5 million bpd each from the current 11 million. Iraq and Kuwait will see their baselines rise by 150,000 bpd each.

Prince Abdulaziz said Nigeria and Algeria could also see their baselines revised.

He said OPEC+ would adjust its policy if and when Iranian oil returned to the market if the country reached a deal with world powers over its nuclear program.

Iran is estimated to be able to add some 1.5 million bpd to global supply once the deal is reached and Western sanctions are lifted.

By Rania El Gamal, Olesya Astakhova, and Ahmad Ghaddar
Opera Director Sir Graham Vick Dies Following Complications Arising From COVID

Opera director Sir Graham Vick has died following complications arising from COVID-19, the Birmingham Opera Company has announced.

Graham, who was knighted in the 2021 New Years Honours, died on Saturday, the company said in a statement on Twitter.

His productions have been staged in cities around the world including Milan, New York, St. Petersburg, and Florence, according to its website.

The statement said: We are devastated to announce that today 17 July 2021 Sir Graham Vick, Artistic Director, Birmingham Opera Company died of complications arising from Covid 19.

We would ask all to respect the privacy of his partner and loved ones at this time.

Opera director Sir Graham Vick on Nov. 27, 2009. (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Grahams career began in Scotland when he founded a small touring company to take opera to remote communities in the Highlands and Scottish islands, Birmingham Opera Company said.

In 1987 he founded the Birmingham Opera Company.

His production of Giuseppe Verdis Falstaff opened to the newly refurbished Royal Opera House in 1999.

Arts Council England paid tribute to Graham.

The public body wrote on Twitter: Our deep condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Sir Graham Vick.

Having founded @BirminghamOpera some 34 years ago, he leaves an indelible mark on the opera community, the city of Birmingham, and the wider cultural sector.

English National Opera added: Everyone at the ENO is deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of Sir Graham Vick, the legendary opera director.

It was our great pleasure to work with him on a number of landmark ENO productions including Madam Butterfly, Fidelio and the world premiere of Timon of Athens.

By Tom Horton
Members of the public receive a dose of a COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine inside a temporary vaccination center set up at the Emirates Stadium, home to the Arsenal football club, in north London on June 25, 2021. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Significantly Less Effective Against Delta Variant: Israeli PM

Israels top officials are warning that Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine is significantly less effective at combating the Delta variant of the CCP virus.

We do not know exactly to what degree the vaccine helps, but it is significantly less, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters and cabinet members on July 17. He didnt elaborate.

The Delta strain, which was first identified in India, now makes up a significant portion of the new COVID-19 cases in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to health officials.

Bennett said that in Britain, in recent days, we have seen a jump in the number of children who are being hospitalized on a daily basis.

This is a development that we are aware of; we are dealing with it rationally and responsibly, he said.

For months, Israel has relied heavily on administering Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine, which uses mRNA technology. Officials have said that more than 5.7 million Israelis have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Pfizer officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about Bennetts claims.

The Delta variant, meanwhile, has prompted concerns that governments around the world may reimpose strict lockdowns or face-mask requirements in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. For months, officials in the United States and elsewhere promised that mass vaccination campaigns would bring an end to the months-long lockdowns and other COVID-19-related requirements. Now with the rise of Delta infections among vaccinated individuals, its unclear what the next steps will be.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Lockdowns have been flagged as being ineffective in several recent studies. One conducted by the University of Southern California and the RAND Corp. found that shelter-in-place (SIP) orders didnt actually save lives.

We use an event study framework to quantify changes in the number of excess deaths after the implementation of a SIP policy. We find that following the implementation of SIP policies, excess mortality increases, the researchers wrote in a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In the UK, researchers with several top universities said that about five times as many children died from suicide or related trauma than from COVID-19. They specifically concluded that lockdowns are far more detrimental to childrens health than the virus itself.

According to anonymously sourced reports, Israel is considering a new lockdown due to the variant.

During his remarks on July 17, Bennett said that our goal is to allow routine life to continue with adjustments to the coronavirus, although its not clear whether that includes lockdowns.

We all hope to see a slowdown, but the facts at the moment are that there isnt a slowdownnot here and not around the world, he said.

Another Israeli official said lockdowns arent on the table.

I dont know how weve come to talk of lockdowns, Sharon Alroy-Preis, Israels head of public health, told Channel 12. We are not at a place of [considering] a lockdown during the holiday period [in September].

In other parts of the world, lockdowns are being implemented again. On July 18, Thailands government announced restrictionsincluding curfewsin Bangkok and other areas while suspending most domestic flights.

And in Australia on July 17, Sydney ordered harsh new restrictions, shutting down construction on buildings, banning nonessential retail, and threatening to fine employers who dont comply.
Anjem Choudary stands outside a bail hostel in north London after his release from Belmarsh Prison on Oct. 19, 2018. (David Mirzoeff/PA)

Radical Preacher Anjem Choudarys Public Speaking Ban Lifted

A ban on radical preacher Anjem Choudary speaking in public is being lifted as licence conditions that were imposed after his release from prison come to an end.

The extremist was jailed five years ago after being convicted of inviting support for the ISIS terror group, and he left Belmarsh high-security jail on licence in 2018.

Choudary, from Ilford in east London, was freed automatically half-way through a five-and-a-half year sentence.

A string of more than 20 strict licence conditions that Choudary has been subject to since his release will expire on Sunday, the PA news agency understands.

As well as being prohibited from speaking in public, his Internet and mobile phone use was restricted and he was banned from being in contact with people who may be suspected of extremist-related offences without prior approval.

He had to wear an electronic tag and abide by a night-time curfew, only attend pre-approved mosques and stay within a set area, as well as adhere to other standard requirements, like having regular meetings with probation officers.

Police and MI5 were thought to be among a host of bodies involved in monitoring him under the system known as multi-agency public protection arrangements.

Separate measures saw his name added to a U.N. sanctions list, which meant he was banned from travelling and had assets frozen.

Once a leading figure in the now-banned group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), the former solicitor had previously stayed on the right side of the law for yearsdespite being seen as a radicalising influence.

From the 1990s, the father-of-five was a prominent figure in ALM, which also operated under a number of other names.

Over 20 years he voiced controversial views on Sharia law while building up a following of thousands through social media, demonstrations, and lectures around the world.

While there has been no suggestion Choudary organised any attacks, others previously linked to ALM include Michael Adebolajo, one of the murderers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, and Khuram Butt, the ringleader of the London Bridge terror attack.

During his teenage years the Fishmongers Hall attacker Usman Khan also took an interest in Choudarys views.

Muslim convert Lewis Ludlow, who plotted a terror attack on Oxford Street, attended a demonstration led by Choudary and the ALM group.

But former head of counter-terror policing Mark Rowley previously said Choudary was not some sort of evil genius, dismissing him as a pathetic groomer during an interview with BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

I think we have to be careful not to overstate his significance, he added.

Whether counter-terror police and MI5 will continue to track Choudary or consider him a person of interest has not been confirmed. But ALM is expected to remain of considerable interest.

Other measures available to security services and police which could be considered in such instances are Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpim). They are seen as the strictest monitoring tool available to use against people suspected to be involved in terrorism or who present a threat, but cannot be prosecuted or deported.

A Tpim noticethat can be in place for up to two yearscan involve conditions like an enforced curfew, tagging, having to stay away from certain locations, and restrictions on overseas travel.

By Flora Thompson
Runaway Dog Rings Doorbell at 3am and Peeps Into the Camera After Returning Home

A runaway dog informed her owners of her return by ringing the doorbell at 3 a.m.

A puppy named Rajah disappeared from her owners home for over seven hours after being scared by fireworks.

Owner Mary Lynn, 23, from Greenville, South Carolina, drove around the neighborhood and posted on Facebook about their missing 18-month-old pup, only for Rajah to ring the doorbell when she returned home in the early hours.

She was in the backyard with our other dog and our neighbor started shooting off fireworks and I knew shed be scared, Lynn said.

I went to the backyard, and she was gone.

Lynn and her husband Ryan looked for Rajah, recruited others in the search, and even created a Facebook post about the missing rescue dog.

My husband came home and was driving around looking for her, she said.

We were ready to call all the shelters and she just showed up and rang the doorbell.

Rajah returned home at 3 a.m., on June 27, jumping up and sticking her face into the doorbell and camera.

Lynn said: I dont even know how she knew how to do that, Ive never shown her how.

She doesnt go out in the front yard, except to the car, so shes never seen us use the doorbell.

Ryan was up waiting around to see if shed pop up. He saw her on the porch, and he ran off and got her.

When Rajah returned, she was afraid shed be in trouble, but the family was just happy to have their hound back.

She thought she was in so much trouble and she was sad and sulking, but we were like were just happy youre back, she added. It was hilarious, and we couldnt stop laughing.

Lynn said that they have no idea where she roamed during her missing hours, but it seems like she had a great time.

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

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President Joe Biden (C), joined by from left to right, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), speaks after the bipartisan group of Senators reached a deal on an infrastructure package at the White House on June 24, 2021 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Senate Infrastructure Bill Drops IRS Funding Provision, Portman Says

Senators dropped plans to help fund the approximately $1 trillion infrastructure package via a proposed boost to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) ability to collect taxes, according to a key negotiator.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who is one of the negotiators, told CNN on July 18 that the IRS reform or IRS tax gap, which was originally in the proposal  will no longer be in our proposal. Portman said some Republican lawmakers pushed back against the proposal and said it would allow for more government overreach.

It will be in the larger reconciliation bill, were told, he said.

Details about what new powers the IRS might be given havent yet been announced.

Democrats and Republicans have spent weeks trying to hash out the infrastructure deal, but have struggled to come up with ways to fund it and not add to the already ballooning national deficit.

Democrats hope to pass the bill via reconciliation, without Republican support, under budget rules that allow them to proceed with just a simple majority, which would require a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the July 18 interview, Portman suggested that there are other possible funding sources, including a rule on Medicare rebates.

We have a number of pay-fors, Portman said. And thats important, that it be paid for.

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which is backed by President Joe Biden, will require 60 votes in the Senate to proceed. That means it would require at least 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats back it.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced last week that the first procedural step on the infrastructure package will be taken on July 19, setting up a July 21 vote.

But one Republican lawmaker, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), said it isnt clear if the Senate can reach 60 votes.

How can I vote for cloture when the bill isnt written? Cassidy told Fox News on July 18. Unless Senator Schumer doesnt want this to happen, you need a little more time to get it right.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stated last week that she wont bring up the bipartisan infrastructure bill to the House floor until the reconciliation bill is passed in the Senate. That led to backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.

We strongly urgeand pledge to work with you to bring abouta House vote on this legislation before the August recess and without any unnecessary or artificial delay upon arrival from the Senate, a coalition of 10 House Democrats said in a letter released on July 15.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Slain Haiti President Jovenel Moise to Be Laid to Rest in Historic City of Cap-Haitien

By Jacqueline Charles

From Miami Herald

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HaitiHaitian President Jovenel Moise will be laid to rest on July 23 in a state funeral, the government said Friday.

Moises funeral will take place in the city of Cap-Haitien in the northern part of the country. The historic city is both close to where the late president was born and where he began his career as an entrepreneur. It is also where the Republic of Haiti was born after former slaves defeated their French colonizers in the Battle of Vertieres, the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution on Nov. 18, 1803. Haiti declared itself free on Jan. 1, 1804.

Moise was assassinated in the middle of the night on July 7. Close to two dozen people, most of them Colombian, have been arrested in connection with the slaying.

Moises wife, Martine Moise, was wounded in the attack. She was flown to Miami and remains hospitalized at Jackson Health Systems Ryder Trauma Center.

2021 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Vivek Murthy speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., on Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Surgeon General: Facebooks Efforts to Combat Alleged COVID-19 Misinformation Not Enough

Continuing a public feud with Facebook over whether the company is addressing alleged misinformation about COVID-19, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said on July 18 that Facebook hasnt done enough to remove such misinformation from its platform.

Its not enough, Murthy told Fox News about Facebook, stating that misinformation is still spreading and social media companies have to move to stop it. We are still, despite some of the actions that they have taken, seeing significant spread of misinformation.

This health misinformation is hurting peoples health, its costing them their lives. [Im] asking these companies to step up and take responsibility for whats happening on their sides.

A day earlier, Facebook released a statement that pushed back against allegations that the company isnt doing enough to combat alleged misinformation relating to COVID-19. The data, according to Facebook, showed that 85 percent of its users have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

In the statement, Vice President of Integrity Guy Rosen said that Facebooks data tells a very different story to the one promoted by the administration in recent days.

Rosen then appeared to take a shot at the Biden administration having missed its self-imposed goal of having 70 percent of American adults being vaccinated by July 4.

Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed, Rosen said.

The executives comments came after President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and Murthy called on Facebook, primarily, to combat alleged misinformation regarding vaccines last week.

Biden, in a comment to reporters on July 16, was more direct, claiming Facebooks continued allowance of alleged COVID disinformation is killing people. The president didnt elaborate on his comment before he departed for Camp David for the weekend.

Psaki said just hours earlier that individuals who post alleged misinformation should be banned from not just Facebook, but other social media platforms.

For those comments, the administration received significant blowback on social media. Some Republicans said the White House is attempting to outsource censorship to a private firm, alleging the administration is suppressing Americans First Amendment rights.

Facebook has become a tool of the Biden Administration to censor Republicans and silence their critics. I am working with Leader McCarthy and the members of the newly formed Big Tech Task Force to ensure that this blatantly biased censorship is stopped immediately, Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.) said in a statement last week.

Some noted that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube suppressed or deleted posts regarding theories that the virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, in 2019, which contradicts the Chinese Communist Partys official narrative that the virus was transmitted to people from an unknown animal at a wet market. But in recent months, some U.S. intelligence officials have acknowledged the Wuhan lab leak hypothesis is plausible, and they are investigating it.

Facebook didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.
China's leader Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with founder and executive chairperson of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab (L) prior to delivering a speech to the WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, 2017. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

The Great Reset: Social Justice With Chinese Characteristics

Commentary

What are your thoughts on the Great Reset? Are you for it, or are you against it? On one side, there are those who view it as a force for good, a much-needed reboot for humanity. These people, most of whom lean left and probably enjoy The Guardian, see it as a way to tackle the dramatic effects of climate change and the gross effects of capitalism.

On the other side, we have outspoken critics. They view the Reset as an existential threat to mankind. Its nothing but a shameless power grab. The puppet masters, they warn, seek to rob us of our agency. Who is right, and who is wrong?

Before going any further, though, its important to ask one important question: What is the Great Reset, anyway? The Washington Post would have us believe that democracy dies in darkness. In reality, though, it dies in Davos. Now, this line might sound cheap, even conspiratorial, but its not. Consider the following:

Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my cityor should I say, our city. I dont own anything. I dont own a car. I dont own a house. I dont own any appliances or any clothes. It might seem odd to you, but it makes perfect sense for us in this city. Everything you considered a product has now become a service.

These are not lines from a George Orwell novel. No, theyre taken directly from an article written by Ida Auken, a World Economic Forum (WEF) contributor. Each year, the WEFs members, many of whom are high-ranking politicians and big tech players, meet in Davos, Switzerland. What do they discuss?

Well, in recent times, there has been a heavy emphasis on social justice, a catch-all term used to address issues such as wealth distribution, employment opportunities, and, of course, privilege, or lack thereof. Last year, Mark Doumba, a forum member, wrote a very telling piece. He argues for the Reset to place social justice at its center. Furthermore, wealth, according to the impassioned author, needs to be more broadly redistributed. In other words, capitalism as we know it needs to be reformed. Perhaps it does. However, it seems rather preposterous to think that the WEF, largely composed of millionaires and billionaires (Bill Gates is a consultant, as is Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google), is the best organization to address global inequalities.

Also, its important to remember that the term social justice is a semantic shapeshifter. Its slipperiness means it can be used to justify just about anything. As the writer Colin Turfus recently noted, the term is arguably a form of nihilism: it doesnt really believe in anything, bar the validity of its dialectical reasoning as the sole means of achieving a just social order and societal improvement more generally.

One neednt be a card-carrying QAnon member to question the purpose of the Great Reset. After all, weve already had a Great Reset, in the form of a deadly pandemic. The experts that led the waypeople like Dr. Fauci and organizations like the WHOfailed us. More importantly, they lied to us, repeatedly. Remember, many months ago, when people like Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, two evolutionary biologists, questioned the origins of the virus? They were criticized and ridiculed, mercilessly so. Two highly qualified scientists had the audacity to challenge the overarching narrative, and for that, they were censored, quite literally.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, delivers a welcome message on the eve of the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 20, 2020. (Markus Schreiber/AP Photo)

Last year, Klaus Schwab, the head of the WEF, wrote a rather chilling article outlining the ways in which the Great Reset will occur. Participation is a must. You cannot opt out.

Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, he argues, we need a Great Reset of capitalism.

This is a hyper-influential millionaire, one of the most powerful men in the world, discussing the destruction of the very thing that helped him become a millionaire. Forgive me if I am just a little confused, and more than a little suspicious. Also, capitalism, for far too long, has been a dirty word. This is dangerous. The opposite of capitalism is communism, and we know how that ends. Fewer freedoms. Less individual power. Less freedom of speech.

The Great Reset, in many ways, revolves around the concept of control. Controlling where you go, what you say, when you say it, and how you say it. Its social justice with Chinese characteristics. As Anthony P. Mueller, a professor of economics, writes: The main thrust of the forum [the WEF] is global control. Free markets and individual choice do not stand as the top values, but state interventionism and collectivism.

Individual liberty, he suggests, will become a thing of the past. It sounds like something straight out of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) playbook. As the Chinese regime knows only too well, docile creatures are easier to manage.

Are we witnessing a period of profound change, in which our lives are being fundamentally altered? Are we little more than hapless frogs in a pot, slowly being boiled alive? If the recent pandemic has taught us anything, its that our freedoms can be taken away in an instant. Governments think nothing of locking people in their homes for months on end.

In the United States, lockdowns, especially in places such as California and New York City, were severe. People lost their jobs and many lost their lives. The Great Reset appears to be flirting with the idea of one extended lockdown, with brief periods of carefully monitored freedom. Autonomy will become a thing of the past. Samora Machel, the former socialist leader from Mozambique, famously said: For the nation to live, the tribe must die. Meanwhile, the despots in Davos are saying: For globalism to live, human agency must die.

John Mac Ghlionn is a researcher and essayist. His work has been published by the likes of the New York Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, The American Conservative, National Review, Public Discourse, and other respectable outlets. He is also a columnist at Cointelegraph.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a press conference for the official reopening of the state of California at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, Calif., on June 15, 2021. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The Only Way Republicans Could Displace Gavin Newsom

Commentary

Its going to be hard. Nearly impossiblebut still possible. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, can be recalled and replaced with a Republican.

Following my previous article, Newsom Versus Davis: A Review of Two Very Different Recalls, heres how Republicans could have a chance at recalling Newsom and replacing him. This is based on both what happened in the 2003 recall of then-governor Gray Davis and what is different this time.

First, realize that whats most different this time is the short distance to the Sept. 14 election, now less than two months awayand the short time in office to do anything. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the winner of the 2003 recall election, served as governor for more than three years in his first term.

The Newsom replacement will get just nine months from Inauguration Day in November to the adjournment of the legislative session on Aug. 31, 2022. Then theres a new election on Nov. 8, 2022.

That presents a unique opportunity, never to be repeated: one candidate, with one reform idea, and an action agenda.

First, its crucial that the candidate not develop the elaborate platforms of a usual campaigndetailed plans for reforming education, the budget, climate change, the electricity grid, the water system, the roads, and so forth. Nobody cares now. If you already have such plans, deep-six them. You have nine months for one thing. Nothing else.

Second, the candidate should also pledge to serve only for this short term and not run for reelection.

Because if you dont do that, then youre really running on a five-year agenda, which gets you stuck in the cycle of the first point, above, of running a usual campaign in an unusual year.

The candidates campaign motto should be Nine Months to Fix Issue X.

Third, they need to embrace being a Republican.

Newsom and his Democratic allies, especially the powerful public-employee unions, are attacking this as the Republican recall. They know they need to rally their base, which doesnt like Republicans.

But youre just running for nine months of action.

Let a Republican fix X issue for nine months. Then you can bring back a Democrat next November. Even Newsom, if you want him. Dont know why. But you could, the candidate could say.

Fourth, really pick just one issue and stick to it no matter what. It should involve something you could do with executive orders, the way Newsom has during the COVID-19 pandemic. The courts have upheld his powers. In any case, campaigning on signing executive orders, even if theyre thrown out later, would be a way to advance this one issue in the minds of the toiling masses.

What should issue X be? My suggestion: Follow the advice of political commentator Scott Adams and attack the teachers unions, the California Education Association, and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) for holding back black and Latino schoolchildren.

Its well known that these kids are stuck in the worst schools, as the California Teachers Association and CFT prevent reforms such as merit pay for teachers and universal statewide school choice. You want their parents to become Republican voters just this one time. Then it might become a habit.

Heres the main executive order to advance. Remember, were not concerned now about how to implement it or what might happen in the courts.

Executive Order 1: SB 160 from 1975, the Rodda Act, is hereby rescinded. It granted collective bargaining to the teachers unions. It put the unions on both sides of the negotiation table: on one side as the employee and on the other side as the employer, because the union funds the campaigns of union-friendly politicians. No wonder teacher pension costs have exploded and test scores have tanked since the act became law.

Dont take my word for it. On Feb. 18, 2020, Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, actually wrote this on the unions blog: The school board is our boss. We have a unique powerwe elect our bosses. It would be difficult to think of workers anywhere else who elect their bosses. We do. We must take advantage of it.

And they do take advantage of itto the detriment of schoolchildren, especially Latino and black kids.

The reasons for rescinding SB 160 are clear in the California Constitution. Article I, Section 31 (a) stipulates: The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

Article IX, Section 1: A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement.

Article IX, Section 5: The Legislature shall provide for a system of common schools by which a free school shall be kept up and supported in each district at least six months in every year, after the first year in which a school has been established.

These clauses are clearly being violated by the crummy schooling doled out to poor and minority kids because of collective bargaining for the teachers unions. SB 160 is unconstitutional, therefore prima facie null and void.

Even if the candidate advancing this revolutionary agenda loses and Newsom stays in power, the revolution will have begun against the teachers unions monopoly. And the Republican Party will have galvanized an issue that would be the foundation for bringing itself back to relevanceand power.

Theres one more thing the candidate will need to do if he or she hopes to win: Stop being boring.

As Danton told the Legislature during the French Revolution: Laudace, laudace, toujours laudace! (Audacity, audacity, always audacity!)

John Seiler is a veteran California opinion writer. He has written editorials for The Orange County Register for almost 30 years. Hes a U.S. Army veteran and former press secretary to California State Sen. John Moorlach. He blogs at JohnSeiler@substack.com.



Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Road of Sinbad | Mythical Roads

As elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, which the Romans called Happy Arabia, Oman has seen decades of prosperity thanks to oil revenues. From Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate, to Sanaa and Aden in Yemen, the desert is approaching, the mighty mountains are giving way to the sands, the spirit of the world is breathing.

A hundred kilometres from Salalah, in the Dhofar mountains, merchants of old loaded the precious frankincense onto camels to distribute it to the four winds of the East. Soothed by the fragrance of frankincense and khat, the road of Sinbad crosses the village of Wadi Doan, one of those special places where mans efforts are merely a continuation of the work of nature.

About Mythical Roads:

Whether remote or packed with tourists, recent or old, famous or forgotten, certain routes are paved with legends. This series explores itineraries that have made history across five continentssome roads and rivers that separated countries, and others that formed links, creating pathways for traders, fortune-seekers, evangelists, conquerors, and travelers. As historical symbols, these routes now ignite the imaginations of millions of people in search of adventure and freedom.

The original and poetic approach of this series casts a new light on these mythical roads. Throughout the journey, the routes unfold through the eyes of the men and women who live and work along them, and who continue to sustain the legends.

Personal adventures alternate with extraordinary explorations, unforgettable encounters, and surprising developments.

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Three Chinese, Two Mauritanians Kidnapped from Construction Site in Northern Mali

BAMAKOThree Chinese nationals and two Mauritanians were abducted from a construction site in northern Mali on Saturday when gunmen raided the site for equipment and took hostages, the army said.

The raid took place 34 miles from the town of Kwala, a regular transit point for companies moving through Malis desert north, the army said in a statement.

Later that evening, gunmen attacked a road checkpoint in the countrys central San region, around 250 miles from Bamako, and killed three civilians, the army said in a second statement.

No group has yet taken responsibility for either attack.

Parts of Mali have been mired in violence since 2012 when several insurgent groups launched campaigns against the Malian government for greater autonomy.

The conflict, which has since been co-opted by jihadist militants linked to al Qaeda and the ISIS terrorist group, has displaced hundreds of thousands.

Those kidnapped on Saturday are employees of Chinese construction firm Covec and Mauritanian road-building company ATTM, which had been developing the site while under the protection of a private security company, the army statement said.

The attackers also made off with five pick-up trucks before setting fire to much of the site, destroying a crane, dump trucks, and other equipment owned by the companies, the statement said.

Kidnappings are a common fixture of the war in Mali, with foreign nationals in particular regularly targeted by militants hoping to obtain ransoms for their release.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked the Security Council to authorize additional troops for Malis peacekeeping mission in response to rising violence by Islamist militants, according to a report seen by Reuters on Friday.

Meanwhile, former colonial power France has announced plans to begin drawing down its 5,100-strong task force that targets the militants across West Africas Sahel region.
A TAP Air Portugal plane waits on the tarmac before taking off from Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon, on Dec. 9, 2020. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)

200 Flights Cancelled at Lisbon Airport at Start of Strike

LISBONTwo hundred flights were cancelled at Lisbon airport on Saturday at the start of a two-day strike by Groundforce handling company workers, with more cancellations likely before the action ends on Sunday evening, the company that manages Portugals airports (ANA) said.

A spokesman for the Union of Airport Handling Technicians, which called the strike, told local news agency Lusa that around 100 percent of workers had taken part in the strike in Lisbon on Saturday, the busiest airport in the country.

The strike has had a huge impact on the Portuguese flag company TAP, which uses Groundforces handling services, but has not affected low cost companies.

Groundforce workers are demanding that the handling company, which is in serious financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic, pay wages without any delay and this years holiday pay.

The strike mainly affects the operation of Lisbon airport, and has little impact on the remaining 9 Portuguese airports, ANA chief executive Thierry Ligonniere said.

We still anticipate difficulties tomorrow and a progressive return to normal on Monday, Ligonniere told reporters.

Groundforce is 50.1 percent owned by the Portuguese firm Pasogal and 49.9 percent by the TAP-Air Portugal group, which in turn is 72.5 percent controlled by the Portuguese State.

TAP offered to lend the money necessary for Groundforce to pay the holiday pay to its workers, but the proposal was turned down by the handling company.

By Sergio Goncalves
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in London on Oct. 13, 2020. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

UK Prime Minister, Finance Minister Self-Isolate After Health Secretary Tests Positive for CCP Virus

The UKs Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak are self-isolating after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.

The ministers were initially planning to take daily tests rather than self-isolate following meetings last week with Javid, but subsequently dropped the plan after a furious political backlash.

The prime minister has been contacted by NHS Test and Trace to say he is a contact of someone with COVID, a spokesman from 10 Downing Street said on July 18.

He was at Chequers when contacted by Test and Trace and will remain there to isolate. He will not be taking part in the testing pilot, he said, reversing a previous statement from just hours before that Johnson would take part in a pilot programme in which participants who came in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 may take daily rapid tests instead of self-isolating for 10 days.

He will continue to conduct meetings with ministers remotely. The chancellor has also been contacted and will also isolate as required and will not be taking part in the pilot.

Sunak explained the decision in a Twitter post.

Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules arent the same for everyone is wrong, the chancellor wrote.

To that end, Ill be self-isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot.

All legal restrictions in England to curb the spread of the CCP virus are to be lifted on Monday, with the exception of self-isolation for people that test positive for COVID-19 and those who come into close contact with someone testing positive.

With the Delta variant of the CCP virus reportedly spreading in the UK, over half a million people were pinged by the NHS app during the first week of July, causing concerns over a pingdemic.

A number of opposition party leaders had criticised the government after Downing Street announced that Johnson and Sunak were to participate in the testing pilot.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner accused the government of treating the public with contempt, and thinking they are above the law and that the rules dont apply to them.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth called the little-known pilot a special treatment or VIP lane, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also said, It is one rule for them and another rule for everyone else.

Co-leader of the Green Party Jonathan Bartley said, Anger doesnt begin to cover it.

Robert Jenrick, the secretary of state for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, told Sky News that he appreciates the frustration people might feel upon hearing ministers joining a pilot programme thats not available to the wider general public yet.

PA contributed to this report.
Unions Focus on Woke Over Work Rankles Rank and File

Los Angeles school teacher Glenn Laird has been a union stalwart for almost four decades. He served as a co-chair of his schools delegation to United Teachers Los Angeles and proudly wore union purple on the picket line.

But Laird is now suing to leave UTLA and demanding a refund of the dues the union has collected since his resignation request. His turning point came in July 2020 when the union, the second largest teachers union in the country, joined liberal activists to demand that Los Angeles defund the police in response to Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

We have to dismantle white supremacy, incoming UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said.

Laird, who is white, was floored. The union seemed to have forgotten why schools hired on more safety officers back in the 1980s and 1990s when Los Angeles was one of Americas most violent cities. While safety is Lairds specific concern, he is also concerned about his unions increasing embrace of so-called social justice issues.

I would much prefer a union focused completely on wages, hours, working conditions, he said. When the union goes into political activist mode, I think it dilutes the practice of what a union is supposed to be doing.

Laird is not alone. He is among union rank-and-file nationwide chafing at their leaderships embrace of woke politics as a means of reversing declining membership and maintaining influence in the Democratic Partydissent shown in many defections to Donald Trump in the last two elections as well as high-profile recent organizing defeats and court setbacks.

Significant as the pushback is, it does not seem to faze Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the nations largest union federation, of which the Los Angeles teachers group is an affiliate.

A week before the teachers union president called for defunding the police, Trumka issued a statement declaring, The AFL-CIO Must Fight for Trans Lives Inside and Outside the Labor Movement. As he tried to connect the West Virginia coal mines where he cut his teeth to the 1969 Stonewall riots, a catalyst for gay activism, Trumka asserted that the labor movement is focused on electing candidates up and down the ballot who understand the intersectionality of worker and LGBTQ rights.

Trumkas departure from traditional union rhetoric reflects both labors relative weakness and the recognition that its future will depend less on conservative lunch pail workers than on progressive professionals in tech and elsewhere for whom values and social justice are key concerns.

Labor historian Leon Fink, author of the forthcoming book Undoing the Liberal World Order, said American unions have been on the defensive for the past four decades as their membership fell from 17 percent of the private sector workforce to 6 percent in 2020.

There are some tensions between the generally liberal leadership and certainly strong pockets of rank-and-file conservatism on social issues, Fink said. The one place that leadership does exercise some autonomy is in the political sphere.

Oren Cass, president of American Compass, a pro-union conservative group, also links the rise of political activism to plummeting membership. Cass argues the decline of union preeminence in the workforce has led the movement to turn to politics for salvation, in the process becoming a functioning arm of the Democratic Party.

Traditionally, labors primary pathway to power was the labor market, Cass says. As unions have less and less to do with the economy, theyve had more and more to do with politics.

And so they hope to reap rewards for helping deliver Joe Biden to the White House. He has pledged to become the most pro-union president in history and he will make good on the promise if he is able to usher in the PRO Act (for Protecting the Right to Organize), which would effectively overturn right-to-work laws in 27 states that allow workers to opt out of union membership.

The PRO Act would force nearly 3 million dissenters into union ranks. The influx of these workers automatically enrolled spares unions the cost of persuading workers to join. Unions collected $11.1 billion in dues and fees in 2020, but those revenues could nearly double to $20 billion if the PRO Actwhich is facing strong opposition from Republicansis passed, according to the Institute for the American Worker. Labor leaders would not be the only beneficiaries. Political spending from labor unions could increase to as much as $3 billion per election cycle, according to the IAW.

But within union ranks, the divisive nature of this strategy was amply illustrated in 2016, when the traditional union man was a driving force behind Donald Trumps surprise victory, and in 2020, when Trump once again outperformed among self-identified union members, according to exit polls of those who voted on Election Day. Though 28 percent of union membership is Republican, according to the estimate of Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale, Trump won a majority of union voters in Ohio and 50 percent in the Keystone State.

Certainly it is a concern that a lot of our members bought into the con, Bloomingdale says, referring in part to Trumps opposition to the PRO Act. Its always disconcerting when folks go against their own best interests. Why would you vote for somebody who wants to destroy the right to organize?

While passage of the PRO Act may provide a boon to sagging union membership numbers, Cass says the success may be short-lived if labor remains seen through a strictly partisan lens.

If labors view is that the number one priority is to have Democrats in office because they get better policies, then everything will be subservient to that, Cass says. Increasingly, organizing is not what unions doa lot of what is done under the heading of labor is just color-by-numbers left-wing activism.

Unions have always been political entities in the United Statesthe CIO gave birth to the first political action committee in 1943but they have never been more heavily invested in the political sphere. Union spending on politics has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. An IAW study found that unions spent $791 million on political activities and lobbying in 2020up from $427 million in 2006. About 90 percent of those donations went to Democrats. Annual expenditures on representational activitiesorganizing workplaces, arguing grievances, or negotiating wages and benefitsincreased by only 20 percent over that same time period.

Union political priorities are no longer limited to winning higher wages and benefits for workers, but advancing liberal ideology for its own sake. The labor watchdog Center for Union Facts found that union members shelled out about $1 billion to finance liberal nonprofits and media organizations in the past 10 years. The Center for American Progress has received $10.5 million from labor groups; Planned Parenthood, $4.2 million; the Human Rights Campaign, more than $800,000; Media Matters, $1.5 million. On the surface, these groups may not appear natural allies of labor unionseach has either privately resisted unionization or faced federal labor complaintsbut they are still close partners.

Unions are not just alienating members like Laird when they step into the breach of politics. The recent attempt to organize an Alabama Amazon warehouse made blatant racial appeals to its largely African American workforce. Union leaders, and much of the mainstream press coverage, cast the effort as a near slam dunk for the union. A black worker bristled at the campaign pitch, which tried to cast the union drive as an extension of the Black Lives Matter movement because most of the workers are black, according to the New York Times.

After workers voted overwhelmingly against the union, news coverage revealed that workers were more interested in bread-and-butter issues than identity politics. This was not an African American issue, the worker told the Times. Amazon is the only job I know where they pay your health insurance from day one.

The focus on woke talking points may have not been enough to win the support of Amazon workersthough the union has challenged the election resultsbut organizers are hoping it will strike a chord with a new kind of union member. Bloomingdale is quick to point out that while the building trades do great work, they are not the biggest part of the labor movement. Labor officials are organizing new industries, like your industryInternet sites  the health care industry and college campuses. In 1994, 25.3 percent of union members had bachelors or advanced degrees, while 46.6 percent had topped out at high school (if they had graduated at all). By 2019, 42 percent had bachelors degrees or higher.

The union man of the popular imagination is a dying breed as America has outsourced industrial jobs and right-to-work laws have allowed workers to opt out. Half of Americas union members hold government jobs, with teachers and police being the most heavily unionized professions in the country. That shift is unlikely to change even with the PRO Act. Unlike a steel mill or auto plant, state and local government jobs cannot be outsourced. Trumka may have started out in the coal mines before entering the air-conditioned offices of the AFL-CIO, but many labor leaders now enter straight from graduate school.

The unions see that their own welfare is tied to a larger coalition of a kind of multi-racial alliance that is generally pro-labor, anti-racist, and respecting the rights of sexual expression, Fink says.

One can see this play out in union organizing strategies. Forming a new union is an expensive endeavor with costs that can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unions have suffered high-profile defeats at Amazon, Nissan, and Volkswagen in recent years, voted down by the blue-collar workers that defined the labor movement throughout the 20 century. But they have found success among liberal professions by marshalling the ideological commitment of their workers. Unions have added tens of thousands of members on college campuses and newsrooms across the country.

The areas of greater unionized employment have tended to be more white-collar in recent years, Fink says. Many of them come from working-class backgrounds, but most do have college educations and have been exposed to more liberal influences outside of economic issues.

Bloomingdale, who represents about 900,000 members spread across hundreds of Pennsylvania unions, is supportive of the injection of intersectionality into the labor movement.

Anything that affects your ability to do your job is a labor issue.  We used to try to divorce those things from hours, work conditions and wages, he says. The labor movement didnt always look through the lens of systemic racism, but that all affects your ability to work and live a decent life.

The search for new members in new industries and the embrace of intersectionality has brought its own complications in traditional union strongholds.

Scabby the Rat has been a staple at union protests since making his debut at Chicago construction sites in 1990. He is about as subtle as youd expect a multi-story rodent balloon to be: red eyes, sharp fangs, a swollen, disease-ridden belly. What little nuance there is to Scabby was lost on students at the University of Michigan. When labor activists used the image at a strike outside of a deans house, they received complaints that any depiction of rodents is anti-Semitic. The complaints did not stop there. Students and faculty also pointed out that the dean in question is a woman.

We also know, and deeply regret, that for many this action raised the spectre of violence against women, and want to reaffirm that as a union committed to feminist and antiracist values, that is a history we would never knowingly reinforce, the union said in an apology letter circulated to faculty members.

Big Labors foray into social justice may appeal to a growing elite white-collar base, but it creates other problems. Diverting union funds to outside political causes has been a key driver of federal lawsuits that ultimately hamper their efforts. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled government agencies could no longer mandate union membership or fee payments as a condition of employment. The closed union shop has been a mainstay of American labor law for decades and enjoyed the blessing of the Supreme Court beginning in 1977s Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. The seeds for the courts verdict came when individual union members took issue with their leaders explicit partisan nature.

Rebecca Friedrichs was a union cheerleader when she began her career as a California elementary school teacher. Like Laird, she served as a school representative hoping to advance the interests of teachers against administrators. She soured on the organization when she saw dues money siphoned into explicitly political ends rather than the broad interests of teachers. She was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit arguing that mandatory union fees amounted to compelled speech. The high court deadlocked on her case following the death of Antonin Scalia, but it laid the groundwork for the Janus decision two years later barring mandatory union fees for nonunion workers.

There has been this concerted effort to hijack the labor movement, Friedrichs says. They are using government employees to fund a far-left agenda.

The end of forced dues payments led to optimism that unions would moderate in the political realm and recommit to the paycheck interests of its members. That has not occurred. The National Education Association, the teachers union Friedrichs belonged to, sent $14 million to the State Engagement Fund in 2018. The group funneled millions of dollars into partisan political groups that same year, serving as a clearing house for major liberal donors. Despite the funds explicit partisan spending, the NEA classified its payments as a national partnership/grant in federal labor filings, rather than a political expenditure. The distinction is meaningful: Labor law has allowed workers to pay partial fees in attempting to avoid compelled political donations. By classifying these payments as charitable, NEA was able to redirect payments from both members and dissidents to the group. The NEA did not respond to request for comment.

Glenn Laird, the Los Angeles teacher, is hopeful the labor movement can return to its narrow mission of fighting for teachers, rather than the interests of union officials who may have aspirations of seeking public office in the future. Asked if he could see himself re-enrolling in UTLAs ranks someday, he had one word in reply: Absolutely.

This article was written by Bill McMorris for RealClearInvestigations.
Why So Many Homeless People Have Smartphones

The government's Lifeline program is a sobering reminder that good intentions dont always yield good results

Theres been no shortage of hand-wringing over the past 15 months as our nation grappled with COVID-19 and its ripple effects, many of which arent medical: the threat of a collapsed economy, government overreach, and increased seclusion along with its affiliated detriments have been concerns.

At the epicenter of this worry have been concerns for the most vulnerable among us, including low-income Americans. Regarding increased seclusion, how might we mitigate the harms of isolation for those already more vulnerable? Many have advocated for increased access to technology via government-subsidized Lifeline cellphones as an innovative way for the poor to remain connected.

But is the antidote to isolation that simple?

Im reminded of a recent experience I had volunteering at a local homeless shelter. To be friendly, I struck up a conversation with one of the residents, who shared with me unfounded confidence in the stability of his current romantic relationship. I challenged him a bit: How do you know your relationship is as healthy as you think? Immediately, his eyes glazed over and, wordlessly, he pulled his phone out and began scrolling absentmindedly. He ignored my presence and left my question hanging in the air, unanswered. It made him uncomfortable, so he dodged itand his smartphone made it easy.

How could this man, jobless and staying at a homeless shelter, afford a smartphone? He and other shelter residents can have smartphones courtesy of a government program called Lifeline.

The Federal Communications Commission implemented the Lifeline program in 1984 to help low-income households with what was deemed an essential service: phone access. It originally covered a small portion of low-income residents landline phone bills. But, over time, the program ballooned, with greater benefits for an ever-increasing number of peoplenow, many low-income people qualify for free smart phones with free or very cheap service plans, complete with unlimited talk and text and free data. The government imposes a tax on phone companies to pay for the program. The phone companies then pass the expense to their customers via the Universal Service Fund, an additional charge on every conventional customers phone bill.

That night, I spoke with two other residents interested in joining the Forge, the shelters long-term mens program. I encouraged their interestwhat could be better for these men than a program that promotes virtue, work, and self-sufficiency? But both expressed trepidation, which I pressed them on: Why choose the path of chronic homelessness over the path out of poverty? Both men cited the same reason: I couldnt give up my cell phone. Participants in the Forge program are asked to give up their phone for six months to enable a distraction-free environment.

That evening at the shelter, I kept thinking: unintended consequences. On the surface, Lifeline seems to be a good and even necessary program. What could be wrong with providing low-income citizens with means to call about job opportunities, schedule doctor appointments, and stay connected to family? But the insidious problem lies in the risk of overuse and its concomitant issues.

Phone addiction isnt limited to the poor. A 2015 study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions discovered a significant correlation between the extent of smart phone use and depression among adult students.

However, the negative effects appear to accrue disproportionately to those at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale. Other studies link heavy phone usage with anxiety, depression, and social isolation, maladies which already disproportionately affect the poor and are on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Robert Putnam, in his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone, indicates that social isolation is especially harmful to the economically disadvantaged; conversely, strong social connections, particularly outside an impoverished persons socioeconomic tier, are invaluable in their potential to leverage him or her out of poverty.

Indeed, the poor have the most acute need for the benefits afforded by a variety of real social connections, including better work opportunities, a sense of community and belonging, and an improved outlook on lifeand significant evidence shows smartphones inhibit our ability to make these vital connections. Is it wise to provide a device thats strongly linked with social isolation and depression as a combatant against social isolation and depression, especially during such a tumultuous time when such issues are already exacerbated? Is it even logical?

The Lifeline program is a sobering reminder of what seasoned poverty fighters know well: Good intentions dont always yield good results. Knowing what will really help is a job that can only be accomplished by local, knowledgeable, compassionate charity. As we consider the role government should play in mitigating the insidious effects of a global pandemic, remember that blanket solutions may create more problems than they solve.

That which is intended to alleviate isolation and its attendant depression may indeed be fostering it.

Savannah Aleckson is regional director for the True Charity Initiative. This article was originally published on FEE.org
STAMFORD  Synchrony, the countrys largest provider of private-label credit cards, announced plans to raise its minimum hourly wage from $15 to $20 for all U.S. employees.

Stamford-based Synchrony said the increased pay rate, which takes effect in August, will benefit more than 5,000 full- and part-time workers. Most of them work in call centers, which employ more than 10,000 people, including a small number in Connecticut.

At the same time, the No. 187 company on this years Fortune 500 list committed to funding its 2021 bonus program so that full-time hourly employees will be eligible for a $1,000 bonus.

Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media

Companies have a responsibility to their communities and their employees. Our people are the heart of our business and success, Synchrony CEO and President Brian Doubles said in a statement Tuesday. We offer one of the most competitive wage and benefits programs to attract and retain the best talent. These investments allow us to remain an employer of choice now and for the future.

With its baseline hourly rate, Synchrony was already paying more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Connecticuts minimum wage is $12 per hour, but it will rise to $13 on Aug. 1; $14 on July 1, 2022; and, finally, $15 in June 2023.

A number of other major companies have also raised their minimum wages in the past few years. Stamford-based Charter Communications, the No. 64 company on the Fortune list, announced in April 2020 that it was increasing its minimum hourly rate from $15 to $20 during the next two years.

Among other HR-focused programs, Synchrony announced in May a $50 million Education as an Equalizer initiative in the next five years to support higher education, workforce training and financial literacy for employees and underserved communities.

Among its financial aid for employees education, Synchrony offers tuition reimbursement of up $20,000 per year and up to $4,000 per year for academic fees for full-timers to gain degrees in areas related to their work. The company does not require workers to stay at the firm for a set amount of time after receiving those benefits.

Many of those who receive financial aid for their education are call center workers. The tuition reimbursement helps to reduce turnover in that group, according to company officials.

For some, they may have done a great job being a contact center associate, but their longer-term passion is to be a schoolteacher or a nurse, DJ Casto, Synchronys chief human resources officer, said in a recent interview. It takes a significant amount of time to work and go to school. We have the ability to offer flex schedules and invest through tuition reimbursement. If we have an employee who stays with us for five or six years while they acquire their degree, theres a big ROI (return on investment) for us.

Among related benefits, Synchrony reimburses employees up to $9,000 per year for technology certifications mapped to critical skills in high-growth fields.

The company also touts its flexible workplace arrangements for its 16,500 employees. Last October, it announced a new policy allowing employees to permanently work from home.

But the company still values in-person collaboration. In the past few weeks, the company has reopened offices including its headquarters at 777 Long Ridge Road in Stamford.

So far, so good. And were going to increase that pilot group in July and again in August, with the goal of being more or less at longer-term capacity in September, Doubles said in an interview last month. Right now, we think somewhere around half of our employees will come back (to the office) at least three or four days a week.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
NORWALK  Sleeping on duty. Damaging department property. Refusing to obey orders.

These are some of the department violations Norwalk police officers have been cited for in recent years, according to disciplinary records obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media.

Most police officers caught engaging in wrongdoing faced relatively light punishments  aside from one officer accused of repeated misconduct being suspended from work for 15 days, the most serious punishment handed down by the department between 2015 and 2020. The records show that the majority of the officers, including two repeat offenders, were ordered to serve only one- or two-day suspensions, allowing them to quickly return to work.

An investigation by Hearst Connecticut Media last month found that of the more than 1,800 internal charges of alleged officer misconduct at 30 local police departments primarily in Fairfield and New Haven counties, only about 1 percent resulted in the officer being fired.

In Norwalk, none of the 17 charges that were sustained by department officials  meaning misconduct was found to have occured  led to any terminations.

Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik, who personally determines the disciplinary action for each individual case, said the punishment is based on the seriousness of the violation and the record of the officer accused of misconduct.

Someone whos been here for 20 years and has a minor violation but has never had an issue is going to be treated differently than someone whos had several suspensions and then charged again with the same violation, he said. Obviously, the punishment would get more severe as you go forward.

Kulhawik said the vast majority of the violations were found by department supervisors or through routine inspections.

A lot of our disciplinary issues are really internally generated as opposed to civilian complaints, he said. We have very few civilians, and of those very few end up substantiated.

The disciplinary records, which do not include allegations of misconduct that were found to be unsubstantiated, offer few details about the individual violations. Often just two sentences long, the reports note the violation and the resulting punishment.

Still, the records show the frequency of the violations within the 179-member department and a pattern of misconduct from at least one officer.

Jermaine Nash, a veteran of the department, was found to have violated department rules at least four different times over the span of five years, the largest number of violations for a single officer.

In 2015, he was suspended for five days and was ordered to pay the department $500 in restitution for damaging equipment. Two years later he was cited for neglect of duty and then for incompetence, leading to a 15-day suspension. Most recently, he was suspended for a single day in 2019 for sleeping on duty.

At least two Norwalk officers who have faced criminal charges this year also appear in the disciplinary records.

Michael DiMeglio, who was arrested in January after allegedly drinking alcohol while on duty, was suspended for two days in 2016 due to insubordination and for a violation involving the use of department equipment.

Nelson Figueroa, an officer charged with trespassing in May for allegedly refusing to leave a Fairfield residence, was forced to forfeit a day and a half of vacation time in 2018 after he submitted a fictitious injury or illness report.

Norwalk Branch NAACP President Brenda Penn-Williams, who has pushed for changes to police practices, called the punishments detailed in the disciplinary records slaps on the wrist. She suggested that officers who repeatedly violate department policy should face longer suspensions and, if necessary, termination.

They should be held to the highest standard possible, she said. They are police officers and they are supposed to serve and protect. But it seems like theres a different set of rules for them and thats not right.

The number of violations have decreased in recent years. Between 2015 and 2017, a dozen violations were sustained. But from 2018 to 2020, just four infractions were recorded.

Norwalk Police Union President David OConnor described the disciplinary process as thorough and fair. Under the union contract, officers are allowed to dispute misconduct allegations and present evidence in their defense.

OConnor said he was open to changes to the system, but argued that the current approach encourages officers to correct mistakes and avoid committing any future violations.

For the most part, the goal is to get cooperation and compliance and not to be punitive in every single thing, he said. If every time someone made a mistake we fired them, then there would be nobody there working.

richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com
WESTPORT  Westport Democratic Town Committee Chair Ellen Lautenberg, who is mentioned prominently in a lawsuit against Democratic first selectman candidate Jonathan Steinberg  but is not a party to the suit  has responded, calling it outlandish and baseless.

But Kristan Hamlin, the Westport resident and DTC member who filed the suit, said the statement unfairly focuses on a complaint Hamlin brought to the Democratic State Central Committee against Lautenberg, which is separate from the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Bridgeport last month, makes multiple allegations against Steinberg, also a state representative, including that he misrepresented his background, used cronyism and quid pro quo to secure his nomination and made defamatory statements against those who opposed him.

Lautenberg is mentioned multiple times in the suit, which alleges that Lautenberg, Steinberg, Lautenbergs friend Melissa Katz-Kane and the suits co-defendant, Lisa Newman, subverted the democratic process to ensure that Steinberg got the first selectman nomination. Kane, the suit alleges, wanted Steinbergs state representative seat.

Before filing the lawsuit, Hamlin  along with fellow Democrats Sal Liccione and Jill Saluk  filed a complaint against Lautenberg with the state central committee alleging six instance of violations of Democratic Party rules. The complaint was heard and a letter was sent last month, dismissing it.

In a statement issued to the DTC and obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, Lautenberg said both the complaint to the state committee and the lawsuit are filled with many allegations that were untrue. She went on to say that the clear intent of the suit is to inflict great reputational harm to Jonathan, Lisa, Melissa, and me, but it will not be successful. The allegations are simply not true.

Lautenberg declined to elaborate further on Friday.

Ive no further comment beyond that statement at this time. I believe that statement speaks for itself, she said.

Hamlin, meanwhile, said that the lawsuit and the complaint to the state central committee are separate.

The State Central (SC) complaint and the lawsuit are apples and oranges, her statement read. The SC Complaint was brought by numerous DTC members against Ellen Lautenberg, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit. It alleged different facts, most of which had nothing to do with me. Defamation was not alleged at State Central. Jonathan was not part of the complaint at State Central. So the complaint involved different parties, different facts and different claims.

Hamlins statement goes on to say that, No legal violations were brought to SCs attention as SC has no jurisdiction over legal claims. SCs decision basically said that there are no SC rules that prohibit the misconduct alleged by DTC members against Ellen, but SC did not say that they approved of Ellens misconduct in any way. SC panel members said at the hearing essentially, ugly politics are ugly, but they are not against State Central rules. 

Liccione, who joined Hamlin in bringing the complaint to the state committee, said he took issue with Lautenbergs statement, but wants a resolution to the fighting within the towns Democratic Party.

We need to tone the temperature down, he said. We all need to work together. We need come to a resolution. We need to respect each other.

Newmans attorney, Joshua Koskoff, didnt address Lautenbergs statement directly, but said he will be filing a motion early next week to dismiss the case with the court.

Koskoff had previously said he finds that the suit asserts no cognizable legal claim.

Attorney Samuel Leaf, who was hired by Steinberg on Thursday to represent him in the case, deferred comment until he has had more time to review the suit.

Im still getting my hands around this case, he said.
Angel Headden, right, speaks Thursday during a Hardin County Parents for Education news conference before the Hardin County Schools board meeting. More than a dozen community members attended in regard to critical race theory.
On Campus: Hope is only one call away

A couple of months back, one of my Thai students confided in me about his struggle with bouts of depression. It was quite obvious  at least to me  that he was in a state of distress and agony; he didnt know who to turn to or how to get help. So I did what I can to help him find the professional care and proper treatment that he desperately needed, as I am aware that depression can increase suicide risk.

CommunityHealthsuicideCOVID-19

By Milla Budiarto

Sunday 18 July 2021, 11:00AM

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization estimated that nearly 800,000 people die by suicide across the world every year  to put it in perspective, roughly one person commits suicide every 40 seconds. Just as with the pandemic, suicide occurs indiscriminately across all nations affecting any individuals regardless of their race, nationality, ethnicity, age, gender, culture, religion or socio-economic background. For the past few years, Thailands suicide rate trend has been hovering around 6 per 100,000 population before spiking to 7.37 per 100,000 population in 2020 after the pandemic hit  but still well below the suicide rate during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that peaked at 8.59 per 100,000 population.

Sweeping across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc in every aspect of life, creating unprecedented economic hardships and negatively impacting peoples overall physical, mental and emotional health. Job losses, reduced income, loss of livelihoods, business closures, increased debts, isolation, untimely deaths, bereavement, and the overall mental fatigue have caused a great deal of stress and anxiety or worse, despair and depression. Depression, if left untreated, increases the risk for suicide and it is the most common underlying cause of suicide.

Its no surprise that the pandemic further exacerbated Thailands suicide rate. In the first six months of 2020 amid the first wave of the pandemic, Thailands suicide rate rose by 22% from 2,092 to 2,551 suicides in the same period of the previous year, according to the Department of Mental Health. Day in and day out, we constantly read and hear in the news about desperate people across the country taking their own lives. Incidentally, the overexposure of suicide coverage in the news could add fuel to the fire for copycat suicides, or known scientifically as the Werther Effect. The bombardment and constant media coverage about suicides send harmful subliminal messages that can trigger suicide-prone individuals to take action, as they see it as an option to escape from the burden of their everyday lives.

As many people are grappling with pandemic-related stress, without a doubt crisis hotlines such as the Department of Mental Healths 1323 hotline (Thai only) and the Samaritans of Thailands bilingual hotlines 02-713-6793 (Thai) and 02-713-6791 (English) are inundated with sudden barrage of calls.

To spread awareness about the existence of such suicide hotline, I reached out to the Samaritans of Thailand to learn more about the tremendous work they are doing for the community, especially now during the COVID-19 crisis. I was able to get in touch with the Chairman of the organisation, Trakarn Chensy, via email for an interview. Khun Trakarn has been with the Samaritans of Thailand since 1997. He has served as the organisations Director for four terms and is currently on his second term as the Chairman.

First of all, what is the Samaritans of Thailand? And could you tell us a brief history of the organisation?

Khun Trakarn: The Samaritans is headquartered in the UK. Our center in Thailand has been in operation for 42 years. The Samaritans of Thailand operates a call center for anyone who needs a sympathetic ear and emotional support, especially when they feel sad, lonely, depressed and suicidal. Our principal mission is suicide prevention. Each year we receive 10,000 contacts from callers on average. In addition to calling us, people can also contact us through our social media platforms via Facebook Messenger and Twitter direct messages. The call center is manned entirely by our trained volunteers. No one gets paid for doing this.

What types of support does the Samaritans of Thailand provide?

Basically we provide unconditional emotional support through active listening. We listen and converse with our callers non-judgmentally, empathetically, understandingly and we accept them unconditionally. We also reflect possible options for them to consider when they are looking for a solution to their problems. In the end, though, they are the ones to make the final decision.

Is the service provided confidential?

Yes, strictly confidential. Callers can always trust us that we do not disclose even the tiniest details of our conversation to anyone.

Who can call the hotline and what can they talk about?

Anyone can call and theres no charge, except for the telephone fee that they pay to their phone service provider. We are a charity organisation and our service is free of charge.

The callers can talk about anything that they want to talk about.

Based on the calls that the Samaritans of Thailand received, what are the common reasons people contact the hotline?

Problems and difficulties they face due to interpersonal relationship problems and the resulting emotional pain they experience because of this. This comprises more than 50% of the contacts to our center.

How has COVID-19 affected the operation of the hotline center?

During the peak of the pandemic, we had to close the call center to protect our volunteers. However, we would never neglect our callers, so we set up a call-back service whereby callers can leave their phone numbers and our volunteers will call them back within 24 hours. The COVID-19 situation has also brought forth an astronomical increase in non-telephone contacts through Facebook Messenger and Twitter DM [direct message].

How many calls on average does the hotline center receive per month before the pandemic compared with during the pandemic? Does the center receive more pandemic-related calls nowadays?

On average we received about 10,000 contacts per year. That translates to about 830 contacts per month. During the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the contacts rose by three-fold for approximately three months before subsiding back to the average level.

Most of the pandemic-related calls we received were about the economic difficulties that our callers were facing due to the mandatory closure of businesses.

To your knowledge, what are the statistics and trends of suicide in Thailand in the past few years before the COVID-19 situation? What about during the height of the pandemic in 2020 until now?

According to the Ministry of Public Healths official statistics, the countrys suicide rate is 6 per 100,000 people. So on average about 4,000 people in Thailand commit suicide successfully each year. The rate has been steady for the past decades. Although the figure for last year has not been released, we expect a significant rise in Thailands suicide rate as a result of the pandemic. (Note: this interview took place well before the publication of the 2020 suicide rate. The new figure was published at the time of this writing).

Why do you think the suicide rate skyrocketed during the pandemic?

Economic difficulties due to business closures and unemployment have made life very difficult for many Thais, and a large number of them have lost hope. COVID-19 also isolates a lot of people. The feelings of desperation and isolation are the principal causes that lead to suicide and suicidal ideation.

What are the warning signs of suicide?

Many suicidal people would express their suicidal thoughts verbally with phrases like I feel so hopeless, Life is not worth living, I wish I were dead, If I were dead, no one would feel affected, etc. Other warning signs include isolation, change in personality, and the loss of interest in things that used to interest them.

Is the hotline open 24 hours a day? If not, what happens if someone calls the hotline when it is not open? How quickly will you respond?

The real-time phone service is provided from 12 noon to 10pm daily. We also offer a call-back service where callers can leave their numbers for our volunteers to call back. Usually calls are returned within 24 hours. As Ive already mentioned before, we also offer a chat service which is available almost around the clock.

Are all the volunteers Thai or do you have any non-Thai volunteers for the hotline in English?

At present all volunteers are Thais. The English service is provided by Thai volunteers who are fluent in the English language.

How do you recruit volunteers and what are the requirements to be a volunteer?

We publicise our recruitment through social media channels. The candidates are required to go through two full days of workshop on listening skill. After the workshop, there will be a screening process. If the candidates pass the screening, they will be required to undergo more intensive training with their mentors on a one-on-one basis once a week. The intensive training takes approximately four to six months on average before they are qualified to man the phone in the call center.

If someone wants to volunteer, what should one do?

Contact our office at 02-713-6790 or send a message to our Facebook page @Samaritans.Thailand.

Other than volunteering, how can we support the Samaritans of Thailand?

We are a non-profit organisation without income. We get by through generous donations by the public. Your financial contributions would be much appreciated. You can also help by publicising our service so that people in need of our help can be aware of how to reach us.

Are there any final thoughts youd like to share?

Suicide and depression are a big national problem in Thailand. Suicidal people need emotional support and unconditional acceptance that they dont feel they receive. We can all help prevent suicide by being good and caring listeners. Lets work together to tackle this problem. If you want to learn more about us, please feel free to contact us:

Website: www.samaritansthai.com

Facebook: @Samaritans.Thailand

Twitter: @Samaritans_Thai

Tiktok: @samaritans_thai

Clubhouse: @samaritansthai

Suicide is a serious public health concern and it is preventable as it comes with a lot of warning signs. Any early signs should not be dismissed or treated lightly. Awareness about suicide and its prevention is the crucial first step to start the conversation and understand about this intricate issue. Compassion and empathy are extremely vital in shattering the stigma surrounding suicide. Speak up. Seek help. There is always HOPE

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of PSU Phuket and its employees or official policies of PSU Phuket.

Milla Budiarto is an international affairs officer at the International Affairs Centre, Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus. This article was featured in The Phuket Collegiate Magazine, the university magazine published by Milla at PSU Phuket. For more information, visit: https://www.phuket.psu.ac.th/en/magazine or to share ideas with Milla email: magazine@phuket.psu.ac.th
Siriraj doctor calls for end to Sinovac imports

THAILAND: The government should stop importing Sinovac vaccines as they are not effective enough to fight the Delta variant of COVID-19, a medical expert said.

ChineseCoronavirusCOVID-19healthVaccine

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 18 July 2021, 12:02PM

Sinovac vaccines are not effective enough to boost immunity responses, says medical expert. Photo: AFP

Speaking in a Clubhouse chatroom, Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Siriraj Hospital, said Sinovac vaccines were not effective enough to boost immunity responses so they were not suited to deal with the highly-transmissible Delta variant.

Pfizer vaccines are better. From now on, the government should avoid placing orders for Sinovac vaccines because they have efficacy problems. It should look at vaccines of high quality such as AZ [AstraZeneca] and J&J [Johnson & Johnson], mRNA vaccines and protein subunit vaccines such as Novavax, Dr Prasit said.

The government should have ordered Pfizer vaccines last year. Thailand was able to control the outbreak back then so it did not order them. Now the government has ordered them, but it has to wait because we were too slow.

One should not say that Sinovac vaccines are low quality because each type of vaccine can be used effectively in certain circumstances. But Sinovac vaccines may not be the only solution during the current situation where the Delta variant is rampant.

I am not pro-Sinovac. I prefer high-quality vaccines. We should be open to other types of vaccines such as Novavax. They should be considered. This is what we are waiting for. Just order them.

Dr Prasit, who is also an adviser to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said he has been told that 1.5 million Pfizer vaccine doses will arrive this or next month.

Initially, plans were to administer the vaccines to at-risk people, with a proposal put forward at a CCSA meeting that the vaccines should also be allocated to front-line health workers who have already received two shots, Dr Prasit said. They should be allowed to choose either AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines as booster shots, he said.

He also said Siriraj Hospital has placed an order for 20,000 Moderna vaccine doses through the Thai Red Cross Society and paid B26 million for them.

Meanwhile, several hospitals yesterday (July 17) started mixing Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines to increase protection against the fast-spreading Delta variant after the CCSA approved the cross-vaccination method on Friday.
BLY, Oregon (AP)  The largest wildfire in the U.S. torched more dry forest landscape in Oregon on Sunday, one of dozens of major blazes burning across the West as critically dangerous fire weather loomed in the coming days.

The destructive Bootleg Fire just north of the California border grew to more than 476 square miles (1,210 square kilometers), an area about the size of Los Angeles.

Erratic winds fed the blaze, creating dangerous conditions for firefighters, said John Flannigan, an operations section chief on the 2,000-person force battling the flames.

Weather is really against us," he said. "Its going to be dry and air is going to be unstable.

Authorities expanded evacuations that now affect some 2,000 residents of a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges. The blaze, which was 22% contained, has burned at least 67 homes and 100 outbuildings while threatening thousands more.

At the other end of the state, a fire in the mountains of northeast Oregon grew to more than 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) by Sunday.

The Elbow Creek Fire that started Thursday has prompted evacuations in several small, remote communities around the Grande Ronde River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington. It was 10% contained.

Natural features of the area act like a funnel for wind, feeding the flames and making them unpredictable, officials said.

In California, a growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders, the closure of the Pacific Crest Trail and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, had charred nearly 29 square miles (74 square kilometers) of dry brush and timber as of Sunday morning. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least two structures, authorities said.

A notice posted Saturday on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all bike riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.

It happened so fast, Pennington said. We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left."

About 500 fire personnel were battling the flames Sunday, "focusing on preserving life and property with point protection of structures and putting in containment lines where possible, the U.S. Forest Service said.

Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather with lightning possible through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon.

With the very dry fuels, any thunderstorm has the potential to ignite new fire starts, the National Weather Service in Sacramento, California, said on Twitter.

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves tied to climate change have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Firefighters said in July they were facing conditions more typical of late summer or fall.

Northern California's Dixie Fire roared to new life Sunday, prompting new evacuation orders in rural communities near the Feather River Canyon. The wildfire, near the 2018 site of the deadliest U.S. blaze in recent memory, was 15% contained and covered 39 square miles. The fire is northeast of the town of Paradise, California, and survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched warily as the new blaze burned.

Officials in Montana identified a firefighter who was seriously burned when flames overtook a crew fighting a small blaze there. Dan Steffensen was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital after the winds shifted suddenly on Friday, engulfing his fire engine near the Wyoming border. A second firefighter escaped without injury and called for help.

There were about 70 active large fires and complexes of multiple blazes that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers) in the U.S., the National Interagency Fire Center said. The U.S. Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  Four suspected former Islamic State group fighters and their families have been successfully repatriated to North Macedonia, the government said Sunday.

Government said the 23-member group, including five women and 14 children, has been transferred from Syria and Iraq to the Balkan nation.

The four men were put in custody pending trial. The government said they had requested a red notice for the arrest of the four after the countrys police had gathered evidence they had joined the IS and fought in Syria and Iraq.

The women and children were transferred to a shelter for two-week mandatory health quarantine and medical exams due to coronavirus protocols. The government also said authorities will investigate their possible participation in incriminating acts." If cleared, they will then begin the process of reintegration into society.

The government said this is the last group of former IS fighters and their families repatriated in North Macedonia.

Police spokesperson Toni Angelovski told The Associated Press that 11 other Macedonian citizens, including a woman, had been repatriated from 2018 to 2020.

Criminal courts in North Macedonia have so far given 13 people sentences ranging from six to nine years in jail for fighting with IS in Syria and Iraq.
This week, staff writer Laura Rysz talks with Kevin Farrell about upcoming screenings of Free Willy and Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, which will benefit a scholarship at Marywood University.

Residence: Scranton

Educational background: Bachelors degree in rhetoric and writing from University of Arkansas  Fort Smith and masters degree in college student personnel from Arkansas Tech University

Title: Director of alumni engagement at Marywood University

Q: How does the fundraiser work?

A: The cost of admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under. Proceeds from the events will be donated to the Marywood Lackawanna County Alumni Chapter Endowed Scholarship.

Q: What else will be on hand at the event?

A: In addition to the movie features, attendees can purchase basket raffle tickets (cash only), and the winner will be announced prior to the start of each of the movies. The basket for Free Willy includes passes to the Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den, gift certificates to Hanks Hoagies, Free Willy movie and popcorn, beach and summer fun items, goldfish crackers and more. The Harry Potter basket includes gift certificates to Hanks Hoagies, Harry Potter movie and popcorn, back-to-school supplies, a Harry Potter joke book and jigsaw puzzle, candy and more.

Q: What is your fundraising goal?

A: Since this is the first time hosting this event, the ultimate goal for the event is to get people out to enjoy a night of seeing friends, having fun and enjoying classic movies on the big screen. The alumni office is appreciative of the Circle Drive-in staff and our alumni volunteers for their generosity of time and financial support in putting these movies together. We are hoping, of course, to fill the Circle Drive-in with all those interested in seeing these great films on the big screen.

Q: How will proceeds be used?

A: Proceeds will support the Marywood Lackawanna County Alumni Chapter Endowed Scholarship, which was established in 2002 by Marywood graduates to provide financial support for undergraduate students who live in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Q: What is unique about this event?

A: Over the past year, it has been difficult to host events where there is an in-person gathering, even at venues such as the Circle Drive-in. Now that the community is beginning to feel more comfortable in these settings, we are hoping to bring people together again. This particular event is one which brings back a sense of nostalgia for those who may have seen the movie back when it first came out, and its also a chance for families to enjoy these throwbacks for a one night-only showing on the big screen.
As he sifted through rubble at Ground Zero in the aftermath of Sept. 11, caked with toxic, cancer-causing dust, Donald Sefcik met firefighters from small Pennsylvania towns he never knew existed.

The strange-sounding names stood out to the retired New York City police officer who now lives in Dickson City.

If you saw somebody was getting upset, and they were  everybody was  a guy from another place you didnt even know would come over and say, Yeah, Im a volunteer fireman,  he said, recalling looking at the hose company insignias on their helmets. Oh, wheres Throop? Never heard of it.

Although he cant remember their names 20 years later, Sefcik, 66, who cares for rescued ducks to help treat his post-traumatic stress disorder, has made it his mission to ensure those local first responders know help is out there. With a deadline approaching later this month for one program, time is of the essence, he said.

Following his May 5 bladder cancer diagnosis, the father of four and grandfather of eight wants to raise awareness about 9/11-related federal programs for local first responders who helped at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ive seen what the loss  has done to the families, he said, his voice thick with emotion.

He wants to clarify misinformation and confusion hes encountered surrounding the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. You cant go to a place like that and not have something affect you, he said. Its like, you cant jump into a lake without getting wet.

An actual warzone

After spending about 3 years in New York Citys emergency medical services, Sefcik joined the transit division of the New York City Police Department in 1983  a position he held until lung damage from Sept. 11 forced his early retirement in 2006. Sefcik had a home in Staten Island but bought a house in Tobyhanna in 1990, to raise his children in the Poconos. He was supposed to work on Sept. 11, 2001, but swapped shifts with a coworker, which he believes ultimately saved his life.

When he learned of the attacks, he rushed to New York City, admittedly driving dangerously fast.

All you saw was white dust, stuff burning, Sefcik said. It was an actual war zone.

He spent the next eight months working around Ground Zero until the final steel beam was removed. He vividly recalled the choking dust. It tasted like chalk, and no matter how often he rinsed out his mouth, he couldnt get it out.

It was awful, and the worst was stuff in your eyes, Sefcik said.

That exposure led to his bladder cancer, along with lung disorders.

Sefcik realized the extent of his lung damage in 2004, when he responded to a call on foot for an officer in need of assistance arresting a robbery suspect.

He ran eight blocks. He couldnt breathe.

Im gasping for breath and my partner, Greg, says, Donnie, you got to go to the hospital. You dont look good, Sefcik said.

During a several-day stay in the hospital, a doctor read him the results of his lung X-rays.

Your lungs look like Glad trash bags, he said the doctor told him.

Sefcik learned he had asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease and Barretts esophagus. Through programs for those affected by 9/11, Sefciks lungs have significantly improved.

Most caring people in the world

Sefcik dug through debris side by side with volunteer firefighters, many of whom were in their late teens and early 20s.

Now, hes worried about their health. As part of the World Trade Center Health Program, he undergoes extremely thorough annual health screenings  so thorough they are beyond anything youve ever seen, he said. Although his bladder cancer is an aggressive form, one of those screenings caught it before it spread.

Never a drinker or smoker, Sefcik said his bladder cancer was a result of his time at Ground Zero. He first experienced pain in December  something a seemingly healthy, now 40-year-old volunteer firefighter who spent time around Ground Zero could overlook, he said.

They went on with their lives, and they forgot about it, he said.

They would think that pain in their stomach is just something they ate, or theyre just feeling under the weather, he said.

And youve got the start of your cancer, he said, later explaining, Thats what this program is for  the identification of diseases that ... are around but they havent been diagnosed yet.

Under the World Trade Center Health Program, general responders involved in rescue, recovery, cleanup and other support roles could be eligible based on how much time they spent in the area, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the program provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment for certified World Trade Center-related conditions for those affected by the 9/11 attacks, according to the CDC.

It covers an array of conditions, including physical injuries, airway and digestive disorders, cancers, mental health conditions and musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and low back pain. Theyre the most caring people in the world, Sefcik said. Theyre going to spot what is ever wrong before it grows, and they spotted my bladder cancer in time.

Approximately 90,000 responders were exposed to toxic contaminants, risks of traumatic injury and physically and emotionally stressful conditions following the attacks, said Stephanie Stevens, health communication specialist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. There are more than 80,949 responders enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, she said in an email.

To raise awareness, their outreach partners have held town hall meetings, placed ads in national publications and used social media. The program is working with an outside contractor to develop a campaign to reach those who have yet to enroll, she said.

We know that responders came from across the U.S. to assist in the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts after the 9/11 disaster, and survivors from the New York City area may have moved away in the years since, she said, adding, For those who are not yet enrolled in the program, we want them to know that no matter where they are located, the process for applying to the program is the same. ... The first step is to figure out if you are eligible, gather the documents that you need to apply  which are listed on the website  and complete the application form and send the signed forms to the program.

Sefcik said hes encountered people misinformed about the program, not realizing they didnt need to live in New York to be eligible. It could also apply to people who provided support following the terrorist attacks, such as nursing students who ran eye-washing stations for those sifting through debris, he said.

He also emphasized the importance of registering for the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The fund compensates those who were at the World Trade Center and surrounding area between Sept. 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, according to the funds website. It also provides compensation to personal representatives of those who died.

The earliest deadline to register is July 29, Sefcik said. It applies to anyone with a certified health condition from the World Trade Center Health Program  as well as anyone who died from a 9/11-related condition  before July 29, 2019.Anyone with a certified condition diagnosed after July 29, 2019, has exactly two years to register.

Get certified now, Sefcik cautioned, adding that people do not have to be certified to register.

The process to register for the programs isnt difficult, but it is time-consuming, he said.

Theyre not hard  theyre just tedious, he said. Youre going to get millions of dollars of medical care. Who cant spend four hours filling this stuff out?

For anyone struggling, Sefcik is willing to help. He estimates hes already helped eight people register.

They (can) come over my house, he said. Ill help them as long as Im able to.

Those who need help registering can call Sefcik at 570-383-0771. To apply for the World Trade Center Health Program, visit cdc.gov/wtc. To register for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, go to vcf.gov.
SCRANTON  Senior citizen Sylvia Vilchock of Old Forge attended the annual Solemn Novena to St. Ann on Saturday, just as she has done every year since childhood.

Ive been coming since I was 11, when she walked from Old Forge with her mother and aunt. Its a ritual.

The 97th annual Solemn Novena to St. Ann began Saturday at St. Anns Monastery and Shrine Basilica in West Scranton and will continue until July 26.

After the pandemic restrictions of last year, the novena looked a lot more familiar to the faithful this year.

The Rev. Robert Carbonneau, C.P., Ph.D., one of the novena preachers, said attendants seem to find comfort in the commonality of being able to gather together.

Theres almost like a relaxed peace and a breath of fresh air that is apparent (this year). People are tired but their faith is strong, and they want some kind of hope, Carbonneau said. People say, Im so glad to be back. Its really like an emotional peace they have. They sort of want to forget what theyve been through, but they want to understand it through faith.

Carbonneau said he hopes in his presentations to tap into the culture, faith and history of the novena, and tie ones local faith to the larger world.

This is a sacred spot for the city. I look at this as an opportunity for people, really of all faiths, to come here and make a retreat of the city and Northeastern Pennsylvania, Carbonneau said.

Chris Musso, 39, of Scranton, has been attending the annual novena since he was a boy. He tries to attend daily.

I just always try to get as much prayer and faith as I can, Musso said. And this is a local tradition, especially outside listening to the novena and the Scriptures and the word of God. You really cant get much better.

For more information and a schedule, see www.stannsnovena.live.
Fidelity Bank





Derek Cronauer has been hired as assistant vice president and business relationship manager. Cronauer brings nearly a decade of community banking experience to his new role at the bank. He works closely with business owners in Luzerne County to assess their financial needs and help them achieve their goals.

Cronauer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, and is licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He also holds a Pennsylvania Life, Accident & Health, Fixed Annuity license. Cronauer is a graduate of the Class of 2019 of Leadership Wilkes-Barre.

Kelley Dougherty has been named retail branch manager at the banks Financial Center in Scranton. In her role, Dougherty manages the daily operations of the Financial Center, serving the needs of clients in Scranton and neighboring communities.

Dougherty holds a Bachelor of Science degree in tourism and hospitality management with a business minor from Temple University, Philadelphia. Active in the community, she is a member of the Ballet Theatre of Scranton, and multiple Chambers of Commerce, including Scranton, the Wyoming Valley and Pittston.

FNCB Bank

The locally based bank since 1910 announced several staff promotions.

Keehna Murphy has been promoted to vice president, credit analyst supervisor where she will oversee mentoring and training of credit staff as well as prepare, review and assess risk associated with commercial credit requests.

She joined the bank in 2014 as a credit analyst and before that, she had extensive credit analysis experience in the community banking sector. Murphy earned an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She resides in Clarks Green.

Ellen Pritchard has been promoted to vice president, community office manager, where she is responsible for managing the daily operations of the banks Community Office in Honesdale.

She joined the bank in 2006 as a senior customer service representative before being promoted to community office manager of the Honesdale branch in 2010.

Pritchard is a graduate of Southeast High School (Bradenton, Florida) and has completed numerous American Institute of Banking courses. She resides in Honesdale.

Kelley Zionce has been promoted to assistant vice president, community office manager II, where she is responsible for managing the daily operations of the Back Mountain Community Office.

She joined the bank in 2013 as a customer service representative and held various positions before being promoted to community office manager of the Back Mountain branch in 2018. She previously had more than 20 years of experience in banking. She is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Wilkes-Barre and is a board member of the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce. She resides in Wilkes-Barre.

Thomas P. Zurla has been promoted to assistant vice president, community office manager, where he is responsible for managing the daily operations of the Daleville Community Office.

He joined the bank in 2018 as a retail banking training coordinator before being promoted to community office manager in 2020. He previously spent 22 years with M&T Bank in various leadership positions.

He is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Lackawanna and is an organist/cantor at various churches throughout NEPA. He resides in Scranton.

Louise Balbach has been promoted to assistant vice president, community office manager II, where she is responsible for managing the daily operations of the banks Community Office in Exeter.

Balbach joined the bank in 2013 and has held the positions of customer service representative, assistant community office manager and community office manager. She previously had more than 35 years of experience in the banking industry.

She attended the University of Scranton and has completed numerous American Bankers Association courses. She resides in Exeter.

Diane Abbott has been promoted to banking officer, assistant community office manager where she is responsible for helping manage the daily operations of the banks Community Office in Honesdale.

Abbott joined the bank in 2006 and has held the positions of teller, CSR, personal banker and assistant community office manager. She formerly worked as a banker with Farmers & Merchants Bank and Harleysville National Bank. She resides in Honesdale.

Justin Kravitz has been promoted to banking officer, CRM marketing specialist, where he is responsible for the administration of the banks Customer Relationship Management system.

Before joining the bank in 2018, he held project management and marketing positions at several Northeast Pennsylvania companies.

He earned a bachelors degree in integrated media from Wilkes University. He resides in Fell Twp.

Michael Cioffari has been promoted to banking officer, technology services analyst, where he provides technical support for bank employees, management of Citrix environment as well as server infrastructure and Windows desktops.

Before joining the bank in 2007, he was employed by MetLife in Clarks Summit.

Cioffari is a graduate of Mid Valley High School and Keystone College with an associate degree in computer science and a bachelors degree in information technology. He resides in Throop.

Honesdale National Bank

Michelle Kowalewski has been promoted to commercial loan officer II.

In her current role, Kowalewski is mortgage adviser at the Hallstead Office and assists customers and employees with daily functions as well as helping with mortgage recommendations. Originally from Montrose, Kowalewski received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business management from Penn State University. She has been in the financial industry for six years. Previously, she worked as an agricultural loan officer for AgChoice Farm Credit.

Total Foot and Ankle Center

Glenn Woodley, D.P.M., is a podiatrist/foot and ankle surgeon who has achieved triple board-certified status. Woodley is board certified in foot surgery by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery, board certified in reconstructive rearfoot and ankle surgery by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery, and board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. In addition to these certifications comes advanced training and experience in orthopedics and limb salvage and reconstruction.

Woodley recently returned to NEPA from Naples, Florida, and opened a practice in Honesdale.

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Increased demand coupled with climate change and supply chain disruptions has created concerns in the rubber and tire industry.

Rubber demand is projected to expand nearly 1.1% annually to 2023 in the United States, driven by rising output of rubber products, according to Rubber: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports.

Victor Lynn, manager of Kost Tire & Auto Service on North Ninth Avenue in Scranton, noted the store has had some difficulties procuring tires during the last six months.

There is definitely disruptions of tires and the rubber industry due to recent events with COVID, Lynn said. We even lost a container ship coming from overseas. People werent employed at the time. It pretty much shut down most of the country.

Kost Tire has locations in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Katrina Cornish, Ph.D., a professor at Ohio State University and a global expert on alternate rubber and latex production, processing and products, said the problem could become more prevalent in the near future.

She noted some of the major tire manufacturers  like Bridgestone and Goodyear  claim theyre not having much trouble at the moment getting rubber for their supplies, but the latex industry is a very different situation.

Latex is how everything is tapped and that becomes the solid rubber used in tires, Cornish said. In 2019, we had 14 million tons of rubber in the world and those in the industry thought they were going to be making more, but due to leaf blights, extreme weather events and COVID labor shortages, we actually lost 10% of the global natural rubber in 2020 which is huge.

Cornish said the two leaf blights spread to more than a million acres of rubber trees in seven counties in Southeast Asia in the last half of 2019 and the pandemic further complicated the problem.

COVID doubled the demand for gloves from 300 billion to 600 billion, she said.

Cornish anticipates global demand for rubber is going to double over the next 20 years as Asian and especially African countries continue to develop and require more cars and tires.

The rubber market is still increasing exponentially, she said. Instead of going up a couple million tons, it went down 1.4 tons and demand increased a million tons because of COVID. Even if the tire companies are not hurting now, if this keeps up they are going to be hurting a lot soon. It will be very interesting to see what happens with the 2021 market figures.

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association has 12 member companies that operate 56 tire-related manufacturing facilities in 17 states and generate over $27 billion in annual sales. Tire manufacturing contributes to more than a quarter million jobs in the country, totaling almost $20 billion in wages.

Leo Kelleher, owner of Kelleher Tire in Scranton, noted costs have been on the rise. For instance, tires that cost $80 six weeks ago are now selling for $97, he said.

Tire prices have gotten ridiculous and everybody is blaming it on everything else, Kelleher said. Theyre blaming it on the cost of containers to come across from overseas. A large percentage of tires are not made in this country and there is a surcharge from the government. I think these suppliers are gouging people.

Kelleher added it has become more time-consuming to search for tires due to less availability.

Usually it took me an hour to do at night, he said. Now, Im up to almost two hours to find product. There is a lack of product out there.

Despite some of the recent challenges, Kelleher has noticed sales are recovering.

COVID definitely hurt us, he said. We were in a slump, but business is pretty decent.
Anyone wondering how a state senator can get away with sowing unwarranted doubt about the certified and audited 2020 presidential election, should consult the Fordham Institutes analysis of civics and history educational standards in all 50 states.

Pennsylvania, birthplace of American democracy, was among 10 states to get an F grade in the analysis, along with Alaska, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The Fordham Institute is a conservative educational policy think tank, but its rankings dont reflect the predominant politics of the states. For example, liberal California and Massachusetts, along with conservative Alabama and Tennessee, were the only states to receive A grades, while liberal New York received a B-plus for history and an A-minus for civics.

For a state that gave the nation Benjamin Franklin, Lucretia Mott and George Marshall, Pennsylvanias civics standards are a major disappointment. ... The goal of producing active and informed citizens can hardly be detected, the report concluded. Pennsylvania simply does not offer U.S. history standards. No content is outlined. Sequence is barely even suggested.

Small wonder, then, that bombastic Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano feels comfortable with unilaterally demanding that at least three counties turn over their election equipment and records for a forensic audit  a fraudit akin to the travesty that right-wing Arizona legislators recently imposed on the people of Maricopa County.

He, and members of his caucus who refuse to condemn his stunt, know that they can rely on civic illiteracy that they themselves enforce by failing to upgrade and pay for adequate standards.

Fortunately, commissioners in Tioga and York counties have rejected Mastrianos ploy. Philadelphias Republican elections commissioner said Thursday that participating in the political theater of the absurd would cost that county at least $40 million because it would have to replace its election equipment.

Soon after Gutenberg invented movable type, European monarchs and religious figures began destroying printing presses because they knew that an educated populace was a threat to their power. Now, willful civic illiteracy remains politicians best friend.
The Stonington Historical Society hosted a tour of the ongoing renovations project at the Old Lighthouse Museum on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Demolition of the interior walls and ceilings is completed, structural repairs in the basement are ongoing, and the first stage of new electrical work is underway. Within the walls of this 180-year-old structure we've found portions of granite covered in a whitewash applied in the 1880s. Harold Hanka, The Westerly Sun
Postscripts: Book on the Lincolns causes kerfuffle with its portrayal of Mary Todd
DelFest Foundation representatives Matthew Scarpelli, left, Dave Love, center, and Barbara Buehl, right, present checks to County United Way Executive Director Michele Walker, second from left, and Western Maryland Food Bank Director Amy Moyer. The funds were generated through vendor sales on the Canal Place Crescent Lawn during the Del McCoury Bands free Memorial Day concert.
Mike Sawyers retired as the Cumberland Times-News outdoor editor in 2018. His column now appears every other Saturday. To order his book, Native Queen, a celebration of the hunting and fishing life, send him a check for $15 to 16415 Lakewood Drive, Rawlings, MD 21557.


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'He was an angel sent to us': Police officer saves young girl from drowning
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
Boys & Girls Club of the Mountain Empire has named Bluff Citys Kathy Lowdermilk its new CEO, the agency announced this week.
COLONIE  For the second year in a row, local Muslims as well as those around the world, will have a muted celebration of Eidul Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice.

The holiday marks the completion of hajj, or the annual pilgrimage, a gathering of about 2 million Muslims in years past at holy sites in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrims, called hajis, re-enact rites to commemorate Abraham, his wife, Hagar, and their son Ishmael. Hajj is mandatory once in their lifetime for healthy adult Muslims who can afford it financially.

Last year, because of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia held a minuscule pilgrimage, allowing 1,000 Muslims to take part in the annual observance. For this year's hajj, a maximum of 60,000 people will be allowed, all from within the kingdom, all vaccinated.

A Colonie (Loudonville) couple who had planned to go for hajj last year, which was then rescheduled for this year, is very disappointed.

"Our hajj trip was almost final this year. My wife and I had given the deposit to the travel agent," said Intikhab Mohsin Naqvi, an anesthesiologist at Albany Medical Center. He said Saudi Arabia had been opening up slowly the last few months and was allowing a limited number of hajis from overseas until it decided a couple of weeks ago to continue with restrictions. He had gone for hajj in 2006 and was taking his wife, Samar, this time. She said in addition to fulfilling a requirement of her faith, she had been looking forward to the pilgrimage "as an experience in itself."

According to Muslim belief, the Kaaba, a sanctuary in pre-Islamic times, was constructed by Abraham and Ishmael for celebrating the oneness of God. It is the holiest site for Muslims and when they pray they face its direction.

The Quran, the Islamic holy book, tells of how Abraham took his wife Hagar and their child Ishmael to a mountainous and barren land and left them near the hills of Safa and Marwa in modern-day Mecca. When food and water ran out and Ishmael cried, Hagar ran between the hills seven times seeking food or water. Having no success, she returned to find a spring where her baby had been kicking the sand. This spring, ZamZam Well inside the Masjid al-Haram (Sacred Mosque), continues to deliver water in Mecca.

Pilgrims walk counterclockwise seven times around the Kaaba, run back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, drink ZamZam water, go to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, spend a night in the plain of Muzdalifa and perform a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars.

The pilgrims who are financially able to sacrifice a lamb (or share in the cost of a larger animal like a cow) in memory of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael. This differs from the Jewish and Christian belief of Isaac being the son offered for sacrifice. Humanitarian Islamic organizations accept the amount equivalent to the cost of the animals and arrange for them to be slaughtered and their meat distributed in parts of the world where there is poverty.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, the other four being faith in one God, daily prayer, charity and daytime fasting during Ramadan. Hajj takes place from the 8th to 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the year is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year on which Western calendars are based, hajj is about 11 days earlier each year.

Zubair Ahmed of Albany performed the hajj in 2017 with the tour group Dar es Salam, based in New York City, a company he felt "had leaders who were knowledgeable and educated us" before and during the pilgrimage.

"It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by hundreds of people in your group, surrounded by millions from the world over. There was a sense of oneness, everyone was there for the same reason  worshipping, focused on performing the rituals."

Ahmed volunteered in his immediate group. "I am a big guy so I was made the leader to hold up the sign for my group. I still remember it said 'Program 3A Group 24.' I was also able to help the elderly and sick people."

He is the president of the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. "Last Eidul Adha, which was on July 31, our Islamic center was open with limited capacity. We capped off the prayer gathering with about 300 attendees versus the usual 1,500 to 2,000. We did not have any celebration after that, no refreshments or Eid carnival, as we usually do."

For this Eidul Adha, leaders of the five area Islamic centers have decided, even with CDC and New York State guidelines relaxed, "we will use caution and observe physical distancing, require masks and prayer rugs. We will have two or three Eid services and clean the premises in-between. We do not want super spreader events and are still limiting social gathering as much as possible," he said.

The Naqvis of Colonie have accepted that "it wasn't our time to go" on hajj and are at peace with the thought of not participating. "We hope to go in the future," Samar Naqvi said.
ALBANY  On March 13, Travis Flanagan  a nurse anesthetist from the Binghamton area  was plowing corn on his family farm when he hopped off the tractor to push some stalks back. The powerful machine caught the edge of his coveralls and dragged his legs under with them.

Flanagan was stuck for nearly an hour, his phone lost in the devoured coveralls, before his father found him. Still hanging on to consciousness, Flanagan called 911 himself, using his medical knowledge to explain the scene and warn dispatchers how much blood hed lost.

They ended up asking for a helicopter. LifeNet, which is based in New York, was already dispatched on a call. So I ended up getting (Pennsylvania-based) Guthrie Air by a stroke of luck, Flanagan said, explaining that LifeNet and other local providers are prohibited under New York laws from carrying and transfusing blood at trauma scenes. But Pennsylvania medevac operations follow different rules.

It took them two hours and 45 minutes to actually get me out of the machine. While they were doing that, Guthrie Air gave me blood, he said, adding that the transfusion was key to his survival.

Flanagans survival story drew attention from lawmakers and a couple months after his accident the state Legislature unanimously supported a bill that would give air ambulances in New York the ability to carry and transfuse blood products, including while responding to trauma cases. The legislation still needs Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos signature to become law.

The measure was among an unusually large swarm of bills that passed the Legislature this year before it adjourned in June. A spokesman for Cuomo, in a typical response for that office when asked whether the governor would sign the legislation, would only say, the bill is under review.

But for many observers in the medical and emergency response communities, the law change is overdue, especially for New York's nine ambulance companies that provide air medical services.

This would bring us in compliance with a scope of care that's provided in 49 other states, said Dr. Michael Dailey, the chief of pre-hospital care at Albany Medical Center who also volunteers as the regional Emergency Medical Services medical director. He said EMS physicians across New York have long been pushing to change the regulations.

I've been involved in a lot of these discussions, Dailey said. We've watched successful programs be initiated in other states across the country. It all comes from experiences with the military, where we know that acute transfusions for sick trauma patients are life-altering, lifesaving, he added, referring to the origin of medevac flights that began in World War II.

A peer-reviewed study published this year examined the effectiveness of air-medical transfusions. Its authors found that early transfusion of blood products was significantly more effective at reducing mortality than water-soluble electrolyte solutions, or crystalloids, including saline, which are often used in New York. Patients with hemorrhagic shock should receive pre-hospital blood products when available, the researchers concluded.

Earlier research, including other academic studies published between 2017 and 2020, foreshadowed the results.

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, was a sponsor of this years bill and had put forward similar legislation a year earlier, after she was approached by former state Sen. Jen Metzger with the idea. But Woerner said the energy behind the bill this year was different.

Travis accident in the Southern Tier got a lot of press, Woerner said. That made the conversation more relevant for lawmakers; they had something recent they could point to and say, oh, yeah, this is why.

Flanagan learned about the variation in EMS regulations after he had been in the hospital for a couple of days recovering. His younger brother Trevor, a respiratory therapist, told Flanagan he'd heard a New York helicopter wouldn't have been allowed to give him the same on-site transfusion that Guthrie Air could.

At first I didnt believe it, Flanagan said. And from there, there was talk of, Oh, we need to do something about this.

Flanagan's brother started a Change.org petition and community members and legislators started reaching out in support, including Broome County Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and state Sen. Fred Akshar, R-Endicott.

When I spoke to Travis, he said to me, 'please use my tragedy to save other people's lives,' Akshar said. And honestly, had I not known about Travis's accident, quite frankly, I probably would have never known about the inability to carry and transfuse blood in this particular way.

Mike Vella, a physician and associate medical director at the Kessler Trauma Center in Rochester, also reached out to Flanagan to show his support. Vella performs surgeries on patients who arrive via helicopter from the Finger Lakes region and had previously practiced medicine in Tennessee and Pennsylvania, where medevac flights are equipped with blood transfusion capabilities.

When I came to New York about two years ago, one of the things I was shocked about is that there wasn't blood available on helicopters, Vella said. The earlier you get blood product resuscitation, the earlier you get surgical control of major bleeding, the better their (chances of) survival.

In Pennsylvania, air ambulance services have had the broad ability to store, transport and transfuse blood products for 25 years, according to Air Methods, the parent company of both Guthrie Air and LifeNet. That states Department of Health reported that from the beginning of 2018 through June 2021, 2,900 patients received blood products from a Pennsylvania licensed air medical service, and there were an additional 722 instances where EMS monitored patients receiving blood transfusions during inter-facility transfers.

Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for New Yorks Department of Health, said their agency will not comment on pending legislation, but confirmed that storing blood or blood products requires a blood bank permit, which multiple sources familiar with emergency medical services operations said is not realistic for ambulance or medevac companies to obtain. Hammond also said that under current regulations, both ground ambulances and medevac operations are eligible to obtain approval as an Ambulance Transfusion Service, although even when certified, EMS crews are limited in how and when they can transfuse blood.

Nineteen of New Yorks 1,107 ambulance services fall into the recently established category. Stony Brook University Hospitals in-house fleet was the first, in 2016; since Stony Brook is the highest-level trauma center in Suffolk County, their EMS crews needed to pick patients up from smaller facilities nearby while keeping blood transfusions going  adding a bag when necessary  while en route to their surgery or definitive care.

Even with Ambulance Transfusion Service status, you can't just have blood in the cooler in the ambulance and use whatever's there, said Stephen Slovensky, Stony Brooks Emergency Medical Services director. He explained that when Stony Brook EMS crews arrive at a medical facility sending a patient, the facility has to follow a specific process for designating and logging the blood products they supply for the road. But he said that for his teams, the long certification process was worth it.

About a month ago, there was a case of a police officer who was injured badly on duty, Slovensky said. We were able to move him from the community hospital to Stony Brook to get the care that he needed (in a ground ambulance)  and those blood products made a big difference in his survival.

These interfacility transfers differ significantly from 911 calls like Flanagans. If first responders are picking a patient up from a medical facility, there is a blood bank on-site authorized to distribute patient-specific blood for transfusions. And even then, Ambulance Transfusion Services have to obtain a three-way contract between them and each of the other facilities involved, for every possible route.

Dr. David Stuhlmiller, a medical director for LifeNets parent company Air Methods, said that their early attempt at this web of contracts had proven fruitless. Unlike Stony Brooks EMS crews, the company transports patients from any hospital in New York to any other hospital in New York, so they would need to maintain literally hundreds of legally binding three-way agreements to comply. Meanwhile, storing blood products to transfuse at the scene of a trauma like Flanagans, where there is no sending facility, would be impossible even with certification.

Mercy Flight, which operates both air and ground ambulances in western New York, decided it was worth it to work towards an Ambulance Transfusion Service certification.

Its been a very labor-intensive process, said Michael Gugliuzza, the companys director of medical operations, noting that staff have been working on the paperwork for about two years. They were recently approved and he expects the certification to be helpful, particularly for ground ambulance paramedics who would be trained and approved to continue a patients ongoing blood transfusion during inter-hospital transfers.

But he and Mercy Flights medical director, Dr. Kaori Tanaka, said they expect the unsigned bill propelled by Flanagan's story to be a better fit for their medevac operation. It takes this a step further for our air medical crews, said Tanaka, who pointed out that  like Air Methods  Mercy Flight already has a nurse on every flight who is trained on initiating blood transfusions. She said the company is pushing in support of the bill 100 percent.

For Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, who authored this years version of the bill after Akshar shared his constituents story with her, its core issue is healthcare equity across the state, especially in rural areas.

I have counties that don't even have a hospital, Hinchey said. So if you are in a farm accident, like Travis was, or if you're driving and in a car accident, a blood transfusion just really is life or death; especially if youre over an hour away from a hospital, you need that emergency care.

Judi Whittaker, who has a dairy farm near where Flanagans accident occured, said she didn't realize that there was even a problem with New York life flights carrying blood products until the incident. Travis's accident brought a lot of awareness, she said.

Shes now among the community members calling for the governor to sign the legislation, saying she is disheartened that the bill was passed unanimously by all of the democratic and republican lawmakers in Albany, and it sits unsigned.

We are the only state in the NATION not to allow this, Whittaker wrote in a letter to Cuomo in June, which she said was hand-delivered to his desk. The governors office did not respond to a request for comment on whether or how the governor responded to Whittaker. In her letter, Whittaker conveyed her urgency to the governor with bits of the now-famous narrative of Flanagans survival, saying it could be one of (her) family next.

After his blood transfusion and airlift, Flanagan spent two weeks in a hospital and underwent three surgeries  including two below-the-knee amputations. Hes already been fitted for prosthetics. He hopes to begin taking his first steps with the artificial limbs this month.

My goal has been, the whole entire time, that I will be standing for the birth of my baby, Flanagan said. His wife had been pregnant with his third child when he had his accident. Im not positive that will happen. But at least Ill be there, he said.
ALBANY  If some county legislators have their way, attending meetings via remote broadcast could become a permanent feature.

The Albany County Legislatures Rules Reform and Return to Chambers Task Force drafted a letter earlier this week asking the New York State Legislature to amend the state's Open Meetings Law to allow remote meetings to continue.

Remote meetings, especially for county legislative committees, brought more public participation and higher attendance from legislators, according to the letter.

During the pandemic, our meetings became more accessible and inclusive and we had speakers from across the county participating from the comfort of their homes and offices, it reads.

The issue is not unique to Albany County. A high-profile state legislative hearing on ethics was canceled Monday amid concerns that some members remote participation would violate the state's Open Meetings Law.

During the COVID-19 state of emergency Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo suspended the Open Meetings Law to allow for public meetings to be held via video conference, but the suspension ceased two weeks ago when he declared an end to the state of emergency.

And other local governments, including the Albany Common Council are updating their broadcasting abilities in order to continue to allow residents to watch meetings from home.

Its unclear how many county legislators have signed on to the letter. A spokeswoman for Chairman Andrew Joyce emphasized that the letter was a draft at this point and was circulated to members for their input.

Several legislators have already asked for changes, noting that the letter was overly broad, making it seem like the legislature would rely on remote options for its monthly meetings, rather than returning to the chamber full-time.

I dont think that was the intent when they drafted it, it just wasnt specific enough, said Minority Leader Frank Mauriello. Now that the pandemic is behind us, we do need to go back to public, in-person meetings.

He said that he wouldnt be able to support the request until there were specific rules guiding how the legislature would use remote meetings and how legislators could participate in remote meetings.

Democrat Gary Domalewicz, who represents part of Albany, agreed. Domalewicz said he didnt plan on signing the letter as it is currently written because he believed the legislators needed to be able to face the public and for the public to hear from them in person.

Several legislators said on Wednesday they appreciated being able to remotely watch committee meetings, especially for the panels they're not a part of. The committee meetings are also where the most in-depth discussions around legislative items happen.

Others noted that they have family or other obligations that occasionally make it difficult to attend meetings in person.

That was an advantage and I think the public could do that as well, said Paul Burgdorf, a Colonie Republican. I think theres a place for Zoom to be part of the future but the chamber would have to develop very specific rules for how it should be used.

Paul Wolf, president of the New York Coalition For Open Government, said the group supports local governments continuing to live-stream their meetings and post the recordings afterward, noting that they had increased public viewership of the meetings.

But giving people a chance to see and hear elected officials in person is important as well, he said.

It should not be a matter of choosing in-person meetings versus video meetings, we support doing both, he said in an email.

The letter also claims that requiring legislators to attend in-person meetings brings an environmental toll, calling it entirely wasteful and unnecessary, as legislators from rural areas of the county, such as Berne or Altamont, are forced to drive to downtown Albany for meetings that can be shorter than their commute.

Christopher Smith, who represents Berne, said he saw some merit in the request. His drive is 45 minutes each way. There could be a small taxpayer savings if some meetings or public hearings are held remotely, which would save on building and cleaning costs, he said.

The most recent monthly legislative meeting clocked in at less than 15 minutes, including attendance and the pledge of allegiance. Previous meetings topped two hours though.

But the monthly meetings should remain in person, he said.

We should be in chambers, thats our job, he said.
ALBANY  A few years ago, I joined this newspapers editorial board, which meant, among other things, that I started spending time with Harry Rosenfeld.

Harry had retired as editor of the Times Union in 1996, long before I walked through the door. He kept on, though, as a columnist and editorial board member, and I would sometimes pass him in the hallway.

Wed say hello and maybe exchange quick pleasantries but little more. Harry had seen a lot of reporters come and go over the years, I suppose, and in all honestly, I might have been too intimidated to initiate a real conversation.

Harry was, after all, a legend of the profession, the famously gruff editor, played by Jack Warden in "All the President's Men," who had overseen the Washington Posts coverage of Watergate. Seeing him in the office was something like spotting Babe Ruth or Ted Williams. What do you say?

But once I started attending our twice-a-week editorial board meetings, I found myself sitting across a small table from Harry as a handful of us discussed whatever happened to be confronting our region and country. I dont think I can fully explain what a privilege that was.

Getting to know Harry meant learning he had little patience for BS or flabby thinking. He disdained lazy journalism as much as dishonest politicians  well, almost as much. He was in his late 80s when I joined the board but, man, his fire still burned.

Harry was our steel and compass. He saw little use for writing that pulled punches, especially if the target was the authoritarianism of a president or the corruption of a governor. He wanted this paper to publish ambitious, tough editorials. He pointed us toward topics that mattered.

Occasionally, our meetings would get heated, but that was an honor unto itself. Harry Rosenfeld just hollered at me! I'm Carl Bernstein!

More often, Harry was generous and kind, with a teasing sense of humor. That was despite having seen things that could turn a person hard and bitter. This guy, I would remind myself, fled Nazi Germany. My God.

Harry landed in the Bronx, a child in a strange land, an escapee from a murderous, hateful regime hostile to human freedom and dignity. A few decades later, thriving in a country that honored free speech and a free press, he helped bring down a president.

Thats an only-in-America story. Its Harry's story, only.

I always found it remarkable, even a little odd, that Harry had come to work in Albany. He could have worked anywhere, you know, after Watergate shook the world. But he chose this place, this newspaper. He never left.

Harry must have figured that big journalism could happen in smaller places, if the standards were as demanding as his. And this town, we know, will always keep a good watchdog busy.

But I never knew Harry the editor or all the other versions of the man other people could tell you about. My experience was limited to those twice-a-week meetings, when his career was almost entirely behind him.

It was a window wide enough to see the quiet patriotism of an immigrant who cherished what this country had given him, who believed truth-telling and sunlight bettered the world. It was a chance to learn from a man who exemplified what it means to live with meaning and age with grace.

Harry died Friday morning at 91. His passing was a heartbreak but not a surprise.

Memorial service A public memorial service for Harry Rosenfeld will be held Tuesday, July 20, at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Emeth, 100 Academy Road, Albany. See More Collapse

The pandemic turned our face-to-face meetings into conference calls, and Harrys voice became thinner and smaller after he contracted COVID-19 in December. He never fully recovered.

Somehow, though, Harry rarely missed a call. There was even an unforgettable, almost mystical moment last month when somber talk of his grave and declining health was interrupted by the man himself.

Now entering, announced the Alexa-type voice that guides our conference calls.

Harry.

Harry?! Harry!! He was told how good it was to hear his voice.

"It's good to have a voice to be heard, he said.

That was Harry. Tough as nails.

Learning he's gone would be easier if Id never gotten to know Harry, if wed never advanced beyond hallway pleasantries. The sadness would be less consuming, certainly.

What Id give to sit across from him one more time.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
Two New York Army National Guard noncommissioned officers with 72 years of service between them were honored during a joint retirement ceremony at New York National Guard Headquarters in Latham.

Sergeant Maj. Matthew Gutzwiller of Schenectady received a Legion of Merit and a New York State Conspicuous Service Medal as he was honored for his 34 years of military service before retirement. He officially retired in February 2020.

Sergeant 1st Class Frank DeThomasis of Rensselaer received his second award of the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of his 38 years of duty. He retired in January.

Major Gen. Ray Shields, state adjutant general, honored the pair and presented the medals.

The retirement ceremony was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and delays in obtaining awards.

Gutzwiller began his career in the active Army in 1985 as a digital systems repairer. He took part in Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. He joined the New York Army National Guards 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment in 1997.

He most recently served as the operations and training sergeant major for the New York Army National Guard, responsible for overseeing the military schools program for 10,000 soldiers.

During his New York Army National Guard service Gutzwiller served as a battalion operations sergeant, training noncommissioned officer, division operations sergeant major, troop command operations sergeant major, division fires sergeant major, division chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear sergeant major, and aviation operations noncommissioned officer during a deployment in Bosnia.

The Army Sergeants Major Academy graduate also has earned a Meritorious Service Medal, a Gold Army Recruiting Badge and a Driver Mechanic Badge.

Since he left the Army National Guard as a soldier, Gutzwiller has become a National Guard civilian employee working in the New York Army National Guard training and operation sections.

DeThomasis began his military career in 1980 when he enlisted in the New York Army National Guards 1st Battalion, 210th Armor, based in Albany. He served in that battalion as an armor crewman, gunner, senior gunner and tank commander until the battalion was deactivated in 1993.

He then joined the 1st Battalion, 101st Cavalry, where he continued to serve as an armor leader for another 13 years.



He was part of the New York National Guard response to the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and deployed to Iraq for 11 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning from Iraq, he served in a number of positions with the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters and at Joint Force Headquarters, all focused on training and readiness.



DeThomasis has also earned a Bronze Star, a Combat Action Badge and a New York State Defense of Liberty Medal for service following the 9/11 attacks.

Fallen Soldiers: Two Capital Region fallen soldiers will be commemorated during stops by motorcyclists participating in Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Memorial Motorcycle Ride on Sunday, July 25.

The motorcyclists will stop at approximately 11:30 a.m. to honor Gold Star Mother Jean L. Kirschenhiter of Schenectady and family at the Elks Lodge at 1152 Curry Road, Rotterdam. Her son, retired Army Sgt, Raymond Warlikowsi Jr., a veteran of four tours in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, died Aug. 28, 2016, two years after military retirement. For information, call (518) 355-4244.

The motorcyclists will then stop at approximately 1 p.m. to pay tribute to Gold Star Mother Vickie DeAugustine and family at 1330 Route 9P, Saratoga Springs. Her son, Army Sgt. David Fisher, was killed in the Iraq War. For information regarding this stop, contact Suzanne MacDaniel at (518) 416-3401.

During each stop, the families will receive a memorial Plaque of Distinguished Service to recognize the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers.

The country-wide memorial ride began at Eugene, Ore. earlier this month and will make additional stops to honor Gold Star Mothers and Families until the ride ends Aug. 8 at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

News of your troops and units can be sent to Times Union, Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or brownt@timesunion.com .
ALBANY  Wildlife experts are watching an outbreak of a mysterious illness that is causing some songbirds in various U.S. states to go blind, have apparent seizures and die.

Videos on social media that have been posted from harder hit states like Ohio and Kentucky have shown birds twitching and shaking in apparent seizures, or birds with eyes that are crusted over. Other states impacted include Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Indiana and the District of Columbia.

The unknown disease appears to have been largely impacting fledgling common grackles, blue jays, European starlings and American robins.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have put out no advisories yet on the illness, which has caused crusty eyes and paralysis among songbirds in several Eastern states, including neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Cornell said July 14 that as of last week, there were no reported cases of the bird illness in New York. Also, "it appears that the incidence of the illness may be waning."

Other states have recommended precautions such as cleaning or removing bird feeders and bird baths to avoid the possible spread of the illness. No government agencies or academics have recommended such steps in New York yet, but Audubon New York, a nonprofit advocacy group, has taken cues from neighboring states and on July 7 also advised people in New York to take in their bird feeders and bird baths, to wash them in 10 percent bleach solution, and told people to not touch dead birds with bare hands.

"While the unknown disease affecting birds has not yet been reported in New York, it has been reported in neighboring Pennsylvania. We are taking a cue from wildlife agencies," Audubon said.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine said they do not have experts studying the situation, but put out information considering rising concern as states around New York see birds experiencing the illness. "This illness and the uncertainty around it are upsetting, and we share your concern," Cornell said.

You can find the New York DEC website that discusses how to report concerning dead wildlife in New York here. "In certain cases, dead wild animals may be submitted to DEC's Wildlife Health Unit (WHU) at the Wildlife Resources Center in Delmar for examination and diagnosis."

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife advised people last week to stop using bird feeders and bird baths in that state as a precaution, as it can be a communal place where illness can spread.

"No definitive cause(s) of illness or death have been determined at this time," the division said. On July 2, the U.S. Geological Survey said that various illnesses had been ruled out, including West Nile virus and avian influenza. It's unknown if the birds give it to each other, or there is a vector at work such as mosquitos.

"While there is always an increase in reports of dead birds at this time of year due to natural high mortality rates of young birds, MassWildlife is encouraging the public to report any observations of sick or dead birds (with unknown cause of mortality) as a precaution to help track this widespread mortality event," the Massachusetts division said Wednesday. "However, the mystery disease is not known to be in any of the New England states at this time. It is not necessary to report dead birds where strong evidence links the mortality to collision with glass or vehicles or predation by cats."

Residents of Massachusetts are asked to report birds that are suspected to have died of the mysterious illness to mass.wildlife@mass.gov.
Will COVID-19 vaccines work if I have a weak immune system?

Probably not as well as they do in healthy people, but the shots should offer some protection.

Its why vaccinations are still recommended for people with immune systems weakened by disease or certain medications. Its also important that your family, friends and caregivers get vaccinated, which will make it far less likely that they pass on the virus.

About 3% of U.S. adults have weakened immune systems. Among them are people with HIV or AIDS, transplant recipients, some cancer patients and people with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.

COVID-19 shots werent studied in large numbers of people with weak immune systems. But limited data and experience with flu and pneumonia vaccines suggest they wont work as well as they do in others. That means people with weakened immune systems should keep taking precautions like wearing masks and avoiding large crowds.

Its prudent to use all the precautions you were using before you were vaccinated, said Dr. Ajit Limaye, a transplant expert at University of Washington Medicine in Seattle.

Although most cancer patients should get vaccinated as soon as they can, people getting stem cell transplant or CAR T-cell therapy should wait at least three months after treatment to get vaccinated, according to guidance from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. That delay will make sure the vaccines work as well as they can.

For transplant recipients, researchers are looking at whether an extra dose might make the vaccines more effective.

French guidelines recommend a third COVID-19 dose for the immunocompromised, including organ recipients. Israel recently began giving an extra dose of the Pfizer vaccine to transplant patients and others with weak immune systems. Some U.S. transplant recipients seek out a third dose on their own in hopes of more protection even though the federal government hasn't authorized extra vaccinations.

___

The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. Read more here:

Will one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine protect me?

Can you mix and match COVID-19 vaccines?

What should I know about the delta variant?
What if I told you that one of the most important levers that Albany could pull to address the climate crisis is  insurance regulation reform? My guess is, youd stop reading, since insurance regulation reform might qualify as the most boring three-word phrase in the English language. Each word by itself is monotonous, and together they comprise a trifecta of dullness. And yet, they could not be more important.

Why? Because as seas rise, winds gather and droughts deepen, its insurance companies that need to be prepared to pay the damages. And because its insurance companies through their investments and their underwriting policies  that keep allowing fossil fuel companies to expand the pipelines and other infrastructure that fuel global warming.

New Yorks Department of Financial Services has proposed guidelines for how insurers headquartered in the Empire State might address their exposure to climate risk. Its a good start  well ahead of other states  but given the fast-moving nature of climate change, the proposal should be improved. To protect policyholders, we need to limit the climate risk that insurers take on and prevent them from easily dropping customers and exiting markets. (Try buying an insurance policy in the fire-prone hills of California.)

To protect the planet, NYDFS should stop New York insurers from investing in and underwriting fossil fuels. Its a no-brainer: Insurance companies have all the data to know just how bad global warming is getting. Yet they cant help themselves. In search of a little extra profit, they keep working with those fueling the crisis. Its as if the police department ran a burglary ring on the side, or the fire department was igniting blazes.

Take, for instance, AIG, the biggest insurer headquartered in New York. Maybe you remember the immense government bailout AIG received during the 2008 financial crisis it helped precipitate, or the billions in bonuses it paid its executives the next year. If so, youll be unsurprised to learn that AIG is playing a serious role in fomenting an even greater crisis  climate change.

Many insurers have stopped covering coal mines because coal is filthy, filling our air with carbon dioxide and our lungs with particulates. But not AIG: The company has refused to rule out supporting the construction of what would be one of the worlds largest new coal mines in Australia, despite impassioned opposition from local Indigenous groups.

Harming Indigenous communities doesnt seem to bother the company: Its also underwriting construction of the Transmountain pipeline from Albertas tar sands to the coast of British Columbia over the strenuous objections of First Nations people. Other big insurers  Zurich Insurance and Munich Re  stopped covering the pipeline last year, and Argo Group, a Lloyds of London partner, dropped it earlier this month. This type of project is not currently within Argos risk appetite, Argo explained.

But AIG has a huge appetite: Its one of the last major global insurers that isnt curbing coal even though one of the worlds largest investors recently dropped AIG over the issue. AIGs own fossil-fuel investments total $26.8 billion, according to the most recent data from the California Department of Insurance.

The role of insurers in driving the climate crisis is getting more and more attention. Last month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the industry, We need net-zero commitments to cover your underwriting portfolios, and this should include the underwriting of coaland all fossil fuels.

Thats strong language. As the head of the UN, Guterres spends too much time dealing with the climate crisis, which already is producing far more refugees than warfare or civil strife, and which his experts say could put a billion humans on the move before the century is out.

But heres the hard truth: Guterres has far less power than NYDFS to move the insurance industry. NYDFS can demand an end to business as usual on climate  and that wouldnt be boring at all.

Bill McKibben is an environmentalist, author, educator and co-founder of 350.org. He lives in Vermont.
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On Sunday, given that my parents wasted so much cash on my education, TKC usually takes a moment to check local Catholic news outlet in order to blog recent events from the perspective of the faithful.

This week we notice a curious silence following a major development in the policy of the church.

Check the links for those who haven't seen it or need a quick review because local news doesn't really like to go in-depth on faith matters . . .

I once fell in love with the Latin Mass-which is why I understand why Pope Francis restricted it. I cried the first time I went to a traditional Latin Mass. It would have been difficult for me not to; I was an emotionally volatile 20-year-old college kid studying theology who loved the "smells and bells" that Catholicism offered-and man, there were a lot of bells and smells going on while Mozart's "Requiem " carried the liturgy.

Pope Francis renews curbs on Latin Mass in rebuff to conservatives July 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday overturned decisions by his two predecessors and re-imposed restrictions on the old-style Latin Mass preferred by traditionalist Roman Catholics, saying it was being exploited to divide the Church. Conservative groups reacted with dismay and anger to the latest episode of what some have dubbed the Church's "liturgy wars".

Both on communion and Latin Mass, 'weaponization' may be Pope's target If you want to understand why Pope Francis is willing to use the power of his office to enforce discipline on the Latin Mass but not on communion for pro-choice politicians, maybe a concern for "weaponization" of the faith is at least part of it.

The Seemingly Minor Change the Pope Just Made That Is Freaking Out Conservative Catholics On Friday, the Vatican announced a new order that would barely affect most practicing Catholics: there are now strict rules for when and where the traditional Latin Mass can be conducted.

On the Latin Mass, Pope Francis pulls off the Band-Aid Pope Francis is a patient pastor. Until he isn't. His new apostolic letter, Traditionis Custodes, in which Francis communicates "the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions...

Latin Mass Supporters React With Dismay to Pope's Severe New Restrictions 'I pray that the faithful will not give way to the discouragement which such harshness necessarily engenders but will, with the help of divine grace, persevere in their love of the Church and of her pastors,' Cardinal Raymond Burke told the Register.

What locals know and MSM doesn't really understand is that there has been a resurgence of the Latin Mass in the Kansas City metro over the past few years and several local parishes have cropped up and gained followers by offering the old school faith practice.

At this moment, we can report that many churches which practice the Latin Mass are in a state of confusion and await direct orders from the bishops.

It's likely they'll keep quiet because Catholics, to their own detriment, have become increasingly withdrawn from public life.

In the meantime we notice that even the loudest, local conservative Catholic pundits have shied away from the topic and wait to see how the orders will play out.

For instance, the loudmouth KCK Archbishop who blasts Prez Biden and wants to snatch his communion wafer away is now, strangely, sheepish when it comes to the bold declaration from his boss  the Pope.

Developing . . .
A long ago but not forgotten Kansas City tragedy is commemorated tonight.

First, here's some of the better news links on the topic . . .

NEVER FORGOTTEN: Ceremony in Kansas City honors victims of skywalk tragedy KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV/AP) - Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of one of its greatest tragedies with a release of white doves. About 100 people gathered at the Skywalk Memorial Plaza to remember the 114 people killed when disaster struck the Hyatt Regency Hotel on July 17, 1981.

40 Years Later, Kansas Citians Mourn Lives Lost In The Hyatt Skywalk Collapse Forty years ago, Lynn Driggers was getting ready to go out to dinner with her husband when she got the call. The Hyatt Regency, she was told, had "collapsed." Driggers worked as a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital, then located near the site at 28th Street and Main, and she'd been summoned to work to perform triage.

Dozens gather at the Skywalk Memorial on 40th anniversary of Hyatt Regency skywalk collapse KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Dozens of people gathered outside of the Skywalk Memorial on Saturday, to honor those that died 40 years ago during the Hyatt Regency skywalk collapse in 1981. "About 1500 people gathered over there in what was then the Hyatt Hotel, and gathered with family and friends for a night of fun and dancing," Brent Wright, who lost his mother and stepfather in the collapse said.

Topeka remembers the four mariachis that lost their lives in Kansas City TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -On July 17th, 1981, Mariachi Estrella went to perform at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City when disaster struck. Rachel Sangalang was with the group, her sister was among the 114 people who lost their lives.

Because it's our blog Saturday night tradition, we put together a quick playlist as tribute and with a focus on 1981 . . .

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe and fun Saturday night.
After complaint from local biz and residents, the return of a Kansas City homeless protest site was shut down just moments ago.



Here's a peek at the event and a realization that Mayor Q "negotiating" with activists was mostly a waste of time . . .



KCMO trucks and police at Southwest Trfwy and Westport Rd. One person tells me that they are making them throw away anything they cant carry away. @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/7O90wfDJ8M  Giovanni G. Garcia (@giovanniphotog) July 18, 2021

More here . . .

Public Works starts litter, tent cleanup at Westport homeless camp The Kansas City Public Works Department announced Sunday a citywide effort focused on litter, improper storage and tenting in the public right of way. In a news release, the city said the goal is to clean up trash and litter and to ensure safety for all in busy intersections, public streets and spaces.

Kansas City Public Works begins litter clean up at Westport homeless camp KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Crews from Kansas City Public Works cleared a homeless camp near Westport on Sunday, as part of a city-wide litter clean up. KCMO trucks and police at Southwest Trfwy and Westport Rd. One person tells me that they are making them throw away anything they can't carry away.

Kansas City Removes Homeless Camp From Westport, Advocates Say 'They Don't Want Them Seen' Kansas City Public Works officials on Sunday removed more than a dozen homeless people who were camped in a median on Westport Road, citing safety and promising further services. The people living at "Camp Sixx," named in honor of Scott "Sixx" Eicke, a homeless man who died on New Year's Day, were put on a city bus by Kansas City Police and moved to Penn Valley Park.

Developing . . .
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Hi people,

Planning on visiting both Lake Como and then going into northern Lombardy (Chiavenna as a base, maybe), but not sure how to arrange it or how to manage the car rental in the most efficient way. Our rough itinerary so far looks like this:

- Day 1: Coming from Tuscany, arriving at Lake Como around noon or 2/3 PM (overnight in Varenna)

- Day 2: Around Lake Como, maybe visiting Bellagio / Varenna / hiking around the area.

- Day 3: Around Lake Como, maybe visiting Bellagio / Varenna / hiking around the area.

- Day 4: Going from Varenna to Chiavenna, sightseeing around the area

- Day 5: Visiting Soglio (Switzerland) and maybe other small towns close to Chiavenna.

- Day 6: From Chiavenna to Tirano or Pontresina to take the Bernina Express up to Chur, so we might be able to visit some towns enroute to Pontresina/Tirano during the morning as the Bernina Express leaves Tirano at around 2 PM. We will probably go from Chur to Luzern which is our next step for a couple of nights instead of staying in Chur.

I am not worried about the Lake Como leg of the trip, but how would you arrange the trip from Day 4? We werent planning to have a car initially because we would do Lake Como and then move into the Ticino (based in Locarno) in Switzerland. However, we discovered how beautiful the area around Chiavenna is and we are now gravitating towards doing that instead of Ticino, before moving into Lucerne (Bernina Express seems to be an interesting option to connect northern tip of Italy (Tirano) with Chur and then going into Luzern for a long but relaxing day).

Big problem is that there doesnt seem to be a rental car return place that would suit our itinerary without getting into astronomical fees or a lot of unnecessary driving (or returning in Switzerland which also increases fees), any advice on that and how our rough itinerary looks? We would like to keep unnecessary travel as much as possible and minimize super expensive costs for the car rental.

Thank you!
Final Update. We passed on the hotel breakfast and went to Heart and Sole Cafe in Pinedale. The cafe decor is charming. I ordered Eggs Benedict and I have to say I've had better. But, Eggs Benedict can be kind of tricky to get right. I think that Heart and Soul is a place to get a good, solid all American breakfast of eggs and sausage/ham or bacon. I'll order something else next time. We enjoyed eating out on the delightful patio.

After breakfast, we started the drive to Green River Lakes, as recommended by the guy in the local fly shop.. We didn't get too far out of Pinedale when we both heard a loud, whining/humming noise coming from somewhere in the car. Since it was a 28 mile drive on a dirt road to get to Green River Lakes, we thought it best to not make the drive. Darn. But what to do instead? We decided that it would be best to just head home in case there was a mechanical problem with the car. It was still before the hotel check out time. So we went back to our hotel, gathered up our things and checked out.

Driving thru Pinedale, my husband realized that we had left our trailer in the hotel parking lot. How do you forget something like a trailer with two kayaks and two bikes on it? I guess our forgetfulness was a result of changing our plan and being a bit off kilter. Sure glad he remembered the trailer BEFORE we got further down the road. We would have been driving along, clueless, that the trailer was still back at the hotel, until we made a pit stop in Big Piney. Now you may ask how we wouldn't know that we weren't pulling the trailer? The trailer is small, lightweight, no wider than our car and you hardly know it's there when being pulled behind our Range Rover.

Fortunately, the trip home was uneventful when it came to a mechanical issue with the car. In fact, the sound we heard wasn't there for most of the trip. We marveled at the vast and remote countryside on highway 189. It made us wonder what the pioneers from the east who left the behind lots of trees and green landscape must of thought when they saw this landscape.

Pinedale was a great discovery for us. It's just a 3.5 hour drive from Pinedale to our home in SLC. For us, a 3.5 hour drive to a destination that has fly fishing, kayaking and hiking opportunities is just right. My husband now wants to book a couple of guided fishing trips on the Green River and New Fork River. We will be back, Pinedale.

Edited: 20 July 2021, 01:37
Jennifer,

If you come in August you will be fine.

Ecuadorian people LOVE tourists from anywhere and we are very friendly to them, people understand that travelers bring an income that is important to the Ecuadorian economy.

To travel during COVID times the best is to have your own travel insurance in order to be attended at private hospitals which are the best in terms of rapid and good attention for COVID and for any other health issue that can occur during your travels. Public hospitals are fine at the moment, they are not crowded as they were two months ago.

At this this moment we have six million of people vaccinated in Ecuador, it means that 30% of our population is already secured with the inoculation. By Aug 28 we will have eleven million of people vaccinated, our total population is seventeen million of people. We have the third best vaccination rate out of South America only surpassed by Uruguay and Chile.

There are a lot of Americans traveling in Ecuador at the moment!

Ecuador is the safest country to travel regarding COVID out of the Northern Pacific side of South America, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are going through very hard times at the moment.

If you come to Ecuador, the money that you will be spending here will help to recover the harmed economy of our country.

Always book through Ecuadorian runed and owned agencies in order to get your self a big discount and in order to help to the recovering of the travel industry. Booking with local companies is the best during these hard times that we are going through.

Saludos cordiales,

Dennis Yepez

Guanguiltagua Expeditions
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Long before the first presidential nomination contest of 2024, most potential Republican candidates are just getting a sense of the political landscape, tiptoeing through early-voting states and trying to make friends in key places. Then there's Kristi Noem.

The South Dakota governor has come out swinging as she tries to carve a niche among an early crowd of possible GOP rivals for the White House. Her combative style, no surprise to those who follow her, is evidence of how competitive the nomination race will be if Donald Trump stays on the sidelines.

Noem charged into Iowa on Friday singing a battle hymn and armed with barbed comments for her fellow GOP governors. At a conservative gathering in Des Moines, she told the crowd she "really hates this America under President Joe Biden's leadership, then led them in singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

But Noem didn't just take aim at political foes. She also unleashed sharp-edged comments on those within her own party, accusing fellow GOP governors of rewriting history by claiming they kept their states open during the pandemic.

To pretend that they didnt take actions that they had no authority to take isnt standing on truth, she told reporters Friday.

It's easy to see why the 49-year-old governor, who is known as a scorched-earth campaigner in her home state, is elbowing out anyone trying to claim a more hands-off approach to the pandemic. She doesnt have the experience of working alongside Trump, like Mike Pence, Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo  all of whom have visited the presidential-proving ground of Iowa in recent days. Other potential rivals like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have the advantage of governing states that figure prominently in national politics.

The pandemic was rocket fuel for Noem's political rise. While she had been laying the groundwork to build a national profile and looking for ways to make South Dakota a testing ground for conservative policies, she jumped on decrying coronavirus restrictions early.

Conservatives nationwide have since made efforts to try to halt the pandemic's spread into a favorite punching bag. At the Family Leadership Summit, where Noem spoke alongside Pence, Pompeo and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, speakers warned that government restrictions were eroding personal liberties. DeSantis has even begun selling Don't Fauci My Florida merchandise to raise money for his gubernatorial reelection campaign, taking aim at another favorite target, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Noem didn't mention DeSantis by name during a Sunday speech at another conservative conference in Texas, but seemed to single him out when she accused other GOP governors of pretending they didn't shut down their beaches.

"All Im saying is that we need leaders with grit. That their first instinct is to make the right decision, Noem told the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

But as an early wave of virus cases hit her state in the spring of last year, Noem initially showed a willingness to step in and use the force of her office. She declared an emergency and told schools to close, urged a meatpacking plant to temporarily shutter after an outbreak among workers, and even issued a stay-at-home order in two hard-hit counties for people over 65 or vulnerable to the virus.

While Noem never ordered businesses to close, many did so anyway. And city leaders, frustrated with Noem's inaction, issued their own orders that forced many to shutter for weeks in the spring.

As the response to the virus became increasingly politicized, however, Noem moved to the forefront of governors railing against government orders. By June of 2020, her message had shifted: More freedom, not more government is the answer."

With an eye on the economic and mental health ripple effects of the pandemic, she frequently touted the fact that her state has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and a growing economy.

But even as virus cases and deaths surged last year, she refused to urge people to wear masks in public. Instead, the state spent more in federal coronavirus funds on an ad campaign inviting tourists to visit than it did on public health advertising.

As her appearances on Fox News increased, conservatives across the country began suggesting she run for president. Noem has demurred when asked publicly about her White House ambitions and says she is focused on next years gubernatorial campaign. But recent actions  from registering a federal political action committee to hitting the nationwide speaking circuit  show she has her sights set beyond South Dakota.

It's not clear how her record on the virus would play beyond the Republican base. South Dakota recorded the nation's 10th highest COVID-19 death rate. Although some states with far more aggressive approaches to mitigating the pandemic saw similar outcomes, South Dakota had the worst mortality rate in the Midwest. But that hasn't stopped Noem from bragging about it.

When I ran for governor I ran on it being an example to the nation, she told the crowd Friday. I had no idea that that was going to happen through a pandemic.


Athens On Fourth Is Still Serving Food Fit For The Gods. By Rebecca Cook DURING OUR ANNUAL deliberations for The Weekly's Best of Tucson issue over this past few years, I've had nothing to offer when the subject of one of the city's most popular Greek restaurants inevitably comes up: Athens on Fourth. It had been probably four years since I last darkened the doorway of this establishment, and while I remembered the experience as basically pleasant, I didn't think I could speak with any certainty on its current operation. As many of us have discovered to our everlasting sorrow, restaurants often go through bizarre metamorphoses over time. Changes in ownership, chefs and kitchen staff, revamped menus, interior redesign and remodeling efforts have all conspired to alter some of our most beloved culinary alcoves...sometimes beyond recognition. Fortunately, this is not the case with Athens on Fourth Avenue, which has come through the years with its heart and soul firmly intact. My recollection of the physical surroundings was limited to impressions of a small, outdoor patio with umbrella-capped tables and a smattering of colorful flower pots. In warm weather, this is still an option at Athens on Fourth; although the lunch that used to be served has been eliminated in favor of a dinner-only approach. Inside, the restaurant is quintessential Old World country charm: polished wood parquet floors, white brick walls, lace curtains and some cornice-height shelves filled with delicate knick-knacks. Blue-checked or solid white linen covers each table, and music from the Greek Islands fills the air. Andreas and Helen Delfakis have attempted to give their restaurant the feel of the "Plaka," an area in the heart of Athens where stone-covered streets, colorful little markets and cozy restaurants that serve some of the tastiest food in Greece can be found in abundance. Entering our local Athens' doorway immediately put us in mind of moussaka and ouzo, rendering the Delfakis' efforts to bring a bit of the Old World to the New enormously successful. No visit to a Greek restaurant can properly begin without a serving of the classic appetizer saganaki, served at Athens with dramatic flourish. Quarter-inch thick slices of kasseri cheese (made from either sheep or goat's milk and possessing a sharp, salty flavor and hard texture not unlike American cheddar) is soaked in Metaxa brandy and then quick-fried in olive oil. Still sizzling in the pan, the saganaki is ignited before your eyes with a pleasing and head-turning poof of flame, which is then doused with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon. The kids will love this one. A more sedate appetizer might be an order of the scordalia, a dip or spread made with bundles of fresh garlic and served with wedges of warm pita bread. Athens' version has the consistency of mashed potatoes rather that a smooth, creamy dip, but is every bit as delicious as any version sampled elsewhere. Another stellar meal starter was the house Greek salad (dubbed "eliniki salata" on the menu). Fresh romaine and green-leaf lettuce with onion slices, wedges of tomato and cucumber were tossed with chunks of feta cheese and pepperonccini in a lightly herbed olive oil vinaigrette. Menu choices include a respectable and varied sampling of Greece's most famous dishes. In addition, the owners recommend the daily specials, which provide an even greater representation of the possibilities of Greek cuisine. Bypassing the braised lamb shank special, I opted instead for the gyros platter, those succulent strips of meat that are the true measurement of any Greek restaurant worth its weight in baklava. I couldn't have been more pleased with Athens' take on this Hellenic specialty: The lean slices of beef and lamb not only possessed the full flavors of the meat, garlic and fresh ground pepper, they were also tender enough to cut delicately with a fork. Scooped onto a wedge of pita bread and topped with a smear of tzatziki (shredded cucumber and yogurt sauce), this was a heavenly repast. Recognizing the role of the sea in the course of Greek history, my constant dining companion elected to try the garithes pasalimani--large, butterflied shrimp, sauteed in olive oil with tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and then generously dusted with crumbled feta cheese. Although the shrimp was a little tough, the flavors of the dish were exquisite: sharp cheese parried by the sweetness of tomato and herbs, and the whole mellowed elegantly by the buttery taste of the shrimp. Scrumptious. Sauteed sliced potatoes and a lovely rice pilaf, served with a cinnamon and allspice-tinged tomato sauce, completed our ample meals. Although by rights we should have called it quits and asked for the check, I couldn't depart without a nibble on something sweet. Athens on Fourth gives the serious dessert devotee but three choices: rice pudding, baklava and a daily special, in this case a tempting ouzo cake with whipped cream. I couldn't resist the latter. (It seemed such a painless way to satisfy an ouzo fix.) A moist and honeyed spice cake laced discreetly with the notorious licorice-flavored liquor was an appropriate ending to what had been a fabulous meal. The next time decent Greek food is the subject of debate, I'll have more than a mouthful to say--Athens on Fourth Avenue remains one of the best. Athens on Fourth Avenue. 500 N. Fourth Ave. 624-6886. Open for dinner only, from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Full bar. V, MC, AMEX, checks. Menu items: $5 to $15.
Failing Grades

When It Comes To Education...Hey, Kid! Take That Compass Out Of Your Nose! By Michael R. Schreiber JUST TAKE ONE look at the problems the Legislature has been having with the new school finance plan and you'll be a little bit closer to understanding why the United States ranked third from last overall on the international math and science exams (we managed to come in ahead of Cyprus and South Africa). Pretty soon there's going to be a new bumper sticker floating around. It's going to read: "I'm the proud parent of a student who is just as educated as kids living in shanty towns with no running water." Before I address the failings of the new school finance plan here in Tucson, I'd like to take time to illustrate just how poorly U.S. students did on this test. I'll start with geometry because it's a class that every high-school student takes, and it's one that's an important building block for students as they begin to develop more advanced conceptual skills. Besides that, I never liked math much in high school, but I managed to do fairly well in geometry, and as my education continued into college I found the skills I learned in geometry to be valuable. The United States came in last on the geometry sub-scale on the recent international test. Statistically speaking, there wasn't even a nation whose score was significantly similar to ours. The closest score to ours was achieved by Austria, and they were a full 38 points ahead of us. We were 76 points behind the international average, and a whopping 124 points behind the geometry winners, the Russians. I took a look at a sample geometry question which asked students to write a proof for an isosceles triangle. It was a relatively easy question. There were a few ways to solve the problem, and anyone with a rudimentary understanding of geometry could figure it out. I was surprised to find that the international average for this particular question was 48 percent. It seemed that perhaps the whole world might need a little help in geometry. Be that as it may, I was reminded of the relativity of these figures when I found that only 19 percent of U.S. students managed to answer this question correctly. Before I continue, you might want to grab a stiff drink. I looked through pages and pages of sub-scales of this test and I couldn't find one statistic which indicated that the U.S. performed above average on any single measurement. Apparently our only excuse is that we don't give a shit. It seems like every couple of years we are treated to a new international test or survey which further documents the decline of our students, yet we do nothing about it. We talk about family values and the responsibility of parents to foster proper ideals in their children. We talk about the decay of inner cities and how drugs have robbed our children of potential. Ironically, the country that performed the best overall on the international test was Holland. This little European country, which so many Americans consider to be morally adrift because of their coffee houses and red light district, has kicked our asses right across the Atlantic. I wonder if the Coalition for a Drug-Free America is going to feature that information in their next piece of propaganda. For us to blame the sorry state of our schools on drugs is absolutely ridiculous. Blame isn't even relevant. What is important is how we are going to get our asses in gear and make our schools the best in the world. DON'T LOOK TO your legislators and representatives for that answer, because over the last weeks, as they've debated the school funding plan, they've made it clear they have no idea what the problem is, much less how to solve it. The bureaucrats have been arguing about two main issues: 1) where the school money should come from, and; 2) whether enough money has been allocated. As for the first point, it seems that the state has had a history of allocation problems. In December the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the previous school-finance plan unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on property taxes to fund school construction. Boy, would I like to throw some rotten fruit at the guy who came up with that idea. Only an idiot would base the needs of a particular district on property values. It means the poorest districts, the ones with the least money, who are usually the ones with the worst schools, have the least resources. This should not be happening in this country, and, thankfully, the state Supreme Court didn't let it continue. Unfortunately, the Court's only suggestion was that the Legislature set "adequate standards," whatever that means. The latest plan released states that "only a minimum adequacy standard will be established," but the problem is that no one has stipulated just what that minimum will be. Who are these geniuses? Opponents have warned that the amount of money allocated to schools will be based upon whatever money has been budgeted, whereas it seems to me that the money allocated to any district or school should be based upon how much they need. It's ridiculous to think that we can allocate a sum of money to education, and then divide it up and hope there's enough to go around. I wonder how our representatives would have done on the international math and science test (something tells me they'd do worse than Cyprus). By the same token, it's equally ridiculous to assume that any tax group should be exempt from funding education. The new plan shifts the tax burden from commercial to residential property owners. Though this may appear to be a more responsible policy, in reality it's just plain selfish. If we want to pull our schools out of the international gutter, everyone is going to have to pay, not just a little, and they're going to have to contribute all they can. Businesses particularly reap the benefits of a well-educated population, certainly more directly than a household. Selfish business owners who lobby their way clear of school funding are shooting themselves in the foot. Their misguided attitudes will turn this country into a third-rate power if we're not careful. In 20 years Russia will be a formidable economic power, and their kids already know how to write a proof for an isosceles triangle. If we want to keep up with them, we're going to have to dump a good bit of our substantial wealth into our schools. If we don't, then in 50 years we can all look back at the misers of the late 20th century, whose short-term goal of financial solvency depleted their capacity for insight and vision to such an extent that they were willing to forgo the education of their children. No one wants to pay for education, and because of that, there's not enough money for education, and because of that, the only kids in the world who are less educated than ours live in Cyprus and South Africa. THIS IS NOT about missing American values. Generally, people in this country are as good or bad as the people in any of the other 20 countries who participated in the international tests. Some of these countries even managed to outperform us soon after cataclysmic societal changes. The problem here is that we're not supporting education as we should be--that is, without restraint. If we want our kids to do well, we're going to have to foot the bill. If we want to raise our standards, we're going to have to raise our taxes. There's no way around that. When it comes to education, every single tax group should be taxed as much as possible, or at least until schools are able to do all they want and still have a surplus. If we don't, we'll regret it down the road. It's tempting to think that our status as leaders of the free world is forever ours, and that our power and insight will be naturally passed down to our children; but no matter how solid our foundation seems to be, securing a place of leadership for America of the future will take more work than we're currently investing. We must do all that we can because we all have the obligation to provide not simply an adequate education for our children, but superb future for this country.


Despite Some Problems With Noise And Service, Presidio Grill Is Still A Top Local Eatery. By Rebecca Cook IT'S BEEN 10 years since Presidio Grill first opened its doors for business, bringing to Tucson at that time a hitherto unseen combination of slick urban ambience and a sassy new menu that incorporated many of the ingredients and flavors characteristic of Southwest cuisine. With the distinction of being Tucson's first upscale "grill," Presidio led the way to a veritable back burner invasion. Think about it for a few minutes. Newly opened or revamped since 1988 are Metropolitan Grill, Catalina Grill, Buddy's Grill, City Grill, Barrio Grill, Flying V Bar & Grill, Cushing Street Bar & Grill, Fuego Restaurant Bar & Grill, Keaton's Restaurant Grill & Bar and Kingfisher Bar & Grill. And this incomplete list doesn't even include the countless restaurants that borrowed liberally from the "grill" concept but opted to omit the G-word from their official title. Given all this upstart competition in the last few years, how is Presidio Grill faring? Is the restaurant holding steady at the top of its art form? Or has it instead fallen behind the times, surpassed by some of the more recent additions to the local grill scene? The hiring of a new executive chef, Jeffrey T. Barker, provided the perfect excuse to get nosy and check out how things stand at the Presidio these days. The space itself has changed little over the past decade. Some cosmetic work to jazz up the building's facade, as well as the addition of a side dining area, are the only detectable physical alterations. The long, narrow dining room, which conveniently parallels the bar, still has enormous eye appeal, thanks in large part to the contrast of those heavy black vinyl booths and white walls and tile floors. With different kitchen staff and a continued spirit of ingenuity, the menu has been altered subtly over the years. While many of the original dishes have gone the way of the albatross, a few signature Presidio offerings can still be found. Most notably, this includes a scrumptious appetizer of halved and roasted garlic bulbs, served with a wedge of ripe brie, a colorful red, green and yellow bell-pepper melange, and plenty of buttery crostini. Time has done nothing to diminish the pleasure of mellow, spreadable garlic and tangy brie atop a crunchy, buttery wedge of crostini. A taste sensation. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch are served at Presidio Grill. We stuck to dinner, perhaps the most representative meal in showing off what the restaurant does best--as well as worst. From its inception, Presidio's boasted a popular supper club scene. The small front dining room percolates with noise and activity, which can enhance as well as detract from the dining experience. Done right, it's an atmosphere conducive to controlled revelry, an ambience of gaiety and charm. The brisk pace and commotion has now turned into something of a frenzy, however, fueled in part by what appears to be gross understaffing. Seated in that side dining room, we witnessed the futile efforts of a single waitress trying to diligently attend to no fewer than eight tables at one time. We waited for menus, we waited for drinks, we waited to order, we waited to be served, we waited for the plates to be cleared for dessert. And we waited an eternity to pay the bill. To her credit, our waitress comported herself admirably under these trying circumstances. But with a minimum of support staff, she could do only so much. In addition, the noise in this adjoining dining room was not just busy, it was cacophonous. Never the ideal place for an intimate conversation, the Presidio now rivals the crowd at McHale Center when UCLA comes to town. For a restaurant of quality, this kind of din is ludicrous. The good news is that the food at Presidio, once you finally get it, is really quite good, if not a bit confusing at times in composition and presentation. Barker's revised American grill menu infuses many Southwestern and European touches with a dollop of the Louisiana bayou. A chicken pasta dish was delicious, composed of linguine, tender grilled chicken, roasted poblano chiles, browned garlic, Roma tomatoes, fresh basil and prosciutto. Savory and satisfying in all respects, with just the right of amount of chile heat thrown in, this was a glorious dish. Also enjoyable was the manicotti stuffed with pureed eggplant, spinach and ricotta cheese, capped with a dab of roasted tomato and cilantro marinara. Although tasty, this dish suffered slightly from an unremitting case of the blands. The marinara sauce failed to provided some contrasting flavor pizzazz to these creamy-flavored pasta tubes. A blackened prime rib cut, however, went to the other end of the spectrum and was extremely spicy. Served alongside a mountain of mashed potatoes, smoked onions and the whole crowned with a full ear of corn on the cob, this was most definitely a hungry man's platter. The generous portion of beef was juicy and tender, but the potatoes seemed to need something (au jus perhaps?); and, I must say, the sight of an ear of corn plopped into the middle of the plate struck me as slightly odd. I might expect this kind of thing at some casual barbecue joint, but it was a surprising sight to see while making the trendy grill scene. The award for most confounding entree that night, however, went to the seared chicken breast served over horseradish mashed potatoes and topped with a thick tequila cream sauce peppered with chunks of pear, leeks, prosciutto ham and figs. For the most part, the dish was very pleasing. It's appearance, though, was a complete mess. Our interest was further heightened by the unexpected appearance of a small leg attached to what we assumed was only breast meat. A peek under the camouflaging sauce revealed not a simple chicken breast but a fowl that bore a striking resemblance to a halved game hen or squab. Curioser and curioser. Dessert consisted of a silky caramel and bittersweet chocolate custard and a gargantuan wedge of New York-style cheesecake topped with a full regiment of fresh raspberries. Both were superb. Presidio may have led the way on the grill scene 10 years ago, but it appears that now it's time to play a little game of catch-up. The food quality is still quite good, but the concepts of ambience and service seem to have been tossed aside. What a shame. Don't they know that some things never go out of style? Presido Grill. 3352 E. Speedway. 327-4667. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Full bar. V, MC, AMEX, DISC, CH. Menu items: $3.95-$19.95.


Here's A Piece Of Legislation That Oughta Be Washed Down The Drain. By Paula Huff TWO ARIZONA Republican senators, Rusty Bowers and Pat Conner, are sponsoring SB1266, which would decriminalize pollution of the public water supply. Bowers is also currently sponsoring a bill which regulates how much breast a stripper may bare--leading Pam Francis, vice-president of Certified Backflow Testers, a water industry group, to quip Bowers wants to regulate women's breasts and deregulate safe drinking water. Sen. Conner owns a string of car washes and lube pits in Yuma. SB1266 would make life easier for him, since it would eliminate the $30 annual cost--not to mention the hassle--of testing his backflow prevention devices. But the savings to the Senator would likely cost the public dearly. If passed, SB1266 would greatly increase the risk that his car washes and lube pits could contaminate the public water supply. Francis says pumps in car washes can overpower public water pressure, leading to the condition SB1266 is aimed at deregulating--backflow, the unwanted reverse flow of a fluid or other substance in a pipeline. What this means in practical terms is that the car-wash machinery that mixes solvents and degreasers and shoots them out at a high pressure can also backfire, driving these toxic chemicals straight into the public water supply. Fortunately, Tucson Water has the most effective backflow-prevention program in the state. The public utility has mandated large backflow-prevention devices on the water lines leading into car washes and other businesses. That way, if the internal backflow-prevention devices fail, at least the toxins will not reach the public water supply. An example of this type of near-disaster occurred at University Medical Center in the summer of 1996, Francis notes. The potable water supply was contaminated with Legionella pneumophila bacteria due to backflow between the hospital's sewage and drinking water lines. Fortunately, the backflow-prevention device on the incoming water line prevented contamination of the public water supply. "The whole neighborhood around the University would have been without potable water for a week if that device had failed," Francis says. But not all water companies have such safety nets. In fact, Flowing Wells Irrigation District, a water utility which serves 15,500 people in northwestern Pima County, does not have a single backflow-prevention device, says Francis. According to the Arizona State Senate fact sheet for SB1266, the bill "eliminates the requirement that public water systems implement backflow prevention in accordance with rules adopted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality." Francis said that if Arizona lawmakers pass this bill, owners of buildings with cross-connected plumbing will no longer be responsible for keeping their sewage out of the potable water supply. The primary supporters of SB1266 are Dave Furrey and Carl Triphan. Furrey owns the Flowing Wells Irrigation District. On January 28, ADEQ cited Furrey's company for failure to require the periodic testing of backflow-prevention assemblies, failure to maintain records of backflow-prevention assembly installations and failure to have an adequate microbiological sampling plan. According to Francis, Furrey is racking up about $1,500 a day in fines for these violations. If SB1266 becomes law, these fines will evaporate. Triphan is in the plumbing industry, and his career would be advanced with the passage of SB1266. By taking the responsibility for backflow-prevention from the ADEQ and putting it in the hands of plumbers, Triphan stands to make a tidy sum. The Legionella bacteria incidents at UMC are not the only backflow incidents in Tucson in recent years. Triphan spoke at a recent Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) meeting, where he acknowledged an incident which happened at the Tucson Police Department. Red dye was placed in the sewage system and, because the sewage line and the chilled-water lines were cross-connected, the drinking fountains began flowing red. According to Francis, another incident occurred at Palo Verde High School. Boiler water lines were cross-connected to the drinking fountains. Although boiler water came out of the school's drinking fountains, ADEQ successfully managed to keep the swill out of the public water supply. Had SB1266 been in effect then, the neighborhood water supply would have been contaminated, Francis says. Triphan also acknowledged a third incident, which he told the PHCC members occurred at the Colter Building downtown. He said antifreeze was added to the water in the fire-protection system, and the backflow-prevention device on the fire system failed, resulting in antifreeze flowing from the drinking fountains. Folks in the Colter Building were on bottled water for a week after that. Many prominent groups have come out in opposition to SB1266, including the Tucson Regional Water Council, the Arizona Public Health Association, Paradise Valley Water Company, the Piping Industry Progress and Education Fund, the City of Apache Junction and the Arizona Consumers Council. Obviously, these bills do not result from the actions of sane men; rather, they result from the actions of Mesa Republicans.


'El Alma Del Pueblo' At TMA Captures The Lives Of Old- And New-World Artisans. By Margaret Regan OUR LADY OF the Rose has no relation to the over-exposed Rose of the movie Titanic, but she's a queen of the sea all the same. Lashed to a wall at the Tucson Museum of Art, she's a gorgeous carved ship's figurehead who bears a wooden rose in her hand. Once upon a time, she guided Spanish sailors across the Atlantic's treacherous seas. Right now she helps visitors navigate their way through the gigantic show El Alma del Pueblo: Spanish Folk Art and Its Transformation in the Americas. Produced by a folk artisan in the port city of Barcelona around 1900, "Our Lady of the Rose" is just one of the many pleasures in this wholly pleasurable show, which opened last week in TMA's newly expanded galleries. The exhibition unapologetically presents the work of "el pueblo," of the shepherd, the sailor, the blacksmith, as worthy of museum display. For southern Arizonans who've grown a tad weary of shows of our own region's multicultural folk traditions, El Alma offers a refreshing visual change. There are religious paintings and trinkets, embroidered christening caps and carved furniture, walking sticks and puppets, festival figures and pottery, popular graphics and ironwork, making for an altogether lively mix of functional and ceremonial crafts. Fully two-thirds of its 308 objects are from Spain; one-third are from the New World, but they hail as much from Puerto Rico, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia as from Mexico. Like that lovely figurehead, many of the Old World works remind us that Spain was once a great seafaring nation. (In fact, when the traveling show visited Miami, curators imposed a maritime theme on it, building display cases that suggested ships.) Some of the exhibition's most charming works were created by sailors relieved to have weathered a dangerous crossing. The three-dimensionally inclined made detailed models of sailing ships; those who favored a flat surface painted colorful "ex-votos" depicting near-wrecks at sea, with the intervening saint or Virgin Mary supervising from one corner. The grateful sailing craftsmen would hang their models or paintings in churches in thanksgiving for their safe passage. A splendid example of a ship model from Cataluna, complete with a mosaic of shells beneath, is from the 19th century; and so are most of the little shipwreck paintings. Even the arte pastoril, the art made by the shepherds left behind by their seafaring brothers on Spain's craggy hillsides, somehow speaks of the sea. The Spanish shepherds had a carving tradition akin to the scrimshaw of whaling New Englanders. They made intricate incisions on the bones of their dead sheep, or on the horns of their goats, delicately creating scenes of a bullfight (in a 19th-century Salamanca cup) or even, in one case, perhaps awed by a sailor's fantastic tales, lovingly carving the mythical creatures of the deep. The erudite show, replete with informative wall texts and a scholarly catalog, was curated by Marion Oettinger Jr. of the San Antonio Museum of Art. Bringing an anthropological bent to his aesthetics, Oettinger traces the evolution of some genre objects as far back as the Greeks and Romans. A tiny Greek horse, a bronze from about 500 B.C., was found in Andalucia. It's an ex-voto ancestor of the milagro, the silver legs and hearts so plentiful today in South Tucson and parts farther south. He tells us that Roman ex-votos too have been found in Spain. Made of wood, wax, bones and metal, they were "testimonials to the power of the spirit world." The spirit world of Spanish Catholicism quite rightly gets ample play in this show. There's a beautiful "Virgin and Child" carved in the severe Gothic style of the 14th century. A later artisan, steeped in the Spanish baroque, added gilt and paint to dress them up. An ex-voto painting is dedicated to San Ramon Nonato, patron saint of midwives and women who give birth by Caesarean section (curiously he's a Dominican monk). The relieved mother smiles in bed, the midwife cradles the infant and the dad does his part by praying on his knees to the saint, who hovers up in the left-hand corner. Religious art tells us about the people's alma, or soul, as the exhibition title reminds us, but as the childbirth picture demonstrates, it also conveys information about the soul of secular life. Similarly, an ex-voto of stone masons tumbling from a wall reveals their clothing, tools and building techniques. The painting sailors, of course, enlighten us about the tricks of their trade. The secular objects show how that same spirit of the people can make the ordinary more fun. A ceramic lizard is a toothpick holder; a carved writhing snake is walking stick; a sculpted face looks out from the drawer of a chest. A fine ironwork section proves that folk art and fine art don't always work in isolation, either. A fabulous iron sign from a 1900s Barcelona butcher shop is adorned by the amiable heads of those the butcher would kill: a cow, a sheep, a pig. But this extravagant affair, highlighted by punched-out letters, owes a debt to the high-arts modernism that swept Barcelona in those days. The fertile dynamic of turn-of-the-century Barcelona helped give rise not only to the anonymous imaginative ironworker and the carver of "Our Lady of the Rose" but also to "high" artists like Picasso and the innovative Barcelona architect Gaudi. Many of the folk objects are reprised in slightly altered form in the Americas section of the show. We find carved horns, glazes ceramics, Mexican retablo paintings, echoes of the Spanish ex-votos; innumerable Blessed Virgins (the Spanish Lady of Guadalupe's transformation into Mexico's patron saint is discussed). A high-relief "Our Lady of Montserrat" from 1820s Puerto Rico has black skin and she's seated under a grove of Caribbean ceiba trees. In a 19th-century "Adoration of the Magi" painting from Peru, the familiar stable is set in the snow-capped Andes and the shepherd's wearing a poncho. Not all uses of folk art are benign of course. San Isidro Labrador was a 12th-century Spanish farmer who became the patron saint of farmers all over Latin America. In an 1866 Bolivian painting, though, he is not a benevolent protector so much as he is an arrogant ruler. A huge figure presiding over a Bolivian hacienda, the giant San Isidro dwarfs an entire population of workers. The painting gives us much information about the life of the people, from their assorted ethnicities to their trades. But this painting, no doubt commissioned by the hacendero himself, works to justify the man's rule: He's made himself the equivalent of a saint. A beloved folk symbol venerated by the people has been usurped by their master. El Alma del Pueblo continues through August 2 at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $2. Free family passes are to be distributed to most public school students in Tucson. The museum has scheduled assorted events related to the show, including free Wednesday lectures at noon through June 10. Jane Haller will speak about Tucson murals at noon on Wednesday, May 6. For more information, call 624-2333.


Two Local Authors Make A Historical And Artistic Pilgrimage To Document Lesbian Mothers. By Margaret Regan FOR BARBARA SEYDA and Diana Herrera, the "gayby boom" first hit home back in 1993 at a boisterous Thanksgiving dinner in a New Mexico farmhouse. Gayby? It's no misprint: An elision of the words "gay" and "baby," the gayby boom's a real phenomenon. The National Center for Lesbian Rights gives a rough estimate of the number of lesbian mothers in American as between five and 10 million. And that's not even counting gay dads, who sometimes, but not always, join genetic forces with the lesbian moms. But back to that Thanksgiving dinner, a multi-family affair populated by a rainbow of raucous kids and their lesbian mothers. Seyda and Herrera, a Tucson couple who've just published Women in Love: Portraits of Lesbian Mothers & Families, a book of black-and-white photos and oral histories, were struck by the "patchwork quilt of radiant faces" of the children, many of them adopted from points as far-flung as Guatemala and India. And they were moved by the self-evident joy of the mothers who were setting the all-American Thanksgiving table for turkey. "That evening, I knew we must document the stories of the families gathered there," writes Seyda in the book's introduction, which the authors will present in a slide show at Antigone Books this Friday night. The families' lives and struggles "were not considered significant by the mainstream media, but needed to be recorded and valued historically." Not surprisingly, that mainstream media didn't take too kindly to Seyda's brainstorm. Interviewed last week in Tucson, where the couple moved in September because of the town's "rich artistic environment and strong women's community," Seyda ticked off the series of rejections. Mothering magazine, known as an alternative publication, first green-lighted an article and then killed it. Then came "homophobic editorial feedback" from the likes of Parenting, Family Circle, Family Life, Redbook and Ladies' Home Journal. Eventually, Seyda realized that the only way she could write and picture what she wanted was in a book that she could control. The problem, and it was a big one, was that neither she nor Herrera had the money to finance it. The photos she had already taken gathered dust. A painter with an MFA from Rutgers, Seyda first turned to photography while living in Brooklyn in the late '80s. In photography, she thought she could combine her "artistic skills and political sensitivity. I was trying to see a way to be an artist in the world." She started shooting artistic and political events in New York's gay and lesbian scene, and publishing them in Outweek, a national paper. Her first piece of writing, about a series of lesbian bashings in New York, not only sparked an anti-violence march and self-defense workshops, but prosecutions conducted by the district attorney. "I saw the power of journalism," she said. Fast forward several years to the Southwest, when the power in Seyda's pictures of lesbian moms and kids eventually jump-started the book project. Herrera and Seyda decided to raise the money for the project themselves. Showing the pictures and book proposal to women's groups and a handful of female philanthropists, they eventually rounded up $85,000. Herrera took a sabbatical from her practice of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and the two took off in their old Honda on a two-year odyssey around the country in order to track down, interview and photograph moms and kids. Eventually, the book was picked up by Bulfinch, a photography imprint of Little, Brown that has published the works of such luminaries as Ansel Adams, Imogene Cunningham and Robert Mapplethorpe. "It was our dream come true," said Seyda, who has also published her photography in Essence, British Elle and Sojourner. The fine black-and-white photos in the book not only reveal Seyda's gift for putting her subjects at their ease--even the shyest of children agree to smile into her camera--but her painterly eye for composition. (Tucsonan Keith Schreiber made the final prints.) There are pictures of gorgeous newborns and thirtysomething sons of lesbian moms who are now grandmothers, of interracial couples and city slickers and country people. The 39 families profiled live everywhere from New England and New York to the Pacific Northwest, from the Midwest to California and the Southwest. Five are from Tucson. "We wanted to create a broad base of diversity, in terms of ethnicity, economics, religion, generations and geography," Seyda said. "That was a necessity from the beginning." Seyda compressed the lengthy interviews to one or two pages. (Herrera had transcribed them by hand.) All the stories differ in their particulars, but not in their universals: Every single one tells of women wanting babies and finding themselves transformed by motherhood. Seyda attributes the burgeoning gayby boom to a number of factors, including the gay rights movement, women's increasing economic independence, and new fertility technologies. Some of the women came by their children through heterosexual marriage, and some through artificial insemination, from both known and unknown donors. Many adopted. "Women a few years older than us thought they couldn't have children," Seyda said. "Now a house, marriage, and children all seem like tangible possibilities." Though some women declined to be in the book, for fear of harassment--or worse, custody battles--the courageous ones herein, said Herrera, "live by their truth." Eighteen states now allow same-sex adoptions by the lesbian mom's partner, Seyda noted, but other lesbian families have been torn apart by disapproving judges who award custody elsewhere. Following this weekend's slide show at Antigone's, Seyda and Herrera will embark on a nine-city tour to promote the book. The photographs will be exhibited at the San Francisco Public Library this summer. After that, they're planning more collaborative book projects and possibly films, Seyda said. And babies? "Probably not," Seyda said with a smile. "We want to keep traveling and making books. And we have 25 nieces and nephews." Barbara Seyda and Diana Herrera will give a free talk and slide presentation at 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, at Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave. For more information, call 792-3715. Women in Love: Portraits of Lesbian Mothers & Their Families. Photographs and Interviews by Barbara Seyda with Diana Herrera, is a Bulfinch Press Book (Little, Brown and Co.). Cloth, $29.95.


In America, The Official Language Sure Ain't The Queen's English. By Jeff Smith IN FOURTEEN-HUNDRED-and-ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...or so we've been led to believe. And when he ran out of ocean blue he bumped up against the beach somewhere in the West Indies. Columbus, an Eye-talian, was running a smallish scouting expedition for the Spaniards, whose queen he'd talked into fronting him three runty ships for the purpose of finding a shortcut to India, where they had lots of silk and tea and spices the folks back on the Iberian Peninsula had a hankering for. When the ship hit the sand out in the Caribbean 506 years ago, Chris declared he'd found India and named the ruddy-complected surfers who greeted his boats "Indians." He was wrong every way imaginable. So to appropriately honor Columbus' blunder, we here in America (named for another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, who also put in certain claims for discovering major parts of the new world) manufactured a creation-myth that holds sacred the notion--taught like a Grimm's fairy tale to every kindergartner--that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. Never mind that he beached on a small island southeast of Cuba and never came near the north American mainland; never mind that he thought he was in India; never mind that Leif Eriksen had been here centuries earlier; never mind all manner of incontrovertible fact: Columbus discovered America. How comes it, then, that in 1988 the voters of Arizona, the last of the contiguous 48 to attain statehood, passed a constitutional amendment making English the official language, and requiring that all state business be conducted in English and English only? Why not Italian, since we've propagated the notion that an Italian discovered this place? Or how about Spanish, Castillian-style, of course, since they put up the cash for the voyage of discovery? But if you really think the first white man to plant his flag ought to get dibs on the language thing, why not Norwegian? Then again, hows about Indian? Oh my goodness yes: pass the chutney. Or do you mean red Indian? Or do you speak with forked tongue? The point is, that half the languages on the planet have legitimate claims to currency in America's history, its present and its future. The French owned most of this place for a time; the Dutch had a piece of the action, along with Portuguese, Africans, Mexicans, a whole array of different tribal peoples from Aleuts to Athabascans to Incas, Mayans, Aztecs...your boys named Sioux, your Algonquins, Apaches...and then there were Russians, Chinese, Canadians. If there's one thing an American is, it's a mongrel. And if there's one thing the

de facto native tongue of this nation is, it's American, not the Queen's English, though its linguistic lineage is more or less descended from the written language of the British Isles. American is a polyglot patois that borrows heavily--one might say steals unconscionably--from every other language on the planet, and consequently is the most rich and widely varied and expressive human tongue extant. We've got a vocabulary several times greater than the Romance languages, let alone the tribal tongues of the second- and third-worlds, and older languages are only now beginning to broaden their thesauri by borrowing back pidgen-American terms we've already ripped off from them. American language is a bawdy, brawling steroid-monster of a growing child that draws its very vigor from its proximity to that storied melting pot of other cultures and languages--all of which come here and give. So I ask again: What's up with the English-only thing? Most of us couldn't speak real English if we wanted to. I rented The Full Monty for Jones and his wife up in Flagstaff a couple weeks ago, and Mrs. Jones didn't enjoy it at all. She could only make out about one word in three. They were speaking working-class English. Try a similar ethnic flick, subtitled in, say, southside Chicago dialect, and your audience in Sheffield, England, would be similarly at sea. But aside from the inherent inaccuracy in calling Arizona's racist little bit of initiative and referendum English-only vs. American-only, there's that whole deal with the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment thereto. Nowhere in the founding documents of this nation's government is there any reference to an official language. Nor coulda, shoulda, woulda been. The first freedom the framers observed in the Bill of Rights was the freedom of speech, and therefor, of the press, and by logical extension, of religion, faith, of assembly. It takes no more sophisticated legal scholar than your typical 5-year-old to recognize that if government declares English to be the only lawful and official language of our society, and thus that government business cannot be transacted in Spanish, Latvian, Urdu or Latin, then the First Amendment is meaningless to Americans who happen to speak one of those instead of English. I said as much a decade ago, and predicted a short life for the English-only amendment. As is so often the case, not only was I right, I was way ahead of my time. It took 10 years for the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a quite simple, quite commonsensical opinion against the constitutionality of the English-only law. And at that, the opinion was announced a year after the retirement of the justice who wrote the majority opinion. And now the case must certainly go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a recent history of cowardice in facing such outwardly simple and uncontroversial cases. Hey! We know American English is for all practical purposes the language of U.S. government, commerce and daily life: We don't need some xenophobic, racist law on the books to make it official, and to force non-English speakers further outside the mainstream. Down here in southern Arizona, where much of the local commerce still goes on in border Spanish, the ruling gringo class likes to look down its patrician nose at those ignorant, lazy Mexicans whose English isn't up to Harvard standards. Never mind that most of these white boys can't pronounce "tamales" or understand when the waitress smiles and calls them "cabrones." It's kind of like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers--Fred being the white boy and Ginger the Mexican. Fed to the tits with hearing Astaire lionized for his terpsichorean skills, Ginger once remarked, archly, "Honey, I did every dance step Fred ever did...backwards, and in high heels." Comprende?


No Man Is An Island, But Derek Hansen Is An Irreverently Successful Advocate For New Zealand's Great Barrier. By Emil Franzi Sole Survivor, by Derek Hansen (Simon and Schuster). Cloth, $25. GREAT BARRIER ISLAND is about 50 miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. Its population of about 1,000 lives on less than 200 square miles, there's no electricity or water, and the island has many of the wild attributes the rest of New Zealand had before its population cut down all the trees to make room for sheep. Even today, Great Barrier is an admirably primitive spot; it must have been even more so some 30 years ago, when Australian novelist Derek Hansen set the story of Sole Survivor. Three near-hermits live in ramshackle homes on Great Barrier's wild northern coast in this story. Their only access is by boat. They are Angus, a retired cop; Red, an ex-soldier psychologically damaged by his experiences as a Japanese POW in Burma; and Bernie, about whom we know little other than that he is old and dying. The three have established a rude etiquette based on honoring one another's privacy, while depending on one another to survive the elements. This careful balance is threatened when Bernie dies and leaves his lonesome shack to the daughter of a doctor in Auckland--a stranger who once showed him some rare but extraordinary kindness. Rosie Tretheway then gets to do what so many of us dream about: abandon urban life and escape to a secluded place in the boonies. But "away from it all" has its own problems, from how to dig a new outhouse to repairing the roof, and the absolute consternation a female presence on the island brings to Angus and Red. Red is totally compulsive and, despite therapy, generally unrehabilitated from the horrors of prison camp. Angus guards his secret identity as a juvenile fiction writer; and periodically he calls on a widowed farmer on the other side of the island. And the rebellious and attractive Rosie is a non-practicing doctor who kindles a romance with the enigmatic but purposeful Red. You also get to know the area's other two inhabitants: Archie and Bonnie, dog and cat of Red and Angus. But their problems with each other are dwarfed by the invasion of giant Japanese fishing trawlers, poachers who consistently violate New Zealand's territorial waters. The destruction these behemoths inflict on the shellfish below and the birds above, not to mention the snapper and other schools of fish in between, degrades the environment of Great Barrier much in the same way the bulldozers here at home have ravaged our saguaros and ancient ironwoods. Two worlds as far apart as the Southwestern desert and a Pacific island have much more in common than geography might suggest: there's a message here Ed Abbey would understand--and applaud. If you couldn't get away from the bastards 30 years ago at what was basically the end of the earth, where will you? There's nowhere to hide, so you might as well fight back from where you stand. That's Red's call. He begins as a coast watcher for a colorful naval officer who shares an interest in Rosie. They're trying to nail the most audacious of the Japanese long-line fishing captains, but the navy is ineffective. Low budgets, scant resources and political wavering at the upper echelons, where the wool lobby wields its influence on behalf of the industry's Japanese customers, undermine their efforts to protect the island. After several incidents, Red begins his own method of monkey-wrenching, with the reluctant support of both Angus and Rosie. The whole is an action-packed story with a memorable cast of characters, and a story we desert rats thousands of miles away should readily identify with: the never-ending pressure of "progress" fueled by the greed of industry, and the reluctance of politicians to do more than take a symbolic stance. Hansen is a Brit who grew up in New Zealand, and now lives in Australia. This is his first novel published in the U.S., and it's a little hard to pigeonhole by genre. But if you like Carl Hiassen, you'll probably go for Derek Hansen. Both write great dialog, have a penchant for oddball characters, and understand the sordid match between politics and private enterprise. Hansen, like Hiassen, is a superb spokesman for all the critters, habitats and lifestyles that have been destroyed by some for little real benefit to the rest of us.


Native Americans Find Their Homeland Split By The U.S. Mexico Border By Tim Vanderpool NOT EVEN A groaning air conditioner pierces the irony, thick as several angry centuries' worth of dust and hanging over this Saturday morning parley in the shadows of Father Kino's mission. Around a mishmash of tables filling a cavernous room, the handful of desert people are hashing out their fate born of Spanish incursion, nurtured by Manifest Destiny, and recently reinforced by a Washington bureaucrat's pen. Mostly Tohono O'odham and Yaquis, they've come hoping to soften an increasingly brittle border line, capriciously strung through their world 100 years back, and then called a fact. For ensuing decades they have existed in quasi-sovereignty, more or less ignoring bi-national realities. But now, for these inhabitants of ancestral homelands stretching from Tucson's southern flanks deep into the Sonoran hillsides, spasmodic border crackdowns have metamorphosed into ongoing threats to their timeless migratory habits. The latest law-and-order boom, arriving in the form of swarming U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs agents--essentially an army of new faces ignorant of the region's ancient ways--is causing big complications. And lately, the stories have become particularly troubling. A group of O'odham, traveling from their Mexican homes for medical help here on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, services accorded them as tribal members, are summarily stopped at the Lukeville crossing. They are marooned for hours. Some are turned back. Their driver, a tribal employee, is accused by INS officials of transporting illegals. She is harassed and nearly jailed. An old Yaqui man, journeying from Sonora to Tucson's Pascua Yaqui Reservation for a religious holiday, is stopped at the Nogales port-of-entry. His paltry documents are seized, and relatives spend two days in a frontera motel struggling to get him across. Such hassles have prompted this August meeting, officially called the First Border Indigenous Nations Strategy and Consultation on U.S./Mexico Cross-Border Problems. "All indigenous people in Mexico are technically Mexican nationals," says Jose Matus, traditional leader of the Pascua Yaquis. "But tell that to a Yaqui or an O'odham, and they'll say, 'No, first I'm an Indian.'" Matus rubs a brow beneath his black cowboy hat, and digs a thin thumb into his pocket. "That's the big issue here," he says. "As Indian people, we should have the right to come across. We shouldn't have to meet all the INS requirements." Across the table, Joe Garcia nods in agreement. The round-faced, soft-spoken owner of Tucson's La Indita Restaurant and lieutenant governor of the O'odham in Mexico, says tribes should simply be recognized as single entities, regardless of what national turf they've landed on. "We've suffered enough in the last 500 years," he says. "I think we have the right to move about as we please. Originally, this all was considered our country anyway." The conferees cite a bellwether 1989 document, issued in Geneva by the International Labor Organization and referred to as ILO 169, as granting them free range. The agreement refers to indigenous peoples who inhabit areas "at the time of conquest or colonisation [sic], or the establishment of present state boundaries," and aims to protect them by "promoting the full realisation [sic] of the social, economic and cultural rights of these peoples with respect for their social and cultural identity, their customs and traditions and their institutions." That's just one of many potential levers these folks have gleaned from ILO 169, an agreement Matus says the United States has consistently refused to sign. Though Mexico is a signee, the situation of native people in that country is no better. Nine O'odham villages are huddled near the border in Sonora. Due to years of officially sanctioned encroachment by Mexican cattle ranchers, their land base has shrunk to less than 2,000 acres. Yaquis in Mexico have faced the same threat, albeit with a different twist: Fierce warriors, they fought endless Mexican assaults from their mountain strongholds, and many escaped to sanctuary in Arizona. Today they exist in a scattering of settlements on the outskirts of Phoenix and Tucson. Some Yaquis also continue inhabiting their legendary eight pueblos along Sonora's Rio Yaqui, though their property is also under increasing threat. Despite this contentious cross-border history, U.S. officials treat both indigenous groups south of the line simply as Mexican nationals. Nor are the two tribes alone in their plight. The Kickapoos of the Texas region, and the Cocopahs and Hia-Ced O'odham farther west, all face similar struggles. Of them all, the Kickapoos alone have pulled something of a caveat, dating back to a complex 19th-century agreement reached with the U.S. Army. The upshot is that today their tribal identification card allows them to go back and forth nearly unfettered between countries, a status the other tribes now covet. To date, however, there is no special status given to Native Americans along Arizona's international line, says INS spokesman Russell Ahr. "But we need to distinguish between two types of tribal members. If they're born in the U.S., they can declare it when they come across. They would need a passport, non-immigrant visa or a border crossing card." Tribal members in Mexico don't have the same luxury, he says, adding that exceptions have been made only in "extraordinary circumstances," such as when a spiritual leader comes north to attend religious ceremonies. Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels is more blunt, reflecting the cockiness of an agency enjoying a budgetary explosion. Tribal members are given "no special consideration," he says. "The best policy is a uniform policy." At the same time, he says the Border Patrol resents tribes choosing to contact newspapers rather than directly airing their gripes with officials from his agency. And he accuses Matus, who also heads the border rights group Derechos Humanos, of "trespassing" on agency property a few months ago after misrepresenting himself as a member of the media. At the time, Matus was filming Border Patrol activities for a documentary called Unity Crosses Borders. Part of that video consists of tailing Border Patrol agents as they detained suspected aliens. "They just want to create a firestorm," Daniels says. "It's not something that's unable to be resolved in other ways." Still, any such resolution will have to be reached at the congressional level. Maura Saavedra, spokeswoman for Rep. Ed Pastor, says her office has discussed the issue with O'odham representatives. "We've inquired about it," she says. "Right now we're waiting for the O'odham to get back to us." Back at the morning meeting, former O'odham Tribal Council member Mike Flores remains skeptical of any quick fix. "We've seen how state and federal governments are adding to the problem by keeping people from traveling where they want to," he says. "I don't think governments see how global policies affect us right here in this community. Really, we're in a war just to carry on our life ways."


A Former Woodstock Flower Child And An Ex-Young Republican Are Swapping Roles In The Body Politic. By Emil Franzi GEORGE BERNARD Shaw's play The Devil's Disciple involves two lead characters who reverse roles. One is a minister, the other a rogue. During the American Revolution, they are forced to change identities and end up liking it, with the rogue becoming the minister and the minister becoming a soldier. They were admirably played by Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in a late '50s movie also starring Sir Lawrence Olivier as a wonderful General Burgoyne. Unlike today's flicks, they left Shaw's text intact. I'm reminded of that play and movie now whenever I read or hear my old friend, Arizona Daily Star editorial page columnist Tom Beal, the once long-haired, left-wing hippie who pens periodic reminiscences of his presence at Woodstock. His liberal credentials are undisputed. Back when Beal was running with the anti-establishment pack, I was running the California Young Republicans, carrying a Nixon placard, and hoping J. Edgar's guys were taking the names of people like Beal. My right-wing credits run as deep as Beal's on the other side. But now a funny thing is happening. Like the two Shaw characters, we seem to be reversing roles. Tom jabbed me earlier this year for being on the same side as guys like Don Diamond in opposing charter government for Pima County. Since then, he's either acquiesced to or supported Diamond and the Growth Lobby on a range of issues, from the failed water initiative to the incorporation of Tortolita. The anti-establishment guy is morphing into an establishment apologist. Tom, like some other Tucson-centric types who profess a concern with the environment, has become a prisoner of some weird of ideology which simply refuses to admit that the incorporation of Tortolita is the only hope to preserve about 20 square miles of lush desert. In fact, it appears that Tom has given up on preserving anything besides the hollow shell of legality that allows the City of Tucson to dominate this valley, a classic case of defending form over substance. Never mind that Beal's anti-incorporation dogma has consigned all those saguaros and ironwoods to the bulldozers now churning in Marana and Oro Valley. Hey, so what? As a Star editorial recently said, annexation is just something that happens to people who choose to live in unincorporated areas. Gee, Tom, wildlife and plants are part of that equation, too. When did you quit caring about them? Don't unique living creatures like pygmy owls matter to you anymore? But perhaps the ultimate turn came from Beal on the KUAT-TV news show Arizona Illustrated, where he now regularly agrees with the Tucson Citizen's Mark Kimble and that yahoo from Inside Tucson Business. In discussing the 1961 law which set up the six-mile, no-incorporation zones, Beal cavalierly dismissed the argument that the law is unconstitutional by saying it was a law that had been on the books for some time and the Supreme Court should leave it alone. Excuse me, Tom: I'm the guy who used to hang with the folks who wanted to impeach Earl Warren and attacked the courts for too much activity. You're the guy who believes that liberal judges have done much to bring about change by throwing out bad laws, regardless of their vintage, remember? Tom Beal has always been a mellow guy, but he used to have a deep sense of justice, and he could become righteously indignant when necessary. Apparently mellow now dominates, because he can't find anything wrong anymore with the way a gaggle of corrupt local governments behave. Amphi Schools? Town of Marana? Oro Valley? So what? It's easier to zing Tortolita, the only people who are actually trying to do something about all that rampant growth Beal now finds inevitable. So, Tom, who do you think ought to play us in the movie?
Over the past day, July 15, eight ceasefire violations by the Russian-occupation troops were recorded in the Joint Forces Operation area in eastern Ukraine.

In particular, the enemy opened fire from grenade machine guns and heavy machine guns near Prychepylivka (50km north-west of Luhansk); antitank missile systems  outside Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk); 122mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars  in the area of New York (35km north of Donetsk); 120mm mortars  near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol); small arms  outside Pishchane (22km north of Luhansk); grenade machine guns and small arms  in the area of Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk), the press center of the JFO Headquarters informs.

Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded and two more got injured in the shelling.

Ukrainian troops fired back in response to the enemy attacks.

In addition, an enemy Orlan-10-class UAV was spotted to fly over the line of contact in Luhansk region.

The Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC) informed the OSCE SMM about all violations by the Russian-occupation troops, using the established coordination mechanism.

As of 07:00 on July 16, one ceasefire violation was recorded. An enemy Orlan-10-class UAV was spotted flying over the line of contact in Luhansk region.

Ukrainian troops control the situation in the Joint Forces Operation area and adhere to the ceasefire.

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Los Angeles, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jul, 2021 ) :In a West Hollywood nightclub, people flirted, danced, and got close -- all mostly unmasked -- despite the fact that on Sunday at midnight, Los Angeles became the first US city to order a return to masks indoors.

At Revolver, a bar blasting out Madonna's best hits, clubbers were warned in the queue -- no mask, no entry.

The ultimatum sent one young man, David, scrambling to the nearest supermarket to buy one so as to not miss precious dancing time.

But once inside the venue, despite rising Covid infection rates, it was a different story.

"I feel a little out of place," said 22-year-old Ashley Gutierrrez, one of the few wearing a mask.

Many of those that AFP spoke to on the dancefloor espoused a similar view -- with so many coronavirus vaccine doses available, why should those who have already been inoculated have to suffer because of those who aren't? "If you're refusing to get the vaccine, that's on you now," said Stephen Bennett, 21.

Anthony Bawn, a 36-year-old screenwriter, agreed.

"Why should we feel responsible for individuals who don't want to protect their own body?" he asked. "If they force me to (wear a mask), I'm going to go home." - 'Not my problem' - For Los Angeles authorities, who announced the return to mandatory mask wearing in the middle of the week, there's a delicate balance to strike -- the city has only really reopened in the last few weeks, and no-one wants to spoil the party.

But thanks to the Delta variant, Covid-19 cases are the highest they've been since March, and the United States has not yet introduced any form of vaccine passport.

Many have chafed at the mask reintroduction, however.

The Los Angeles county sheriff's office has already announced that it will not enforce the new mandate, which according to the sheriff, is not based on science.

"It's going to be hard to enforce," said Ruben, manager of Trunks bar. "There's nothing we can do." "I'm not going to shove them on people's faces," sighed another bar manager.

As midnight struck at Micky's, a worker tapped on his watch and hurriedly distributed masks to the establishment's dancers.

The barmen hesitated, before masking up themselves -- but on the dancefloor, nothing much changed.

Leo Johnson had his mask in his pocket.

"I'm vaccinated," he said. "I have my mask in my pocket... I will not wear my mask if they don't ask me to." It was, he pointed out, difficult to chat people up with half your face covered -- a position shared by Adrian Barrios, 26.

"In a bar setting, so much of your communication is through your smile and body language," he said. "A lot of that is inhibited through masks."For 26-year-old Krista, however, the solution was to lean in: resplendent in a rhinestoned mask, she chose to protect herself, but do it in style.
(@FahadShabbir)

Schuld, Germany, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jul, 2021 ) :Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit flood-ravaged areas in Germany on Sunday to survey the damage and meet survivors, after days of extreme rainfall in western Europe left at least 183 people dead and dozens missing.

Merkel is scheduled to travel to the village of Schuld in Rhineland-Palatinate state, one of the two hardest-hit regions in western Germany, where the swollen Ahr river swept away houses and left debris piled high in the streets.

At least 156 people have died since Wednesday in Germany's worst flooding in living memory, police said in an update Sunday morning.

In Rhineland-Palatinate state alone, police reported 110 dead and 670 injured.

At least 27 people have also lost their lives in neighbouring Belgium.

Rescue crews in both countries were sifting through rubble to find victims, often in dangerous conditions.

The historic downpours also battered Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

As the waters began to recede in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North-Rhine Westphalia, concern shifted south to Germany's Upper Bavaria region, where heavy rains inundated basements and swelled rivers and creeks late Saturday.

One person died in Berchtesgadener Land, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian district told AFP.

In Austria, emergency workers in the Salzburg and Tyrol regions were on high alert for flooding. The historic town centre of Hallein, near the German frontier, was under water.

"Heavy rains and storms are unfortunately causing severe damage in several places in Austria," Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Twitter.

Merkel has called the floods a "tragedy" and pledged support from the Federal government for Germany's stricken municipalities.

Speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, Merkel said her "heart goes out to all of those who in this catastrophe lost their loved ones".

The government has said it is working to set up a special aid fund, with the cost of damage expected to reach several billion Euros.

- 'Sorry' for laughing - The disaster has increasingly taken on political overtones in Germany, which heads to the polls on September 26 for a general election that will mark the end of Merkel's 16 years in power.

With experts saying climate change is making extreme weather events like these more likely, candidates vying to succeed the veteran leader have called for more climate action.

Armin Laschet, the premier of hard-hit North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state and frontrunner in the race for the chancellery, said efforts to tackle global warming should be "speeded up".

But Laschet, who heads Merkel's CDU party currently leading in opinion polls, scored an own goal Saturday when he was filmed laughing in the devastated town of Erftstadt in NRW, where a landslide was triggered by the floods.

In the footage, Laschet could be seen chatting and joking in the background as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a statement expressing his sympathies to grieving families.

"Laschet laughs while the country cries," wrote the top-selling Bild daily.

Laschet later apologised on Twitter for the "inappropriate" moment.

- Divers, armoured vehicles - The scale of the flood impact was gradually becoming clear in Germany, with damaged buildings being assessed, some of which will have to be demolished, and efforts under way to restore gas, electricity and telephone services.

In some areas, soldiers used armoured vehicles to clear the debris clogging streets.

In NRW, divers were sent in to search submerged homes and vehicles.

Local authorities in NRW and Rhineland-Palatinate said dozens of people remain unaccounted for across both states.

They have stressed, however, that disruption to communication networks made a precise assessment difficult, and the real number of missing could be lower.

Roger Lewentz, interior minister for Rhineland-Palatinate, said more than 670 people were injured.

"I've lived here my whole life, I was born here, and I've never seen anything like it," said Gregor Degen, a baker in the devastated spa town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near Schuld.

Across the border in Belgium, the death toll jumped to 27 with many people still missing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo visited the flooded areas of Rochefort and Pepinster together on Saturday.

"Europe is with you," von der Leyen tweeted afterwards. "We are with you in mourning and we will be with you in rebuilding."Belgium has declared Tuesday a day of official mourning.
Abuja, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jul, 2021 ) :Nigeria has put six states and its capital on "red alert" over rising coronavirus cases, the government said late on Saturday, urging caution ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

Africa's most populous country, with some 210 million residents, has officially recorded around 169,000 cases and 2,126 deaths from Covid-19, but the real figures are believed to be much higher, in part because of low testing rates.

Last week, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said it had detected the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, putting officials on alert for a third pandemic wave.

"The Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 (PSC), has put six states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on red alert as part of the preventive measures against a third wave of the pandemic," Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha said in a statement.

The states concerned are Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the FCT.

Lagos, the country's commercial capital, has been the epicentre of Nigeria's outbreak, accounting for more than a third of the nationwide total.

Spokesman for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Willy Bassey told AFP that "red alert" meant that states should "fully deploy all Covid-19 prevention and containment measures in place" and intensify "testing, identification, treatment and isolation of infected persons.

" But the presidential steering committee added in its statement that "all states... should heighten their state of preparedness and continue to enforce all protocols put in place." "These steps are critical as we begin to see worrisome early signs of increasing cases in Nigeria," Mustapha said.

With Muslims celebrating Eid al-Adha next week, also called Eid el-Kabir in Nigeria, the government recommended that prayers be held outdoors and that indoor gatherings should be limited.

It also recommended the suspension of the traditional Durbar festival showcasing horse riding displays.

Last month, Nigeria barred passengers who are not citizens or permanent residents from entering the country if they have been in South Africa in the past 14 days over coronavirus concerns.

The decision followed similar restrictions imposed on travellers coming from Brazil, India and Turkey.

Nigeria started inoculating its population in March with four million doses.

More vaccines are expected to be received next month.
Soweto, South Africa, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jul, 2021 ) :South African President Cyril Ramaphosa joined post-riot clean-up efforts on Sunday as his government warned against vigilantism and sought to avert racial conflict following the unrest.

The country was gripped by more than a week of chaos that claimed more than 200 lives as looters ransacked shopping centres and unidentified groups torched key industrial infrastructure and blocked trade routes.

The violence was the worst in post-apartheid South Africa and erupted after former president Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for snubbing a corruption inquiry.

His trial for graft in a separate case is due to resume on Monday.

"We all admit there were lapses... we will gather ourselves and do a proper review," Ramaphosa told a crowd outside a mall in the Soweto township.

"People want to defend what we have in the form of democracy, our constitution and economy." Ramaphosa is under mounting pressure as only one of the suspected masterminds of what officials have called an attempted "insurrection", which caused an estimated $1 billion of damage, has been arrested.

When asked if he would shake up his ministers responsible for security he said: "We are reviewing the situation, yes." Access to basic necessities like food has become a pressing issue in the areas affected by looting, arson and violence as many stores were destroyed while others remain closed.

Many in the worst-hit KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province are now going hungry.

At a branch of the Grace family church in Durban, trestle tables were piled high with donated fresh vegetables and bread to prepare food parcels for those in need of food.

Police Minister Bheki Cele has warned against "vigilante acts" after residents of Phoenix outside Durban, a township of mostly Indian-origin South Africans, were accused of victimising their black counterparts.

- 'We are still scared' - "If we hear that people are being racially profiled at roadblocks set up in the area... (people) including police, are being intimidated, violated and in extreme cases people are being beaten up, and their cars are searched and torched (this) is simply criminal and won't be tolerated," he said in a statement late Saturday.

A taskforce of 10 detectives would be deployed to the area to investigate the deaths of 20 people during the mayhem, he added.

Of the 212 people reported killed nationwide, some were shot and others died in looting stampedes.

Alongside the human and economic toll, officials closed several beaches around Durban warning of possible contamination after a chemical spill at a factory set ablaze during the mayhem.

Ramaphosa will visit malls in Soweto township, the most populous part of Gauteng Province -- the country's economic powerhouse -- which also saw rioting and looting, to support business owners with clean-up efforts.

"The leadership of the (ruling) African National Congress (ANC) will assess the damage caused by the recent looting and vandalism and to engage communities and various stakeholders in the rebuilding and reconstruction programme," the party said in a statement.

Sunday marks Mandela Day, in honour of democratic South Africa's first president Nelson Mandela, and would be a day of jubilation for the ANC under normal circumstances.

Pope Francis prayed for South Africa on Sunday, saying that violence had rocked the country "already hit by health and economic challenges because of the pandemic".

Many in industry, particularly tourism which accounts for 7 percent of GDP, worry that the violence will damage South Africa's reputation and set back economic progress.

Traffic was back to normal along a main highway linking the country's north to the Port of Durban which had been closed for days.

But businesses in Durban are seeking security assurances.

"In as much as we are over the hurdle now, we are still scared," Zanele Khomo of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry told AFP.

"The world is looking at us with those (negative) eyes, but we want to tell them that South Africa has a lot of good people and we have a lot of good stories to tell," said Siyanda Nxumalo, a headteacher in Durban, who helped to clear up the Dube Village Mall outside Durban following the unrest.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jul, 2021 ) :A soldier of Pakistan Army on Sunday embraced martyrdom during an intense exchange of fire with terrorists in, an intelligence based operation, in Senai Narai area of South Waziristan District.

The Security Forces conducted an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) in Senai Narai, South Waziristan District, on reported presence of terrorists, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release.

The martyred soldier was identified as Sepoy Junaid, age 20 years, resident of Balakot, District Mansehra.

A cordon-and-search operation was in progress to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, it added.
Pope Francis expresses closeness to the people of Cuba as the nation undergoes protests and unrest and prays for the building of a just society.

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis called on Sunday for peace and dialogue in Cuba after unprecedented, nationwide protests rocked the communist-run country.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer in the Vatican, in his first appearance since being discharged from Hospital after surgery on Wednesday, the Pope said I am also close to the dear people of Cuba in these difficult times, in particular to those families suffering the most."

Last week, Cuba erupted in some of the worst unrest seen in the country in decades, with protesters in dozens of locations calling for freedom.

On Saturday, pro-government forces, including both President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his 90-year-old predecessor, Raul Castro, took to the streets in Havana with rallies of supporters to uphold government. The President accused the US trade embargo on the island nation for poverty and social injustice and international media for spreading what he called malicious interpretation of the latest events.

The Pope said he is praying that the Lord might help the nation construct a society that is more and more just and fraternal through peace, dialogue and solidarity.

I urge all Cubans to entrust themselves to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary of Charity of Cobre. She will accompany them on this journey, he said.
Gunmen have abducted at least 60 people in north-western Nigeria after raiding five villages.

By Nathan Morley

Gunmen have abducted at least 60 people in north-western Nigeria after raiding five villages.

This latest kidnapping happened in Zamfara state. It is reported that at least 70 gunmen on motorbikes rode into five villages and fired shots into the air.

Alarmed local residents described how the perpetrators caused panic before abducting villagers and escaping into nearby woodland.

In recent months, Nigeria has been faced with an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom.

Back in April, growing crime rate across the country led lawmakers to call on the president to declare a state of emergency.

The crimes are committed mainly in north-western areas, where security forces are struggling to cope with the situation.

The dire situation north-western Nigeria is compounded by insurgencies in the northeast that the UN says has left 350,000 people dead over the last decade.

Northeast Nigeria has suffered greatly since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009  recent kidnappings have alarmed the already beleaguered population.

Just last month, the United Nations began appealing for $250 million to provide food assistance for millions of people in northeast Nigeria, many of whom risk starving to death.

The U.N. Childrens Fund reports severe acute malnutrition causes stunting, wasting, physical and mental impairment, and even death.
The Independent newspaper reports that some Zimbabweans, who have lived in Britain for decades, are being targeted for deportation.

According to the newspaper, some failed asylum seekers with criminal records, are among hundreds of people expected to be sent back home.

The Independent reports that several organizations have written a petition urging the British government to halt the deportations amid fears that some of the people may be persecuted in Zimbabwe by President Emmerson Mnangagwas government.

The Zimbabweans are expected to be deported on Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted the spokesperson of the Home Office as saying it did not comment on operational matters, adding that foreign criminals who abuse our hospitality should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.

The spokesperson told the newspaper that any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity, and since January 2019 we have removed 7,495 foreign national offenders.
Feeling anguish and despair after days of the worst violence to hit South Africa in years, Durban pianist Jenny Bowes is using music to bring hope and love into the scenes of devastation as the country rebuilds following the unrest.
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User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale

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39 km of Rio de Jesus, Veraguas (183.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : I was laying down in a Cabana, felt obvious shaking movement. Gentle. Other people by the pool felt it, too. | 4 users found this interesting. / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s

Paso Ancho, Tierras Altas, Chiriqui Province, Pana (213.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : I felt the whole house shake, but nothing fell over or broke. Our dogs seemed to be aware of it. It woke my husband from his nap. It lasted for about 15 seconds. It was felt by friends in Cerro Punta and Boquete. | 6 users found this interesting. Is anyone concerned about a tsunami since it was off shore and fairly strong at 6.2? / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Cahuita (315.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : I was in my hammock and there was a short shaking. My husband was inside on the couch and was also shaking | 3 users found this interesting.

David, Chiriqui (169.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 30-60 s : Like when somebody push you | 4 users found this interesting.

Home in David Cheriqiu Panama (171.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes Taking a nap and woke me up! My earthquake monitor went off why I was feeling shaking while napping in bed! | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes

Perez Zeledon Costa Rica (290.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s My homemade alarm went off as I swayed in my recliner. Short moment thankfully.Of course waitng to feel if short or long duration. Same time Nicaraugua got rocked 4.2 at the time Panama was hit. Pure bookends. | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Ulloa, Heredia (377.3 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Felt like I was on a boat! I was sitting and on the 11tj floor then everything started swaying back and forth | 2 users found this interesting.

Isla colon / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Shakira,ceiling lamps moving | 4 users found this interesting.

near San Isidro, Perez Zeledon (296.2 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s : windows rattling, but objects on table did not move. | 3 users found this interesting.

Montijo District / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : Little no none shaking against the wall, then after 20-30 seconds, it shook the whole house. It was a vibrating sensation. | 2 users found this interesting.

Atenas, Provincia de Alajuela (388.9 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : I was putting make up on My face. I was standing up un front of a room. All what I felt was that I was being moved from left to right, once!! | One user found this interesting. Was it mascara? / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Santo Domingo de Heredia, costa rico (375.6 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : I felt a small shaking near my house, then i noticed it was strong in panama, and im even in Costa Rica oh my god | One user found this interesting.

Santiago, Veraguas, Panama (232.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : Was sitting down on a cement driveway. 4 people all noticed a sudden bouncing-like shaking, like the passing of a very large, very heavy truck nearby on a bumpy road. Lasted 2 to 3 seconds. We all immediately recognized it as an earthquake | One user found this interesting.

Panama West by Punta Parco playa Teta (484.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Side to side shake. Im highly sensitive to these phenomenon. Lasted about 5 seconds. Was laying in my sofa with my dog and stood up alerting others. But no one else felted | One user found this interesting.

Santa Ana Costa Rica (373.3 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Mild tremors that lasted several seconds | 2 users found this interesting.

Panama City panama (416.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Shook our home I was napping, it woke me | 2 users found this interesting.

Panama City Panama (419.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Slight movement of building | 2 users found this interesting.

Boquete / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Light shaking for several seconds. Seemed to stop and start again. You could tell it was a big quake but it was also far away. The shaking was a rolling sensation. | One user found this interesting.

Caldera / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : Even my cat got scared. | 2 users found this interesting.

Jaramillo (221.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : 3-9 seconds of shaking | One user found this interesting.

Vista Alegre, Panama Oeste (399.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : I was set on the bed and felt the movement, check water bottle it was shaking by itself | One user found this interesting.

Volcan Chiriqui (211.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : The whole house shaked moderately. | One user found this interesting.

Boquete (209.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s : It was reallly really long . Kind of wavy vs. shaky . | One user found this interesting.

Border to Costa Rica (118.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Horizontal movement | One user found this interesting.

near Bocas del Toro (284.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Minor trembles | One user found this interesting.

Panama (419 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Very short, gentle movement. Barely noticeable. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Hone Creek, Costa Rica (308.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 s : Quick strong shake, threw light objects off shelves, followed by 20 seconds of very light rumbling | One user found this interesting.

San Miguel Sarapiqui (412.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s It was a little long, but kept with little intensity | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Boquete Panama (209.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s : Steady gentle rocking, lasted a long time! | One user found this interesting.

Boquete Canyon Village, Alto Boquete, Panama (198.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s Woke us from nap, bed shaking, picture over bed shaking | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Isla Bastimento (277 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : House horizontal movements during few second. | One user found this interesting.

Curridabat (367.6 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : A prolonged sideways swing with dynamic intensity. | One user found this interesting.

Bocas del Toro (283.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Light to moderate shaking for a few seconds. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Boquete (213.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : first a loud boom & big jolt. then came the long rolling & shaking for 10 to 15 seconds. | One user found this interesting.

Moravia, San Jose (371.9 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : Stronger at the beginning but very long | One user found this interesting.

pejibaye (267.3 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : one shake, then trembling, like jello | One user found this interesting.

Panama City (425.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Hammock | One user found this interesting.

Rio Hato (326.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Movement of objects | One user found this interesting.

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (304.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s : Bumps through the floor. Slight swaying | One user found this interesting.

San Jose (370.1 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Noticeable movements | One user found this interesting.

Bouquete (200.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : Rumbling shaking codified swinging | One user found this interesting.

Vulcancito (208.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : 10 second tremor. | One user found this interesting.

Manual Antonio (321 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Shaking in the room for about 10 sac and then nothing, ten sessions of this | One user found this interesting.

Manuel Antonio (321.9 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : I'm on the sofa and I rumbled and | One user found this interesting.

Aguadulce, Cocle (281 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Very weak shaking | One user found this interesting.

David (175.1 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : Weak | One user found this interesting.

Farallon Panama / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 5-10 s : House rocking back and forth for several seconds | One user found this interesting.

Playa Chiquita Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Our house swayed briefly | One user found this interesting.

Bocas del Toro archipeligo / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : Doors were swinging | One user found this interesting.

San Carlos, Panama Oeste / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Lateral trembling, shaking for a few seconds | One user found this interesting.

Cahuita Costa Eica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s : Long period of shaking, no jolts felt, just a long quake. All our hanging lamps where swaying. | One user found this interesting.

Boquete / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 15-20 s : Quite strong | One user found this interesting.

Potrerillos Arriba / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : 3 or 4 seconds | One user found this interesting.

Panama City (420.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Panama City panama (416.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Shook our home I was napping, it woke me

40 km of La Colorada, Veraguas (210.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s

Puerto Cortes, Osa, Puntarenas (251.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Las Cumbres, Panama (421.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Nueva Gorgona, Panama Oeste (359.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Penonome, Cocle (313.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Algarrobo, Chiriqui (179.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s

Changuinola, Bocas del Toro (283.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

San Miguelito, Panama (427.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Sin comentarios (reported through (reported through our app / not felt

Punta Uva (303.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Jaco, Garabito, Puntarenas (364.9 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Cocle,El Valle De Anton (342.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Solo persivido las ventanas vibraron algunas cosas se mueven

DAVID, BARRIADA ALTOS DEL RIO. (171.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : No senti el temblor, quizas por que estaba acostado en mi hamaca.

Boquete (211.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : I woke up ...

Esperanza Vieques (2245 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Algarrobo, Chiriqui (179.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating

Curundu, Panama District, Panama (418.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

36 km of La Pintada, Cocle (314.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

lomas de ayarco sur curridabat (364.8 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s

panama city (419.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

La Concepcion, Bugaba District, Chiriqui (182.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

la pita, CAPIRA (379.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s

Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro District, Bocas del Toro (274.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Puerto Viejo de talamanca (305.1 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

San Rafael, Heredia (376.6 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : 6.4

Curundu, Panama District, Panama (418.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Cloudbridge nature reserve (302.3 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

isla colon (276.1 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

puerto viejo, limon, costa rica (306.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Panama city, costa del este (426 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s

Nuevo San Carlitos, Provincia de Chiriqui (176.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Bedroom (282.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : I was asleep, so it wasnt that weak.

Hatillo (369 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s

Panama City (420.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

Santiago Veraguas (234 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s

Boquete, Panama (208.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Up and down moving (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Penonome (315.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Rio grande cocle panama (306.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Puerto veja costa rica (304.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

near Chepo, PA.08.0848, Provincia de Panama (472.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 s

Rio Hato, Provincia de Cocle (321.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Smooth movement

Chitre, Provincia de Herrera (275.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Not much

Rio Hato, Provincia de Cocle (321.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro (278.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

Bajo Boquete, Chiriqui (206.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s

Canazas, provincia de Veraguas (226.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Puerto viejo de Talamanca (306.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Changuinola (284.1 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s

Boquete chiriqui (76.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 5-10 s

Veraguas Panama (253 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s : Ruido y vibracion y luego comenzo a tambalearse muy fuerte

near Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro District, Bocas del Toro (257.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Bajo Boquete, Chiriqui (208.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Santiago, Veraguas (232.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 30-60 s

Tinamaste (295.1 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 20-30 s

near San Isidro, Perez Zeledon (292.6 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

San Francisco, Veraguas, Panama (241.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Carrillos, Poas, Alajuela (392.9 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Potrerillos Arriba, Dolega District, Chiriqui (198.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Curundu, Panama District, Panama (417.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Alto Boquete, Chiriqui Panama (198.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Panama (279.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s

Boquete, Chiriqui (208.9 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Santiago, Veraguas (232.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Boqueron Panama (178.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

San Pablo de Heredia (377.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Mata del Nance, David District, Chiriqui (175.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Fuerte (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Pedregal, Chiriqui (165.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s

Villavicencio (1049.7 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Parrita, CR (349.5 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s

Nueva Gorgona, Panama (360.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Panama City (417.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Carrillos, Poas, Alajuela (392.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

near San Lorenzo, Chiriqui (180.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s

Aguadulce (262.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s Estaba en Casa Y Senti el Movimiento (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Boquete, Chiriqui (210.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 20-30 s

Dolega District, Chiriqui (196.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Santiago, panama (233.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

near Dolega District, Chiriqui (199 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Panama City (420.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s

San Rafael, Escazu, San Jose (372.4 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

near Puerto Cortes, Osa, Puntarenas (259.8 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica (189.7 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Panama, Panama, Ancon (422.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Santiago, Veraguas (233 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s

Boquete, chiriqui (209.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Sacudida y traqueteo, mascotas asustadas.

Boquete, Panama (208.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s

Santa Maria, Herrera (257.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Boquete, Chiriqui (212.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Volcan, Chiriqui (209.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s

El roble de aguadulce panama (287.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

near Nueva Gorgona, Panama Oeste (345.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s

Panama, Bocas del Toro, Changuinola (281.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Uvita, Costa Rica / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : Vacationing in Uvita, thought I was losing my mind since the couch seemed to vibrate next to me. Good to know Im not going crazy.

Ipis / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Rio Hato, Cocle, Panama (334.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s

Panama City (414.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

Boquete, panama (210.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Chuita Costa Rica / not felt : We wouldnt have known about one but a tourist informed us about her resort and the shaking that went on.

Ojochal, osa, Costa Rica / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Just vibration for 2-3 seconde

Mariato, Veraguas (204.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Rio Hato Cocle (331.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Via Montijo, Santiago, Veraguas (223.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

San Carlos, Panama (349.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Playa Venao (283.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Puerto Armuelles / not felt

Boqueron Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : I was laying in bed and felt the bed vibrating

Alajuela, Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 20-30 s

Ciudad de Panama - Av. Italia- Punta Paitilla / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Estava deitada no momento e a cama tremeu, olhei para o espelho da penteadeira e estava balancando, balancou por pelo menos uns 10 segundos

Panama City / not felt

Puerto viejo / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Santiago de Veraguas (232.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling

Cerro Punta / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 30-60 s : Felt strong. Plants and furniture shook pretty strong.

Boquete (209.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s : It was reallly really long . Kind of wavy vs. shaky .

Uvita Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes

Atalaya (233 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Mild shaking, roof vibrating

El Valle / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Smoothe wavy feeling

David, Chiriqui / not felt

El Limon, Campana (368.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s : It felt enjoyable here. Hopefully no one was hurt closer to the epicenter.

Pedasi, Panama (292.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Was home. Didn't feel it

Uvita de Osa (278.3 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s

El Valle de Anton, Panama (341.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s : I was in my car in a parking lot. I felt the car shaking a little, I thought that someone was trying to open the trunk or that the cement floor was moving due to the weight of the small buses entering the parking lot. Then I took a more sensible look at the surroundings and finally told my daughter who was with me that it must have been a small hearth quake.

Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica (512.9 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Felt nothing

Janna Kulisz 141 Golf West Vista Mar San Carlos Pa (361.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 s : Was lying on bed. Felt like my dog was trying to jump on the bed by jumping against the side of the bed 4 or 5 lunges.

Panama City / not felt

Concepcion / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / several minutes : Estaba en el porche de mi casa sentada derrepente todo empezo a moverse..fue muy fuerte...solo se que sali corriendo junto a mi madre a buscar un lugar seguro ..ah sido muy fuerte..eh sentido otros en este mes "temblores"pero el de ayer ah sido muy fuerte.

Concepcion / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / several minutes

David (170.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Tres Rio, Osa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s

Torio, Veraguas, Panama / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 minutes : Felt table shaking while i was waiting. Then i stopped writing and look at the table and safe it shaking. I also felt light movement underneath me whole siting

Guyana / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : I was lying on the bed when everything started vibrating quickly

Birtisito, Cartago, Costa Rica (350.1 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s

Rio Hato (347.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Muy fuerte aqui en la playa senti 2 temblores simultaneamente y se movia el piso hacia varios lados y las lamparas se movian Subscribete a Monitoreo Sismico JP para ver como se vivio.

Bouquete / not felt

Quepos Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : 1 single jolt

Santa Catalina (179.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating

Wyndham Albrook Hotel Panama City / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 1-2 s

Playa Venau (281.6 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Escazu, Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : Felt a jolt and shaking. Furniture rattled

Boquete, Chiriqui Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s : Felt like I was riding on a train.

manuel antonio national park / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

San Jose (368.6 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s I was at rest. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Panama City (425.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Hammock

costarica / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 30-60 s : bed is shacking

PH Solok Parque Lefebvre Panama, Panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

San jose (369 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Nueva gorgona, Panama in chame district, province (361.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s : Light lateral shaking for 10-15 seconds, no apartment or house shaking, but mild definite floor shaking movement.

Hospital point isla bastimentos / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 10-15 s

Jaramillo, Boquete, Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 10-15 s

Puerto viejo (308.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

El valle de anton / Weak shaking (MMI III)

David centro en la cama. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s : La cama se movia lentamente arriba abajo y luego cambio a un suave meneo, comence a contar y llegue a 25 o hasta donde se detuvo.

La Chorrera / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Leve movimiento de un lado a otro.

Costa rica, Alajuela province, alajuela city / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Alto Boquete / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Fuerte y largo

La Chorrera / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Santa Fe, Veraguas, Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Alto Boquete / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Tinamaste Costa Rica / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

puerto viejo / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Volcan, Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s

Boca chica / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s

Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / very short

Boquete / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Chorerra / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short

Playa Blanca, Panama / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Four of us were sitting down on the balcony and we felt it.

Panama / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

Panama city / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Bocas del Toro / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Light shake

Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Se sacudio el mueble de la TV y el sillon en el que estaba sentada temblo

Volcan, Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s

Gamboa, Panama / not felt

Spring Valley California / not felt : Nothing

Santiago / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s

Ciudad de panama. Albrook / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Chitre, Provincia de Herrera / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Boqueron / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Cocle Panama / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Coto Brus / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging

San Jose / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s

David. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s : Fue un poco largo y oscilante.

Carr Las Uvas _El Valle de Anton / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Se movio mi cama ,y algunos objetos en la mesa y en los muebles pude ver como se estremecia.

cidad del panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 15-20 s

Bocas Del Toro / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

San Jose / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

San Jose, Costa Rica / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

Changuinola / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : Era como un desplazamiento horizontal

/ 1-2 s

Penonome, Cocle / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Las Guias de Calobre , provincia de Veraguas / not felt

Las Guias de Calobre , provincia de Veraguas / not felt

Minera Panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Sarchi Norte Alajuela / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Estamos ubicados en sarchi norte y aca se sintio bien fuerte

Bocas del Toro, PAN / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Rio Hato Panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Veraguas / not felt

David / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Coronado / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

PH Solok Parque Lefebvre Panama, Panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

San Jose. Costa ROCA / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s

Santa Ana / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Boquete, L'os Naranjos / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Nueva Gorgona / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

Tres Rios Costa rica / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Jaco / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Panama City / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s

Chitre, La Arena / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : Shake

San Carlos / Weak shaking (MMI III)

S. Jose Costa Rica / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

San vito Coto Brus Puntarenas Costa Rica / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

Santiago / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating

Silimin,San Felix / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Movimiento de sillon donde estaba y movimiento de objetos

Indian Harbour Beach FL USA / not felt

Punta Barco Panama / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

David / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Las lajas / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s

Nuevo Gorgona / Very weak shaking (MMI II)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale

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salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : my husband saw the pictures moving on wall | 5 users found this interesting.

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : I felt shaking of the building and the water in aquarium was moving like the waves in the sea almost splashing out from aquarium. | 2 users found this interesting.

Abbassiya, Jaleeb Al Shoyoukh- Farwaniah KUWAIT (306 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was in Kitchen as the KENT technician came to change the candles of the water filter. Myself and he too was feeling the swing like the tables sliding....my hanging light fittings were swinging...I took the video of it. | One user found this interesting.

Bushehr. Alishahr (79 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : I felt a very big earthquake. All the equipment shook violently. But fortunately there was no damage here. | One user found this interesting.

Shuaiba Port, Kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Sitting at my work dest in an outdoor trailer, and then I started swaying back and forth for approx. 10 seconds. I thought we were having high winds, but when I went outside to check, winds were calm. | One user found this interesting.

Mahboula / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : I was sitting on the floor when I suddenly felt the floor swinging horizontally. It I observed a water bottle & the water was shaking inside. It's slightly stronger than the last one that happened a few months ago! | One user found this interesting.

Salmiya, kuwait at 5: 36 pm / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I felt the tremors, everything was swinging for around 15 seconds, my couch was shaking quiet a bit,felt the other objects in the house vibrating too, this was felt on the top floor, Salmiya | One user found this interesting.

Al Farwaniyah (302.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : i feel that time cos when i watching on my phone im asking to my husband if he feel but me i feel the shaking

Fahaiheel / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was shaking and things moved | 3 users found this interesting.

Kuwait (297.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Building swaying on 6th floor. | One user found this interesting.

Shiraz (139.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s On the 7'th floor building, it was felt somehow strong. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Al Mangaf (290 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : All the hanging lights were shaking and we felt it very clearly. | One user found this interesting.

Qibla (300.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Seat shook and curtains started swinging | One user found this interesting.

Bneid al Gar kuwait (296.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : The building was shaking | One user found this interesting.

Salwa, Kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : First my friends shared so i kept a look out for it. Few minutes later, my room window and mirror made a little shaky sound which lasted for 2-5 seconds. My parents didn't feel anything.

Shiraz / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 1-2 s : It was very hard. I think the period of shaking was 10 seconds. I felt 3 period of vibreing. It was terrible for me to fell it.Today in shiraz 4 hours of earthquake the weather was very rainy. The period of time that raining was 15 min.

Farwaniya al sajeesh / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : I was watching phone was skaking sideways thought was an headache then my dad also told something is shaking

Salmiya Boulevard / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s : Doors, Bed, Hanging Wall Clock shaking | One user found this interesting.

salmiya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Good amount of floor movement | One user found this interesting.

Bneid algar / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Everything was swaying, indoor plants were moving, water was moving | One user found this interesting.

Salmiya, Kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : My hanging key hains were dangling | One user found this interesting.

Salmiya, Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Yes,everything was swaying back and forth but no major damage. | One user found this interesting.

Salmiya Kuwait / not felt : Apartment on the 16th floor swaying and hanging chimes moving in large counterclockwise circles. | One user found this interesting.

fahaheel (290.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

43 km of Borazjan, Bushehr (0.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (290.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Shaking my office table while I was at work and fourth floor of my building

Kuwait City, Al Asimah (298 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s

Sabah as Salim, Mubarak al Kabir (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Felt pretty strong

Salmiya (305.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : shaking was felt

Salmiya Park (291.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Ar Rumaythiyah, Hawalli (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : Felt like i am moving

Riggae (353.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Kuwait (304.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

Salmiya, Kuwait (290.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Slightly stronger than usual weak shaking.

Al-Jabriya, Kuwait. (295.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Fintas, Kuwait (289.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s : Its scary

Al Farwaniyah (301.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Al Mahbulah, Al Ahmadi (290.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Shiraz, Fars (142 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Shiraz (138.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Al Mahbulah, Al Ahmadi (289.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : Feel shaking heavy

Hawalli (293.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s

Ar Riqqah, Al Ahmadi (300 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Mangaf (290.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (290.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s

kuwait,abu-haleefa (290 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

kuwait (295.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Farwaniya (302.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : My legs moving and the tip of the plants shaking.

Shiraz, Fars (146.3 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

40 km of Mandali, Qada Balad Ruz, Diyala (675.9 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short : mangaf

Salmiya (292.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s : Bed swaying..

shiraz (147.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Al-Masayel, Mubarak al Kabir (290.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Al Farwaniyah (301.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s

Al Farwaniyah (305.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Salmiya (291.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s

Salmiya, Kuwait (290.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Slightly stronger than usual weak shaking.

near Buschehr (85.6 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Janub as Surrah, Al Farwaniyah (302.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

shiraz (143.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 10-15 s

Sabah as Salim, Mubarak al Kabir (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Felt pretty strong

Shiraz, Fars (146.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s

Al Farwaniyah (302.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes : I feel dizziness when our building moved and all my stuff is moving slow side by side...

Abu halifa (290 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Shiraz (155.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (290.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Buschehr (78.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (292.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Fars shiraz (147.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Salmiya (292.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Hawalli (293.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s

Al Farwaniyah (306 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Al Farwaniyah (306.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Khaitan (301.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (292.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Al Mahbulah, Al Ahmadi (290.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Al Farwaniyah (305.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s

Hawalli (296.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Salmiya (289.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Kuwait (368.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Kuwait (368.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Manga Kuwait (289.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

As Salimiyah, Hawalli (292.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Shiraz (142.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s  (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

Hawally (295.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s

Al Farwaniyah (305.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short

Al Manqaf, Al Ahmadi (290.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s : Low

shiraz (136.4 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

shiraz (153 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Al Farwaniyah (305.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Abu Al Hasaniya, Mubarak al Kabir (290.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Hawalli (297.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : I felt the earthquake for at leat 20 seconds 5:38 PM approximately.

Shiraz, Fars (142 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Home (291.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s

Kuwait (297 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Shiraz (134.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Al Farwaniyah (301.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Hawalli (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Mangaf (289.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Ar Rumaythiyah, Hawalli (292.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Yes

Salmiya, kuwait (293.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Qibla (300.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Seat shook and curtains started swinging

Kuwait (291.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Al Farwaniyah (301.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Mahboula (289.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s

shiraz (143 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Ar Rumaythiyah, Hawalli (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging

Kuwait city / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Fahaiheel / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was shaking and things moved

At Home (292 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Just nothing

Salmiya Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Ahmadi Kuwait (289.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Nothing

Ahvaz / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s

Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

kuwait / not felt

Al Ahmadi / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Riggae, Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : The chair, couch all were rocking Bulb was swaying Felt dizzy

Sabah al Salem kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

kuwait salmiya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Felt some worry but it was ok after a quick period

shiraz / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Shaken

Darenjan siakh shiraz / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 20-30 s : We were sitting inside our outdoor chalet it was qualite alarming and shaky.

Sharq, Kuwait City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Abu Halifa, Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Farwaniya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh / not felt

Khaitan / not felt

Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 10-15 s : Shook for a few seconds

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : I feel shake my bed

Kuwait city / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Lengthy

bushehr / Light shaking (MMI IV)

KUWAIT / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s

Salmiya kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

Kuwait, mangaf / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Abu halifa kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : Xxx

Salmiya , Block 10 / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Throughout the day for 3 times in 1 hour the shaking was felt for about 20 to 30 seconds each

Home / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : My bed was shaking

Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : Felt Chimes & doors swinging strong

Kuwait, Salmiya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / very short : Dizzy

Shiraz / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

al awqaf complex kuwait / not felt

Kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 15-20 s

Salwa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : just shaking

Kuwait, salmiya , saba Street block 10 / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 5-10 s

Salmiya, Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s

Shiraz / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Fahaheel Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Shaking while sitting on chait

Al Fintas, Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / very short

Salmiya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Midan Hawally / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s

Shiraz / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Ahmadi Fahaheel / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short : Just felp like dizzy ,, but i see some hanger moving .

Yarmouk / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

Home / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Just felt dizzy

salmiya kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s

Block 10, Salmiya, kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 1-2 s : Felt for sometime

Mishref / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Our windchile was shaking and water in bowl was moving we felt dizzy

Kuwait, Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Fintas / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Building shaking

Salmiya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Salhiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : We are on the 8th floor and we can feel the earthquake

Hawalli / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I feel shaking

Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short

Nurabad / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s

Salmiya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Felt scared

Abuhalifa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I sat on sofa and realised it

Salmiya, kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Al farwaniyah kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Fahaheel / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Shiraz / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Shiraz / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I felt it in Shiraz

Al Ahmadi mahboula / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / very short

Mahboula, Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

shiraz / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s

Bushehr / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Strong

Abbasiya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short : Yes, Mild

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging : Shaking for several minutes

Farwaniya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Salmiya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s

al farwaniya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : scared

Salmiya block 10 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short

al rai / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Yasuj / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Abdullah Al Salem St. - Baitak Tower / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Egaila, Kuwait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Light, lateral movement.

salmiya, Kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short

Eating lunch / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Thats it

Abuhalifa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Mild

Mangaf ahmadi kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Was sitting on a sofa and felt the shake. Potted plant was also shaking gently which confirmed it .

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 15-20 s

Salmiya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Salmiya , kuwait / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Salmiya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Salmiya Hawally / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Jleeb Alshuyokh / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Mahboula, Kuwait / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short
Millions of Americans are jeopardizing their health, freedom and finances by not getting vaccinated and putting themselves at risk of the most infectious coronavirus strain yet, current and former federal health officials say.

"Most people will either get vaccinated, or have been previously infected, or they will get this Delta variant," Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

"And for most people who get this Delta variant, it's going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital," said Gottlieb, who was commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration.

For those not fully vaccinated, "quality of mask is going to make a difference with a variant that spreads more aggressively, like Delta does, where people are more contagious and exude more virus," he said.

In research posted online, scientists examining 62 cases of the Delta variant found viral loads about 1,260 times higher than those found from 63 cases from the early epidemic wave in 2020.

The Delta variant is also sending younger and previously healthy people to hospitals -- the vast majority of which have not been vaccinated, say doctors in several states suffering surges.

"This year's virus is not last year's virus," said Dr. Catherine O'Neal, an infectious disease specialist at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"It's attacking our 40-year-olds. It's attacking our parents and young grandparents. And it's getting our kids," O'Neal said. She said her Covid-19 unit now has more patients in their 20s who were previously healthy.

"You have to get vaccinated," O'Neal said. "That's the only way to end it. Masks and mitigation, they're not going to take it. It's going to be vaccination."

Since February, 97% of cases and deaths related to Covid-19 in Louisiana were among people not fully vaccinated, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Friday.

Like with any vaccine, a small percentage of vaccinated people may get a breakthrough infection. But it's literally impossible to get Covid-19 from any of the vaccines used in the US because none of them have any coronavirus in them.

"Even if you do have a breakthrough infection -- which, again, happens in a very small minority of people -- it's likely to be a mild or asymptomatic infection," US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Sunday.

But most Americans are not fully vaccinated. As of Sunday, only 48.6% of Americans were fully vaccinated, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many Americans have not been vaccinated due to misinformation, which "takes away our freedom and our power to make (educated) decisions for us and our families," the surgeon general said.

Now, infections of the Delta variant have spread to all 50 states.

In Los Angeles County, the rate of new Covid-19 cases has increased 300% since July 4, the county health department said. Covid-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled from the previous month.

The surge in new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations prompted county officials to reinstate an indoor mask mandate.

'She was in the best shape of her life,' then died from Covid-19

Rachel Maginn Rosser recently lost her 63-year-old mother to Covid-19. Rosser, a nurse, said she believes her mom would still be alive had she been vaccinated.

"She was in the best shape of her life. She was working out five times a week with a personal trainer," Rossner said Saturday. "She loved to go out and have fun. She was a social butterfly. And she got sick, and it was just a slow decline from there."

Kim Maginn had a sore throat and fever for about a week, said her daughter Rosser, who lives in Arkansas. Maginn was "shocked" when she went to the doctor last month and found out it wasn't strep, but Covid-19.

Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccinations rates in the country, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And with Covid-19 patients filling up hospital beds, Rosser said she felt "helpless" because she wasn't able to visit her mother when she was in an intensive care unit.

"I had to stay outside of her room and call her on her cell phone to talk to her," she said. "She looked really small in the bed. It was hard for her to talk because she was struggling to breathe."

Rosser said her mother didn't get vaccinated because she believed that since she hadn't already been infected, she wasn't going to get sick.

She said she pleaded for her mom to get vaccinated.

"I tried several different tactics. I laid all the facts out for her. I tried to plead to her emotional side of 'What would we do without you? Could you imagine our life without you?'" Rosser said.

"Part of me wishes I had tried harder. But she was really stubborn. She was stubborn, but she wasn't stupid. I think eventually I would have been able to convince her, but she got sick and she got Covid. And so there wasn't any more time to try and convince her."

Rosser said she hopes sharing her family's story will help encourage others who are vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated.

"This virus ... doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care if you're old or you're young, or you're healthy or you're not. Once you get it, it can be devastating to your family," Rosser said.

She encouraged people to "keep talking to their loved ones and keep trying to convince them because I wouldn't want anybody else to have to go through this."

Coronavirus has spread among children at camps

While the chances of children dying from Covid-19 are low, more children and teens are getting hospitalized with Covid-19 or suffering long-term complications.

There have been numerous instances of Covid-19 outbreaks at summer camps.

In Utah, officials are investigating Covid-19 cases at more than a dozen summer camps for children, said Aislynn Tolman-Hill, a spokesperson for Utah County's health department.

"We are hearing and know that there are MANY instances where symptomatic campers are sent home but not getting tested," Tolman-Hill told CNN in an email.

"This is obviously a huge concern. If we are not made aware of these situations, we cannot do contact tracing and notification of those exposed."

Local health records in Utah County showed less than 30% of children 12-18 are fully vaccinated. State law prohibits the Utah County Health Department from requiring camps to follow any coronavirus rules or procedures, Tolman-Hill said.

"All we can do is educate and advocate," she said.

In North Carolina, three out-of-state campers at Camp Daniel Boone Scout Camp in Haywood County tested positive for coronavirus, local health officials said.

The camp canceled its remaining sessions and notified health officials when the trio tested positive on July 14, according to a statement from Daniel Boone Council, Boy Scouts of America. The camp also informed everyone who attended camp during that time of their potential exposure.

The camp had been following its "COVID-19 Mitigation Plan," which was approved by county health officials, the statement said. Mitigation measures included a pre-event medical screening checklist, daily temperature checks, social distancing, a mask requirement for indoor and group settings and handwashing and sanitizing stations throughout the camp.

"These events bring to light that Covid-19 is still prevalent in our community," Haywood County Public Health Director Sarah Henderson said.

"It is not gone, and this is not over. We continue to see an uptick in positive cases as people gather in large groups and remain unvaccinated."

The-CNN-Wire

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A man in Doral, Florida, escaped from a mall store with stolen goods on Saturday by spraying everyone in his way with bear repellent, according to police.

At least 30 people required treatment for their injuries, Doral Police spokesman Rey Valdes told CNN.

About 15 of the mace victims were employees of Bath and Body Works at Miami International Mall. One had to be taken to the hospital after taking a direct hit of spray to the face, according to Valdes.

Police noted the seriousness of the attack, as each sickened person could be considered a victim of aggravated battery. The suspect is "potentially looking at 30 to 35 felonies," said Valdes.

Store employees told police the suspect had stolen candles, with Valdes acknowledging, "This is one of those 'only in Miami' stories."

The suspect was last seen leaving the mall in a taxi, Valdes said. Investigators are working to identify the individual.

The-CNN-Wire

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In Marshall County, two volunteer fire departments are filing a lawsuit against the county's revenue commissioner for mishandling funds.

The lawsuit claims county revenue commissioner, Michael Johnson failed to properly administer, assess, collect and disperse of fire protection fees.

Those fees have a price tag of nearly $36,000 over a span of 2 years.

WAAY-31 spoke with one of the departments heading this lawsuit on what they want the community to know.

The biggest thing the Georgia Mountain Volunteer Fire Department wants you to understand as a resident, is they're not asking for more money.

They're asking for the processes to be done in the right way.

"We're seeing somewhere between a 12% and 15% error in the assessment, collection and distribution. The biggest part of the problem with the error is the assessment," said Richard Lawson.

Richard Lawson is the chairman of the board of directors for the Georgia Mountain VFD.

He says between 2019 and now, they're not only missing thousands of dollars, but they also aren't able to make sure every single dwelling, home or building is safe.

The volunteers not only assess fire damage, but they help around the community as well.

Sarah Sparks can attest to it, as she lost her home last year due to a fire and says the volunteers are more than just firefighters.

"Saying thank you just isn't enough, like it really isn't. The amount of gratitude that we feel... Because you don't think about what's next, what's going to happen tomorrow. But they do," she said.

The fire protection fee is $5 a month and it not only helps with equipment in the fire station, it also helps lower insurance for homeowners with the volunteers' service.

Sparks says to know this issue is happening, still, is unfortunate and both Georgia Mountain and 4-C VFDs say they just want the law to be upheld.

"I really hope that they're able to get this sorted out soon and Georgia Mountain and 4-C are both wonderful, wonderful people," said Sparks. "Please read the act and follow and follow the state laws and work with us to solve this problem said Lawson.

We were told some of these changes may not take place until next year but everyone at the Georgia Mountain Volunteer Fire Department is doing what they can now to address these issues.

The fire departments told WAAY-31 the lawsuit was the last resort and they claim they tried to meet with the revenue commissioner several times.

All they want is accountability so they can do their jobs efficiently.
WALLOWA COUNTY  The Elbow Creek Fire, in the northwestern corner of Wallowa County, has quickly spread and became the states third largest w
Wallowa County Commissioner Todd Nash shared some news from the Oregon Department of Forestry that shines a ray of hope on the Elbow Creek Fir
Illinois Becomes First State to Ban Police From Lying to Minors in Interrogation
Decatur, IL (62521)

Today

Some clouds. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable.
It would be great if we could remove the most significant barriers to treatment that keep people with opioid use disorder from getting what they need, she said. And if we could have every state get rid of laws that ban syringe-services programs, so we can expand those services to people who need them. And then, obviously, if we could get these numbers down.
Joos said therapy, as well as speaking with a mom who was in a similar situation helped. I met my friend at the hospital, and we checked in with each other every day, she said. A year later, Im closer to her than I am to some of my family members because the trauma brought us together.
Harris, 40, documents her culinary escapades on her blog OldLinePlate.com, which also explores the history of famous Baltimore fare, including the true story of crab cakes and origin of fudge in Charm City. Since 2011, Harris has been entering Maryland-based recipes from traditional cookbooks she found on eBay and at the Enoch Pratt Free Library into a database that now boasts thousands of entries.
We need this whole street cleaned up, said Victoria Akinseye, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the area. She gathered with residents Saturday to demand that D.C. leaders do more. We need better grocery stores, sit-down restaurants. We need something that is going to stop loitering and polluting. When the environment is not clean, people are not safe.
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The Settlement started in 1887 with Sally Grayson, who became the areas first known African American landowner after she bought seven acres in what is now Gainesville from the son of a former plantation owner, according to a history of land records and local family stories compiled by the county. Other Black settlers followed, forming an insular community that coexisted with Thoroughfare, another Reconstruction-era enclave now surrounded by new development.
Nobody cares that the presidents son has taken up painting. The issue is the money: Its been reported that Berges is planning to price the works from $75,000 to $500,000, figures that would raise eyebrows even for a successful midcareer painter, which Hunter Biden assuredly is not. Since artists typically spend years carefully building markets and nudging up their prices  hoping to avoid any sudden drops that would frighten away investment-minded collectors  this hardly seems like the move of someone planning on a long-term career. You have to figure that the gallery, an otherwise obscure one, is hoping to make one quick score on the strength of Bidens celebrity. (Think of the gag on Steve Martins album A Wild and Crazy Guy about pulling in $2 million for a single performance by pricing the seats at $800. One show, Martin jokes. Goodbye!) A concern for the Bidens  and the rest of us  is that collectors might attempt to buy influence along with their art; the White House has tried to deal with this by drafting an agreement with the gallery to keep buyers identities secret, even from the artist.
In line with constitutional rules, Lofven unveiled in Parliament the names of his 22-member team selected from his own Social Democrats and the Greens. This is Lofvens third government since he first became prime minister in Sweden in 2014.
Im interested in how they lived there and what the rules were or werent, Svetlana said. But when I ask them, they just say, Everything is good. So despite the fact that were in Russia and they should feel really safe here, theres still no conversation. Theyre really private.
But far from being able to rebuild, many areas are still trying to count their dead. Police say at least 110 people have died in Rhineland-Palatinate but warn that rescue operations continue and that they can't give a figure on the number of those still missing. Another 46 were killed in neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia. At least 31 have died in Belgium.
Layth, a senior at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, said he has difficulty explaining the Syrian revolution to classmates. During one class discussion, he said, he firmly supported supplying the opposition forces with weapons. No one else agreed, because of worries that the rebels have ties to terrorist groups, said Layth, who did not want his full name published for fear that the Assad regime will target him or his Damascus-based relatives.
Now there is this massive vaccine diplomacy that is actually making all of a sudden the Saudis and Emiratis quite popular in Tunisia, which is not always the case, Cherif said, adding that it is too early to tell what kind of long-term impact the vaccine donations will have on public opinion or relations with Tunisia. Regardless, he said, Its a great PR move by the Saudis.
Viola Summers, 94, of Loogootee, passed away at 10:40 p.m. Monday, July 19, 2021, at Ketcham Memorial Center in Odon. She was born Feb. 7, 1927, in Washington, Indiana, to the late Jacob and Lydia (Stoll) Swartz. Viola was a member of the Loogootee United Methodist Church and was a faithful 
Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on.
Reynolds believes it does, but concedes  with hindsight  that advertising is a blunt instrument and often there are unexpected and negative social outcomes from even the most well-intentioned campaigns. We had to do something big. At the time there was a lot of ignorance and misinformation. I remember reading a newspaper headline asking if you could catch AIDS off a toilet seat, he recalls. And he sees parallels with the COVID pandemic today. There are the anti-vaxxers, there is a lot of misinformation on social media and apathy, most people dont know anyone who has had COVID. There is an inertia within the community in the face of something which is a very serious threat to all of us. I still genuinely believe we have to scare people into action when things are this serious. The means justify the end.

Reynolds old advertising contemporaries, from Jane Caro to Dee Madigan, have resoundingly panned the COVID commercial, arguing its fear tactics send the wrong message, and that more would be achieved by providing an informed, positive message. Other critics say it was redundant given the age group represented is not eligible for vaccination and labelled the ad as pointless fear mongering. However Reynolds believes it doesnt go far enough, and says it looked too glossy to be convincing, let alone shocking. A still from the governments confronting COVID ad. But scaring people into action can come at a price. Many years after the Grim Reaper ad launched, the late Dr Ron Penny, who diagnosed the first case of AIDS in Australia in 1982 and was a member of the committee tasked by health officials with dealing with the virus, conceded in 2002: The downside was that the Grim Reaper became identified with gay men rather than as the Reaper. That was what we had unintentionally produced - [the belief] by some that the Reaper was people with HIV infection, rather than the Reaper harvesting the dead.

Reynolds agrees, but says his objective at the time was solely to create a wake-up call to Australia - not to demonise gay men. Penny was also adamant the ads impact was astounding. Loading But how that unintended demonisation of gay people manifested on the street was almost as frightening as the virus itself. Homosexuality had only been decriminalised in NSW three years prior to the Grim Reaper commercials going to air, homophobic discrimination was rife, poofter bashing was an actual thing groups of supposedly straight men would do for thrills and being outed at work or to family remained a genuine fear. Even today the Grim Reaper spot makes for sobering viewing with its deadly serious voice over telling middle Australia: At first, only gays and IV drug users were being killed by AIDS . . . But now we know every one of us could be devastated by it.
When Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, the daughter of New Yorks governor Andrew Cuomo, recently said she identified as demisexual, ears pricked up.

The 23-year-old revealed on an Instagram live that she is demisexual after previously identifying as pansexual and prior to that bisexual and gay. Demisexuality, Kennedy-Cuomo explained, is a term she is currently exploring and happens to be what resonates with her most in terms of her own sexual identity.

Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, the daughter of New Yorks governor Andrew Cuomo, recently said she identified as demisexual. Credit:iStock

What does it mean to be demisexual?

Demisexuality, which was coined about 2006 and became more widespread in 2008 according to The Asexual Vibsibility & Education Network, exists along the asexual spectrum, says Dr Megan Carrol, assistant professor at California State University San Bernardino, who researches asexualities and identifies as asexual.
When your annual superannuation statement soon lands in your email inbox, you will see the investment legacy of the past crazy coronavirus year.

From initial extreme sharemarket volatility to recent record highs, it has been a wild ride.

Super fund members can celebrate a big year for their balances. Credit:Simon Letch

Far from predictions of ongoing investment decimation at the onset of COVID-19, the median super fund likely ended 2020-21 with an astonishing gain of about 17.5 per cent, according to fund researcher SuperRatings. The final figures are due out tomorrow.

It is a perfect moment to conduct a five-minute super fund health check to make sure you are on track for a comfortable retirement.
We thought, You know what? People sail the ocean all the time, Mr Shephard said.Why not cross the Pacific? Im sure people do it. Wed never sailed before, Ms Ilic said. I couldnt swim until three years ago. The pair downloaded a marine traffic app, and after seeing the number of private sailing boats moving through the Panama Canal, realised it was their best chance of hitching a ride home. In January they flew from Mexico City to Panama, where they spent two months trying to find someone heading in the right direction who could use some extra hands on deck. Eventually, an Australian came through who was willing to take the pair. They set off on an 8000 kilometre trip, with the man who  unbeknown to them  had twice before attempted to cross the Pacific, unsuccessfully.

On his second trip he ended up busting his sail and his motor and spent 28 days floating between Panama and Galapagos before the Ecuadorian Coast Guard towed him 300 nautical miles to the Galapagos Islands, Mr Shephard said. But we didnt know about this until we were already in the middle of the ocean. Things also took a turn on the captains third trip, with the couple on board. The yacht took on water, lost all navigational systems and power. The scary episode is documented in one of the couples many vlogs on their YouTube channel. We ended up dumping out 356 buckets of water because the bilge pumps didnt work, Mr Shephard says. After 39 days at sea, and a three-day emergency stop in the Galapagos Islands for repairs, the trio finally made it to Hiva Oa, the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.

Their next ride to Fiji was found via a Facebook page with a more experienced American captain. So after a quick flight to Tahiti, the pair again set sail for another 19 days, arriving in Fiji last month. Now the pair are awaiting a ride for the final leg of their trip  either someone sailing to Australia or alternatively to New Zealand, from where they could fly home under the TransTasman bubble (currently suspended due to outbreaks in NSW and Victoria). Jake and Tamara somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, vlogging about their yacht taking on water. Credit:Youtube (Lockdown Travellers) Weve still got to find a boat, but were a hell of a lot closer to Australia, Mr Shephard said. By the time they finally return to Australia, the couple estimate they will have spent $15,000 getting home from Mexico  including short flights, food for boat trips and coronavirus tests.

We actually worked out that we spent a third of what we would have if we booked tickets [on flights from Mexico] and thats if those tickets went ahead, they could have been cancelled, Mr Shephard said. Although theyve missed 18 months of family milestones, they count themselves luckier than many other Australians stranded overseas. Tamara two weeks from land in any direction. Credit:Facebook (Lockdown Travellers) Despite the hair-raising moments along the way, the pair have given advice to other stranded Aussies thinking of taking the high-seas home, including a man stuck in Hong Kong. He has a family of four and its going to cost them 20 grand just to fly home. And he said to me, I can buy a boat for 20 grand, Mr Shephard said. I told him, Yeah, do it man, but make sure you get someone to captain who knows what theyre doing.
Other shop owners complained that rules on wearing masks were an infringement of civil rights and voiced a litany of conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 vaccines. NSW Police conducted what onlookers called a blitz in Mullumbimby on July 6 to ensure compliance with public health orders. Yoga teacher and nutritionist Crystal Cook recently moved to the Northern Rivers from Melbourne and she said it was the best decision she made. Credit:Elise Derwin A spokeswoman said NSW Police only provided statewide figures on fines but asked residents to report suspected breaches or behaviour that may affect the health of the community. Comedian Mandy Nolan, who lives in Mullumbimby, said conspiracy theories were spreading as quickly as the Delta variant in Sydney.

There are hashtags that equate anti-maskers to freedom fighters, she said. To me this is an obscene misunderstanding of freedom and privilege. Ms Nolan, the Greens candidate for the federal electorate of Richmond, said a targeted public education campaign was needed to allay fears and educate about the vaccine. Getting through this anti-government sentiment and encouraging the community to do the right thing requires compassion and an understanding of how Scott Morrisons failure has contributed to this problem, she said. [Local anti-vaxxers] constantly tell people to do your research, and use stay-at-home-mummy-blogger YouTube videos as evidence. Nicqui Yazdi, Flattening the Curve admin Local solicitor Mark Swivel said COVID-19 had heightened already strong opposition to vaccinations. He said friends who ran shops and cafes had been abused for asking customers to wear masks.

Our social media pages are full of complaints about customers refusing to wear masks and haranguing staff, he said. For some, COVID is the departure point for a whole world of paranoid, dystopic thinking, including a plan to microchip the species using the virus. Yet health authorities do not appear concerned about vaccine hesitancy and refusal. A spokeswoman for the North Coast Public Health Unit said the local health district works closely with stakeholders to promote the uptake of vaccinations generally and provide information about its safety and benefits. Mark Swivel has a beer in the Middle Pub in Mullumbimby. He is a mayoral candidate in the coming Byron Shire Council elections and is urging residents to get vaccinated in the northern NSW hippy town Credit:Elise Derwin She said the number of COVID-19 tests had risen to 5839 last week, compared with 3849 the week before, and there was significant demand for vaccination bookings. Residents and tourists had responded well to public health measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, she said.

Loading Data from NSW Health shows about 63 per cent of two-year-old children are vaccinated in the Byron Shire local government area  compared with a state average of 91 per cent  but these figures hide even lower vaccination rates in Mullumbimby. Less than half of two-year-olds in the town were fully immunised in 2015-16, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare said. Byron Shire mayor Michael Lyon said vaccination was a divisive issue and I dont think it serves us as a community to continually debate it. It doesnt change anything, and ultimately people are entitled to make their own decisions in accordance with the law, he said.

But Mr Swivel, who is a mayoral candidate in the coming Byron Shire Council elections, published a media statement earlier this month urging residents to get vaccinated. He said Mullumbimby had high rates of vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Loading Some shop signs ask people whove had the COVID-19 vaccine not to enter for two weeks after the jab because they risk shedding the virus and infecting others, he said. Some have called Mr Swivels pro-vaccination stance brave. On social media he has been labelled a danger if he gets in, and been told his pro-vaccination stance is potentially shooting yourself in your own political foot, doing his campaign a major disservice. Ive been called brainwashed, a moron and vanilla man, Mr Swivel said. Opponents are vehement. I would describe many comments Ive received online as verbal stoning. As a candidate for mayor, Ive had many say they wont vote for me and telling others not to.

Mr Swivel said many local politicians were afraid to challenge anti-vaxxers. Facebook page Flattening the Curve, which aims to counter vaccine hesitancy, features anecdotes about shops flouting regulations on mask-wearing. The pages administrator, Nicqui Yazdi, said many customers baulked at using QR codes to check in when entering a shop. Unmasked local and musician Denis Pierre Johnson. Credit:Elise Derwin Public noticeboards were also filled with anti-mask posters, as well as conspiracy theories. Arrogant tourists also flaunted COVID restrictions, Ms Yazdi said, because they are on holidays and there are no rules on holidays.

Ms Yazdi said vaccine hesitancy was rife in northern NSW, where there were more healers than GPs, and it was egged on by very loud anti-vax conspiracy groups. They constantly tell people to do your research, and use stay-at-home-mummy-blogger YouTube videos as evidence, she said. Or tell you to stop watching mainstream media, as it is all government lies. Or call you a sheeple if you do follow the science and vaccinate. Ms Yazdi said vaccines had been hard to get in the region, which was made worse by the absolute lack of any public information for this area as to where to get vaccinated. There has been no real campaign for compliance in this area from the health services or the police, she said. If COVID ever does take off here, it will be catastrophic due to the low rate of vaccine uptake and the high rate of blatant non-compliance, and of course the holiday attitude of tourists and visitors, who far outweigh locals in number.
While some Perth children start their school day by opening a text book or switching on a device, others are unrolling a yoga mat and being taught mindfulness and meditation before heading back to the classroom.

An increasing number of primary schools across the metropolitan area are introducing students to yoga and mindfulness practices in a bid to help them regulate emotions, build resilience, and support classroom learning.

Wembley Downs Primary School students lay in savasana as part of their mindfulness practice. Credit:Lauren Pilat

Schoolteacher Paula Flugge noticed a shift in students mental wellbeing after returning to work following the birth of her first child and put it down to the increased reliance on technology and devices within the classroom.

There was one stand-out change to the classroom environment ... the take-up of smartboards in every classroom and the overuse of digital devices in an effort to support learning outcomes, she said.
In a grim news week, the intervention of former prime minister Kevin Rudd in the vaccine rollout debacle was a welcome spot of mischief.

Last Sunday the ABCs Laura Tingle broke the story that in late June, senior Australian business figures based in the United States took matters into their own hands regarding the leisurely Pfizer vaccine rollout in Australia. They reportedly discussed making contact with the vaccine manufacturer in the US to see whether it could fast-forward its Pfizer deliveries to Australia, to get more of us vaccinated sooner.

A welcome distraction? We are amused, Kevin Rudd. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The situation was considered especially urgent given the emergence in Australia of the Delta variant, the variant that has now forced our two largest cities  11 million people  into miserable lockdown.

Tingle reported that a senior businessman, who she chose not to name, met US Pfizer executives, who made it known they were dismayed and offended that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had not made personal overtures to their global chief, Albert Bourla. Apparently this is something Israels Benjamin Netanyahu had done about 30 times.
More than 12 million Australians across Sydney and all of Victoria are in lockdown this weekend as the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.

For Sydney, its the most serious COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic and it looks likely - as Premier Gladys Berejiklian ramped up restrictions on Saturday - that there are weeks of pain ahead.

Scott Morrison and Gladys Berejiklian announce the new financial package for NSW. Credit:Wolter Peeters

For lockdown-weary Melbourne, enduring its fifth stay-at-home stint since the pandemic began, there is a palpable sense of resignation the move is necessary. But its mixed with disappointment - and anger at the removalists who brought the infection over the border.

The past week was also another fine illustration of Australias messy federal system, as the Prime Minister and state premiers battled it out over additional financial assistance - the terms of which were adjusted three times - and squabbled politically over whether Scott Morrisons home state of New South Wales had received special treatment.
I cant remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent. I cant remember a time when government had to make these difficult decisions, Ms Berejiklian said. A NSW Health spokesman confirmed Western Australia, South Australia and Commonwealth health staff were supporting contact tracers by conducting in-depth case interviews. NSW Health is committed to using all available resources to allow us to focus our

efforts on stopping the spread of COVID-19. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys provide an update on COVID-19 on Saturday, Credit:Rhett Wyman A Western Australian government spokesperson confirmed to The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age that support with NSWs contact tracing is expected to commence as early as today [Saturday].

A Victorian Health Department spokesperson said the state had previously offered NSW assistance during the outbreak. At AHPPC [the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee], NSW made an open request to all jurisdictions for assistance. Victoria indicated that they would focus on the outbreak in Victoria if others were better placed to assist NSW. Ms Berejiklian on Saturday conceded that Greater Sydneys lockdown conditions had so far failed to quash the curve of the virus in the community. Its not good enough for us to tread water, which is what were doing now, to some extent, to stabilise it, she said. I know that many people will be very angry and upset with me. But please know that were making these decisions for no other reason than because theyre the right decisions.

A source with knowledge of the AHPPC meeting said the South Australian government also offered assistance and that there was a lengthy discussion about contact tracing in New South Wales, which continues to report infections in the community, and unlinked cases of the virus weeks after lockdown began. A spokesman for WA Premier Mark McGowan said the state had agreed to help NSW contact tracers. Credit:Hamish Hastie Queensland Health Minister Yvette DAth said that well continue to offer support to other jurisdictions, just as Queensland has been provided with support in its fight against COVID, while an ACT government spokeswoman said the territory had not yet received a formal request from NSW for contract tracing assistance but was willing to help. Dr Chant said the states health system was facing a mammoth task. I think the pandemic is one of the things that has tested us all, every member of the community and it has tested me as well. It has tested me and my team who are really committed to achieving low community transmission as quickly as we can.

From Sunday until July 30, only critical retail is allowed to remain open in Greater Sydney, including supermarkets, pharmacies, petrol stations, car hire and banks. Click and collect, takeaway and home delivery can still operate. All non-urgent construction, including on projects within the states infrastructure portfolio, will be paused from Monday, costing the NSW economy an estimated $700 million a week. From Wednesday employers will also face fines of $10,000 if they refuse to allow employees to work from home, if able to do so. The new restrictions follow a week of mounting pressure on the Premier to tighten the lockdown and define essential workers to give greater clarity on who should be staying at home. Ms Berejiklian said Friday was the first time her crisis cabinet had received advice that prompted greater restrictions on workplaces, movement and retail stores.

Certainly [that] was the first time we received additional information about exposure sites, the spread of the virus and the stubborn nature of those numbers not coming down, she said. A lag in the data means the impact of the new health orders will not be apparent for a few days. Among Saturdays new cases 29 people were in the community while infectious, however a record 81,790 people presented for testing. A man in his late-80s from south-eastern Sydney became the third person to die from COVID-19 in the current outbreak. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant. Credit:Rhett Wyman NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the persistently high case numbers were linked to the virus seeding in workplaces, which draw people from a vast geographical area.

Once you get a workplace transmission, its like a melting pot... because of the mobility of workers, she said. Loading Weve been flagging the fact that we needed to look at a range of whole-of-government strategies to decrease mobility... I think we needed to take much stronger action and Ive recommended that to the government today. Melbourne is in a five-day snap lockdown, the citys fifth since the pandemic hit, which has left as many as 10 million people across NSW and Victoria in lockdown. Eighteen out of 19 positive cases announced on Saturday in Victoria were infectious in the community for an average of 1.5 days.
FILE -- In this Dec. 7, 2011 file photo, Hossam Bahgat sits for a photograph, in his office at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, Egypt. On Sunday, July 18, 2021, Egypt released two activists and a journalist after they spent months in pre-trial detention. The releases came amid an outcry by rights advocates after prosecutors last week referred Hossam Bahgat, a leading Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights advocate, to trial over accusations of insulting the election authority, spreading false news alleging electoral fraud; and using social media to commit crimes, Bahgat said. (Sarah Rafea via AP, File)
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NORTH HAVEN  A person died after being shot near the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and Route 40 on Saturday, according to North Haven police.

Police Chief Kevin Glenn said in an email that police received multiple emergency calls reporting shots fired near the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and the Route 40 connector eastbound around 11:22 a.m.

Initial investigation resulted in the development of information that shots were fired from one vehicle into a second vehicle. A victim was located in a vehicle a short distance away, having sustained a gunshot wound. North Haven Fire Rescue personnel were dispatched for medical assistance; however, the victim was later pronounced deceased at the scene by tending paramedics, Glenn said.

The identify of the slain individual was not immediately released.

Fire officials said on a departmental Facebook post that fire crews were dispatched to the shooting scene around 11:30 a.m., which was soon followed by a crash in the area.

North Haven fire personnel treated injuries related to the shooting in multiple nearby locations and were assisting in securing the area for the PD to initiate an investigation, officials said in the post.

It was at this time that a fleeing car from a nearby town disregarded Hamden PD units which had shut down Route 40 at Whitney Ave. The fleeing vehicle collided with another vehicle on Route 40 resulting in a serious motor vehicle accident and multiple injuries, fire officials said in the post.

The driver involved in the crash fled and was pursued by local and state police, according to the Fire Department post.

Glenn said the area of Dixwell Avenue between Hartford Turnpike and State Street, including the Route 40 connector, was closed to the public as of soon after 3 p.m. He asked residents to avoid the area.

There remains a police presence on scene, and further releases will confirm the opening of the roadway and have updated information, when appropriate, Glenn said.

Glenn asked anyone with information that could assist in the departments investigation to call the North Haven Police Department Detective Division at 203-239-5321, ext. 240.

The thoughts and prayers of the members of the North Haven Police Department are with the family of the deceased at this tragic time, said Glenn.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Today

Becoming mostly clear and continued comfortable.

Tonight

Becoming mostly clear and continued comfortable.

Tomorrow

Partly to mostly sunny and pleasant with continued low humidity. Perhaps a brief shower in far northeast PA or far northwest NJ.
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Hot on the heels of her Emmy nomination for best actress for her portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown, Emma Corrin is treading the boards in a new play inspired by the life of a high-class con woman. It's her West End debut  and her co-star Nabhaan Rizwan, the playwright Joseph Charlton, the director Daniel Raggett and design team member Mikaela Liakata are all also taking their first West End bows. It feels like a breath of fresh air: they're an impressively talented bunch.

The play, presented as part of Sonia Friedman's Re:Emerge season, has its origins in the extraordinary life of Anna Sorokin, a woman who lied her way to the top of New York society, pretending to be a wealthy German heiress. Here she is transformed into an influencer and curator of the contemporary art scene, a woman with thousands of Instagram followers, who is supposedly the super-rich daughter of a Russian oil family.

In a brilliant opening scene, she meets quiet tech millionaire Ariel (Rizwan) at a nightclub. As they dance, their shouted and inaudible dialogue flashes up on a wall behind them. Ariel, creator of an exclusive dating app, is immediately smitten by this mysterious, beautiful blonde, who exudes confidence and style.

From there the story unfolds backwards and forwards, partly narrated by the couple directly addressing the audience and partially enacted in scenes between them, and other characters who they also play. If the trajectory of the story is predictable, then the telling and the performances are not.

Emma Corrin and Nabhaan Rizwan

 Helen Murray

The set and video design are just sensational, a rich tapestry of every changing images that conjure New York life, from its parks, to its offices with a strategically placed Jeff Koons, to the smoking rooms of nightclubs with the city sparkling behind. The effects are magical: at one moment, as Anna remembers her time in London, she seems to be stepping out of a smudgy black and white painting, her outline shown in bleeding red. In another, a scene is played in front of a postcard of the Golden Gate, a boat sailing serenely beneath. The whole thing is wonderfully lit by Jessica Hung Han Yun.

In this simple but sophisticated frame, Radlett makes the action charge forward with the same pulse as the frenetic life Anna is leading. He's good at contrasts, between high energy and moments of quiet and it's in the scenes where the characters interact that the play comes most vividly to life.

Corrin and Rizwan are both appealing presences; she has just the right amount of charm to make it believable that he would fall so hard and believe for so long; he has an innocence that makes the deception possible. Their performances are full of nuance: the way her eyes narrow when he makes romantic suggestions; his spaced-out goofiness when they first talk. They slip into other characters effortlessly too, holding attention keeping the play moving.

It's harder for them to maintain this subtlety in the long passages where monologue takes over; if the play has a fault, it's that there's too much exposition and not enough interaction. But Charlton's writing is full of memorable phrases  Ariel is "a moth to the flame" of Anna's unkindness; Instagram is a way of painting lives online; a certain type of girl survives "on tapas and cocaine." He's good too at letting bigger themes push through the narrative: the danger of a world where everything seems real and nothing is checked, where everything is a concept that you can buy into or reject, where the American dream becomes so corrupted that entrepreneurship and fraud are separated by a barrier as thin as paper.

It's a savage indictment of the way society has lost all sense of value, delivered with considerable style, panache and even humour. Definitely talents to watch.
PHOENIX (AP)  Arizona county election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud out of more than 3 million ballots cast in last year's presidential election, further discrediting former President Donald Trump's claims of a stolen election as his allies continue a disputed ballot review in the state's most populous county.

An Associated Press investigation found 182 cases where problems were clear enough that officials referred them to investigators for further review. So far, only four cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. No one has been convicted. No person's vote was counted twice.

While it's possible more cases could emerge, the numbers illustrate the implausibility of Trump's claims that fraud and irregularities in Arizona cost him the state's electorate votes. In final, certified and audited results, Biden won 10,400 more votes than Trump out of 3.4 million cast.

AP's findings align with previous studies showing voter fraud is rare. Numerous safeguards are built into the system to not only prevent fraud from happening but to detect it when it does.

The fact of the matter is that election officials across the state are highly invested in helping to ensure the integrity of our elections and the publics confidence in them, said Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat. And part of that entails taking potential voter fraud seriously.

Arizona's potential cases also illustrate another reality: Voter fraud is often bipartisan. Of the four Arizona cases that have resulted in criminal charges, two involved Democratic voters and two involved Republicans.

AP's review supports statements made by many state and local elections officials  and even some Republican county officials and GOP Gov. Doug Ducey  that Arizonas presidential election was secure and its results valid.

And still, Arizona's GOP-led state Senate has for months been conducting what it describes as a forensic audit of results in Phoenix's Maricopa County. The effort has been discredited by election experts and faced bipartisan criticism, but some Republicans, including Trump, have suggested it will uncover evidence of widespread fraud.

This is not a massive issue, said Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who oversaw the Maricopa County election office during the 2020 election and lost his re-election bid. It is a lie that has developed over time. Its been fed by conspiracy theorists.

The AP tallied the potential cases after submitting public record requests to all Arizona counties. Most counties  11 out of 15  reported they had forwarded no potential cases to local prosecutors. The majority of cases identified so far involve people casting a ballot for a relative who had died or people who tried to cast two ballots.

In addition to the AP's review of county election offices, an Election Integrity Unit of the state attorney generals office that was created in 2019 to ferret out fraud has been reviewing potential cases of fraud.

A spokesman for Attorney General Mark Brnovich told the AP in April that the unit had 21 active investigations, although he did not specify if all were from last fall.

A month later, the office indicted a woman for casting a ballot on behalf of her dead mother in November. A spokeswoman declined to provide updated information this week.

Maricopa County, which is subject to the disputed ballot review ordered by state Senate Republicans, has identified just one case of potential fraud out of 2.1 million ballots cast. That was a voter who might have cast a ballot in another state. The case was sent to the county attorney's office, which forwarded it to the state attorney general.

Virtually all the cases identified by county election officials are in Pima County, home to Tucson, and involved voters who attempted to cast two ballots.

The Pima County Recorders Office has a practice of referring all cases with even a hint of potential fraud to prosecutors for review, something the states 14 other county recorders do not do. Pima County officials forwarded 151 cases to prosecutors. They did not refer 25 others from voters over age 70 because there was a greater chance those errors  typically attempts to vote twice  were the result of memory lapses or confusion, not criminal intent, an election official said.

None of the 176 duplicate ballots was counted twice. A spokesman for the Pima County Attorneys Office, Joe Watson, said that the 151 cases it received were still being reviewed and that no charges had been filed.

Pima Countys tally of referrals to prosecutors after last year's election was in line with those in 2016 and 2018. Prosecutors filed no voter fraud cases after the 2016 election and just one after the 2018 election, and that case was later dismissed, Watson said Friday.

But there were some new patterns this year, said deputy recorder Pamela Franklin. An unusually high number of people appeared to have intentionally voted twice, often by voting early in person and then again by mail. In Arizona, where nearly 80% of voters cast ballots by mail, its not unusual for someone to forget they returned their mail-in ballot and then later ask for a replacement or try to vote in person, she said. But this pattern was new.

Franklin noted several factors at play, including worries about U.S. Postal Service delays. In addition, Trump at one point encouraged voters who cast their ballots early by mail to show up at their polling places on Election Day and vote again if poll workers couldnt confirm their mail ballots had been received.

The results in Arizona are similar to early findings in other battleground states. Local election officials in Wisconsin identified just 27 potential cases of voter fraud out of 3.3 million ballots cast last November, according to records obtained by the AP under the state's open records law. Potential voter fraud cases in other states where Trump and his allies mounted challenges have so far amounted to just a tiny fraction of Trump's losing margin in those states.

The Associated Press conducted the review following months of Trump and his allies claiming without proof that he had won the 2020 election. His claims of widespread fraud have been rejected by election officials, judges, a group of election security officials and even Trumps own attorney general at the time. Even so, supporters continue to repeat them and they have been cited by state lawmakers as justification for tighter voting rules across the country.

In Arizona, Republican state lawmakers have used the unsubstantiated claims to justify the unprecedented outside Senate review of the election in Maricopa County and to pass legislation that could make it harder for infrequent voters to receive mail ballots automatically.

Trump, in a statement, called APs tally an attempt to discredit the massive number of voter irregularities and fraud in key battleground states and said the real numbers will be released shortly. He did not provide any evidence to back up his assertions.

Senate President Karen Fann has repeatedly said her goal is not to overturn the election results. Instead, she has said she wants to find out if there were any problems and show voters who believe Trump's claims whether they should trust the results.

Everybody keeps saying, Oh, theres no evidence and its like, Yeah well, lets do the audit. And if theres nothing there, then we say, Look, there was nothing there, Fann told the AP in early May. If we find something, and its a big if, but if we find something, then we can say, OK, we do have evidence and now how do we fix this? Fann did not return calls this week to discuss the AP findings.

Aside from double voting, the cases flagged by officials mostly involved a ballot cast after someone had died, including three voters in Yavapai County who face felony charges for casting ballots for spouses who died before the election.

In Yuma County, one case of a voter attempting to cast two ballots was sent to the county attorney for review. Chief Civil Deputy William Kerekus told the AP that there was no intent at voter fraud and the case was closed without charges.

Cochise County Recorder David Stevens found mail-in ballots were received from two voters who died before mail ballots were sent in early October. Sheriffs deputies investigating the cases found their homes were vacant and closed the cases. The votes were not counted.

___

Cassidy reported from Atlanta.
DENVER (AP)  A Colorado father was convicted Friday of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the 2012 disappearance of his 13-year-old son.

Mark Redwine, 59, was indicted in 2017 in connection with the disappearance of Dylan Redwine, who was reported missing on Nov. 19, 2012, while on a court-ordered Thanksgiving visit to his fathers home outside the city of Durango.

Redwine did not show any reaction when the verdicts were read as he stood with his hands clasped in front of him.

Dylan Redwines remains were found a few miles from his fathers home in 2013, and hikers found his skull in 2015.

Prosecutors argued that Redwine killed Dylan in a fit of rage after they argued over embarrassing photos of Redwine wearing womens lingerie and eating feces from a diaper. Dylans older brother testified that Dylan discovered the photos before he went missing.

Redwine, who didnt testify at trial, told investigators he left Dylan alone at home to run errands and returned to find him missing. Defense attorneys suggested the photos have no connection to Dylan Redwines death and that the boy ran away and may have been killed by a wild animal.

The case drew national attention when Redwine and the boys mother, Elaine Hall, leveled accusations at each other during appearances on the syndicated Dr. Phil television show in 2013.

This has been an extremely difficult case for everybody involved, Judge Jeffrey Wilson said before the verdict was read. Its been difficult for the parties, for the attorneys, for their staff. Its been difficult for the families, the entire community.

Jurors delivered their verdict after less than a day of deliberations.

Hall testified at trial that she sent Dylan to his fathers house on Nov. 18, 2012, learned he was missing the next day and immediately drove six hours to southwestern Colorados La Plata County to search for her son. Hall said she had no knowledge of her son confronting his father about the photos.

Hall almost immediately suspected her ex-husband wasnt telling the full truth about their sons disappearance, text messages introduced as evidence suggested. Two hours after learning Dylan was missing, Hall texted Mark Redwine.

He wouldnt just leave, she wrote. He would have called me. I am so suspect of you right now. How could he just disappear?

Public defender Justin Bogan suggested that her account was tainted by a contentious divorce and custody battle with Redwine. Bogan also suggested that Halls appearance on national TV turned public opinion against her ex-husband and influenced the direction of the police investigation.

Hall insisted she spoke with media and attended a protest at Mark Redwines house in an effort to bring Dylan home.

I figured he was safe because he was with his dad, and I was devastated that no one knew where my son was, she said.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors doubled down on the compromising photos of Redwine, arguing the father-son relationship was in decline long before Dylans disappearance. Prosecutors also focused on comments Dylan made to family and friends about dreading the court-ordered visit.

Public defender John Moran said during his opening statements that Dylan ran away from home and suggested he could have been attacked by a bear or a mountain lion. He referred to an injury on Dylans skull as a tooth mark.

A forensic anthropologist, Diane France, testified that Dylan suffered a fracture above his left eye. Two marks on the boys skull were likely caused by a knife or sharp tool at or near the time of death, France said.

Meanwhile Redwines defense said in closing arguments that expert testimony had showed Dylans skull was still in a peri-mortem state in 2015. He said that means it retained elasticity and wetness, making it susceptible to environmental factors like animal scavenging for three years before it was discovered.

Bogan called the investigation biased and sloppy because of evidence destruction by an expert who broke off a piece of Dylans skull during their examination and a scientist who revealed in court that the prosecution gave police reports to them before their testimony.

Fred Johnson, special deputy district attorney, told jurors that investigators found traces of Dylans blood in Redwines living room and that a cadaver-sniffing dog alerted them to the smell of human remains in the back of Redwines truck and on his clothing.

But Moran said the infinitely small amount of blood found in the living room is likely to be found in anyones house. He also referred to the use of the dog as junk science.

Redwine was arrested in Bellingham, Washington following a grand jury indictment in 2017. At the time, prosecutors said compromising photographs were a point of contention between Redwine and Dylan. They didnt elaborate.

Redwines sentencing hearing is scheduled for October.

___

Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
BERLIN (AP)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a surreal, ghostly scene in a devastated village on Sunday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

17 July 2021, Saxony, Bad Schandau: Two men walk along the edge of a street flooded by water from the Kirnitzsch River while a fire brigade works in the background in Bad Schandau, Saxony, Germany, on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Storms have caused severe flooding across parts of western and central Europe. (Robert Michael/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a "surreal, ghostly" scene in a devastated village on Sunday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

Merkel toured Schuld, a village on a tight curve of the Ahr River in western Germany where many buildings were damaged or destroyed by rapidly rising floodwaters Wednesday night.

Although the mayor of Schuld said no one was killed or injured there, many other places weren't so lucky. The death toll in the Ahrweiler area, where Schuld is located, stood at 112. Authorities said people are still missing and they fear the toll may still rise.

In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germanys most populous, 46 people were killed, including four firefighters. Belgium confirmed 31 deaths.

Merkel said she came away from Schuld, still partly strewn with rubble and mud in bright sunshine, with "a real picture of, I must say, the surreal, ghostly situation."

Residents secure their homes against the threat of flooding in Passau southern, Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. In Passau, the water levels of the rivers continue to rise by the hour. (Markus Zechbauer/dpa via AP)

"It is shocking  I would almost say that the German language barely has words for the devastation that has been wreaked," she said at a news conference in a nearby town.

Merkel said authorities will work to "set the world right again in this beautiful region, step by step," and her Cabinet will approve an immediate and medium-term financial aid program on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that more than 300 million euros ($354 million) will be needed immediately. And he said officials must set up a longer-term rebuilding program which, from experience with previous flooding, will be in the billions of euros.

Residents walk through rubbish and piled up furnishings from the destroyed houses and apartments in downtown Ahrweiler, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the western part of Germany. Multiple have died and are missing as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging, debris-filled torrents that swept away cars and toppled houses. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

"Thankfully, Germany is a country that can manage this financially," said Merkel, who is stepping down as chancellor following an election in September. "Germany is a strong country and we will stand up to this force of nature in the short term  but also in the medium and long term, through policy that pays more regard to nature and the climate than we did in recent years. That will be necessary too."

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to tackle climate change undeniable.

Scientists cant yet say for sure whether climate change caused the flooding, but they insist that it certainly exacerbates the extreme weather disasters on display around the world.

Residents walk through rubbish and piled up furnishings from the destroyed houses and apartments in downtown Ahrweiler, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the western part of Germany. Multiple have died and are missing as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging, debris-filled torrents that swept away cars and toppled houses. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

"We must get faster in the battle against climate change," Merkel said, pointing to policies already set in motion by Germany and the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions. "And nevertheless, the second lesson is that we must pay great attention to adaptation" to climate change.

Investing in fighting climate change is expensive, she said, but failing to do so is even more costly.

"One flood isn't the example of climate change, but if we look at the loss events of recent years, decades, then they are simply more frequent than they were previously  so we must make a great effort," Merkel said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, rear third left, and the Governor of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, rear fifth left, are seen on a bridge in Schuld, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021 during their visit in the flood-ravaged areas to survey the damage and meet survivors. After days of extreme downpours causing devastating floods in Germany and other parts of western Europe the death toll has risen. (Christof Stache/Pool Photo via AP)

Residents in the devastated areas will be needing support and comfort for a long time yet.

"This flood will leave scars on the people of Schuld  scars that you dont forget, that cant be overcome, because our lives changed from one day to the next," Mayor Helmut Lussi said, breaking into sobs as he spoke.

Although the rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted elsewhere in western and central Europe. There was flooding Saturday night in the German-Czech border area, in Germanys southeastern corner, and over the border in Austria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, front second right, gestures as she and the Governor of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, front right, talk to a resident in Schuld, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021 during their visit in the flood-ravaged areas to survey the damage and meet survivors. After days of extreme downpours causing devastating floods in Germany and other parts of western Europe the death toll has risen. (Christof Stache/Pool Photo via AP)

About 130 people were evacuated in Germanys Berchtesgaden area after the Ache River swelled. At least one person was killed and the rail line to Berchtesgaden was closed.

The Berchtesgaden area also is the home of the sliding track in Koenigssee, the site of major international bobsled, skeleton and luge events for more than 50 years. Large segments of that track were destroyed, parts of the concrete chute turned into rubble by the rushing water.

A flash flood hit the nearby Austrian town of Hallein late Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties. Farther west, flooding struck parts of the town of Kufstein. Heavy rain and storms caused serious damage in several parts of Austria.

A helper of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) walks through the flooded city archive in Stolberg, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the western part of Germany. Multiple have died and are missing as severe flooding in Germany turned streams and streets into raging, debris-filled torrents that swept away cars and toppled houses. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)

"I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding," he said Sunday in his first public appearance to the faithful in St. Peters Square after major surgery. "May the Lord welcome the deceased and comfort the family members."

In the eastern Belgian town of Pepinster, soldiers and firefighters on Sunday searched for any remaining survivors or bodies, according to public broadcaster RTBF. All the houses still standing have been searched, so the effort focused on those that collapsed and in a valley downstream for anyone possibly swept away by the raging torrent.

The ground in the town remains unstable and several more houses could collapse. "We have to be careful with every step we take," fire officer Olivier Jiust was quoted as saying.

A van buried in debris and gravel on the banks of the river Ahr in Ahrbruck, Germany, Susnday July 18, 2021. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the western part of Germany. Multiple have died and are missing as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging, debris-filled torrents that swept away cars and toppled houses. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

The flood-stricken Dutch town of Venlo allowed most residents back home Sunday, and trains began running again in the area, authorities said.

Meanwhile, a cow swept 100 kilometers (60 miles) along a flooded Dutch river will live out its days in a meadow, according to its owner. Farmer Har Smeets told local broadcaster 1Limburg that he lost 10 other cows to high water in the southern part of the Netherlands, but one was found by a cyclist outside the town of Escharen and rescued by firefighters.

The cow, originally from the town of Echt, was seen Saturday standing with only its nose poking out of the muddy water of the Maas River, unable to free itself. Fire brigades managed to pull the animal onto dry land, and authorities traced the owner via an ear tag. Smeets says the cow has eaten and is resting comfortably.

Caravans, cars and mobile homes that were swept away by the flood wave hang together on a bridge over the River Ahr, in Altenahr, western Germany, Sunday, July 18, 2021. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the western part of Germany. Multiple have died and are missing as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging, debris-filled torrents that swept away cars and toppled houses. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

"It is unbelievable that such an animal can swim or float for so long and then still have the strength to come ashore," he said.

-

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Frances D'Emilio in Rome contributed.

-

Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.

In this photo taken with a drone provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, a pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, is seen over the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Smoke and heat from a massive wildfire in southeastern Oregon are creating "fire clouds" over the blaze  dangerous columns of smoke and ash that can reach up to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and are visible for more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. Authorities have put these clouds at the top of the list of the extreme fire behavior they are seeing on the Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. (Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.

The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 32 square miles (82 square kilometers) as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The blaze was threatening Markleeville, a small town close to the California-Nevada state line. It has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said, and was burning toward the Alpine County Airport after jumping a highway.

A notice posted on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) Death Ride's website said several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to clear the area. The fire left thousands of bikers and spectators stranded in the small town and racing to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town Friday so her husband could participate in his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had been watching smoke develop over the course of the day, but were caught off guard by the fire's quick spread.

It happened so fast, Pennington said. We left our tents, hammock and some foods, but we got most of our things, shoved our two kids in the car and left."

In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, the Bootleg Fire burns at night near Highway 34 in southern Oregon on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources. The Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., has torched more than 377 square miles (976 square kilometers), and crews had little control of it. (Jason Pettigrew/Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)

Saturday's ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was canceled last year during the coronavirus outbreak.

Paul Burgess, who drove from Los Angeles to participate in the ride, said most of the cyclists he met were thankful to steer clear of the fire danger.

They just said this is just how it goes, Burgess said. "Its part of climate change to a certain extent, its part of just a lot of fuels that are not burnt, the humidity is low, the fuel moisture levels are low, and ... around the state, many parts of it are much like a tinderbox.

In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, columns of smoke from the Bootleg Fire rise behind a water tender in southern Oregon on Friday, July 16, 2021. Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources. The Bootleg Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., has torched more than 377 square miles (976 square kilometers), and crews had little control of it. (Lisa Chambers/Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)

Afternoon winds blowing at 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 kph) fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush. Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the U.S. continued to race through bone-dry forests.

The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank. The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.

The fire was 453 square miles (1,173 square kilometers) in size, or more than 100 square miles larger than the area of New York City.

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

This fire is large and moving so fast, every day it progresses 4 to 5 miles, said Incident Commander Joe Hassel. One of the many challenges that our firefighters face every day is working in new country that can present new hazards all the time.

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves tied to climate change have swept the region, making wildfires harder to fight. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

In southern Oregon, fire crews have dealt with dangerous and extreme fire conditions, including massive fire clouds that rise up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze. The Bootleg Fire has destroyed at least 67 homes and 117 outbuildings.

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The conflagration has forced 2,000 people to evacuate and is threatening 5,000 buildings, including homes and smaller structures in a rural area just north of the California border.

The Tamarack Fire sent heavy smoke over Lake Tahoe and into Nevada.

The National Weather Service warned of possible thunderstorms stretching from the California coast to northern Montana on Sunday and that new lightning ignitions are likely because of extremely dry fuels across the West.

Firefighters spray water from Union Pacific Railroad's fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters said in July they were facing conditions more typical of late summer or fall.

The fires were just two of numerous fires burning across the drought-stricken U.S. West, as new fires popped up or grew rapidly in Oregon and California.

There were 70 active large fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers) in the U.S., the National Interagency Fire Center said. The U.S. Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.

Benjamin Bell watches as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A fire in the mountains of northeast Oregon was also growing rapidly and was 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) in size on Saturday. The Elbow Creek fire started Thursday and has prompted evacuations in several small, rural communities around the Grande Ronde River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to mobilize more firefighters and equipment to help fight that fire.

The Dixie Fire, near the 2018 site of the deadliest fire in the U.S. in recent memory, was 5% contained and covered 39 square miles Saturday. The fire was in the Feather River Canyon, northeast of the town of Paradise, California, and survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched warily as the new blaze burned.

Jessica and Benjamin Bell watch as the Dixie Fire burns along Highway 70 in Plumas National Forest, Calif., on Friday, July 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Officials ordered the evacuation of a wilderness recreation area and kept in place a warning for residents of the tiny communities of Pulga and east Concow to be ready to leave.

Were prepared, said Mike Garappo, a retired military veteran. Weve dealt with fires living in the mountains forever. We know theres a chance it may not hit here, but were ready to go in case.

____

Flaccus reported from Portland, Oregon. AP journalists Terry Chea in Belden, California, and Julie Walker in New York City contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP)  Over 100,000 people protested across France on Saturday against the governments latest measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections by the delta variant of the coronavirus.

Visitors enjoy the view from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Friday, July 16, 2021. The Eiffel Tower is reopening Friday for the first time in nine months, just as France faces new virus rules aimed at taming the fast-spreading delta variant. The "Iron Lady" was ordered shut in October as France battled its second surge of the virus. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

PARIS (AP)  Over 100,000 people protested across France on Saturday against the governments latest measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections by the delta variant of the coronavirus.

In Paris, separate protest marches by the far-right and the far-left wound through different parts of the city. Demonstrations were also held in Strasbourg in the east, Lille in the north, Montpellier in the south and elsewhere.

Thousands of people answered calls to take to the streets by Florian Philippot, a fringe far-right politician and former right hand of Marine Le Pen who announced earlier this month that he would run in the 2022 presidential election. Gathered a stones throw away from the Louvre Museum, protesters chanted "Macron, clear off!", "Freedom," and banged metal spoons on saucepans.

While Philippot has organized small but regular protests against the governments handling of the coronavirus crisis, Saturday's demonstration drew a larger and more diverse crowd of people broadly disaffected with politics: yellow vest activists angry over perceived economic injustice, far-right supporters, medical staff and royalists.

They denounced the governments decision on Monday to make vaccines compulsory for all health care workers, and to require a "health pass" proving people are fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative or recovered from the virus in order to access restaurants and other public venues. President Emmanuel Macrons government is presenting a draft law Monday to enshrine the measures.

"I will never get vaccinated," Bruno Auquier, a 53-year-old town councilor who lives on the outskirts of Paris. "People need to wake up," he said, questioning the safety of the vaccine.

While France already requires several vaccinations to enter public school, Auquier pledged to take his two children out of school if the coronavirus vaccine became mandatory. "These new measures are the last straw," Auquier said.

Nurses shout during an anti-vaccine protest in Paris, Saturday, July 17, 2021. Tens of thousands of people protested across France on Saturday against the government's latest measures to curb rising COVID-19 infections and drive up vaccinations in the country. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The government warned of the continued spread of the delta variant, which authorities fear could again put pressure on hospitals if not enough people are vaccinated against the virus. The pandemic has cost France more than 111,000 lives and deeply damaged the economy.

During a visit to a pop-up vaccination center in the southwest, Prime Minister Jean Castex exhorted the French to stick together in order to overcome the crisis.

"There is only one solution: vaccination," he said, stressing it "protects us, and will make us freer."

At the Paris protest, a manual worker in his sixties expressed bitterness about jobs in his sector sent offshore. A 24-year-old royalist said he was there to demand "the return of God and the King."

Lucien, a 28-year-old retail shop manager, said he wasnt anti-vaccine, but thought that everyone should be able to do as they please with their own body. "The government is going too far," he said. His 26-year-old friend Elise said, "I am vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and polio. But the COVID vaccine is just too experimental."

While a majority of French health care workers have had at least one vaccine dose, some are resisting the governments decision to make vaccination compulsory for all staff in medical facilities.

At Saturday's Paris protest, a 39-year-old green party supporter and hospital laboratory worker said she might resort to buying a fake vaccination certificate to avoid losing her job. A health care worker dressed as the Statue of Liberty called it "act of violence" to force people to get vaccinated.

In Montpellier, more than 1,000 people marched to the train station, chanting "Liberty!" and carrying signs reading "Our kids aren't Guinea pigs." Security officials closed the main entrance to travelers and a dozen police officers took posts in front.

The Interior Ministry said 114,000 people took part in protests nationwide.

Overnight on Friday, vandals ransacked a vaccination center in the southeast. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asked prefects and police chiefs to reinforce security for elected officials, after several complained they had received threats in recent days over the latest anti-COVID measures.

Vaccine hesitancy is considered widespread in France, though appears to have faded somewhat as 36 million French people have gotten coronavirus vaccine doses in recent months. Millions more have gotten injected or signed up for vaccinations since Mondays announcement.

French health care workers have until Sept. 15 to get vaccinated. The requirement for COVID passes for all restaurants, bars, hospitals, shopping malls, trains, planes and other venues is being introduced in stages starting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the French government announced tightened border controls starting Sunday, but also said it would allow in travelers from anywhere in the world who have been fully vaccinated.

That now includes people who received AstraZenecas Indian-manufactured vaccine. The move came after a global outcry over the fact that the European Unions COVID-19 certificate only recognizes AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.

Elaine Ganley in Montpellier and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Follow APs pandemic coverage at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  OPEC and allied nations agreed Sunday to raise the production limits imposed on five countries next year and boost their production by 2 million barrels per day by the end of this year, ending a dispute that roiled oil markets.

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2020 file photo, UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei attends the UAE Energy Forum 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Al-Mazrouei said Sunday, July 18, 2021, that OPEC and allied countries have reached a full agreement after an earlier dispute that roiled oil prices. The comments by al-Mazrouei to journalists came after an online meeting to reach a deal. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili. File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  OPEC and allied nations agreed Sunday to raise the production limits imposed on five countries next year and boost their production by 2 million barrels per day by the end of this year, ending a dispute that roiled oil markets.

The disagreement, sparked by a demand by the United Arab Emirates to increase its own production, temporarily upended an earlier meeting of the cartel. In a statement Sunday, the cartel announced that Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE would see their limits rise.

What bonds us together is way much beyond what you may imagine, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said. We differ here and there but we bond.

Prince Abdulaziz declined to elaborate on how they came to that consensus, saying it would see the cartel lose our advantage of being mysterious and clever. But he clearly bristled at earlier reports on the dispute between Saudi Arabia, long the heavyweight of the Vienna-based cartel, and the UAE.

Prince Abdulaziz deferred at the beginning of a news conference afterward to al-Mazrouei in a sign of respect.

The UAE is committed to this group and will always work with it and within this group to do our best to achieve the market balance and help everyone, al-Mazrouei said. He praised the deal as a full agreement among all the parties.

Outside of OPEC, however, tensions still remain between the neighboring nations. The UAE largely has withdrawn from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, while also diplomatically recognizing Israel. Saudi Arabia also has opened its doors to Qatar again after a yearslong boycott, though relations remain icy between Abu Dhabi and Doha. Saudi Arabia also has aggressively sought international business headquarters  something that could affect the UAE's business hub Dubai.

Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the country's de facto ruler, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been close though over the years. The two leaders likely will meet Monday in Saudi Arabia.

Under the new production limits, the UAE would be able to produce up to 3.5 million barrels of crude oil a day beginning in May 2022. That's below the 3.8 million barrels a day it reportedly sought. Saudi Arabia's limit of 11 million barrels a day would rise to 11.5 million, as would Russia's. Iraq and Kuwait saw smaller increases.

In its statement, OPEC acknowledged oil prices continued to improve.

Economic recovery continued in most parts of the world with the help of accelerating vaccination programs, the cartel said.

Prince Abdulaziz also mentioned OPEC members Algeria and Nigeria had raised concerns about their production limits as well.

Oil prices collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic as demand for jet fuel and gasoline dropped amid lockdowns across the globe, briefly seeing oil futures trade in the negatives. Demand since has rebounded as vaccines, while still distributed unequally across the globe, reach arms in major world economies.

Benchmark Brent crude oil traded around $73 a barrel Friday.

Once muscular enough to grind the U.S. to a halt with its 1970s oil embargo, OPEC needed non-members like Russia to push through a production cut in 2016 after prices crashed below $30 a barrel amid rising American production. That agreement in 2016 gave birth to the so-called OPEC+, which joined the cartel in cutting production to help stimulate prices.

OPEC+ agreed in 2020 to cut a record 10 million barrels of crude a day from the market to boost prices. It's slowly added some 4.2 million barrels back over time.

Beginning this August, the cartel said it separately will increase its production by 400,000 barrels a day each month through December  a total of 2 million barrels. The cartel then will assess plans on whether to phase out its current 5.8 million barrel of oil production cut by the end of 2022 as planned by the initial agreement.

OPEC member nations include Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Venezuela. Members of the so-called OPEC+ include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Prince Abdulaziz, in praising Sundays agreement, offered a cheery assessment of the future despite the recent turmoil, suggesting at one point the enlarged group might last beyond the expiration of the cuts next year.

OPEC+ is here to stay, the prince proclaimed.

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
BOSTON (AP)  An investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provides further evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents.

FILE - In this July 3, 2020, file photo, Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, talks to members of the media in Istanbul. Amnesty International reported that its forensic researchers had determined that NSO Group's flagship Pegasus spyware was successfully installed on the phone of Cengiz, just four days after Khashoggi was killed. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

BOSTON (AP)  An investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provides further evidence that military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire outfit, is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents.

From a list of more than 50,000 cellphone numbers obtained by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories and the human rights group Amnesty International and shared with 16 news organizations, journalists were able to identify more than 1,000 individuals in 50 countries who were allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance.

They include 189 journalists, more than 600 politicians and government officials, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists and several heads of state, according to The Washington Post, a consortium member. The journalists work for organizations including The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde and The Financial Times.

NSO Group denied in an emailed response to AP questions that it has ever maintained a list of potential, past or existing targets. In a separate statement, it called the Forbidden Stories report full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories.

The company reiterated its claims that it only sells to vetted government agencies for use against terrorists and major criminals and that it has no visibility into its customers data. Critics call those claims dishonest  and have provided evidence that NSO directly manages the high-tech spying. They say the repeated abuse of Pegasus spyware highlights the nearly complete lack of regulation of the private global surveillance industry.

The source of the leak  and how it was authenticated -- was not disclosed. While a phone number's presence in the data does not mean an attempt was made to hack a device, the consortium said it believed the data indicated potential targets of NSO's government clients. The Post said it identified 37 hacked smartphones on the list. The Guardian, another consortium member, reported that Amnesty had found traces of Pegasus infections on the cellphones of 15 journalists who let their phones be examined after discovering their number was in the leaked data.

The most numbers on the list, 15,000, were for Mexican phones, with a large share in the Middle East. NSO Group's spyware has been implicated in targeted surveillance chiefly in the Middle East and Mexico. Saudi Arabia is reported to be among NSO clients. Also on the lists were phones in countries including France, Hungary, India, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

The number of journalists identified as targets vividly illustrates how Pegasus is used as a tool to intimidate critical media. It is about controlling public narrative, resisting scrutiny, and suppressing any dissenting voice, Amnesty quoted its secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, as saying.

FILE - In this July 3, 2020, file photo, Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, talks to members of the media in Istanbul. Amnesty International reported that its forensic researchers had determined that NSO Group's flagship Pegasus spyware was successfully installed on the phone of Cengiz, just four days after Khashoggi was killed. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

In one case highlighted by the Guardian, Mexican reporter Cecilio Pineda Birto was assassinated in 2017 a few weeks after his cell phone number appeared on the leaked list.

AP's director of media relations, Lauren Easton, said the company is deeply troubled to learn that two AP journalists, along with journalists from many news organizations are on the list of the 1,000 potential targets for Pegasus infection. She said the AP was investigating to try to determine if its two staffers' devices were compromised by the spyware.

The consortium's findings build on extensive work by cybersecurity researchers, primarily from the University of Toronto-based watchdog Citizen Lab. NSO targets identified by researchers beginning in 2016 include dozens of Al-Jazeera journalists and executives, New York Times Beirut bureau chief Ben Hubbard, Moroccan journalist and activist Omar Radi and prominent Mexican anti-corruption reporter Carmen Aristegui. Her phone number was on the list, the Post reported. The Times said Hubbard and its former Mexico City bureau chief, Azam Ahmed, were on the list.

Two Hungarian investigative journalists, Andras Szabo and Szabolcs Panyi, were among journalists on the list whose phones were successfully infected with Pegasus, the Guardian reported.

Among more than two dozen previously documented Mexican targets are proponents of a soda tax, opposition politicians, human rights activists investigating a mass disappearance and the widow of a slain journalist. In the Middle East, the victims have mostly been journalists and dissidents, allegedly targeted by the Saudi and United Arab Emirates governments.

The consortium's Pegasus Project reporting bolsters accusations that not just autocratic regimes but democratic governments, including India and Mexico, have used NSO Group's Pegasus spyware for political ends. Its members, who include Le Monde and Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Germany, are promising a series of stories based on the leak.

Pegasus infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously control the smartphones microphones and cameras. In the case of journalists, that lets hackers spy on reporters communications with sources.

The program is designed to bypass detection and mask its activity. NSO Groups methods to infect its victims have grown so sophisticated that researchers say it can now do so without any user interaction, the so-called zero-click option.

In 2019, WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook sued NSO Group in U.S. federal court in San Francisco, accusing it of exploiting a flaw in the popular encrypted messaging service to target  with missed calls alone  some 1,400 users. NSO Group denies the accusations.

The Israeli company was sued the previous year in Israel and Cyprus, both countries from which it exports products. The plaintiffs include Al-Jazeera journalists, as well as other Qatari, Mexican and Saudi journalists and activists who say the companys spyware was used to hack them.

Several of the suits draw heavily on leaked material provided to Abdullah Al-Athbah, editor of the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab and one of the alleged victims. The material appears to show officials in the United Arab Emirates discussing whether to hack into the phones of senior figures in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, including members of the Qatari royal family.

NSO Group does not disclose its clients and says it sells its technology to Israeli-approved governments to help them target terrorists and break up pedophile rings and sex- and drug-trafficking rings. It claims its software has helped save thousands of lives and denies its technology was in any way associated with Khashoggi's murder.

NSO Group also denies involvement in elaborate undercover operations uncovered by The AP in 2019 in which shadowy operatives targeted NSO critics including a Citizen Lab researcher to try to discredit them.

Last year, an Israeli court dismissed an Amnesty International lawsuit seeking to strip NSO of its export license, citing insufficient evidence.

NSO Group is far from the only merchant of commercial spyware. But its behavior has drawn the most attention, and critics say that is with good reason.

Last month, it published its first transparency report, in which it says it has rejected more than $300 million in sales opportunities as a result of its human rights review processes. Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a strident critic, tweeted: If this report was printed, it would not be worth the paper it was printed on.

A new, interactive online data platform created by the group Forensic Architecture with support from Citizen Lab and Amnesty International catalogs NSO Groups activities by country and target. The group partnered with filmmaker Laura Poitras, best known for her 2014 documentary Citzenfour about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who offers video narrations.

Stop what you're doing and read this, Snowden tweeted Sunday, referencing the consortium's findings. This leak is going to be the story of the year.

Since 2019, the U.K. private equity firm Novalpina Capital has controlled a majority stake in NSO Group. Earlier this year, Israeli media reported the company was considering an initial public offering, most likely on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

Adama Ndiaye, pulls a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, in Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles, hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for Tabaski celebrations. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

BARGNY, Senegal (AP)  Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

As a result of the pandemic, selling ice cream no longer provides enough money for the 63-year-old to support her four children still at home, especially not to be able to buy a sheep that costs about $140 to celebrate Tabaski, as the festivity is called in Senegal.

As soon as she heard that an Islamic charity would be donating sheep to the poor, Ndiaye registered to get one.

I have prayed a lot and I was not expecting to have a sheep." she said. God knows how I appreciate this.

After getting her sheep, Ndiaye and other women from her neighborhood piled into a taxi with the animal and left. They'll wait until Wednesday to slaughter the sheep and use it to prepare a feast to be shared with family and friends.

A child leads a sheep after being donated to a woman, by the NGO SIF, Secours Islamique France, as preparation for the Eid al-Adha celebration in Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. The Eid al-Adha festival, known locally as Tabaski, is one of the most important Islamic celebrations, marks the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham to Christians and Jews, to sacrifice his son. As millions in Senegal prepare for the Tabaski holiday, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are dramatically surging in the West African nation. In just weeks, new confirmed cases have risen from dozens a day to a record of 738 on Friday and then nearly doubled overnight to 1,366 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.

Nearly 36% of 3,815 tests carried out in the past 24 hours came back positive, the health ministry said Saturday. Senegal has reported 50,374 cases and 1,214 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Faced with the dramatic increase, President Macky Sall and his Cabinet are limiting public gatherings and travel and urging the public to continue wearing masks and frequently sanitize their hands. On Friday, Sall threatened to close borders and impose a state of emergency again if numbers continue to rise.

Children look at a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Many in Senegal have relaxed their use of masks and other precautions after the country's early surges weren't as severe as the outbreaks in other countries.

Tabaski, which will be celebrated on July 21 in Senegal, sees thousands of people come together in large family gatherings. Many health officials are worried because in the run-up to the holiday, people throng marketplaces and gather to buy sheep.

Only about 600,000 people of Senegal's population of more than 16 million have been vaccinated. The country has a limited supply of vaccines and is awaiting further deliveries of Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson.

Adama Ndiaye, pulls a sheep gifted by the Secours Islamique France, in Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles, hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for Tabaski celebrations. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

About 30% of the new coronavirus infections in Senegal are from the delta variant, according to Souleymane Mboup, the director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, one of Senegal's testing labs.

We are facing a much more contagious virus, Mboup said.

The increase in cases is unprecedented," health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye said.

A young boy leads a sheep away, gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa8

The pandemic has impacted especially the most vulnerable segments of the population, said Anne Catherine Dupre, project coordinator in Senegal for the group Secours Islamique France.

Since last year, 30% of the thousands of people supported by the group were forced to reduce their consumption of food as a result of the pandemic, she said.

We are already dealing with populations that are very vulnerable, so in fact, for them to reduce it, means theyre only going to eat once a day she added.

Children who assisted people wait for their turn to receive a sheep, gifted by the Secours Islamique France, Bargny, Senegal, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. As millions in Senegal prepare for Tabaski, health officials warn that COVID-19 cases are surging in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Secours Islamique France has been working in Senegal since 2008 and has distributed food and sheep during Ramadan and Tabaski. This year they had to increase their donations because of the rise in vulnerable people because of the pandemic.

Its important for them to celebrate Tabaski. Its the most important celebration in a country where more than 80% of the population are Muslims, she added.

The organization also distributes food and money, supports education and training for unemployed people. It plans to distribute about 2,000 sheep in the greater Dakar area.

Meanwhile, Ndiaye and others hope the pandemic ends soon so things can go back to normal.

I pray for the COVID to stop, she said. If there is good health, we can all work.

AP reporter Babacar Dione in Dakar contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show that the name of the organization is Secours Islamique France, not Islamic Relief France.

Follow all AP stories on the global pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters who held a rally in Bangkok despite coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of more than five people.

Police use water cannon to disperse protesters marching to Government House in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, July 18, 2021. Hundreds of anti-government protesters rallied on Sunday despite the governments recent measures to prohibit the gathering of more than 5 people in the capital to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his cabinet. (AP Photo/Anuthep Cheysakron)

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)  Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters who held a rally in Bangkok despite coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of more than five people.

The demonstrators were demanding Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas government step down, insisting the budget of the monarchy and the military be cut during the pandemic, and calling for the importing mRNA coronavirus vaccines that have yet to be brought to Thailand on a large scale to fight a growing surge of the virus.

The rally came as Thailand recorded its largest single-day jump in virus infections  nearly 11,400  and as fresh restrictions were announced such as the shut down of most domestic flights. Many parts of the country, including Bangkok, are already under some form of lockdown that includes restrictions on gatherings and business operations as well as a nighttime curfew.

As infections and deaths climb and as more people face economic suffering, disapproval of the government's handling of the pandemic has grown.

Criticism of Prayuths government for failing to secure early and adequate vaccine supplies is widespread. Thailand mostly relies on two vaccines, including Chinas Sinovac shot, which some studies indicate is less effective against the delta variant, which is currently wrecking havoc across Southeast Asia.

Thailand's other main vaccine is AstraZeneca, which a Thai company owned by the countrys king has been producing, but only since June and in smaller than expected quantities.

Sunday's rally was led by Free Youth, a student protest group that drew tens of thousands to its protests last year, when it had three main demands: that Prayuth's government step down, the constitution be amended to make it more democratic and the nation's monarchy become more accountable.

Jutatip Sirikhan, one of Free Youths main activists, charged in a phone interview with The Associated Press that many people have died from COVID-19 because of the lack of transparency and mismanagement of Prayuth and his Cabinet.

Thailand has recorded a total of 403,386 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,341 related deaths since the pandemic started. More than 90% of cases and deaths have occurred since April this year. This weekend daily virus deaths rose above 100 for the first time.

If we dont come out now, we dont know how long we shall survive and whether we will have a chance to do it again, she said of the virus and the protests.

The protesters started gathered at the capital's Democracy Monument in the early afternoon, where organizers distributed N95 masks, medical gloves, sanitizer spray and raincoats to them before attempting to go to Government House, which hosts the prime minister's offices.

Organizers also handed out mock corpses in white burial shrouds representing COVID-19 victims, which were later placed on the ground atop an image of Prayuth at an intersection near Government House and set alight. The eerie figures also evoked images of the bodies of several Thai activists who had apparently been kidnapped in 2019 from where they lived in exile in neighboring Laos.

In an effort at avoiding the spread of infection, many of the protesters drove cars or rode motorbikes, instead of marching as they had in previous protests.

Around 1,500 riot police were deployed, along with water cannon trucks. Deputy National Police Spokesman Kissana Pattanacharoen acknowledged that the authorities used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters after several warnings were given.

Reports of injuries were not complete, but the city's Erawan Medical Center emergency services said two people were sent to the hospital from the protests, which the organizers called an end to before nightfall.
PARIS (AP)  When the race for coronavirus vaccines started, health officials knew the competition between rich and poor countries would be lopsided.

FILE - In this Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020 file photo Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, at University Hospital, Coventry, England. (Jacob King/Pool via AP, File)

PARIS (AP)  When the race for coronavirus vaccines started, health officials knew the competition between rich and poor countries would be lopsided.

But few expected poor countries to be at the mercy of donations from the rich, or that the inequity would be this bad for so long. Poor countries have vaccinated 1% of their population, compared with 55% in the United States and about 25% globally.

The reasons for that gap return to decisions early on, in the initial bankrolling and distributing of the vaccines. Officials, primarily from the U.S. and Europe, have told The Associated Press they never thought to handle the situation globally. Instead, they jostled for domestic use.

COVID-19 unexpectedly devastated wealthy countries first, and many were also the places with the capacity and know-how to launch vaccine development.

Flaws built into a global purchase plan for poorer countries meant it couldnt compete in the cutthroat competition to buy.

Intellectual property rights vied with public health for priority.

Rich countries expanded vaccinations to younger and younger people, even as poor countries went without.

Its like a famine in which the richest guys grab the baker, Strive Masiyiwa, the African Unions envoy for vaccine acquisition, said recently.

The disparity was in some ways inevitable; taxpayers in wealthy nations expected a return on their investment. But the scale of the inequity, the stockpiling, the lack of a viable plan to solve a global problem has shocked health officials.

This is where we were with the HIV pandemic. Eight years after therapeutics were available in the West, we did not receive them and we lost 10 million people," Masiyiwa said. We have no vaccine miracle.

For years, the World Health Organization assessed pandemic readiness: The United States, European countries, and India ranked near the top. When the flu-like coronavirus hit, those assessments would prove horrifically optimistic.

The premise for pandemic vaccine development was that "rich countries would fund it for the developing world, said Christian Happi, who advises the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations, known as CEPI.

FILE - In this Saturday, April 24, 2021 file photo, a patient breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, inside a car in New Delhi, India. India's medical oxygen shortage has become so dire that a gurdwara began offering free breathing sessions with shared tanks to COVID-19 patients waiting for a hospital bed. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

When the race was on to make and secure vaccines, the United States and Britain were leagues ahead  a lead they wouldn't lose. Still, they and 22 countries in the European Union recorded declines in life expectanc y unseen for decades.

But all those countries had a major advantage: They were home to the companies with the most promising vaccine candidates, advanced production facilities, and the money to fund both.

On May 15, 2020, President Donald Trump announced Operation Warp Speed and promised to deliver vaccines by New Year's. With unparalleled money and ambition, Warp Speed head Moncef Slaoui was more confident than his counterparts in Europe. He signed contracts almost without regard to price or conditions.

We were frankly focused on getting this as fast as humanly possible, Slaoui said.

Operation Warp Speed supercharged the global race as did the U.S. Defense Production Act, which barred exports of raw materials and eventually, of the vaccines themselves.

Two weeks later, COVAX  the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility  was officially formed. The Serum Institute of India would be its core supplier.

COVAX had the backing of WHO, CEPI, vaccines alliance Gavi and the powerful Gates Foundation. What it didn't have was cash to secure contracts.

A plan from Costa Rica and WHO for a technology-sharing platform to expand vaccine production foundered. No company agreed to share its blueprints, even for a fee  and no government pushed them, according to multiple people involved in the project.

In the United States, manufacturing and the trials went on in parallel, which is where the risks from taxpayers and the companies paid off. Europe and Britain also scaled up manufacturing.

This wasnt an option in Africa, where WHOs expert in vaccine development, Richard Mihigo, said the brutal lesson learned was how dependent we were on imports.

Doses were stockpiled in Europe and North America and a few countries that paid a premium. COVAX was still getting promises instead of cash.

On Dec. 8, Britain became the first country to start widespread vaccinations. Six days later, the United States launched its own campaign. On Dec. 26, the European Union followed suit. China and Russia had been vaccinating even before releasing data from their homegrown inoculations.

COVAX delivered its first vaccines on Feb. 24, to Ghana, a load of 600,000 AstraZeneca doses manufactured in India, but supply and distribution were spotty. The gulf with wealthy countries was growing by millions of doses every day.

Making vaccines isn't a simple process, and pharmaceutical plants started to fall behind.

AstraZeneca announced repeated delivery cuts to Europe. Pfizer's production briefly slowed. There was a fire at an Indian vaccine plant construction site. Moderna cut supply to Britain and Canada.

In the United States, officials tossed out millions of corrupted doses of vaccine from a Baltimore plant after discovering that workers had inadvertently blended ingredients from two different vaccines.

Then India, in the throes of its own COVID-19 surge, blocked export of its vaccines until at least the end of 2021.

When Moderna and Pfizer created new production lines, it was in the European and American manufacturing networks that had as much stake as anyone in both ensuring the highest standards and keeping promises not to abuse intellectual property.

For the pharmaceutical industry, mRNA is the ultimate confirmation that hard work and risk-taking is rewarded. And those companies keep tight hold on the keys to their successful vaccines.

Many public health officials have pushed for technology transfer during the pandemic. Initially resistant, the Gates Foundation now favors sharing.

A recent meeting of WHOs vaccine allocation group disbanded with nothing accomplished, because there was no vaccine to allocate. Zero doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, zero doses of Pfizer vaccine, zero doses of J&J vaccine, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior WHO advisor.

Both Trump and Biden administration officials reject the notion that any country would share vaccines until theyd protected their own, including teenagers.

We had a responsibility to what I say, put on our own oxygen masks before helping others, CDC Director Rachelle Walensky said in May.

COVAX now must rely on uncertain donations, with most of the promised doses pushed to 2022.

Dr. Ingrid Katz, a researcher at the Center for Global Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the key question is whether vaccines and essential medications are a commodity or a right.

You have the source of decision-making sitting with very few people who have a lot of wealth and are essentially making life and death decisions for the rest of the globe, she said . Every month that we lost put us further and further behind.

Maria Cheng reported from London, and Aniruddha Ghosal from New Delhi. Other contributors include Sally Ho in Seattle; Zeke Miller in Washington; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Stacey Plaisance in New Orleans.

Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
VANCOUVER - Wildfire experts say British Columbia must spark far more prescribed burns, akin to how Indigenous communities have managed forests, to mitigate the risk of huge blazes.

A man rides off on his motorcycle after stopping to watch a wildfire burn on the side of a mountain in Lytton, B.C., Thursday, July 1, 2021. Experts in wildfires and fire ecology say British Columbia must spark far more prescribed burns, akin to how Indigenous communities have managed forests, to mitigate the risk of huge, destructive blazes the province has seen in recent years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER - Wildfire experts say British Columbia must spark far more prescribed burns, akin to how Indigenous communities have managed forests, to mitigate the risk of huge blazes.

"We're not burning anywhere near as much as we should," saidfire ecologist and noted burn boss Bob Gray, from Chilliwack, B.C., who consults for local, provincial, state and tribal governments across Canada and the United States.

B.C. should be burning tens of thousands of hectares every year to reduce dense forests packed with fallen branches and leaves, said Gray, but the Forests Ministry said it burned an average of 5,000 hectares annually from 2010 to 2019.

As a member of a research team with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington state, Gray has studied what forests and wildfire behaviour were like when Indigenous burning was widespread, he said in an interview.

Talking with Indigenous elders about when and where they burned, examining early aerial photographs and comparing that information with physical signs of fires on trees, reveals a "mosaic" on the landscape with smaller burned patches, meadows, larger and more widely spaced trees and diverse vegetation, he said.

Gray likened wildfire to a contagion that can be mitigated through inoculation.

"There was so much burning going on and it resulted in all kinds of different vegetation types, and many of those just didn't carry fire very well," he said. "And so that historic landscape was basically vaccinated against large-spread fire."

The wildfire that destroyed most of Lytton, B.C., last month has shone a spotlight on the government's strategies for preventing and managing increasingly intense wildfires that Gray said will only become worse with climate change.

Amy Cardinal Christianson, a fire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, said reducing fuel was a "perk" of Indigenous burning, but it was driven by cultural purposes  often to improve berry harvesting or hunting conditions.

Setting fire to a meadow in the early spring to burn off dead grass, for example, could produce healthy vegetation that attracted moose and other animals to the area, said Christianson, who is Metis from Treaty 8 territory in northern Alberta.

Cultural burning was a family practice, and in some Indigenous communities, fire keeping was a specific expertise and role passed through generations, she said.

Fire keepers look for cues, such as plump spruce needles or berries sprouting in spring, to determine whether it was an appropriate time to ignite a fire, she said.

Settlers brought a European mindset for land management that suppressed fire, allowing trees and fuel to encroach on the "mosaic," said Christianson, adding Indigenous elders recall people being fined or jailed for sparking cultural burns.

Fire suppression followed settlers west, she said, and regular cultural burning was still happening in more remote areas of B.C. up until the 1950s and 1960s.

Indigenous communities still express barriers to cultural burning, said Christianson, pointing to lengthy approval processes and a lack of sustained funding to support knowledge transmission between elders and a new generation of fire keepers.

"That's where some of the frustration is," she said. "That we need to bring back cultural burning on a much larger scale than, you know, a burn here, there."

Cultural burning is based on close observation and knowledge of the landscape, she said, and approval delays could mean missing a good opportunity to burn.

Some Indigenous fire keepers feel they shouldn't have to get approval from "a colonial system," Christianson noted. "They feel like they should be able to have their own certification within their communities, about burning."

Russell Myers Ross echoed that sentiment. The former elected chief of the Yunesit'in Government is working to rekindle cultural burning after devastating fires swept through the Tsilhqot'in nation's territory west of Williams Lake, B.C., in 2017.

"For me, I think the frustration is that as long as you have people that know the land really well and have experience with fire, that we shouldn't have to go necessarily through all these hoops to try to get the credentials," he said.

Gray said there should be a different path in B.C.'s approval system for low-risk cultural burns, such as those in the spring around riparian zones or at high elevations, where there's still moisture in the ground.

The province has a "huge capacity issue" when it comes to funding and managing prescribed burns, Gray added, pointing to a lack of certified "burn bosses."

Reintroducing cultural fire is identified as a priority in B.C.'s draft action plan for implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

B.C.'s community resiliency investment program, created in 2018, sees the provincial wildfire service work with First Nations and others to reduce wildfire risks, including providing funding for fuel management efforts, the Forests Ministry said.

The province has also partnered with the First Nations Emergency Services Society, which is working with the wildfire service to support First Nations interested or involved in cultural and prescribed burn programs, the ministry said in an email.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
By putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes slowly and sometimes with quicker strides, Bilal Malik says he desperately hopes the government will listen to what he has to say.

By putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes slowly and sometimes with quicker strides, Bilal Malik says he desperately hopes the government will listen to what he has to say.

The 36-year-old is nearing the end of a roughly 15-day, 380-kilometre "Freedom March" from Toronto to the steps of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Bilal Malik is shown in a handout photo supplied by Malik. The 36-year-old is nearing the end of a roughly 15-day, 380-kilometre "Freedom March" from Toronto to the steps of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Bilal Malik MANDATORY CREDIT

He wants to persuade Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to pronounce the systemic abuse and human rights violations against ethnic Muslim Uyghurs in China a genocide.

Malik is one of several Canadians who are currently walking hundreds of kilometres uphill and downhill, through cities, and past towns and farms to send a message.

"I hope the walk will have even a little bit, even one per cent difference ... They have to do something," said Malik, who hasn't been able to reach his family for three years since he moved to Canada from China's northwest province of Xinjiang.

China has faced international criticism and sanctions since reports surfaced of mass detention of more than one million people and forced sterilization.

In February, Parliament voted to declare China's treatment of its Uyghur minority a genocide. The motion was supported by all Opposition parties, but Trudeau and most members of his cabinet abstained.

Malik says his walk is all he can do to honour his family, educate Canadians and to persuade Trudeau "to do the right thing."

Peaceful dissent through walking has been happening for decades, said Ronald Stagg, a history professor at Ryerson University in Toronto.

"It's somebody saying, 'I have to do my part. I feel that I have to say something. I feel I have to protest against this or in favour of this, so I'm just gonna do it,"' said Stagg. "Even if it doesn't do anything."

Malik said conversations he has had with Canadians along the way have made every second of his walk worth it.

"It's not a big sacrifice. It's a symbol. We have to do something for our community."

Stagg said sometimes the walks people make focus on a specific issue. At other times they highlight general grievances from marginalized groups who have been subjected to oppression throughout their history.

Lorraine Netro and Jacqueline Shorty Whitehorse are also walking. Their 2,000-kilometre trek from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Kamloops, B.C., is to honour what are believed to be the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children at former residential school sites.

A residential school survivor from Prince Albert, Sask., is more than halfway through her journey to Parliament Hill. In June, Patricia Ballantyne began her "Walk of Sorrow." She plans to reach Ottawa this month.

Trechelle Bunn, 21, organized a daylong walk for about 70 people earlier this month. They walked 23 kilometres from the former Birtle Indian Residential School to Birdtail Sioux First Nation, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, to relive the journey hundreds of Indigenous children would have made as they ran away from the residential school.

"It was a really powerful moment to go back to the spot that my grandparents were taken ... and then also for myself and the survivors to walk away from the school," she said.

The Canadian Encyclopedia says walking as a form of peaceful dissent became popular in the 20th century when Mahatma Gandhi advanced a doctrine of non-violent civil disobedience to defy British rule. He walked for 24 days along India's countryside.

Decades later, Martin Luther King Jr., inspired by Gandhi, led 250,000 walkers from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., risking arrest and violence, as they tried to secure voting rights for Black people.

In Canada, Stagg noted, hundreds of people regularly gathered, and sometimes walked, to protest the Vietnam War. Similar to the 1960s, the last two decades will be remembered for its walkers and protesters, he said.

"We're living in a time of great social upheaval and all sorts of things are becoming known."

For Bunn, the walk she organized was less about defiance and more about healing.

"That was a very empowering and healing journey for everyone that took part. To walk home and make it home to our community, something that so many of our survivors and so many children were denied ... it gives me chills thinking about it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2021.

With files from The Associated Press

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
A group of Winnipeg residents and concerned citizens are upset that a park promised to be named after the Komagata Maru incident is still sitting nameless five years later.

A group of Winnipeg residents and concerned citizens are upset that a park promised to be named after the Komagata Maru incident is still sitting nameless five years later.

About 50 residents and citizens, who gathered to protest at the legislature on Saturday afternoon, say a ceremony and announcement were held in 2016 saying a park in the Waterford Green neighbourhood in the northwest part of the city would be named to commemorate the infamous incident where the Canadian government prevented 352 passengers from India on the Japanese ship, the Komagata Maru, from disembarking in April 1914, due to the countrys exclusion laws at that time aimed at denying immigrants of Asian origin.

One of the protest organizers, Gurjeet Kaur, who lives near the park site, said despite federal, provincial and civic politicians, as well as the developer of the new subdivision, agreeing to the name at the time, nothing more has been done.

"We found out the park is still not registered and the park is nowhere developed," said Kaur on Saturday.

"I didnt know they had named this park for a historical event, but when I found out I just thought the city has forgotten about this."

Kaur said they dont want the developer to back out from the commitment to name the park after the incident.

"Many of us come from places where people dont keep promises," she said. "When you come to Canada, and see the same thing you wonder, well, whats the difference?

"We thought this was a country which makes promises and keeps them."

A spokesperson for Lombard North Group, which developed the subdivision, could not be reached for comment.

The ship was finally escorted away from Canadian waters by a Canadian naval vessel and, when it returned to India and police there attempted to arrest some, a riot broke out and officers began shooting.

Twenty people died.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized on behalf of the federal government in 2016, and the incident is also commemorated in an exhibit inside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Both Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) and local MP Kevin Lamoureux said it may seem like a long time, but with new subdivisions, going from the concept plan to reality can take a while.

"I can understand they are frustrated because several years have gone by," said Santos. "I would ask the residents just to be a little more patient."

Santos said part of the problem is the park is not fully the citys park  it is still being maintained by both the developer and the city.

"When I find out (the city) has full ownership of the park, then I can put it forward as a request," she said.

And Santos said the name will first have to be vetted by a new city committee which was set up to look into names before they are used. She said it is the committee which is looking into the renaming of Bishop Grandin Boulevard because he was a proponent of residential schools.

"Ive done some research and I dont see (naming this park) will be an issue."

Lamoureux said he was one of the politicians at that 2016 ceremony and announcement.

"I will do whatever I can to support the naming of the park," he said.

"But I want to see more than just the name on a stick. I want to see the park have something there to communicate what the Komagata Maru incident was."

Lamoureux said it was the developer who came up with the idea of naming the park after the historic incident around the time of the federal government apology so he doesnt think there will be any problem with the name.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
A father is dead and his son is in custody after a stabbing on Maryland Street early Friday.

A father is dead and his son is in custody after a stabbing on Maryland Street early Friday.

Winnipeg police said on Saturday that Salvatore Pellettieri, 64, of Winnipeg, was found dead in his home in the 500 block of Maryland Street at about 6:20 a.m.

The house where the slaying took place was owned by the deceased for many years. (Wendy Sawatzky / Winnipeg Free Press)

Pellettieri's son, Donato Salvatore Pellettieri, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Police said the younger Pellettieri is in custody and the investigation is continuing.

A cousin, Mario Pellettieri, said he only found out about the slaying when another cousin called him after hearing it on the news on Saturday.

"It's just a shock," said Mario. "Sal was an okay guy  he was Sal. I didn't really know Donato  he was always in jail.

"The last time I saw him he was at my aunt's funeral and he was escorted there by a couple of jailers. We've stayed out of touch for a lot of years."

Mario said the elder Pellettieri had a daughter as well.

"He was divorced early years ago when his kids were young."

Mario said the house where the slaying took place was owned by Salvatore's parents for many years.

"I would like to find out why the kid did this."

According to a realtor site, the custom-built raised bungalow was built in 1977, and it is located almost across from the Freshco grocery in what used to be a Safeway store on Sargent Avenue.

Carlos Eavao said his mother lives on Maryland and heard loud noises in the middle of the night.

"My mom told me about three o'clock in the morning she heard lots of screaming," said Eavao.

"It was a girl screaming. Then the dogs started barking."

Eavao said his mother didn't hear anything more so she went back to sleep. He said later that day, when he went to visit, there were several police vehicles at the scene and yellow police tape was up.

Police are asking anyone with information about the slaying to call Homicide investigators at 204-986-6508 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
At Minnesota State College Southeast, we talk a lot about our culture of caring. It is a way of saying we know the power of a personal connection, and we strive to make those connections with our students so they can be who they want to be in the world.

The thing about a culture of caring is it cannot be housed in an office or in a position, it has to be part of who you are. We believe that any person, on any day, can be the difference between a student making it or giving up.

Most of us can name one of those pivotal people or moments in our lives. I would like to tell you a story about one of mine.

It has been over 20 years, but I can access the memory instantly. It was the spring term of what had been a successful return to college  after a couple less successful tries  but I was in a difficult spot. I was simply out of money, and I didnt know what to do. I couldnt add more hours to my work schedule, but I also needed to pay my rent, never mind pay for textbooks. It was embarrassing.

I felt like I should have been able to make it through, but maybe the college dream was over. It was my own fault, I thought, because I had not made it work the first time.
First it was the killer bees; then murder hornets, and now, to our horror, we learn of the invasion of the gargantuan, gluttonous goldfish.

Who woulda thunk it? An innocuous little bowl-bound critter disguising a potential ecological disaster? Call it Revenge of the Flushable Pet.

Its real enough though. Naturalists have been hauling goldfish the size of overinflated rugby balls out of lakes around the Twin Cities. They figure these overgrown house pets were once circling a bowl on some kids dresser. Whether the lil fishys master got tired of walking it, or if it proved inadequate as a watch fish, failing to alert the family to immanent nighttime shark attacks, no one knows. But what is certain is that some soft hearted suburbanites couldnt bear to send their little finny charge off to see the city via a fast and final flush, but rather rehomed it in a nearby lake to befriend the other fishies and grow to become a destructive golden demon of the deep.

The trouble, ysee, is that that little goldfish is basically an overdressed carp, cousin to the bottom feeders roiling up the shallows and backwaters, cousin to the invading Asian species leaping out of lakes and rivers to smack passing Sunday sailors smack in the face, cousin to all those carp wed just as soon be without.
Representatives from Channel 3s Live at Five news program participated along with area boy and girl scouts, and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile for a Backyard Barbecue at the scout cabin. The cabin, originally built for the Boy Scouts, was built in 1938. A second building which was the original Columbus Sportsmans Club was moved to the park in 1925. Later the two buildings were combined into one building.
Theater changes kids, James said of the opportunities for youth in the region. It widens their perspective and opens a new world to them, where they can make lifelong friends and learn about themselves.

Support needed

Fundraising during the pandemic has been a struggle for all three community theater groups without live performances and theyre hoping fundraising will improve as their calendars finally get filled with shows and other activities.

Were still very much in need of community support, especially to help us bring back some of the programs we had offered the community, said Elsing, who hopes that CAB, for example, will eventually have the funds to reboot Play in a Weekend for children, which it held for a few years prior to the pandemic.

Its more important than ever to support theater groups, James said on behalf of BTG. We cant put on these productions without your help. None of us are rolling in cash.

BTG, located in the Baraboo Arts Center underneath the Bravo Arts Studio, has building expenses and production expenses, as does PACT.
Westerman said the difference with the Wisconsin Dells restaurant reopening now is the couple offer better customer service than when the establishment was last in operation. She said customers have commented its a cleaner and more friendly atmosphere since the couple took over the location.

The locals are just really happy that weve reopened and they are really happy that we are kind of putting out a new face for this location and the tourists are really happy too, he said. The Dells gets a lot of tourists from the Chicago, Milwaukee area and they love Rosatis and thats kind of like the local pizza place in Milwaukee and Chicago. So they are so happy that there is a Rosatis here that when they come here for vacation they can kind of get the same experience that they have back in their hometowns.
German Flatts, N.Y. - A woman reportedly ran from her home Saturday evening screaming that her house was on fire in the Herkimer County town of German Flatts.

No injuries were reported.

It happened on Warren Road in German Flatts around 5:15 p.m..

Firefighters found smoke upon arrival.

Fire officials told our crew on scene that it appears the fire started near an air conditioner unit and worked its way into the house.

Damage to the home was contained mostly to the interior.

The Mohawk Fire Department was assisted by the Frankfort Fire Department.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Downtown Indianapolis can be a wild place sometimes.

Lions roar along sidewalks. Turtles peek out at passersby. Bison and bears keep watch along Monument Circle.

A whole menagerie can be found on the buildings, fountains, sculptures and lampposts around the city. People just have to know where to look.

The curious and adventurous are invited on a safari through downtown Indianapolis, searching out bears, bison, frogs and fish in architectural features around the city. Indiana Landmarks, a statewide preservation group, and the Indiana War Memorials Commission is hosting the Indy Downtown Safari on July 31.

The 45-minute, family-friendly tours include activities and stories about the symbolism behind the featured carvings and adornments. Organizers hope to inspire wonder and appreciation for Indys unique structures.

If you dont live there or if youre not there very often, these things are very easy to walk right past, said Kasey Zronek, director of volunteers and heritage experiences for Indiana Landmarks. One of the things we love to do on our tours is introduce people to some of those things that they might not see every day. And we can tell them the story behind it, so the next time theyre downtown, they can share it too.

Indiana Landmarks is a nonprofit which helps people rescue and revitalize historic structures throughout the state. Notable projects of the organization include the restored Morris-Butler House in Indianapolis, redoing the Ayres Clock in downtown and hoping to revitalize Beth-El Temple.

The idea for the downtown safari was born from tours that Indiana Landmarks hosts for school groups. Part of the tours involve pointing out historic and interesting architectural features, and organizers realized that many times, those features were animals.

So they decided to put together a new event focused specifically on the hidden wildlife depicted around Indianapolis.

We knew we wanted to be downtown, because we love to get people into downtown Indianapolis. We thought about the monuments there and the surrounding buildings, and also University Park, which has some interesting sculptures in it, Zronek said.

With that in mind, organizers from Indiana Landmarks put together a list of animal-themed features in areas centered around Monument Circle.

Some are quite obvious and well-known. DePew Fountain in University Park, a serene greenspace south of the Indiana War Memorial, features sculptures of fish carved on the fountain itself. In the fountains basin, other fish sculptures shoot water.

Visitors to the Soldier and Sailors Monument are sure to have seen the bison heads featured around a fountain  meant to symbolize early Indiana history, Zronek said  and the bears on lampposts situated at the monument.

We also have horses, panthers, fish and wolves, Zronek said. There are actually a lot of animals there.

But others likely go unnoticed unless you spend much time downtown, Zronek said.

At the Columbia Club, frogs carved into the buildings facade hide in plain site. Hieroglyphic animals dot Circle Tower, keeping with its ancient Egyptian theme. Eagles in flight have been formed on the decorative lampposts at the Birch Bayh Federal Building.

Were always looking for ways to encourage people  especially kids  to look around them, to look at details on buildings and other things, Zronek said.

Tours will run every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 31. People will meet at University Park, then head out on their excursion. Groups of about 15 people will be paired with a guide, who will lead them through the different attractions.

As part of the event, the Indiana War Memorials Commission will also feature activities and have self-guided tours of its monuments.

Each tour lasts about 45 minutes and will be held regardless of weather. The event is accessible to all.

There will be stories and activities along the way. Then when they get back to University Park, there will be tents set up where people can do some creative activities, Zronek said.

IF YOU GO:

Indy Downtown Safari

What: A public tour from Indiana Landmarks and the Indiana War Memorials Commission that explores the stone and metal wildlife in architecture and sculpture throughout downtown Indianapolis, including bears, bison, frogs, and fish.

When: Every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 31

Where: Tours depart from University Park, 307 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis

Cost: $5 per person (ages 6 and up), $3 per Indiana Landmarks member (ages 6 and up). Children ages 5 and under are free.

RSVP: indydowntownsafari.eventbrite.com or by calling 317-639-4534
A man abducted his girlfriend's young son during an argument and then sped off in her car before losing control and crashing into a tree, killing both himself and the child in the fiery wreck, her family said.
Christi Caughron, 66 year old Woodward resident, passed away Thursday, July 15, 2021 at home surrounded by her family. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, 2021 in the Billings Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend Chris Ames officiating. Interment will be at the Memor
The United States of America, the worlds third or fourth-largest country by area and the most developed economy celebrate its birthday (otherwise known as Independence Day) on July 4 every year. However, amidst the fireworks and all sorts of celebrations to mark this day, many people often ask just how old the country is. For most people, all they want to know is Americas age since attaining independence from the European colonizer. For others, they want to know how long America has been occupied. According to the countrys history, the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, making the country 245 years old as of July 4, 2021. However, Native Americans have occupied the area that later became the US for at least 12,000 years.

Earliest Settlement

Although the US is 245 years old as of 2021, the country has existed for more than 2.5 centuries. The first Native Americans migrated to North America long before the Declaration of Independence. According to most historians, the first indigenous people settled in the area at least 15,000 BC, although the migration to the area could have happened as early as 30,000 years ago. The first indigenous people used the Bering land bridge to move from Eurasia to North America until 10,000 years ago when the land bridge submerged.

Paleoamericans were the first Native Americans to arrive and settle in North America and were later joined by ancestors of several present-day tribes, including Aleuts, Athabaskans, and Eskimos. Over time, the indigenous people developed distinct cultures and spread throughout the area until Christopher Columbus arrival in the 15th century, marking the beginning of European colonization.

Colonization And Declaration Of Independence

John Hancock signs the Declaration of Independence 1776.

Although Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to sight the American continent, the Spanish were the first people to settle in the present-day United States, setting up settlements in New Mexico and Florida, including Saint Augustine and Santa Fe. By the mid-17th century, the English had established their presence on the Atlantic Coast and founded the first colony, Jamestown, Virginia. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the British established the 13 colonies, with Georgia as the last colony in 1733.

In the late 18th century, tension developed between the 13 colonies and Great Britain over lack of representation and imposition of burdensome taxes, leading to the American Revolutionary War. The war, which broke out in April 1775, ended in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris signing between the US and Great Britain. However, on July 4, 1776, just over a year after the war broke out, Americans adopted the Declaration of Independence. The United States of America was born on this day, celebrated annually as Independence Day. However, the British recognized American independence following the Treaty of Paris signing on September 3, 1783.

In 2.5 centuries, the US has grown from the initial 13 colonies (granted statehood on various dates) to the current 50 states, becoming the third or fourth-largest country by total area. The countrys population has also grown over 130 times to about 330 million, making it the worlds third most populous country after China and India.
Clwyd South MS welcomes plans for new National Park in North East Wales

Plans for a new National Park in North East Wales have been welcomed.

The Welsh Government wants to make the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) the first new National Park in Wales since 1957, with local Member of the Senedd Ken Skates saying the move will help create sustainable jobs.

The plan was one of a number of pledges for North Wales in the Welsh Labour manifesto ahead of the Senedd elections in May.

Mr Skates said: There is a lot of excitement about the Welsh Governments plans to create a new National Park right here in Clwyd South.

As well as a celebrating our areas unique natural beauty, National Park status will further boost tourism  an industry so vital to Clwyd South  and support the green economy as we look to build on our proud record of being one of the most environmentally friendly countries anywhere in the world.

The Clwyd South MS raised the issue in the Senedd recently, with First Minister Mark Drakeford saying: We will create a new National Park for Wales  the first in over 50 years. National Park status brings many benefits for agricultural communities, biodiversity and sustainable tourism.

Engagements with communities about protecting and enhancing the special qualities of the area will be an important part of delivering this commitment.

Mr Skates this week met Howard Sutcliffe, Denbighshire County Councils AONB officer, to discuss the plans and visit the new Wenffrwd Nature Reserve just outside Llangollen, which opened recently following significant financial support from the Welsh Government.

Mr Sutcliffe said: It was fantastic to welcome Ken to the newly opened pocket park at Wenffrwd, which was an unused remote tip and has been transformed into a new and exciting public park. Im so pleased that the Welsh Government is investing substantial funds into AONBs and National Parks in Wales.

Responding to concerns raised by constituents, Mr Skates has also asked the Welsh Government for reassurances that opportunities for local people to live and work in the National Park area will not be lost.

Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, said: I very much agree that National Park status should not be to the detriment of local people. There are a number of steps we are already taking across Wales to mitigate the issues you raise, and full consultations will be part of those as the process unfolds.

Social housing remains one of mine, and this Governments, key priorities. This continued commitment is reaffirmed by the challenging target we have set to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon homes for rent in the social sector.

Our latest housing need estimates show that in North Wales, under central estimates, 1,200 additional homes are required each year. Of these, 47% of the estimated need is for market housing and 53% for affordable housing (intermediate rent or social). Our housing target goes beyond this.

We are also committed to exploring and developing effective tax, planning and housing measures  which could include local rates of Land Transaction Tax  to ensure the interests of local people are protected.

We are also acutely aware of the growing issues in Wales relating to second homes and addressing these issues is one of this Governments priorities. We will shortly be considering a number of measures, and it is anticipated this plan will be published in the autumn. We will be announcing the plans to engage with communities about protecting and enhancing the special qualities of this landscape in due course.
The Washington D.C. District Court of Appeals has struck down a ban on the deliberate and painful shocking of autistic and mentally-impaired children with electrical stimulation devices.

At issue is the signature policy of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts. The JRC has, since 1985, used a graduated electronic decelerator (GED) on students ages three to adult, supposedly as a form of aversion therapy. For decades, the center has been the target of lawsuits, petitions and exposes by traumatized youth and families. In 2013, the United Nations condemned its practices as a violation of the UN Convention against Torture.

After the case remained in limbo for several years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally banned the use of GEDs in March 2020. The ruling cited an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury that cannot be corrected or eliminated through new or updated device labeling.

The agency reviewed the clinical and scientific literature on self-injurious and aggressive behavior, the purported rationale for delivering the shocks, while interviewing experts in the field. It concluded that the shocks could only temporarily halt such problems and, on balance, were harmful. They found that GEDs create a significant risk of worsening of underlying symptoms, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, pain, burns and tissue damage.

Nonetheless, the July 6 appeals court decision found that the FDA could not ban the device, claiming such a prohibition constituted interference with the practice of medicine. In fact, the Judge Rotenberg Center is technically a school, licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, serving those with intellectual disabilities or behavioral, emotional or psychiatric problems. Many clients are referred from the juvenile justice system and have a history of abuse or abandonment.

Judge Rotenberg Center's website (screenshot)

The shocking devices were developed by the centers founder Matthew Israel in 1985 after his policy of physical abuse (spanking, squeezing and pinching) came under legal attack. Reportedly, shocks are delivered to between 20 and 50 percent of enrolled students.

The purpose of the device is to inflict pain. Students are required to wear a backpack containing the shocking device with electrodes affixed to their skin at all times. Staff can shock them with remote-control activators at any time.

Andre McCollins was shocked 31 times for failing to remove his jacket, tensing up his body, and screaming with pain, according to New York Magazine. The episode left McCollins catatonic, barely able to eat or walk for days. His mother sued JRC, forcing the release of a horrific video of her son strapped in four-point restraints with a helmet on his head while being repeatedly shocked. The session went on for hours while staff rotated electrodes around his body to lessen burn marks. The video showed the child screaming for help and begging employees to stop. His mother says he has never fully recovered.

Screenshot from the hours-long shocking of Andre McCollins, 18 years old.

Jen Msumba, a former student, called her time at JRC mind and body torture. She said electrodes were applied under students fingers or the bottom of their feet to increase the pain. She recounted being shocked for waving her hands, body movements, talking too loud, not answering a staff member in less than 5 seconds, or pretty much anything they deem annoying.

In 2018, Disability Rights International petitioned the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, pointing to multiple practices at the JRC facility, including contingent shocks, the use of restraints and the use of isolation rooms. It stated, These practicesparticularly when used in people with disabilities and childrenconstitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and torture. It objected to the state law which permitted the policies and implored the body, Under international law, the prohibition of torture is absolute and cannot be justified for any reason.

Food deprivation is another tool used at JRC, according to Msumba. Your meal is divided up into little cups: If you rock in your chair, wave your hands, or talk without permission you have to get up and throw one cup away. If they stop work for 5 seconds, such as staring at the wallthrow your food away. Until you have no food left, she says. At the end of the day, theyll give you a nasty concoction with liver powder all over it. And thats going to be your food, but you wouldnt eat it until 11 p.m. that night if you lost all portions of food. And that way of living makes you obsessed about food.

Jen Msumba showing how JRC attached 5 electrodes to her body, via TikTok

Israels center has been a steadily growing and lucrative business. The annual cost per student is $220,000, and states pay the bills. According to the New York Magazine, Between 2000 and 2005, the facilitys annual revenues grew from $18 million to more than $50 million. The nonprofit school brought in $79 million in 2020, handsomely paying its president Glenda Crookes $354,000 and its director of human resources $224,000, with 11 other executives making between $100,000 to $200,000.

Since 2010, the center has spent nearly $500,000 lobbying federal lawmakers and agencies. At the same time, hundreds of thousands more were funneled to legislators from New York and Massachusetts, according to ProPublica. The JRC was previously named the Behavioral Research Institute and was based in California and Rhode Island, but simply relocated from state to state to elude constant legal battles.

Those confined to the JRC are largely working class and poor youths. Jennifer Gunnerman reports in New York Magazine, In the fall of 2006, I visited while working on a story for another publication, and I found the place packed with teenagers from New York City, many from poor neighborhoods. One 15-year-old girl said she recognized other kids from her days in Bronx-Lebanon Hospitals adolescent psych ward. Two young men said theyd come straight from Rikers. At present, the center has over 300 students living in group homes operated by the school.

The center came to the attention of the United Nations in 2010, after the Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) issued a report on the JRC titled, Torture Not Treatment. UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak commented at the time, To be frank, I was shocked when I was reading the report. He added, What I did, on the 11th of May, was to send an urgent appeal to the US government asking them to investigate.

The UN noted that increasing voltage was applied as individuals became adapted to the shocks. It quoted Israel describing the process as very painful. The MDRI argued, Whether or not such treatment is narrowly defined as effective, international human rights law places limits on the amount of pain that can be inflicted on a person.

The group pitched their appeal to then-president Barack Obama, urging a federal investigation. President Obama has staked his international reputation on ending torture, and the world is now looking, said Eric Rosenthal, the MDRI executive director. He added, Are we gonna live up to our obligations and is President Obama gonna live up to his promise to end torture by the United States government?

Appeals to Obama, the UN, and the court system notwithstanding, the JRC continues business as usual. It rakes in millions of dollars in tax money and continues to be well-protected. The enterprise was initially named for Judge Rotenberg because he was the first judgein the 1970s!to deny families claims and rule for Israel. The FDA itself stalled for years before issuing the ban, which was overturned in just over a year. Dozens of legal attempts have similarly failed to force a shutdown.

The problem is not just a few wealthy and well-connected individuals but a more profound need by the capitalist system for social repression. The barbaric torture and war crimes committed at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have their counterpart at home against the working class. One recalls the black sites run by the Chicago Police Department, the mounting use of the death penalty against the poor and mentally ill and the increasing assault of basic democratic rights. Over 70 percent of high school students attend schools patrolled by armed police. As schools cut psychologists, social workers and counselors, they add school resource officers resulting in growing abuse.

While the precise averse therapy of JRC is unusual, such institutions are not. Various forms of highly profitable entities which prey on troubled and mentally impaired youth have proliferated across the US.

On April 29, 2020, Cornelius Frederick, 16, died after being tackled and restrained at a Michigan strict discipline academy in Kalamazoo. The academy is a charter school run by Sequel Youth and Family Services which houses children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Such outfits are very often a thin veneer for profitable business chains. This particular type of charter school was incorporated into Michigan law following the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. (See also the business model of former Detroit-based Evans Solutions .)

Sequel Youth and Family Services has 44 behavioral health care programs across the US. They have been the subject of numerous allegations of illegal excessive restraint, negligence, and trauma inflicted upon children. While such reports are not regularly quantified and publicized, a federal investigation in 2007 found thousands of allegations of abuse at facilities for at-risk youth between 1990 and 2007. These reports from boot camps, residential treatment facilities, strict discipline academies, etc., include abuse and deaths recorded by state and federal agencies and in pending civil and criminal trials with hundreds of plaintiffs.

Under conditions of deepening social deprivation and the near nonexistence of mental health care for the vast bulk of the population, social tragedies and abuse are mounting. The pandemic has dramatically exacerbated the growth of poverty and mental health crises. Deaths from overdoses have reached record highs. Psychologists predict that a mental health shadow pandemic will last for years after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.

The tragic saga of those abused and tortured at the Judge Rotenberg Center is a warning. Every agency of capitalism and both political parties turned a deaf ear to these youth and workers. It is necessary to put an end to a system that requires torture and social deprivation to maintain the dictatorship of a financial oligarchy over humanitys productive forces. Relief from this social crisis must be achieved through the independent struggle of the working class for socialism.
The Conservative government is proceeding with its criminal policy of ending all COVID safety restrictions today. This is happening while the UK is facing a massive surge of coronavirus infections, with daily cases passing 50,000 on Friday and Saturday.

In the last seven days, Britain recorded 313,647 new cases of COVID-19, up 44 percent on the previous week and the second highest seven-day total in the world. Only Indonesia with 341,749 cases, but with a population of 276.5 million, four times the size of Britains, recorded more.

On Friday, the Office for National Statistics announced that one in 95 people in England have COVID, a leap from one in 160 the previous week. The hot weather, with many people travelling, staying in the UK for a holiday and gathering on beaches, will accelerate the spread of the virus.

Along with the surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths are both rising. The 283 deaths over the last week were a rise of nearly 40 percent on the previous weeks 203. Around 600 people a day are being hospitalised. On July 15, 3,964 people were in hospital with Covid, with 551 (almost 14 percent) requiring ventilation. According to research by the Daily Mail, four-fifths of NHS hospitals in England are now seeing a spike in COVID patients being admitted.

So widespread are the infections that the authors of the criminal ditching of COVID regulations are being infected. Health Secretary Sajid Javid, despite being double vaccinated, is ill. Prime Minister Boris Johnson (who contracted COVID last year and nearly died as a result) and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of Javid and instructed to self-isolate for 10 days.

Both tried to dodge the requirement, saying they would take part in a daily contact testing pilot scheme. A storm of protest forced a U-turn. This was under conditions in which over half a million people, including key workers from all sectors, have been forced to self-isolate over the last week after being pinged by the NHS test and trace phone app. Moreover, 821,000 children (11.2 percent) in Englands state schools were not in class on July 8 because of COVID, the highest level since March and a 31 percent increase on the week prior. Of those off school, 39,000 pupils had tested positive and 35,000 had a suspected infection.

There is no constituency within any section of the political establishment to halt or even delay the ending of restrictions. All that has been done is the release of a muted statement by the heads of the National Health Service in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, calling for caution.

To comprehend the scale of the criminality being perpetrated, one needs only look at the statements of health professionals associated with the signing of a letter to the UKs premiere medical journal, The Lancet. More than 1,200 experts signed the letter titled, Mass infection is not an option: We must do more to protect our young.

On Friday, an online Emergency international summit on UKs freedom day was held. Hosted by The Citizens, a UK NGO, it brought together world-leading experts from 10 countries including scientists and physicians.

Introducing the meeting was Gabriel Scally, the Regional Director of Public Health in England and a member of Independent Sage, an alternative scientific advisory panel to the UK governments official Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

Dr Gabriel Scally speaking at the online summit (credit: Citizens's TV/YouTube channel)

Scally spoke as a representative of the group of scientists who wrote to The Lancet recently calling the government's plans a dangerous and unethical experiment. He said, The Westminster government has failed to bring the virus under control and is now preparing to remove the last few measures that inhibit the virus spreading even more widely amongst our only partially vaccinated population.

The summit opposed the statement at a Downing Street press conference last week by the UKs chief medical officer Chris Whitty that there was widespread agreement across the scientific community with the governments ending restrictions.

A blind man on a fast horse can see that this is a strategy that doesnt have the support of scientists, universally at all, said Scally. And I personally was amazed at some of the comments, the idea that it was a good idea to have the virus spread widely through the population and infect people, make them ill, and have them die, so that we got that over with before the autumn. To go in the summer, as it was described [by Whitty].

Ive been a public health doctor for 40 years and Ive never heard of a public health strategy like this. As you have heard from some of the experts from around the world this is not any concept of public health that any public health physician would really recognize I dont think.

Professor Stephen Duckett, Health Programme Secretary of the Grattan Institute and former secretary of the Australian Health Department, said, There is no reputable public health advisor of any kind who would recommend opening up at a time when the virus is spreading rampantly. It just defies any logic, any science of any kind, and it is a recipe to just accept that 40,000, 50,000, 80,000 cases a day is somehow acceptable.

Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, said, The world is watching the current avoidable crisis unfold in the UK. She warned, only about half of our population are fully vaccinated and we have been told to expect that millions will get infected over the summer with case rates reaching about a hundred thousand per day. Our government has chosen this path despite having safe and effective vaccines available that could have protected the millions who will now be exposed to a novel virus and its long-term consequences leaving a generation with chronic illness and disability.

Professor Christina Pagel, director of University College Londons clinical operational research unit, explained, Because of our position as a global travel hub, any variant that becomes dominant in the UK will likely spread to the rest of the world. We saw it with Alpha. Im absolutely sure that we contributed to the rise of Delta in Europe and North America. The UK policy doesnt just affect us. It affects everybody and everybody has a stake in what we do.

Pagel drew attention to a letter from UK clinical virologists published in the Financial Times July 15, stating that complete relaxation of behavioural measures designed to reduce the spread of infection, before robust and sufficient levels of vaccine-induced immunity in the population have been achieved, is potentially a recipe for disaster, with the risk of negating the long-term benefits of the early UK rollout of vaccines. The virologists insisted, Removal of precautions should happen only when infection rates are decreasing, not increasing.

The Labour Party and trade unions have no fundamental disagreements with the homicidal ditching of restrictions. Backing the reopening in a July 8 statement, Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances OGrady said, We all want working life to get back to business as usual, with the TUC complaining only that it had not been consulted as it had been at the end of the first lockdown in May 2020.

No nationalist factions of the ruling elite, including the Scottish National Party government, has an opposed strategy. As a proportion of the population, even more people are infected with COVID in Scotland (one in 90) than in England. Yet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon could only muster a plea for caution in announcing that Scotland will move to Level 0 today and ditch a raft of restrictions.

With the onset of the pandemics new wave, the Socialist Equality Party reiterates our call for the intervention of the working class to resolve the pandemic crisis in the interests of society. This must be centred on the establishment of rank-and-file safety committees in every workplace, independent of the unions, to demand proper measures of containment and protection.
As long as humans have known of its existence, they have wanted to visit Antarctica.

It is the world's least visited, least populated continent. On the best day, it is extremely hard to get to. And yet, the appeal of the unknown and the desire to set foot on every continent have encouraged travelers to try and make their way to the South Pole.

Still, for the obsessive catalogers of the world, Antarctica is difficult to classify. It's not a country, so can you cross it off a bucket list? Who controls it? If it had a capital city, where would it be? What would be the native language?

A national flag for a nation-less place

These were among the questions that Evan Townsend posed to himself when he signed up for the first of two stints working at McMurdo Station, the US-run base in Antarctica.

Townsend, an elementary school teacher in Boston, knew he had a strict baggage limit when going to Antarctica to work as a support staffer -- everyone is limited to 85 pounds, he says, which has to include clothes, toiletries, medicine, electronics and anything else they might want or need during their stay.

As one of his duties would be managing the arts and crafts room on base, he wanted to bring some decorations with him, but knew he needed to keep it light. Townsend chose the Pride flag -- it weighed almost nothing, but its significance was heavy.

One day, Townsend and a few colleagues took the Pride flag outside and snapped photos of themselves to post on social media. The photos ended up becoming an international story, with many news outlets saying the outing was Antarctica's first-ever Pride parade.

"That was when I realized the power of flags," Townsend says. "On one hand, I'm completely isolated at the end of the Earth. And on the other hand, I'm part of this global community."

Despite not having a background in design, Townsend identifies as a longtime "flag nerd" and began to toy with the idea of creating a flag to represent Antarctica.

He went with dark blue for the Southern Ocean waters and white for the landscape, with an isosceles triangle in the center to represent Antarctica's icy peaks.

"I wanted it to be a neutral flag, for sure," Townsend says. "It's a distinct design, it's a distinct color, to make sure that it's not affiliated with any particular group or nationality. I wanted it to be something that had a lot of symbolism, but that was simple enough that people could apply their own perception of Antarctic and their own understanding of the continent to the flag."

The name of the flag project, True South, also has its own significance.

"'True south' literally means the direction toward the geographic south pole, as opposed to magnetic south which would lead to the magnetic south pole," Townsend explains. "it's meant to represent the shared goals and values by which the Antarctic community can orient itself."

And Townsend has no plans to trademark or copyright the flag's design, as he believes it should belong to the whole world.

"The best flags are flags that get their meaning and their power from the people that fly them," he adds.

Who's in charge here, anyway?

Townsend is just one of the many people around the globe who are transfixed by Antarctica, even if they are never able to visit and see the place for themselves.

So, what is it about the southernmost continent that continues to entrance people?

In a world that's more interconnected than ever, Antarctica remains one of the few places that most people don't know anything about.

There is no indigenous population in Antarctica, and human activity there is still relatively recent.

The only permanent installations are a handful of scientific stations, which only employ scientists and their support staff -- a term comprising anyone from chefs and maintenance workers to electricians and airport managers.

It's common for people to multitask. Townsend worked in food service, as a bartender and as a craft room manager during his tenure. At its peak, the number of human Antarctic residents is approximately 10,000.

In 1959, 12 countries -- including Japan, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Argentina and what was then the USSR -- signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington, DC.

Among the items they agreed on was that that Antarctica should "be used for peaceful purposes only" and that science would be at the forefront of any development or settlement there. Members of the military are allowed to be there, but only in support roles.

Although few people live there, Antarctica's scope of influence is massive. Climate change has caused the continent to shrink. And despite the treaty's existence, world politics have changed and new power players -- namely China -- have emerged in Antarctica.

Klaus Dodds, professor of Geopolitics at the University of London, is the author of several books about the polar regions, most recently "The Arctic: A Very Short Introduction," co-authored with Jamie Woodward.

"Stuff just keeps being taken from Antarctica. Information, ice, resources like seals and whales and fish," he says. "Antarctica's fragility, I think, represents the fragility of the wider world."

While climate change is the biggest influence on Antarctica, there's another major factor that will only grow more significant as the pandemic ebbs -- tourism.

The future of the seventh continent

About 90% of tourists to Antarctica come by boat. These trips are expensive, and most travelers spend only a few hours actually on the land before getting back on the ships and turning around.

Currently, the United States is the single largest source of Antarctic tourism, but China is quickly rising into second place, and Dodds believes within in a decade it will top the list.

Some destinations, like Argentina resort town Ushuaia and Australia's Hobart, make money from these tourists due to their location as final pre-Antarctic ports of call. Dodds predicts that the next decade will see multiple cruise ship companies open up Antarctica itineraries and more travel companies invest in the continent's infrastructure.

Just as countries jockey for power with military bases and political maneuvers, Antarctica has become another site for their rivalries -- and fears -- to play out.

"Nobody can answer the question (of) who owns Antarctica," Dodds says.

"I think the Antarctic represents, in essence, not just the idealism that the treaty represents, but it also represents the supreme contradictory nature of humanity more generally. So for all the things we wish to celebrate in Antarctica, there's also the ugliness of humanity."

He points to a few major successes: Antarctica was the first continent to be completely free of nuclear weapons. It is also demilitarized.

Another example of the continent's potential for beauty and unity? The True South flag, which Dodds admires.

"(It) is a well-intentioned reminder that Antarctica is a marvel. Antarctica should represent the very best in all of us."

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The last time Aris Suharyanto saw his wife was through a hospital window. He never got to meet their newborn baby.

When Suharyanto's pregnant wife Rina Ismawati and two of their three children fell ill last month, he initially thought it was a common cold. But with Covid-19 cases rising in Indonesia, he took them to get tested.

The whole family tested positive for Covid-19, including Suharyanto -- and 43-year-old Ismawati was admitted to hospital, where she lay in bed, occasionally sending Suharyanto messages through WhatsApp. "She told me that her condition was getting worse," Suharyanto said. "She couldn't breathe."

Fearing for her baby, the doctors performed a Cesarian. But when Riski Aulia was born last month, he tested positive for Covid-19 and was struggling to breathe, too. His wife asked him to take her home, away from the intensive care unit where so many other patients had died, but her condition was too bad for her to be moved.

On June 22, Riski died in hospital. Suharyanto had only ever seen him in a photo. The following day, Ismawati died, too.

Suharyanto's wife and child are just two of the devastating and growing Covid-19 toll in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, which is fast becoming the new center of Asia's coronavirus crisis.

For weeks, Indonesia, home to about 270 million people, has been reporting thousands of daily cases and hundreds deaths as the highly contagious Delta variant ravages the country. Social media is flooded with posts from users who have lost loved ones to the virus. Hospitals are running dangerously low on supplies, excavators are frantically digging burial plots, and isolating remains impossible for the millions like Suharyanto living on a daily wage. The country is also facing the added challenge of widespread, rampant misinformation, and a vaccination rate of less than 6%.

With more than 2.7 million people infected and more than 70,000 dead, onlookers caution the country may not have reached its peak.

How did this happen

For much of last year, Indonesia managed to keep its Covid-19 outbreak largely under control. Then, as cases rose in June, overwhelming hospitals, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned Indonesia was "on the edge of a Covid-19 catastrophe."

The country had seen a "dramatic increase in confirmed cases" after the festive holidays, Indonesia's Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said earlier this month. He put the explosion in cases down to the fast-spreading Delta variant, which was first identified in India and has since spread to almost 100 countries.

Indonesia entered a lockdown on July 10, by which point the country was reporting more than 30,000 new cases each day. The government said it is "mobilizing all resources" to deal with the Covid-19 surge, including bringing in oxygen from other countries to increase the supply.

But experts say Indonesia is now bearing the cost of not locking down early enough.

And the current numbers likely don't capture the whole picture. More than 27% of tests come back positive, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, giving Indonesia one of the highest test positivity rates in the world. The numbers suggest that many cases still aren't being caught.

A survey published last Saturday showed nearly half of Jakarta's residents may have contracted Covid-19 -- more than 12 times the number of cases officially recorded in the Indonesian capital at the time when the research was carried out.

"Without appropriate testing, many provinces are unable to isolate confirmed cases on time," the World Health Organization said in its most recent situation report.

Just a common cold

Another major barrier to controlling Indonesia's outbreak is the flood of misinformation.

For months, WhatsApp messages have spread fake news about ineffective Covid-19 treatments. Hoaxes about the vaccines have circulated on social media, making some people unwilling to take the shot for fear it could cause serious disease or death. And because of misinformation, many people in Indonesia still aren't taking Covid-19 seriously, even as cases rise around them.

Amid all the noise, warnings about the severity of Covid-19 are being lost.

A few weeks ago, Karunia Sekar Kinanti, 32, noticed her two-month-old son Zhafran had a fever, but she assumed it was just a common cold.

Her mother had a flu and cough, but Kinanti didn't think it was Covid because her mother still had a sense of smell. "Her symptoms didn't seem to be Covid-19, so I was calm about responding to it," she said. "Then Zhafran, me, and my other child got sick, too."

Two weeks ago, as he became weaker and his breathing became more labored, she brought Zhafran to hospital, where scans showed Covid-19 had already damaged his right lung.

She remembers the doctor telling her to prepare for the worst. "You can be optimistic, but it all depends on God," she remembers him saying.

On July 5, Kinanti's mother died. Kinanti still doesn't know whether her mother had Covid because she wasn't tested. Kinanti didn't go to her funeral -- she was in hospital with her young son.

Aman B. Pulungan, the president of the Indonesian Pediatric Society, said it's common for parents to assume their child doesn't have Covid-19, in part because many people in Indonesia are unaware children can be infected.

Families do little to protect children from the virus, and even when they are infected, parents often think it's a common cold. Schools were closed last year, and have been closed again as part of this latest lockdown, but Indonesian children are currently on summer holidays.

"We don't protect our children. This is the problem," he said.

The broader problem is continuing skepticism over Covid-19, according to an article published last month by Yatun Sastramidjaja, an associate fellow with the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and Amirul Adli Rosli, a research officer at the same institute.

"A more extreme type of commentary has been making its rounds on social media, questioning the legitimacy of the government's pandemic response altogether, and even dismissing any official information about Covid-19," they wrote.

Overwhelmed resources

When Kinanti and her baby Zhafran arrived at the hospital, all the intensive care unit beds were already full.

A front desk officer took pity on Zhafran and helped them get a room, and the next day, they were moved to an isolation room with other children infected with Covid-19. Zhafran was the youngest of them all, she said.

When Kinanti talked to CNN earlier this month, she said there were nine children in the hospital room with them, and many more were waiting for beds.

Indonesia's crisis is now playing out in a similar way as India's second wave, with a shortage of oxygen tanks and patients traipsing from hospital to hospital trying to find help. Sudirman Said, the secretary general of Indonesian Red Cross, said patients were traveling for hours to access vital medical care.

"Sick patients are just waiting for new deaths so they can even have a chance of making it inside a hospital," Project HOPE's Executive Director for Indonesia, Edhie Rahmat, said in a statement earlier this month, adding that many hospitals have built tents to care for patients outside the buildings. "The peak for the second Covid-19 wave in Indonesia has not been reached yet."

The outbreak and the shortage of hospital beds makes those with underlying conditions even more vulnerable. According to Pulungan, from the Indonesian Pediatric Society, many children dying of Covid-19 have underlying health conditions.

That was the case for Tantien Hermawati's baby Baswara Catra Wijaya, who was born with heart disease.

She believes he may have been infected with Covid-19 when he was in hospital in November last year having surgery for his condition. After he caught Covid-19, she could barely look at her baby's face -- it was obvious he was in pain.

He died on December 11, 2020, before he had even reached four months old. Hermawati believes she was lucky -- at least she was able to attend his funeral.

She advises other parents to be more careful and cautious than she was, and stay at home to avoid exposing children to Covid.

"It's really sad if our children get infected -- our babies can't tell us which part of their body are hurt, and we also don't know it. So please just stay at home and obey the health protocol."

The future

Indonesia's main hope in addressing the spiraling crisis are vaccines, the country's President Joko Widodo said Wednesday.

"Fair and equal access to vaccines must be guaranteed since we see there is still a wide gap in vaccine access throughout the country," he said, according to Antara News.

Earlier this month, the White House announced it would send 3 million doses of Moderna vaccine to support Indonesia against the surge. On Tuesday more than 3 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Indonesia through the global COVAX program, the eighth such shipment to arrive in the country. Indonesia has received more than 14 million vaccines through the program, according to state media.

But for the millions already affected by Covid, those vaccines will come too late.

For Kinanti and her baby Zhafran, the situation is looking up. His doctor is more optimistic about his survival, but warns that Zhafran might always have diminished lung capacity.

She says she underestimated Covid, and thought it was impossible that it could affect her child: "I was late when I reached the hospital, and I really regret it."

Suharyanto, the father of three, lives with the guilt of not knowing if he brought Covid-19 into their home. He works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Semarang City, in central Java province; he was always coming and going -- but his wife stayed at home.

"The children are already carrying on as normal. But me, I still cry on my own. I regret things but I just never imagined that this could happen," he said. "I still can't believe that she was gone that fast."

Suharyanto wants people to understand that Covid is not fake news or a conspiracy -- to him, it is painfully real.

"They've never had their family die from Covid," he said.

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Senior staff writer Kailee Kroll can be reached at (304)626-1439, by email at kkroll@theet.com or on Twitter at @kaileekroll.
Is there ever justice? Some attorneys believe it's time for West Virginia Legislature to stiffen homicide penalties
Staff Writer JoAnn Snoderly can be reached at 304-626-1445, by email at jsnoderly@theet.com or on Twitter at @JoAnnSnoderly.
Vienna, Austria. Sylvain Sonnet/Getty Images

Two dozen US officials in Vienna have reported Havana Syndrome symptoms.

The ailment refers to mysterious neurological symptoms affecting US officials around the globe.

Scientists have long suspected the symptoms are caused by microwave radiation attacks.

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Austria is investigating reports of US diplomats and officials experiencing "unexplained health incidents" similar to the Havana Syndrome.

According to The New Yorker, two dozen US officials in Vienna have reported mysterious symptoms since Joe Biden took office in January, making it the second biggest hotspot aside from Havana.

The Havana Syndrome was first recorded in 2016 and 2017 when US officials in the Cuban capital reported inexplicable symptoms including migraines, vertigo, hearing loss, and other neurological problems.

Since then more than 130 US officials around the world have reported similar symptoms, including in China, Russia, and the US.

Researchers have said that patients have brain injuries consistent with head trauma.

Scientists have long suspected that the affliction is caused by microwave radiation attacks, although this has not been proven.

According to The New Yorker, CIA director William Burns has privately referred to the incidents as "attacks."

During the Cold War, Austria's neutrality and location meant that several other countries used it as a base for espionage.

Vienna still has a large diplomatic presence and is home to several major UN agencies and a European security body, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

According to Reuters, this has long made Vienna "a hub for diplomatic activity and spying."

Austria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was "working with the US authorities on jointly getting to the bottom of this."

"We take these reports very seriously. The safety of the diplomats sent to Austria and their families is our top priority," they said.

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A US State Department spokesperson said they were "vigorously investigating" the incidents.

In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a government-wide review investigating the causes of the mysterious ailment.

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An abandoned hotel is seen in the Varosha quarter of Famagusta, Cyprus. Awakening/Getty Images

After Turkey took control of northern Cyprus in the 1970s, the resort town Varosha was l

Residents and tourists planned to return, but the resort was fenced off and remained so for decades.

In October, the town and surrounding beach reopened but have become a point of controversy.

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Varosha was once a resort located in the city of Famagusta, Cyprus.

A map showing where Varosha, Famagusta, is located. Google Maps

Before the division of Cyprus in 1974, Varosha was a booming resort town with sky-scraping hotels, glamorous shopping districts, and sandy beaches frequently called the best in Cyprus.

The rich and famous claimed Verosha as the most beautiful spot on the island.

Varosha in the 1960s. Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images

According to the BBC, celebrities including Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Brigitte Bardot visited the island in its heyday.

"Anyone who comes from Varosha has a romanticized notion of it," Vasia Markides, an American Greek-Cypriot whose mother grew up there, told the BBC. "They talk about it being the hub of art and intellectual activity. They describe it as the French Riviera of Cyprus."

But since 1974, everyone but the Turkish military was forbidden from entering, and today, the once-booming resort town lies crumbling and abandoned.

The ruins of hotels in the Varosha district of Famagusta, Cyprus. trabantos/Getty Images

According to the BBC, after years of violence, Turkey invaded Cyprus following a Greek-government-backed coup and gained control of the northern third section of the island, which included the district of Varosha.

Tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots quickly left the area, fearing violence but intending to return once tensions settled down.

At its height, Varosha was home to 39,000 residents.

An abandoned hotel is seen in the Varosha quarter of the beach in Famagusta, Cyprus. Awakening/Getty Images

Varosha also attracted around 700,000 annual visitors and tourists.

Former residents have recalled the panicked state they left their homes in as the troops invaded.

Broken windows of the abandoned hotels are seen in the Varosha quarter in Famagusta, Cyprus. Awakening/Getty Images

Some left their wedding presents in their attics, while others said they still had pots cooking on the stove when they evacuated.

Following the invasion, the resort was fenced and blocked off by the Turkish military. It has been abandoned for decades.

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Decaying hotel buildings stand beyond a makeshift barrier and a Turkish military sign. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

What was once a glamorous resort became a barren wasteland dotted with falling fences and barricades. It is now part of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or TRNC.

While the city of Famagusta is home to thousands of residents, who are mostly Turkish, the Varosha sector was blocked off until recently.

A view over the fence of the abandoned district of Varosha in Famagusta, Cyprus. AstridxAim/Getty Images

Decaying buildings and rubble line the streets of the abandoned district.

Signs label Varosha a "forbidden zone."

A Turkish military sign marks the fence of the "Forbidden Zone" of Varosha district Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Tourists are banned from entering or taking photos inside the fenced-off areas, but some have managed to slip through over the years and document what has been left behind.

After the town was reopened, Turkish Cypriots were allowed through the fences to explore what remained.

Inside the district, buildings are slowly collapsing, abandoned cars are rusting over, and the streets lie empty.

A car is parked in front of the walls that surround the Varosha quarter. Awakening/Getty Images

The Varosha district is still blocked off for most people, according to BBC.

In 1984, a UN resolution called for the area to be handed over to UN control, allowing former Cypriots who were forced out to resettle there.

An abandoned building in the district of Varosha in Famagusta, Cyprus. AstridxAim/Getty Images

According to Atlas Obscura, much of the resort remains largely how its former residents and visitors left it. Tables are still set for meals and designer clothes can be found hanging inside now-abandoned shops.

After travel restrictions were eased in 2003, former residents were allowed to return and peer into the forgotten resort through fences and barbed wire.

Abandoned houses in the Varosha district. Awakening/Getty Images

However, those who ventured back to the island found the once-booming area a crumbling ghost town and have not been permitted to permanently inhabit the town.

"The picture that I had in my mind was of a kind of paradise," one Cypriot who returned to look across the fence at her family's former home told the BBC. "But it felt like some sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare."

An abandoned gas station in the Varosha quarter. Awakening/Getty Images

"You're seeing nature take over. Prickly pear bushes have overrun the entire six square kilometers. There are trees that have sprouted through living rooms. It's a ghost town," she said.

The main beach opened to visitors in October, but it lies set against the backdrop of decaying hotels and the rest of the abandoned resort town.

Tourists lie on a public beach next to decaying hotel buildings that stand inside the "Forbidden Zone." Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images

However, tourists and residents may soon be able to inhabit Varosha again.

The reopening of Varosha, also known by its Turkish name Maras, has become a subject of controversy between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities.

Abandoned buildings in the district of Varosha. Nataliia Tosun/Shutterstock

According to CNN, Ersin Tatar, prime minister of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, planned to start the reopening and potential rebuilding process in 2020.

"It's all ready in my opinion," Tatar said in August, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT. "The tide has changed and a new page has been turned ... Maras is within the territory of the TRNC. Nobody can take it from us. We are continuing on our successful path."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also said he wants to reopen the resort town, but the move has received backlash from Greek Cypriots.

When the beach reopened and the fences surrounding Varosha were removed, the government only allowed for Turkish and TRNC citizens to visit.

Turkish Cypriots take a dip at Derinya beach near Varosha. STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Ahead of Varosha's reopening, the European Union's foreign policy chief warned the reopening would "cause greater tensions" between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, who disagree on who rightfully should inhabit and profit off of the northern section of the island.

According to BBC, the UN security council has been asked to step in to evaluate the situation. A decision still has not been reached on the future of Varosha so, for now, it will remain largely abandoned and decaying.

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A hospital ventilator. Ronny Hartmann/AFP via Getty Images

The mother of a hospitalized 13-year-old in Arkansas said she regrets not getting her daughter vaccinated.

Angela Morris told KTHV she had "a false sense of security" and thought the virus "was just like the flu."

But her daughter has been on a ventilator for days as the highly transmissible Delta variant ravages the state.

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The mother of a 13-year-old girl who has spent days in the hospital on a ventilator with COVID-19 is warning other parents to take the virus - and vaccinations - seriously.

Angela Morris of Arkansas said she chose not to get herself or her daughter vaccinated, thinking other preventative measures like social distancing and wearing masks would protect them from the virus.

"I just had a false sense of security that it was just like the flu and it wasn't that serious," Morris told CBS affiliate KTHV. "Obviously it is that serious and it was that serious. Now, I can see."

Morris' 13-year-old daughter Caia tested positive for COVID-19 on July 1. Two days later, she was fighting for her life on a ventilator at Arkansas Children's Hospital, according to posts on Morris' Facebook profile.

"It's very hard to see her in this situation. It's very hard not knowing if she's really going to come home anymore or not," Morris told KTHV. "It's heartbreaking. I wish I would've made better choices for her."

Morris blamed "misinformation" on her decision not to get herself or Caia vaccinated.

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Morris did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Less than 45% of Arkansas' population has received at least one vaccine dose, and just 35% of residents are fully vaccinated, Insider previously reported, despite all residents over the age of 12 being eligible to receive the vaccine in the state.

The low vaccination rates have made Arkansas the country's new epicenter for the highly transmissible Delta variant. Data compiled by Scripps Research's Outbreak.info tracker suggests that Delta may account for more than 80% of Arkansas' new coronavirus infections, among the highest shares of Delta infections in the country.

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Dr. Jessica Snowden, Arkansas Children's Hospital Chief of Infectious Diseases, told KTHV they are seeing more sick children amidst the spread of Delta.

"We've had perfectly healthy children who end up in the hospital, in the ICU, with COVID-19 infection," she said. "So it is definitely something that could impact anyone."

While the age of patients the hospital is treating varies, Snowden told the outlet there was one thing they all had in common.

"All of the children we have admitted who are seriously sick with COVID-19 are either too young to get vaccinated, or haven't been vaccinated yet," she said.

After watching her daughter be intubated following 13 days on a ventilator, Morris said she hopes other parents won't make her same mistake.

"I just want people to get their kids their shots. Everybody just needs to get the shot. It's a much better route than the one we're in," she told KTHV.

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Woman broke into dentists office multiple times and pulled 13 teeth from victim, say police (Washoe County Sheriffs Office)

A Nevada woman who broke into a dentists office to steal cash also pulled 13 teeth from a victim, say police.

Laurel Eich, who is not a dentist, told investigators in Washow County that she had unlawfully carried out the medical procedure.

Authorities say that they were investigating Eich for a burglary at the office in which $22,861 in cash and checks was stolen in May.

Officers responded to the dental office in Reno when an after-hours alarm went off, and found an open door and a broken window.

Eich, 42, then told detectives about the extraction, which she claims happened on a different date with anesthetic disposed of by the office, where she claims she once worked.

During the investigation, detectives also learned that Eich performed 13 tooth extractions at an earlier date and time on one person. Eich admitted to multiple people, including detectives, that she performed the medical procedure and used anesthetic disposed of by the dental office, the Washow County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

Eich was arrested earlier this week and charged with two counts of burglary and one count each of grand larceny, conspiracy to commit burglary and perform surgery on another without a medical license.

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She remains in custody in the Washoe County jail on a $20,000 bond.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On Saturday, at approximately 2:46 a.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to the 700 block of S. 1st Avenue in reference to a 911 call regarding a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers observed a vehicle that had collided with a residence and was backing away from it.

The investigation revealed the suspect, 36 year old Eduardo Gonzalez, physically assaulted the resident then intentionally struck the residence multiple times with his vehicle. The residence was occupied at the time of the incident. One victim was treated on scene for minor injuries. Eduardo Gonzalez was arrested and booked on multiple felony charges to include attempted homicide.

This case is still under investigation.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please contact the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On Saturday, July 17, 2021, at about 9:13 p.m., Yuma Police officers responded to a welfare check on a female standing in the roadway in the 5700 block of E. 32nd Street. The call was soon updated to a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision.

The initial investigation revealed a 20 year old female was standing in the roadway waving her arms. It was then reported that the female was struck by two separate vehicles. Both vehicles swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision and both vehicles stopped, along with several others, to render first aid.

The female pedestrian sustained serious injuries and was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center where she was further flown to a Phoenix area hospital.

Impairment appeared to be a factor, in reference to the pedestrian.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.
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New Delhi: If youre planning to take an LPG connection, then we have good news for you. Giving a major respite to the common man, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) has now announced that anyone can buy an LPG gas cylinder without the need to share your address proof with the state-owned petroleum and gas firm.

Previously, distributors and companies didnt let anyone book an LPG connection without address proof. However, with the new rules in place, customers can now easily buy a 5 kg LPG cylinder by visiting their nearby Indane gas distributors or point of sale. Customers can also provide any other official identity proof instead of an Aadhaar card to buy a new 5 kg cylinder.

You wont have to share any address proof documents for buying a 5 KG cylinder from Indane. You can also refill your gas cylinders at nearby dealers or the point of sale. These cylinders are BIS certified.

Moreover, Indane is also allowing customers to return their cylinders if they no longer require them. If returned in 5 years, 50% of the cost of the cylinder will be returned while only Rs 100 will be available on returning it after 5 years.

Customers can easily book the 5 kg cylinder via WhatsApp. Indane has issued a special number 8454955555, which can be used to book the cylinder via a missed call. For cylinder refilling, customers can message or call the company at 7588888824. Also Read: Delhi: Now, get 10% discount on DTC and cluster bus tickets via e-ticketing app

Meanwhile, Indane has recently launched a new cylinder that lets customers know much gas is left inside. The state-owned Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) brand has named the smart cylinder as Composite Cylinder. Also Read: Facebook says it should not be blamed for US failing to meet vaccine goals
Chandigarh: Five to six workers are feared trapped under the debris of a three-storey building that collapsed in Haryana's Gurgaon district on Sunday evening, police said.

Manesar Deputy Commissioner of Police Varun Singla said police, fire department and NDRF teams are at the spot to carry out the rescue operation.

"A three-storey building collapsed in Khawaspur village. According to preliminary reports, a warehouse company had built the premises to house its labourers. Five to six people are stated to be trapped under the debris," Singla told PTI over phone.

The police said one person was pulled out from the rubble during the rescue operation.

"Eighteen to 19 workers used to live in that building and of them, 14-15 had gone for work at the time of the incident," the DCP said.

The cause behind the building collapse was not immediately known, he said.
New Delhi: Around 16 people have been arrested in connection with the hooch tragedy in Bihar's West Champaran district, ANI cited officials as saying. People in Lauria block of West Champaran district died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in the past few days while several others have been hospitalised.

"A total of 16 persons have been arrested in the case where at least 12 died due to consumption of poisonous/spurious liquor in Champaran," a release issued by the District Public Relations Office of West Champaran said. Moreover, Station House Officer (SHO) and three others have been suspended in the matter.

At least 16 people have died in West Champaran district in a suspected case of hooch tragedy in the state which went dry six years ago, PTI reported on Saturday. Eight people died on Thursday while an equal number of deaths occurred on the following day. As per a statement issued by the administration of West Champaran district, family members of only four of those dead have confirmed consumption of liquor prior to death.

The Bihar police appealed to people to stay away from liquor. In a press release, the police said, "Everyone must create social awareness and inspire themselves, their families, and other people of the society to not to consume alcohol.

Sale and consumption of liquor was banned by the Nitish Kumar government in April, 2016.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: Amid a push for a population control policy by some Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday (July 17) alleged the BJP's motive of raising the issue is political and aimed at targeting a "particular community".

The former Union minister said the population debate is "utterly misplaced" and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility.

In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said the bigger challenge for India in the next 20 years will be to prepare for an ageing population, not a growing population.

He alleged the ruling party is raising this issue out of "thinly-concealed motivation" to target a "particular community".

"It is no accident that the three states where the government is talking about reducing population are UP (Uttar Pradesh), Assam and Lakshadweep, where everyone knows who their intended audience is," the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

"The Hindutva elements in our polity have not really studied the demographic issues. Their motive is purely political and communal," he said when asked about the push for population control in UP and Assam.

Tharoor's remarks come days after Uttar Pradesh's draft population control bill was made public and the Assam government proposed formulation of a policy in this regard. Both states are ruled by the BJP.

The UP draft bill has provisions to debar people who have more than two children from the benefits of government schemes and proposes perks to those who follow the two-child policy.

Also, some BJP MPs are set to introduce private members' bills on population control and uniform civil code in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, according to information from the secretariats of both Houses.

The Monsoon session begins on July 19 and would conclude on August 13.

Asked about the upcoming Parliament session and the key issues the Congress and the Opposition would raise, Tharoor said the government has been "so colossally inept' that there are multiple issues "we need to raise in the public interest".

"The ineptitude of the government in its disastrous mismanagement of COVID, especially the blunder-laden vaccine policy; the continued failure to resolve the farmers' agitation; the cratering economy, with GDP growth at its lowest in three decades," he said listing the issues the Opposition needs to focus in Parliament.

He also referred to the "price rise caused by extortionate fuel taxes; the worst unemployment ever recorded", the French investigation into corruption in the Rafale deal" the situation on the Sino-Indian border and the crisis in Afghanistan.

"And who knows what else may arise by Monday morning, given the government's many unsavoury sins of omission and commission," Tharoor said.

On disruptions rather than debate becoming the norm in Parliament, the 65-year-old Congress leader said it was well known that he has been opposed to disruptions in principle and prefers to debate the issues.

"But if you look at those disruptions in recent years that have been called by the Opposition, they have always been caused by the ruling party's refusal to discuss a specific issue of burning national importance, which leaves the Opposition no choice but to draw attention to the issues the government wishes to avoid through disruption," he said.

If debates were allowed, disruptions would be unnecessary, he asserted.

Tharoor urged the government to have the courage to debate any issue the Opposition wishes to raise.

"That's what Parliament is for. The government prefers to treat it as a notice-board where they can just announce their laws and policies," he said.

"If the ruling party treats Parliament with respect, which means agreeing to discuss the issues the Opposition raises and not just using their brute majority to push through the government's agenda, I am sure the Opposition will reciprocate in kind," he argued.

Asked whether the Afghanistan situation would also be a key issue to be raised in Parliament, Tharoor said, "Yes, that's why I mentioned it along with China as the two external affairs issues that require discussion."

This government has preferred to send a minister to Parliament to read out a statement and not entertain any questions, he alleged.

"That's not how a democracy should function. We need to have detailed discussions in which the government takes the nation into confidence about what it has done so far and its strategy going forward," he said.

Live TV
New Delhi: In what could be good news for Delhiites and passengers who travel with Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses, the state government has announced a 10% discount on tickets if bought online using the One Delhi app.

The decision to offer a 10% discount on bus tickets was taken after the Delhi government had recently approved the proposal.

Besides e-ticketing and information about DTC and cluster buses, the app also offers information about the nearest available electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The information is provided in both English and Hindi languages.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot hailed the decision as a "welcome step, especially in the middle of the ongoing (COVID-19) pandemic, to reduce spread through surface contact".

The e-ticketing app also shows the expected time of arrival (ETA) of buses. "When we launched the Common Mobility Card in 2018, we saw a large number of private car users shift to public transport. I am hoping that the state-of-the-art buses, with increased surveillance and safety features and right incentives like the ones we are offering through e-ticketing apps and the Common Mobility card, will be a much-needed push for Delhiites to adopt public transport as their default mode of transport," a statement quoted him as saying.

At present, Delhi has a combined fleet size (DTC and cluster) of 6,750 buses, and witnesses an average daily ridership of 49 lakh passengers. Also Read: Facebook says it should not be blamed for US failing to meet vaccine goals

"This move is also expected to save revenue on printing, storage, manpower and the data-storage mechanism. The department also envisages app-based ticketing to help in the generation of better passenger onboarding data that can be analysed to rationalise routes and better services for the passengers," the statement said. Also Read: Projected pendency of 45 million cases in Indian courts an overstatement, says CJI NV Ramana

(With inputs from wires)
New Delhi: The Delhi police busted a fake Tata Salt factory operating in the capitals Barwala area on Saturday (July 17).

The police arrested the 33-year-old owner, identified as Mahesh alias Tony, who oversaw bulk production of duplicate "Tata salt".

According to the Delhi police, the owner said that he used the Tata brand name for its reliability and as it is one of the most-selling items.

The police seized 2,640 kg of fake Tata salt. They estimated that the accused has sold more than 10,000 kg of the product last year.

On Friday, our team raided the factory in Barwala, from where a huge quantity of duplicate Tata salt, besides fake packaging material, electric weighing machines, and electric sealing, packing and sewing machines were seized, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer-North) Rajiv Ranjan Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.

The accused revealed that he used to purchase the duplicate packaging material of Tata salt from his source in Delhi's Naya Bazar at the rate of Rs 2 per pack of one kg, the officer added.

During the raid, the police found around 2,000 packets of salt with "Tata salt" written on them, nine plastic bags with loose salt and around 915 printed fake packets.

During interrogation, the accused told the police that at the office of a property dealer, he came in contact with one "Masterji", who was in the business of packed food items and who gave him the idea of starting his own business of duplicate salt, the DCP said.

A year ago, the accused started his factory on a rented premise in Barwala, where he used to pack low-quality salt in one-kg packets and sell it, he added.

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New Delhi: Officials of the Delhi Police will meet a delegation of farmers on Sunday (July 18, 2021)ahead of their planned protest in front of parliament during its monsoon session to demand scrapping of the contentious farm laws and a legal guarantee on MSP.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, has planned that around 200 farmers will hold protests outside parliament every day during the monsoon session.

The leaders have not commented on whether they have permission to hold demonstrations outside parliament but have maintained that the protests will be "peaceful".

A tractor parade in Delhi on January 26, that was to highlight the demands of farmer unions to repeal three new agri laws, had dissolved into anarchy on the streets of the national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with the police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.

A senior police officer said the meeting will take place with a delegation of farmers on Sunday before their proposed protest. During the meeting, police officials may suggest alternative venues in Delhi for the protest, but nothing concrete has been planned yet.

The SKM had earlier said at a press conference that two days before the monsoon session begins, a "chetavani patra" (warning letter) will be issued to all opposition MPs to protest the farm laws inside the House.

Thousands of farmers from across the country have been agitating at the Delhi borders against the three farm laws that they claim will do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

Over 10 rounds of talks with the government, which has been projecting the laws at major agricultural reforms, have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties.

Live TV
New Delhi: As France on Saturday (July 17, 2021) became the 16th European country to recognise Serum Institute of Indias (SII) COVID-19 vaccine Covishield as a valid vaccine for international travellers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SII, Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to expressed his happiness. Poonawalla said that it was indeed good news that Covishield has been recognised by 16 European countries now. However, he also cautioned travellers to follow travel advisories that differ from country to country.

"It is indeed good news for travellers, as we see sixteen European countries recognising Covishield as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However, despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country, so do read up before you travel," tweeted Adar Poonawalla.

It is indeed good news for travellers, as we see sixteen European countries recognising COVISHIELD as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country, so do read up before you travel. https://t.co/Cy9HO2Uxu3  Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) July 17, 2021

Meanwhile, the issue of the acceptance of the Covishield vaccine as proof of immunisation for travel to the European Union Member States has been in discussion after several countries in the block have refused to recognise the vaccine. Additionally, the Indian government has been pushing European Union member countries to recognise both Covishield and Covaxin in order to ease travel for the people of the nation.

The 16 European countries that have recognised Covishield are - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland with the latest country to recognise it is France.

On Saturday, France lifted travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers. "Fully vaccinated travellers are no longer subject to restrictions to travel to or from France, whatever the country of departure. We nonetheless strongly advise against travel from France to countries on the "red" list," read Frances Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs travel advisory.

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New Delhi: The BS Yediyurappa-led Karnataka government announced further relaxation to lockdown norms on Sunday (July 18, 2021) and allowed institutes of higher education to reopen from next week. At a meeting of CM BS Yediyurappa with ministers & govt officials, it has been decided that institutes of higher education will be allowed to reopen from July 26, only vaccinated persons (partially or fully) will be given entry, news agency ANI reported.

The state government permitted both undergraduate and postgraduate colleges to reopen from July 26 on the condition that all the students and staff should receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before attending physical education classes at the colleges.

Karnataka: At a meeting of CM BS Yediyurappa with ministers & govt officials, it has been decided that institutes of higher education will be allowed to reopen from July 26, only vaccinated persons (partially or fully) will be given entry  ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2021

Additionally, the COVID-induced night curfew has also been relaxed by an hour in the state, and will now remain in place from 10 pm to 5 am. These relaxations will come into force from July 19. The official statement also revealed that the cinema theatres would be allowed to operate with 50 percent occupancy after adhering to COVID-19 protocols.

The announcement came after a review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa along with top ministers and officials.

Read the official order here:

1. Night Curfew will continue to be imposed from 10 pm to 5 am in the State as per the existing guidelines.

2. Cinema halls/multiplexes/theatres/rangamandiras/auditoriums and similar places permitted to operate with 50% of its seating capacity strictly adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour and SOPs issued by the concerned departments

3. Colleges and institutions pertaining to the Department of Higher Education, permitted to re-open from 26/7/2021, strictly adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour and SOPs/guidelines issued by the concerned Department. Only students, teaching and non-teaching/other staff who have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be permitted to attend the colleges/institutions. Attendance of students will be optional.

4. All Skill Development training including long-term technical courses are permitted strictly adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour. Only students, teaching and non-teaching/other staff who have taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be permitted to attend the institutions.

Meanwhile, Karnataka on Saturday reported 1,869 COVID-19 cases and 42 deaths, taking the tally to 28.82 lakh and the toll to 36,121. As many as 3,144 patients recovered from the infection, taking the total number of those discharged to 28,16,013, leaving 30,082 active cases in the state, a health department bulletin said.

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New Delhi: A rare case of monkeypox was detected in the US state of Texas, marking the first such cases recorded in the state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on July 15 a case of human monkeypox in a US resident who recently traveled from Nigeria to the United States," the CDC said in a press release.

The infected individual, who travelled from Lagos, Nigeria, to Dallas with a layover stop in Atlanta, is currently hospitalised in the city of Dallas. The CDC release revealed that the health officials are in touch with the airline passengers and others who may have had contact with the infected individual.

The last monkeypox outbreak in the US was in 2003 and over 47 people were affected by the virus. It was traced to pet prairie dogs in the Midwest that harboured the virus.

CDC describes monkeypox as a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a widespread rash on the face and body.

What is monkeypox?

According to CDC, monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name monkeypox. The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. Since then, monkeypox has been reported in humans in other central and western African countries.

The natural reservoir of monkeypox remains unknown. However, African rodent species are suspected to play a role in transmission. The CDC believes the spread of monkeypox through respiratory droplets to others on airplanes and in airports is low

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

The symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox. Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. CDC reveals that the main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell while smallpox does not. The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 714 days but can range from 521 days. Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.

What is the treatment for monkeypox?

As per CDC, currently, there is no proven, safe treatment for monkeypox virus infection. For purposes of controlling a monkeypox outbreak in the United States, smallpox vaccine, antivirals, and vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) can be used. The medical body also listed out prevention measures that one can take in order to avoid the viral illness. These measures include practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans, avoid contact with animals that could harbor the virus, isolate infected patients from others who could be at risk for infection and use personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients.

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New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia on Saturday (July 17, 2021) urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to 'stop taking decisions on matters under the elected government'. In a letter that comes amid the tussle over the powers of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in the national capital, Sisodia alleged that Lt Governor has been calling the key officers of various departments of the Delhi government in his office for the last about three months.

The AAP leader stated that Baijal is also holding a meeting with them and giving guidelines regarding the work related to their departments.

Sisodia also called upon Baijal to 'stop calling meeting of officials on such matters and giving them directions'.

He said, "Your such meetings and the decisions taken in it are not only unconstitutional but also a violation of orders of Supreme Court."

Sisodia added, "Sidelining the elected government and your calling meeting of officials and taking decisions in them is a murder of democracy."

This is to be noted that since April 27, 2021, Delhi's LG Anil Baijal is the 'government' in the Union Territory as the Centre had notified the amended Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021. This gives the Lieutenant Governor more powers than the Chief Minister of Delhi.

JUST IN Dy CM @msisodia writes to LG Anil Baijal. Urges him not to take decision on the subjects falling under the elected Govt of Delhi. "                  " pic.twitter.com/MDxPdsQqDk  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 17, 2021

Manish Sisodia said, "Whatever the political pressures on you, please do as L-G what will further strengthen the democracy."

"You are also giving directions to the concerned officers by calling the concerned officers in your meeting without informing the ministers about the works coming under the purview of the elected government of Delhi. Later the officers of the Lieutenant Governor`s office put constant pressure on the officials of the government to implement those decisions," Sisodia wrote.

He said if Governors or the Lieutenant Governors appointed by the Central Government start taking decisions on all the subjects by ignoring elected governments, the hard-earned democracy in the country will come to an end.

"Nowhere in the Constitution has the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi been empowered to convene a direct meeting of the officers of the departments concerned, take decisions and issue directions to them on the subjects under the elected government of Delhi," Sisodia further added.

He said the constitution only provides for decisions concerning land, police and public order to be taken by the Lt Governor of Delhi.

The Deputy Chief Minister referred to the Supreme Court judgement of 2018 and said the five-judge bench had said that the Lt Governor "does not have a right to take an independent decision" and mentioned that the constitution provides only two rights to the Lt Governor - either to agree with the decision of the elected government or to send his disagreement to the President.

He said the apex court had also said that the right to convey disagreement has to be exercised in rare and exceptional circumstances by the Lt Governor.

"I would like to request that you stop the decision-making activities in the subjects which come under the elected government of Delhi. Stop calling officers` meetings on these subjects and giving them instructions. These meetings of yours and the decisions taken in them are not only unconstitutional but also a violation of the order of the Supreme Court," the AAP leader said.

(With ANI inputs)

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Guwahati: The Assam government has tightened its screening procedure for people entering the state, with no exemption for even those who have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, an official said on Sunday (July 18).

With about 5 per cent of the new COVID-19 positive cases in the state in the last few days being of fully vaccinated people, testing of people entering the state is being once again made mandatory, the official said.

The Assam government had on July 15 withdrawn its earlier order, dated June 25, 2021, which had exempted mandatory COVID-19 testing for air and train passengers who have received both doses of vaccine for the virus.

The latest notification, issued by the Health and Family Welfare department, had said that "COVID positivity is observed even in some of the person(s) who have received two doses of vaccination in a few instances," and hence, the earlier given exemption was withdrawn.

"Some people who have got both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine are getting infected. While the symptoms in them may not be severe, they run the risk of being carriers," Dr Lakshmanan S, director, National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, told PTI.

He informed that among the new COVID-19 cases detected in the last couple of months, approximately five per cent are people who were fully vaccinated.

A survey carried out by ICMR in Dibrugarh district in May and June had found 5.3 per cent of the sample size who tested positive for COVID-19 had received both doses of the vaccine.

Among those who had received the first dose only, the positivity rate was 12.4 per cent.

Altogether 6,224 people were surveyed, out of which 772 had taken the first dose, 332 second dose and 5,120 had not taken the vaccine at all.

The persons who had received both doses and yet tested positive for the virus had displayed 'very mild symptoms and were in home isolation', the survey had found.

Dibrugarh district has reported the second highest number of new cases and deaths in the second wave in the state so far.

Assam's decision to withdraw the exemption comes when in many other parts of the country, including Kerala and Mumbai, exemption for fully vaccinated domestic travellers from carrying a RT-PCR negative report for COVID-19 has been announced.

The Kerala government had on Saturday said negative RT-PCR test reports were no longer mandatory for inter-state travel and attending exams for persons who have received two doses of COVID vaccine.

A similar exemption from carrying the negative test reports was also given to people entering Mumbai from July 13.

The Assam government's decision to once again tighten the screening rules was also triggered due to apprehension of Delta plus variant entering and spreading in the state through people coming from outside, a Health department source said.

No Delta plus variant case has been so far detected in the state, the source added.

The Delta variant has been predominant in the state currently, with 77 per cent of random samples for April and May sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics at Kalyani in West Bengal testing positive for this strain. The remaining were of Kappa strain.

As many as 1,30,056 new COVID-19 cases have been detected in the state between June 1 to July 17, while the deaths due to the virus during the period were 1,568.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state detected so far is 5,45,954 since last year, while the total death toll is 4,984.

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New Delhi: The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition is raring to corner the ruling dispensation over a host of issues including handling of the second wave of COVID-19, rise in fuel prices and farmers' stir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told an all-party meeting that the government was ready for a healthy and meaningful discussion on various issues in Parliament, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

An official statement later said the prime minister told the floor leaders that according to the country's traditions of healthy democracy, issues concerning the people should be raised in an amicable manner and the government should be given an opportunity to respond to these discussions.

Modi said it is everyone's responsibility to create such a conducive environment and added that people's representatives truly know the ground-level situation, hence their participation in these discussions enriches the decision-making process.

Upping the ante, several opposition parties were planning to move adjournment notices in both Houses of Parliament on Monday over farmers' issues.

Opposition parties held a separate meeting after an all-party meet convened by the government on Sunday to discuss their floor strategy.

Many opposition parties will give adjournment notices on the farmers' issue in both Houses of Parliament, RSP leader N K Premachandran said here after the meeting which was attended by leaders of the Congress, TMC, NCP, CPI(M), CPI, IUML, RSP, Shiv Sena and the AAP.

Farmer union have been protesting on Delhi's borders since last November against the Centre's three new agri laws and are also demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).

During the all-party meet, opposition parties objected to the government's offer for a joint address to all MPs by the prime minister on COVID-19 at the Parliament annexe, saying this will be "highly irregular" at a time when Parliament will be in session and it aims to "bypass" norms.

The meeting was attended by 33 parties.

Leaders, including from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M), also said that when the pandemic and issues related to it can be discussed on the floor of the House, what was the need to go "outside".

The annexe is a separate building within the premises of the Parliament complex.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi announced at the meeting that Prime Minister Modi will address MPs of both the Houses -- Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha -- on July 20 and speak on the pandemic.

"What is the need to go outside Parliament? Any address should be on the floor of the House," TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien, who was at the meeting, said.

Sources in other opposition parties confirmed that Joshi's offer has been refused and that some have even suggested a joint sitting of the Houses at Central Hall.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the party's position has always been that when Parliament is in session, whatever the government has to say, it can do so on the floor of the House.

"It is highly irregular for the government to do this. When the Parliament is in session, any address or presentation the government wants to make, it has to be done from inside Parliament," he said.

O'Brien claimed that all opposition leaders present in the meeting, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Misra refused to be addressed "outside" Parliament.

In another development, various parties, including the Congress and the TMC, on Sunday demanded restoration of MPLAD funds, in an all-party meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, sources said.

Speaker Birla assured them that he will raise the issue with the government and its top functionaries, they said.

The government has listed 17 new bills for introduction in the session.

Three of the bills seek to replace ordinances issued recently.

One of the ordinances issued on June 30, prohibits any agitation and strike by anyone engaged in the essential defence services.

The Essential Defence Services Ordinance 2021 came in the backdrop of the announcement by major federations of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to go on an indefinite strike from the later part of July to protest the government's decision to corporatise the OFB.

The Essential Defence Service Bill, 2021 has been listed to replace the ordinance, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin issued on July 12.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021 is another measure that seeks to replace an ordinance.

According to the government, the ordinance was brought to provide a permanent solution and establish a self-regulated, democratically monitored mechanism for tackling air pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas, rather than limited ad-hoc measures.

The Opposition on its part wants raise issues like alleged shortcomings in the healthcare system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to states.

It would also seek replies on the rising prices of petrol diesel and cooking gas during the session which would end on August 13.

Sources said several opposition parties are also planning to give an adjournment notice over the alleged phone tapping of their leaders.

According to the financial business listed in the bulletin, there would be a presentation, discussion and voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021-22.

There would also be a presentation, discussion and voting on Excess Demands for Grants for the year 2017-18.
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Saturday (July 17, 2021) said that the projected statistics that pendency in Indian courts has reached 45 million cases, which is perceived as the inability of the Indian judiciary to cope with the caseload, is an 'overstatement' and an 'uncharitable analysis'.

During an address at the India-Singapore Mediation Summit, Ramana also said that people know that when things go wrong, the judiciary will stand by them.

"It gives them the strength to pursue a dispute," the CJI expressed.

He added, "The often-quoted statistic that pendency in Indian Courts has reached 45 million cases, which is perceived as the inability of the Indian judiciary to cope with the caseload is an overstatement and an uncharitable analysis."

The Chief Justice of India also said that there is a need to develop mechanisms for conflict resolution and referred to the Mahabharata, providing an example of an early attempt at mediation as a conflict resolution tool.

"Mediation is deeply embedded into the Indian ethos and was prevalent before the British adversarial system in India, various forms of mediation were being practised as a method of dispute resolution," he said.

Ramana also informed that the issue of judicial delays is a complex problem, not just in India and provided several factors that contribute to such a situation. He said that one of them is an Indian phenomenon called 'luxurious litigation'.

"It is a specific type of litigation wherein parties with resources attempt to frustrate the judicial process and delay it by filing numerous proceedings across the judicial system. Undeniably, the prevailing pandemic has also contributed to our woes," the CJI said.

Earlier in the day, CJI Ramana also launched the live streaming of Gujarat High Court proceedings. During the event, he said that a judge should never be deterred from his duty to protect the right of one against the might of many and as a repository of people's faith, a judge cannot afford to lose objectivity.

He also said that he is keen to start live streaming in at least a few of the courts at the Supreme Court.

He stressed the importance of live streaming of Court proceedings and said it is important for the dissemination of information as a part of Article 19 of the Constitution.

(With inputs from ANI)
New Delhi: Congress MPs from Punjab have sought an appointment with party chief Sonia Gandhi with sources saying that a majority of them were of the view that Navjot Singh Sidhu should not be appointed as the state party chief.

Congress MPs from both Houses met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa`s residence to discuss the likely move to appoint Sidhu as the state Congress chief, sources said.

Asked about the meet, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, who is batting for a non-Sikh state chief, said: "Internal party matters will be only be discussed at party forums."

Bajwa, who was the host, played down the meeting, saying: "We are with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi... whatever decision they will take, everybody will accept it."

The meeting follows two key meetings on Saturday -- the first one between Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the party`s state in-charge Harish Rawat in Chandigarh and the second was attended by Speaker Rana K.P. Singh, Bajwa, and the Chief Minister.

Reiterating that he would accept any decision taken by Sonia Gandhi, Amarinder Singh has termed the meeting with Rawat as fruitful, adding that the latter would take up the issues raised by him with the party chief.

Meanwhile, Sidhu is meeting MLAs in Punjab and about 10 MLAs have come out in open support of Amarinder Singh.

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New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Usha Thakur on Saturday (July 17) said those want to click selfies with her must pay Rs 100 which will be deposited in the BJP's coffers for party work. She called it a "time-consuming process" saying it leads to delays in her programmes.

"A lot of time gets wasted in clicking selfies, and often we get late by hours for our programmes. From the (party) organizational point of view, we though any person clicking a selfie (with her) should deposit Rs 100 in the treasury of the BJP's local mandal unit," she was quoted as saying by PTI.

Further, the state minister for culture also asserted she would not accept bouquets as only the "unblemished" Lord Vishnu can be offered flowers since Goddess Laxmi resides in them she is ready to accept books instead.

"As far as welcoming people with flowers is concerned, we all know Goddess Laxmi resides in them. So none other than Lord Vishnu, who is unblemished, can accept flowers. So, I don't accept flowers. Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said one should offer books instead of flower bouquets," the minister told reporters at Khandwa.

Incidentally, in 2015, Thakur's cabinet colleague Kunwar Vijay Shah had also proposed that those seeking selfies with him must donate Rs 10 for a cause.

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New Delhi: Amid growing crowds at hill stations and threat of possible third COVID-19 wave looming large, the Shimla District administration on Saturday (July 17) decided to put a cap on the number of people visiting the Himachal Pradesh city. The officials have also taken a call on controlling crowds in Shimla.

The new restrictions include that no one will be allowed to sit on Shimlas Ridge and Mall Road except senior citizens. If the number of people increases more than the capacity of these locations, entry can be banned, ANI reported.

A meeting was conducted by Aditya Negi, the Deputy Commissioner of Shimla district administration with the traders and people associated with the tourism business of the district during which these rules were decided.

"We had a meeting with the tourism stakeholders and decisions have been taken to restrict crowd in Ridge and mall road area. We will try to avoid overcrowding. Sitting will not be allowed in that area except for the senior citizens. We have been experimenting to reduce crowd and also to implement COVID-appropriate behaviour", Negi said.

To avoid overcrowding, the administration has planned to remove sitting benches from Ridge area. "During the past two-three days, police had launched an awareness and no challan campaign to educate people on implementing guidelines and COVID protocol. Now, police is first making tourists and locals aware about wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. If they dont understand to abide by the law in place, then challaning is being done. To reduce the crowd from ridge area, we shall first remove sitting benches and overcrowding will not be seen likely in near future", he added.

On Saturday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said the state government wants tourists to visit but while strictly adhering to COVID-19 protocols. "Recently, a number of tourists towns including Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala saw high tourist inflow. We have ordered districts to deploy police force to regulate and monitor traffic and warn people against venturing into rivers etc during rains," Thakur told ANI.

Further, he said that hotel associations have also been asked to implement SOPs to prevent coronavirus spread. "At places where tourists are in large numbers, enforcement of COVID protocols is being done. We have also asked hotel associations to implement SOPs for the functioning of hotels. We want tourists to visit our state but they must follow COVID protocols," CM Jairam Thakur urged.

Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry on Thursday had raised concerns over reports of 'blatant' crowding at hill stations. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to all states and Union Territories, saying non-compliance of COVID-19 protocols at this juncture can result in another surge in COVID-19 cases.

"Violations of Covid norms have been observed in various parts of the country, especially in hill stations, public transport and markets. Needless to say, such complacency at this juncture has the potential to result in another surge in cases," PTI cited the letter as saying.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (July 18, 2021) hit out at Newsclick and said that their only agenda is to defame India. Addressing a press conference, BJP's National Spokesperson Sambit Patra said that Newsclick is a portal which 'tries to portray itself as a media house'.

"The only agenda of these so-called portals and Newsclick is to spread the propaganda of a foreign nation and defame India. Some foreign powers and Indian politicians have teamed up to spread unrest. This is a part of an international toolkit," Patra said.

The BJP leader also alleged that Newsclick received crores of rupees from abroad in a suspicious manner with a motive to portray India's system as a failed one and spread foreign propaganda in India.

Press Conference by Dr. @sambitswaraj at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. https://t.co/nclsL3SvsQ  BJP (@BJP4India) July 18, 2021

Sambit Patra also said that the Supreme Court and the High Court have given permission to carry out the Central Vista project, but still some people went ahead with their agenda of demeaning the project.

"It is only because of foreign funding," the BJP spokesperson added.

Earlier on July 7, the Delhi High Court had granted interim protection from arrest to Newsclick's editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and its director Pranjal Pandey in connection with a Delhi Police FIR concerning foreign funding and had directed them to join the investigation.

The allegations in the FIR, registered by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police, are that the company, PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs 9.59 crore from Worldwide Media Holdings LLC USA during the financial year 2018-19, in violation of the law.

However, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Purkayastha, contended that funding from the US-based company was received by the Newsclick in the year when there were no restrictions on FDI in digital news media.

The FIR alleges that the investment was made by greatly overvaluing the shares of the company to avoid the alleged cap of 26 per cent of FDI in a digital news website. It was further alleged that over 45 per cent of this investment was diverted/siphoned off for the payment of salary/consultancy, rent and other expenses, which payments are alleged to have been made for ulterior motives.

(With agency inputs)

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Lucknow: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said her party is "open-minded" about forging an alliance with other political parties for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Asked whether the Congress will go it alone on all the 403 assembly seats in the state or align with some political party, the party general secretary told reporters in an informal meeting here, "It is too early to say."

On whether she is ruling out an alliance or not, she said, "I do not rule out (alliance). We are absolutely not closed-minded. We are having an open mind."

"Our aim is to defeat the BJP," she said, adding that other political parties should also be "open-minded".

She added that the organisation is also her area of focus, and a lot of work have been done on it, and in a silent manner. "I have an open mind, but my priority is my party," she said.

To a question on the party becoming active in her presence and tending to become inactive as soon as she leaves the state, the Congress leader said, "When I come (here), there is the media focus and you pay attention. But when I am not here, you do not give any attention. But our work is going on."

"We have done the maximum work during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see that we are the ones who have raised issues. Congress is no longer confined to garlanding photographs. Our party has been out of power for 30-32 years, and it has become weak. However, full efforts have been made, and a lot of energy has come (into the party)," she added.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that plans are afoot to revamp the Congress Seva Dal in the state.

She also slammed the BJP over its statement that she was a "political tourist".

Stating that she is not a "political tourist", the Congress general secretary said that the BJP's propaganda is to show her and her brother Rahul Gandhi as non-serious politicians.

Later, Priyanka Gandhi interacted with senior party leaders of the state, including UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, co-incharge of Uttar Pradesh Dheeraj Gurjar, UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh and Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a Congress leader said.

Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are due in early next year.

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New Delhi: The West Bengal government has decided to take a tougher stance in dealing with COVID-19 violators. State Chief Secretary HK Dwidevi on Saturday (July 17) asked the district administrations to take necessary steps against those who flout COVID-19 protocols.

The CS has instructed the DMs to take serious action against the violators. Anyone coming out of the residence between 9 pm and 5 am without any valid reason must be dealt with as per the rule book," PTI quoted a source as saying.

According to official sources, violators will have to face strict action as per provisions of the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including fine, Dwidevi told disaster magistrates at a virtual meeting.

Dwidevi also instructed DMs to check if shopkeepers, vendors and others are adhering to the coronavirus guidelines and not keeping markets, malls or restaurants open beyond the permissible time.

The West Bengal government has extended the ongoing restrictions till July 30 taking into consideration the warning of experts about a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The local train services will remain suspended except the staff special trains. However, certain relaxations including allowing Metro Railway to resume operations at 50 per cent seating capacity on weekdays have been given. Public buses, taxis and autorickshaws have been permitted to operate in the state at 50 per cent capacity. Gymnasiums and beauty parlours can also operate with 50 per cent strength from 11 am to 6 pm. Vegetable markets can remain open from 6 am till noon.

On Saturday, the state's COVID-19 death toll increased to 17,988 after eight fresh fatalities were reported. With 899 new cases, the total tally mounted to 15,17,380, the health department said in a bulletin. The active cases count currently stands at 13,333.

(With agency inputs)
Los Angeles: Ten years ago actor Ashton Kutcher was planning to be among the first people to ride on Virgin Galactic's private spaceship, but he changed his mind after having children with Mila Kunis.

The former "Two and a Half Men" star said he was supposed to be on the next Virgin Galactic flight but pulled out years ago.

"When I got married and had kids, my wife basically encouraged (me) that it was not a smart family decision to be heading into space when we have young children. So I ended up selling my ticket back to Virgin Galactic," Kutcher, 43, told financial news streaming site Cheddar News in an interview on Thursday.

"I was supposed to be on the next flight, but I will not be on the next flight," he added.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson and five other Virgin Galactic employees on Sunday took the first fully crewed test flight to space.

In 2012, Kutcher became the 500th person to buy a $200,000 ticket for Branson's space tourism venture, according to Branson`s blog at the time.

Kutcher began dating "Friends with Benefits" actress Kunis that year, they married in 2015, and they now have two children.

Kutcher said he hasn't given up plans to get to space. "At some point, I'm going to space," he said.
New Delhi: Former actress Somy Ali, who was supposed to make her debut with Salman Khan, has quit acting forever as she has no desire to step in front of the camera anymore. Rather she wants to put her focus on humanitarian causes and help women reeling from domestic abuse. Ali, who is currently in the US recently spoke about her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and actor Salman Khan. She spoke about if they're still in touch and why her debut with the actor fell through in an interview with a leading daily.

She told ETimes, "I have not spoken to Salman in five years. I think it is healthy to move on. I have moved on and he has moved on too. I dont know how many girlfriends he has had since I left in December 1999. I wish him all the best. I know his NGO is doing brilliant work and I am proud of his Being Human Foundation. Psychologically, it is healthier for me to not be in touch with him. It is good to know he is in a good place and hes happy, and that is all I care about."

However, she is in touch with a few actors that she had worked with and grown close to during her time in Mumbai.

She revealed, "Now, as far as being in touch with the people I worked with, I am in touch with Suniel on WhatsApp now. I am very close to Zeenat Aman because she used to live right opposite my house in Mount Mary in Bandra, and she was also frequent at Salman's house. So, I would see her there."

The actress starred in several Bollywood films from 1991 to 1998 with leading actors and had dated Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for eight years in the 1990s.

On the work front, Salman Khan was last seen in the blockbuster film 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai' co-starring Disha Patani.
Kanpur: In a bizarre incident, an image of a police officer allegedly sitting on top of a woman went viral on the internet.

An inquiry has been ordered by the Uttar Pradesh police into a scuffle between a police officer and a woman in Kanpur.

A statement by the Kanpur Rural Police stressed that the officer, seen holding down a woman in widely-circulated photographs and a video clip, did not initiate the fight.

The statement, citing another video clip that has since emerged of the incident on Saturday, said the woman started the scuffle to enable her husband to flee and the officer fell on the woman while trying to stop her.

Take a look at the scuffle here:

The officer, sub-inspector Mahendra Patel, has nevertheless been transferred to the district's police lines, the statement said.

News reports mention that the Police said the incident took place when a team of police officers went to Durgadasspur village in Bhognipur locality, about 60 km from Kanpur city, where they found some people gambling.

The team caught Shivam Yadav, who according to the police, allegedly threatened a candidate in the panchayat elections a few weeks earlier.

His family members attacked the police and managed to let Shivam Yadav escape arrest.

His wife, Arti, later citing a photograph and a version of the video clip of the incident, alleged that the police officer dragged her to the ground, sat on top of her, and assaulted her.

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New Delhi: Taliban on Sunday (July 18, 2021) said that it has sent a message to international terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that the soil of Afghanistan will not be used against 'any other country'.

In an exclusive interview with Zee Media's Sidhant Sibal, the Taliban's spokesperson for International Media Suhail Shaheen denied 'any ties with' the two Pakistan-based terror groups.

Recently, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had said that intelligence estimates indicate the influx of over ten thousand Jihadi fighters from Pakistan and other places in the past month, a development that comes amid the Taliban making rapid territorial gains.

On protection of major infrastructure projects, Shaheen said that the group has a policy of protecting 'national projects like dams'.

India, notably, has constructed major infrastructure projects in the country like India-Afghanistan Friendship Dam in the western Herat province.

Zee Media: Has the Taliban cut ties with the UN listed terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed?

Taliban spokesperson: We have clearly sent a message to all that we are not allowing anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against any other country. We dont have any ties with them. About India, it is essential for them to remain impartial in the Afghan issue and not to support a moribund regime that is killing its own people day and night by drones, airplanes strikes, and weapons received from foreign countries.

Zee Media: Are Taliban and India talking or having some kind of engagement at any level? Any back-channel communication between the two, if yes, how?

Taliban spokesperson: I can't confirm reports about the Indian delegation meeting with IEA seniors. It has not happened.

Zee Media: How do you see India's development projects, capacity building projects. Can you assure them they will be protected? Recently 16 security personnel were killed in a Taliban attack near the Salma dam in Herat?

Taliban spokesperson: Protection of national projects like dams is an IEA or Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan policy. We have announced this policy more than once. However, Indian military hardware assistance with Kabul which ultimately end killing innocent Afghan people is hostility with the Afghan people. This soil Indias image in the eyes of the Afghan people and send a hostile perception. It is for them to review their position.

Zee Media: India has been saying gains of the last 20 years, like women's rights, minority rights, rights of Hindus, Sikhs should not be impacted? How do you see that, plus, will the rights of minorities be protected? or will they have to flee home to take refuge in India?. A large number have already come to India.

Taliban spokesperson: We are committed to the rights of minorities in Afghanistan and they have equal rights like other Afghans. Similarly, we admit all basic rights of women including access to education and work in the light of our Islamic rules. Moreover, there is no security issue for any Afghan citizen intending to lead a normal life in the country.

Zee Media: How do you see the current situation in Afghanistan with violence being increased by Taliban fighters? Do you plan to create an Islamic emirate in the country?

Taliban spokesperson: Talks are underway in Doha currently. We hope to reach a peaceful solution through talks and form an Afghan inclusive Islamic government where all Afghans would have to participate.
New Delhi: Facebook on Saturday defended itself against US President Joe Biden's assertion that the social media platform is "killing people" by allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to proliferate, saying the facts tell a different story.

"The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19," Facebook said in a corporate blog post by Guy Rosen, a company vice president. "President Bidens goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed."

COVID-19 misinformation has spread during the pandemic on social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc-owned YouTube. Researchers and lawmakers have long accused Facebook of failing to police harmful content on its platforms.

"They're killing people. ... Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they're killing people," Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday when asked about misinformation and what his message was to social media platforms such as Facebook.

The company has introduced rules against making specific false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines for it, and says it provides people with reliable information on these topics. Also Read: Shashi Tharoor questions the push for population control in some BJP-ruled states

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is now the dominant strain worldwide, accompanied by a surge of deaths around the United States almost entirely among unvaccinated people, U.S. officials said on Friday. Also Read: 16 people arrested in hooch tragedy in Bihar's West Champaran
New Delhi: Billionaire American businessman Jeff Bezos and his three crewmates are engaging in a crash course of training on Sunday in preparation for his company Blue Origin`s inaugural flight to the edge of space planned for Tuesday.

The suborbital launch from a site in the high desert plains of West Texas marks a crucial test for Blue Origin`s New Shepard spacecraft, a 60-foot-tall (18.3 meters) and fully autonomous rocket-and-capsule combo that is central to plans by Bezos to tap a potentially lucrative space tourism market.

The planned 11-minute trip from the company`s Launch Site One facility is set to include the oldest person ever to go to space - 82-year-old trailblazing female aviator Wally Funk - and the youngest - 18-year-old physics student Oliver Daemen.

The mission would represent the world`s first unpiloted flight to space with an all-civilian crew. Blue Origin will have none of its staff astronauts or trained personnel onboard.

New Shepard is due to launch nine days after rival Richard Branson`s space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, successfully carried out a suborbital flight from New Mexico with the British billionaire inside its rocket plane.

Blue Origin`s training program, according to the company, includes safety briefings, a simulation of the spaceflight, a review of the rocket and its operations, and instruction on how to float around the craft`s cabin after the capsule sheds Earth`s gravity.

The training "will help you feel comfortable and prepared for spaceflight and your responsibilities as an astronaut," Blue Origin said in material describing the sessions.

New Shepard, which cannot be piloted from inside the spacecraft, is named for Alan Shepard, who in 1961 became the first American in space during a suborbital flight as part of NASA`s pioneering Mercury program.

New Shepard, like Virgin Galactic`s flight, will not enter into orbit around Earth, but will take the crew some 62 miles up (100 km) before the capsule returns by parachute. Virgin Galactic`s flight reached 53 miles (86 km) above Earth.

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk`s space transportation company, SpaceX, is pledging to go even higher in September, sending an all-civilian crew for a several-day orbital flight aboard its Crew Dragon capsule.

Illustrating tensions in the high-stakes "billionaire space race," Blue Origin has described Virgin Galactic as falling short of the 62-mile-high-mark (100 km) - called the Karman line - set by an international aeronautics body as defining the boundary between Earth`s atmosphere and space. Also Read: Heres how to lock or unlock your Aadhaar card online to stop data misuse

The U.S. space agency NASA and the U.S. Air Force both define an astronaut as anyone who has flown higher than 50 miles (80 km), as Branson achieved with his flight. Also Read: Planning to book Ola Electric scooter? Check 5 alternatives with up to 240 km range, 70 minutes charging time
New Delhi: Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba won the vote of confidence with 165 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives on Sunday (July 18). He needed at least 136 votes to win Parliament's confidence.

The 75-year-old Nepali Congress president had taken the oath of office and secrecy on July 13.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and the Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP's) Upendra Yadav faction voted in Deuba's favour during the vote of confidence.

Earlier, the countrys Supreme Court had reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in five months.

In the lower house of Parliament, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has 61 members while its coalition partner CPN (Maoist Center) has 48 members, excluding Speaker Sapkota.

The main Opposition CPN-UML, which is former PM KP Sharma Oli's party, has 121 members in the lower house, the JSP has 32 members and the other three fringe parties have a member each. There is an independent lawmaker as well.

https://zeenews.india.com/world/sher-bahadur-deuba-takes-oath-as-nepal-s...
Phoenix: A flash flood in the US Grand Canyon National Park killed a female tourist, while multiple others were reportedly injured, the National Park Service (NPS) said.

According to a statement issued by the NPS on Saturday, the authorities received a report on July 14 saying two individuals were missing and multiple people injured after a flash flood struck a campsite on the Colorado River.

After rescue teams arrived at the scene amid active monsoonal weather, they sent five people to nearby hospitals in two days by helicopter, reports Xinhua news agency citing the statement as saying.

On July 15, one of those missing was found alive and unhurt, but the second, Rebecca Copeland, 29, from Ann Arbor, was dead, the park service said. They were found by people on a commercial river trip.

ALSO READ: Death toll in Germany and Belgium floods rises to 170, hundreds still missing

The NPS warned that flash floods are common in the desert southwest, including northern Arizona.

Arizona, where most part of the Grand Canyon National Park is located, has been receiving monsoonal rains this week, which caused flooding in parts of the state, including Flagstaff, a city close to the south gate of the park.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has issued a declaration of emergency in Coconino County, which includes Flagstaff.

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New Delhi: In reaction to the abduction of Silsela Alikhil, Afghanistan has recalled its envoy Najibullah Alikhil and all senior diplomats from Pakistan. Silsela Alikhil is the daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan and was abducted on Friday for few hours near Islamabad's Rana market.

Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh in a strongly-worded tweet said President Ghani has instructed the Afghan foreign ministry to recall its envoy along with all senior diplomats. He said, "The abduction of Afgh ambassador's daughter and her subsequent torture has wounded the psyche of our nation. Our national psyche has been tortured."

President @ashrafghani instructed @mfa_afghanistan to call back our ambassador from Islamabad along with all senior diplomats. The abduction of Afgh ambassador's daughter & her subsequent torture has wounded the psyche of our nation. Our national psyche has been tortured.  Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) July 18, 2021

Silsela was assaulted in a taxi which she had taken to while returning from the market to home. Her hands and feet were tied when she regained consciousness. Her dupatta had tissue paper and Rs 50 note with message  your turn is next  and communist.

The incident has raised tensions in the already strained relationship between Islamabad and Kabul. On Saturday Pakistan's Ambassador to Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan was summoned by the Afghan Foreign ministry and a "strong protest" was lodged over the issue.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a statement demanded a swift action against the penetrators. "Explicitly called on the Pakistani government to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators of this crime and ensure the full security and immunity of Afghan diplomats and their families in accordance with international conventions," the statement read.

According to a report by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science, Islamabad she has swelling in various parts of her body. Earlier, in a strongly worded statement, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its "deep regret and strongly condemns this heinous act".

The Afghan foreign ministry expressed its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan.

Pakistan reacted to the development with its foreign ministry saying it has beefed up the security of the Afghan envoy and his family and in a statement said, "Law enforcement agencies are trying to trace and apprehend the culprits to be brought to justice."

This is not the first time diplomats and their families have come under target. Indian diplomats have been in the past faced harassment in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which includes light being cut, internet connection being slowed down. In response to a question on the safety of Indian diplomats in Islamabad in aftermath of the abduction of Afghan Envoy's daughter, Indian sources said, "We have been issuing alerts to our High Commission personnel on regular basis"